Chapter 8
He was familiar with the facility; it was where they'd always kept him. He easily navigated the maze of hallways, finally ducking into an empty room when he heard a commotion from the direction they'd fled.
"They know we've escaped," he said, trying not let Nora hear the worry in his voice. If he were alone, he knew he'd be able to fight his way out easily. But not with Nora there, especially as injured as she was. He mentally mapped out the remaining route to the exit. The doors were not far, but would no doubt be heavily guarded. It was time to gamble.
He sat Nora on the floor and handed her one of the guns he'd stolen off the interrogating agents.
"I'll be back for you," he said, already regretting having to leave her as he saw the alarmed look on her face. He knelt beside her and looked into her eyes, taking her hand in his and squeezing it reassuringly, "I promise I'm going to get you out of here," he said fiercely, "I just need to clear us a path."
She nodded, and her eyes brightened a little, some of her trademark calm returning. "I trust you," she said simply, and he was surprised at how much those words meant to him.
He stood and crossed to the door, turning to give her one last glance before moving soundlessly into the hallway. Stealth had never The Winter Soldier's strength, but maybe he'd just never had the proper motivation. On silent feet (and realizing for the first time that he was still in his gym clothes), Bucky moved down the hall, stopping at the corner and peaking around to survey the exit. There were ten guards, not nearly as many as he'd anticipated. Realizing they must've spread themselves out to search for him and Nora, he knew he'd have to sacrifice stealth for speed. He couldn't risk them finding her. He still had one gun in his possession, and a quick inventory told him he had 12 shots left. And since these men were all armored, he'd have to make his shots count. He snuck another glance around the corner, firmly fixing their positions in his head. He took a deep breath, stepped around the corner, and fired, one shot after another. He had six guards down before they could get a returning shot off. He stepped back into cover as they fired, dropping his now empty gun. He had no choice now but to go for it, so without hesitation he turned the corner again, running down the hall at the remaining six guards. Feeling a bullet his right shoulder, and another ricochet off his metal arm, he descended on the guards in a rage. Not able to take another shot without the risk of hitting an ally, the Hydra guards were forced to drop their guns and rely on hand weapons. Even still, they were outmatched. Within minutes, the floor was littered with bodies, The Winter Soldier not sparing them a second thought as he rushed back to Nora.
Bursting into the room, he wordlessly knelt and scooped her up, not willing to sacrifice any more time. In a blink he was out the door with her, sprinting down the hall through the exit. With relief he noticed she'd wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder, not seeing the pile of bodies he'd left in his wake.
They burst through the exit and into a back alley. Less familiar with the area surrounding the building, Bucky stood for a moment not knowing which direction to go. He hoped Fury had sent agents out in search of them, but there was no way to know. Safety was most important, however, so he simply chose a direction and ran. Keeping to the shadows, he blindly turned corner after corner in the dark alleys of the city, only stopping when he finally reached a dead end. He looked around frantically, trying to decide what to do next, when that decision was made for him. His heart stopped as he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. He turned slowly, surveying the alley and committing it to memory, preparing for the fight he knew was coming. He exhaled a tremendous sigh of relief, however, when he recognized two of the men coming at him as agents that were present when Nora woke him in her lab weeks ago. SHIELD had found them. They were safe.
