CHAPTER 17

In a grey jumpsuit, Tony stretched lazily near a park bench. He tapped a button on the side of his glasses, and a POV camera popped up on the lens. A decoy suit hovered over the city from afar. Tony may be an amateur when it came to catching someone who can see the future, but that doesn't mean he didn't come up with a strategic plan. If Allie saw him coming, then he'd need to confuse her. It didn't matter whether she was expecting him with or without the suit, he'd find her.

He watched through the decoy's camera as he jogged down the sidewalk. People walked up and down the streets, in and out of shops - but Friday couldn't detect her face anywhere.

When he first met Alexandra Pierce, she had potential. He truly believed she wanted to change the world for the better. Now, it appeared as though her agenda had changed. After fourteen long hours, Friday was able to find data being used by Allie through her laptop. She was smart, but not even to be able to cover her tracks completely. She and her soldier had been searching for vibranium - which is native to Wakanda, Africa. It isn't a coincidence for her to be searching for such an element weeks before the King's assassination. When they first met, she seemed so sweet. Flirtatious, but sweet. He felt betrayed to learn she ran away soon after Alexander's death. That led him to suspect her to be working with HYDRA.

Tony's pace quickened into a sprint. He ran as fast as he could until his body screamed for him to stop. Muscles tightened, his joints ached, sweat beaded on his forehead. This girl was going to be the death of him.

The only thing on her mind was Bucky. She knew damn well that he was more than capable of taking care of himself, but that didn't stop her from worrying. She swiftly walked in and out of shops as she craftily stole clothes while doing so before changing into them. Everyone was far too distracted by the fact that Iron Man was in the city. Perfect.

As she put on a sweater, a man bumped into her. She only got to see him at a quick glance, but for a split second, he looked just like her brother. She slipped into an alleyway and walked down the street. She needed Iron Man to follow her, so she turned around to make sure he saw her face. Once Iron Man pursued her, Allie ran into another alleyway. When everything went according to plan, she leaned against a wall as it began to warp into a spiral. As Iron Man flew toward her, she disappeared into the building.

"What the fuck?" Tony stopped in his tracks. "Friday, what the hell was that?"

"Unable to detect a source of energy," she replied.

"Tony, I can't find this girl anywhere," Rhodes said over the radio.

"Yeah, about that," Tony sighed and informed Rhodes of what happened. "We're gonna need to go with Plan B."

"Copy that."

In his dark blue, armored suit and his shield on his arm, Steve stood in Bucky's apartment. He looked around. There was a mattress with disheveled covers and various bits of cheap furniture. The kitchen and bedroom were in the same room. He could hardly imagine that someone of Allie's taste would be willing to live in this place. If it weren't for the picture of her and Bucky smiling on the refrigerator, he'd never believed it.

On top of the refrigerator, there was a notebook with different colored tabs sticking from amongst the pages. He picked it up and opened it. There was a marker in the book, and on the page that was marked were the following words: vibranium and Infinity Stones.

"Heads up, Cap," Sam said through the radio. "German Special Forces, approaching from the South."

"Understood," Steve said as he turned around to find Bucky. "Do you know me?"

"You're Steve," he answered. "I read about you in a museum."

"They've set the perimeter," Sam said.

"I know you're nervous. And I know you have plenty of reasons to be. But you're lying."

"I wasn't in Vienna," Bucky said. "I don't do that anymore."

"They're entering the building."

"Well, the people who think you did are coming here now. And they're not planning on taking you alive," Steve responded.

Bucky nodded. "That's smart. Good strategy."

"They're on the roof. I'm compromised."

"This doesn't have to end up in a fight."

"Five seconds."

"You pulled me from the river. Why?"

"I don't know," Bucky lied.

"Three seconds."

"Yes, you do."

"Breach! Breach! Breach!"

