Evelyn had been true to her word. They had spent just one more hour at the party before they had made their excuses, Evelyn claiming that she needed to lie down for a while. Her mother smirked as they excused themselves, moving through the guests who were still congratulating them. Bucky had been as courteous as ever, only shooting a glare at Catherine as he passed her by. Once they were in the safety of Evelyn's bedroom, she tossed her shoes off and pulled out the bottle of wine she had picked up from the kitchen that she had been hiding behind her back.
Bucky had grabbed a platter of nibbles from the kitchen, asking Evelyn if they needed that much food. But she had been insistent. They had gone to the bedroom and shut the door, Evelyn closing the curtains. They could still hear the chatter from outside, but neither of them paid it much attention. Instead they laid on the bed, drinking the wine straight from the bottle and picking at the tray as Evelyn gave Bucky the history of everyone he had met, telling him what she thought about all of them.
He had listened and laughed with her, the party going on late into the night. It was only at about one in the morning when the final guest left and Evelyn felt sleepy after the long day. She had begun to doze off, Bucky keeping his arm around her. Before she could fall asleep, he woke her up and told her to get changed, knowing that she would be more comfortable in her pyjamas. She groggily agreed, leaving her dress on the floor and slipping into her pyjamas as Bucky undressed. He climbed into bed and found Evelyn already on her side, practically asleep.
He moved to his back and looked to the ceiling before he heard her roll over. She moved so that she was against his side, her hand going to his bare chest and sitting on top of his dog tags. His lips quirked upwards.
"Thanks for today," she said to him.
"I didn't do anything," Bucky said with a shake of his head.
"You were there…that's more than enough."
Bucky's lips arched. "Get some sleep, Evie," he urged from her, stroking her hair from her face. She hummed contently and closed her eyes tighter, finally drifting off to sleep.
Bucky laid awake, his fingers slowly running through her hair. He didn't know if he could sleep, his mind still thinking about the entire day, but he must have drifted off eventually because the next thing he knew it was morning. He slept more peacefully than he had in a while, only waking up when the sunlight was streaming through the curtains. He furrowed his brow and looked over to the empty space next to him, his hand patting down on it. Sitting up, he let the duvet pool in his lap before moving from the bed and wondering where Evelyn had gotten to.
He stood up, stretching his arms above his head before moving to the window and opening the curtains. Looking down onto the lawn, he could see that there were glasses dotted around and napkins. You could tell that a party had taken place, the mess evidence of that. But then he peered right to the other end of the garden by the lake and saw her. She was dressed in her pyjamas, a long cardigan hanging on her frame and her hair tied up. His brow furrowed and he reached for his grey top out of the suitcase, pulling it on and then grabbing his jeans and shoes. Once he was dressed, he quietly moved through the house, heading down to the kitchen and out into the back yard.
Moving over the lawn, he kept his gaze trained on Evelyn, looking at her as she remained transfixed by the trees in front of her. As he finally came behind her, he spoke, his voice gentle so as not to startle her.
"Hey," he said and she turned her head to the side, glancing over to him.
"Hey," she responded in a soft voice. "Did you sleep well?"
"I did," Bucky nodded his head at her, "until I saw that you weren't in the bed."
"Sorry, I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep," she said to him. "I got thinking about…well…you know," she trailed off and Bucky watched her look back to the trees. Following her gaze, he saw them then. There were two plaques against the tree, red, white and blue flowers planted around them. Reading the plaques, he realised exactly what he was seeing.
"I never knew them," Evelyn said. "Mum miscarried before me, but I come out here and it makes me realise…well…how lucky I am," she said to him. "I know that and it makes me think of how horrible it must have been for mum and dad to go through. I can't even begin to imagine."
"I know," Bucky agreed with her, still looking down to the plaques. "Do you think about them often?"
Evelyn shrugged her shoulders, uncertain of how to answer that. "Mainly when I'm back home," she said. "But, yeah, I think of them. I just wonder what might have happened if things had been different…if mum hadn't have been able to have me or didn't even try to have me."
"But they did," Bucky said to her in a soft voice. "And you know they're proud of you."
"I know," she said with a nod of her head. "Sorry, I don't mean to be so morbid."
"You're not being morbid," he assured her with a shake of his head. "It's natural for you to feel like this, Evie. I get it, okay? Don't apologise to me."
Evelyn looked up to him then, her glasses falling back further on her nose. "You ever realise how lucky we are?" she asked him in a gentle whisper. "I mean…what do you think would have happened if we had never met each other?"
Bucky shrugged his shoulders. "I try not to think about it," he admitted to her in a soft voice. "I mean, I don't want to think about it, not really. All I want to think about is how we did meet and I mean…I wonder if there is a reason behind that, you know, if fate played a part."
"Never knew you believed in stuff like that," Evelyn said.
Bucky shrugged. "It would explain why we're here now, wouldn't it?"
"I guess," she replied.
"But you don't need to think about it, Evie," Bucky said. "The fact is that we're here and we're together. That's all that matters, right?"
"Yeah," she agreed with him on that point. "Come on, we should go back in. I'm going to go and change and then start clearing this mess up."
"I'll give you a hand," Bucky said to her.
He began tidying things up as Evelyn changed. She came back down pretty quickly, dressed in her grey jumpsuit and trainers. The two of them moved around the lawn, Bucky holding the bin bag and Evelyn dumping the rubbish into it. They talked and joked throughout the activity, finally finishing after a good hour. Evelyn put the rubbish by the trash can before she went to the kitchen. She made them breakfast, beating up a waffle batter and finding the waffle maker in a cupboard. Her dad surfaced only as she grabbed the blueberries and strawberries, laying them on the table.
