A/N: Just so you know, I've already started posting this story on AO3, and these first three chapters are actually ONE FULL CHAPTER over there. It is almost 23,000 words long, so I decided to split it up here. AO3 is the only place where I dare post insanely long chapters like that. So now the story, which is only going to be 8 chapters long on AO3, will be God only knows how many chapters on here. More than 10, that's for sure.
Glossary:
Fly the Coop = leave
No Dice = No luck
Bupkis = Nothing, zip
~One Way Out~
When Bucky finally got inside his tent, he sat down on his cot and just stared ahead for a moment. This was one of those times when he was really thankful that they were all given their own tents, and didn't have to share with anyone. It gave him the privacy he needed to be alone with his thoughts. He then turned and reached under his pillow, pulling something out from under it. He stared at the object that was now in his hands. It was a hat; a grey newsboy cap. Isaac's hat. He said it belonged to his grandfather. He never wore that hat during missions, just during his down time. He always swapped out that hat for his helmet when he went on a mission. He had left it in his tent when they went on that mission four months ago. Isaac was so fond of that cap.
Bucky ran his hand over the grey fabric, smiling slightly as he thought of how Isaac always wore it slightly askew, which looked ridiculous and adorable at the same time. Without even really thinking about it, Bucky buried his face into the cap, hoping to catch even the slightest scent of him. There was still some there. He wasn't sure whether that comforted him, or made his heart ache even more. Both, maybe? Yeah, definitely both. Pulling back, Bucky then reached into his shirt and pulled out his dog tags. Actually, there were two; his dog tags, and Isaac's. He pulled Isaac's dog tags off of his neck and looked at them, running his thumb across the letters that made up the man's name. These were all they had found of him after that fateful mission; the only trace that was left. Nothing else, not even the slightest evidence of a body.
Bucky stared blankly at the dog tags, his mind replaying that mission, and how it went down. How the man he loved had disappeared.
4 Months Earlier, outside Reims
Steve laid the map down on the hood of the vehicle, showing an aerial view of the layout of the area surrounding the weapons facility. The Howling Commandos, plus all of the men in Major Pascal's unit, were gathered around the vehicle, as expected, to learn what was planned to take down the factory. Pascal's men had enthusiastically agreed to participate in the mission, for it was, to them, the next step before the liberation of Paris.
"Alright," Steve said. "The entrance is on the North side, here." He pointed to the location. "That's where we'll enter. We'll create enough of a distraction to allow Gabe and Dernier to slip down into the engine rooms to plant the charges. Does that work for you?" he asked Major Pascal. The Major nodded. Steve nodded back, and then looked at Gabe and Dernier. "Just make sure you spread those charges out far apart." Gabe relayed the orders to Dernier in French, after which they both nodded in affirmation. "This factory is quite a bit bigger than the others. Also, we'll need a couple people to head up to the upper levels. Morita was able to intercept HYDRA's communications to the factory. It appears as though one of Dr. Zola's colleagues is overseeing operations there; a Japanese geneticist named Manato Oshiro."
Isaac was standing next to Bucky on the other side of the hood, and upon hearing that name, his whole body visibly jerked. Bucky, of course, was the first to notice, and his action of turning his head to look at Isaac was immediately followed by everyone else.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
Isaac didn't answer him, or even look at him. His eyes remained completely fixed on Steve. "Did you say Oshiro?" he asked. There was the unmistakable sting of venom on his tongue, and his eyes flashed with a freshly ignited spark.
"Yes," Steve replied. "Do you know him?"
Everyone present saw Isaac grit his teeth before answering. "Damn right I know him!" he said, the growl in his voice becoming audible. "He was the bastard who had me strapped to a table back in Austria; the bastard who tortured me!" This remark drew stunned expressions from everyone present, some of them even responded to the sneer on Isaac's lips with sneers of their own. "You say Oshiro is in that factory right now?" the young soldier continued.
Steve nodded. "Yes. And I want someone to find him and take him into custody. I think the good doctor will have some valuable information to give us, which may take some persuading to get out of him."
