A/N: I am nearing the end of this story. I appreciate everyone who has continued to read it!
James and Danielle drove their car into the woods outside of Deva and toward the HYDRA base. James was silent and stoic like his assassin skills had kicked in and he had forgotten how to behave other than like a killer. Danielle sat in the passenger seat, stealing glances at him while he kept his eyes on the road.
"Why are you staring at me?" James said without looking toward her.
Danielle shook her head. "Sorry. I was thinking about how I was meant to turn you in to SHIELD and wondering where we would be now if I had."
"I would be in a cell." James replied.
"You don't know that." Danielle argued.
"I'm not exactly wanted for good reasons." He turned his head to look at her.
Danielle shrugged. "Maybe that's true, but I want you for good reasons."
James reached over and took her hand. He rubbed his thumb along her fingers and squeezed her hand.
Danielle felt a difference in the way he was acting besides the inner assassin. "Are you okay?"
James nodded. "I'm fine."
"You don't have to lie to me."
"I'm not lying. I'm fine. I'm just worried."
"Everything will be all right. It's like you said we set some charges, we blow it up, and we get away. Then we find a new city to roam around in."
"It's that easy?" James raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," she said, trying to convince him of her optimism.
His facial expression didn't change, but Danielle felt him relax.
They reached the end of the paved road and pulled off onto the dirt path that led from it. James found an opening in the trees and pulled the car off the road to hide among the dense foliage. They exited the car, meeting at the back to grab their backpacks and explosives.
Danielle slipped her backpack onto her shoulders and turned to face James as he did the same. He reached out and tightened her straps a little and held her by the shoulders. "You ready?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "I'm ready for this to be over."
James let her go and shut the hatch to the car. He started walking toward the HYDRA base with Danielle following a step behind him.
Inside the building James led the way down the hallway toward the more populated areas of the base. He had easily ripped the handle off a locked door on the outside to let them in, but now they had to be quiet or risk setting off alarms within the base.
Arriving at the first key structural point, Danielle removed a charge from her backpack and set the remote detonation. James continued walking down the hall until noises around the corner signaled him of someone's presence. He held out his hand to stop Danielle, then peeked around the corner. Two guards stood in the hallway chatting. James used his metal hand to tap on the concrete and create a noise that alerted the guards. They started toward James and Danielle and once they reached the corner, James punched one guard to stun him then snapped the neck of the other guard before securing the first guard in a chokehold and tightening down on his throat until he went limp.
James searched the bodies and found two radios, giving one to Danielle and slipping the other onto his belt. Danielle's eyes went wide once the acts James had completed sunk in. She was frozen.
James went to stand in front of her blocking her view of the bodies. "I changed the channel on the radios, so you and I can talk in case we get separated. We need to keep moving."
She met his eyes. "Okay, let's go."
James started down the hallway again. They continued working their way through the building setting charges in key areas to cause the most damage. Danielle was setting the last charge on a pillar near the middle of the building when James yanked her back behind the wall as bullets hit the pillar where she was standing. The bullets stopped when they were out of sight, leaving James holding Danielle to his chest listening for approaching agents.
James looked around the hallway where they stood under the upper level catwalk leading to the nearest exit. He was forming a plan to get Danielle out of the base, but he knew they would have to split up for her to have a chance to get out safely.
"You see that doorway at the end of the catwalk?" James pointed up to the second level.
"Yes," she replied.
"Wait until I clear a path, then go out that door to the end of the hall, out of the building and run to the car."
"No, I'm not leaving without you." Danielle protested.
"Just stay in the car and I will meet you there. We just have to split up for a few minutes, so you can get out of here and I can blow up the building." James moved her behind him as more bullets were fired in their general direction.
"I swear if you don't show up at that car I will hunt you down and lock you up myself." Danielle threatened, drawing her gun from her waistband.
"I love you, too." James faced her and pulled her into him to kiss her. Danielle held onto his waist not wanting to let him go and face the people who brainwashed him for so long.
