Marcus sat next to her on the bed, his hands folded and hanging between his knees. "Walk me through this one more time."

Brooklyn sighed, already tired of the questions. "Okay."

"So, your father is James Barnes, the childhood friend of Steve Rogers, who became captain America. And he was captured by HYDRA- "

"Twice." She interjected.

"Twice, by HYDRA, who turned him into the Winter Soldier. Then you were born."

"Yes. I was born." Personally, she didn't really see the fascination. Marcus had been picking over the details of everything he had heard for the whole morning. Lunch was due soon. They were still on lockdown. There had been a great deal of activity in the hall, people coming and going. But her father had not returned. She wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not.

"After you were born, you were taken away, for some years, and then given to your father?"

She groaned. "The story hasn't changed since you started asking. I was about Juliana's age when I was given to my father."

"So, the Winter Soldier... Is he a good father?" Marcus chortled.

Brooklyn side-eyed him. "As good a father as one can be in places like this. He was affectionate. He cared for me. "

He nodded. Inhaled and then let the air out of his lungs with a low whistle. "I guess family is always complicated."
she turned to look at him fully, her mouth falling open. Then, after a beat, she burst into laughter. He joined in. Juliana paused, the bricks she had been stacking on the floor, before giggling as well.
after a few minutes, they all quieted down.

"I guess you have a few tales of family issues, then?" Brooklyn smiled. "Go on, share."

Marcus groaned. "Oh, you don't want to hear about my family."

"If you feel the need to keep poking at mine, yeah, I do."

He huffed. "Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you." He pulled his body fully on to the bed and pressed his back to the wall. "When I was three, my father was killed in the crossfire between my uncle's men and some members from another crew. My mother crawled into a bottle, and never came out. So, I spent most of my childhood with my uncle and his wife. When I came out, when I was in high school, at least they didn't judge me. My mom, well she went kinda insane, and tried to knock my head in with a liquor bottle."

Brooklyn winced. "I guess I don't understand. Why would she be upset?"
He stared at her, incredulously. "Seriously? You get that I like to sleep with men, rather than women, right?"

"Well, yeah, but why would that be anyone's problem, but yours?"
Marcus tilted his head back and gazed at the ceiling. "Where were you when I was growing up?"

She laughed. "Probably asleep in cryo."

"I seriously could have used you on my side when I came out to my family." He reached out and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. "You really don't see an issue with it?"

Brooklyn shook her head. "No. Like I said, what you do is your business."

"I had to join HYDRA to find an ally." He laughed. "God, how the world turns."

For a brief moment, the two of them were able to forget where they were. For Brooklyn it was a new experience. Ever breath she had ever taken was a reminder of who and what she was. What she had done, to survive. Marcus, on the other hand, enjoyed the reminder that there was more to existence then HYDRA facilities. Their stolen moment of calm was broken by Juliana, who climbed up on the bed to sit between the two of them.

Marcus reached out and ran a hand over the small girl's head. "What's up, Little Miss?"

Juliana looked up at him, finger in her mouth. "I hungwy."

Brooklyn closed her eyes and sighed. "It's 'I'm hungry.'"

Juliana scrunched up her face and tried again. "I'm hungwy."

Marcus poked Brooklyn. "she's only four. Cut her some slack."

She slowly raised an eyebrow at him. "You do realize that I could snap your neck before you could blink, right?"

He blanched.

Brooklyn burst into laughter. '" Oh, your face! I'm sorry! But to be fair, you shouldn't ever think I'm something tame."

Marcus nodded eyes wide. "Right, not tame."

"Juliana may be four, but soon, she will be in training. And when she is trained, language is one of the things she will learn. If she mutilates her words, then languages will be harder. Best to correct it now, before she starts training."

"Oookay." He stood up and stretched. "I guess I'll go see if they have lunch ready. Be back in a moment."

