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A Bucky Barnes Winter Soldier Fic - The Constant	By : TheConstant1944 Category: Marvel Verse Comics > Captain America Views: 2391 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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Chapter Thirty-One
The Constant & The Winter Soldier - Programming

Now that he is just one unified personality, it is simple to complete his training. He has been tested out in the field and he is ready. There is just one more hurdle to go before they can assign him a mission.
Programming.
They need to address this soon as they are seeing indications that the Winter Soldier is beginning to care about his Constant, beginning to question certain things. That will not do.
That is not what Hydra wants.
This is something that will be done with only Lehmann, Elise and Peter present. With the exception of Johann Fennhoff and Zola, no one else is even allowed into the programming suite or permitted any knowledge of how the programming is done. Even the original doctors are not told anything.
No one knows what goes on in those rooms. There are always two guards outside and the doors are firmly locked and bolted. But the locked doors do not shut out everything. The guards can still hear the Winter Soldier's screams.
Director Lehmann oversees it all.
The programming is done in layers. Some will remain the same each time, some will change depending on the mission.
Layer One
Lehmann begins with the reinforcement of the values he has taught the Winter Soldier. These are important; these are to reiterate where his loyalties lay. Hydra are his masters. He is no one, he has no past, no identity, he belongs to them and his only purpose is to serve them. He is to work for them and only them.
He is helping to create a better world.
Lehmann's word counteracts all others, and most importantly a safe word to be followed by a phrase is embedded into his deepest memories. This will deactivate and reset him. It is for their safety. This layer continually tells him his overall mission in life. He is to have no feelings other than those to help him fulfil his mission.
Those are not the only words they will programme in. There will be a set of words that when spoken will prepare him for the programming each time. When these words are spoken in the correct order, they will open his mind, make him be receptive: Longing, Rusted, Seventeen, Daybreak, Furnace, Nine, Benign, Homecoming, One, Freight Car.
He will then be ready. He will then comply.
He is told he is never allowed to hurt Lehmann.
This layer is programmed into him every single time. They will take no chances.
Layer Two
The next layer would surprise Freya: it is about her.
The Winter Soldier at this point knows that she is his Constant. They know there is no need to tell him that whenever he is wiped because he will remember her; when he awakens the sight of her and the sound of her voice allays any fear or panic and any anger. Each time the Winter Soldier comes out of cryo freeze he will not remember much, he will almost be a blank slate. She is there to ground him.
However, that knowledge is now to be buried deep inside his subconsciousness. In Layer Two, he is told that she is a whore. She is there for all his needs, and he can do whatever he likes to her without retribution. She belongs to him, she is his one possession, and it is up to him to keep her controlled.
When he sees her again he will think of her as being nothing other than a whore.
To them she is a the fail-safe. She is the ticking clock.
The realisation of her importance abhorred Lehmann. It is always she whom the Winter Soldier remembers first when the programming begins to wear off. Instead of thinking of her as his whore he will start to remember who she really is and what she means to him. His attitude towards her will change; they have seen it happen even after the first wipe. A listening station is set up, and without the woman knowing they place listening devices in the Winter Soldier's quarters. This, Lehmann feels, is a must. A small team of men are selected to man it. Marinov is told and is disgusted but there is nothing he can do. He grows ever more disillusioned every day but he needs to keep his family safe.
Some of the programming will stay embedded for longer than other parts. It is not an exact science and they can never guarantee just how long something will remain. This warning will tell them exactly how much longer they have until his real memories begin to surface, and give them an idea of how long they have before they need to wipe him again. She is not aware of this; after all Lehmann knows her loyalty is to James Barnes and not to Hydra.
Layer Three
The next layer will be to reinforce who he must obey and who he serves. It is almost a repeat of layer one. This programming will be layered between each instruction until it is hammered in so deeply he will never stray from them. He will never forget who owns him. Who his masters are. Who holds the strings.
Layer Four
Another fail-safe to be ground into his mind. If he tries to access memories that are not allowed to him it will result in headaches. If he continues, then he will experience debilitating migraines. They tell him he must not to try to remember anything but his time here now at the base and details relevant to his current mission. They also instruct him that, once the mission is completed, he will be debriefed and at this time he will be instructed to forget most of the specific details of the mission he has returned from.