Bucky remained in the kitchen, checking on the waffle machine as Evelyn looked to her father who was dressed in jeans and a shirt, his face pale and his eyes showing how tired he was.
"Hey," Evelyn said to him. "You look rough."
"At my age you shouldn't drink that much and expect not to have a hangover," he said to her. "But it did make the night bearable."
Evelyn laughed and pecked him on the cheek on her way back to the kitchen. "How're they looking?" she asked Bucky.
"Almost done," he said to her.
"You know this is unfair," Alistair said. "You two should be the ones who are hungover. You're younger than we are…you should have been getting drunk out there."
"Well, Bucky can't get drunk," Evelyn responded.
"It's true," Bucky said, sipping on his orange juice as he remained by her side. "The benefit of the super soldier serum means that I can't get drunk anymore."
"So no more hangovers?"
"No more hangovers," Bucky echoed.
"Lucky bastard," Alistair mumbled.
"Dad!" Evelyn snapped, but Bucky only just chuckled and place his glass back down.
"He knows I'm joking," Alistair said.
"But still," Evelyn retorted to him. "Anyway, where is mum? We've made waffles and the first batch is almost done."
"She's here," Sarah said, stepping into the kitchen, looking worse for wear. She had glasses on her face and Bucky wondered if he had even seen her wear glasses before. Her hair was unbrushed and she had bags under her eyes. She wore a long dressing gown made of red silk that flowed to her ankles, covering her silk white pyjamas.
"I didn't know the dead could rise," Evelyn commented.
"Oh, ha, ha," Sarah said with a roll of her eyes. "You two look too chipper."
"Because we got sleep," Evelyn responded. "Thanks for that, by the way."
"For letting you escape your own engagement party?" Sarah checked. "You're welcome, but we do need to have a talk."
"What about?"
"Catherine," Sarah said. "She told Geoff that you were rude to her and Geoff told your father. Apparently he wasn't very happy and would appreciate an apology."
"What?" Evelyn shrieked loudly, unable to believe what she was hearing. "Please tell me that you're joking?"
"She's not," Alistair said, sitting down at the head of the table and leaning back in his chair. "She was really annoyed, Evie. I had to calm her and Geoff down."
"I am not apologising," Evelyn said sternly as Bucky pulled out the waffles from the maker, dishing them on two plates and taking them to the table. He placed them down in front of Alistair and then in front of Sarah as she sat down, the two of them smiling gratefully as Evelyn continued ranting, pouring the rest of the batter into the machine for hers and Bucky's breakfast. "Do you have any idea what she said? She practically insulted Bucky…she was rude about my engagement ring…and she was rude about me too."
"Catherine?" Sarah checked, placing some blueberries on her waffles.
"Why do you sound shocked about that?" Evelyn retorted. "She has always been rude to me. You know that. She hates me…I think she even despises me…for reasons I don't understand. And she can be rude about me, she's done it most of her life, but she's not getting away with being rude about Bucky."
Alistair sighed and sipped on the cup of coffee that Bucky had made them. "So…you definitely don't owe her an apology," he said to his daughter. "But I do think it will take a while for the air to clear. Then again, perhaps this might be for the best."
"What do you mean?" Sarah wondered and Evelyn felt Bucky run a hand up and down her back.
"Well, do we really want to be friends with someone who insults our future son-in-law?" Alistair wondered.
Evelyn's eyes widened then in surprise. She did her best to comprehend what she was hearing from her father. He would be willing to cut ties with someone for Bucky? Evelyn was almost tempted to tell him that Patricia had been involved in the conversation, but she kept her mouth closed, figuring that it might be for the best not to go there. Instead, she watched on as her mother bit into her breakfast.
"I mean…no…but it was Catherine who said it…" she said. "We've been friends with her parents for years, Alistair."
"And we will tell them what happened, but under no circumstance is Evelyn to apologise to their daughter," Alistair said to his wife. "She defended Bucky. I would have done the same if someone insulted you."
"I know," Sarah said.
"Mr Morris, I don't want to cause trouble," Bucky interjected, but Martin was shaking his head firmly, refusing to back down on this point.
"No, you're not causing trouble," he said. "You're going to be a part of this family, Bucky…and it's not the easiest of families or even the nicest. I'm sure Evelyn has divulged all of the secrets and her thoughts."
"Might have done," Evelyn muttered, checking the waffles again.
"But all that matters is that you make Evelyn happy," Alistair said. "So, we're on your side as well. Aren't we, Sarah?"
"Of course," Sarah responded.
Evelyn's lips tugged upwards and she glanced up to Bucky. "Welcome to the family," she joked, but little did she know how much the words spoken by her parents meant to him. Perhaps he did have a place where he could belong after all this time.
…
The flight back to D.C. had been delayed by two hours. When they finally did make it back home on the Sunday night, Evelyn and Bucky had gone straight to bed, both of them tired after the exertions of the weekend. Evelyn also had to be at work early the following morning for her conference call and Bucky had told her that he was planning on trying to cross another name off of his list. She had begun to wonder if his nightmares were slowly disappearing. He only woke up every so often now as opposed to every night.
Slowly, she felt like a weight was being lifted from his shoulders. She hoped that was true. She knew that he deserved to move on. He deserved to move on and be happy.
"Hey," Evelyn said after work one night when she got back to the apartment to find Bucky watching the TV screen. Evelyn's brow furrowed when he said nothing back to her. She dropped her bag onto the floor and her keys onto the sideboard. Heading further into the living room, she arched a brow. "Bucky?" she called out to him.
"I have to go," Bucky said to her and he moved to his feet.
"What? I just go back…what did I do?" she asked from him.
"You did nothing," Bucky said, heading towards her, an arm going around her waist and steering her in the direction of the TV. Looking to the screen, her brows arched as she saw the news. "This is Karli."
