{ 11. Compromised }

As cold as it was, it was also a clear and beautiful morning in the mountains. Steve heard at least three types of birdsong and zero sirens, no traffic sounds at all as he jogged down the forested path. It was a whole different experience than jogging around New York City.

As usual, he was up before the sun and everyone else in the lodge. He laced up his running shoes and off he went. H felt like he was going to lose it if he was cooped up for one more day. Aside from one or two hikers, the path was quiet and barren. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to split up, but Steve reasoned that there would be no safer time than now, when S.H.I.E.L.D was busy homing in on that unscrambled chip. What's the worst that could happen in an hour?

Sam didn't wake as his phone vibrated on the side table. Only a message from Steve, telling him where he was and how long he'd be gone. Tony got the same message, but Bucky was left in the dark when he suddenly woke, realizing the weight beside him was gone.

Bucky blinked and looked around the room. Lifeless. He searched the sitting area and peeked into Sam and Tony's room, but Steve was nowhere to be found. Steve, his handler and also his objective. He was supposed to be following Steve, presumably to guard him, and right now his handler was out in the world alone with hostiles about.

As much as he cared for Bucky's well-being, Steve didn't seem to have any sense of self-preservation, Bucky thought. Maybe Sam knew that. Maybe that's why—when they rescued Bucky from that horrid facility—Sam ordered him to "follow Steve" in the first place.

Right now, Bucky was fucking up. But Sam and Tony were still asleep, so maybe he could pull it together before they woke and they wouldn't know that he was a useless failure, wouldn't dismantle him and throw him in a scrap heap. The mission was still salvageable.

So Bucky set off to salvage it. He slipped on some jeans, his high-tops, and the heavy black jacket that Steve got for him, which he called a "Carhartt". Sam cut off the left sleeve so it wouldn't flop around and Bucky thought that was very smart and considerate.

He used his feet to hold the bottom of the jacket as he zipped it up. He put on the red beanie that was a gift from Tony and had a graphic sewn into it that said "IT'S LIT". Bucky didn't know what that meant but Tony thought it was funny when he wore it.

Last time he tried to protect Steve, Bucky was overpowered. It wouldn't have happened if his metal arm had anything to say about it, he thought, and searched their luggage for tactical gear.

The closest thing he could find was that obnoxious shield in Steve's backpack. It would have to do. It stood out against his dark clothes in its red, white, and blue glory, gleaming in the morning sunlight as he stepped out of the lodge.

There was a big gravel lot ahead, forest and mountains all around. If he were Steve, where would he go? There was only one road out of this place, but the van was still parked where they left it. Steve must have gone somewhere by foot and there was no sidewalk on this road.

Bucky combed the perimeter, making his way around the building. It was built from logs and the roof came up to tall, shingled points. There was a covered area in back with tables and chairs, where a couple parties were sitting. A young woman pointed to Bucky, then the man in front of her turned around in his seat to look too and they both smiled, giggled at him.

The group of old people at another table glanced at him, a couple just shaking their heads. The young woman raised her voice over the distance and asked, "Are you a cosplayer?" Bucky looked around and realized he was alone, here outside the eating area. She was addressing him and he didn't understand the question.

They were only civilians, unarmed, not a threat. Bucky ignored her and saw a footpath leading into the forest. If he were Steve, he'd have gone that way because it seemed the most obvious and Steve would take the most obvious, direct route anywhere. Bucky didn't know how he knew that.

Around him was a symphony of birdsong from the towering conifers. He passed a sign with a picture of a bear and text that read "BEWARE OF" above it. Bucky followed the path, keeping a sharp eye and a keen ear out for Steve. He noticed tracks in the path here and there, imprints of feet and paws.

A set of fresh footprints were spaced far apart, smeared a little at the heel which suggested the target was running. They were also a little bigger and deeper than the others, meaning the target was heavier than the average person. Likely not fat judging by the gait, but muscular. Bucky knew someone who was heavy and muscular and liked to run.

He followed the prints down the trail for a mile and a half. There were no other human faces to be seen, but he did see a deer cross the path in front of him. It was a doe, and it stopped in the middle of the trail to stare at him. Bucky stopped too. It stood about twenty feet away and he wondered if he could creep up and touch it. He could certainly shoot it from here if he had a firearm, put one between the eyes with ease—but he didn't need to do that. It was only another unnecessary thought.

"Hey!" a voice called from further down the trail, shrill and feminine. The deer disappeared in an instant, leaping off into the trees. It had been blocking Bucky's view of a person, a young woman, sitting on the trailside. She was small and dirty with long black hair tied back in a messy ponytail, clad in neon jogging clothes.

"Thank God!" She cried to him. "Please help me! I—I think I broke my ankle! It just happened, like, ten minutes ago and I can't get a cell signal!" Bucky regarded her with suspicion. He raised his shield and crept forward, and her expression changed as she did. Her eyes rounded, looking up at him with a flash of fear.

