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Everyone thought that the soldier just took orders; that he couldn’t think past the tip of his nose. They saw the blank stare, the obedient response to commands and the general lack of a personality and just assumed that the Asset was some kind of robot that Hyrda had built in a lab somewhere. But Brock knew better. He had seen the soldier have brief moments of humanity appear in those tired, expressionless eyes over the last few years. It was actually quite something to see. When the soldier’s facade cracked and he let his insides bleed through onto his face, that’s when he became real to Rumlow. He liked the soldier when he remembered things he wasn’t supposed to. When the programming broke down and he could see the man beneath, that’s when Rumlow liked him best.
The Asset wasn’t just a weapon, he was a fucking human like everyone else.
“He just sits there and stares like an idiot,” Rollins commented from where he sat on the couch of their most recent safe house. The Asset had planted himself in one of the armchairs near the door and was staring across the room at the opposite wall. They had been deployed just outside of Detroit and they were waiting for SHIELD to hand over the intel that would give the Soldier his next target.
“So?” Rumlow asked, leaning in the doorway to the kitchen and picking at an orange he’d found in the fridge.
“It’s just creepy,” Rollins replied, shrugging and leaning back into the couch cushions. Rumlow saw the Asset’s eyes flicker toward Rollins, but he quickly looked back to where he had been staring at the wall. He looked calm, but still strung tight, like a bowstring.
“You hear that, soldier? You’re creepy.” Rumlow said with a smile. The Asset didn’t reply, but Rumlow watched his eyes track him as he went to sit down in the chair across the room.
“I don’t even know why we have to be here. This is ridiculous.” Rollins complained, stretching his arms over his head and sighing heavily. Rumlow rolled his eyes.
It was always believed that the soldier needed to have a handler—a babysitter— but that just wasn’t true. The Asset had been deployed alone hundreds of times over his career and always performed his duties without needing any help at all. But, this time, Rumlow and Rollins were along to gather additional intel. While the soldier was a valuable blunt object, he wasn’t very good at things like capture and torture. That was Rumlow’s gift. The soldier was a silent blade and Rumlow was a pair of pliers pulling out valuable canines and information.
“If you whined any louder, Pierce could probably hear you all the way in New York.” Rumlow said, popping another slice of orange in his mouth. Rollins scowled at him and reached for the TV remote. He flipped through the channels a few times before settling on an old movie in black and white. Rumlow recognized the movie right away. He’d seen it a few times before.
“To Have and Have Not,” Rumlow announced, licking orange juice off his fingers. Rollins glanced at him and then nodded with a quiet ‘Hmm’.
As he watched the main character, Steve, refuse to smuggle resistance members onto his boat, he noticed the soldier watching the movie, as well. His eyes were big and focused intently on the scene developing on the screen. His brow pinched together slightly, as if he was trying to remember something. Rumlow wondered if he was. The movie was filmed sometime in the 40s. The soldier was made in ’43. While he didn’t know much about the soldier, he knew that the man was old. Hydra had records dating all the way back to the 30’s.
“You like this movie?” Rumlow asked, tipping his chin toward the soldier. The asset glanced at Rumlow and then back to the screen without saying anything. A confused look crossed his face for a moment, but then it was replaced with his usual dark glower.
Rollins looked between the two, his mouth open slightly. “I don’t think he watches many movies, Brock.” Rollins pointed out, waving a hand in the Asset’s direction.
“No, but you recognize this one, don’t you?” Rumlow prodded, suddenly very interested in finding out. The soldier was smart enough to keep certain things to himself and Rumlow guessed that he remembered a lot more than everyone gave him credit for. Hydra’s technology was really good at erasing newer memories, but it was much more difficult to zap away the old ones. He was no engineer, but he had to assume that the machine they used to wipe the soldier’s memory was more of a hand grenade than a sniper rifle.
Rollins laughed and stood up from the couch, shaking his head and moving toward the kitchen. “He barely remembers how to tie his own fucking boots.” Rollins called over his shoulder as he hunted around in the fridge. Rumlow took the opportunity to stand up and stroll over to where the Asset was sitting. He picked orange out of his canine and wiped it on his pants before squatting down in front of the soldier. The man’s eyes tracked his movements.
“You remember this movie?” Rumlow asked again, reaching out a hand to rest it on the Asset’s knee. The soldier’s eyes widened a little and he looked down at Rumlow’s hand with something akin to bewilderment. The soldier’s brow folded in a little and he nodded. His brown hair shivered against his cheeks with the motion.
The soldier looked right at Rumlow when he said, “You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together - and blow." The movie's quote fell out of him like pennies from a slot machine. It was as if he was reading it out of a book. Rumlow barked out a laugh in spite of himself and slapped his hand against the soldier’s knee.
“There it is,” Rumlow said through a grin. The soldier looked slightly mortified; like he wanted to jump up from the chair and throw himself through the hearest window. But Rumlow was far too amused to care and he just squeezed the soldier’s knee through his tac pants. Rumlow leaned forward, into the soldier’s space and enjoyed watching the look of confusion dance around in his eyes.
“Its okay, I wont tell anyone,” Rumlow cooed. The soldier looked like he was about to cry.
“Bol'no vspominat,” he said, softly. It hurts to remember.
Rumlow smirked at that, but quickly schooled his face into something like concern. This was absolutely the part he liked best. He had to admit that he hadn’t expected this to happen, but he was glad that it did. It was like getting a really nice gift for no reason at all. He liked watching the soldier suffer a little. It just proved that the Asset was still, unequivocally, human and not at all deserving of the pedestal they all put him on.
“Its okay. Just watch the movie,” Rumlow purred, moving his hand up and down the soldier's thigh a few times and then standing up and moving back to his chair. The soldier now had a clear view of the TV again.
Rumlow spent the rest of the film watching the soldier. He didn’t give a shit what was happening on screen or even when Rollins had returned back to the couch. All he cared about was watching the beautifully painful emotions flash across the soldier’s face like fireworks.
Hail Hydra, Rumlow thought to himself.