"The Patch Act vote?" Evelyn checked with him.
"Sam said that she is going to try and disrupt the GRC meeting," Bucky informed her. "I need to get to New York now."
"How?" Evelyn asked from him. "It takes ages to get to New York."
"I've got a ride," Bucky said, "but I need to get to the airbase."
"Okay," Evelyn said with a nod. "Call me, okay? And please don't do anything stupid," she urged from him, kissing him quickly as he tucked her hair behind her ear and nodded his head.
"Do what I can," he promised her and she watched him leave.
Sighing to herself, she pulled her lanyard from around her neck and ditched it down onto the coffee table. Collapsing onto the sofa, she kept her gaze on the screen, waiting for something to happen. If Sam was convinced that something was going to happen then that meant that it wouldn't be good. Evelyn folded one leg over the other and adjusted her eyes on the screen. The news was relatively boring for the next hour and a half. It was only when the clock struck nine did chaos descend.
Leaning forwards, Evelyn clasped her hands together and saw camera crews trying to get a good view of what was going on, the sudden commotion of armed guards and police cars arriving at the scene. Biting down on her lip, she heard how the GRC had gone into lockdown after multiple threats had been made. There was a no-fly zone and the area was secured with people urged to stay away from it.
"Get out of there, Bucky," Evelyn whispered as she watched the screen. "Get out of there safely."
….
Approaching the area, Bucky kept his ear piece in. He had changed on the way to New York, slipping into his tactical gear and heading over to the GRC HQ. Looking around, he did his best to approach the situation with caution, trying to figure out the best course of action before Sam's voice suddenly came into his ear.
"I'm almost there," Sam said.
"What's the plan?" Bucky wondered, eyes darting around.
"Karli's going to be close. I need you to keep your eyes out."
"Well, they could be anywhere," Bucky said, stepping forwards towards an armed guard. He had expected them to question who he was and what he was doing there. Instead, and much to his surprise, he simply stood taller and looked Bucky in the eye, nodding his head once.
"Sergeant Barnes," he said and he let Bucky pass.
A moment of emotion came over Bucky. It had been so long since someone had called him by that title. But it felt good. It felt right and as it should. He walked by the guards and headed closer to the GRC building before Sam spoke in his ear again.
"By the way, I called in some backup."
Before Bucky could ask who, a new voice was behind him. "Excuse me, sir, are you supposed to be here?"
Bucky turned around, mouth open as he prepared to explain himself. But there was no need for that. Instead the man behind him pressed a hand to his face and pulled away a mask, revealing Sharon Carter's face. Bucky's brow furrowed and his eyes widened.
"Sharon, what the hell are you doing here?" he asked from her, but she was already taking him by the shoulder, steering him off to the side.
"Relax," she said, "no one's looking for me here."
Sam checked that Sharon was there with Bucky and thanked her for being there to help them, knowing how she was risking a lot by coming to the area. Sam told the two of them to make a move into the building as he dealt with whatever was going on in the upper floors. Bucky stepped in first, moving through the metal detector and looking around. Sharon followed him, noticing how no one was trying to get into the building.
"If they wanted to get into the building then they'd have made a move by now," Bucky was the one who commented.
"That means she's not trying to get in," Sam said, "she's trying to get them out. We have to keep everyone inside."
"On it," Bucky responded into the ear piece, noticing one of the Flag Smashers. He looked to Sharon and pointed to him. "You take him. I'll see what is going on with the evac."
He walked off down the corridors of the sleek building, his gaze roaming around and wondering what was going to happen. The red and blue lights from the sirens outside lit up the building, casting shadows against the white washed walls. As he moved down the walkway, someone called his name. A tall woman stood there with short cropped hair, her eyes straight at him.
"Mr Barnes," she spoke and he began to go by her, but then she continued talking, holding out a mobile phone towards him. "It's Karli."
Bucky froze, peering down at the phone and wondering what it was that she wanted. Taking the phone, he looked at the caller ID before he pressed the phone to his ear.
"Karli," he said to her.
"Aren't you tired of fighting for the wrong side, Mr Barnes?" she asked from him and he walked away from the woman, heading down the stairs and constantly letting his eyes shift around, convincing himself that he was going to see Karli appear from somewhere.
He let a dry laugh escape him at her question. "I've done this before, kid," he said to her. "I know how it ends."
"It doesn't matter if I don't survive this," Karli said to him. "I'm fighting for something bigger than myself and with all the bodies you've collected, have you ever been able to say the same?"
Bucky stood still, turning around on the spot. "You think I've never fought for something bigger than myself?" he demanded from her. "That's all I ever tried to do…and I failed twice. You think your cause justifies all this death, but in the end the nightmares won't go away. In the end, you're going to remember all the ones you killed. Trust me…don't do this…don't go down this path."
There was silence then and Bucky wondered if he had gotten through to her. Was she really thinking on his words?
"If you really think that then you're going to want to sit this one out…and maybe watch your back as well."
Bucky frowned. "What did you do?"
"Verity Mardox will be going free tonight. I helped her escape again and in turn she gave me her list of contacts to help me orchestrate tonight…and future events," Karli said and Bucky's free hand balled into a fist.
"What the hell have you done?" he demanded from her.
"I did what I had to do," Karli spoke. "I did what was necessary for the cause because this is bigger than everything else. It is bigger than one woman's life that doesn't matter."
Bucky's teeth gritted together. "How dare you say that her life doesn't matter," he hissed down the phone. "You're going to regret this, Karli. If you live long enough then trust me, you are going to live to regret all of this."
"I don't think I will," she said. "But thank you for this conversation, Mr Barnes."