"Uh, is that like, a Captain America thing? Is it real metal?" Her tone was as nervous and submissive as her smile. Bucky lowered the shield. She was not a threat. She was sitting with one leg outstretched, pants rolled up to her knee. Her shoe and sock were sitting to the side.

Bucky watched himself kneel beside her leg and begin examining it, and he wasn't sure why because she was not his objective. She was a useless civilian and he was wasting time on her when he should have been searching for Steve. What he was doing, it felt compulsive.

She needed help and Sergeant Barnes would've helped her—he knew because he watched all 47 episodes of The Adventures of Captain America. Steve said those characters were them, but Bucky realized that was impossible because it was filmed a very long time ago and they would both be old and gray by now. He thinks Steve was just teasing him. Teasing was a thing these new handlers did with him sometimes, which his old handlers had not.

The picture quality on the screen had been small and not so good. Still, aspects of that show jumped out of him, hit him with a nostalgic feeling for something that never even existed. Steve wanted him to be like Sergeant Barnes from the show, brave and righteous, always helping those in need.

This woman's ankle was twisted and swollen and there were teartracks on her face. She was definitely in need. Bucky couldn't pick her up with one injured arm and a shield, so he set the shield on the ground and kneeled before her. He turned around, facing away from her, and patted his metal shoulder.

The woman said, "Climb on your back? Are you sure? I don't wanna like, break your spine or anything…" At this, Bucky snorted a chuckle. His spine had suffered worse trauma than supporting a ninety-pound lady, that's for sure. He glanced back at her and nodded. The woman stood up on one foot and laid over top of his back, arms around his neck and legs around his waist.

Bucky stood up and hooked his hand under the back of her right knee to support her the best he could. She weighed less than Sam's duffel bag…But now he couldn't carry the shield. Damn it. What he would give to have his other arm back…

She must have noticed his bewildered pause because she asked, "Want me to carry the shield?" Bucky nodded and kneeled down again, low enough that she could grab the shield and hoist it up. "God, it is real metal. It's heavy!" she grunted and held it with both hands, hugging it against Bucky's chest. Perfect, body armor. Maybe she wasn't so useless after all.

"Thank you, thank you so much," she said. "I'm Kendra, by the way." Bucky made a little noise of acknowledgement and moved forward, carrying her further down the trail. Kendra mentioned, "Oh, uh, the lodge is the other way." Bucky paused for a second, glancing back.

Should he drop her off there and come back? No, he'd walked so far already and Steve could be in danger. There were bears here, he read. Kendra would just have to come along for the mission. He kept walking and she sounded a little more frantic when she pointed and said, "No, no, that way! W-where are we going?"

Bucky swallowed. He took a breath and said, "Gotta find Steve." Forming words still felt alien in his mouth, but he was getting better, he thought. Kendra cocked her head.

"Steve? Is that someone you're hiking with?"

Bucky just nodded. She continued, "Well, when we find Steve, we're going back to the lodge, right? 'Cause I got people waiting for me."

Bucky nodded again. She seemed to relax, just slightly. Thirty silent paces passed between them before she spoke again. She asked, "Sorry, I don't think I got your name earlier. You are…?" Bucky nearly tripped over his own feet. Well…What a hell of a question. He'd been called a lot of names by a lot of people.

James. Sergeant Barnes. Asset. Soldier. Buckaroo. Nathan. One time Tony called him "Fucky". But Steve addressed him as "Bucky" and he liked that the most, so he told her,

"I'm Bucky."

"Bucky?" Kendra paused. Then after a moment, she laughed, "Like Bucky Barnes? Ooooh, Steve, the shield—I get it! There must be a convention in town. I know the hotels around here are always packed during those things. Staying up here at the lodge was smart, I bet no one else thought of that."

Bucky didn't know what the hell she was on about. He just shrugged and shifted her a little on his shoulders. She grinned.

"You costume people aren't allowed to break character, huh?"

He replied with silence. She said, "I guess not."

Not another minute down the trail and she was talking again. "So you must be like, an actual vet. Did you serve in Iraq or Afghanistan?" Bucky furrowed his brow. What? Was there a war going on? He didn't see any tanks or soldiers. Kendra gasped and threw a hand over her mouth. "Oh, Gosh! That was probably like, a super rude question. I'm sorry. I just thought…Uh, because of…"

She gestured vaguely to his amputated shoulder and slapped her palm over her eye. "Yeah, that was rude. Sorry. I guess I'm just a little dazed from the ankle thing. It's pretty bad, I think. I probably won't be able to hike again for months…"

The woman prattled on as Bucky carried her another mile down the trail. It was fine. The more she talked, the more he didn't have to. She had come to the conclusion that he was a war veteran and told him that her brother served in a war as well, and he said some of his fellow soldiers had trouble speaking when they came back from their deployment too.