"I'll do it," Isaac said. Everyone looked at him with knitted or raised eyebrows. "I'll be happy to retrieve Oshiro."
"Are you sure?" Steve asked.
"The guy tortured me for hours," Isaac replied. "I want to be the one to bring him down."
"I'll go with you," Bucky said. Isaac looked at him, and the two men exchanged a tender expression of reassurance, which thankfully went unnoticed by everyone else.
"OK," Steve said after a pause. "Oshiro is residing somewhere on the second floor, so you two are going to have to look around a bit. Good luck."
Bucky and Isaac nodded as the latter put his helmet on once Steve started packing up the map. Major Pascal relayed the plans to all the soldiers of his unit who did not know English. Once everyone was ready, they got into the vehicles and headed off to the facility.
The first part of the mission went smoothly. Steve led everyone through the front doors of the facility, guns all ablaze. In the midst of the shouting, shooting, and hand-to-hand combat they were engaged in with the HYDRA soldiers that had met their advance, Steve turned and gave a signal to Gabe and Dernier to head down to the engine rooms, then gave a signal to Bucky and Isaac to head to the upper levels. They both nodded in affirmation right before Isaac swung his M1941 Johnson rifle and smacked a HYDRA soldier in the face with the butt of it. The two of them then headed for the stairs on the West side, firing at any HYDRA soldier who spotted them before disappearing behind the first cast iron door they came upon. Behind that door, they found themselves in a long hallway that stretched in two opposite direction.
"OK, Steve said we were going to have to look around a bit. So which way should we go?" Isaac said. "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe." he said, pointing back and forth, before his finger landed, pointing left. "Let's go that way."
"Oh no," Bucky said. "You're terrible with directions, so I don't trust you. We're no doubt gonna get lost if we go that way." His words, though criticizing, were said with a playful, joking tone.
Isaac smirked. "Tell you what; if I end up being wrong, I'll buy you a drink later."
"How about dinner and movie instead?" Bucky replied.
"Then we'll see where the night takes us?"
"You got it!"
"Sounds good to me, doll," Isaac said, winking flirtatiously, sending heat to Bucky's ears.
Bucky would never admit it out loud, but he loved it when Isaac called him doll, even thought it was a term used for women. Had it been coming from any other man, he no doubt would have hated it and would have protested against it constantly. But Isaac was not just any other man. He was the only exception. He could call Bucky any kind of pet name, no matter how embarrassing, and it would still send electricity through every nerve of his body, in the best possible way. But he was still glad that these kinds of affectionate exchanges remained exclusively between the two of them, for so many reasons.
"In all seriousness, though," Isaac went on. "You should really choose which way we go, because I don't trust myself either."
Bucky chuckled at that, and then looked back and forth before pointing to the right. "Let's go this way."
The other soldier didn't protest and followed Bucky as he led him down the hallway. Eventually, that hallway ended and turned right into another hallway lined with pale brick. It looked like it stretched on for a while.
"Bucky. Isaac. Do you read?"
The suddenness of Steve's voice in his ear made Isaac jump slightly. He didn't think he would ever get used to these compact radio receivers you can just stick your ear. Although they were convenient and saved up on space that would have been taken up by bigger, bulkier radios, it was still a little creepy having other people's voices in his ear. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to thank Howard Stark for inventing them or not.
"We read you, Steve," Bucky answered.
"OK, good. We were able to retrieve Dr. Oshiro's location. He is located in the primary offices on the South-East side of the factory."
"Gotcha, Cap," Isaac replied. "We're on our way." The call ended. Isaac looked at Bucky. "Well, looks like we're going in the right direction. That's why we're better off when you choose which direction we go. Looks like I owe you that drink for being wrong, huh?"
"Yeah, dinner and a movie, too," Bucky replied. "You better not back out on me."
Isaac responded with a theatrical shrug. "It's a date," he announced, causing Bucky the laugh.
