Chapter 30: Cover

October 19, 2014

Summer fully expected to be awoken by hell raining down on them, but instead the morning crept in quietly, the light sneaking in through slits at the very tops of the walls. In the darkness the night before she hadn't seen these cuts, but as the room changed from black to grey it was enough to pull her from sleep and send her eyes into every corner to check for enemies. The children had finally given in to their exhaustion and fallen into deeper sleeps, and next to the front door Cero had fallen asleep sitting in a makeshift chair, her head resting on her fist. Everyone looked younger when they were asleep, but Cero looked younger than most, and Summer wondered, despite the artificial age of her and Winter, exactly how many years difference there were between them.

Something shifted below her line of sight, and she snapped her eyes down to find the small child from the night before curled up with her head on Summer's thigh. Her tiny hands were tucked underneath her leg, seeking warmth. Summer wondered how long she'd been there, how she didn't wake when the girl moved, and where in the hell Winter was.

She heard the tell tale signs of someone stealthy walking by the windows, the lightness of their feet likely hiding their actual size. The steps were heavier on the left foot, just enough to give away who it was. She'd walked next to Winter for the past seventy years, she knew the sound of his footsteps like the sound of her own heartbeat. Sometimes, she knew the sound of him better. She went to move, to get up and go help him keep watch over the perimeter, but the little girl shifted, mumbling in her sleep and moving one hand to gently grasp the fabric of Summer's pants. Summer sat perfectly still for a moment trying to decide what to do, then carefully used her thumb and forefinger to take hold of the girl's hand. Her intention was to pry her grip from the cloth, but the girl simply moved her hand and took hold of Summer's finger instead. Summer's eyes went wide - how could this girl feel safe, holding onto her like this? How could she sleep with three known murderers in the room?

She needed to move. Now. The girl was dangerously close to making Summer face things that she had lost, and she was not ready to tackle those demons. She needed to escape, to retreat, to get away from the precious child with her small hands and cherub cheeks-

"You've been detained." Winter's voice was quiet, but it was something that she could focus on. She swallowed down the panic threatening to overtake her. Taking down eight assailants with nothing but a chef's knife? Easy. Dealing with the emotional damage inflicted by Hydra? That was something she may never be ready for.

"Taken down by a worthy adversary." she replied, as if the grip of tiny fingers wasn't overwhelming. She changed the subject, trying to save face. "You didn't wake me."

"You needed sleep. For your wounds." he said. Of course he knew that she had more than just the one bullet wound. "Why did you protect Cero?"

Summer knew this question was coming, and had an answer prepared. "She's currently our only course of action." she said. It was true enough; without her, there was no way they could get through the borders into a neutral zone, somewhere where neither Nought nor Hydra nor any other shadow organization could claim them. But she'd be lying if she said a small part of her hadn't just acted on instinct, wanting to keep the younger woman from harm. "Besides. I can handle a shot much better than she could."

"That's bullshit." Cero said from her terrible bed, her voice feeling unnecessarily loud. She uncurled herself, groaning as her joints moved into more normal positions. "You don't know how well I could handle getting shot."

"I'm genetically engineered to survive." Summer pointed out, unsure why this was a competition. Cero scoffed.

"So am I. I just run on spite instead of a serum." she said. She stood and arched in the opposite direction than she'd been sitting, making her back and hips pop loudly in the quiet of the morning. That started rousing the kids, most of whom woke with a look of panic before remembering the night before. Cero quickly started speaking to them in Greek, talking in mollifying tones and with a gentle smile. They assumed she was telling them what was going on, and where they were going. Summer wished she would give them the same information. The girl on her lap woke with a start at all the noise, her grey eyes flying around the room before settling on Summer.

"What's happening?" she asked in a small voice. She sounded timid, but didn't look away from Summer's gaze. Summer was surprised to hear her speak German, markedly different from the kids around her. She supposed all the kids spoke multiple languages, though they probably didn't know it. Usually Summer and Winter didn't know they knew a language until someone started speaking it to them; so far, they knew at least eight, with Greek being the first one in a while that was unfamiliar. Summer took a deep breath, schooling her features back into something neutral and making sure her voice was quiet and even.