Layer Five
This is dependent on whether or not he has been bought out of cryo for a mission, for training, or for health reasons. That will decide on what is included in this layer.
This is as far as they go for today. He is in the room with them for six hours and when they have finished he can barely stand up, yet alone function. There were times during the programming when he was in such pain with the information being forced into his mind he would cry out. They believe in time his body and mind will become used to most of the pressure but there will always be a certain amount of pain, a certain amount of damage.
They allow him to rest for a while. His left ear and his nose are bleeding and his eyes are severely bloodshot but the serum is already working on fixing the damage. They will have him back in programming tomorrow to see what he has retained.
Eventually he is strong enough to walk on his own although his sense of direction and balance is out of sync. Two guards have to help him back to his quarters. He keeps shaking his head as if to clear it, but they can see he is still in pain. His ears are humming so badly he cannot even hear his own footsteps.
*
There is a knock on the door and you open it to find the guards holding the Winter Soldier. When he sees you he tries to stand by his own strength but he can't and he has to accept your help. His eyes look terrible; black bags under them, the whites bloodshot. There are smears of blood on his face and you realise both his tee shirt and trousers are sodden with it. You can see one of his ears has also bled. You were warned that this would be the case, but to see him injured again breaks your heart.
You have already been told he will need to sleep so you help him to the bed. He sits on the edge and you remove his shoes. When you go to help him remove his clothes he shies away from you, as if your touch disgusts him. He tries to do it himself, his co-ordination all over the place, it is painful to watch. You think of asking him if he would like to shower first, to wash away the blood, but he is so tired you realise he simply couldn't – especially if he refused your help. You watch as he lies down and pulls the covers up over him. Almost straight away, he is asleep. You switch off the main light and leave on a lamp for if he wakes during the night. For the first few hours you pull up a chair next to his bedside and keep watch on him. He doesn't move, doesn't seem to dream. He is well and truly out for the count.
Around 2am he stirs and begins to cough, which awakens both of you. He is in a lot of pain and his nose has started bleeding again. He needs your help to go to the bathroom and when you get him back to bed you insist he take some phenacetin and drink some water. He will not look at you and you put it down to the fact he will not like you seeing him in such a weakened state. You ask him if he wants to try something to eat but he just shakes his head and turns back over in bed away from you. He is asleep again in seconds.
*
The next day is like the previous one, only this time they keep him for far longer. In the morning, when he wakes, his head is so painful he feels he wants to tear his hair out. She gives him some more painkillers but they do not do a lot to alleviate the pain. The guards come for him and he is taken down to the Programming Suite. It is obvious he is in a lot of pain and they realise they will need to supply stronger medication to help him.
When they feel he is ready, they place him in a chair similar to the one in the main room. First they question him to see how much of the programming has stayed in place, and they are impressed and pleased with themselves. The majority of it has all remained in place.
They begin again. They reiterate the layers they created yesterday, reiterate the words and their meanings, thereby re-enforcing them. Then they begin on the next layer.
This is the layer where they will include any training that can be done in this way. They have been working on programming in a photographic memory, but only for the things they need him to learn such as languages, visuals, etcetera. Adding to this layer will vary depending on the missions he is to be sent on and what he will need to complete them. For the training that can not be programmed, he will need to be manually trained. It will be important to keep him up to date with technology and weapons training. He will be allowed to retain this information even after the mind wipes.
The following layer will then be instructions on the individual mission itself, and will include details of who is to be killed: where, when, how.
All these layers are sandwiched with reiteration of who he is and who he works for.
Another layer will then be incorporated. This will be a more in-depth layer of the mission and how it is to proceed, including any special instructions. It will include the overall outcome, and in what way it will make the world a better, safer place.
The lie.
The final layer will be who his masters are. Again.
There is no mission this time and so the programming is based on where he is and what he is allowed to do, where he can go, what they expect of him in the next week or so until his first mission is received.
Eleven hours later, even Lehmann and his staff are exhausted. The Winter Soldier is almost comatose. He is finished for today. They have questioned him again and again over what they have programmed into him and they can see now they need to let him sleep it off.
*
Once again the two guards have to escort him back. He is totally uncoordinated, walking into walls and finding it difficult to stay on his feet. This time they have been graceful enough to phone ahead and you are prepared for him. Marinov is waiting with you. The bed is ready, the lights are low, and as he staggers in you and Marinov between you undress him and help him into his bed.