The two soldiers continued on their way down the hallway, keeping their feet quiet and senses alert. Eventually the hallway curved slightly to the right, and the walls were soon lined with many doors. Both the men stopped when they heard the sound of multiple people running in their direction. Bucky instinctively reached back and placed his hand on Isaac's chest, forcing them both under the arch of the nearest door as a crowd of five or six HYDRA soldiers ran by, no doubt to join their comrades in fighting the Commandos. Thankfully, the shadows the arch provided helped keep the two men hidden, so the HYDRA soldiers ran right past them without seeing them. Once the coast was clear, they continued down the hallway, keeping their eyes on the signs of the doors. Eventually, they came across a sign, not on a door but on the wall itself, which had a large arrow pointing farther down the hallway that read:
~BUREAU PRIMAIRE~
Yep, they were definitely on the right track. Isaac's heart thumped hard as he thought about the man who might be waiting for them in the room on the end. They both raised their guns and cautiously proceeded forward. They passed another arrow on the wall pointing toward the primary offices, their steps becoming softer and more cautious the closer they got. After a while, the hallway ended and turned right into a large room without a door. The two men paused and listened. There didn't appear to be any sound of activity in there, but they cautiously proceeded with their guns raised nonetheless. They paused for a moment when they came to the edge of the door. Then Bucky gave a signal to Isaac and they both moved into the room, lowering their guns as soon as they did.
The room was large and long, with a three big panes of glass on the left wall, which appeared to look out into another part of the factory. Against the other wall there were several large radios and computers, a map hanging in a frame, a couple long metal desks with several chairs, and a bunch of filing cabinets. On the far end of the room there was automatic door constructed out of solid steel.
But, other than Bucky and Isaac, there were no people in the room.
"Damn it!" Isaac muttered under his breath.
Bucky looked at him with a sigh, and then activated his radio. "Steve, you there?"
"I hear you, Buck," came Steve's voice on the other end.
"Private Verona and I have arrived in the primary office, but Oshiro is nowhere to be found. He must have seen us coming and decided to fly the coop. Looks like he cleaned this place out in the process, too. Clearly didn't want us finding anything important."
"Nevertheless, you better take a look around. They might have left something behind we could use." Bucky looked at Isaac, who nodded and started sifting through the filing cabinets. "Then when you're done, sweep the surrounding areas and see if you can locate Oshiro. There still a chance that he didn't get very far."
"Got it, Steve," Bucky said, before turning his radio off. "Find anything?" he asked the other soldier.
"So far, bupkis," Isaac answered. "It looks like these cabinets have been pretty much picked clean. They definitely didn't want us finding anything."
"Well, keep looking, just in case," Bucky said. Isaac nodded, and kept sifting through the cabinets while Bucky kept his eyes on the door. He then turned his head and looked out the three giant glass panes and saw that it overlooked the main floor of the factory. On the far end, he could see the commotion caused by the Commandos. "Looks like the Doc had one Hell of a view," he commented.
"Explains how he was able to see us coming," Isaac said, still focused on sifting through the cabinets. "He had front row seats to the show."
"Yeah, and the distance gave him more than enough time to clean things up, turn on his tail and run."
"Gutless rat," Isaac muttered. Nevertheless, he kept sifting through the cabinets. When that came up empty, he sighed and looked up, his eyes landing on the map on the wall. It showed the layout of the facility, complete with all the passageways and tunnels. As he stared at the map, he noticed something that confused him. "That doesn't make any sense," he said.
"What?" Bucky asked.
"According to that map, this facility doesn't have a laboratory."
"So?"
"So what is Oshiro, a Japanese geneticist and bio-engineer, even doing here when there's no lab, in a French facility, no doubt?"
Bucky shrugged. "Perhaps Schmidt demoted him because he hates him?"
Isaac scoffed bitterly. "Well, he wouldn't be the first person, would he?" Bucky nodded and Isaac went back to looking around, now moving to the drawers of the desks. They were big deep drawers, and they also appeared to be pretty much empty. Suddenly, his eyes were caught by something wedged in the far back of the middle drawer.