Brooklyn smiled and turned to Juliana. "We have to work on our big girl words. You have to speak properly. Big girl words are important, because some day you will learn words in other languages. If you can't say your big girl words right, you won't be able to say the other languages. And if you need to speak to people who don't speak what you do, it can cause all sorts of problems. Okay?"

Juliana looked up at her big sister. "Speak pwop'ly."

Brooklyn sighed. "Close enough, for now. What were you playing, before you came over? Can you show me?"

Juliana nodded and led Brooklyn over to the pile of blocks. Sitting down, she showed Brooklyn how she was stacking them, building solid structures with them. Brooklyn sat down and pretended to not know how to build the stacks. Juliana was more than happy to show her how.

********************************************************

It was after lunch, while Marcus was sitting on the floor with Juliana, and Brooklyn reading on the bed, when Rumlow barged into the cell.

"Up. Now." He pointed at Brooklyn.

Marcus stood up, handheld out, as if to ward Rumlow off. "Hey, now, whats' going on?"

Brooklyn swallowed, and rose from the bed, setting the book aside.

"No. You stay here with the brat. The doctors want Queen up front. Now." Rumlow grabbed Brooklyn's upper arm and began dragging her out of the cell. He slammed the door behind them, leaving Marcus with Juliana.

Brooklyn tried to not fight Rumlow's grip on her arm, even though she could feel his fingers digging deep into her flesh. There was no one in the halls as they went through them. They turned a corner, and rumlow made a deep noise in the back of his throat, similar to a feral growl.

Turning her around, he pushed her face first into the wall. Grabbing her throat, he pulled back, while twisting her arm up behind her back. She cried out, struggling against his grip, while he placed a foot between hers, kicking them apart.

Rubbing his hips against her backside, he growled out, "Your dearest Daddy fucked up, Little Girl. He didn't eliminate his targets. They got away. Now he's in a blubbering mess in his chair. You know which chair."

She gasped for breath, screwing her eyes shut tight. She knew exactly what chair her father was in. The one that would scramble his brain.

Rumlow let go of her arm, bringing his hand around to her front, sliding it up under her shirt, grasping one of her breasts. "If he fucks up again, he's not going to be viable for very much longer. And that brat of his isn't going to be usable for a while. It means you are going to have to pick up the slack. That means you and I will be going out on assignments more and more. Wont that be such fun?"

His fingers pinched at her nipple, twisting cruelly before diving down the front of her to her leggings.

"And once we are all alone, they won't be able to stop me, will they? If I want to play with you, for as long as I want?" His fingers started to find their way into her leggings.

"Rumlow! What's taking so long? The doctors need her to calm him down." One of the agents Brooklyn had only really seen in passing came down the hall. "What the hell man?"

"She got testy. Decided to try to fight me. Needed to subdue her." Rumlow let go of her throat and took his hand away from her clothing. Grabbing her upper arm again, he pulled her away from the wall and dragged her towards the other agent.

"Rumlow, you can't- "the agent started.

"Shut up. She decided to fight me." Rumlow growled.

Brooklyn felt tears drying on her cheeks, as she was drug through halls. Eventually they came to a gate, and after using a key card it opened, to reveal a security box room. Roughly used, some of the boxes looked like they had been forced open, while others just looked like they were left open. In the middle of the room, topless and covered in sweat, sat her father, his large frame dwarfed by the machine he was sitting in. Next to him, two of the doctors were working away. One was tending to his metal arm, while the other was going over date on a computer. His face was blank, but there was pain in his eyes.

Rumlow threw him away from her, leaving her little notice to catch herself from tripping. "Here she is."

The doctor working on her father's arm looked up. "Calm him down. He's spiking."

She nodded, approaching her father, a hand ready to touch his hand. "Papa? Its going to be okay."

Using the pads of her fingertips, she stroked the back of her father's hand, while raising her other hand to his face, eyes on him the entire time. Cupping his cheek, she began to croon at him, but he kept a stony face, eyes staring forward. "Come back to me, Papa. I'm right here. Come back. Don't leave me here."