"I believe it's time for breakfast." she said. She only figured that because Cero had grabbed another crate and started breaking open smaller blue boxes inside, handing out a silver package to each child. It looked like the packages of freeze dried foods they used to get on missions, but when the nearest child opened his, she spotted some sort of pastry with brightly colored icing. The girl pushed herself up and slowly walked up to Cero, wringing her hands as she waited her turn. An older girl spotted her and handed her the unopened package in her hand, going back to Cero to get another one for herself. There was no dining table or chairs, nothing for the kids to circle around, but they grouped together anyway. They'd clearly been together for a significant time, and Summer wondered if Cero was going to keep it that way.

"Here." Cero handed her a package. "It's cheap, but it's pretty tasty. Come on, Winter, one for you too."

Winter was suspicious of the food and carefully opened the foil package, taking a sniff of what was inside and immediately grimacing. That piqued Summer's interest, and she tore the package open herself to investigate. The smell of sugar and butter washed over her; it wasn't the same as when they were in France, not nearly as fresh, but it smelled amazing nonetheless. She took a careful bite. The saccharine filling tasted nothing like a real strawberry, but she finished the tart and the other one in the package in a few short bites.

"How can you eat that?" Winter asked quietly. He was holding his package out to her, one tart missing the tiniest bite on the corner. She took it from him gladly.

"You don't like it?" she asked, already biting into the second serving. He made a vague face of disgust, shaking his head.

"Too sweet. I'll find something else." he said. He hesitated for a moment, caught watching as she blatantly enjoyed the sweet treat, before going to dig in the box from the night before for something else. She shrugged at his departure and went back to her treat; the sweetness didn't bother her one bit.

With food in their bellies and sunlight at the windows, the kids suddenly seemed much more at ease, and much more alive. They were starting to believe in the freedom Cero promised them, starting to hope that they really could escape. Summer wondered how long they had been with Nought, if any of them had known a life prior to it. The smallest child probably didn't remember anything from before, much like Summer and Winter. Something fierce bubbled up inside her, and when she glanced at Winter she could see he was having the same thought. Cero shouldn't have promised them success, but they would do anything to make sure she followed through with it.

Summer stood, going straight to Cero and confronting her. "What is the plan?" she asked shortly in English, assuming none of the kids could speak it. She'd only given them vague ideas of what they were doing, but they couldn't fly blind anymore. A retrieval mission was one thing. Transport was another thing entirely.

If Cero was startled by the question, she didn't show it. She stood to her full height, trying to make the few inches between them seem smaller. "There's a town in northern Bulgaria. Krushovitza. I have an old contact there that can help us get these kids safe and settled-"

Summer interrupted her by grabbing her by the neck and slamming her against the wall. The kids startled, but she didn't care. Winter stepped closer to them, but didn't intervene, despite Cero's panicked look for help. "Bulgaria isn't on the black map." Summer seethed, using every ounce of control she had left not to crush the woman's windpipe. Some of the kids were crying, and Summer knew that she was taking it too far, that she should have done this where they couldn't see it, but it was too late now. And she was committed.

"But Romania is!" Cero gasped out. "And it's barely thirty kilometers away."

Summer dropped her then, feeling no remorse as she rubbed at the red finger marks on her skin. "Bulgaria is gray. You're protecting yourself, but not us."

"I don't give a fuck about myself at this point. It's them I'm worried about." she said, gesturing to the kids. She glared with a fire she hadn't shown before, seemingly over her fear of the two super soldiers. She sent it towards Winter too, just for good measure. "I've done some fucked up shit. And I'll pay for that one day. But I'm not gonna sit by and let them go through the same things I did. They deserve life."

Summer felt something on her arm, and looked to see Winter's hand on her wrist, pulling her back. He gave her a look that said Cero was right, though he wasn't about to verbalize that. She sighed, turning back and trying her best to control her irritation. "Then what is the plan?" she said through gritted teeth. She could feel the eyes on the back of her head as the kids tried to figure out whether she was friend or foe. She didn't trust herself to look back and console them.

