1989 - New York Suburbs

"Y/n! I'm gonna smash that goddamn Walkman of yours into pieces if you don't get down here now!"

Y/n's head jolted up from the sudden shout, causing her headphones to get caught and abruptly unplug themselves, cutting off her music.

"Damn." She muttered as she scrambled off her bed and jogged down to the kitchen.

She cleared her throat when her mother didn't acknowledge her presence. She continued to violently scrub the dishes, causing Y/n to think that she would end up wearing out the porcelain. When she was finally done, she shut off the water and turned on her heel to face the trembling girl behind her.

"I called you a while ago." She scolded.

"I tried to get your attention." Y/n winced once the words had left her mouth. Her mother glared at her, sucking her teeth before throwing a rag at her. "Just wipe the dining table already."

Y/n looked to the wooden table coated in crumbs and stains. Her mother noticed her confused staring and scoffed. "I wasn't gonna sit and wait around for you, go up to the 7-11 and grab a candy bar or something." With that, Y/n kept her mouth shut and pushed her anger down inside of her.

After wiping away the grime from the table and the counters, she tossed the rag into the laundry basket and stormed out of the house. She knew that her neighborhood was dangerous, she knew that she could get taken away by anyone. For Y/n, that wouldn't be the worst case. She was eighteen after all, she had dealt with neglect for long enough to understand what could happen to her.

She dragged her feet down the pavement, frustration building up inside of her. If her father was still alive, maybe life wouldn't be so bad. He was the one who adopted her after all, but it wasn't until after Y/n watched her father lay on the concrete, crimson blood slowly staining the street from the deep hole that pierced through his chest. It was after that when her mother began to resent her so much. It was as if Y/n's chipper personality had reminded her so much of her husband. Or that she blamed Y/n for not protecting him, given that she was the only one with him. There she was at fourteen, watching the only person who truly loved her, bleed to death in her arms.

She shook the unpleasant memory from her thoughts when she reached the corner store.

"Sup Y/n? What're you doin' here so late?" The man at the register beamed.

"Hey Georgie. Just grabbing dinner." She smirked sarcastically. "It's what I get for listening to Michael Jackson at full volume."

The fifty-something year old man leaned across the counter, concern forming deep in his eyes. "Y/n, that ain't right for them to treat ya like that. You got anybody else you could move in with?"

She offered a small smile and shook her head. "Afraid not. Once I'm twenty-one I can finally move out and maybe go to college or something. I just have to be patient I guess."

He frowned and turned to grab something. "Here, it's fresh from today." He handed her a slice of cheese pizza from the glass case behind him. Her eyes widened as her stomach rumbled at the sight of the hot food in front of her. "At least let me pay you." She protested. He smiled heartedly. "You don't need to do that Y/n. Just take it."

She dug into her pocket and pulled out a dollar and five cents. "It's not my money anyways." They both shared a laugh before Y/n waved and left the store.

Instead of going home, she headed over to the alley behind the 7-11 and sat cross-legged onto the pavement. She sighed as she bit into her food, not realizing until then just how hungry she really was. She could hear the commotion of a group of teenagers laughing and drinking, and a couple arguing from one of the apartments above her. All familiar noises that she'd grown up with in this neighborhood.

After taking the last bite, she brushed her hands off and stood up, groaning from how sore her legs had become from sitting down.
The evening sky had casted an orange glow into the sky. Kids were being pulled inside by their parents for dinner, or because of how late it was getting.

"Wait a second." She stopped in front of the store and scanned the parking lot. Georgie's Honda Civic was still parked in the same spot, when it should be long gone by now, along with Georgie. Something wasn't right. His shift ended fifteen minutes ago, and he's never one to stay behind. She decided to pick up the pace, her walk turning into a jog. An odd feeling had stiffened inside her. She turned to look back at the store, debating whether she should go and check on him, but she knew that her mother would have a fit if she didn't come home soon.

Her strides were lengthening as she drew nearer and nearer to her bungalow down the street. Outside of the house, there was a jet black van that blocked the driveway. She peered into the tinted windows and frowned. They were too dark to allow anyone to see past them and have a look at what was inside. That wasn't the case for the front seat however. The people this van belonged to were smart. Not a single item could be seen in the front. No car fresheners, no cassettes, nothing.

She turned to her house and swallowed the lump in her throat. It's possible it could just be one of her step-father's lunatic friends again. She slowly opened the door, expecting an angry mother to grab her by the hair and pull her inside. Instead, she was greeting with something far worse. Silence. Dead silence. She walked past the kitchen and headed for the hallway to her bedroom, when someone stopped her. She looked down at her left hand, to see a black glove holding onto her wrist tightly. She whipped her head up to see a dark figure looking down at her.

"Living room. Now." He spoke lowly.

She reluctantly followed him into the living room, fighting the urge to sprint in the other direction. She knew that would do no good for her, they would catch her anyways, whoever they were.

Her eyes grew big in concern when she saw her mother and step-father sitting side by side on the couch. Her mother started blankly at the ground. Y/n knew this to be her mother's defense mechanism to hide her true feelings from showing. Three other men were present in the room. Two were on each side of the couch, while the third stood in front of her mother and step-dad, his back turned from
Y/n.

Once her step-father noticed her standing at the doorway, he shot up from the couch and grinned.

"Here.. this is her. Y/n, my step-daughter." He chuckled in an almost maniacal way.

The man turned and smiled devilishly at her. He wore a pair of round, coke bottle glasses, and had grey hair with a clean cut. He was the only stranger there that wore a fancy suit, unlike the others who were dressed head to toe in padded armor.

"Miss Y/l/n, a pleasure to meet you." He spoke in a thick, Russian accent. He held out his hand to shake hers. She drew her hand back slightly, to which he chuckled.