Stroking his cheek with her thumb, she tried to pull his face to hers. "Papa, are you leaving me behind? I'm right here. I'm not going to leave you."

Suddenly his metal arm flexed, sending the doctor working on it flying across the room. He gritted his teeth and pulled his face away from Brooklyn's hand.

The guards in the room raised their weapons and pointed them at the pair.

She gasped and grabbed his face with both hands. "No, no... no, Papa. No, we don't do that. Breathe. Breathe for me, Papa. Come back to me. I'm right here. I've never left you. I won't leave you."

"I'm calling Pierce." Rumlow snarled. "Don't let him hurt her. If you have to pull her off kicking and screaming, do it. If you have to put bullets in him to protect her, do it."

The doctors followed Rumlow out of the vault, leaving Brooklyn with her father, and about a dozen heavily armed guards, with ready trigger fingers.

"Please, Papa. Come back to me." She cupped his face in her hands. "I wouldn't leave you, so don't leave me."

*******************************************************

Pierce came in the room like he owned it. Like he was a God amongst mortals. Like nothing thrown at him would ever stick. Rumlow followed behind. Brooklyn could swear she smelt the depths of hell rolling off him. Her imagination, she knew, but for her he was now the personification of the devil himself.

She could hear the doctors explaining that they felt that her father was unstable, his behavior erratic. The entire time they had waited for Pierce to arrive, she had been trying to make her father respond. His gaze had remained solid, unbreakable. She felt like he was there, he could hear her, but he refused to respond. She had never had this happen.

As pierce approached, she stood back, letting her hands drop from her father. Rumlow grabbed her arm, pulling her farther away.

"Mission report." Pierce barked.

Her father remained unresponsive. Staring off, face blank.

Pierce leaned forward, looking at him, before smacking him hard across the face. Her father let out a small sound of shock? Pain?

"Mission report, now."

"The man on the bridge...Who was he?" Her father asked softly.

Pierce held his gaze on her father's. "You met him earlier this week on another assignment."

Her father took a few heavy breaths. "I knew him."

Grabbing one of the doctor's rolling stools, he brought it over in front of her father, sitting down. Inhaling deeply, he folded his hands across his knees. "Your work has been a gift to mankind. You shaped the century, and I need you to do it one more time. Society is at a tipping point between order and chaos. Tomorrow morning we're gonna give it a push. But, if you don't do your part, I can't do mine, and HYDRA can't give the world the freedom it deserves."

Brooklyn bit her tongue, tasting blood, when her father's sad eyes met hers. "But I knew him." His lips curved into an apologetic smile.

Pierce stood up. "Prep him."

The doctor stuttered, "He's been out of cryo-freeze for too long."

Lips curled; Pierce looked back at her father. "Then wipe him and start over."

As the doctors prepared to use the machine on her father, Pierce stalked over to where Rumlow held Brooklyn. "Make sure he is ready, my dear."

She licked her lips. "Sir, if he- "

"Do I need to remind you, what you have to lose now? Make sure he is ready. I don't care how you do it." He leaned forward, voice lowering, the threat clear. "Or do you want to be responsible, yet again, for one of your siblings ending up in the morgue?"

Looking over his shoulder, Brooklyn watched as her father accepted the rubber tooth shield. The guards snapped over his arms, and the chair tilted back. The arms of the device lowered over his face. As the electricity was applied, he started to scream.

Pierce grabbed her face, bringing her attention back to him. "Do you?"

Swallowing against her dry mouth, throat clicking, she met his eyes. "No sir. I'll make sure he's ready when you want him."

Pierce's grip changed from punishing to praising. "Good girl. If the program launch goes according to plan tomorrow, the two of you might be allowed to rest. For a while."

She ignored the tears on her face. Her tears would never help her father.

**************************************************************

After a wiping, her father was always very disoriented. It took the help of one of the doctors, as well as her own encouragement, to lead him back to his cell. Entering behind him, she turned to the doctor. "Food. Clean water."