She hung up then and Bucky cursed under his breath. He kept hold of the phone in his hand and ran for the basement, knowing that whoever it was he had been watching had gotten out while he had been on the phone. On his way down there, he reached for his own iPhone and quickly found Evelyn's number. He called it, placing the device to his ear and listening to it ring.
But she wasn't answering. Looking down at her face on his screen as he tugged it away, he saw that the call had gone straight to voicemail. He cursed under his breath and tried to call her again, but he had nothing.
"Damn it, Evie, where are you?" he demanded out loud.
"Bucky, what's going on?" Sam wondered from him.
"I don't know," Bucky responded. "Karli called me and told me she has freed Verity. I'm going after the guy who escaped."
"She did what?" Sam demanded in his ear.
"I can't get hold of her, Sam," Bucky retorted. "She's not picking up."
"Call her building and have someone go up to her apartment," Sam said to Bucky. "You need to find those hostages. I'm sure Evelyn is fine and at home."
"Yeah," was all that Bucky could offer back before he found a motorbike and climbed onto it, dialling the number for concierge in her apartment as he did so, just needing to hear her voice and know that she was safe.
….
Evelyn had put her phone on silent. She had left it like that all day after being in meetings. She had seen it go off on her coffee table, the screen lighting up to show that it was the museum's switchboard number calling her. She answered the call and spoke down the phone, her tone light.
"Hello? Charlie?"
"Evie, it's me," Charlie confirmed to her. "Listen, there's been an emergency at the museum…I need you to get here…do you think you can be here soon?"
"Yeah, of course," Evelyn said. "Are you okay, Charlie?"
"I'm fine," he said, but his voice sounded slightly strained as he spoke.
"Okay," Evelyn said. "I'll be there shortly."
He hung up then and Evelyn shrugged her shoulders. He sounded strange, but she didn't say anything else. Instead, she grabbed hold of her light jacket, shrugging into it and tugging her hair out of the collar. Pulling on her brogues, she picked up her phone and dropped it into the coat pocket alongside her apartment keys. She left the building and made the walk back to the museum, tugging her fitted green dress down her thighs as she wondered what was going on in New York.
She had been watching the rolling coverage, but she hadn't seen Bucky there. She pulled her phone out and kept up to date with it on her walk, but still there was nothing. As she took the steps up to the museum, she put her phone back into her pocket and it was then when she missed the call from Bucky.
Heading to the entrance, she saw that the door was slightly open already. Evelyn frowned. The lights were dimmed in the building and she was doing her best not to worry too much as she entered the building.
"Charlie?" she called out, his name echoing in the foyer. "Charlie, where are you?"
"Evie," he spoke her name and she saw that he was in the room off the side where security sat when they were off duty. Closing the door behind her, she looked over to him.
"What's going on?" she asked him. "Why is the door open?"
"Because I knew you would be here soon," Charlie said and she entered the small office with the multiple TV screens showing every area of the museum.
"What's the emergency?" she asked from him.
Looking to him, she saw that his face was pale and he had a pained expression on it. His eyes were wide and watering as Evelyn felt her face drop.
"Charlie?" she questioned him.
"I'm sorry, Evie…I'm so sorry."
….
Evelyn wasn't in her apartment. There had been no response when Boris had gone up to find her. Bucky had shaken his head, knowing that this couldn't be happening. There had to be a reason why she wasn't there. Boris said that he had seen her step out over half an hour ago, but she hadn't come back and he had even checked to make sure. Bucky had tried to concentrate on the fight at hand, but his mind was elsewhere. His mind was back with Evelyn in D.C. as he longed to go and find her, fearing the worst.
Fighting with one of the Flag Smashers, Bucky had to admit that he was strong, but he wasn't as strong as Bucky. It was only as Bucky fought him did one of the vans containing the hostages set on fire, Karli ordering for it to be burned. She had locked it with some device and Bucky pulled on the handle, trying to open it, the sound of screaming voices ringing in his ears. Bucky punched at the lock, constantly hitting it over and over again with his fist, the action repetitive as he swore he heard Walker's voice appear in the background.
He didn't turn around, instead he remained focused on the task at hand, beating the lock with his fist as the blaze warmed up around him. He grunted in frustration until the device relented and he opened the back door of the van, helping the hostages out before he saw three of the Flag Smashers fighting Walker, pushing him to the ground.
"You shouldn't be here," one of them spoke through their mask and Bucky instantly recognised Karli's voice. "You know that!"
Bucky tried not to think the worst from her words, but his mind was doing exactly that as he kept on fighting them, Walker still on the floor. It was only when Karli spoke again did Bucky freeze, fear taking hold of him.
"She's going after her…your fiancée…you can't stop her!"
Before Bucky could attack, he was kicked back, pushed off the highway he was on and down into a building site beneath it. He landed as gracefully as possible before one of the group landed besides him, holding onto a metal post. Bucky held his arm up, stopping it from hitting him over the body and pushing it away from him. He ducked down as the man tried to hit at him again, but missed, the metal in his hand hitting the floor before Bucky used that as leverage, snatching it from him and hitting him squarely in the chest, sending him flying across from him.
It was only after he had done that when a truck came hurtling off the highway, dangling on the steel structure of the building work and threatening to plunge all the way to the ground. Bucky remained where he was, staring at it and ready to try and act if it fell. But he had no chance to do that. Instead, a shield fell down onto the ground and Bucky looked up. Walker? Had Walker tried to pull the van to safety? He must have done as the van began moving backwards and Bucky's brows remained tugged upwards at the sight.
It was only a moment later when Walker came hurtling to the ground, dressed in his Captain America outfit. The van soon came back to the edge, threatening to fall. Moving to grab hold of Walker who was laid directly underneath it, Bucky helped him to his feet, dragging him out of the way.
