Karina, thank you! Doing my best not to make them too OOC!
LunaAndAsh, I do too!
Welp, exams are coming up and I am utterly exhausted already; you'll have to forgive the typos and give me lots of love, I am sacrificing gaming to write because I cannot do both, but both help me relax. Enjoy guys… for the record, this chapter took a turn I had no idea it would take… anyways.
(0)
Bucky slept on the couch for the first few hours, his face under a constant frown, as Steve sat awake on a nearby chair, much like he had whilst Lianka slept earlier. It was just past midnight when the Winter Soldier very suddenly sat up, stiff as a board, completely soundless and staring straight ahead.
Steve all but leapt up from his hard seat, tense, watching his friend carefully. They had turned off all lights and there was only a sliver of moonlight illuminating the small living room, giving him very little insight into what was happening… but by the way Bucky suddenly sighed, a long and tired sound, Steve thought he knew.
« Nightmare? » He asked gently.
« Yeah. » The soldier grumbled, running a hand over his face, before rising stiffly to walk to the kitchen, where Steve heard him run water for a drink. He stayed put, mulling over his thoughts, until his friend returned to the room in soft steps, pushing him out of his uncomfortable chair.
« Go. » Bucky ordered grimly. « Sleep a bit, I'll keep watch. »
Steve did not argue with him, hearing clear as day the pain and distress that hid beneath that hard, strong tone. He let Bucky take his place and laid down on the couch, shifting into a semi-comfortable position. He'd be surprised, come morning, just how fast he fell asleep given how worried he was about his friend. Truth was, he'd had a very long day and was probably not ready to admit how drained it had left him feeling.
Perhaps a dozen minutes after Steve's breath evened out and he fell asleep, the door to the bedroom opened soundlessly.
Bucky's eyes found the silhouette beyond with ease, outlined by the pale moonlight, and he said not a thing as Lianka slowly emerged from the room, walking so quietly he could have thought her a ghost.
She made it across the room, dressed in those lace panties and long-sleeved shirt, all the way to where he was seated, never so much as making a floorboard creak, before stopping a mere foot in front of him. Bucky's gaze had followed her the entire time, dark and grim, but never hostile.
Lianka raised a hand. It froze for a second as she hesitated, which was uncanny for her usually fearless demeanor. But as she noted him simply watching her, making no move to stop or encourage her, she extended her fingers and slowly, deliberately, found his hair, where her hand delicately caught his dark locks and caressed them behind his ear.
For the first time in a long time, a sort of… peace seemed to flow through him, starting at where her fingers were very gently touching his head and flowing through his body like fire. He was far from well, or healed, he knew it, but… this was the first time since he'd fled Hydra that he felt… at ease.
Without hesitation, Bucky pulled her into his lap, where she sat herself very naturally, pulling one arm around his shoulders as the other found the side of his face, which she stroked with silky fingers as he pressed his head to her chest. The sound of her slow, steady heart beating against his ear seemed to hypnotize him, chasing away his worried thoughts. His human arm wrapped around her waist as his metal one laid across her legs, but he made no gesture to caress her or to push the situation anywhere else than where it was right then and there. His metal fingers held one of her firm tights with just a bit of pressure, digging into her bare skin… she did not seem to mind.
They sat in utter silence for the longest time, with nothing but the sound of their breathing and Steve's light snoring filling the air around them. After a while, her hand stopped caressing his face and descended to his metal arm, which she grasped gently, pulling it from her legs.
She rose, slipping from his grasp like a shadow and Bucky had a half a mind to hold her back, feeling as though something critical was escaping him, but in the end, he caught himself, letting her go instead.
The look he caught on her face as she glanced back at him, the shy moon just barely illuminating her features, made him think that finally, somehow, after all this time, he had found someone who knew exactly what he was feeling… but it also made him feel horribly, irrevocably lonely, as though the void gaping before him would swallow him whole and never let him leave again…
He saw her hesitate. For the first time since he'd met her, she seemed vulnerable… how she'd managed to not seem vulnerable as she lay, half-dead, barely a day earlier in this same room was a mystery… but now he could truly see a bit of depth to her. Bucky saw past the wall, past the defences, past the whole act… perhaps because he'd let her do just that with him earlier…
Lianka extended a hand, without hesitation this time.
