The Frozen Waste (July 1998)

Natalya had heat pods in her boots, her leggings and in the coat she wore but the white coat was no parka and she had no gloves. She had taken survival courses, all SSB agents did and being that she was Russian, the arctic course had been one of them, luckily. It was late afternoon and she needed to get as far away from the camp as she could before the morning. Luckily the wind had picked up and blew the snow that rolled across the older icy crust over her boot prints. My first light they would not be able to track her easily.

Being who she was she had a keen sense of direction. Parts of her brain worked better than normal humans and she had seen maps where her support team were going to be. There was a compass on a lanyard on the coat and an emergency field kit that include needle and thread, 12 matches, a bandage, a pocket knife, a small flashlight and a plastic poncho. The problem was she had no food besides an energy bar in the breast pocket and more dire, no water. It wasn't the distance, it was a 4 day walk but without water she'd be close to dying by the time she reached the camp. She put her hood up and zipped it up over her face. She shifted her turtleneck sweater over her face and moderated her breathing as she lifted her legs up one at a time.

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"I don't see or smell her," Logan lied. "She's gone, He said as Tony, Isabella and the soldiers regrouped in the mess bungalow. "Well, Steve is just about ready to be revived I think. The biobed has a medical AI program that is connected to Jarvis. He's been searching for all data on Cryogenics since we began this expedition. Isabella, your suit has been uploaded with that data as well. You can read Steve's vitals remotely now," Tony said. "So we're staying here?" Hark asked and Tony looked over at him. "We can't risk moving Rogers," Tony said and Hark glanced at his Corporal. The man nodded and gestured to the others who sprang into zipping back up their coats and moved out of the bungalow.

Before long it was just Tony, Isabella and Logan.

Natalya had been well trained and her body was not like that of a normal human. Even so she was still freezing cold and her body began to shiver slightly underneath her clothing. She knew she needed to get to the SSB's camp and as she got further away from Tony, Isabella, and Logan she knew she wasn't going to be followed. As she glanced back behind her she saw the wind blowing snow over her tracks. She bundled herself up further and just trudged on. It was going to take her four days to get to the meeting site and all she had was the clothes on her back, a compass, an emergency field kit, and an energy bar. She knew she could slow her metabolism and possibly survive on just the energy bar, but she would need water. Then, as she was looking out at the snow, a thought came to her. She could use the snow to stay hydrated. It wasn't a great plan, but it was all she currently had...that and her will to survive.

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Isabella eyed Logan when he told everyone that he didn't see or smell Natalya. She noticed that he avoided eye contact with her when he said it and she began to think that perhaps there was more there that he wasn't telling them. She was worried about Steve. They didn't have a Cryogenics expert, but at least Jarvis was collecting data. Steve was still alive and Isabella wanted to keep him that way.

She waited until Hark and the Corporal left before she looked back at Logan. "You let her go...didn't you?" She wasn't angry or upset, but she was curious as to why he had done that.

Logan looked numbly at Isabella. He was done with civility. Done with trying to be a nice guy. He wanted to be done with this. "The scientist is more than he appears. He should be searched again and watched more closely," Was all he said as he scowled that them and stepped away from them and out of the bungalow.

A few minutes later Hark came in again. "It appears Logan was right," he said. he held a metal tray. On it was a small vial, a small tube and a round vial of clear liquid. "We found these on him and the moment we questioned him he ceased to be the mild mannered scientist. It took 3 of my men to restrain him and Private West is seriously injured," He said coldly.

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Using her poncho to collect snow and warm it using her body heat had worked. She ate half of the energy bar and was on track to reach her destination. The warming pads keeping her warm needed to be recharged on a daily basis. Already her left foot felt ice cold. Likely that one had ran out of power already. Only the action of walking kept her foot from freezing. Not having gloves forces her to keep her hands in the coat. The coat was over-sized for her so that actually wasn't a very big problem. Just breathing in the air made her lungs hurt. The exertion of stepping into deep snow kept her body moving. This was a good workout but she couldn't know if she could keep it up for 4 days. That is if a Polar Bear didn't eat her for breakfast first.

3 days later...

Natalya was exhausted unlike anything she had ever felt before. She was starving and dehydrated. She had never stopped walking. She knew that if she did that she would freeze to death. As a result she had shaved some time off of her journey to the SSB's meeting point. She was shivering and could tell her body temperature was low. It was going to take her days to recover, but she was alive. She practically collapsed into the arms of a fellow SSB agent and was immediately taken inside a tent to be warmed up.

"I failed to get the DNA. I tried twice, but was caught and found out. I was lucky to escape with my life."

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For the past three days Isabella had spent nearly all of her waking hours in the Infirmary tent with Steve. They had managed to keep him alive and his temperature was nearly normal. His gums looked pink, showing that he wasn't anemic and his heart rate and blood pressure were normal as well. Once they knew he was out of danger they decided it was safe to move him. He was unhooked from the bio bed and transported onto the jet while all the equipment was packed away under the watchful gaze of Tony and Isabella. Once they were ready, they headed back to New York. Steve was strapped in on a cot and at this point was just unconscious. They were waiting for him to waken at this point...if he ever would awaken.

