I swear to God, this didn't start out like this. I wanted to write a long, fluffy, h/c fic. And then this happened.
Unbeta'd, raw, unpleasant, etc.
Hansel & Gretel
The voice came floating out of the intercom speaker. "Gretel ETA in twenty minutes." The older woman in the impeccable suit looked up, then back at the room containing the bait. The Asset had gone rogue and started both reclaiming its so-called identity (really, they thought they'd gotten rid of that decades ago. Bloody techs can't do anything right.) and cutting a wide swath through HYDRA. Leaving only ashes and salted earth in its wake.
And of course, Captain America showed up. Which wasn't much of a change, except that the facilities got blown up a little faster and a few more inept guards ended up dead. The woman frowned to herself as these thoughts rolled through her mind.
"Ma'am?"
"Yes?"
"Why.. If you don't mind my asking," She did, but why not. "Why are we letting Cap... er... Gretel just have the Asset?"
Not taking her eyes off the video feed where a STRIKE team was busy wrestling the Asset into a reprogramming chair. Even with half a dozen darts bristling out of its chest, it took four men to force it into the chair long enough for the restraints to kick in. "We're not just 'giving' Gretel the Asset. That would be suspicious and everyone would suspect an ulterior motive."
"But there is-"
She sighed inwardly. Good help was so hard to find these days. Highly recommended, her left foot. "Of course there's a bloody ulterior motive." She snarled. "In the best case scenario, the Asset and the Captain would have destroyed each other, and we would have gone on our merry way with Project Insight. But as both of them are so fantastically, inconveniently alive, we have to try something new. And we can't just wipe the Asset and put it away for while. The Captain knows his One True Love is alive and well, so he's never going to stop looking. Survivor's Guilt and all that. Second chance to save him, redemption for past sins, making up for lost time." A faint snort punctuated that last sentence. "Stuff and nonsense, the lot of it." A faint smile ghosted across her lips. "But useful stuff and nonsense."
".... uhm?"
She sighed again. Whoever'd recommended this one would need severe disciplinary action. Trying to lead her like that. Shameful, really. Things were almost done here, thank God. The breadcrumb trail exquisitely laid, the base staffed with goons of questionable loyalty and effectiveness. Sacrificial lambs to Gretel's anger and adding just the right touch. If Gretel could just walk in and take his Hansel out of the cage, it would be too easy. Appearance is indeed everything, these days.
"Because this way, our little Hansel in there gets to perform one last mission for us. Gretel fights his way through the STRIKE teams, killing most of them in his Roaring Rampage of Revenge and removing some unfortunate personnel from our rosters to boot. He finds his precious Hansel in the chair, screaming his little head off and already thoroughly wiped of anything useful. Gretel gets Hansel out and then the mission begins."
"The Captain will want to continue burning his way through our ranks, but he's a walking mass of neuroses. He can't destroy us and look after the Asset at the same time. Or if he does, his attention will be so divided that he'll be vulnerable and he gets killed during an attack. Either way, we win."
On the screen, the switches have been flipped and the Asset starts screaming around the mouth guard.
"Gretel ETA ten minutes."
"Ma'am, we need to-" The aide is walking back to get the door open and is dropped by a single gunshot to the back of the head. Stepping over the body barely slows her down as she moves out of the facility.
"Clean up all the loose ends, my dear. Including you." She smiles, replacing the handbag in her purse and walking out into the brisk April sunshine. Looking around at the streets of Berlin, she smiles widely and pulls on a pair of sunglasses before vanishing into the foot traffic.
Hansel & Gretel (Gen, OC, Dark)
Unbeta'd, raw, unpleasant, etc.
Hansel & Gretel
The voice came floating out of the intercom speaker. "Gretel ETA in twenty minutes." The older woman in the impeccable suit looked up, then back at the room containing the bait. The Asset had gone rogue and started both reclaiming its so-called identity (really, they thought they'd gotten rid of that decades ago. Bloody techs can't do anything right.) and cutting a wide swath through HYDRA. Leaving only ashes and salted earth in its wake.
And of course, Captain America showed up. Which wasn't much of a change, except that the facilities got blown up a little faster and a few more inept guards ended up dead. The woman frowned to herself as these thoughts rolled through her mind.
"Ma'am?"
"Yes?"
"Why.. If you don't mind my asking," She did, but why not. "Why are we letting Cap... er... Gretel just have the Asset?"
Not taking her eyes off the video feed where a STRIKE team was busy wrestling the Asset into a reprogramming chair. Even with half a dozen darts bristling out of its chest, it took four men to force it into the chair long enough for the restraints to kick in. "We're not just 'giving' Gretel the Asset. That would be suspicious and everyone would suspect an ulterior motive."
"But there is-"
She sighed inwardly. Good help was so hard to find these days. Highly recommended, her left foot. "Of course there's a bloody ulterior motive." She snarled. "In the best case scenario, the Asset and the Captain would have destroyed each other, and we would have gone on our merry way with Project Insight. But as both of them are so fantastically, inconveniently alive, we have to try something new. And we can't just wipe the Asset and put it away for while. The Captain knows his One True Love is alive and well, so he's never going to stop looking. Survivor's Guilt and all that. Second chance to save him, redemption for past sins, making up for lost time." A faint snort punctuated that last sentence. "Stuff and nonsense, the lot of it." A faint smile ghosted across her lips. "But useful stuff and nonsense."
".... uhm?"
She sighed again. Whoever'd recommended this one would need severe disciplinary action. Trying to lead her like that. Shameful, really. Things were almost done here, thank God. The breadcrumb trail exquisitely laid, the base staffed with goons of questionable loyalty and effectiveness. Sacrificial lambs to Gretel's anger and adding just the right touch. If Gretel could just walk in and take his Hansel out of the cage, it would be too easy. Appearance is indeed everything, these days.
"Because this way, our little Hansel in there gets to perform one last mission for us. Gretel fights his way through the STRIKE teams, killing most of them in his Roaring Rampage of Revenge and removing some unfortunate personnel from our rosters to boot. He finds his precious Hansel in the chair, screaming his little head off and already thoroughly wiped of anything useful. Gretel gets Hansel out and then the mission begins."
"The Captain will want to continue burning his way through our ranks, but he's a walking mass of neuroses. He can't destroy us and look after the Asset at the same time. Or if he does, his attention will be so divided that he'll be vulnerable and he gets killed during an attack. Either way, we win."
On the screen, the switches have been flipped and the Asset starts screaming around the mouth guard.
"Gretel ETA ten minutes."
"Ma'am, we need to-" The aide is walking back to get the door open and is dropped by a single gunshot to the back of the head. Stepping over the body barely slows her down as she moves out of the facility.
"Clean up all the loose ends, my dear. Including you." She smiles, replacing the handbag in her purse and walking out into the brisk April sunshine. Looking around at the streets of Berlin, she smiles widely and pulls on a pair of sunglasses before vanishing into the foot traffic.