Bucky grabbed it without a second thought and rose as she pulled him to his feet with surprising strength. Then, he remembered that she a bit like Steve and him… he followed soundlessly as she guided him past a deeply sleeping Steve, through the living room, all the way to the bedroom, which enveloped them in near-total darkness as she shut the door behind them.
They came up one against the other like two storms colliding. Her hands were in his hair, both harsh and somehow gentle, pulling at his locks with just enough force to make him growl with pleasure. He found her lips in the darkness and kissed her roughly, his metal hand grabbing her behind the head to hold her tight, as his human hand found her lower back, crushing her against him. She gasped into their kiss and he found, with delight, that he could feel her soft skin against all ten of his fingers.
Her mouth was hungry, ravenous… she nipped at his lips and he groaned, his hand fisting her tousled hair, drawing a hiss of pleasure from her mouth, which he immediately covered with his own, his tongue pressing against her lips, demanding to be let in. Lianka obliged with pleasure, returning the intensity as she started pulling him along into the room.
Both could see well enough in the dark that they hit no obstacle on their way to the bed. Bucky's hands slipped to the bottom of her shirt and she let him pull it up and over her head, finding his lips anew once he'd thrown it to a corner of the room. His metal hand crawled up her body and found a round, firm breast, which he cupped lightly as he pinched gently at her nipple, causing it to instantly harden. Lianka gasped as the cold metal found her burning skin, but the contrast seemed to push her even further along : she bit at his lip almost angrily and the urgency of their need seemed to blossom into an even greater fury. She helped him out of his shirt, which went flying across the room, forgotten, and she ran hungry hands over his hard chest, exploring the sheer muscles there ravenously, her nails digging into his skin when his metal hand teased her breast a bit harder.
They had reached the bed : she felt it bump up behind her legs.
Bucky's human arm held her by the waist as he pushed her back onto the mattress, helping her down as gently as he could, all the while kissing her with a hunger that was threatening to drive him insane. He found himself atop her, his metal arm holding him up, and decided to switch. He pulled his human arm from beneath her waist and laid it slightly above her, keeping his weight off her smaller form. His metal one snaked down across her stomach, cold fingers drawling lines of fire across her skin. He knew that the brute contrast of metal on flesh was like to drive her crazy. He found he was not wrong as Lianka gasped against him very softly and became frightfully still as his fingers slipped between her thighs, agonizingly slow as they teased all the sensitive spots.
Bucky paused.
« If you want me to stop… just say it, and I'll stop… » He found that his voice was blown with lust, his breaths coming out in almost animal growls… he needed every inch of his willpower just to pause what he wanted to do at that moment…
« Moy Bog… » She gasped, burning as hot as a flame. « Don't stop… please don't stop… »
She did not have to ask twice. One of his metal fingers slipped past her panties and into her slick womanhood, the heat of her almost enough to burn. Lianka gasped, but Bucky's mouth was upon hers at once to keep her quiet, his kisses hard and hungry. One of her hands found his hair and pulled at his locks, which only served to make him growl against her mouth as he slipped a finger in and out of her, tantalizing, slow and careful to seek out all the most sensitive places. Her other hand was holding on to his back, as though making sure he couldn't leave, and when his thumb found her swollen clit, teasing it suddenly, he felt her nails leave marks on his skin that would last a few days.
Bucky slipped a second finger into her and moved them just fast enough, finding that sweet spot within her tight slit that made her moan deep in her throat and that made her buck her hips to follow his pace. He could tell that she was on the edge, her heart thundering as her nails drew lines of fire down his back, even clawing at the metal of his shoulder. He released her mouth as he felt her stiffen beneath him, her back arched as her hips rose to meet his hand. She threw back her head and clenched her teeth, swallowing a scream, as an orgasm washed over her, wave after wave of boundless pleasure that left her feeling completely drained and panting beneath the huge soldier.
He listened to her regain control over her breathing gradually, his metal fingers slipping from her slowly. Their absence made her feel very empty, suddenly, and when she felt him try to push away from her, Lianka grasped him in an unyielding manner, behind the head, drawing him into a hard kiss. She felt him smirk against her mouth.