She could believe whatever she wanted about him. It didn't matter because after he found Steve, he was dumping her off at the lodge so he could fulfill his mission properly. It would be more efficient to just snap her neck and toss her body in the woods, but…Bucky didn't know where that thought came from, because Steve wanted him to be like Sergeant Barnes and Sergeant Barnes would never harm a civilian except in self-defense. He was sure this frail, bubbly woman couldn't hurt him if she tried.

A pit-pat-pit-pat noise was approaching from around the corner. Bucky tensed, then shuffled into the grasses on the roadside. A flash of color jogged around the corner—red track pants, white shoes, and a blue shirt, because Steve had all the subtlety of a freight train.

Either way, Bucky was relieved to see him. Steve slowed to a stop several feet away, panting slightly as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Bucky…?" he queried. Then he mentally kicked himself for not using his code-name when he realized the thing on his back wasn't a backpack. It was a person, a civilian, a stranger. Bucky moved forward. He and Steve approached eachother, both looking rather confused for a moment until Kendra gasped,

"Wow! Oh my God, you look just like Captain America! Ha! You guys must be professionals. Do you do parties and stuff? 'Cause I have a nephew who is like, obsessed with the Avengers." Steve quirked an eyebrow, cocking his head slightly as his gaze shifted between her and Bucky. Bucky looked back at him with his mouth twisted as if to say, I don't know either, Man.

Steve brought his hands to his hips, probably silent for slightly too long before he noticed the shield and everything pieced together in his brain. His brows shot up and he stammered, "Uh, y-yeah, yeah, we're—I mean, no, we don't do parties or anything, but…" He pretended to scratch his head, if only to obscure his face. "We do the, uh, costume thing, yeah…"

Steve reached out and took the shield from her. She clapped her hands together in delight above Bucky's head and beamed, "I have to get your pictures! This is too cool. Like, I broke my ankle and he literally saved me! You're like, actual super heroes!" Steve wasn't jogging anymore but he felt the sweat flowing harder than ever. This was bad. This was really bad.

She was reaching the phone in her pocket when Steve's hand shot out, grabbing her wrist. "H-hold on," he began, "let's wait until we get back. If that ankle's really broken, then you need medical attention as soon as possible." Kendra nodded in agreement.

"I guess you're right," she said.

Steve patted Bucky's shoulder, beckoning him to follow as he led the way. The blond's thoughts were racing, planning a million different ways to slip out of this. A photo was out of the question. Steve knew she'd probably post it on the Face Book and that face-recognition technology would out them.

"So are the muscles natural? 'Cause you're seriously just as jacked as Cap. You might even be bigger than him!" Kendra blurted towards Steve. He floundered for an answer.

"Uh…No, they're not natural." It wasn't exactly a lie. Kendra nodded and said,

"I guess you have to do a lot of crazy stuff to your body when you're an actor. Did you get work done on your face too? You seriously look so much like him."

Steve shrugged. "It's a secret," he decided. Kendra spewed inane questions the entire way back to the lodge and Steve had to belt out terrible, terrible lies. He felt his heart thumping in his chest. Tony and Sam were going to be pissed. Steve was only gone for an hour, on an extremely remote trail at the crack of dawn in the off-season, running too fast for anyone to recognize him anyway. He never expected Bucky to show up with a problem on his back.

The lodge was visible in the distance and more guests were out and about now, preparing early for their hiking trips. He and Bucky couldn't stick around while a crowd gathered, but Steve's conscience compelled him to see that this woman got help. Two other women, looking close to Kendra's age, waved at her from beside the building. They came running up to meet her as Bucky carefully set her down. She stood on one leg before she leaned on the red-headed woman's shoulder.

"Oh my god, Kendra! We were about to call the police or something! Where were you?" asked the redhead. Kendra was all smiles as she explained,

"You guys, you are not going to believe this—this is so crazy! I twisted my ankle jogging and these cosplayers," she gestured to Steve and Bucky, "just showed up out of nowhere and carried me back. Look at them! They're Bucky Barnes and Captain America!"

Steve scratched fake itches on his neck and face, all tensed up as the women giddily threatened to expose him to every hunter on his trail. Kendra was so adamant about that damn photo. She raised her camera and Steve pushed it away once more. He suggested, "Please, call an ambulance first. That ankle really doesn't look good."

"Just one picture, real quick!" they pleaded. Steve looked at Bucky, standing behind him with something like anxiety on his face. Steve Rogers hated lying. His lies were transparent as glass, flimsy as wet paper. He turned back to the women, grit his teeth and said something he knew was going to haunt him later. He said, "Don't worry, we're going to be here a while. Uh, tell you what—call an ambulance, get that ankle checked out, and we'll meet you tomorrow with our full costumes on. It'll be a much better photo."

Nailed it. The women agreed, wrote down their phone numbers and room number on a scrap of paper and handed it to Steve. Steve tucked it in his pocket with a plastic smile, shook all their hands, then he and Bucky hurried off back to their suite. As they walked away, they heard one of the women loudly addressing some people by the eating area.

"Hey! Did you guys see Captain America over there?"

Steve cringed.

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