Once they made it back to the Tower, Steve was moved back down to the Infirmary and put back in the bio bed just in case. Tony and Isabella didn't want to take any chances and the bio bed would monitor his vitals constantly.

Natalya sat in Tatiana's office. Tatiana was reading her report and her right hand idly flipped a black pen round and round with her fingers as she read. Tatiana wore a blue skirt with a matching blazer over an off white blouse. She wore blue pumps and her black, graying hair was pulled back into a tight, tidy bun high up on her head. She wore blue rimmed glasses and had a silver rolex on her wrist.

Her office was very modern in its design with black, glass and metal fixtures. She was a hard woman who had come up through the latter part of the cold war. She had started as an SSB agent and had worked her way up to where she was now. The director of their New York offices. A hard, unyielding woman that did not tolerate failure. This particular one was big. Tatiana had Jovan Lukinski, one of the men that developed the 'helmet' come into her office at just the right time to make Natalya wonder if part of her punishment was going to be that. Tatiana loved how horrified Natalya was of the thing. She had actually helped to test it. She was terrified of it herself but had endured its horrors. It had a way of getting inside your mental defenses. She had seen a man who, after experiencing it, beat his own head against his desk until he broke his skull. As directed Jovan came in and stood near the door along with two SSB guards. Jovan had brown, graying hair that was always unruly. He had a long, pointed nose and beedy, blue eyes. he was a tall man, but very thin and wiry. He had 'done things' to Natalya while she was strapped down that always brought that awkward grin to the corner of his mouth. He liked to cause pain and had a 'thing' for Natalya. So far though Tatiana had kept him at bay but he was ever hopeful.

Natalya had recovered and thankfully had not lost any toes. Any other person would not have survived the trek, but Natalya was not just any other person. The Super Soldier serum gave her incredible strength and endurance. Her intensive training had helped as well. Sitting in Tatiana's office was nerve wrecking for her. Tatiana had raised Natalya and she wanted to please her, but she knew she had failed her. She just feared what her punishment might be.

She heard the door open and she glanced over her shoulder to see Jovan Likinski walk in with two SSB guards. Just the sight of him made Natalya's heart race with fear. Natalya was terrified of the helmet. She had nightmares about it. It had only been used on her a handful of times, but every time it mentally scarred her deeper and deeper.

"I tried twice to get the blood," she explained quickly to Tatiana. "I did get it, but I was found out and forced to flee. I did not want to fail you."

Tatiana just lifted a finger. Just one and it meant for Natalya to be silent. Not a good sign. It meant that Tatiana was quite upset. She calmly set the folder down and closed it then looked up at Natalya.

"Do you know how many resources we used on this project? How many cocks I had to suck to even get the funding? All with the promise of the sample," She said as she pressed the bridge of her nose with 2 fingers. The action shifted her glasses up then they settled back down again on her nose.

"You've cost me dearly," Tatiana said dangerously as she leaned back in her chair. "A monumental failure should have a monumental punishment should it not?" She asked Natalya. "Boys, my agent is broke...how should I go about fixing her?" She said. The men behind her chuckled.

"You had 2 chances and you failed to get the sample both times and you gave up Gunther," She said. Natalya could not know how she knew that! "I mean, that's borderline treasonous. Why even come back at all?" Tatiana taunted.

Natalya's fear rose up dramatically when she heard the two guards behind her chuckle. However, her blood turned cold when Tatiana mentioned Gunther. How did she know about that?! "I...I had to give him up in order to escape. I had to give Logan something as a trade. Otherwise he was going to kill me. How...how did you know about Gunther?"

Tatiana had to chuckle and she shook her head. She pointed toward Natalya's face. "You think that recent dental work was just for looks? I can monitor you anywhere you go," She said smugly and then crossed her arms over her breasts as she thought about what she was going to have Natalya do.

"I think I want you to remember this failure. I think its important...but I can't let this go either," She said as if she were talking to herself. "I think maybe I will pull you for agent work for a little while. Give you something else that I know you can handle perhaps?" She said and then her lips formed into a smile. "You know, there are a few big wigs in town for our little intelligence pow wow. I think some time spent on your back and on your knees will help you remember who the FUCK you work for!" Tatiana said as she finally lost her calm. "No, I DONT want to hear it. GET OUT of my SIGHT!" She shouted.

Natalya got up and quickly left Tatiana's office. She was trembling slightly and she looked over and saw the guards snickering at her. Natalya's anger rose quickly and she clenched her fists.

"Isn't she supposed to be the 'ultimate' agent?"

"Yeah, but she didn't look so tough to me sitting in there holding back tears."

"I bet she's only good for a great fuck."

Natalya lost it and attacked both of the guards. She made them regret their words. She broke ribs, wrists, a leg, and was choking one of them with her thighs when she was finally pulled away. She saw Tatiana standing in the doorway of her office and she thought she saw the faintest hint of an approving smile on her face before she turned away.

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Isabella sat down in the Infirmary with Steve. She had a table and chair brought down there so she could get some work done while watching over him. Serena was with Sarah and she was currently alone down there. She would often voice her thoughts about certain things she was working on out loud so Steve would be able to hear voices...at least she hoped he could hear her.