He nodded, and scurried away, like a rat, down the hall, after shutting the door behind them.

Heaving a sigh, she walked up behind her father, placing a hand on his back, feeling the shudders of his body, a side effect of the electrical current that had been sent into his brain. The sweat was cooling, and soon she would have to help him deal with that as well.

"Papa?"

He started, like a wild animal. Turning his head sharply, his eyes wide, he exhaled sharply. The confusion in his eyes cleared for a moment. "Brooklyn?"

Keeping her hand on his skin, she walked around his body, under his arm, until she was standing in front of him, hand on the center of his chest, feeling his heartbeat. Picking up his right hand, she pressed the palm to her face. "I'm right here, Papa. I never left you. I will never leave you. With every breath in my body, I am always going to be right beside you."

He wrapped his metal arm around her waist, and pulled her into his body, bending his head and burying his face in her hair. "Brooklyn. My baby girl. My Brooklyn."

"Yes, Papa. Your Brooklyn. Always your Brooklyn." She soothed. She could feel his shuddering breaths. "I'll never leave you behind."

She heard the door open, and the squeak of the cartwheels. She ignored it. What was going on right now was more important.

She let him hold her, let him breathe her in, until his body calmed. His heartbeat slowed, and his breathing steadied. IT was only then when she pulled away.

"They brought us some water, Papa, and some food. Do you want to clean up?"

He nodded, and she finally broke away from him. She took his hand and led him to his cot, urging him to sit down, before bringing the cart over in front of him. Grabbing the bowl of water and the towel, she began to clean, first his face, then his neck and shoulders. Humming, she worked gently, letting the sound of the water as she dipped the towel back in punctuate her sounds. Eventually he stirred out of his stupor enough to take over, making short work of the rest of his body.

She smiled at him, and he stared at her for a moment, before returning it. A small smile, to be sure, but a smile, none the less.

"Are you hungry?"

Her father nodded, and she offered him one of the bowls of stew from the cart, as well as several of the rolls. He grunted, breaking a roll apart and using it scoop the stew up into his mouth. Brooklyn followed suit. He finished his bowl, using the rolls to sop up the dregs in the bowl. Having no real appetite, Brooklyn had not made much headway into her bowl of stew, so she ended up offering it to her father, hoping to fill him up completely. He stared between her and the offered bowl, frowning slightly.

"You are too skinny." He went to push the bowl back at her. "You need to eat more."

Shaking her head, she pressed harder. "I've been eating regularly. You need it more than I do."

He finally relented, finishing her bowl off.

She got up, putting everything back on the cart, pushing it to the door, so the handlers could retrieve it.
"Brooklyn."
she turned back to her father, who was staring at her. "Papa?"

"What happened? What did I do?"

Brooklyn frowned. "I don't understand, Papa."

"Why did they put me back in the chair?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. I was only brought in, after, to make sure you were going to be okay."

The lies slipped off her tongue as easily as water through her fingers. This is what she did. Every time.

He frowned. "We gonna be, okay?"

Brooklyn laughed. "You and me? Papa, together we are unstoppable, you know that."

Papa smiled. "Unstoppable. You and me, Brooklyn." He nodded his head, reaffirming the statement. "Unstoppable."

She climbed onto the bed, positioning herself at the head, back to the wall, legs stretching out. "Come to bed, Papa. You must be tired."

He nodded, and lay down, resting his head on her lap. "You'll stay?"

Brooklyn began stroking his hair, smiling down at him. "I'll never leave you."

She began to hum, stroking his hair, as he closed his eyes, and his breathing deepened.

***********************************************************

The one thing Brooklyn had learned early on, in life, was that the facilities seemed to be timeless. Without clocks to gage time, it could be hours, or what felt like minutes, before things happened. Gaging the passage of time through the meals had become an art form.
So, when the door opened, and not food, but Rumlow came in, Brooklyn had to assume it was very early in the morning, or really late at night.

Her father jerked awake, and stood up as soon as his eyes opened, placing himself between the agent and his daughter, his right hand pressing her back behind him.