« Niet… » She growled at him. « I'm not done with you… »
She shifted beneath him, grabbing him deftly as she used his weight against him, and suddenly he was on his back in her place and she was slipping out of her wet panties, before tackling the belt of his pants. Her hands were quick and precise as she helped him slip from his remaining clothes, freeing his hard member with utmost gentleness. Bucky groaned in pleasure as he felt her hand wrap around the length of him, running up to his swollen head and back down with tantalizing precision. Her fingers were tight and demanding, their rhythm quickening gradually, betraying her rising arousal, which in turn only excited him more.
It was too much : she was sitting atop his thighs, so he reach out and grabbed her roughly enough by the waist that her skin might bruise, bringing her up slightly. Lianka was quick to understand where this was going, and she was only too eager for it to get there. She guided him to her wet slit, straddling his hips and arching out her lower back. When the head of his member slipped between her lips and over her swollen clit, she gasped and groaned in pleasure, her breath quickening. She lowered herself onto him slowly and both growled in pleasure as she adjusted to the large size of his cock, all the while trying to hold back the moans that were rising in her throat.
Bucky let her get comfortable around him, and as soon as he felt her start to move her hips, he grabbed her above the hipbones with rough hands to help her into the rhythm, which rapidly became faster and wilder. She was gasping, his name a curse on her lips as she rose and fell along his hard member, her cunt full and squeezing him with every stroke as every motion seemed to rub her just in the right place, mounting her pleasure to the point it was almost unbearable… he could feel her tensing anew atop him, her head thrown back as she fought with a scream… Lianka went over the edge, grabbing his forearms with rough hands, her nails clawing at metal and flesh, and Bucky followed her into oblivion with a ravenous growl, spilling his seed into her as she took in all of him, her whole being a wave of shuddering pleasure.
They were both spent, minds mercifully empty as they slowly regained their breath.
Lianka was the first to move, slowly raising herself to let him slip out of her, his seed spilling down her thighs as she laid down next to him on the small bed with a satisfied sigh.
Bucky glanced at her in the semi-darkness.
« Want me to go back to the couch? »
She snorted.
« Shut up and sleep. » She ordered. « I'll keep watch. » With that, she sat up next to him, pulling a blanket up over them both as she took up a position that would allow her to remain awake.
Bucky was surprised to find his eyes dropping tiredly after just a few minutes as he shifted into a more comfortable position next to the young woman, placing his metal hand over her thigh, beneath the blanket. She neither pushed him away, nor responded in kind.
He wasn't sure if it was a trick of the light, or simply his exhaustion, but as he glanced up at her, he saw her eyes seemed to shine with boundless sadness as she stared off into the darkness. Then, he was asleep. There were no nightmares this time.
(0)
Steve awoke come morning with the first rays of meagre, greyish light. Surprised at having slept so soundly for so long, he struggled up into a seated position, rubbing at his eyes and glanced back at the nearby chair to check on his friend, feeling a tad guilty for the good night he spent, while Bucky recovered from a nightmare… Steve frowned as he noted that Bucky was not in the chair, immediately straining to hear if someone was in the kitchen or bathroom, wondering what was going on…
The door to the bedroom opened quietly and out strode Lianka, wearing a suspiciously familiar, white shirt that was several sizes too big for her, reaching her upper thighs. It was just enough to cover her and apparently also just enough to have Steve blushing at the sight of her.
« Good morning, Steve. » She murmured, hiding her coy little smirk at his obvious unease and confusion. She headed towards the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Moments later, he heard the shower start running.
Feeling no less confused, Steve rose from the couch, just as Bucky exited the bedroom, wearing his dark, military pants, but no shirt…
« God damnit, Buck. »
The soldier tried, and failed, to hide a sheepish grin, extending his arms with utmost innocence.
« What? »
Steve rolled his eyes and started towards the kitchen, his friend in tow.
« You're something else, you know that? » Steve grumbled as they entered the kitchen, Bucky sitting down at the table while he got water boiling for coffee.