He said nothing to him, choosing to keep quiet before the van was pulled back to safety. Bucky looked up, the sight of Sam appearing in his eyeline as he hauled the van back onto the road. The suit looked good on him, even Bucky had to admit that. It was as Sam did that when Karli picked up a metal post that resembled a spear, launching it towards Walker. But Bucky grabbed hold of it in mid-air and tossed it to the side, turning his glare onto Karli as she looked to him.
"You shouldn't have done that," Bucky said.
Before the three Flag Smashers could attack, Sam was down on the ground with them, the shield knocking the three of them back. Karli pulled her mask from her face and looked over to Sam, a look of pure anger and disbelief in her eyes.
"You bought into this?" she demanded from him. "Seriously?"
"I'm trying something new," Sam said to her. "You might want to do the same."
Karli ran off then, her feet hitting the ground along with the others with her. Looking to Bucky and Walker, Sam wondered when the latter had turned up. "Any news on Evie?" Sam asked from Bucky as they took off after Karli.
"She's not at the apartment and she's not picking her phone up," Bucky said. "And she's all the way back in D.C…Sam…" he caught his eye then as Walker joined in on the conversation.
"What about Evelyn?" he asked from the two of them.
Bucky looked over to Walker and wondered if perhaps Evelyn had a point. He had just saved a van full of people instead of seeking revenge. He had chosen to do that. "Verity Mardox has been freed by Karli in exchange for her contacts," he said to him.
"And you can't locate her?"
"No," Bucky said.
"Listen," Sam said as soon as they were back in the GRC HQ. "As soon as we have dealt with Karli, I'll fly to D.C. I can get there quickly and I can find her."
"But I don't know where she is!" Bucky responded.
"Buck, listen to me," Sam said, looking over to him. "We'll find her. I promise. She will be fine."
Bucky said nothing in response to that. How could he? How could he be certain?
…
"Charlie, what's going on?" Evelyn wondered, crouching down in front of the security guard as he continued crying, his head buried in his hands. Evelyn reached her hand out, taking hold of him by the lower arms and he finally peeled his fingers away from his face, his gaze moving over Evelyn and drinking in her features as the guilt began eating away at him.
"She has Mary," Charlie said in a whisper. "She knows about Mary…she threatened her…"
"Who?" Evelyn wondered from him. "Charlie, talk to me."
"Verity," he spoke her name and Evelyn felt her blood chill. She felt dizzy, swaying back on her feet as she remained crouched down, his eyes flickering over Evelyn and he saw the fear sat in her gaze as she shook her head and moved to stand up, shaking her head back and forth constantly. "Evelyn, she has my wife."
"No," Evelyn said firmly. "No…she can't be…how can she be free?"
"I don't know," Charlie responded, shaking his head back and forth. "But she warned me to stay here…bring you here…get you here…"
"No," Evelyn said again in disbelief. "Charlie, she is in a jail cell. She isn't free."
"Well, she is," a new voice came from behind Evelyn and she turned around slowly, the fear now rising up inside of her. Standing in the doorway, Verity Mardox had her arms folded across her chest. Her gaze was set on Evelyn, her lips turned upwards in a smirk as she watched on. "But you see, the thing with having so many contacts and wealth can make you indispensable. It can help you get exactly what you want."
"Let Mary go," Evelyn demanded from Verity as her lips parted and revealed her teeth in a snarl.
"Do you think that you are in any place to make demands?" she demanded from Evelyn. "Oh no, you're not in charge of anything. You're times up, Evie. This is it."
Evelyn tried to run then, she moved to the door, pushing at Verity to get out of the way. There was absolutely no chance she was going to give up without a fight. That wasn't who she was. It wasn't what she was. But Verity was a super soldier. She easily restrained Evelyn, grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her back, threatening to break her bone. Charlie remained sat where he was, tears streaming down his cheeks as Verity kept on holding Evelyn, the curator screaming in pain at her twisted arm while Verity slammed her against the wall by the door.
"You're not going anywhere," she said to her. "I have so much I want to do to you," she said, whispering into her ear as Evelyn felt the tears begin to fall down her cheeks. "You can't even begin to comprehend."
"No…please…" Evelyn said.
"Begging already?" she taunted her. "I had expected you to hold out a little longer."
Verity moved then, forcing Evelyn forwards and turning back to Charlie. "Keep en eye on the door. Do not disturb me or I swear that your wife will pay," she said and marched Evelyn out across the foyer, heading towards the Captain America exhibit. Evelyn looked around it before Verity forced her to sit down on one of the benches in front of he Howling Commando's banner, Bucky's young looking face peering down at her as she glanced up at it.
"He's hailed as a hero," Verity spoke and Evelyn remained silent, trying not to cry or sniff loudly, despite the fear she felt at that moment in time. "Have you read what they say about him?" Verity asked, looking at the information panel on Bucky. "What am I asking? Of course you have read it. You practically live in this exhibit, don't you?"
Still, Evelyn remained silent. Verity came to sit down next to Evelyn then, turning her upper body to the side and moving a hand out, brushing Evelyn's hair from her face and behind her shoulder, watching as she winced at the movement. Verity continued watching her, her eyes raking over the young woman who was simply looking forwards.
"How can a man like him make such a strong woman fall in love with him?" Verity wondered from her, her fingers running down Evelyn's neck, feeling her shiver under her touch. "He's a monster…a killer…yet you dote on him like some lovesick fool."
It was then when her fingers hit the chain of the locket that she wore. Evelyn stiffened even further, feeling her move to grab the locket at the end of the chain. "What's this?" she wondered, eyes narrowing as she turned it around and read the inscription. "To my Evie. Love your Bucky."