A grenade crashed through the window. Bucky kicked it to Steve and he smothered it with his shield. A GSG soldier shouted from behind the door before the cops slammed the battering ram against it. Bucky shielded himself with the mattress against the attack from the window. He blocked the door with a table as cops swung in on cables. Steve pulled the rug from under a policeman, sending him flying. Bucky slammed another policeman into the wall. Steve grabbed him by the sleeve.

"Buck, stop! You're gonna kill someone."

He pushed Steve down and punched a hole in the floor. "I'm not gonna kill anyone."

Bucky grabbed a backpack from under the floorboards and threw it out the window. Bucky and Steve got behind the shield to avoid gunfire. Bucky shoved Steve and knocked a cop over. He held up his metal hand to repel the bullets, then slammed the cop into the shelves. Bucky picked up a large cement block and smashed it onto another cop. Steve fought a soldier on a balcony as shots fired from outside the door. Bucky punched through the wall and attacked into the cops. A policeman descended through a sky-light on a zip-wire. Bucky grabbed the cops with the battering ram. He jumped on the zip-line guy and swung down a level.

A GSG soldier talked through their radio, to inform the others where Bucky was headed. Steve grabbed the radio and crushed it. He then jumped down a level as Bucky continued fighting. He tossed one of them over the railing and Steve caught him before he touched the ground.

He looked at Bucky, wearily. "Come on, man."

Steve threw the man upon the landing. Bucky broke a banister and swung down on it. Steve hurled a cop over his shoulders. Bucky took out more cops as one aimed a gun at him. Steve knocked the gun out of his hand with his shield which stuck on the wall. Bucky leaped down the stairwell and caught the railing. Steven pulled his shield from the wall as Bucky climbed up the railing. He climbed up the corridor then jumped out the window. He tumbled onto the lower roof of the neighboring building where he found his backpack. He picked it up and ran.

A muscular man clad entirely in black attacked Bucky from behind, knocking him down. He had a full face mask with pointed ears. He extended his fingers as sharp claws popped out. He attacked Bucky again, with sweeping back kicks and slashes. Bucky fought back and was kicked against a wall. Black Panther swiped his claws and spun gracefully as Bucky narrowly avoided being slashed, holding up a metal bar to protect himself.

Protect her.

Steve jumped from the balcony down onto the rooftop as a chopper filed up. Black Panther lunged at Bucky with his claws, but Bucky grabbed his wrists. A soldier fired a machine gun from the chopper. The ammo bounced off Black Panther's suit

"Sam," Steve said through the radio.

"Got 'em," Sam replied as he flew down and shoved the chopper off course, then swooped down toward the streets.

Bucky broke free from his attacker, slung the bag on his back, ran and jumped down a level. Black Panther slid down the wall using his claws for traction. He landed on the ground and continued to pursue Bucky.

The streets shriveled as buildings bunched together like an accordion. Iron Man's decoy hovered on one side of the city while War Machine was on the other. Allie slipped passed them from building to building, undetected. The only way for them to be able to see her is if they were in the other dimension as well. The ancient one warned her about drawing too much power from Dormammu, so she only used it at desperate times. Since this was only her second, she wasn't sure how long the spell would last. She was halfway to the border before she felt her spell weaken. Once it was lifted, she was exposed for the decoy to spot her. It turned its head before pursuing her.

As it followed her, she threw mystical balls in the air which exploded. Once he was distracted, she hijacked someone's car and drove off. The streets folded and turned, splitting the pavement to make a straight passage. She drove past police cars and helicopters with ease. She closed her eyes until she found her soldier. Allie slammed her foot on the breaks and put the car in park. Black Panther tackled Bucky off his motorcycle to the ground. Before she could react, Steve already pulled the man off him. She wanted to run toward him, be in his arms again, but they were surrounded. She could end it all if she wanted to, but this needed to happen.

She stood beside her car as Rhodes landed next to her. he aimed his guns at them all. "Stand down, now," he commanded. "Congratulations, Cap. You're now a criminal."