[ she speaks around a mouthful of scone. ]

I'm passingly familiar with attempts the Soviets have made to influence willpower and control the mind. But none of it compares to what must have happened to Barnes.

[ she won't call him the winter soldier any more than she has to, at least. and perhaps it's a disservice to divorce one name from the other -- but deep in her heart she knows there's a line that needs drawing, no matter how upset she is.

but when she's passed the cream, she offers fitz a grateful nod before she slathers a generous layer on the scone's other half. ]

Granted, most of what I know is second hand. Hearsay. I -- I never had the opportunity to probe much deeper.