"Wait, wait! I think I found something!" He reached in and pulled out a leather bound journal with a blue cover. He opened it and was immediately greeted by Dr. Oshiro's name on the inside cover. He flipped through it quickly and let out a laugh. "Jackpot!" He stood and placed the journal on the table. Bucky ran over to see what he had discovered. "It's Oshiro's journal!" he exclaimed. "No doubt he wrote some very important information that could really help us!"
"Good job, darling," Bucky said, affectionately kissing Isaac on the cheek, which he let him do. In fact, Isaac did one better, and turned his head, meeting Bucky's lips with his own for a momentary kiss. There was no one else around at the moment, no judging eyes to see, so they were free to do it.
"Thanks," Isaac said after pulling away. "There's just one little problem." In response to Bucky's questioning look, he opened the journal to reveal that all the writing inside was in Japanese. "I don't suppose that you know Japanese?"
"Sorry," Bucky responded, causing Isaac to sigh. "We'll just have to find someone later who can translate this." He looked down at the journal. "What I don't get is why Oshiro left this here. It obviously is very important, so why leave it behind?"
"No doubt he was in such a rush to get out he just forgot," Isaac suggested.
"Still, it seems kind of-"
Bucky's words were cut off when the sound of approaching footsteps drew their attention to the door they had entered through just as four or five HYDRA soldiers came running in. As soon they saw the two soldiers, one of them (a man who almost looked like a scrawnier, sicklier version of Dugan) gave a shout in French and the others immediately pulled out their guns.
"Look out!" Bucky shouted, shoving Isaac behind the desk and pulling out his gun right as the shooting started, the other men running for cover behind the nearest computer, table, or cabinet. Meanwhile, Isaac moved the desk he was behind until it was right in from of both him and Bucky before flipping it on its side to use as cover. Bucky quickly ducked behind the desk, and started reloading his gun.
"Quite a welcoming committee, huh?" he jabbed.
"No kidding," Isaac replied, placing the journal on the floor as he prepared his rifle. "They're really pulling out all the stops to ensure we feel right at home. How sweet of them."
Any attempt at a witty comeback from Bucky went right out the window when one of the soldiers fired his gun and hit the desk right next to Bucky's ears, causing him to jump. Both he and Isaac responded by firing their gun at the HYDRA soldiers, one bullet even hitting the guy who fired the first shot in the shoulder. The shootout went on like that for several more minutes, with no one succeeding in hitting anyone on the other side. Unfortunately things got a little bit worse with the arrival of two more HYDRA soldiers, who joined their comrades in the shootout. Seeing the increase in opponents, Bucky and Isaac ducked back down behind the desk.
"Great, now we're even more outnumbered than we already were," Isaac said. "We'll only last so long against all of them. Unless we get our tails out of here, our goose will be cooked."
"Well then, it looks like we don't have any other option," Bucky said, both him and Isaac turning and looking at the steel door several yards behind them, now their only escape route.
"I'll cover you," Isaac said, gently taking Bucky's hand into his own. He gave Bucky a soft, reassuring smile, which Bucky returned.
"I don't doubt that," he said, putting his free hand on Isaac's cheek and giving him a split-second kiss on the lips. He pulled back, looking the other man deep in the eyes.
"Now go!" Isaac said.
Bucky nodded then leaped off the ground and ran for the door while Isaac pointed his gun at the HYDRA soldiers on the other side of the room, firing at any of them who even dared to try shooting at Bucky. Upon reaching the door, Bucky began working on pulling down the lever which controlled the door, which took some effort since it didn't appear to have been used that often. Eventually he succeeded in getting the darn thing down, opening the door. The door had two layers to it; the first was the steel door which opened sideways, moving to the right, and the other was an iron cage-like door with crisscrossed bars that opened side-wise as well, moving to the left instead. Once it opened, he quickly ran through it and took cover against the wall around the corner.
"Come on!" he shouted, signaling at Isaac to follow him.
