Chapter 3
After almost an hour, Thea stood up and went over to her brother's tatty old MOD-issue rucksack. She stroked the faded name tape and patted the Royal Anglian Regiment badge that was pinned to the flap. At least it was comforting to have something of Christopher with her here. She knew that the man had put her laptop inside and that it had several films downloaded. The battery might still be fully powered up, since she'd left it to charge when she got home. After she found the charger, she limped over to a power point and plugged it in, hoping it might help keep the battery full as she watched. However, the mains was no longer switched on to the building, which was hardly surprising since it was uninhabited. Then she suddenly wondered if there was a usable lavatory anywhere. There probably wouldn't be water, so what could she do? Just over two hours later when Star Trek had finished, Thea was desperate enough that she decided to risk leaving the office. He probably wouldn't come back in the little bit of time she spent poking round for a loo.
She grabbed the handle of the door, which she very slowly and quietly turned. Then she stuck her head out, but she saw no one. As silently as is possible with forearm crutches, Thea began moving along the wall and keeping her eyes wide open for any movement. When she got the end of the office wall, she saw a door that had an old sign marked 'Restrooms' next to it, so she began moving even faster towards it. However, long before she got there, she heard something rapidly moving behind her. Before she could even turn towards the sound, she was caught up and held so tightly that she could not move.
The man's voice was thick with rage as he snarled, "I told you to remain in that room."
Thea looked at his face in terror and stammered, "I need a loo."
"Wait."
"I've been waiting. I haven't been able to go since early this morning. Please?"
His fury unabated, he dragged her with him to the lavatory door and opened it. She could see in the dim streetlight that was filtering through the tiny window that the toilets were all covered by black plastic. "Go ahead."
"But…where?"
"Quickly."
Thea stared at him open mouthed. "But…"
"Or don't go."
"Are you going to stand there watching? I can't!"
He grunted and stepped back so the door slammed shut. Thea looked around herself miserably and tried hurriedly to figure out a solution. A few minutes later when she was done, she was reaching for the door when it suddenly opened, whacking painfully into her hand. Unconcerned, the man looked down at her and said, "Come."
Thea didn't move, holding her throbbing hand against her chest so her crutch was left dangling at her elbow. There was no way that she could use that hand to bear down now. It was a minute before she took a deep breath and moved forwards on just the one crutch, as she tried not to think of the pain in her hand. As soon as she was beside him, he pulled her hand towards him and roughly manipulated it. "Soft tissue. No break. Come."
She limped very slowly after him, which obviously annoyed him. However, he didn't say anything until they were inside the old office.
"Food is there. You may sleep after. We will leave in five hours."
Thea saw that there was a new large green duffle bag and what looked to be a pile of wrapped sandwiches. She asked, "Does it matter which one I eat?"
He said nothing as he passed her a water bottle. Then he handed a sandwich bundle to her and took the other four for himself. As she slowly ate the unpleasantly cold and stale sandwich, Thea watched him quickly finish all his own, take a few sips of water, and then open the duffle bag. When she finished the food, Thea looked over to the corner where the blanket and her bags were. Keeping her eye cautiously on him, she settled onto the floor and asked, "Where are we going next?"
Of course, he did not answer, so she wrapped herself up inside the blanket and used her handbag as a pillow once more. She could see he was taking apart some sort of long gun, but she didn't really want to know more. Perhaps he truly wasn't going to kill her, but that didn't mean he would be equally restrained with others. Thea eventually drifted into a dreamless sleep, which was disturbed only when the man awoke her by tapping her with one of her crutches. She sat up and tried to see through the pitch black and whispered, "Are we leaving?"
"Yes. Come."
"But…"
"I will carry this. You put your pocketbook inside and take that one."
Her brother's rucksack was dropped next to her and Thea quickly shoved her handbag in it, wondering who said pocketbook these days. That was the word her Canadian grandmother had used. Perhaps he was foreign. Thea struggled for a moment to be able to get up from the floor, finally rolling over onto all fours and working her way up from there. Her eyes had adjusted slightly to the dark, but she still had very little vision. "May I at least get my medicine from the black rucksack if we aren't taking it? I actually need several pills now."
To her surprise, he paused and asked, "Which ones?"
"They are in the large white box on the top of the black bag. I need the blue pill and the small yellow one."
Thea was astonished to see him dig into the green duffle bag and drag out the white box. Apparently, he had transferred it over, which seemed rather thoughtful for a kidnapper. He handed it to her and waited as she found what she needed. When she passed it back to him, he pushed it back into the bag.
"I can't dry swallow them."
"Water is in that bag."
She fumbled with her brother's rucksack, having previously placed her large handbag overtop everything, so she now needed to dig. After her medicine was taken, he said forcefully, "Now come."
Thea tried to slip on the enormous rucksack, which was much too heavy for her, and then settled her hands into her crutches. She didn't think she could put much weight on her hand yet, but she didn't dare admit that. Whatever impulse had led him to bring her along, he might simply decide she was no longer worth the effort and it didn't look like he would just release her. They made their way towards a back door, which led into a small shed space. As they exited, Thea asked, "Are we driving far?"
