It was times like these that I seriously envied James' ability to remain mostly calm and think tactically - instead of internally screaming like I was. We couldn't just have one fucking second alone to actually just talk! Nope, nope! Always interrupted.
Always with the impending death scenarios.
Fucking. Brilliant.
Shooting another quick glance out the back window, I took note that the black car seemed to be speeding up. Great. Fantastic. What next?!
Biting my lip, I forced myself to take a deep breath through my nose. An attempt to sooth my now racing heart and anxious nerves. Swallowing hard I turned to look at the side of Bucky's face.
He was glancing back and forth between the road, and the rear-view mirror. He was definitely in 'thinking of how to murder everyone' mode.
"What do we do?" I whispered, worriedly.
His jaw relaxed, slightly, he was obviously mulling over his answer. I watched as his lips slowly parted, only for his eyes to suddenly snap to mine, darkening instantly in an otherworldly scowl. In a fraction of a second, his hands leapt from the steering wheel as he twisted sideways. His normal hand grasped onto my arm first, yanking me urgently towards him. I felt the truck swerve inwards as his metal arm wrapped around my waist and lifted.
Before I could fully comprehend what exactly was going on, I found myself firmly planted on Bucky's lap, as a bullet tore through the back window of the truck - raining glass where I had previously been sitting. As James' unnatural, warmth gradually started to envelop me, the sinking feeling of another near death experience started to settle in. Bucky's hands were back on the steering wheel, caging me against his chest.
I had almost died... Again.
Motherfucker!
Twisting around, I leaned just enough to the side to see past Bucky's arm. A second, 'inconspicuous', black car had joined the first - the shooter in question had his hand sticking out the window. Bastard.
James shifted and nudged me with the arm I was looking past, a not so subtle hint to stop putting myself where they could see me. Shifting back into place, I braved a glance up at his face, only to find him already looking at me. His eyes locked with mine briefly before returning to the road as we started to accelerate.
What were we going to do?! Couldn't they just shoot Bucky now?!
My erratic, anxious thoughts cooled slightly - that's right. They can't. All this time.. and they still want to bring him in alive? Such a valuable Hydra asset he must be. He had to have known this too... that's why he put me in front of him. He was shielding me.
Abruptly, silver blurred in front of me as his metal arm wrapped around my upper chest, pulling me tightly back against him. His normal hand jerked the steering wheel to the side, veering the car to the side as another vehicle appeared in front of us. The jarring sound of metal on metal made me shriek as a bullet pierced the windshield and ricocheted off of James' metal arm.
"Oh my god..." My voice was barely above a whisper, drowned out by the roar of the engine - but he had heard me. His chest rumbled in a displeased growl.
"I've got you." His voice was gruff, angry.
With his normal hand still on the steering wheel, Bucky reached down and grasped onto a gun near his thigh. In a calculated, perfectly executed moment, he lifted the gun and fired through the hole the last bullet had created. I watched as the gunner in the front car suddenly slumped against his seat, unmoving.
Holy hell... Sharp shooter, much? I didn't think I could ever get used to how deadly he was. I was stuck between freaking out and staring at awe at the Super-Soldier I had come to be attached to.
Hold it together, Katarina... Hold it to-fucking-gether. So you almost died twice in less than five minutes! Pffttt!
My internal pep talk wasn't helping much, I could feel myself shaking. It seems I wasn't so used to this situations as I liked to believe... Bucky sighed heavily behind me, as if resigned.
"You're driving." He demanded suddenly, shifting me forwards so he could slip out from behind me.
I panicked, trying to get into position to take over. He had given me no time to mentally prepare, just, here, your turn! Have at it!
"I can't drive!" I screeched at him, my hands gripping onto the wheel in a white-knuckle grip.
"You'll be fine. Don't slow down and don't hit anything." He spoke offhandedly as reached into the backseat to pull out his usual 'I'm going to fuck shit up' mask, and a gun.
I could see James tying on his mask out of the corner of my eyes, but all I could focus on was how utterly terrified I felt in this moment. We were being shot at and chased through the French countryside! The worst part was I was fucking driving! Such a bad idea! Logically I knew that James was only having me take the wheel because he had no other option.. One of us was a trained, lethal killer.. The other, not so much. Least I could do was fucking drive, right? Ugh..