As you sit him on the edge of the bed he is rubbing his temples, muttering about the humming in his ears. He is fractious, uncooperative. His face is a mask of pain, and you can hear him grinding his teeth. Before you can think of how to help blood begins to dribble out of his nose – starting as a stream and ending as a gush. He is holding his left ear and you can see blood is running from there, too.
Marinov tells one of the guards to get Doctor Jakobs, quickly. You try to stem the flow, holding a towel to his nose and telling him to put his head back, but he is coughing up the blood trickling down the back of his throat, it is making him choke. His strength is far more than you or Marinov can deal with as you try to calm him. He is even more uncoordinated, doesn't seem to know where he is or what is happening. You know if he begins to fight you in earnest, neither of you could hold him so you continue talk to him calmly, keeping your voice gentle and soothing. One of the guards telephones Lehmann who arrives at the same time as Jakobs.
The bleeding has stopped but he is in such pain, holding his head, groaning; his body is running with sweat and you can feel the heat pouring from him. Lehmann believes he is trying to access his memories; who he is, where he is, and the more he tries the more his programming is kicking in until he has a full on migraine.
Now you know that the Winter Soldier is suffering with a migraine you can see it in his eyes. They are bloodshot, black shadows underneath. His skin is grey and he is still trying to hold his head because of the pain. You have an ice pack on the back of his neck a cold flannel on his forehead. He has vomited twice, mostly blood and bile.
Lehmann is not overly worried - in fact, you believe he is pleased as it shows that level of the programming is doing its job. It is working. You are worried. He tells you that any damage done by the programming will already be being fixed by the serum. He says you are going to have to learn not to get so hysterical, and you come close to slapping him. He allows Jakobs to inject the Winter Soldier with a strong pain killer and sedative which should knock him out for the night so he can sleep through the pain.
It takes both guards, plus you and Jakobs to get him sorted out. The bleeding has stopped completely and eventually he falls asleep but at first does not lie still; he twitches as though he is in a nightmare.
Jakobs stays with him whilst you shower; your clothes are covered in his blood and will need to be thrown away. When you return to your room Jakobs has fallen asleep in the chair. The Winter Soldier is curled up asleep in the bed and you leave both men in peace.
*
This almost becomes the norm over the next few weeks. They test the programming again and again. It is apparent that some of the time the Winter Soldier will experience bad headaches or worse, migraines. But these are not from him trying to access his memories; they are from the damage they are doing to his brain. The migraines can either debilitate him or, in the case of the severe headaches, make him angry and he finds it difficult to control the rage which surges up inside him. When they discover that the headaches are not the ones they have put in as the fail-safe they are concerned. This shouldn't happen. His anger sometimes is almost uncontrollable.
It is you he takes it out on. The whore who should mean nothing to him.
There is always a guard set in the corridor but it is reiterated to them that they must not interfere with the Winter Soldier's treatment of you. You try not to make any mistakes. There are times when he will accept your ministrations. Food is delivered and you have to make sure he eats and drinks. There are tablets he needs to take. You have to make sure he is awake and ready for them when they come to take him to the programming suite. Other times he is docile and quiet, sometimes reaching out for you.
It is like living on a see-saw from one moment to the next. You never know what will set his anger off.
Lehmann meets again with both Fennhoff and Zola. They can see from the from scans that the serum is repairing any damage caused to his brain. Whilst Fennhoff is sure he can lessen the damage, he cannot stop it completely. The migraines and headaches do decrease but Lehmann tells you it is something you will both have to live with. You want to tell him it is all right for him, he is not on the end of the anger. He is not the one bought low to his knees by the utter pain of his head being torn apart.
Lehmann pushes it to far when he adds that it is good for the Winter Soldier to learn how to deal with intense pain. You turn away from him your hands clenched into tight fists. He goes on to say there are pain management lessons which are to be incorporated in the programming.
He does initiate some changes, some restrictions on how much programming can be done in one session. Fennhoff has also put forward the idea that some of it may be down to the fact that they are programming him but giving him no outlet, no mission, and so the Winter Soldier does not know what to do with himself. All that adrenaline and no way to put it to use. So you arrange with his team to set up additional exercise programs to expel some of his energy. You feel if he could be taken up to the surface it would be good for him, but that is something Lehmann will not allow yet. This camp is not secure enough in its present state. There is always the gym that was set up shortly after you became the primary carer and Lehmann has added to this so that the Winter Soldier can work out. He has it expanded so there is a larger running track around the outside of the equipment and often the Winter Soldier can be found pounding around it again and again as if that will clear his head, expel his energy.
