Chapter One: Of Choice
When she met him, he was a broken thing. Bilqis worked with broken things for a living, she didn't usually fear broken things. The underestimation almost cost her when the injured man she found huddled off an obscure hiking ground very nearly dislocated her shoulder in his haste to find cover, taking her with him. It was the first time she learned that a thing could be completely shattered and still do some breaking of its own.
"Don't move." The voice cool, low in her ear. Threat didn't need to come into his tone, the darkness in his eyes was enough. In her shock, Bilqis squirmed but very quickly froze as sounds of rustling and footsteps filled the quiet wood. In the distance, below the ridge she was trapped on, men in tactical gear fanned out amongst the trees, searching for something.
"I-I," she stuttered hastily, she tried to move again, but was held tight and close, "They have guns."
Thoroughly unsurprised, the man's eyes only flickered with rage at the sight for a second before an impassive mask hid away the emotion again. The Winter Soldier, Bucky, as he repeatedly tried to remind himself, could tell that those were remnants of HYRDA, looking for their lost dog. His eyes lowered to the woman who found him, who had roughly bandaged his wounds, and he made a quick decision.
"We need to leave." He pulled her by her upper arm, moving her faster than she would have been capable of without him. If Bilqis had her wits about her, she would have dissented but instead she shakily pointed off through a thicket of trees. The news had been filled with information about HYDRA as of late, and she knew enough to run from them.
"My car is about fifteen minutes that way."
He paused for a moment, considering. Really, he could think of two methods of escape if he elected to take the woman with him, her car or stealing a HYDRA goon's car. It would not be clean, surely a car starting would be heard, they would be followed and eventually a gunfight would ensue. If he left her behind, the assassin, barely below the surface, tempted him with the possibility of a clean and traceless getaway.
Bucky. The image of a man, a man the size of a child with light hair appeared in mind's eye, as if chiding Bucky for even thinking it.
The soldier had to decide, a choice, something not allowed to him in the memories he currently possessed. Bucky, that Bucky of the man's memories, had choices, the soldier couldn't remember what choices he had made. It was frightening, a decision with long reaching consequence and no do-over. The solider continued through the woods, Bilqis was sure the jostling would give her bruises where his gloved hand gripped her arm. Eventually, they came to a small secluded parking lot where a simple car in a dark color was parked under a shady tree.
"That's mine." Bilqis needn't have supplemented the information, it was the only car in the lot. Something inside the soldier wanted to roll his eyes, but keeping his face void of such trivial emotions was part and partial of his training not yet unlearned. Unheeded, Bucky fished the keys out of her bag and slid into the driver's seat. Then, a glance told him that she had not followed but was staring rather dumbly.
"You wanna hang around till they find you?" They were the first words he had uttered in nearly twenty minutes, and the grim look didn't help the joke stick. Still, some kind of nervous energy made Bilqis give a high pitched giggle very unlike herself and she scurried into the passenger seat. The soldier eased the car into neutral without starting the ignition, letting it coast downwards towards the parking lot exit. The momentum was enough to get them reasonably close to the high and it was only then he twisted the key to starting point.
Bilqis remained silent the whole time, jaw grit and hands clasped tightly in her lap, blinking furiously. The shift from 'being a good Samaritan' to 'fleeing from men with guns' was jarring. The man she had just saved was now doing the rescuing and seemed reliably comfortable with the current state of affairs, "Are you a spy?" The man didn't move or shift at the question, he didn't deny it but didn't acknowledge it either.
Foolishly, she tried again, "I'm Bilqis." She swallowed, "I don't want anything to do with this, so please, just drop me home." Still, he didn't budge from his silence. From her perspective, it seemed like she was being ignored, but really the soldier was trying to form a coherent response. Somewhere in the recesses of his mind, he didn't want her to feel frightened of him but conversationality was a skill he lost through the decades.
"I'm not going to hurt you." He finally settled for that after he couldn't think of a name to introduce himself by and felt a little satisfied when some of the tension left her. It was the truth, he had no orders to follow, and while trusting his own judgement was a terrifying prospect, this woman did not seem like a threat.
"Who are they?" Bilqis shivered and glanced in her side mirror as though expecting a car to be tailing them with tinted windows and men with sunglasses. There wasn't but she didn't feel better.
"SHIELD or HYDRA." He shrugged noncommittally, though it looked more like a spasm, "Both." The distinction between the organizations didn't matter since the recent destruction of the Triskellion and since the red headed ex assassin leaked all the files related to HYDRA. Most of those exposed had gone underground, like him.
"Why?" her eyebrows furled, she was staring at him longer than socially polite, but this wasn't a situation for niceties, "Which one did you work for?" The awful truth was both, but he didn't feel like divulging his muddied allegiances or his identity to this unfortunate stranger and was thankful for the gloves and long sleeve jacket he had pilfered some time ago hiding his identity.
No, once he dumped this unlucky interloper back into civilized society, he would have to run and hide like a scared dog. An unpleasant prospect, but it would keep him alive, hopefully long enough that he could get answers.
"Doesn't matter." He dismissed her question.
He clammed up after that, lost so deeply in his own thoughts that he couldn't indulge Bilqis in hers. Every now and then, he did glance at her. Driving all the way back to DC would give anyone following them a clear trail, so instead, Bucky took side roads and eventually stopped at a small motel after the sun had set. He was at the concierge with Bilqis following a few nervous steps behind. Seedy would have been a compliment to the place, adding to her sense of foreboding. Had pulled low, the soldier sidled up to the front desk.
"Room for the night?" a bored looking man glanced at them both, guessing incorrectly what they might be.
The soldier merely nodded in return and handed over the requisite cash in exchange for room keys. Bilqis watched the exchange wordlessly, knowing better than to ask questions at this stage in the transaction. The adrenaline was wearing off, allowing her to think more clearly. She noticed he paid only for one room. Sharing living quarters with a stranger felt like something she had been warned about as a child. She waited until they were out of earshot of the front desk.
"I don't feel comfort-"
"It's double room," he interrupted her quickly. It would be harder to get her home safely if they were separated. However uncomfortable she was, it was their best option. So, when she started arguing with him, Bucky had to remind himself that she wasn't a soldier or a trained agent. She was a woman alone with a random man from the woods.
"I'm not sharing a room with some guy." She glared at him suspiciously and had her jaw set in a way that spoke of an argument lost. And he had had to applaud her for her caution, in another situation it would be beneficial. For not the first time, Bucky found himself taking a deep breath as he thought of alternates. It would be easy to overrule her on this, but something about the fear in her dark eyes made him reconsider pushing the matter. Bilqis was surprised when the steel in his gaze softened.
"I'll sleep in the car," he decided on the least worst alternative. There was an open parking spot right by the window of their room, so he would be within reach if anything should happen, "And we sound off every two hours." Surprised at his quick acquiescence, Bilqis nodded slowly, no ulterior motive to his actions coming to her mind. The fast forming negative impression she had of this man withered a little.
And she still didn't even know his name.