Rumlow scoffed. "Get him ready."

She shook her head. "Give him a few minutes."

"Get him ready. Now. Or I will go across the hall, pull out the little brat, and break her fingers while you watch."

She bared her teeth at him. "Fine."

Pulling her father to face her, she knelt on the bed, bring his head down to hers. Brooklyn wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding him tight. Pressing their cheeks together, her lips near his ear, she whispered "You know how much I love you, right?"

She felt his nod, his own arms holding her close.

"I'll never leave you. Remember that."

Brooklyn took a deep breath, and said the dreaded words, slipping into Russian. "Longing, rusted, seventeen," Papa moaned low. "Daybreak, furnace, nine, benign," He began to shake. "Homecoming, one, freight car."

Her father jerked in her arms, then straightened, pulling away from her completely. His eyes were void of all emotion, face blank. In Russian, he responded, "Ready to comply."

Rumlow laughed. "His beloved daughter. He would kill for you, protect you from anything. And you betray him with every breath you take."

She snarled at him. "Don't make me give an order you won't be able to stop."
sneering, he pointed at her. "You know as well as I, if you do that, every one of your lives, that brat included, is forfeit. Finish the job."

Brooklyn swallowed, then faced her father. "You will go with these men and do as they say. Once the mission they give you is complete, you will return here. Is that understood, Soldier?"

"It is understood." He responded, his voice monotone.

Rumlow jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Back in your cell, Queen. I can take it from here."

She nodded, and before she followed his order, grabbed her father by the shoulders, and kissed his cheek. "Take care, Papa."

Snickering, Rumlow reached out to touch her cheek. "Pretty girls, who control weapons. That's really hot, you know?"
She slapped his hand away. "Careful, Rumlow. You touch things that don't belong to you, you could end up losing your hands, or worse."

Brooklyn brushed past him, and into her own cell.

Juliana was laying on the bed, asleep. Her little chest rose and fell beneath the blanket, and as Brooklyn watched her, the weight of her betrayal began to crush her.

Crawling in next to her sister, she wrapped her arms around the child, and let the tears leave her.

**********************************************************

Brooklyn only slept a few hours, before being awoken by soft fingers running over her facial features. She opened her eyes, and smiled at Juliana, who was staring at her quite intensely.

"Good morning, Little One." Juliana giggled in response, pulling the blanket up to hide her head. "Oh, is this a new game? I wonder where Juliana has gotten to. I can't find her anywhere!"

She gently batted at the blanket, avoiding Juliana's body, pretending to search for her. "Oh no! the blanket has swallowed Juliana up! I can't find her!" She grabbed the small hill made in the blanket and began to tickle it. "Finally! I think I found her!"

Juliana's giggle rose in pitch. Brooklyn pulled the blanket down and smiled into her sister's bright face. "There you are!"

"Lyn!" Juliana reached with both hands and patted Brooklyn's cheeks.

"That's right, my sweet girl. Lyn." Brooklyn stroked Juliana's nose with a fingertip. She leaned down, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. "Your Lyn."

The little girl giggled again. "Where Papa?"

Brooklyn froze, her eyes fixed on Juliana's. "Papa is out working, Little One."

"He come back?"

Pulling in the little girl to hug her, Brooklyn sighed. "Always, sweetie. Papa always comes back."

They lay in the bed, holding each other. Brooklyn closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. There was something so comforting about it. She hummed, stroking her hand over her sister's head. For all her reassurances to her sister, she was well aware that there may come a time when their father might not return.

If that were to happen, how would things work out? Most definitely she would be pressed to take his place, to do the missions that were in the future, to become the new assassin of HYDRA. At least until they determined she was needed as a broodmare for the next generation of Winter Soldiers. Juliana would no doubt be taken from her, used as an incentive to encourage her good behavior and performance, much like she had been their father's. Would they program her, as well? Take away her free will with a few words, like they had her father?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Marcus coming in the door with the food cart. Brooklyn smiled at him over her shoulder, before sitting up, and urging Juliana to do the same.