Sure, I had passed the written, but actually driving? Every time I got behind the wheel, I got so anxious that I'd end up messing up. I had been horribly nervous around cars ever since the car accident when I was little. It had taken a long time for me just to trust being in a car with anyone else behind the wheel... I had never gotten over my fear of actually driving myself, so I just didn't do it. Ever. I was a girl with two good legs, and a bus pass.
Yet here I freaking was! Driving a stolen truck, in Europe, being pursued by men with guns! Just your average learning experience!
I'm fine, absolutely-fucking-fine. Yep.
I found myself momentarily distracted when James slipped himself out of the passenger window, sitting precariously on the edge. I could just imagine that he looked just as fearsome and every bit the lethal killer that he always was, poised halfway out of the car. I glanced at his long legs before forcing myself to focus back on driving. Appreciating his muscled thighs could come later, right now we needed to survive!
My mind was going a mile a minute, so to speak. The car in front of us was tracking how I drove in order to stay directly ahead of us - stopping us from just zooming past them and getting the fuck away. The cars behind us however, were gaining.. and fast.
Gunshots erupted somewhere above me, it was only after that I jerked the wheel out of fright that I realized it was Bucky who had fired this time. Glancing briefly up at the rear-view mirror I watched as the cars behind us just kept coming, not at all concerned with his bullets - that's when I realized the man that had first shot me was positioned just perfectly enough that anything vital wasn't easily accessible for Bucky to shoot. Bulletproof windows? That had to be it - they were practically ignoring his suppression fire. They'd never fire back on their golden boy, not when one wrong move could kill him.
The growing sound of a revving engine diverted my attention away, where one of the tailing vehicles was pulling up on my side. The screeching sound of metal on metal made me flinch involuntarily as the smaller car smashed itself into the side of our truck, I wrestled with the wheel to keep us in place. Fuck, fuck fuck!
Glancing down out the window, I took in the appearance of the man looking up at me. He was late forties maybe, blonde, with an annoyingly smug face.. And he was holding a gun..
Great.
The shriek tore from my mouth without my permission as I jerked the steering wheel to the left in desperation. I avoided getting my brain splattered all over Bucky's legs, only to realize I had made him somewhat lose his footing. I shifted quickly to lean precariously sideways to avoid any gunfire, all the while trying to keep the wheel steady, despite the fact I knew we were about to veer off the road. Throwing my hand out, I latched my fingers onto James' belt, I felt the impossible pull of his weight against my shoulder as I pulled as hard as I could to keep him from toppling out of the truck as we swerved dangerously. Fuck he was heavy! My shoulder burned and tears sprung at my eyes.
With my hand still wrapped securely around his belt, Bucky pulled himself mostly back in through the window to glance past me at the car. With an agitated sigh, he shot one quick look at me.
"Go faster." He demanded.
"Are you serious?!" I groaned. I was going to get shot in the face!
"And keep your head down." He snapped, reprimanding me.
That's what he had to say on me almost getting my face blown off? Really?! Slamming my foot down onto the gas, our truck surged forward, pulling away from the two cars boxing us in from behind. Bucky reached behind my seat and pulled out a bigger gun.
"You're doing fine." He said, almost as if trying to reassure me as an afterthought as he climbed back out the window to hopefully cause some death and destruction.
Nice pep-talk, Barnes.
We were gaining on the car in front of us, easily closing the distance as I kept the pedal to the floor. I could do this.. I could do this! Go faster he said.. They were staying directly in front of us, so obviously I would need to get them out of the way.. I could totally do this!
My hands shook with nerves as my gut wrenched and twisted.
This was some fucked up irony.
Gathering up all the courage I possessed, I braced myself as the front of our truck smashed into back of the car in front of us. They swerved slightly, but it wasn't enough.
"This is a bad idea..." I whispered ominously to myself as I glanced out the back window to see one of the cars back in place, riding our bumper.
I was going to need a lot of therapy to get over this, I just knew it.
I jerked my other foot forward, tapping the break abruptly, sending the car behind us colliding with the back of the truck with an ugly crunch. I felt my eyes water at the all too familiar noise before I slammed on the gas once more, rocketing towards the car in front of us once again. I couldn't let myself think about it. There would be time for that later. After we got the fuck out of here!