Isaac continued firing his gun at the enemy soldiers as he stood and started moving for the door, never taking his eyes off of the opponents until after taking a few steps and turning to run for the door. Halfway there, he stopped in his tracks, his heart dropping for a split-second before turning on his heels again.
"Wait, the journal!" he shouted as he ran back to the desk and grabbed Oshiro's journal, which he had accidentally left on the floor.
"Isaac!" Bucky shouted.
Isaac looked up just in time to see that his complete concentration on the journal had given one HYDRA soldier more than time to lift his weapon and fire in his direction. He ducked behind the desk and thankfully did succeed in avoiding being hit by the bullet. However, that one shot, that one fateful shot, went over his head and instead hit the lever of the door, causing it to spark and pop. This resulted in, not the steel door, but the cage-like door slamming shut before Bucky had a chance to react, trapping him on the outside and Isaac on the inside.
Isaac looked back just in time to see the door close, his eyes widening in alarm. But he quickly turned his attention back to the enemy soldiers, who had seen the door closing as their chance to fire a barrage of bullets at him. Hardly having a chance to fire his own weapon, Isaac had no choice but to duck behind the desk, covering his head. From where he was, Bucky tried firing his weapon through the bars of the door, but that ultimately lead to the soldiers instead turning all their fire power on him, forcing him to take cover as well. The gun fire went on for a couple more minutes, the soldiers refusing to stop despite the fact that neither of their enemies was making an effort to fire back at the moment. In the midst of the gunfire, Isaac reached into his coat and pulled out a grenade, looking at it for a moment.
"Sorry, Frenchie," he whispered. "But this is definitely an emergency!"
He paused, waiting for a lull in the shooting. It finally came after one of the HYDRA soldiers (the Dugan look-alike, no doubt) shouted in French, causing the other to cease their fire. Now was his chance! Isaac looked up, making eye contact with Bucky from around the corner, whose eyes widened when he spotted the grenade. Still keeping eye contact with Bucky, Isaac pulled the pin out of the grenade with his teeth, spit it out, and threw the grenade half blindly in the direction of the enemy soldiers. Both he and Bucky then ducked behind their respective covers. Upon seeing the grenade, the Dugan look-alike shouted at the others to take cover, some of whom were unable to make it in time before the grenade went off. Bucky and Isaac remained tucked tightly behind their covers as the blast from the grenade ripped through the room, the vibration of it felt by both of them, rattling their hearts in their ribs.
Even after the blast was over, neither soldier moved from their spots, as if they feared that there would be another explosion should they let their guard down. Finally, it was Isaac who sprouted the courage and curiosity to peak over the desk and inspect the damage. From what he saw, most, if not all the soldiers were now lying either dead or unconscious on the floor. For a moment he didn't move a muscle.
Suddenly, one of the soldiers, the Dugan look-alike, staggered to his feet, and upon seeing his fallen comrades, turned and retreated out the door. Isaac was still recovering from the blast of the grenade that he didn't allow himself enough time to reload his gun and fire it before the soldier had already disappeared through the door. Seeing that the soldier was already gone, he lowered his gun, staring in shock at the bodies of the other HYDRA soldiers for a moment. Why did this bother him? It's not like he hasn't killed before. It's not like they haven't blown things up before. Of course, how many times had he had the privilege of seeing the carnage left behind by those explosions?
Inhaling deeply, he tucked the journal safely inside his coat and turned his eyes away from the bodies on the ground, making his way over to the door where Bucky was standing on the other side, looking at him.
"Where the hell did you get that grenade?" he asked.
"Frenchie gave it to me," Isaac answered. "He said to only use it for emergencies."
"Well, good call, then."
Isaac nodded then cast his eyes to the door itself, which was still closed tight. "Have you tried prying the door open?" he asked.
"Yes," Bucky replied. "It won't budge. There's a lever on the wall next to you that controls the door, try that."
