WARNING: James gets angry and bad people die painfully.
Translations are at the end. I apologize for the translations...I used Google Translate. If anyone knows Russian and can translate, I would be really thankful.
Jemma squeezed her eyes shut, surprised to hear a body that wasn't hers fall to the ground. Opening her eyes, she watched the Soldier take in her frazzled state. She was frozen as he holstered his gun and walked towards her, his flesh hand held out.
"James?"
His eyes regained some warmth and he gave her a crooked smile. "Come on, doll."
Taking his hand, she followed him into what looked like the barracks. She caught the shirt he threw her and pulled it over her head, briefly inhaling his scent of metal and leather. It distracted her for a moment, causing her to run into his back.
"Fuck." He growled, turning to look at her. "Stay behind me."
"No problem." As she said this, a pistol was pushed into her hands. She didn't question him, just disengaged the safety and held it tightly in her hands. This wasn't an ICER, this would kill. She looked up from the gun a moment later to find that he had rounded the corner. Looking to see that no one was coming, she peeked her head around the corner.
It looked like every agent in the base was attacking at once and if Jemma didn't know who he was she would think it a lost battle. He was a whirlwind of gleaming metal, arcs of blood following his knife. The agents finally realized to get out of his reach but were too late to take cover when he pulled out his pistol and emptied the clip. Each shot was a kill shot and when he ran out of bullets, he used his hands, breaking necks and smashing skulls against the cement wall.
Jemma should've been afraid. Instead, she was relieved, Anna's words echoing in her mind: These people that have been holding you…they won't be a problem much longer. You will make it back to your team. The men that had been holding her were currently being torn to shreds by their "greatest weapon". Her relief was shattered when she remembered her team. Had the Winter Soldier completed the mission or did James come back before that? How long had she been out? Her lack of concentration cost her as the gun was wrenched from her grip and pressed tightly to temple. Bloody hell!
"It's nice to see you, Dr. Simmons." His other arm held her tightly against him as he walked around the corner in full view of James. "Soldier."
She watched James turn, every movement slow and deliberate. Those eyes were flat, but she noticed the tick in his jaw. He was probably running through possibilities, a knife twirling between the fingers of his right hand. Even with his precision and speed, Volkov would pull the trigger before the knife killed him. She too was running possible solutions, bringing to mind the few basic self-defense lessons that May and Coulson had agreed her and Fitz be put through after one too many close calls with HYDRA.
"Vy budete smotret' mne ubit' yeye…" The barrel dug into her skin. "Smotret' yeye krovi pokryt' eti steny."
"Пошел на хуй," James growled, his eyes finally hinting at his rage.
Jemma didn't need to understand Russian to know what that response meant. Before things got more out of control, she forced herself to go limp, causing his hold on her to slacken in surprise. Reaching up, she grabbed the barrel and pulled it away from her head before ramming an elbow into his stomach. She hit his temple with the butt of the gun, effectively stunning him, and turned to James. "Let's go."
He gave her a small smile and sheathed the knife. "One more thing doll." In the barest of movements, the metal hand had Volkov by the throat, his feet dangling a foot off the ground.
Volkov's eyes were wide as his hands tried to get purchase on the blood-coated metal. He couldn't speak as the hand tightened with a whirling sound. He looked over at Jemma and had the gall to actually send her a pleading look…
"Are you afraid Volkov? Are you in pain?" This wasn't James speaking, it was the Soldier. His head tilted a bit, studying the man's now purple face as he gasped for air. "I've been in pain for seventy years…" He let out a cold laugh and smiled, nothing reaching those vengeful blue eyes. "Do you know how long I've wanted to do this?" Choked gasp. "No? Since you brought me in. Do you remember that?" The fingers pressed deeper into the suffocating man's throat.
"I was starting to remember who I am…or who I was. You told me I was malfunctioning. Told me that my memories of my life, my family, my friend…were nothin'." The Brooklyn was seeping into the coldness of his voice as his memories surfaced. "I'll tell ya what else means nothin'…your life."
Jemma watched as the metal fingers sank into Volkov's throat, but didn't stop as blood began pouring from the punctures. The man's choked cry was cut off as James' hand slowly curled into a fist with a crunch and Volkov's body fell to the ground. James uncurled his hand, pieces of torn skin, flesh, and crushed bone falling to the floor.
She stared at James for a moment, her eyes jumping between the mangled body and the blood dripping from the lax hand. His eyes were bright with bloodlust and she couldn't help but take a step when his head snapped to meet her wide-eyed gaze. This wasn't James, but it wasn't the Soldier either. She didn't recognize those eyes at all…
He seemed to shake himself from whatever fog he'd been in because he looked at her then at his gore-covered hand in horror. He took in her trembling form and didn't seem surprised when she shrunk away from his touch or that her grip tightened on the gun.
"You should go." His voice sounded tired...defeated.
"Go where?"
"Away from here…from me." Crouching next to Volkov's body, he preceded to clean off his metal hand the best he could, but Jemma knew there would still be blood between the plating…
"I don't know where I am. I need you to help me get back to…" She trailed off.
He stood up. "They are alive."
"Then please James…" She rested her hand on his flesh arm, ignoring the blood coating the skin. He stiffened even more if that were possible and she heard the whirling of his metal hand as it once again clenched into a fist. "Can you take me to them?"