"Get off of it," Evelyn hissed, shifting away sharply and causing her to drop it from her hold. But Verity was quick. She reached back out and snatched it, the chain breaking around Evelyn's neck. "Give it back!" Evelyn snapped loudly at her, not wanting her to be anywhere near it. But Verity moved her free hand out, grabbing Evelyn by the neck, her grip increasing around it as Evelyn tried to push at her wrist to free her. Standing up, she hauled Evelyn from the seat, keeping her dangling in the air with her feet off the floor.
"You want this?" she asked, holding it in her fingers, but then she closed her fist, the locket crumbling in her grip. Opening her fist, she let the pieces fall down onto the floor and Evelyn felt the tears now falling down her cheeks as Verity continued to hold her off of the floor and she did all that she could to fight against her. "Whoops," she said once the final shard had fallen.
But then she saw the ring on Evelyn's finger and her lips continued arching. "What's this?" she asked, slamming Evelyn against the wall and winding her. She kept a hand around her neck, stopping her from moving. Reaching for her hand, she grabbed her wrist and held it up, looking at the ring on her finger. "Engaged?" she spoke. "Well, this does make things more interesting…you're his fiancée…"
"Stop it," Evelyn managed to croak out.
"Oh, we're just getting started," she responded. "This really is the beginning, Evie."
….
Bucky had gone off with Walker to try and find some of the Flag Smashers who had deviated from Karli. They had left Karli to Sam. It was then when Bucky realised that he had the phone that the woman had given him earlier so that he could talk to Karli. He pulled it out from his pocket and looked down to it. "They have this app," he said, scrolling through the phone, "we can trace where they are."
Walker frowned. "You're kidding?" he asked him. "So we're going to trap them with an app?"
"Looks like it," Bucky said. "Come on, we need to turn around."
The turned on their heels and began moving in the opposite direction. There was silence between them as Bucky tugged out his personal phone and looked for Evelyn's number. He called her once again, but there was still no answer. Walker saw her face on the screen of the caller ID and he chewed down on his lip. "Still not picking up?" he asked from Bucky.
"No," he responded.
"Listen," Walker said, "I know that you're not my biggest fan, but if I can help then I will."
Looking over to Walker, Bucky did his best to weigh up what he was hearing from him. He nodded his head, unable to find words. He suspected that was as much of a truce as they were going to get.
"And what I did…" Walker continued. "What happened in Riga…blackmailing you over her…that wasn't my finest moment. I know that now and I understand it. And you might not like me or like what I did, but know that I regret it, okay? That's not the man who I want to be."
Bucky took a moment to glance over to him. He could only nod once at him. That was as good as Walker was going to get from him at that moment in time.
….
"Have you seen this?" Verity asked from Evelyn.
They had moved from the exhibit into the backroom out of the way. Verity had tied Evelyn to a chair, keeping her there as she moved around, a knife in her fingertips. She had taken Evelyn's phone from her coat jacket, looking down at it and seeing the numerous missed calls she had from Bucky before she flipped onto the rolling news coverage Evelyn had been watching on her phone. Holding it up, she showed it to Evelyn and she saw Sam on the screen. He was talking to members of the GRC, dressed in a new suit.
"Looks like we have a new Captain America," Verity said. "As if we need another one," she rolled her eyes. "So, this is it then…I don't have long to finish you off because we both know your boyfriend, no, sorry," she said, holding a hand up, "your fiancé, will be here now that mess with the Flag Smashers has been cleared up."
"You don't have to do this," Evelyn said, realising that she had to try something. "You can just go…you can go and be free…this won't bring you any peace. You know that."
"Is that what he says?" Verity wondered, leaning back against the wall with her foot kicked up against it.
"He doesn't need to," Evelyn said. "We all know that revenge doesn't bring peace."
"Perhaps not," she said, "but I think it will bring me something that I want…which is vengeance for my mother's death."
"He didn't do that," Evelyn said, head shaking back and forth. "That wasn't him. Why can you not accept that? Why can you not see that?"
"Because she was my mother!" Verity roared, her face wild with anger. "She was my mother and he killed her! He took her from me…how would you feel? How would you feel if your own mother was killed by some heartless assassin?"
"I would be traumatised," Evelyn promised her with a nod of her head, tears falling down her face as Verity moved and grabbed either arm of the chair, leaning over Evelyn and looking her in the eye, the glint still in her gaze. "I love my parents so much. I adore them and I am not going to sit here and pretend how you feel because I don't know how you feel…I have no idea how you feel and I wouldn't wish that pain on anyone…but the man who killed your mother was the Winter Soldier. Bucky is not him, not anymore. He regrets everything he did…but he had no choice. You have to know that."
"Shut up," Verity demanded, hitting her across the face, the force enough to twist her head to the side. "Stop defending him!"
"I'm telling you the truth," Evelyn responded. "I'm telling you who Bucky is. He isn't a bad man. He isn't the Winter Soldier."
"You really can't shut up, can you?" Verity hissed, grabbing her hair and pulling on it so that her head was tilted back. Evelyn's breath came out in short and sharp pants as she made the motion, her scalp burning with pain at the movement. "He's not going to get the life he wants. He took everything from me…and so I'm going to take everything from him."
"Killing me won't achieve anything," Evelyn said to her.
"It'll break his heart," she replied, "and then he'll understand how I feel."
Letting go of Evelyn's hair, Verity took a few steps back, still clinging to the knife in her hand. But before she had a chance to do anything, a sudden whirling noise broke out in the room, almost deafening them. Verity placed her hands over her ears as the red fire alarm light began lighting up the room. Looking to Evelyn, Verity ground her teeth together.
"What is that?" she demanded from her.
