"When you are pushed, killing is as easy as breathing."

-John Rambo from "Rambo"

2014

She shifted in her seat as she was driven down a long winding road. The clothing that she wore was dark, so she could blend into the night when she needed. The HYDRA agent driving the vehicle said nothing. She spoke only when her target changed course. With swiftness, they were gaining on their mark.

"He stopped," she said, her Russian accent strong. She cocked her head to the side, eyeing the GPS. It said no names, no road or city - she was not allowed to know where she was. But it didn't matter. She could find the target nonetheless. Her gloved hand reached out and pointed at a spot on the map. "Here."

The agent nodded, and the GPS told them when to turn. The Huntress sat back against the seat now, knowing she did not need to continue tracking actively. Lingering in the target's head meant that she would know if he chose to move again, but didn't need to see his memories, feel his emotions. It somehow always hurt more when they didn't know they were being hunted.

It was dark when they pulled down a driveway with the headlights off. The crackle of rocks below the tires the only giveaway they arrived. A large house loomed over them, a few lights on throughout the lower floors. When the vehicle stopped, the agent unlocked the doors, allowing the Huntress to step out. She walked with quick and quiet steps, entering the unlocked house. Jovial sounds surprised her, but she kept going, weaving through furniture without a sound. As she turned the corner, she saw a man pouring wine into two separate glasses sitting atop a table with glowing candles.

"Anna-" her target stopped speaking as he noticed the presence entering the room was not the woman he expected to see. "Who the hell are you?"

She felt his fear bubble up, so she quickly lifted her gun she hardly noticed in her hand, and pulled the trigger. He yelped and stumbled back, dropping the bottle. Red liquid gushed from the broken bottle, and from his chest. The Huntress stared at him as the life left his eyes.

A scream came from behind The Huntress. She turned and saw a woman with her hands covering her face. "Oh god, Jason!"

The Huntress cocked her head to the side; was she supposed to kill her as well? She supposed she was, there should never be witnesses. But she was not listed on The Huntress's kill order. Something inside of her told her to let her go. The woman ran to Jason when The Huntress made no move to offer her the same fate. Even as The Huntress was being driven away from the property, she knew nothing would absolve her of what she did, but that tonight showed that she wasn't just a hunter.

Every time she killed someone, a part of her died. She hoped by sparing this woman, she could clutch onto some semblance of humanity.

***

The Huntress and the Winter Soldier were trained, skilled HYDRA weapons. He was a man with a mission, and when given a task, he completed it with no questions asked. Never had he failed; she had heard them say that he had shaped the world. His purpose was to serve HYDRA, and to remove the threats that would risk revealing them to the virtuous public.

She was the first puzzle piece for each mission, locating their target or targets with ease so that HYDRA did not have to waste their time digging, and the Winter Soldier didn't have to waste his time following cold leads or bad intel. Together they would be a lethal team; he was their asset and she was their huntress. HYDRA was still a secret, undercover, growing insidiously throughout SHIELD bases around the world. They had enough intel to last them years, intel SHIELD wouldn't want anyone to know.

This was her first mission with the Winter Soldier.

"Huntress, the Winter Soldier awaits you." She was guided her through the halls of the base. "He does not like to be kept waiting. He will not wait for you, he will not-" the agent stopped when the Huntress cut her off.

"Nor do I. I've been trained to keep up with him, have I not?" she replied in a harsh tone, one that did not suit her soft face.

The guard paused and she pursed her lips. "You have."

"Then do not doubt me."

"I do not."

"My mission." She reached her hand out for the file.

It was placed it in her hand and she looked at the door in front of her. It would lead to the room where her commander, Alexander Pierce, and her partner, The Winter Soldier would be. She stepped in confidently, closing the door behind her.

Her trust in herself was at its peak as she eyed the two men sitting at the table. She knew the one facing her was Alexander Pierce, his grey hair short and cropped, his glasses perched on his noise. Facing Alexander, and with his back to the Huntress, was the Winter Soldier. With his long hair, nearly black in the dark lighting, he looked as though he should be caged; feral. As she walked over to the table and took a seat next to him, she glanced at him through peripheral vision; she did not want to appear as though she were curious or unsettled around him, but she had to admit that she was curious.

"Glad you could both make it, and I could formally meet you, Huntress," Pierce said kindly, but his eyes darkened. Then he got right to the point. "I need you to kill a man who is discovering our existence. He will suspect you're after him, which is why we brought you in. He will always be moving."