« Don't get jealous on me. » Bucky shrugged, all innocence. « We would have asked you to join, but you were sleeping so soundly. »
Steve blundered for a moment, knowing his friend was probably kidding, but he found that he was intrigued by the idea all the same… he'd been with a woman or two before, because as Bucky had said : he somehow drew them like a magnet… but it had been brief and non-committal, seeing as his line of work didn't really allow him to get into anything serious. Obviously, he'd never done anything as wild as a threesome… Steve found he didn't know how he felt about the idea…
Lianka walked in at that moment and Steve instantly busied himself with the boiling water, his face a tad red and his pants ever so slightly tight.
The woman noticed nothing, throwing the bundled shirt at Bucky, who caught it with just the ghost of a smirk and pulled it on.
« Thanks, doll… »
She smiled at him, but it was a smile void of emotion. He followed her lead and relaxed, acting as though nothing had happened between them, knowing that now it was time for business… this was what they were good at : controlling what they felt, setting aside thought and emotion to focus on a mission… he and she were frighteningly alike in the matter.
« I'm feeling ready to get this show started. » Lianka announced with terrible coolness. Bucky thought he heard anger in her voice and he could not blame her : she was probably itching to get back at Liev. Steve turned to her as well, pouring them coffee, mercifully composed. « We need to bait Liev out. I'm positive he's waiting for me to show. »
« We're listening. » Bucky nodded. « You know the terrain best : we'll follow your lead. »
She nodded, her face serious. « I'm thinking of going back to my apartment. I have to, anyways. I have backed up files with intelligence on them hidden there… I don't think he will have found them, but I have to be sure. Even if he has, I can't imagine he would leave with me still alive… the way he fought… he's no ordinary agent. » She bit at her lip slightly and Bucky found his heart skipped a beat at the sight of it. « Bucky? »
« Yes, doll? »
She ignored the pet name, lost in thought. « Are there other soldiers… like you? »
The dark-haired man shifted, somewhat uncomfortable. « Not anymore. » He growled grimly. She raised a curious eyebrow and he sighed. « Zemo killed the other five who had been modified with the serum like I had been and put under cryo sleep. They were the only others… I trained them myself, years ago. They were the continuation of the Winter Soldier program. »
« Can you be sure there were no other enhanced soldiers made while you were under cryo sleep? »
The question was a hard one… he'd never asked himself this. Hydra had been steadily dismantled over the years and its peak had existed when he was training those other soldiers… had they created another unit? Were there others like him, still asleep, or periodically woken by an unknown head of Hydra to be used as weapons of lethal force?
« I don't know. » Bucky admitted after a moment, grim. « Hydra is… was a very secretive organisation. They exceeded in infiltration, cover operations and assassinations… they could station an agent for decades as a spy before using them… I remember being sent out to retrieve five vials of enhancing serum from Howard Stark, who I… » Bucky stopped himself. « Were there other vials? I don't think so, but I have no idea. I was only ever a soldier… a gun, to be pointed and shot with. I was death. »
Steve wanted to say something, to reassure his friend, tell him he wasn't the monster he saw himself to be… that it wasn't his fault… but he did not find the words.
« Nothing wrong with being death, as long as, when you're in control on yourself, you use your skills to try and better the world. » Lianka said with an uncommon coldness. Her eyes stared off into the distance and for a moment, she was no longer with them. She shook her head after a heartbeat. « Regardless. Let's assume for the time being that there are no more enhanced soldiers. The one who attacked me, Liev, was clearly a spy. He posed as someone else, got close to me and almost killed me. He fought with uncommon skill… and he was also uncommonly strong, even for me. So we have to expect the worst. We also can't assume he works alone. » She sighed. « Here's what we're going to do : he will expect me to have received assistance from Wakanda by now, so no use in pretending I'm alone. He'd smell the trap a kilometer away if I acted as though I was alone. However, he has no idea who they sent, nor how many they sent. Since you've already gone to my apartment, Bucky, which we can at least suspect of being watched, I suggest you come with me to it. We won't hide any more than necessary. Steve will shadow us, out of sight in case we encounter trouble. We grab the files I have hidden there and head back here, letting ourselves be followed if need be. It'll compromise this safehouse, but we can wait Liev out here and hopefully take him out if he shows. »
« And if he doesn't? » Steve questioned.