"Fire alarm," she responded.
"And what happens now?"
"Someone needs to call the fire department…tell them it was a false alarm before they come out here…their number is in the control room where…" Evelyn trailed off. Where Charlie is. Verity shook her head, pointing her knife at Evelyn.
"I'll be back."
Verity left then, her shoes clicking on the tiled floor and her skirt swaying with her movement. Evelyn began tugging on the ropes, trying to wriggle her wrist out of them but failing miserably. Bending down, she bit down on one of the knots and tried to use her teeth to force the knot free. She grunted in frustration before she heard footsteps come into the room. But it wasn't Verity. She had left through the main door, not the back passage door that no one had access to unless they had a pass.
"Evie," Charlie's voice entered her ears. "I am so sorry…I am so sorry…"
"It's okay, Charlie," Evelyn promised him.
"Come here," Charlie said and he began to untie her from the chair. She helped him as soon as one of her hands were free, feeling the ropes loosen on her with each passing moment. Once they were loose enough for her to move from them, Charlie gave her his hand and helped her up. She tried to ignore the weak feeling in her knees. "Come on…I'm getting you out of here."
Evelyn nodded, keeping hold of his hand as he used the pass card on the white door at the back. Pulling it open, he held it wide and let Evelyn go through first. It was at that same time when Verity's voice echoed back into the room.
"Do you think you can get away?" she demanded. "Are you forgetting what I can do, Evie?"
"Come on," Evelyn said to Charlie, slamming the door shut and running off down the corridor, tugging him with her.
"I've called the police," Charlie said to her. "They should be here soon."
"Good," Evelyn said, running down the long corridor as she followed signs to the nearest fire escape. Once she got there, she moved for the handle but froze. "No…no…" she repeated, seeing the chain on the door. That wasn't there before. Verity had this all planned out. Tugging on it, she could hear the door at the other end of the corridor being smashed in. Looking back down, she saw it crumble under Verity's force.
"We need to find a way out of here," Evelyn said to him.
"Go," Charlie demanded from Evelyn, pulling her further down the corridor to the next door that led into the foyer, but again an access card was required. He used the card on the door at the same time Verity finally smashed the other one from its hinges, bouncing against the wall as it flew off.
"What?" Evelyn asked as Charlie pushed the door open. "Charlie…come on…"
"I can slow her down," Charlie promised her, "but I need you to get out of here."
"No," Evelyn said as Charlie reached for the gun he had taken from the security box. "I'm not letting you do this."
Charlie's eye caught hers for a moment and she saw his eyes begin to water as he nodded his head. "Go, Evie," he said again, but this time he pushed her through the door, slamming it shut behind her. She tried to pull on it, but she didn't have her card with her.
"Charlie!" she shouted his name, but then she heard the gunshots.
Gasping for breath, she stepped back from the door as one shot fired followed by another. Backing away, there was silence then and Evelyn placed a hand to her mouth to keep quiet. What had happened? Had he stopped her? But then she heard the banging on the door, seeing the metal crumple under the force of whoever had kicked it. It was her.
Evelyn ran again, racing to the next fire escape, but there was another chain on it. Shaking her head back and forth, Evelyn did her best not to think the worst as she headed into one of the exhibits. She knew this museum like the back of her hand. If the police were on their way then she could make it out of this. She just had to hide from Verity and be cleverer than her.
Heading to the back of the exhibit, Evelyn took a spiral staircase up towards the metal walkways that hung from the ceiling. It was the only way they could get access to the exhibits that dangled from the ceiling like the planes and the space shuttles. She headed towards one of the shuttles and ducked down, hiding behind it in the corner. From there she could look down and see everything, but Verity would struggle to see her. She kept silent, keeping her breathing even as she placed a hand over her mouth and her other hand held the railing next to her to keep her steady as she kept crouched down, the muscles in her thighs aching.
"I know you're in here, Evie," Verity said, entering the exhibit. She could hear her walking around and see her shadow bouncing off the walls. "If you come down then I might send Charlie out there away for medical attention…he's bleeding quite badly, Evie."
Evelyn closed her eyes, the conflict inside of her tearing her apart. What had she done to Charlie? But Evelyn remained still, seeing Verity's shadow on the wall.
"You're not getting out of here, Evie…we both know that."
"Evelyn!"
Evelyn tried not to gasp loudly as she heard that familiar voice. She remained where she was as Verity turned around on the spot. "Seems you have back up here," she commented.
"Evelyn! Come on, tell me where you are!"
It was then when Evelyn heard the noise of sirens enter her ears and she almost wanted to have hope that she could get out of this. Verity chuckled beneath her, nodding her head and moving to the fire escape. She pulled the chain off without even struggling, speaking as she did it.
"Don't think that this is over, Evelyn," she said to her. "I'll be watching and I'll be back. You better watch yourself."
The fire escape door opened, but Evelyn didn't dare move. Instead she remained frozen to her spot, listening as the sirens grew louder and she heard his voice continue to move through the exhibit.
"Evie…come on…it's me, Sam," he said. "Come on…"
"Sam?" she managed to whisper his name, struggling to make a louder noise. But it seemed that was enough for him. He headed up the spiral staircase and looked down the metal mesh walkway, seeing her hidden behind a shuttle, crouched down. Her eyes darted over to him and he nodded to her, moving closer to her with caution.
"It's okay," he promised her, kneeling down in front of her. "You're safe now."
"Charlie?" she spoke his name. "What…he…"
"He has a pulse. I found him in the corridor," Sam said to her. "I've called for an ambulance…he was breathing…told me you'd come this way."
"Thank God," Evelyn whispered.
"Where did she go?" Sam asked from Evelyn. "Do you know?"
