Barnes held his best friend close as he walked towards the big building that he knew as Stark Tower. Stark was the only person he thought would be best to go to, as the assassin had no idea of the whereabouts of the other people he knew via Cap.

People stared at him because his bloody clothing and his almost slit throat made quite the appearance. They froze, not able to make a move, afraid that Barnes would hurt them. He knew his history, he knew it was all about hurting or killing people, and he was sick of it.

'Stark!' he screamed, his voice echoing through the building. His feet continued walking, knowing were the hero must be. He screamed again, searched for a brown haired man. He knew it was late in early in the morning, but he figured Stark had nothing better to do than work.

So when his third scream filled the room, the genius came running towards the soldier, understanding how urgent this situation must be. When he saw how badly hurt Rogers was, he ran even faster, until the two fighters stood in front of each other.

'Follow me,' the billionaire said, before showing the assassin the way. Yet Barnes didn't follow the man that seemed so genuinely concerned about Rogers. Instead his voice echoed through the hallway, making the philanthropist turn around.

'I can't come with you, take him and promise me he'll be fine under your guard,' he said before trying to hand over his best friend to Stark, which outstretched his arms, thereby making it easier for the blond hero to be carried.

'Why did you bring him to me? Plus where are you going?' the man that made iron suits when bored asked, staring into the blue eyes of the assassin. The soldier answered, honestly, as he wanted Stark to tell his best friend the truth once the captain of America woke up.

'I'm going to Russia,' Barnes said, before nodding his head towards Rogers 'he'll understand why. And I brought him here because Steve trusts you, which means I trust you too.'

'But that doesn't mean that I do, on both of those answers actually!' Stark tried to respond, yet the veteran had already walked away, making his way out of the tower filled with people, as he hated being near them, afraid he might snap and jealous of the simple fact they remembered, and they remembered everything.

Stark was left behind in the dark again, still not sure if he would help the killer of his mom. Yet that killer was a friend of Rogers, and although Stark hated the assassin, he didn't want Cap to die. So as his eyes watched the soldier until the man passed the corner, the billionaire walked away with the all suited up Captain.

'I'm going to regret this, am I not?' he asked to the unconsciousness man he held in his hands, understanding he would not get any answers from him, but hoping for any movement suggesting the fighter had heard his words. 'I think I am,' was the last sentence passing through the hallway, before the building belonging to Stark became empty.

-

Barnes found himself in a helicopter, quickly after his talk with Stark, the son of the people that he had killed. He felt genuinely bad for what he had done, and though everyone told him it wasn't really him, but HYDRA, it didn't make the pain go away. He did those assassinations, not HYDRA, he killed for them, and even when it wasn't his call to make, it was still his own body causing the death of so many fine men.

His thoughts drifted off, until Barnes got reminded of an ever deeper secret he didn't knew he had. The woman from earlier, he didn't remember her, though she clearly remembered him. He saw the way of her fighting flash before his eyes, yet it didn't give a single hint for him to who she might be.

He hated this, not being able to remember what happened. Every person he saw could be his friend, though he never knew if they were or not, as HYDRA had wiped his memories, put his brain in a blender until nothing was left.

What was the worst of it all was when you got recognized, now that didn't quite happen as often to Barnes as it do to other people, yet often enough to cause him distress. And then the mask he had worn for decades was finally coming off. Yet nobody seemed to like the face underneath it, except Rogers.

He didn't wear his mask anymore, as he had just been frozen out of the ice that had clenched his body for months. It was Rogers who put him there, and Rogers who got him out again.

After hours of thoughts and memories that fought harshly, hoping to come through the wall Barnes had made around his brains, he found himself on the roof of the very same building he had infiltrated not too long ago. Just as he looked to his left, he found himself without his best friend.

He felt something else than only emptiness. He felt hatred against HYDRA while he stood on its building, and when he jumped down once more, ordering his feet to collide with the floor beneath him, he held his breath. Not because he didn't want to be seen, he could take every soldier, as he now knew they were able to sneak up on him. He held his breathe, because he remembered his best friend telling him not to lose control.

He heard the voice of his 90 years old friend, echoing in his mind. The hero asked the assassin to not give in to the rage and agony burning underneath that scarred skin. And so, the sergeant took the captain's order, pushing the feeling of anger back inside, to the black blur that once held so many memories.

Screams filled the building, the yelling of a woman made the assassin turn around. He recognized that scream, though he didn't know why. And as he started running towards the sound of torture, his mind could only think about who was screaming so loudly.

That's when he knew it was her, the moment she came walking out of that room, her eyes dull, and her face without any emotions. Her long hair curled behind her back, yet she didn't seem to care. She was trying to walk, holding on to the wall every now and then. Her skin was pale, but she tried to seem strong, stretched her back and sighed.

She came closer and closer to Barnes, who had stepped inside the shadows to not frighten the soldier. And as the just wiped assassin noticed the killer's eyes watching her, he jumped out of the shadows and pushed her against the wall.

He knew she was weak now, as he had been through this himself. Though it wouldn't take long for the soldier to regain her strength, and as her feet tried to kick the American warhero, her body found no strength to defend herself with, and she gave up in front of his eyes.

Her defeated glare crossed his, and a flash of sadness shone through. Barnes pushed her harder against the wall, staring into her eyes that had once held so many meaning. She didn't even flinch when he clenched her throat and almost strangled her.

The most trained soldier of them both stared at his sergeant, hoping for the woman to take his unspoken order. He didn't know for sure if she was listening to him, yet he didn't care. He was going to get her out of this hellhole, not thinking about if she wanted that or not.

He let her go, wrapped his arm around her waist so she wouldn't fall and helped her get through the many hallways he ran down for her. She cringed and moaned as the side effects of the programming were worse than the ex HYDRA soldier remembered them being.

He felt for the woman, as he almost dragged her down the very last hallway. She closed her eyes for only a second, and before Barnes could stop himself, his grip around her waist tightened. He wouldn't let her go, not only because she held the keys to so many locked doors, yet he cared for her, somewhere, yet he didn't know the reason for that.