You have to be so careful, so very careful, but sometimes you forget and so do the guards.
*
He has had a pounding headache all day. The questioning was intense today and he is uptight. He stumbles down the corridor and back into his quarters. Two guards stand outside. He recognises one of them, the stance of the man showing he thinks the Winter Soldier is weak. The guard is complacent. Yes, the Winter Soldier is taller than him, and looks meaner, but he cannot even stand upright; he could take him in a fight. The guard is smoking and makes comments to the other guard who shushes him. That guard is intelligent. The Winter Soldier scares him and he knows they cannot get complacent, he has seen the danger in the Winter Soldier before.
The Winter Solder enters his rooms. The woman had been sitting down, but now stands as he comes in, asking if he is all right. There is such concern in her eyes. He wants to take her, drown in her to take the pain and anger away. Frustration makes the headache worse; his balls ache and he can feel a pulsing in his lower belly. She tries to touch him, tries to guide him to sit down. Asks him if he wants a drink, wants to eat. No! he wants to shout at her, I want to fuck! Leave me alone! How he wants to hurt her to stop her questions. But he also knows he wants her to put her arms around him, to bring him close to her; he wants her to protect him, and this makes him so very angry.
When he returns you can do nothing right until he loses it, lashing out at the nearest available person: you.
You can feel the waves of rage in the heat rolling of his body as he grabs your arm and twists it behind you, ramming you backwards against the wall. The suddenness of it takes your breath away and you cry out. His other hand comes to your throat and encircles it. How often has he done this to you, how often have you felt those fingers around your neck and wondered if this time he will squeeze to hard.
You look into his eyes. There is such rage and madness there, such anger and lust; you struggle but he is so strong you know there is no way you could win this battle.
He pushes his own body against yours to pin you there. He has hurt you before and you know he is going to hurt you again. He stretches your arm up higher, making it painful, making you beg him to stop but he doesn't. He carries on until it is so painful you know it is going to break the bone and you beg him not to but he doesn't stop and you hear a loud crack as your arm breaks and you cry out. The pain shoots through you and is all consuming. The world around you is starting to go dark, you cannot breathe, you are going to lose consciousness. The Winter Soldier is still watching you and your faces are so close you can feel his breath on your cheek. Your cry has alerted the guards in the corridor. The door is open and you hear one of the guards in the doorway. He does nothing but watch.
“He doesn't know if he wants to fuck her or kill her,” he says to the other one drily, with a smirk on his face. There is no compassion for you there.
“Shut up for Gods' sake!” the other one whispers, moving away. The guard watching throws his cigarette butt on the floor and grounds it out. He snorts and moves away himself.
The Winter Soldier's eyes are still burning, but now there is a disgust there which you think is for you. You have both heard what the guard had said and you know that the Winter Soldier is looking at you as if to say he wouldn't fuck you, he is not that desperate.
He suddenly pushes you even harder against the wall and then drops you completely and steps back.
You fall to the floor, your whole body quaking, the darkness receding. You wrap your left arm around your injured right and curl up as small as you can; you don’t look at him but you know he is still watching you. Your breath comes in ragged sobs. Your throat is sore and you know you will carry the bruises for the next few days. Your ears are buzzing and there are spots in your vision.
You hear him curse you and then, turning, he storms out slamming the door.
You get as low to the floor as you can, you feel the coolness of the stone on your forehead and you weep for both of you. Your ears hum and you are unaware of the commotion in the corridor.
The Winter Soldier did not kill you...but he has killed.
*
He felt so angry. It surged up in him, but he also has a deep longing in his blood. He wants to take her, hurt her, take out all of his anger on her. He looks down at her face; they are so close he can feel her breath and see the wide-eyed fright, he can see she thinks he is going to do it this time, he is going to kill her and it makes him feel so powerful.
He pulls her arm up higher until he hears it crack. The pain shows in her eyes and she cries out. He wants to feel her underneath him, to enter her and be so close they would become one person. He wants her to protect him.
Then he hears the words of the guard.
