"State your name for the recording, please."
Silence.
Tony sighed. Getting information out of this kid was like getting information out of a brick wall, or at least he was having as much success with it.
"Look, I like this about as much as you do. Which is not at all. So why don't we get this over with quickly, so the bureaucratic Shield agents don't have to interrogate you. I can promise that they'll be a lot rougher, and probably end up getting you to confess to three or four felonies while they're at it."
The Russian teenager huffed, frustrated. "What are you trying to do? You know my name. You know everything about me. Can we just stop?"
Bruce, who was standing in the corner with his arms crossed, stepped forward. "No, we don't know everything about you. We don't know anything about you, other than you're probably Russian and you're related to the young woman over there." He said, nodding at the kid's sister in the other bed.
The teenager squinted at him in suspicion and confusion. "So what, you're with a different organization?"
Tony threw his hands up and exclaimed, "Finally! We're getting somewhere! What organization were you at previously?"
"I can't tell you. This is probably some sort of test."
Bruce and Tony exchanged a glance. They had been at this for about half an hour, and it wasn't looking very good. If they took too long then Shield would intervene, rather forcefully, and Tony didn't want them to traumatize the kid. He didn't know why, but the icy eyed teenager struck a chord with him. Some kind of paternal instinct thing.
"Fine. Fine. Be that way. But at least give us something to call you?" Tony pleaded.
The young man squinted and slowly said "Pietro."
Tony smiled in satisfaction. "And her?"
Pietro looked over at his sister and his face changed into something much softer, and more refined. Love. "Wanda."
"And you are Russian?"
Pietro laughed bitterly. "You could say that. Although I doubt I'm very similar to the Russian public."
Tony frowned. "Why do you say that?"
"No reason." Pietro answered vaguely.
Bruce sighed. "We're trying to help. Why can't you help us help you?"
"Why do you think I'll just believe everything you say? I mean, would you talk in this situation? I can't tell you anything without giving you an even bigger advantage over me. I'm wounded, restrained, and my sister isn't waking up. And you haven't told me anything either. You haven't told me your names, the date, or even where I am. You can't just expect me to comply with everything you want with nothing in return." Pietro said with a bit of sass.
Bruce raised his eyebrows and tried not to smile. This kid was a lot like Tony when he was younger. Less abrasive, though.
"Ok then. The date is May 24, 2015 and my name is Bruce Banner. My friend is Tony Stark, and you are at his tower in New York in the country of America."
"New York, huh? So how's this gonna work? You ask me a question, I ask you a question?" Pietro asked.
Tony and Bruce both nodded. Tony, being the impatient person that he was, had to ask the biggest question. "What organization did you mention? What's its name? What are its goals?"
Pietro raised his eyebrows. "That's three questions."
"You just have to make this as difficult as you can. What is the organization's name?" Tony said in an exasperated tone.
"I don't know what it means, but they call themselves Hydra."
Tony's eyes widened in shock and his breath caught in his throat. Bruce looked equally astonished.
"Well, shit." Tony muttered under his breath.
Bruce snorted. "That's an understatement."
Pietro cleared his throat. "If I'm correct, I get my question now. What is your interest in Wanda and me?"
"We originally had no significant interest in you or Wanda. You were simply a victim of sex trafficking, two among millions. You were to recuperate here and then we were going to turn you over to Shield. But now that Hydra is involved… What are their plans?" Tony explained.
"I don't know. It's not like they told me anything. Hey, does that count? Because technically you asked me a question." Pietro furrowed his brow. "You know what, that counts. Who is Shield?"
Tony sighed in frustration that the kid was so, well, so like himself. "Shield stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division. It's basically a separate, more powerful, division of the military. They're the ones who saved you and your sister. Anyways, my turn. What did Hydra want with you?"
Pietro cast his eyes down to his clasped hands and he bit his lip. He considered answering, but then decided against it because he didn't want to reveal too much about his sister and him. They sat in silence for a minute before Bruce broke it.
"Well?"
"We've been here for over an hour and I'm kind of tired. Can we finish this tomorrow?" Pietro asked.
Tony hesitated before acquiescing. Obviously the kid was avoiding the question, but it had been a while and the others were probably wondering what they had found. Tony got out of his chair and Bruce joined him in exiting the room. The door shut softly behind them.
Pietro turned down the angle of the top half of the bed with a remote that the hospital bed came with to try to get comfortable. He wasn't tired at all, but he didn't know how he was supposed to explain everything that had happened to him in the 8 years he and his sister had been held captive by Hydra.
Pietro closed his eyes, trying to quell his thoughts and go to sleep, but he couldn't get one thing off his mind: how was he going to tell Tony what Hydra had done to Wanda and him?
Would you guys like it better if I uploaded short chapters quickly or long chapters but take more time to write them? Any advice is appreciated and I hope you liked it.