The morning was misty and cool from the night's rain. After a few more hours driving, the band of soldiers pulled off the road. This time the supplies were distributed into packs and the truck was covered with branches and leaves.

Surveillance flights showed that they had stopped about two miles from where the first Hydra perimeter guard should be stationed. The team needed to establish the layout of the factory, find the weapons, prisoners, and any higher ups that could be useful.

Falsworth, Gabe, and Bucky would swing left, Dugan, Dernier, and Morita to the right establishing the needed information. Captain America would go up and over.

"Alright, meet back at the rendezvous point at 1700 hours," Steve ordered. The meeting time would give each group two hours to search and return. "Maintain radio silence unless necessary."

Each group had a handheld walkie-talkie between them. The radios were redesigned by Howard Stark to make them lighter and more versatile for stealth missions like this one. The channel was a distinct signal that no one would be able to listen to unless they had a machine that generated it. The privacy was due to a scrabbling signal that piggy backed on the channel, but Steve and the Commandos had all tuned out the inventor's detailed explanation. Gabe Jones was the only one of them that had any sort of interest in the ingenuity. What they did note was the frequency range was shorten to two square miles because of the decreased size.

Steve easily hopped over the over the wire fencing and scrabbled up to the roof of the nearest building. There were multiple, older styled buildings in this facility. If it wasn't for the pair of Hydra guards that passed below the silent observer, he would have assumed it was just another village in France. The town was fairly remote and the perfect place for secrecy in an abandoned area.

Vaulting from roof to roof, Steve was nothing more than a shadow. He silently slipped past guards on the roof as he scoped the layout, mentally mapping traffic and resources as he went. The super soldier took extra care of where he placed his feet. This was not the time to engage the enemy. He could easily overtake any that came at him, but the advantage of stealth would be lost and any evidence would be destroyed. The commandos would be taking in the outer buildings and noting any escape routes.

Steve stopped short, crouching behind some large crates. The next roof was over 20 yards away; an impossible leap for anyone but him. The soldier hesitated for a moment, waiting for a guard to his right to pass him. As soon as the guard did, Steve took off, covering the distance and landing in a roll to the opposite roof.

He was about to bounce back to his feet until he heard sounds on the floor below him. Steve lay flat on his stomach, ear pressed against the old wood. The voices that filtered up were rapid as if startled, but it was the pitch that caught the soldier's attention. The cries were high and light and as the fears formed in his mind as baby's wail carried above all the noise.

The Captain quickly swung over the side of the building. Clinging to the nearest windowsill, Steve peered in to the small living room. Inside there were at least 20 women and children crowded together, ages ranging from elderly to infancy.

The civilians were frantic, pointing to the roof and Steve could see a chuck of the ceiling lying on the floor in the middle of the room. His landing must have loosened it.

The door across the room banged open. Steve pulled back, hanging by his fingers outside he could hear the guard yelling in German for silence and there was the sound of flesh hitting flesh. The women quieted even though they were speaking French before, but the baby cried.

After the door closed again, Steve shimmed back to the roof. He kneeled by the edge, mind spinning like rides at an amusement park. This town was never abandoned, Hydra had taken it over and imprisoned its inhabitants. Steve guessed that the men were in the factory now, working hard to keep their wives and children safe.

He need to get a better view of the other buildings now, who knows how many other rooms like the one below him, was.

Sharp crackle of static sounded and Captain America's heart leaped into his throat. He groped for the radio at his hip, trying to muffle the noise with his hands. The heart in his throat squeezed with the realization that his team was in trouble.

"Need back up," Falsworth's British accent carried through the small device. "Ambushed by a patrol, Bucky's been stabbed!"

Now Steve's heart stopped and he couldn't breathe at all.

Falsworth, Gabe, and Bucky ran in a line, hiding their numbers. They were hiding in the trees on top of the cliffs overlooking the village. The group had to duck from a couple of patrols along the way. There would be no escape from below with the rock wall, but the sound of drilling drew the soldiers closer.

Looking below, two gargantuan machines were pounding into the rock. Men filtered in around them, moving chucks and choking on dust.

"They are either looking for something or making a back door," Gabe said softly.

"But we cannot tell which, from here," Falsworth added.

One of the men, hauling stone collapsed. A black clad figure strode over kicking the down man. The next second, a blue light flashed and the prisoner was gone.

"Jesus," Bucky whispered, memories floated to the surface. The young man rolled away, his breath coming his shallow gasps.

"Hey, man. It's okay. We're not there anymore," Gabe said, catching on quickly to his comrades' distress. Gabe Jones was an observant fellow, a trait that has lead him far in life and kept him alive in the war and as a prisoner. He knew that bad things had happened to the young New Yorker. Gabe has watched Bucky fold in on himself when he thinks know ones watching, but any attempt to talk about it was brushed off and the last time it was not so friendly.

Bucky stumbled around, his retort cut short as he spotted the Hydra guard pulled back his knife to stab the black commando from behind. "On your six!"

Bucky charged forward, tackling the enemy to the ground. The sounds of a scuffle reached him as he wrestled with the guard. A shot as Bucky managed to get a grip and snap the masked man neck.

Falsworth paused, looking around. The three man patrol had come from nowhere, but the sound from the drilling seemed to cover the fight as the men still worked on undisturbed. "Sound off," he ordered.

"I'm fine," Gabe gasped.

"Me, too. Ahh," Bucky fell to the ground as pain shoot hot fire up his leg. He looked down to see the Hydra knife sticking out of his thigh. "Or not," he grunted.

"Oh, Bollocks."

Please let me know what you think. I wrote a one shot in reference to the Howling Commandos reaction to Steve's pre serum self mentioned earlier.