Metal and glass exploded to my right as the side view mirror was quite suddenly, shot off the truck. Shit! Panicked, I glanced up into the rear view mirror to see the angry shooter peaking out of the passenger side. That asshole had shot at me again! Suddenly, his head snapped back sickeningly as a bullet sized hole formed in the middle of his forehead. His body rag-dolled out of the window, tumbling onto the pavement, and disappearing behind the cars as they continued on towards us.
Oh.
The scene was all but seared into the image center of my brain as I turned to look at Bucky's legs, the only part of him I could see right now.. That was a really good shot. Damn.
Turning my attention back to the dickheads in front of us, I floored the pedal, ramming into them as hard as I could with the front of the truck - this time not letting off the gas. It was a harder task than I realized to remain flush with their bumper as they lurched forward, swerving uncontrollably, but I managed. My mind was zooming with multiple scenarios on how to make them lose control, while ignoring the ugly memories resurfacing in my brain.
Jerking the steering wheel left and right, the car in front of us started to swerve and fishtail erratically. After several more seconds, the car veered a hard left as they completely lost control of their vehicle, careening into a ditch. The momentum sent the car cartwheeling off as it rolled and crunched, forcing it out of play.
The seats shifted lightly as James clambered back into the cab of the truck. His hair was messed up from the wind, and all I wanted in that moment was to run my fingers through it and take out all of the knots.. Instead I kept my hands firmly planted on the steering wheel. No need to get us killed just because I had an urge to play with The Winter Soldier's luscious-locks. That would be embarrassing, especially after all of this.
Shooting a curiously concerned glance my way, Bucky climbed into the backseat, smashing the back window the rest of the way out with his metal arm.
"What are you doing?" I called over my shoulder. Those other two cars were still behind us, this wasn't over yet.
"Taking care of the idiots that are trying to kill you." He mused offhandedly, sending annoying little butterflies on a rampage in my stomach.
"Oh."
"Reach into the bag at your feet, front pocket" He instructed.
Doing my best to keep my eyes on the road, I reached down and blindly swatted around for whatever he was after.
"What am I looking for?" I grunted, annoyed. It was hard enough to drive with both hands.
"You'll know it when you find it." He supplied vaguely as he strapped a few guns to his thighs, and tucked a few knives away for later, making sure to keep one eye on the cars tailing us.
I found a oval like shape through one of the pockets and slowly pulled it up and into view. What the fuck?!
"When did you get this?!" I felt nervous and jittery just holding it in my hand. When had he gotten grenades?! Ugh, why do I even bother asking. "You know what, forget it, never mind." I reached back and passed it off to him carefully. Glancing up to quickly look in the mirror at his retreating figure as he climbed out of the broken window and into the bed of the truck.
Well.. a grenade was definitely a shift in the odds.
Pausing mid-step, I watched in the rear view mirror as he twisted around to yell back into the cab of the truck.
"Your driving is awful!"
"You had to tell me that now?!" This fucking man, he was going to make me lose any of the marbles I had left. "I thought you said I was doing fine?!"
"Floor it. Don't kill us." I could almost hear the slight amusement in his tone. The asshole was teasing me on purpose. Part of me wondered if it was to help me not over-think so much.
Once again pressing the gas pedal down to the floor, I glanced up into the rear view mirror just in time to watch James rip the pin of the grenade out with his teeth, his other arm stabilizing him, just in case I fucked up and crashed into something. As I redirected my gaze back to the road, I heard the explosion more than I saw it. With my side view mirror gone I was forced to glance back up into the rear-view mirror. Well, there was definitely only one car following us now.
Twisting my head around, I checked on James to make sure he didn't need anything else. We had just passed a curve and were coming up on another long stretch of road.
Suddenly, James' head whipped around, his winter-blue eyes were filled with a startling realization and.. panic?! He wasn't looking at me either. Snapping back around, I couldn't stop the scream that tore from my throat.
Up head of us was a Hydra blockade. Standing in front of it was a man with a rocket launcher.. We were going to die.
"Left!" Bucky roared into my ear. He all but threw himself halfway into the cab to lean over my shoulder, his warmth seeping into me and granting me a moment of comfort. James' metal hand came down on the wheel, gripping it tightly and jerking it sideways, his reaction time a lot faster than mine.
Our car veered violently sideways, narrowly missing the rocket that had been aimed for us.