"That truck was stolen so we are walking. Hurry."
Stunned that he thought that walking anywhere with her was a solid plan, Thea felt her stomach drop. The Winter Soldier didn't seem to have much patience and she was about to push what little he did have to the limit. She found a strange loping stride/hop that worked with the one crutch she could use that didn't make the rucksack bang into her back too painfully. This worked for nearly 15 minutes. Then she tried shifting to another stride and then a third one before she finally had to accept that she was going to have to slow down. The man looked back at her when she started limping more noticeably and he stopped.
Thea shrunk away from him as she muttered, "Sorry."
He seemed to be considering something, which caused her stomach to start doing flips. Was he going to simply leave her? Or was he just going to snap her neck? Therefore, when he wrenched her crutch from her injured arm and folded it before unzipping his large duffel and shoving it in, Thea stumbled a few steps away from him and asked, "What are you doing?"
He then took her other crutch and did the same thing, transferred his duffle to his right side, and snatched her up to toss her over his left shoulder. Next, he began walking rapidly down the street and turned into the alley. They continued this way for 30 minutes. As supremely uncomfortable as it was for her, Thea considered that it must be agony for him. She was only 5 feet and just over 90 pounds, but she had the rucksack on and he was also carrying his enormous duffle. Thea wondered how he could even stand up let alone walk so quickly when he was already injured. Finally, he set her down and pulled a knife out of a pocket in his tactical vest and handed it to her. "Sit. Do not move."
Thea dropped onto the steps of the decrepit old building and rubbed her stomach, which felt raw and nauseous from being carried for so long. She was making things at least twice as difficult for him. Why was he so determined to take her with him? Ransom didn't make much sense, despite her family's wealth, since he had tried to make it look like she was already dead. He was also clearly hiding from someone more dangerous than just the police.
About fifteen minutes later, she heard his voice behind her demand, "Come."
She turned and saw him holding out his hand to her, which she took uneasily. When he pulled her up with a sharp tug, she winced but didn't speak. Dutifully, she shuffled slowly, following him inside what appeared to be an old unoccupied hotel. They walked down a foul-smelling old hallway towards the very back of the building. He opened a door through which he pushed her none too gently. She realised that they were in an old ballroom of sorts. The floor was littered with traces of former squatters and vagrants, but it smelled less horrible than the front of the hotel had done.
Unable to disguise her distaste, Thea asked with horror, "Are we staying here?"
He did not reply but gestured to a scarred, grotty old wooden dining table on which he had placed their belongings.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Sleep on that. Rats are less likely to climb it."
Thea shrieked. "Rats? No, I cannot handle rats." Through the darkness she could just see his angry expression, but Thea had reached a point of no return. "I just cannot bear rats. I can't. I've followed you and done whatever you wanted. However, I can't bear rats. Please don't make me."
The man growled, "This is where we are staying. Sit down and be quiet."
Thea shook her head. "Why won't you just let me phone my brother? The HYDRA people won't find me here, will they? I don't even know where we are. Or I could just go to the police and tell them I'm lost. I should be safe then. I won't tell them anything about you."
"HYDRA will find you anywhere."
Exasperated and overwrought, Thea demanded, "But who are they?"
"Give me your hand."
Thea took a deep breath and held out her hand. The man pulled a small roll of tape from one pocket and began wrapping her hand. When he was finished, she softly said, "Thank you."
"Helping me put you in danger. HYDRA will not stop at anything to recapture me."
"Why? I thought you worked for them."
He grunted and replied roughly, "I did. I am not returning."
"But you can't take me along with you forever, Winter Soldier. I can't run or even walk without my sticks, I can't carry much, and I can't fight at all. I will make you so much slower."
He shrugged and stated, "You will be safe with me. If I let you go, then they will destroy you."
"Why do you even care? I thought you were one of those HYDRA people that have no mercy."
"Not now."
Thea sat very still, shivering in her thin coat. She had flipped up the fur collar, but the body of the coat was woefully insufficient for a March night. "Then who are you now?"
There was silence as he stalked all about the room, double checking the doors and the grungy windows. Finally, as he approached her from behind, he said in an odd, halting voice, "James Buchanan Barnes. Bucky. I don't really remember, but the museum said that was my name."
"Is that what you want me to call you?"
His tone was uneasy as he responded, "I have not had a name. I didn't need one."
"Everyone should have a name. Should I call you James or Bucky or would you rather I just said Winter Soldier?"
He sounded almost confused as he said, "I was the Winter Soldier, but I am not now. I think I am Bucky."
"Did something happen to your memory? Do you not actually remember who you are?"
He did not answer but turned towards the table where he dug into the large duffel and pulled out the blanket. "I removed the people who were here. Some might return, so I will stay awake."
"But you need to sleep, too."
He gestured with his head towards the blanket on the table. "We leave in four hours."
Thea wiggled herself up onto the table and asked, "You won't let any rats climb on me, will you?"
He grunted and pulled out a second gun from his vest. "Sleep."