"We leave shortly. Take the train to Strymon Station. From there we'll have to cross the border into Bulgaria." she said.

"They'll be patrolling the borders." Winter interrupted. Hydra used border patrol as a training ground, where Winter was allowed to teach new recruits tracking and sighting by any method he chose. The job had given him what he knew now was anger, and he often took that out on the trainees. What are you doing here? he always wanted to ask them. It always seemed wrong to have volunteers. Cero looked annoyed at his point.

"Yes, I'm aware of that, thank you." she said, frustrated. "You'll recall I've been doing this for a while now. I'm not green anymore. There's a pass, below the mountains, that Nought doesn't know about. I found it in some old Filiki Eteria texts. It's tight, and dangerous, but it's the best option."

"So you want to take a public train. And then lead these children under a mountain. All while avoiding detection." Winter deadpanned, making sure the details were right. Cero tried to look resolute, and nodded. Behind them, the kids were eerily silent. Winter and Summer shared a look and it was decided: they'd handled more difficult plans before. "Alright. Let's pack up and go."

Summer moved on his command, both of them going to the supplies and pretending they didn't hear Cero heave a sigh of relief as they did. She started talking to the children in Greek again, directing them to backpacks and instructing them on what to pack. The smallest child, the one that had spoken in German earlier, simply followed along with the older kids. Summer reckoned she understood as much of the language as they did.

There was a brief pain in her chest as she noted how quickly the kids moved, and how orderly they were. It was clear that, in their short time in captivity, training had already started. They stuffed their backpacks in the way Cero told them and slung them onto their backs, looking every bit the tiny soldiers that Nought was trying to make. Summer and Winter knew Hydra did the same thing; oftentimes, one or both of them was sent to train these kids. Most were scientifically made, in test tubes and amniotic chambers. But some had been taken from their families after some algorithm determined them to be of use. Summer remembered one particular girl, a blonde, that was kept under lock and key somewhere back in the States. They made her train the girl, but they often forgot to put her back under the ice. She'd started to slip, and tried to protect the girl from...something, she couldn't quite remember what. They'd shipped her back to Siberia after that.

Summer couldn't save that girl. Or any of the others. But maybe they could save these kids.

The kids dropped any humor they'd had that morning after breakfast, and moved quickly just like the night before. It wasn't a long walk to the train station, which was probably part of the plan from the very beginning. Cero passed out tickets, purchased one at a time over the past six months, and made sure the kids knew exactly where to stand, how to look, and how to keep an eye out for anyone suspicious. They finally split up then, each soldier taking a part of the group and spreading out at the station, though Winter refused to let Summer out of his eyesight. He hated to admit it, but he would leave the kids in less than a heartbeat if he needed to save her.

They could feel the familiar buzz of a mission on their skin, their enhanced vision brightening and focusing. They analyzed every corner, every movement, every person that walked by, searching for a threat. The clock seemed to tick slower and slower as their departure time approached, increasing their wariness.

"You need to chill." Cero appeared at his side, her gaggle of kids still on the bench where she left them. "You look like you're planning a hostage situation."

"Might, if the situation calls for it." he muttered back. This time she rolled her eyes, understanding that his comment was at least part sarcasm.

"Security's starting to notice. So check your face." she said, getting up and going back where she was before. She moved through the crowd with ease, the people barely noticing her. Winter was never good at that. He had never been the subtle one; Summer was always the one with a more delicate touch. He could stand to learn a few things from her.

He looked across the station and found Summer without trying, despite the constant ebb and flow of the crowd. She actually looked casual, her eyes soft as she scanned the area lazily. The only thing that gave away her readiness was the tapping of her finger on the back of the bench, her palm likely itching for a firearm. The smallest child sat on her lap, looking around with wide eyes as she tried to take all the new things at once. Winter saw her say something, looking up at Summer. Summer briefly looked down as she answered the question, then returned to her surveillance. The girl, satisfied with the answer, leaned against her chest and continued watching the world around her. Old memories swirled in his brain, pictures of Summer as she entertained small children. None of them stayed long enough for the vision to stick, but he could feel the sentiment behind them. Once upon a time, she would have been a great mother. And perhaps he would have been a good father. And Hydra took that chance away from them.