"Consider it done," the Huntress said confidently, but the Winter Soldier said nothing, and instead listened.

"Director Nicolas Fury."

"Where can I find him?" The Winter Soldier asked.

The Huntress flipped open the file and studied him, then closed her eyes, merging her mind with his. She had a long way to go, but she was in the same State as the man.

None of that was of any importance, however; she focused on the man, studying his mind thoroughly. She sensed anger, fear, distrust, he was seeking someone out, but she did not know whom. Diving deeper into the twists and turns of the labyrinth that was his mind, she discovered his location. Through the flurry of thoughts and emotions, the Huntress was easily able to filter everything she had been told was unimportant; only location was important. But still parts of the mind and certain thoughts stood out to her, and she would deem them important or not.

As her eyes opened, revealing the darkness that came from being locked away for so long, her pupils naturally enlarged. She cocked her head to the side and studied Pierce. "He does not trust you."

"And I do not trust him," he responded swiftly.

"He won't be a problem." The Winter Soldier rose, and glanced down emotionless at the Huntress.

She stood under his gaze and followed him out the door, still feeling confident but also as though she were being scrutinized by him. As they left the room, the Huntress didn't bother taking the file as she now had all the information she needed, she followed directly behind the Winter Soldier, her footsteps landing in his only seconds after. The walk was painfully silent. but neither of them had anything to say to the other.

They went to the underground parking lot and slipped into a black SUV with tinted windows. The Winter Soldier drove while the Huntress took the passenger seat, typing in the coordinates of Nicolas Fury into the GPS, though he was ever moving. The high-tech device locked onto his vehicle, and followed him as he navigated the busy city. The drive was silent, almost eerily quiet, but the Huntress was not off put by it. If Fury made any rash decisions, like leave his vehicle, swap vehicles, or simply rip out his GPS tracking system, they would still need her to keep tabs on him. Electronics could only do so much for HYDRA; they needed her. As the world advanced, she was less of an asset to HYDRA, and yet they had made her fighting-fit and a better soldier than she ever was before. She refused to be deemed worthless.

"They have targeted him," The Huntress stated in reference to the others who had been sent out to stop Fury from getting too far; he had stopped his vehicle, well, it had been forcibly immobilized. She was still inside Fury's head, he was not completely thrown off by the attack. It was clear that he was a resourceful man.

The Winter Soldier said nothing.

Knowing that unless something came up she was not currently needed, the Huntress leaned back in the seat flexing her gloved hands as if she needed to expend some energy. Focusing on Fury and figuring out what was going on in his head she discovered that he was panicked, but he knew that he the skills to escape this brutal attack. The Huntress perked up and cocked her head to the side, and then turned to the Winter Soldier beside her.

"He's going to escape."

"Where is he headed?"

"Turn left here," she commanded, feeling a sense of pride as he obeyed her, turning a sharp left and darting through the thick, congested traffic. The sight of the city itself overwhelmed her, and yet she kept her head focused on the task. The world would always change without her to witness it, but it still fascinated her how little she knew about the world itself.

"Another left," she added, and he once again obeyed. They drove for no more than five minutes before she pointed. "He's just through that road block. Stop the car."

He stopped.

They both stepped out of the vehicle and she began up the hill. When she glanced over at the Winter Soldier, he was placing a face-mask on as well as black, tinted goggles. The Huntress slipped her own mask on, but left her eyes visible. She didn't like anything altering her vision, though it wouldn't take away from tracking abilities. She could smell the blood from Fury as she looked around her; she could smell his fear.

The vehicle he was in was still moving, but it wouldn't be for long. As they breached the hill, the Winter Soldier pulled out a large gun, firing a circular disc along the concrete. It latched itself onto the SUV, causing a grand explosion. The SUV flipped and then skidded across the ground. the Huntress watched as the Winter Soldier strode over towards the SUV that was on its roof. When he checked the SUV, his metal arm tossing the door away, he glanced up at the Huntress and shook his head. She knew right then that their target had escaped. Something in the back of her mind, the fear that built up from years of torture in her forgotten past, edged into her mind. She swallowed nervously, but she knew that if there was to be punishment, it would be shared with the Winter Soldier.

"Don't call it in," she said to him. "I know where he is going."

The Winter Soldier nodded, obeying her command again.