BAD BITCH
❝these were the women who knitted pain into glory❞

06. Assassination turned Freedom

May 2013

She had become a problem.
It had been widely agreed that the only person stopping Hydra from completing their seventy year long plan was her. No one dared to even attempt taking over the organisation whilst she was still alive because, after all, she was the one who founded it and she wouldn't let it be taken over by the very people she fought to eradicate from the earth. Yet, they'd done their waiting. They'd waited over seventy years for their chance to take over and she didn't seem to be too close to death. The woman was old, that was for certain, but she seemed in good health. She still contacted her organisation once a month to speak to the Director about his motives and ambitions. She still spoke to her family every week and even went for daily walks around the nursing estate - which could be over a three mile walk when walked fully - and hadn't fallen seriously ill since her eighty fifth birthday. She had recently just had her ninety second birthday.
Hydra had gotten bored with waiting. For all they knew, she could live well into her hundredth year and by then, the organisation would have probably found stronger leadership. By then, the organisation could become paranoid and remove everyone they didn't trust from its walls and then it was seventy years wasted. The time was perfect. They'd planned it all. Sure, Captain America being defrosted the year previous was a set back in their dates but they had found a way around it.
They had everything they needed but they needed Margaret Carter dead.

Svetlana wasn't impressed. Hydra had refused to send the Winter Solider back into field immediately after being frozen to face a forgotten ally. They had become paranoid as to where they could send him as the man became more and more irrational and despondent. The Solider wouldn't properly remember but he'd have memories flash back and then he'd go awol for weeks. They'd all agreed that sending him to assassinate his life long best friend's supposed lover would be too dangerous for them all. Especially as it was Peggy Carter. They all knew that the woman could easily talk anyone into joining her side, let alone a man she knew as a young woman, and that she was likely to recognise the man. So they sent Svetlana out.

Svetlana had been in the Moroccan capital: Rabat. It had been more of a holiday more than anything else. She had originally been sent there for a quick assassination of a future President of Government. It had been anything but hard. A simple bullet in the heads of him and his three children and Svetlana had a whole lot of time left before she was meant to leave for the U.S. Hydra hadn't gotten any pressing matters so they had left her to her own devices with the condition that she'd answer their calls and not block them like she'd done beforehand.
Yet, merely a day after she'd assassinated the man, she'd gotten a call and was forced to return to America.

Svetlana had heard of Peggy Carter. Even when she was a small girl, getting beaten and bruised to become the woman she was now, she'd heard the anticipation of the woman falling ill. Once she'd recovered and continued her life as usual, Svetlana had also heard the anger spewing from Madame B's mouth.
Being told she was going to assassinate the woman should have thrilled her. Yet she couldn't help but feel bitter. It wasn't as though she didn't want to kill the woman, it was just that she wasn't exactly excited like she usually was either. She couldn't explain it. She felt like, for once, she was doing something she probably shouldn't be doing. She'd heard that Steve Rogers was found alive, Peggy Carter's long lost love, and frankly, she felt as though she were wasting her time. The woman would die eventually and she would rather not get involved with S.H.I.E.L.D business.

Svetlana had also been contemplating her abusive relationship with Hydra. She was slowly getting more and more wound up with the organisation as a whole. After being sold to them, it had been a big change from the Red Room. She'd been trained completely with the Winter Solider, one on one, and the rules had been a lot more relaxed despite what she'd been led to believe. Yet she was still done. She had grown tired of working for people that would use her. She gained nothing from their alliance aside from power. Power which she could gain within a year of working by herself. She'd had thoughts of leaving. Some nights, usually after she got kicked about, she'd long to run away. She longed to slit all of their throats, bathe in the blood of them and their families, and leave but she knew that she could. The fact that she was aware that she could leave, only made her feel the need to stay. She enjoyed the same routine.

She'd been told to be casual. No body cons or sultry looks. Svetlana didn't know why they'd even contacted her if they didn't want her usual sexual driven power. But, contrary to what she believed they should have done, they had called her and requested she wore casual clothes and posed as the granddaughter of one of the elder residents.

So, clothed in an black, extra large, men's jumper and leggings, she felt extremely out of touch. She'd walked into the nursing home, the faint smell of a childhood memory that she couldn't place invading her nose, and immediately knew that she was already bored of the mission. She'd been gifted her own car, a 1990 Ford Fiesta, to portray herself as a realistic struggling student and had been forced to remove her face of any make up. It wasn't that make up made her confident, Svetlana knew she was beautiful with or without it, but she enjoyed looking fierce. Yet she continued with her mission flawlessly.
She'd gone to the front office, smiled wearily as though she hadn't gotten enough sleep the previous night, and had warmly said 'Sarah Wordsworth' as though she were her own flesh and blood. Acting had become so easy for Svetlana that she wasn't at all surprised when the woman let her in without hesitation. Svetlana found the game far too easy.
All she had to do was accidentally drop her pen whilst signing registration, watch as the woman let out a surprised inhale and go to pick it up, for her to be able to quickly take a look at the rooms on the computer screen and see a Ms. Carter. in room 93.