She shrugged. « I doubt he won't. If I understood correctly, the previous murders were exceptionally brutal, but more importantly, they left no witnesses. I have seen Liev. I know what he looks like, and at least enough about him to potentially track him down. He can't let me live. »
« Works for me. » Bucky said after a moment of thought. He glanced at Steve. « Think you can hold off doing anything stupid that would blow your cover while the grown-ups work? »
Steve narrowed his eyes. « No worries… you've already done all the stupid. I should be good. »
Bucky didn't try and hide his grin and even Lianka's lips twitched slightly in amusement.
They finished breakfast and got dressed into their warm coats, hats and boots, concealing their weapons. Bucky took with him the first aid kit, considering it might come in handy. He then left with Lianka a few minutes before Steve, who would give them a head start before following them. Anticipation was high, but Lianka had to admit that it felt good to finally be out and about : inactivity could be more draining that anything else.
(0)
The day was grey and cool, but less cold than it had been when they had arrived. Lianka walked arm in arm with Bucky, helping them pass for a harmless couple, all the while walking with a slight limp that would indicate to anyone watching them that she was still hurt… Bucky had seen her walk that morning and knew very well that such was not the case. He'd still injected her with a second dose of antibiotics before they left, just to ensure that the nasty wound would not harbor infection, but he was more than confident in her ability to heal now. He wondered how many doses of serum she'd taken… and if it truly had been like the one he and Steve had received… he was both curious and anxious to see her in action.
They made it through the city slowly. Steve remained on their tail, stunningly inconspicuous. Within the hour, they were at her apartment.
She glanced around herself as they entered the front door but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Lianka lived on the sixth floor, and as it was an old, soviet building, there were no elevators. Always the actor, she took a break on every flight to lean on Bucky, pretending to be in pain, all the while whispering to him which floor had possible escape routes and where he would find dead ends. At the same time, they strained to hear anything out of the ordinary, but were only met with the sounds of children laughing and crying, of quiet television sets rambling in Russian and of people chatting in their homes.
They reached her apartment and Lianka pulled out a key, opening he front door and passing beneath the yellow police tape that barred the way. Bucky had gone through a window when he last came, leaving he place carefully void of his presence as he did. He followed her in by this route and they entered the grim environment : there was a tiny kitchen on their left and a corridor led to an adjacent living area. Both were in terrible disarray, drawers pulled out, their contents scattered across the floor, everything laying on its side… the pair stepped carefully around the various objects, making sure not to touch anything.
Lianka let Bucky go in front of her, his gun drawn as he scouted the perimeter with sharp eyes and she closed the walk with her own weapon in hand, still limping slightly.
They crossed the living area and entered the only bedroom, a small thing with a queen-sized bed and commode, most of which were now tainted with drying, brown blood from her fight a couple days earlier. Bucky stared at the mess while she lay down flat on the ground and crawled beneath the bed.
« Is all this your blood? » He questioned softly.
He heard her groan beneath the bed as she struggled with something. « No, some of it is Liev's. Pretty sure I managed to stab him back with that damned knife he pulled on me. » There was a sound like wood creaking and splintering, and the girl pulled herself out, holding a single USB key in hand, throwing a piece of the floorboard aside.
There was a wide window in the room, with the blinds open, giving them a view of the slightly lower building next door, which had a roof level it this floor. Bucky glanced out through it…
He grabbed Lianka by the arm with his human hand and pulled her back so roughly she cried out, all the while turning his metal shoulder towards the window, bracing…
There was the sound of shattering glass and a millisecond later, the sound of a bullet hitting metal. Bucky grunted as the force of the slug's impact vibrated through his body but found that his new arm had deftly absorbed the mass of the blow and stopped the bullet. Lianka did not freeze : she pivoted from Bucky's hold and safety, aiming her weapon carefully out the window before pulling the trigger. Her bullets flew towards the figure on the opposite building's roof, which just barely managed to hide behind a stone chimney.