“He doesn't know if he wants to fuck her or kill her.”
Hears the guard's snort of laughter.
His rage goes cold in that moment.
He presses her harder and sees she is losing consciousness, and it is as if a veil drops. He wants her with all his mind and body, he knows she will keep him safe, she is the only one who cares.
For Gods' sake, what is he doing?
He lets go and steps back and she falls to the floor. He watches as she pulls her arms around herself, making herself small; it looks like she is trying to become part of the wall in her need to get away from him. He is disgusted with himself. The one person who cares about him, the one person he can show all his frustration to and he had nearly wiped her out.
She isn't just a whore, why does he think that?
He curses himself, turns and goes out into the corridor, slamming the door behind him. The two guards are leaning against the wall. One does not look at him, will not hold his gaze, murmurs something to the other one and moves away but the remaining guard is too stupid to realise he is in trouble - too stupid to follow suit.
“Couldn't decide huh?” he says and the Winter Soldier recognises a taunt when he hears one.
The man is so stupid. So dead.
The Winter Soldier withdraws his knife from the back holster and keeps hold of it behind his back so the guard does not see the danger he is in. He knew which one it was that had commented and laughed, he has heard his comments before. He walks up closer to the unsuspecting man.
The look of arrogance on the guard's face begins to falter because he now sees the Winter Soldier's eyes. Cold, dark. He begins to back away, the look on his face turning to horror as he finally realises the Winter Soldier is someone to be wary of, someone who will give you nightmares because when you look into those eyes it is your own death staring back at you. The other guard can see what is going to happen. He runs to one of the phones installed in the corridor and frantically calls for help.
The Winter Soldier plunges the knife into the man's stomach, lifting the knife up and through the heart. The guard drops to the floor, dead within seconds, and the other guard stands stock still, phone in his hand, terror in his eyes. The Winter Soldier turns to look at him and finally he desperately tries to reach for his gun but the Winter Soldier shakes his head.
“You don't need to die,” he says to the petrified guard. His anger is ebbing and he turns and walks away, leaving the guard to explain what happened to his colleague.
*
You know you need help. Your arm is hurting badly and you know the bone is broken. You can feel your blood humming in your ears; your heart is pounding. The pain feels as if it is keeping time with the pulsing of your blood.
You try your best to stand up and stumble to the door having to let go of your arm to open it. You whimper. The door seems so heavy and sweat trickles down your face.
You lean out into the corridor and see several guards surrounding a dead body. A huge pool of blood seeps out into a large pool on the floor.
The guard that laughed at you both will never do so again.
You recognise the older guard and he sees you and he comes forward quickly to catch you as you fall. He tells the others to call for a doctor. Marinov comes racing down the corridor shouting orders. Trying to work out what has happened.
*
The Winter Soldier pounds around the track, trying to clear his mind, trying not to think, trying to lose himself so that he doesn't have to be who he is. Memories have started to resurface, and with each one he tries to run faster, tries to get away from it all. But he can't and as he runs the pain in his head begins to take over. Lehmann is watching on the overhead cameras installed in the gym. He watches as the man tries desperately to outrun his demons. He recognises that the Winter Soldier is ready, that they need to use him. They have wound him up so very tight and now they need to set him on his course and let him create havoc.
Lehmann turns to Marinov and tells him he is dismissed.
“What will you do?” Marinov asks belligerently.
Lehmann looks up at him eyebrows raised.
“About what?”
Marinov bites his tongue to stop him from saying what he would like to say. He tries to make his tone calmer. “He killed one of my men.”
“And?”
Marinov flounders.
“Lieutenant, I suggest you start to think about the calibre of your men. Don't you? What happens to you and your men are of no concern to me. If you cannot see that then maybe you are in the wrong job.”
Marinov realises in that second that the Constant is not the only one who cannot cry out for help when the Winter Soldier is mad with rage. He and his men count for nothing either. In fact, he would guess their lives mean even less than hers.
“Sir.” He nods and decides to leave before he says something he will regret. Something his family will regret. If that is the way Lehmann wants it then that is the way it will play. From now on he will make sure that those 'guarding' the Winter Soldier will be harder, less likely to become complacent. He thought he knew how Freya felt before but now he realises he didn't.
The world was becoming more than just a scary place. It was becoming hell.
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A Bucky Barnes Winter Soldier Fic - The Constant