It was a calculated risk.

A loaded gun weighed more than an empty one. Everyone knew that. And Hydra trained you to know how many rounds were left in a weapon from the weight alone. And this one was lighter than it should be.

And this scientist, this doctor, was one of Strucker's favorites. It was evident in the way he spoke to her. He respected her. Would he really put her at risk? You doubted it. And if you disobeyed, if you fired at him with an empty weapon, you were done. Finished. Dead. And no one would be left to save your Bucky. Not that you'd even get the chance to pull the trigger. He clearly had the remote to your chip in his pocket, his hand wrapped tightly around it. He'd used it on you too many times for you not to recognize it by now.

But still, your hesitation had been you calculating the weight of the gun. Of running the probabilities through your head. The weapon you aimed at the doctor was empty. You'd bet your life on it.

And you would have lost.

The bullet pierced the woman's skull and her years of ivy league education sprayed across the equipment behind her. Her body crumpled to the floor leaving behind another motherless child in the world. Even as shock slammed through you, you forced your face to remain blank and your hand steady. Fuck, fuck, fuck. They'd done it. He'd done it. Turned you into what he wanted you to be. A cold-blooded killer. Asshole.

Strucker pulled the gun from your grasp and your gaze finally shifted to him. He studied you for a moment with a pleased gleam in his eye. Finally, he looked at the corpse at his feet. "If I thought for a moment you'd actually do it, I would have chosen a different sacrifice. Dr. Gannon had an incredibly creative mind. In fact, it was she that came up with your current experimental regimen."

Well, fuck her then. You clenched your teeth and closed your eyes as the thought passed through your brain. That wasn't who you were. That was Hydra filling you with vitriol.

He shrugged and turned back to you. "Pierce will be unhappy but bringing you back under our control will outweigh the loss of the doctor." He leaned forward until his mouth was but a breath from your ear. You fought the urge to flinch away. He lowered his voice so his words wouldn't be picked up by the cameras in the room. "And where Nicto goes, Soldat will follow. And you will know that you brought him to us."

It took everything in you not to react. Not to attack as he most likely expected you to do. He straightened and looked you over once more. Your gaze remained focused on the mess you'd made of another human being rather than the devil that made you do it.

"Prepare yourself, Nicto. This is only the beginning."

***

Once again the Avengers found themselves in a meeting room talking about you. This time they were joined by your father and your best friend.

"Antonin Sergei," Tony said as a photo of a sharply dressed old man appeared on the screen behind him. "Drugs, guns, you name it, he sold it. Single bullet to the brain. Witnesses put our girl on scene."

Bucky clenched his teeth together and tapped his thumb on the table. His skin itched, felt too tight. They'd had meeting after meeting about where you might possibly be and were no closer than they were when they raided the wrong base all those weeks ago. Where were you? Why couldn't he find you?

"Why would Hydra want this guy dead? Seems like someone right up their alley," Bruce asked.

Clint shrugged. "Competition, maybe?" His gaze shifted over to Wade. "Didn't you say something about them hiring her out?"

"Rumor had it she was available. Haven't heard about anyone actually taking them up on it though. Could have just been talk. Hydra getting the word out she was back."

"This is the third time in as many weeks she's been sighted at a crime scene. It may be time to consider the possibility they've turned her," Steve suggested, his voice soft but firm. Bucky barely resisted the urge to punch him.

"Impossible," Phil said as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Look, I get that you don't want to believe it but this is what Hydra does. They can turn even the strongest willed amongst us. I mean look at Bucky." Sam gestured with his hands to emphasize his point.

Bucky shook his head and cleared his throat. "You don't understand. It's not denial, it's a fact." He raked a hand through his hair. "She has some sort of gift, ability. She inherited it from her mother. They can't fuck with her brain like they did mine. Even when she was a kid they couldn't make her into what they wanted."

"So maybe she flipped sides of her own free will," Tony said with a shrug. "I like the girl but if she's been out in the field, surely she had a chance to escape and didn't. Maybe they made her an offer and she took it."

In a flash, Wade was out of his chair with a katana pointed at Stark's neck. Bucky blinked in surprise. What the fuck?

"Take it back," the merc ordered.

Everyone remained quiet and still, not wanting to irritate Wade any further.

His gaze narrowed when Tony just stared with wide eyes, his hands lifted in a gesture of surrender. "I said take it back," Wade ordered again and pressed the blade closer to the billionaire's throat, nicking the delicate skin. A thin line of blood ran down the length of his neck.

Bucky stood and clamped his hand on Wade's shoulder before pulling him back to put space between the weapon and Stark's neck. "Easy, Wilson. Tony didn't mean anything by it. He's just spouting shit as usual."

Tony frowned. "Hey."

Clint shook his head. "Not the time, Stark. Let it go. You knew you were going to piss people off and said it anyway."

Wade grumbled but sat back down. "Only because it's you asking, buttercup."

Bucky rolled his eyes. "Where the hell did you have that thing hidden anyway?" He'd been sitting beside the merc for over an hour and hadn't even spotted it.

Wade grimaced. "You don't want to know."

"What is it, Nat?" Clint asked, interrupting the chatter going on around the room and thankfully taking Bucky's mind off Wade's hiding place.

Natasha hadn't uttered a word through the whole meeting. She'd simply sat observing everyone else and taking in the reports. Now, she wore a smile that Bucky had rarely seen.

"Spit it out, Romanoff," your father ordered when the assassin took a beat too long.

Her gaze flicked from him to Stark. "You said she was seen three times?"

Tony frowned as he held a handkerchief to his neck. He nodded and pressed a couple of buttons on the keyboard in front of him. The three scenes replaced the old man's face on the screen.

Nat's smile widened as she looked between Clint, Coulson, Wade and Bucky. "She was seen."

It took Bucky a moment longer than it should have to understand what she was telling them. You had too much training and were far too good at what you did to be seen if you didn't want to be. The others figured it out at almost the same time.

It was your father that spoke for all of them. "She wanted us to know she was there. She must have left a message or something. We need to see those photos, Stark. All of them from all three scenes. There must be something there."

Stark nodded, forgetting about his neck as he got caught up in the new mission. He swept a hand from his screen out toward the room and everyone's tablets dinged as they received the information. "Jarvis, do some analysis. See if you can find any sort of message from Coulson Junior."

"Of course, sir."

The room was silent as they poured over images searching for anything out of place. Anything that might lead them to you.

Nearly an hour passed before the AI spoke again. "Analysis of the areas surrounding the three scenes in question has led me to discover the following."

Three images of poorly done graffiti flashed on the screen. "It was far enough away to not be tied to the crime scenes but close enough she could have easily accomplished it while on her assignment," Jarvis explained.

"It just looks like a mess to me," Sam admitted. "What am I missing?"

Red outlines appeared around the letters hiding in the graffiti before spelling them out below. Belarus. Bucky was on his feet as hope surged through him. Its not like he could go after you right at that moment, but he couldn't stay seated. Not when they had their first real lead to your location in weeks.

"What do we know about Hydra activity in Belarus?" Steve asked.

"I have already analyzed that as well, Captain. I believe Miss Coulson to be at the facility located here," Bucky's favorite AI stated before showing a map with a mark near the northern border of the country.

Bucky's gaze found your father only to find the man already looking back at him. "I can have the bus ready to go in thirty."

Bucky grinned. "I'll be ready in fifteen."