Bucky heard footsteps coming from the corridor that led into the living room, and his weapon was already trained on the figure that turned the corner by the time it appeared. He fired without hesitation and the tall form had to stumble back to avoid the bullets, which sent chunks of wall flying into dust.
« This way. » Lianka snarled as she pushed past Bucky into the living room. He followed her, firing at the corridor blindly to force the figure back and she led them to the large window in the room, which opened onto a metal balcony that also acted as a fire escape for the building's inhabitants. He knew this, because that was where he'd come through when he came here the day before.
Bucky pulled the watch he wore to his face. « Steve, we could use a hand up here. » He growled into the communication device, still aiming at the door into the apartment. Beyond it, the figure was hiding, blindly firing at them every few seconds. Bucky held his metal arm out to protect them from any bullets he could while Lianka threw open the large window and crawled out onto the balcony.
She was immediately forced to dodge as another figure leapt from the balcony above, aiming a kick at her. She found herself facing an unknown man of impressive height and bulk, who's fists were curled around a nasty set of brass knuckles. She moved like lightning, engaging the male without hesitation, her kicks flying in fury as she dodged around his slower, more lumbering motions.
Bucky was still trying to keep the indoor shooter at bay as he joined her on the balcony and realised, they were being aimed at by the rooftop shooter as well, who had approached to the edge of the other building's roof, sniper rifle aimed. He saw her to be a woman and knew that her aim would be off because she wasn't resting that heavy gun on anything. He took no chances, and fired a blind shot at her, forcing her back temporarily. The shooter within ran back into the apartment the moment his attention had shifted, his gun raised and aiming… two bullets hit Bucky's arm and a third grazed his back, drawing a snarl form the soldier. But before the killer could get a fourth shot in, Steve barged in behind him and tackled him viciously to the ground, sending his gun flying out of reach.
The rooftop shooter aimed at them again, her slug ricocheting off the metal balcony above them. Somewhere within the apartment building, people were screaming. Bucky snarled angrily, aimed at her and fired his last bullet, which missed by a hair. He glanced back at Lianka, who was dodging the huge man, her lip split from a blow she'd received. Her lips were pulled back over her tightly clenched teeth, giving her a vicious, angry demeanor. Her gaze crossed his.
« Go! Get the shooter. I've got this. » She howled, parrying the fighter as she used his weight against him to stumble him and deliver a violent kick to his kidneys. The man folded with a growl but was not down yet. Bucky glanced within the apartment, where Steve was going fist-to-fist with the other man and he took a breath before immediately starting to climb up to the higher balcony. The woman shooting at them kept firing rounds at a stable interval, all the while lacking proper aim as she was not in an ideal angle to hit any of them. Bucky clawed his way up rapidly, his powerful arm ripping brick and metal apart as he went, all the way to the rooftop. From there, he sprinted towards the edge without hesitation and launched himself off the roof and onto the other building, still under fire from the woman. Her last slug whizzed past him as he landed onto the gravely, snowy rooftop with a roll that softened his impact. He barely had the time rise that the woman was throwing something at him, which he slowly registered for what it was…
Bucky swore and threw himself sideways behind a chimney as the grenade went off, shrapnel flying everywhere. By the time he got up, ears ringing from the explosion, the female shooter was gone without a trace and he was alone on the rooftop. He turned his attention to the other building, worried for Lianka and his friend… he saw the ferocious young woman as she slipped from her attacker's violent blows, snaking around him and managing a high kick to the side of his neck, which stunned him briefly. She did not hesitate : she pressed her back against the building wall and slammed both feet into the huge man, who lost his balance and stumbled into the balcony's barrier… she howled and kicked at him again and he went over… the man slammed into the metal of the balcony below, throwing out an arm in the hopes of stopping his fall, but missed and went spinning several floors down onto the hard concrete below. Lianka did not watch him go, immediately leaping into the apartment to help Steve, who was holding his own against the final attacker. Bucky, however, saw the huge fighter hit the ground below like a sack of stone… for a moment he was still, but then he stirred and started rising, to the soldier's great surprise. He was sure the man would have died…
Then, the female shooter emerged from an alley across the street to assist the fallen male, glancing up at Bucky with a look of cold, calculated fury. He knew that look. He knew that resilience. He felt ice fill his insides.