"Mawcus!" Juliana climbed off the bed and trotted over to him.

"Good morning, Little Miss!" He bent down and patted her on the head.

Brooklyn rubbed her face with her hands, then got up off the bed. "Were you guys alright, after I left, last night?"

Marcus smiled. "Oh, yes, after the first few minutes. Poor Juliana was very concerned, with how you left. But she soon calmed down when I promised to play with her blocks. She is very particular about how her blocks are stacked, have you noticed?"

"Oh, yes, very particular." Brooklyn walked over to the food cart. "And after the blocks?"

"a chapter or two of reading, and she went right off to sleep. That was when I left her." Marcus led Juliana over to the small table. "Alright, Little Miss. Breakfast."

"Bweakfast." Juliana copied. "Time to eat Bweakfast."

"Very good, Juliana." Brooklyn praised, placing one of the trays in front of her. "That was actually a full sentence."

Juliana beamed up at her, already using her spoon on her scrambled eggs.

Brooklyn leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Eat up. Everything on the tray, Little One."

The little girl nodded, shoveling eggs in her mouth.

Marcus handed her one of the trays, and waited for her to sit on the bed, before joining her. He poked at the food on the tray with his spoon, glanced at Juliana, who was in her own little world, before asking softly, "How bad is it?"

"Bad. He failed to kill Captain America." She moved the food around on her tray. She had no appetite. "Worse, he had a flash of memory. So, they shocked him, and I had to reactivate him."

He looked down at his tray. "What do they need him for?"

"They are launching some sort of program today. They need him there to protect it, make sure it goes off as planned." Appetite or no, she started to eat her meal.

"Program? What sort of program?" Marcus stared at her. "Did they say?"

"Something about everything being on a tipping point. The program is supposed to help HYDRA give the world the freedom it deserves. Or something like that." The food was like dust in her mouth. She curled up her lip in disgust but powered through it.

Marcus went still. "Program? Like a computer program?"

She shrugged. "I guess? I haven't heard about it before, but it's possible."

He set his tray aside. "Brooklyn, if it's a computer program, I could find out, maybe interfere."

She gaped at him. "Are you insane? If they find out, they will kill you on the spot!"

"If we let HYDRA succeed, then we are as good as dead already. And who knows how many others will be as well." He grabbed her shoulder. "I can get one of the tablets, see if I can find a back door, and maybe find out what they are doing."

"They won't let you get your hands on one. If you were caught by them for doing your computer stuff, then they sure as hell won't let you near anything computer."

"You don't understand. There is practically no one here. Most of the agents are gone. The ones that are still here, are guarding the entrances." He stood up. "I can grab one, maybe even a weapon, and bring them back. If we can interfere with their plans, we may be able to escape!"

He was out the door before she could stop him. Brooklyn turned to look at her sister, who was still happily eating. "Oh, my god."

Marcus was going to get himself killed. And she was going to be punished for it.

She forced the rest of the food down, before picking up hers and Marcus's tray, to replace them back on the cart. Kneeling down next to where Juliana was eating, she brushed a stray hair out of her sister's face. "Oh, Little One. We got an insane person as a handler."

The little girl smiled up at her and pointed at her tray. "I eat all."

"that's right, Little One. Eat it all." Stroking a hand over her sister's head, she turned and began to pace around the cell, cracking her knuckles against her jaw.

It took five passes of the cell, her steps slow and steady, before Marcus came back. He had a bag over one shoulder, and a tablet in the other. "There is no one in the camera room. They aren't even watching!" He sounded giddy. "I was able to get some food, and a gun with some extra ammo."
"this is crazy, Marcus!" She crossed her arms across her chest. "I won't help you get us both killed!"

"They will only kill us if we fail. Now sit down, you are gonna make me dizzy."

She dropped, cross legged, where she stood. Juliana, seeing her sister on the ground, jumped up, and knelt next to her, pulling on the arm that had her hand pressing her knuckles to her jaw. "Play!"

