Indistinct chatter filled Bucky's ears and the nearly empty parking garage as he perched, waiting to strike on his target; A man named Patonen. Bucky could hear the man talking loudly with his wife about something that the assassin didn't care enough about to figure out what it was. He waited until they were in their car and buckling their seat belts to jump down; a dull thud accompanying his landing. The man was pulling out of the spot as Bucky strode down the middle of the street to them.
A few seconds later, the shrill screeching of tires echoed in the night as the man slammed on his brakes to avoid the assassin, who calmly strode to the driver's side door. Bucky reached out with his titanium arm to rip the door off its hinges and carelessly toss it to the ground. The piercing sound of a woman's screams and pleas filled the cold night air as Bucky pointed his gun into the gaping hole that was the driver's side and shot off two rounds; one striking the man's thigh and the other his forehead.
The woman screamed again and fumbled with her seat belt; pleading with Bucky for life, mentioning repeatedly that she had a baby at home and was pregnant with another. Without so much as a thought, he pulled the trigger one more time and simply disappeared into the night. He then returned to Hydra, the sterile room and the Memory Suppressing Machine. The whir of the machine and pain of the electricity coursing through his body made him scream out in pain.
Bucky woke to the sound of his own screams filling his apartment as his body tensed on its own accord. Finally able to relax, he sat up; his blankets scattered across the floor and his body covered in sweat, the cool touch of his dog tags on his chest a small reassurance. He took a few, deep breaths and ran a hand through his short, sweat soaked hair as he looked around the dark apartment; trying to shake the nightmare.
Still mentally shaken, he stood and walked to the table, sitting down. The nightmares were getting worse and more frequent; a fact he still tried his best to conceal from Dr. Raynor. A ding! followed by several seconds of buzzing from his phone pulled him from his thoughts. He grabbed the phone from beside him and looked at it; two missed calls, 5 texts from Sam and 3 texts from Dr. Raynor. Sighing, he closed the screen and tried to get his mind together. He slowly stood and got dressed, grabbed his phone, his wallet and left his apartment.
As he rounded the corner to the elevator, Bucky stopped short, seeing a young woman in a light blue sundress. She had mocha colored skin and her brown hair was a curly mess on her head. He could hear her humming softly as she looked up at the digital display for the elevator. He didn't recognize her so he assumed she was his new neighbor. He slowly and cautiously walked over to the stairs, not sure if he was ready to deal with the idle chit chat that came with being in an elevator with someone.
As soon as his hand touched the noisy push handle, Bucky could see her brown eyes look in his direction; causing him to freeze on the spot. "I don't bite, you know. Besides, they're painting the rails today." She said, moving her eyes back up to the digital display as the elevator door opened. Bucky took the opportunity to push the door open and go down the stairs anyway; making his way down to the alley on the side of the building. He hopped the fence and walked to the nearby park, still hoping to clear his mind.
Once he got to the park, he bought a pretzel and walked to an open bench; sitting down and picking at the pretzel he thought he had wanted. Feeling a buzzing in his pocket, he sighed; seeing another text from Dr. Raynor. 'Be productive today, James. I'd like to hear some good news in our next session.' read the text that he chose to ignore once more.
Bucky took an angry bite of his pretzel before looking at it and then at the bird in front of him. "Take it…" he grumbled, breaking a piece of the pretzel off and dropping for the pudgy bird. After the bird flew off, Bucky sat in the shade of the tree for a few hours; deep in thought. He pulled his small notebook out and looked at his long… long list of names for his amends. There was still a very long way to go.
Putting the notebook back in his pocket, he got up and walked back to the apartment building. Once he got inside, he got his mail, walked to the elevator and made his way up to his floor. He stuffed his hands and mail into his pocket and rounded the corner like he did all the time. This time, however, he stopped before he got to the big window at the end of the hall. He faced his neighbor's door and walked silently to it; staring at it for a long few moments.