What had happened to the no kill order on James?! I was pretty damn sure that would have killed the both of us! What the fuck?!
The car behind us exploded, seems they hadn't been lucky enough to avoid the rocket like we had.
Bucky swiveled the steering wheel back on track easily, my foot still pressing the gas pedal into the floor. We were on a head-on collision course with the blockade.. The Hydra agent was loading another rocket.
Oh my god...
Bucky disappeared from my side in an instant, only to reach back into the truck cab and grip onto my sweater with one hand and rip me from the truck. The backs of my legs stung as he ripped me out passed the broken window, my neck burned as my hoodie cut off my airway.
The wind hit my face first, and then his warmth enveloped my back as his normal arm released the fabric of my sweater, only to wrap tightly around my torso and smash me back against his chest, caging me in securely. I could do nothing but watch as his metal arm snapped out sideways and gripped onto the side of the truck, denting it with the force of his grasp. Instinctively, I bent my arms at the elbow and reached up, grasping onto his muscled, forearm as tightly as I could, my nails digging into his skin.
With one, graceful, horrifying movement - his leg came up and his foot smashed against the back of the truck, denting the metal. There was a horrible screeching noise and then the truck bed was loose and flying backwards away from the truck. I was aware of us seemingly floating before we quite suddenly smashed back into the concrete, the truck bed screeching along the road as it was forced to a stop.
My brain felt scrambled, and I was sure I had lost feeling in my legs from terror. But I could feel James wrapped tightly around me, cradling me against his body, keeping me safe. He had taken the brunt of the impact, making sure that I was safe, as always. Scrunching my eyes shut as hard as I could, I tried to block out the sound of metal on metal again, along with screaming and gunfire. If I were to guess, it would seem our truck had made it's way to the Hydra blockade, fucking it up.
I only opened my eyes when I was sure we had come to a complete stop. We had somehow managed to skid right off the road and into the now-ruined grass lining it.
Bucky squeezed my torso once before he released his hold on the side of the truck. I could hear the gears in his arm whir as he slowly lowered me down into the truck bed until I was fully seated, safe and sound for the most part.
"Katarina."
I couldn't find my voice.
"Are you okay?"
I shakily nodded my head, tears pricking my eyes.. That had been the most terrifying experience of my life. This definitely topped the Alien Whale incident.
"Stay here, I'll be right back." His voice was soft, but demanding. He wouldn't tolerate any disobedience from me right now, not until he had slaughtered all the Hydra men at the very least. I could do that, I could stay put. I nodded almost absentmindedly, trying to will my legs to stop shaking.
Ignoring my bodies wishes, I shifted up so that I could see what he was doing, every muscle in my body protesting. The backs of my legs felt warm, and I was definitely going to feel awful once all the bruising set in. I could feel a headache forming as I watched him walk away, in that usual confident stride of his. He always seemed so leisurely in his moments, until he wasn't. He had this cool composure that was horribly intimidating - and then it was gone in the blink of an eye. He would get murderously quick on his feet, every twitch of his body expertly precise.. He was a hell of a man, and a damn good weapon.
I watched as he pulled a pistol from his thigh and shot two people down in the time it took me to blink once. He continued heading straight towards what was left of the Hydra blockade - several men were spread out, in various positions, either injured or dead. Others were regrouping, clearly panicked.
Sporadic gunfire came from the remains of the blockade, most shots went wide. Most.
A stray bullet zipped through the air and found it's target - deeply embedding into James' chest. I could do nothing but watch in horror as his shoulder shifted back just enough to be noticeable.
"James!" I cried out
But he didn't stop moving, didn't acknowledge me.
The bullet hadn't slowed him down at all, but I couldn't see his face, couldn't see if a grimace had appeared on that perfectly gorgeous mug of his. I felt bile rise up from my stomach, I swallowed it down.
He was fine, he was totally fine. No need to worry, right? Just a small wound - he's still going. Everything is alright!
Bucky stopped in the middle of the road, bending down to pick up the discarded rocket launcher. I watched as he finished reloading it, moving once to dodge another bullet - and then block another with his metal hand. I could see the tension in his back as his shirt stretched across it.