Walking down the hallway, feeling the gun carefully placed in her jumper's pocket rubbing against her hand with each step she took, Svetlana saw room 93 at the end of the hall. The gum in her mouth had lost its flavour long ago but, for the bonus of comfort, it seemed to focus her senses a lot more than when she didn't have it. So, as she reached the door and opened the door, she knew immediately that Peggy Carter wasn't going to attempt to move.
The woman was comfortably sat up in a chair in the corner by a bay window. She looked over almost instantly, newspaper in hands, and raised an eyebrow. It was a look that made Svetlana almost want to apologise and leave the room. Instead, however, she steeled her shoulders and shut the door behind her, carefully sliding the bolt lock. Svetlana felt slightly surprised at the presence of a lock on her door but then she supposed that the woman was Peggy Carter and she most likely earned her right to have privacy.
Smoothly gliding out the gun from her pocket, with professional accuracy, she immediately aims her gun at the old woman's head.

❝I suppose you're going to shoot me with that then?❞
The woman spoke with a clear English accent. She didn't seem scared. In fact, with a gun cleanly aimed at her temple, the woman seemed unimpressed out of everything. Svetlana just wore her poker face and cocked her gun. She wanted to splatter the woman's brains onto the walls and then leave to go sleep. She hadn't slept for three days, too busy with two assassinations in such a short time span, and it had only shorted her patience.
❝How old are you, girl?❞
She asks, eyes narrowing at Svetlana, with pursed lips. Svetlana only scowls in response and goes to pull the trigger. She breathes. She squeezes the trigger and feels the bullet explode and watched as gunpowder propel it forward.
No noise is made; silencer placed on the gun helped.
There was a silence and Svetlana feels a wave of guilt.

❝If that's you're aim, girl, then I highly recommend you change careers.❞
Peggy laughs to herself and lets out a exasperated breath before shaking the newspaper in her hands as to read it better. Svetlana was already regretting wasting the bullet. She'd been given more, obviously, but by the time she'd reloaded the gun; the elder woman would probably be critiquing her again.
Svetlana stood, awkward for the first time in her life, unaware on what to do. She'd never gone against her mission. She'd never wanted to. Perhaps she was going soft, perhaps she was just menstruating, but she couldn't turn back then. She knew she'd get a punishment when she returned to headquarters and it would probably be a large one as well.
❝I suppose you're with Hydra, then.❞
She spoke, eyes looking over her newspaper before licking thumb to turn the page, and waited for an answer. Svetlana didn't answer but she supposed that was answer enough for the woman as she rolled her eyes and exhaled loudly.
❝I didn't know they recruited women, these days, and so young as well.❞
She says drily and Svetlana only puts her gun back in her pocket in response and goes to leave.

❝Oh for god's sake, woman, sit down.❞
Peggy grinds out and Svetlana can only comply.
❝How old are you?❞
Svetlana didn't know. She knew that she was in her mid-twenties. She tried to do the maths in her head, a subject she can never really do when it isn't applied to ballistic ranges and mortality rates, but drew a blank. She knew she was a four years younger than Natalia. She remembers exchanging birth years, long before they both forgot them, but she could only remember calling Natalia older but worse than her.
❝Four years younger than the Black Widow.❞
Svetlana sounded like a child. A robotic child, sure, as she was devoid of emotion. She knew she sounded like she was twelve again but it was the only thing she knew for sure. It all of a sudden felt like it was the only thing she knew for sure. It was strange. It was then that she began to miss Natalia again. It had been six long years by herself.
❝Ah, so she speaks. Lets do the math, you are - 26. Not so young then I suppose.❞
❝I joined at birth.❞
Svetlana stated drily and Peggy purses her lips. She doesn't look at her with pity but more sadness. Svetlana just went and took the seat. She sat like a Solider, Peggy decided. She sat the way Steve had sat, and how Colonel Phillips had sat, but it looked rather odd coming from a young woman.
❝Why do you look so down? Did you want to kill me that badly?❞
The elder woman muses sarcastically, taking a sip of the tea in front of her, but the soft smile on her face felt like what a home should have.
❝My organisation did❞
❝And is your loyalty with your organisation?❞
She muses.

Svetlana didn't know where her loyalty lied. She supposed her only true loyalty was to herself and to Natalia. Then again, with Natalia gone, her loyalty could only ever be with herself.
❝I'm loyal to no one.❞
Peggy just smiles to herself again.
❝If you are not loyal to them then why stay? Are you scared to leave Hydra?❞
❝I'm not scared.❞
❝But you wish to leave them. You could have shot me but you didn't. You're not trapped with them if you're not brainwashed.❞
❝I'm too far gone. I can't leave now. They'll follow me.❞
Svetlana wasn't scared. She simply didn't know what to do. Throughout her life, she'd had Natalia to tell her what was wrong and right and what to do but Natalia left her, like everyone does eventually, and she was lost on her own emotions. She wanted to leave but she didn't know where to start.
❝You don't look the damsel in distress type.❞
❝I don't know how to leave.❞
Peggy Carter sighs as the woman stands and makes her way to the door just as robotically as she had entered.
❝I can get Natasha to help, if you want. I guess you two knew each other.❞
❝No.❞

Peggy Carter sighs again. She saw a desperate child in front of her. The girl was desperately pretending to be a woman but she just looked alone and lost. Peggy knew she couldn't let her run back into the hands of Hydra willingly.
❝If you ever need help. Woman to woman, I will help you. I will be here, I'm not going anywhere, and I have more than enough connections with good people. I can help you, I promise.❞

Peggy Carter 'passed' away the following year.
Captain America was heartbroken.
Peggy felt especially bad for not telling him but, after all, she had made a promise.