"a Full sentence, Juliana."

"Play with me!" Juliana beamed. She jumped up, ran to where her blocks were, and brought them back to her sister, letting them fall to the ground in front of the woman.

Marcus was humming and talking to himself, as he tapped away at the tablet, his face sometimes scrunching in frustration, sometimes grinning like a fool. Brooklyn absently stacked the bricks with her sister, rolling her eyes when the little girl corrected her, showing her how she wanted it done.

Just when she was about to stand up, grab the tablet from Marcus and throw it across the room, he gave an exclamation of shock, and stood up.

"Oh my god!" he looked at Brooklyn. "They intend to kill millions of people!"

"What? How?" She stood up as well.

"Project Insight. They are going to launch three Heli carriers, and when they get to altitude, they will target undesirables, and kill them." His face was pale. "This is monstrous."

"Okay, okay." Brooklyn breathed. On one hand, the idea of what was about to happen, was monstrous. For all the murders she had partaken in, the ones forced on her and her father, the idea that they would be party to the murder of millions made her stomach sink, and her chest feel like it would cave in. On the other hand, her only concern, selfish as it may be, were her family, twisted as it stood.

Hauling breath into her lungs, she steeled her back. "Marcus, can you stop them?"

"Queenie, I honestly don't know."

"We have to try." Brooklyn smiled grimly. "All or nothing."

So, while Marcus went back to trying to circumvent the Project, Brooklyn prepared to hunker down, and protect them, if need be. She went through the bag he had brought, snorting at the bags of chips, cans of fruit, and packaged sandwiches. At the bottom of the bag was the gun he had brought, as well as the ammo clips.

He couldn't have grabbed a knife, she wondered, as she checked the gun over. The noise of the gun would bring more people, if they were put upon. But with a knife she could move silently and deadly. She was a master with a blade.

Putting the issue aside, she made to move the bed from the wall. After kicking Marcus out of his seat, she threw the mattress down on the ground, then grabbed the frame.

"It's bolted to the wall." Marcus pointed out, still tapping at the tablet.

"Just focus on what you are doing. Leave this to me." She snapped.

Shaking her head, she tightened her grip on the frame and began to pull. With a screeching sound, the bed frame popped off the wall, and clattered a few feet. Tilting it onto its side, she maneuvered it so that it protected the corner, leaving just enough room for the mattress, which she threw behind it. Going to pick up Juliana, she turned, and met Marcus's shocked face.

"What? I told you I was the daughter of the Winter Soldier." She lifted Juliana over the bed, making sure she was firmly on the mattress before going to pick up her blocks. "The whole super soldier thing, remember? Get over and keep down. If they find out you're trying to stop them, and they come, you might have a bit of protection."

He nodded, and climbed over the bed, sitting down, with Juliana playing next to him.

Now it was a waiting game. Waiting to see if Marcus was discovered, or if they would come for them.
Holding the gun, ready to snap it up and fire at a blink's notice, she flinched when Marcus cried out, "Someone is trying to interfere with the Program! As well as decrypting all the files, both SHIELD and HYDRA!"

"Can you help them?" She turned her head to talk to him but didn't shift her position.

"I don't think they need my help with the decryption of the files, but It looks like they may be getting ready to dump them. The project is fighting the interference though."
She had a sudden thought. "Can you find the files on the four of us? Grab them, before they are dumped?"

"Already on it. Some of the files, your fathers specifically will take time to download completely." He was all but abusing the tablet with as hard as he was tapping it. "They are minutes away from deploying the algorithm."

"Can you do anything to slow them down? Buy who ever is trying to stop them more time?" Everything in her felt tense, about to break.

"I'm trying! But as soon as I try to move, the program changes!" Marcus was sweating. "They finished decrypting the files and have dumped them."
"Our files?" She queried.

"I only successfully got yours and Juliana's. Your father's and mine are incomplete."

