Chapter 39: Bucky
Romanoff hadn't been joking when she said they didn't have long, Bucky mused grimly. There seemed to be a never-ending supply of Chitauri to fight and evade and kill. It reminded him of going up against HYDRA with Steve in the old days – only, HYDRA soldiers hadn't had such ugly faces.
His body ached from the hits he had taken and blood trickled from the ridge of his eyebrow. He wiped at it as he knelt down to retrieve his combat knife from a dead Chitauri's chest. He'd retreated to knife fighting several minutes ago when he ran out of ammo for the last of his guns.
Wilson swooped past overhead, keeping an eye out for incoming threats, as Bucky dodged a shot from a Chitauri blaster and ducked across the street to shelter behind a battered car.
He missed not being able to fire back, but he'd learned to work with what he had. When the Chitauri looked away to take a shot at Wilson as he flew by, Bucky dashed from his cover and drew one of his throwing knives. It flashed through the smoke-filled air and hit home.
"Nice throw," a familiar voice said.
Bucky turned to face Steve, who stood a little further along the street, his uniform dirty and torn. Bucky shrugged. "I've had practice. How are the others holding out?" he added. His comm had been malfunctioning ever since a Chitauri hit the side of his head against a building. Most of the team's communication now came out as static.
Steve blocked a blast with his shield and threw it at the Chitauri responsible. "Not well." He caught the shield as it bounced back off a building. "Tony's on his way here with the Gauntlet. Maybe that'll give us a chance."
"Yeah." An indistinguishable crackling sound filled Bucky's ear as someone spoke over the comm. From the expression on Steve's face as he heard the message clearly, it obviously wasn't good. "What is it?" Bucky asked.
"Sam's down," Steve replied. "One street over. He needs backup now." He started down the street but, seeing the metal-clad form of Stark approaching from above, Bucky motioned for him to stay.
"I'll go," he said. "You get the Space Stone to Stark."
Steve hesitated a moment before nodding. "Okay."
Then as more Chitauri entered the street and Iron Man swooped in to help Steve, Bucky turned and ran.
If he had known then what was about to happen next, he never would have left.