Month Seven (July)

I was on probation after my instructor was found dead. Everyone knew it was me, but no one mentioned it. I was assigned another trainer and continued with my training.

Halfway through my seventh month, I got a visit from someone. I was led into a room and told to wait. The room looked almost like an interrogation room. I sat in one of the four chairs and waited for whoever was here for me.

About thirty minutes later, the door opened and six guards walked into the room, followed by Secretary Pierce. I immediately stood from my seat at attention.

"Secretary Pierce." I greeted with a nod of my head. He removed his glasses and stuck them in the front of his shirt pocket.

"Sammee." He greeted. "I heard about your... little mishap last month. What happened there?" He asked curiously and stopped in front of me.

"I don't like being lied to, Sir." I told Pierce. "If I had known I was going up against Captain America and S.H.I.E.L.D. I would have-"

"You would have, what?" Secretary Pierce asked. "You would have been more prepared for the assignment?"

"Mentally, yes." I countered. "Steve Rogers isn't just 'some guy'."

"You're right." Pierce nodded. "He isn't, but we needed to make sure you wouldn't hesitate." He explained. I furrowed my brow.

"So, it was a test?" I asked a bit too forcefully.

"It was." Pierce confirmed. "And you passed." He gestured widely and smiled. After a few seconds he dropped his hands and moved closer to me. "You're getting your first assessment." He told me. "That's why I'm here. To congratulate you. You've graduated as of today."

"Assignment?" I asked. "What assignment?"

"Rogers, he's your first assignment." Pierce told me. My heart immediately dropped to my stomach as he continued. "He's been getting in our way as of late and we can't have that."

"I... I can't." I said and tried to control my facial expressions.

"And why's that? Do you have some sort of attachment to your old teammate? Hmm?" Pierce asked.

"No, that's not it." I swallowed my emotions quickly before answering. "It's not that I can't kill him, it's that I can't kill him yet." I quickly came up with an excuse. "He does something in the near future that inadvertently shapes HYDRA's future." I hoped that they bought it. I prayed that they didn't see through it.

Secretary Pierce tilted his head as he watched me. I could see him thinking over what I was saying.

"Near future?" He asked. I nodded quickly.

"We can go after him when Project Insight is a go. It'll be safe then." I told Pierce. "But I'll need the Winter Soldier for that. I can't do it alone."

"And why not? You seemed to be holding up fairly well against him before and that was without you using your power."

"He'll have friends." I explained. "I'll need the Winter Soldier, as well as backup."

Pierce was quiet for a moment before turning and looking back at the guards.

"Fine." He sighed and turned back to me. "We'll wait, but you're still getting an assignment." Pierce told me and took his glasses out of his pocket. "There's a Chinese diplomat by the name of Zhou Han. He'll be in Hawaii in two weeks. We need him eliminated, publicly." He said and cleaned off the lenses of his glasses.

I nodded even though I felt sick to my stomach.

"We're sending a message, so make it look good." Pierce added. "You'll be briefed more, closer to the date."

"And what of your Winter Soldier?" I asked. "Have you been keeping an eye on him?"

"Yes, yes, don't worry. I remember our deal." He told me before putting his glasses back on. "And your warning."

"Do you? I wouldn't know. I've been stuck here for seven months." I said with attitude. It was silent for a moment before a loud smack was heard. My head was thrown to the side and my cheek stung. Pierce cleared his throat and straightened his suit jacket. I took a deep breath before looking forward again.

"You will learn how to speak to a superior." He told me.

"My apologies, Sir. It won't happen again." I said through clenched teeth. I kept my eyes on the wall behind Pierce. I was afraid that if I looked at him I would snap.

"Our Soldier is working on another assignment. When he is done we intend to introduce you two. We'll train you together, as partners." Secretary Pierce told me. I nodded once.

"Understood, Sir."

Month Eight (August)

I stood on a balcony in Honolulu, Hawaii and waited for the event to start. My target was speaking about political awareness in other countries. There were about twelve international diplomats on this tour.

My heart was going a million miles per minute at the thought of what I was about to do. I checked all my weapons one more time before turning back to the event. HYDRA had made me a tactical suit. It was similar to the one Tony made for me, except the material wasn't bulletproof and it wasn't as lightweight. It didn't have the jacket, or the gloves either, but it did have a hood. The suit was also a dark purple instead of the maroon Tony made for me.

I had four holsters for guns. One on each thigh and one on each calf. The thigh holsters had spaces next to them for three extra magazines each. The calf holsters only had room for one magazine. I had a strap over my chest and shoulder that held some small explosives. I also had tons of knives on me. I had a short sword sheathed to my upper back, dual push daggers on my lower back, three throwing knives in each sleeve of my suit, and a karambit dagger attached to each hip. I also had the knife they wanted me to kill Zhou with. It was some kind of message they were sending.

On top of all that, I had to wear a face covering. It had built in night vision and infrared, incase I ever needed it. I had my hair in a bun and had my hood up to cover my head.

I had orders on how to end my target and where I was going to be picked up. All I was waiting on now was the start of the event.

When the event finally started and all the diplomats were on stage, I waited for Zhou to take the mic. HYDRA didn't want me to do this from a distance. They wanted me up close and personal. So, I teleported from my little balcony down to the stage and pulled the knife.

I was in and out. If someone blinked they wouldn't have seen me. One moment Zhou was giving a speech and the next he was slumped over on the podium with a knife sticking out of his back. I teleported to the top of a building and watched the chaos unfold beneath me. I stood there until I had to leave for pickup. I made my way to the water and was greeted by two agents on a boat. I got on, sat down, and waited to be brought before Pierce to give my mission report.

Month Nine (September)

I was in survival mode. I had to turn off my emotions and play my part. I couldn't afford to hesitate. I couldn't afford to be doubted. Since Zhou, I was sent after four other targets. I told myself that HYDRA would have killed them anyway. That there were less casualties when I went after a target. And there were. I killed my target and only my target. I was good at getting in and out without anyone noticing that I was even there, until they found the body, that was.

After my missions, I was always brought before Pierce to give a mission report. He would give me some kind of praise before sending me on my way. I only nodded and went back to my room to take a shower.

The shower was the only place I felt it was safe enough to cry. Silent tears fell down my cheeks and were immediately washed away by the streaming rainfall as I stared at the wall. Images of a little girl crying over her dead father, the father I killed, kept flashing in my mind. My mission today had been to take out a new up and coming political figure. He was in New York watching a play with his family when I basically John Wilkes Booth-ed him. I could still hear the screams of his son and daughter.

I turned the water as hot as it would go to try and burn the images from my mind. It never worked.