For a long time, Hydra had been a fact of life. There was nothing before it, and nothing after it. But now, the more his brain healed itself, the angrier he got. He wanted to track down every last one of them and slaughter them before burning the bunkers to the ground. He had not been the most apologetic person prior to the serum, and what they did only amplified that, just like it amplified his loyalty, his sharpshooting skills, and his strategic mind. That last one was the only thing that kept him from raising all holy hell: there was no way he could take the organization down alone, and he was not going to ask Summer to do it either - not because he thought she would refuse, but because he knew she wouldn't.

The mission jitters decreased only slightly when the train arrived at their platform and they started boarding one by one. Cero had managed to get them all in the same coach, with the seats spread out. She sat in the middle, while Summer and Winter sat on either end, closest to the doors. A smart move - it ensured that the enhanced soldiers would be the first to meet any opponent, and also kept her out of the action. The kids could converge on her if they needed while Summer and Winter fought them off.

Finally the train started pulling from the station, and Winter nearly broke the armrest squeezing it as he waited for something - anything - to go wrong. This mission was already going too smoothly, which either meant that Cero actually was a master planner and strategist, or Nought was just biding their time to recapture them.

The longer the train went, the more they were able to relax. The open Greek countryside didn't allow for many hiding places, so if anyone were to attack the train, they'd see them coming a mile away. The kids were rowdy at first, chatting excitedly to each other and the people around them as they saw farmlife and mountains and the small cities they passed, but soon they settled, most of them succumbing to the exhaustion that accompanies a drop in adrenaline and falling asleep. Cero, Summer, and Winter kept their eyes out the windows.

The buzzing came back as the station came into view. They gently woke the kids around them, and once again they all fell into their own tiny version of mission mode. The heaviness of the situation had settled on them, and even without telling them they knew this was a pivotal moment. It was impossible to check everything as they pulled in to the platform, and Winter willed his face into a calm facade as they stopped and the doors slid open. He got up first, leading his group of kids out and towards the waiting sunlight. It was just past two in the afternoon, and the kids were probably hungry, but none of them complained as they weaved through the crowd and finally into the open air.

Summer thought it was too obvious for them all to walk as a group, but Cero wouldn't hear about splitting up. She moved through the streets as if she'd lived there her whole life, making her wonder how many times the other woman visited this place and mapped it out before this day. It made her feel terribly conspicuous to walk in the middle of the day, impossible to move with a group this size without drawing at least a little attention. But then she looked around and realized they passed other groups of kids, most of them with adults, and all of them sporting backpacks. School. She'd timed it so that they would be walking at the same time the students would be going home.

Perhaps they could give Cero a little more credit.

They made it to the edge of the town without incident, though the kids started slowing down and having a little more trouble staying focused on the task at hand. Cero did her best to encourage them to keep going, with Winter and Summer adding their own nods and gestures, but even that wasn't putting enough wind in their sails. Summer jogged to the front to walk next to Cero, ignoring the vexed look on her face.

"They're hungry." Summer pointed out. It seemed odd that she was the first one to notice this and not Cero. After all, if it was just her and Winter, they would just push through until nightfall, and probably even beyond that. She could feel that spot between her shoulder blades, as if someone had a sight trained on her, but knew that they couldn't hurry if the children ran out of energy.

"I'm aware." Cero said without changing her stride. At the end of the line, Winter carried the smallest girl, her face scrunched and red in silent cries from hunger and fatigue. Winter kept his face blank, awkwardly patting her back as she sobbed into his chest.

"We need to stop. They'll only go slower." Summer said, trying to make her see reason. Cero shook her head.

