Here it is finally chapter nine! Thank you to all who have read and supported this story. Thank you
BANG
The bullet was pushed out of the barrel by the explosion in the chamber. The heat caused it to fly at 3500 feet per second. It traveled through the air, through the rain, across the street before finally meeting the window. The tip pierced the glass causing millions of spider web fractures to form before it imploded. A loud crash was heard from the window as the glass shards filled the room like pieces of hail. The shards splashed against both Rina and Bucky. But it was Rina who felt its stinging kiss as her skin was carved up in little scratches.
Their bodies fell to the floor as debris started flying around them. A sea of bullets flew into the shop breaking and shattering everything they could hit. As they lay on the floor Rina could feel her old training kick in. Her duty was to first and foremost protect him.
To protect the Winter Soldier.
Her hand grabbed ahold of Bucky's jacket before she dragged him behind the thick wooden bar. They ducked down low to the floor to avoid the barrage of fire. The wood of the bar seemed to be taking a good majority of the damage. Bucky looked over to Rina as she touched a button hidden in the wood. It looked just like a regular impression in the wood. Then a latch opened, and he watched as she pulled a gun out of the hidden compartment. It was a Bebé Desert Eagle II. The gun clicked as she slammed the ammo mag into place and loaded the barrel.
Upon seeing the high-powered pistol Bucky locked eyes with Rina. The look he saw in those gray pools. He knew...he knew now more than ever that this woman was his long-lost shadow. "You are Shadow..." he muttered to himself over the onslaught of bullets tearing into the walls and furniture.
The revelation wasn't much help while under the onslaught of bullets. They were still trapped and only had one gun. Bucky hadn't thought the need for weapons that morning when he made the choice to go down to the cafe. It was then Bucky immediately began to look for a way out. "We need to get out of here! You can't hold them off with one gun!" He shouted to her over the loud bangs.
She ducked down beside him as she reloaded the gun. "We've been in worse scrapes than this..." she murmured before jumping back up and shooting again. However, neither knew about the third shooter.
There was another loud bang...this one was much closer. The bullet came from the side shattering the window and hitting Rina in the ribs. She cried out and fell to the floor in pain. She landed beside Bucky already bleeding profusely. This was not the first time she had been shot keeping him safe. "Rina!" Bucky picked up the gun from her hand only to quickly shoot the third gunman. The man went down quick as the bullet penetrated his chest. He ducked down and took hold of her hand in his. "Rina, I know it is going to be hard, but I need you to stay awake. Okay?" he seemed to beg her as she laid there. "Stay awake." His whole field of vision seemed to blur and narrow as he focused on the wound. The gunfire faded into the back of his mind as he applied pressure to the wound. He had to stop the bleeding. He had too.
"I've had worse." she said gritting her teeth together as the statement came out almost like a mantra. She groaned feeling the pressure on the wound. "I guess I'm really rusty..." she murmured as she lay there bleeding on the tile floor.
"Been awhile for both of us, but we can get through this." Bucky told her. He needed to get her out of here, but he was afraid if he moved her they'd both get hit. "You got anymore ammo? Don't reach. Just tell me how to get it."
"The cubby hole...where I got the gun" she murmured as she started to feel cold. It had been so long since she had this happen. She had forgotten what a gunshot felt like. Bucky gave a nod as he ripped off part of his shirt to try and create some type of a bandage. Only then did he grab the extra clips to reload the gun.
"Keep talking to me Rina. You need to stay awake." He said to her as he glanced at her once more before he stood to let off several more rounds. He was shooting to kill now. HE didn't care if Shield might want one of them alive. No…damn them. Damn them all for being the cause of all of this. One bullet managed to hit one of the Hydra agents directly between the eyes before he had to drop back down for cover.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you…" she moaned in pain as she started to feel weaker. "I thought it was better you didn't know…" A tear fell from the corner of her eye as she tried to look at him. She wanted to see his face before she would go into shock. His handsome face…his beautiful eyes…she wanted that image in her mind.
"It's okay Rina. I figured it out anyway, well, parts of it anyway. No more secrets between us okay? We must stick together. The two of us…right?" He asked looking into her eyes as he started to feel like a scared little boy losing his best friend. His voice started to waver despite the rapid fire that was all around them. "I'm-I'm not Peter Pan, Rina. I can't just sew you back to my feet and it's all fixed…I need my Shadow."
Rina tried to force herself to remain calm despite the growing fear inside of her. She was bleeding out on the floor. There were bullets everywhere. She couldn't show she was afraid. She had to stay strong…for him. Among the sound of the bullets flying there seemed to be the sound of an engine. But it was so faint she couldn't barely lock onto it. Her vision was staring to fade and tunnel. Her hands were growing numb. "Zima…" she murmured as she started to feel sleepy. Another tear trickled down from her eye. "Zima…" she had called him by the one name she had given him. Not Bucky, not THE Winter's Soldier…but simply Winter. The name she knew him by for so many years. The name she called him when they were in private…her Zima…
Rina's voice grew faint over the sound of the gun fire. So much so that Bucky had barley heard her. Zima? What did she call him? Zima?...the name ran through Bucky's mind trying to recall the memory. "What? Rina I-" He looked over and saw that her eyes had closed and the hand that lay at her ribs was limp. "Rina?!" The panic inside of him was rising causing his chest to tighten as he crawled to her. His memories of her were fuzzy at most but the feeling inside him were ever present. He couldn't lose her, not now, not like this…not ever. "Rina!" His hand cupped her face and noticed she was in fact still breathing. But she had slipped into shock and was losing blood fast. He shook her gently trying to get her to wake up. Her eyes opened but only briefly as they locked with his.
"Zima…" she said one last time before her eyes close again. Rina slipped into unconsciousness just as the cavalry arrived. Shockingly they had arrived "just in the nick of time". What a shocker there. Always cutting it close they were. The onslaught of bullets finally stopped but Bucky kept his eyes on Rina. He now had his jacket over her to keep her warm. Even as the agents of Shield surrounded him he kept his focus on her. He wouldn't let anyone else touch her. No, no one could touch her…or take her from him. He picked her up off the floor and carried her into the jet. He held her tight to his chest as they flew back to HQ.