There was a gunshot from within the apartment and Bucky's attention shifted. When he looked back down, the pair of soldiers was gone. A few second later, Lianka and Steve emerged from the apartment and onto the balcony, spotted Bucky and proceeded to climb up the fire escape just as he had earlier. The howl of police sirens could be heard in the distance and Bucky silently urged them to hurry as they made it to the rooftop. Lianka went first, running a smooth sprint across the roof, launching herself across the vast gap to where Bucky was, who watched her go with a certain degree of awe : she landed into a careful roll just as he hand, barely stumbling as she got back onto her feet. Steve followed her example… when he reached them, Bucky saw that his friend had taken a fair beating : blood was running from a split wound on his temple and there was a quickly blackening bruise on his jaw.
« He dead? » Bucky asked as he gestured to the apartment they had just vacated.
« Yeah. That was Liev. I have no idea who the other two were. »
Steve noted the approaching sirens. « Let's go. We can talk later. »
Lianka nodded. « Follow me. »
She rushed ahead of them across the roof, to the other end of the building. Both men followed her down another fire escape as she leapt with speed and grace that was not unlike their own, although both Bucky and Steve made it down faster than she did, taking longer jumps without fear of hurting themselves. They all descended into a narrow alley, through which they rushed in full sprint, following Lianka, who knew the way like she'd had to run it before. She managed to get them far away from her apartment while barely stepping out on a single street, until she found a small, fenced yard in which they could pause and catch their breath.
She took a handful of fresh snow from the ground and applied it to Steve's cut, the cold, white powder turning red as it helped reduce swelling and freeze the wound shut. She then applied another handful to his bruised jaw, before turning her attention to Bucky. After a critical once-over, she spotted the wound that had been caused by a bullet grazing his back, which he had honestly barely felt, adrenaline and all. She had him quickly throw off his coat, exposing him to the glacial air, and noted that there was a fair amount of blood running from the deep gouge, down his back.
« The thing you injected me with… to stop the bleeding… got any of it left? » She said softly as she applied snow to the wound. The sudden cold seemed to finally awaken a flash of pain in the soldier, who grimaced and nodded slowly, handing her the kit from within the folds of his coat.
« There's a numbing agent with it, too… for the pain… » He specified as she rummaged in the kit and got the specific needle.
Bucky glanced at her and she raised her eyebrows momentarily at him as she paused, checked the injection and then glanced at the kit again.
« In my defence, it was tucked away far from the cauterizing nanites. » Bucky supplied meekly, to which she smirked hauntingly, before stabbing with him unnecessary force right between the shoulder blades, quite clearly intent on getting some form of vengeance. Too proud to admit it was hurting like all hell, the soldier clenched his jaw shut and suffered in complete silence as she pressed down on the syringe slowly, injecting him with nanites that would prevent him from bleeding out. It felt like something angry and toothy was trying to eat through the flesh on his entire back. When she was done, she nearly yanked the needle out and he grumbled in relief, sitting still while she patched him up with gauze and tape to prevent the wound from oozing any more.
She turned her attention to Steve, who received a much gentler treatment. Bucky looked at them sourly as Lianka very delicately disinfected Steve's cut, before stitching it together with metal pins and taping it over. All the while, Steve was slightly red, but it was hard to say if it was because of the cold, or because of the soft fingers tending to him with care. His gaze crossed Bucky's who, even with all his desire to be jealous, could not bring himself to feel that way as he watched his friend get tended to by the young woman.
It was not until she had fixed Steve up and stepped back that they both noticed she was limping… for real, this time. Her pants were dark, so it hadn't been possible for them to see the blood, but it became clear from the thick, wet stain over her thigh that her leg had begun bleeding anew.
She shrugged. « I kicked that giant suka hard enough… it was bound to happen. » When Bucky moved towards her to help, she shook her head. « It can wait till we reach the safehouse. Besides… I am not pulling my pants down in this cold… »
She turned and walked out of the yard, a grinning Bucky and blushing Steve in tow.
(0)
This was a long one! Please review, tell me what you think and maybe start throwing some theories about our mysterious assassins?