Catch me now, I'm falling | Sharon and Grant
Despite being in almost constant isolation for the past few weeks, the first thing Ward had asked for when he arrived at the secret Hydra facility was a small, private room, away from prying eyes. Okay, a shower had actually been the first thing he'd asked for, but the private room was next on his list.
It was a small, dimly lit room. The windows had long since been blacked out and the walls were in serious need of a fresh coat of paint. In comparison to SHIELD, Hydra's bases always seemed sorely lacking. That was one thing he missed; the comfort. It wasn't like the place was completely bare, though. At the centre of the room sat his most prized possession, currently. Agent Sharon Carter. High-ranking member of SHIELD and right now, his one last chance of gaining some leverage around here.
He hadn't exactly expected a parade when he triumphantly made his return to Hydra, but he thought that he at least warranted a thank you. Instead, all he'd gotten was a curt nod from one of the bases guards and blatant distrust from the rest of facilities agents. Turned out, after Garrett had died, so had all of Ward's goodwill. To them, he was nothing more than a former double agent who'd been stupid enough to get captured. Without SHIELD, he always assumed that he'd have Hydra to fall back on. That they'd give him a purpose. A reason. But now, he didn't have either. If Ward didn't earn back Hydra's trust, what was he? Just a man, caught between worlds?
"Sharon, sweetheart, I'm here to tell you, I'm impressed." He knelt down in front of the chair she was currently bound to. There were small, shallow cuts dotted all over her bare arms and the beginnings of a large, nasty looking bruise was starting to form on her right cheek. "For a while there, I thought I might be losing my touch. You holding up okay?" Tipping her chin back, he gave her face a quick inspection. "Might wanna put some blusher on that." His smile was thin as he stood back up, shoving the blonde's head back down. Grabbing a chair, he pulled it up just beside hers and sat himself right down next to her, casually draping his arm over her shoulder. "I really do hate to do this, you know. Torture's just so... inefficient. But Hydra needs information." He licked his thumb and attempted to wipe some dried blood off of her cheek. "And, really, I just need to let off some steam. It's nothing personal."
Slipping his arm out from around her shoulder, he slammed his hand down hard on her thigh, which, not moments ago, he'd stuck a knife into. "Look, I admire you're strength here. Really, I do. But if you don't start spilling some of those juicy SHIELD secrets soon, I might have to call my friend in here to take over. Believe me, you won't like that." His hand tightened around the wound on her thigh, enough to draw some more blood through her jeans. "You might have heard of him. Tall guy. Long hair. Wears a mask a lot. Not really sure why. Probably has bad breath or something. I think you guys call him, the Winter Soldier. Bit dramatic for my tastes, but he gets the job done." He finally released her thigh and instead tucked some of her hair behind her ear, leaning over to whisper into it. "You don't want me to call him in. He's not nearly as nice I am." God, did he pray that she'd give him something.