She snarled. Dammit.

"Brooklyn, they are choosing targets. If who ever is trying to stop this is gonna succeed, they have to do something soon."

"Marcus, if they don't succeed, I want you to give me the access key to this room and stay here until I come back. Do not leave, do not go anywhere. If I don't return in an hour after that, grab Juliana and run." She tightened her grip on the gun in her hand.

"What? Why?" He looked at her back.

"I'm going to go out there and clear this facility." She bared her teeth. "I'm going to kill every bastard in this place. And when I do that, we will run."

"Just...just wait." Marcus cautioned.

"I have waited. I've waited over sixty years." Brooklyn swallowed. "There may never be another chance like this again."

"SHIT!" Marcus screamed, making both Brooklyn and Juliana startle, the latter whimpering. "They did it! They locked out the algorithm! They killed the program!"

Brooklyn felt like she was suffocating. "What does that mean?"

"It means they stopped them! They might have just killed HYDRA!"

She let all the air leave her body, and rolling her head back on her neck, dropped to the ground. "Oh, God."

"Brooklyn, this means we might just be free, we won't have to just run!" Marcus began tapping at the tablet.

**************************************************************

In the aftermath of the events, Marcus continued to tap away at the tablet in his lap. When she questioned him about it, he smiled and said something about ensuring their severance pay.

Brooklyn rolled her eyes at that, not understanding what he was talking about. But finally, she when she had felt enough time had passed (i.e., no one had burst in the room to attack them), she demanded the access card to the door.

"What are you going to do?" Marcus asked, handing over the white plastic card.

"I'm going to get supplies. We probably shouldn't stay here for very much longer. We are going to need clothes, shoes, things to help us get away. I'm also going to try to find the garage, see if there are any vehicles we can use." She looked at her sister, who was dozing on the mattress. "Keep an eye out."

"Will do." Marcus replied absently.

She nodded sharply, took a deep breath, and, for lack of a better metaphor, jumped into the unknown. Sixty plus years of training, gone against. Sixty years of captivity of training, of abuse, of betrayal, and freedom was on the other side of that door. Reaching out with the access card, she waved it in front of the reader, and when the locks clicked open, grabbed the door.

Opening it, she stepped into the hall, gun in hand. Looking up one way then the other. Listened. But there was no sound, save the sound of her own breathing. Brooklyn turned her head, in the way she had been dragged yesterday, towards the vault area, where her father's torture device had been set up. She was half tempted to take the time, go that direction, and tear the machine apart until it was nothing but scrap. But she was sure there wasn't enough time.

She turned down the other direction, deeper into the facility. Eyes darting, she waited for someone, anyone, to try to stop her.

She soon made it to the armory. Using the access card, she opened the door, and in a fit of pique, left it propped open. Quickly scouring the room, she found clothing, shoes, weapons, and bags to carry it all. She went through the wallets left behind, shoving the money she found into a smaller bag. But the reality of the moment hit, when opening one locker, she came across her own tactical gear.

Brooklyn felt her mouth go dry, as she picked up her face mask. Molded to fit her face, it didn't do anything really. It wasn't armor, it wasn't a breathing mask, it was just a symbol. A muzzle. The same one her father wore on assignment.

A soft scrape in the hall had her raising her gun, pointed at the door, before her head even turned.

"Gonna shoot me, Baby Girl?" Her fathers voice, hoarser then normal, called out, before he stepped into the door.

She dropped her stance and sprinted to him. "Papa! You came back!"

He grabbed her, holding her tight, as he buried his face in her shoulder. "I will always come back to you, Brooklyn. I'll never leave you behind."

She pulled away enough to see his face. "You, okay?"

Papa nodded. "I was in one of the Heli carriers when they went down. But I'm okay."
"did you complete your mission?" She pushed the hair out of his face, looking at the wounds.

"No." He shook his head. "I didn't. I couldn't. I knew him, Brooklyn. He was my friend."

"Who, Papa?"

"Steve Rogers."