"She's bold. I like her." He turned to her step-father.

"Alright... then you'll take the girl and leave us alone like we promised? Right?" Her step-father pushed Y/n closer to the man. She slapped his hand off her in disgust and stepped back. "What the hell are you talking about?! I'm not going anywhere with him." Her gaze went over to her mother, who was still lowering her head to avoid eye contact.

Y/n marched over to her mother and grabbed her by the shoulders. "What are doing just starting at the floor? I'm your daughter for god's sake. Are you really gonna let that pig sell me?!" Her mother whipped her head up to her once the words had escaped her mouth, and grabbed her face. "You have no right to disrespect him like that. You're lucky enough to have a goddamn roof over your head." She growled. Y/n fought back tears as her mother glared down at her in disgust.

"Lucky? You think I'm lucky?" She said, her voice straining. "Maybe I would have been if Dad never married a rat like you." Her mother shoved her face into the patchy carpet. She huffed and stomped over to her husband, who was busy sucking up to the unwanted guest.

"All three of you... calm yourselves." The man in the suit put a hand up. "Y/n, I'm sure you would much rather come along with us than live in this disgusting swamp."

Y/n widened her eyes in disbelief. "Why should I trust you? I don't even know who the hell you are!"

The man gave her a low chuckle and snapped his fingers at one of the guards. He turned to Y/n and grinned. "Maybe he can change your mind."

From down the hall, Y/n could hear a series of pained grunts inching closer to her. Another guard appeared from the dark and threw a limp body right in front of her. Y/n let out a panicked gasp once she recognized who the body belonged to.

"Georgie! Georgie oh my god..." She shook him by the shoulders gently. His bruised arms and face told her everything she needed to know about these men and what they did. She shivered at the fact that they'd known where she goes every week and who she talked to.

"Why... why'd you do it." She didn't take her eyes off of her dear friend.

"If you care so much about him, then you'll do as your told and come along." The man stood above her expressionlessly.

She watched as Georgie's eyes fluttered open. He blinked until his vision came into focus.
"Y/n?" He scanned the room. His eyes darkened when he stopped at the Russian man. "You..." He started.

Y/n scrambled to her feet and shielded him. "No, don't hurt him anymore. I'll do whatever."

The man nodded his head, pleased with her surrender. "It's quite peculiar you see," he turned to her mother, "she has more respect for the man who works at the corner store than her own mother..." Her mother scoffed at him in return.

Y/n clenched her jaw. She turned to the man. "How long have you been following me."

"As long as we needed to. Your step-father made a bit of a miscalculation in our deal, and because of that, I required, sort of a 'Sorry gift' from him."

Y/n chuckled lowly. "It's funny you say that. I don't remember ever being considered a gift in this household." She shot an angry glare at her mother and step-father before turning her attention back to Georgie.

"I'll get you out of this mess, I'm sorry." She said softly.

"It's not your fault kid." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I can handle these bastards, just get out of here."

"You're in no shape to take any more beatings Georgie! It's my fault you're here, and I'm not gonna lose someone close to me again, not if I can prevent it."

He gave her a sorrowful look and opened his mouth to speak, before the Russian man cut him off. "It's been great fun to meet you all, but we really must be going now. Come along Y/n."

She stood up and looked back at her step-father. "So this is it? You're finally getting rid of me and getting to live with my mother alone, like you've always wanted?" He scowled and pointed his finger at her. "Don't talk to me like that you brat. You're lucky we let you stay here. Maybe they can teach you some manners while you're there."

The shock of leaving forever seemed to have finally snapped, as she felt a wave a nausea hit her. She took a brief glance at the front door to see if she could make it, but then she looked back down at Georgie and realized if she were to run, he would have to pay the price.

She shook her head. "No.. no mom you can't let them take me like this. There's still so much I want to do with my life."

Her mother tried to remain calm and collected in the situation, but Y/n could hear her voice began to break. "Well there was so much I wanted to do with your father, but here we are."

"Wha-what... no!" Before she knew it, Y/n was being pulled by the arms by two of the men in armor to the front door."

"You're really just gonna take my whole life away from me? What about college? What about finding love?"

"Love? You'll never find love because no one would ever want you Y/n! No one." Her mother bursted into tears.

"Y/n! You don't have to do this. Just stay and let them take me!" Georgie pleaded.

Y/n turned and smiled softly. "Take care Georgie."

An overwhelming feeling of betrayal left Y/n in devastation. The man offered her a reassuring nod, which Y/n knew was fake. It slowly started to kick into her mind, that her own mother and her step-father had just sold her for his stupid business.

The man gestured her to sit in the back seat with the tinted windows. She hadn't realized it at first, but the trunk was quite large too. The men that guarded her living room all fit back there, completely hidden.

Once he had turned the corner of her block, his expression changed, and it only made Y/n feel even more nauseous.

She put on a brave face and sighed. "So where are we going."

The man didn't turn her way. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and turned to her attention to the window. They had passed the 7-11 and the cassette store, along with the roller skating rink she and her friend would go to after school.

The man noticed her gaze and pressed a button to his left. Immediately, the windows darkened, preventing her from seeing through them.

"Sir, where are we going." She repeated.

"That is confidential." He stated.

He pulled over into an alley. Y/n tried to unbuckle her seatbelt, which she discovered was locked. When she pressed it again, the seatbelt sharply tightened, strapping her to the seat.

In panic, she flicked her eyes to the man, who was fidgeting with something in his hands.

"You see Y/n, it's not about where we are going... it's where you are going."

He reached over the seat and muffled her face with a cloth doused in chloroform. Her eyelids grew heavy, and before she slipped out of consciousness, he whispered into her ear.

"Hail HYDRA."