With practiced ease, he lifted the explosive weapon up and fired. The remains of the blockade was ripped apart instantly, bodies went flying, as well as shrapnel and various pieces of the cars. Several sizzling pieces rushed past James, but any that came too close he deflected with his metal arm, batting them aside as if they were nothing but annoying little pests.
Everyone was dead.
Everyone but us.
Ignoring the aches and pains, and the increasing throbbing pain in my head, I rushed out from my hiding place. I climbed the small incline towards the road easily, bolting the rest of the way across the concrete until I got to James. He shrugged away the rocket launcher, letting it fall to the ground without a care. He turned halfway around to meet me.
I didn't realize that tears were stinging my eyes. Didn't even realize that some had escaped down my cheeks.
He reached up and caught me with his hands, his large, calloused hands gripping onto my upper arms tightly.
"You're bleeding!" My voice was strangled and upset, even to my own ears.
"I know." He stated as offhandedly as usual. Why did he have to do that?! Just make it sound like it was no big deal! I couldn't stop staring at the red staining his shirt as blood slowly flowed from the wound. He had never gotten injured like this before.. I didn't know what to do. The bullet was just inside his shoulder, above the pectoral but bellow the collarbone.
I knew that I was overreacting. Somewhere in my brain, I knew it, but I just couldn't stop it. The days events were catching up to me - and my head just wouldn't stop throbbing.
"What do I do?" I wanted to help... I needed to. He had never gotten injured before...
He opened his mouth to reply but stopped short, his gaze snapping over to the side of us. I followed his gaze to see someone moving on the ground.
Someone had survived?!
Bucky stepped away from me and pulled another pistol from his other thigh holster, striding over to the dying man with quick and purposeful strides. Just how many guns did he have on him? I followed behind him as quick as I could, my muscles felt like they were starting to lock up.
He was an average man, nothing special about him.. Other than the fact he had what looked like a piece of a car sticking out of his shin and a gnarly gash going across his nose.
The man tried to slide backwards when he saw James, but he wasn't quick enough. James' boot came down onto the man's arm, crushing it into the pavement and stopping him in his tracks. The man screamed as his bone cracked under the force of Bucky's rage.
I stood slightly behind James as he raised his pistol and pointed it at the man.
"Who sent you?" He grumbled deeply.
The man glared up at Bucky, not saying a word.
Pivoting on the foot holding the man down, I heard the bone crunch further. The man cried out, but James wasn't done. He shot him once in the other leg, rendering them both useless.
"Want to try again?" Bucky asked nonchalantly. A total 'I can do this all day' kind of tone.
The man's glare turned bitter and resigned, I watched as his jaw rolled and then -
Crunch!
He started foaming at the mouth.
Cyanide!?
"Crossbones sends his regards." The man gasped out before the poison did its work.
Wait just a damn minute, who the fuck is Crossbones?!
Alright, so - as we are now nearly thirty chapters in, I'm going to do this one FINAL time. This story won't be for everyone, I have put numerous warnings since the very beginning. So, if you are still under any delusions of what this story is going to be, it's no longer my problem. Don't like? Don't Read. This story will contain darker themes, violence, language, smut(later of course), all that. I don't personally care for vanilla, fluff themes, so I won't write this story that way. There will be nice moments though, as I've clearly displayed already.
Bucky and Katarina's relationship is messed up because THEY are messed up. This is how I'm writing it. Will they always be this way? No. They'll grow as characters, but yes, some things will always be present in this story. Like Bucky's possessiveness, and his aggression and a few other things. He'll never abuse her - because he cares. He's just fucked up and doesn't always show it in 'normal' ways. Because he's not JUST James Barnes anymore, he's The Winter Soldier too. He can never go back to just being James Barnes - best friend of Captain America. Just like Katarina can't go back to being a normal human woman - they're both dealing with trauma at this point.
For Katarina, she's developed social anxiety - not just because of the isolation, but because she's paranoid now. Any person could be Hydra in a crowd, and it terrifies her. I will address this however, just to answer it as a reoccurring question and to clear it up. THEY WON'T ALWAYS BE ALONE. They just are right now. For those of you who have heeded my previous warnings and still love this story - thank you for being amazing and supportive. I truly appreciate you.
Anyways, here's an early update for you guys! I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter, talk about plot twist! (; Haha. I hope the Holidays are going splendidly for all of you! Read and Review my lovelies, until next time! ~