"Through the fire escape," she said to him. "Where's Bucky?"
"He'll be here in twenty," Sam promised her. "I flew ahead to find you. I had Redwing pick up on the fact that there was a disturbance at the museum and knew that it would be you. Bucky's been trying to call you ever since Karli told him she had helped have Verity freed."
Evelyn nodded her head.
"I need to go after her, Evie," Sam said. "Let me get you down from here. The police are here and you're safe, okay?"
"You go," Evelyn said to him, uncertain if she could even move from where she was.
"Let me help you down," Sam said, but she shook her head.
"I just need a minute," she replied. "Go, Sam…please…"
"Okay," he agreed with a nod after eyeing her. He quickly squeezed her shoulder and moved over to the staircase before Evelyn could even make a comment on the suit that he wore. Evelyn remained where she was, seeing that her hands were shaking as she let her legs fold underneath her. She took a moment to gather herself, hearing the police enter the exhibit and promise her that she was safe. Before they even had a chance to try and coax her down, his voice entered the room.
"Evie…sweetheart…"
"She's up there," an officer said to him and Bucky's gaze lifted upwards, seeing her with her legs curled underneath her body and her gaze set straight ahead. Looking up to her, Bucky could see that she was in her own world.
He nodded to the officer and looked to the staircase in the corner. He took the steps two at a time, coming to the top of them and approaching her slowly. "Evie," he whispered her name and she moved her eyes over to him, seeing him approach. She looked over him and nodded her head, her mouth dry.
"I'm fine," she promised him.
"No, you're not," Bucky retorted, "and I wouldn't expect you to be fine."
"She…" Evelyn didn't even know what to say.
Shaking his head, Bucky silently assured her that she didn't need to say anything. He looked down, seeing bruising on her wrists and neck, a purple stain on her cheek. He moved to kneel down in front of her, delicately taking hold of her hands. He squeezed them gently and looked her in the eye.
"It's alright," Bucky promised her. "I've got you, Evie."
Nodding, she knew that he had. He moved to his feet, his hands holding Evelyn's as he helped her to stand up. She stumbled slightly, feeling uneasy and a sudden feeling of sickness forming in the pit of her stomach. Bucky kept on repeating how he had her and that things were going to be fine. Taking hold of her gently by the waist, he guided her forwards, holding her as she moved down the staircase at the same time Sam came back in.
"I have Redwing out there searching for her," he said to them. "Wherever she's gone, she won't have gotten far."
Bucky nodded his head. "You'll keep me updated?"
"Yeah," Sam said with a nod. "But for tonight it might be best if you stay somewhere else. She knows where you live."
"On it," Bucky said with a nod. "And you?"
"I'm going to get the lowdown on what's gone on here and how she got in."
"She blackmailed Charlie," Evelyn was the one to speak, looking to Sam as she felt Bucky run his hand up and down her back, clearly trying to soothe her. "His wife…Mary…Verity was threatening him. He called me to come down here because there was an emergency and I came."
"I'll find his wife and make sure she's safe," Sam said with a firm voice.
"Miss Morris," a new voice spoke and Evelyn saw an officer move towards them. "I'm Police Detective Don Andrews, do you mind if we take a statement from you?"
"Can't this wait?" Bucky was the one to ask. "She's been through enough."
"It's fine," Evelyn said with a shake of her head, looking to the officer and then up to Bucky. "I'm fine," she said instead.
"Thanks, Miss Morris," Don said. "Do you want to come with me…we can sit down and do this here as quickly as possible."
Evelyn nodded, stepping away from Bucky. But he didn't let her out of his sight. Instead he let his gaze follow her as she sat down on the bench with the officer, seeing him take out his notebook. Sam stood next to Bucky, arms folded over his chest.
"What do you think?" Sam wondered.
"Verity isn't going to rest until she has her revenge," Bucky commented. "That's the only thing she cares about…the Flag Smashers…she might agree with their cause, but that's not why she's done this. She's done this purely to get to me."
"So long as she's out there, she's dangerous."
"Yeah," Bucky said, "but the only good thing is that she doesn't have Karli helping her now."
Sam winced at that thought, recalling how he had carried Karli's body out of the GRC. She hadn't stopped. She had been so hell bent on getting her own way that she wouldn't stop her attack. Sam refused to fight her, wanting to believe that there was a way she could walk out of that building and realise that her actions had gone too far. But that hadn't happened. That hadn't been possible.
"Look after her, okay?" Sam said to Bucky, turning to face him. "I'm going to work on this and find out what I can…you focus on keeping her safe."
"Always will," Bucky said with a nod of his head. "You head on out, Cap, I've got her."
Sam looked to him as he said that, a small quirk of his lips forming on his face. Bucky moved a hand to clasp Sam on the shoulder as Sam made the motion on Bucky's opposite shoulder. The two men had a look of understanding between them before Sam took off, leaving Bucky stood on the spot alone. Looking over to Evelyn as she nervously tucked her hair behind her ear and spoke to the officer, Bucky let out an uneasy breath. Once he had finished, he nodded to her and stood up. She did the same and moved back over to Bucky, her eyes downcast onto the floor.
"He has my details…Verity dropped my phone in the exhibit so it's going into evidence," Evelyn said to Bucky. "I gave them your number in case they need to get in touch."
"That's fine," Bucky promised her with a nod of his head. "Come on," he said, "we're getting out of here."
Evelyn nodded. She could agree with that. Bucky moved his arm over her shoulders and guided her out of the museum, his eyes constantly darting around and a part of him knew that, just like Karli, Verity would stop at nothing until she had what she wanted.
...
A/N: Quite a bit of drama in this chapter - hope you enjoyed it! Do let me know what you think - love reading your thoughts/comments!