James pulled away from her lips. "As soon as it's clear run." He took out his gun and turned to run across the open space.
Danielle held onto his metal hand until he sprinted across the space, disappearing into another hallway. The men from HYDRA went after James with guns drawn and a moment later the building rocked with the sound of an explosion on the opposite side of the building.
Moving from her spot, Danielle ran toward the stairs leading to the second level and climbed quickly up to the catwalk. Another explosion rocked the building and she gripped the railing to keep herself on her feet. The wall on her left fell in on itself exposing the fire from the explosions and taking out a portion of the cat walk in front of her blocking her path to the door she was meant to escape through. Danielle turned back and ran down the stairs to the ground level. She assessed her current position, blocked by fallen bricks to her left and the possibility of running into HYDRA agents if she went to her right.
The only option was to go to her right and find the stairs to the upper level on the other side. Danielle ran down the hall with her gun in front of her ready to shoot an agent of HYDRA if they appeared. She didn't see anyone as she reached the end of the hall, but another explosion rocked the building and caused the ceiling in her hallway to collapse in a few sections. She looked around the corner for HYDRA agents then tucked her gun in her waistband to climb the stairs.
Reaching the top of the stairs, another explosion shook the catwalk forcing Danielle to fall to her knees.
Then the radio James had given her crackled to life. "Be alert! SHIELD is on site! Abandon the facility. Plan delta is in effect."
Danielle was stunned. How could SHIELD be here?
She got to her feet and ran toward the door James had pointed out before they had split up. She was about to reach for the door when it flew open. Danielle set her feet and threw a punch into the figure coming through the door.
"Dani, it's me!" James held her fist in his hand and pushed it away from his face.
"James!" Danielle jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly. James squeezed her to him.
He pulled back to press a kiss to her lips. They separated after a long moment.
"The building collapsed on the cat walk so I had to take the long way." Danielle explained, grabbing his hand.
"It's okay. It's safe." He replied.
"No, it's not. SHIELD is here we have to go."
Click.
Danielle looked at her wrist and saw the handcuffs attached to it. "What are you doing?"
"I called SHIELD." James looked her in the eye. "You have to go back."
"James, no! What are you doing? I'm staying with you." Danielle tried to fight him, but he held her firmly against him.
"You can't go with me. You need to go back to SHIELD." James began backing her up until they reached the railing of the catwalk. He clipped the other part of the handcuff to the rail and Danielle continued to fight him.
"No! Let me go. James, please." She begged.
James kept a straight face, but a single tear rolled down his cheek. "I don't love you. Go back to SHIELD."
She threw a hard-right hook and connected with his jaw. "Liar!"
James faced her again. "This is the only way to keep you safe." He grabbed her face between his hands and kissed her roughly on the lips.
"I'm sorry, Danielle." He said before turning around and running the opposite direction.
"James! Come back here! James!" Danielle's voice cracked. "Please come back." She said in barely a whisper. Her knees gave out and she collapsed onto the catwalk, sobbing. She felt her heart ripping out of her chest.
She didn't know how long she sat there sobbing, but she didn't even flinch when a hand touched her shoulder.
"Danielle." The person holding her shoulder spoke her name. She looked up to see Steve Rogers in his Captain America uniform.
"Steve." Danielle felt tears run down her cheek. "Take me home."
Steve broke the handcuffs and helped Danielle to her feet. "Put your arm around me." Danielle did as she was told, and Steve lifted her into his arms.
She hid her face in the crook of his neck to keep from seeing the damage done by James and the SHIELD agents that had infiltrated the building. Steve walked her out of the building and into the back of a large cargo vehicle. He sat her on the bench seat.
Steve stood still for a moment looking over Danielle's appearance. "I have to go clear the building. Will you be okay here?"
Danielle couldn't answer. She nodded yes to allow Steve the permission he needed to leave her in silence. She couldn't help the emptiness that filled her heart as thoughts of James Buchanan Barnes played in her head.