"Do you see any cover for us? We'll be sitting ducks." she seethed, a bit snappier than usual. Perhaps she was tired and hungry too. Summer glanced around, finding an old house with a shack in the back, a huge tree shading the area behind it.

"There." she said, gesturing towards it. Cero looked and almost immediately rolled her eyes.

"Good luck spotting anyone under there. The leaves will kill our visibility." she said. Summer shrugged; part of her wanted to be defensive, but if Cero was too fatigued to see that of course she thought of that contingency, then she wouldn't antagonize her.

"So you hide and rest. Winter and I will post up there and there to keep watch." she replied, pointing to two rooftops. The houses were odd enough shapes that they could move without being seen, and also have good vantage points. Cero clenched her jaw; she didn't want to admit that Summer was right for some reason. Summer was just trying to make sure the mission didn't go belly up.

"Fine." she finally said. She turned and started talking to the kids, and Summer gave Winter a few signs to let him know the plan before going to the closest house and silently getting on the roof. By the time she got settled with her short arm out, Winter was already in position, and the kids were already tucked under the tree, apparently moving a little quicker when the possibility of food was live.

For the few minutes, it was nice to be alone. Summer hadn't really had a moment to herself since walking away. When it was just her and Winter, it was fine. Winter felt like another part of herself, just separate from her body. But after being surrounded by so many people, even if they were children, it was good to hear the silence and breathe. She caught a glimpse of Winter as he patrolled opposite of her, and maybe it was her imagination but he looked happy to have the moment as well. They could handle a few days without food or water, but being surrounded by people on all sides for extended time was more difficult. Sure, they'd been on missions with others before, but this was different. These weren't soldiers. And if they did their job right, they never would be.

With a few minutes off their feet and some food in their stomachs, the kids were ready to keep going. They turned out of the neighborhood and saw the mountains in the distance, their blue hue beckoning them with promise of cover. The sun was starting to descend and the temperature with it; if they wanted a safe place to make camp, they needed to get to those mountains before night fell.

Their size was deceiving, making them seem closer than they were, and the sun was kissing the horizon before they actually started making it to the rocky terrain. The kids were all exhausted, their feet dragging and making them trip on the uneven ground. Winter's quick reflexes had to catch more than one shirttail before the kid could tumble to the ground, and that's when they knew it was time to stop. Cero pushed them on for just a short while longer, leading them to a cave she'd obviously found before all this.

"Is this where the pass is?" Summer asked. In her mind, they just needed to tell the kids how close they were, then they'd be willing to keep going. Unfortunately, Cero shook her head.

"It's a bit of a climb to it." she said, pulling out supplies to build a fire. "We'll have to wait until tomorrow, it's too dangerous in the dark."

"The fire will be too conspicuous." Winter said, eyeing her as she gathered kindling and formed it into a neat pile.

"No fire means the smaller kids freeze to death tonight." she said without looking up. Winter bit back a retort; she was right, but that didn't mean he had to be happy about it. He moved back towards the path they'd used, his eyes scanning the horizon for any sort of threat. The cave would hide them from anyone in a helicopter or using binoculars, but a fire would not. Summer moved into position next to him, following his lead.

"You're not sleeping tonight." she said. It wasn't a question.

"No." he replied. He shook his head. "Something's wrong. It's been too easy."

"Knock on wood." she said instantly, startling both of them. She didn't know where that phrase came from, she just knew that it applied here. Winter gave her an odd look before slowly reaching to the ground, tapping his knuckles against a stick there. His eyes held a question. She ignored it. "I'll stay up with you." she said. She didn't want to be in the middle of the children tonight. She needed to be out with Winter, doing her job.

"Good." he said, looking back out the way they came.

Was it her, or did he sound a little relieved?

They're on their adventure! But we all know that things can't go smoothly. At least we get some fun fluff back in the 40's, right?

I seriously can't thank y'all enough for the reviews. Grief is a bitch, but it helps to have something to focus on, even if it's hard to write without my buddy. Thank y'all so much for being so kind and supportive, I really appreciate it.

Please let me know what you think about this chapter!

-XM