"They will put me down." He frowned at her hand. "As they should."
"They'll...oh God no James. They would never do that." Her thoughts flitted to May and Bobbi. Okay…so some of them would. She could get Coulson to see sense though. This was the Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers' childhood friend and one of the Howling Commandos. He wouldn't kill him…hopefully.
"I did kidnap you and I'm responsible for the death of hundreds of agents…"
"You're not the first assassin to be taken in…" Her sentence trailed off as he tensed, his heading cocking slightly. "What?"
"Reinforcements." He took her hand in his. "Change of plans. You're coming with me."
Jemma hardly had time to respond as she was pulled down another corridor and into a garage. Handing her a helmet and Kevlar vest, he loaded another magazine into his pistol and grabbed his mask and goggles before pulling up on a motorcycle. Ignoring the little voice that told her she was insane and that that machine was a death trap, she swung her leg over the seat and wrapped her arms around his waist and hooked her fingers into the straps on his vest. She pressed her face into his back as the tires squealed and she felt the wind on her arms. She refused to look up the entire ride.
After riding at breakneck speeds for was probably the longest hour of her life, he pulled up to a small shack and shut off the ignition. He laughed, the sound vibrating through his back. "Not that I'm complainin' doll, but you can let go now."
She could hear the smirk in his voice. "Shut up Barnes." She removed her arms and shakily got off the bike. "I've never ridden a motorcycle before."
"Sorry, Jemma. It was the only vehicle without GPS."
"Trackers?" She pulled the helmet off and flattened her hair.
"That's why we're here." He held up his metal arm. "Need to remove them before we can get on the road." He walked inside the cabin and started digging through the drawers.
"How many?"
He sat down at the table and laid his left hand on the table, palm facing up. "There's one in my elbow and I think one in my shoulder, underneath the star." He shook his head and took a knife out of his belt, using the tip to unscrew the small plate over his elbow. "They thought I forgot about them…"
She sat next to him, watching closely as he exposed the inner mechanisms and wiring of his arm. Everything was that same chromed metal, except for a nonmetallic material that had a small blinking red light that was embedded in the wiring. Wow…not really trying to hide that.
"There a chance you can remove it? My fingers aren't exactly small…"
"Do you have any tweezers or pliers?" She peered into the wiring. "I don't feel comfortable just reaching in. I might damage something."
"Trust me doll, it takes a lot to damage this."
"Mechanical engineering isn't one of my PhD.s." She sat back. "I need one to know how this works." She didn't want to add that she didn't want to hurt him any more than his arm already did.
"I'll let you know if anything happens." He handed her tweezers.
"Fine." The opening allowed her to fit in two fingers. She pushed a few cords out of the way and held them as she located the tracker and pulled. She heard a buzzing and let go when James seized up. "Are you okay?"
"Just a small shock. Nothing I can't deal with."
She again pulled, and the buzzing began anew. It took a bit more effort than she thought and when she finally got it out, James relaxed. She set the tweezers down and replaced the wires before grabbing the metal plating and screwing it back in. She had him bend the arm a few times. "Everything work?"
"Yeah. Next one's under the star." He reached over and pointed at the plating in the center of the star. "Just pull it out."
Taking the knife, she unscrewed the plating and slowly removed it. The opening was too small for even her fingers and she had to rely solely on the tweezers. It didn't help that his eyes were burning a hole in the side of her head. Finding the red light, she positioned the tweezers and pulled. Even though she made quick work of the other tracker, she could hear his teeth grinding as it was removed. After screwing everything back on, she once again had him move his arm around. "Good?"
"Just need to change out this gear. Don't know where else they have trackers."
"I guess I'll wait."
"There might be food if you want to grab something." Walking into the back room, he shut the door.
Looking down at her bloody and slightly oily hands, she decided a trip to the sink would be a good idea. After thoroughly scrubbing her hands, she searched through the cabinets and smiled when she found canned fruit. Cutting open the can with the knife, she tiled it back into her mouth. It was definitely an improvement from what they'd been feeding her. Pretty much anything would be better than that… She licked the remaining syrup from her lips and threw away the can right as he came out.
The tight white V-neck and leather jacket stretched across his broad shoulders, while the jeans were snug on his slim hips. He was still wearing his combat boots and she noticed the glove covering his left hand.
She finally forced her eyes to his face, only to find that smirk curling his lips. She cursed her pale skin as her entire face flushed and somehow managed to catch the sweatshirt he threw her. She made quick work of pulling it over the Kevlar vest. Like the shirt, it smelled like him, which was comforting. "We going?"
"Yeah, come on." After filling up the tank, he got on.
"How long until we're off the radar?" She pulled on the helmet and wrapped her arms around his waist. She was almost surprised by the warmth. The Winter Solider tactical gear seemed as cold as the name implied, but the cotton shirt and thin leather soaked in his warmth.
"In 'bout an hour's ride."
"Only an hour?" She didn't even try to mask her nervousness as he revved the engine. It had her tightening her hold around his waist and she could feel the laugh that vibrated through his back.
"I'll get us there in one piece. Don't you worry doll."
Translations:
Vy budete smotret' mne ubit' yeye - You'll watch me kill her
Smotret' yeye krovi pokryt' eti steny- Watch her blood cover these walls.