Isaac turned and approached the lever on the wall. His heart sank a bit when he saw how mangled it looked after being hit by that bullet, but nevertheless grabbed what he could of the handle and tried moving it. Suddenly, the lever sparked, causing Isaac to withdraw his hand with a cry of pain.
"You all right?" Bucky asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Isaac answered, sucking the spot on his hand that got hurt before flicking his wrist a couple times and approaching the lever again. He grabbed the lever once more and attempted to push it up, trying his best to ignore the pain caused by the sparks. Suddenly, the lever completely snapped off, its damaged base no longer able to hold the pressure the young soldier has applying.
"Goddamnit!" Isaac cursed, turning and showing the broken lever to Bucky. "It's no use; the controls have been completely destroyed! Are there controls on your side?"
"No," Bucky said. "We'll just have to see if we can open the door ourselves."
Isaac nodded, and on the count of three the two of them tried pushing the door sideways to get it to open, using every bit of strength they could. After a minute they stopped and tried again, but the door wouldn't move.
"This isn't working," Isaac said. "It must have an automatic seal on it."
"Well, we're just going to have to keep trying," Bucky said, preparing to push on the door again. However, Isaac didn't join him and instead walked up to the map on the wall, his eyes scanning it for a minute. "What are you doing?" Bucky asked.
Isaac didn't answer right away and instead kept looking at the map. Finally, he turned and came back to the door. "OK," he said. "According to the map, the hallway you're in leads to a stairway that turns and heads to an exit that will lead you right in the direction of the rendezvous point. Just keep going down that way until you find it."
Bucky looked down the hallway then back at Isaac. "What about you?"
"I'm going to double back the way we came," Isaac replied. "The map says there is a door down the hall that leads to the engine rooms. I'll meet up with Gabe and Frenchie there."
Bucky shook his head. "You're out of your damn mind if you think I'm just gonna walk away and leave you! We just need to try harder to get this damn door open." He started pushing on the door again.
"Bucky, it's pointless," Isaac said. "The door just won't open, even with two of us."
"Then we'll just keep trying until it does," Bucky said stubbornly. "I'm not leaving without you."
"Bucky, please…"
"No!" Bucky said. "We are leaving together and that's final! I just gotta…" He kept pushing on the door with every ounce of strength he had.
"James."
Bucky froze, hearing Isaac address him by his real name. He only ever did that during intimate or serious moments. Very slowly, Bucky raised his head and looked Isaac right in the eyes, taking his time before finally meeting his gaze. Isaac looked back at him, his eyes soft and covered with a veil of reassurance.
"You know as well as I do that the door is not going to open," Isaac said. "No matter how much muscle we put into it."
Bucky let out a defeated sigh. "I just...I don't want to leave you."
Isaac gave him a shaky half-smile. "I know you don't. But we really don't have any other option. This is the only chance either of us has at getting out of here." He tilted his head forward, giving Bucky another, steadier smile, although there was still an undertone of uncertainty. "Everything will be alright. I promise."
"Just…" Bucky said earnestly, looking up at Isaac sharply. "Just promise me you'll be outside. Promise me that you will make it out, and that we'll see each other again."
Isaac nodded. "I promise. I'll meet you out there. I have to. I still owe you that drink, remember?"
This pulled a breathy chuckle from Bucky. "Don't forget dinner and a movie too."
Isaac responded with an almost theatrical shrug. "Yep, and we'll just let the night take us from there. Do you really think I'd miss that, doll?"
Bucky smirked "No, of course not. When you make a date, you always keep it."
"And I definitely will keep this one," Isaac replied, his mannerisms sobering up a bit. "But neither of us are going to be able to make it if we don't get out of here on the double. Which means we both gotta get going."
"Right," Bucky said, himself also sobering up. He looked back up at Isaac, not even caring if his eyes betrayed his worry and uncertainty. "Just...be out there, OK? Be safe."
"I will," Isaac replied.
There was pause after that, as both men could no longer think of what to say but wanted to prolong their separation as much as they could. Without even really knowing why, Isaac reached forward and wrapped his right hand around one of the bars of the door, his eyes still resting on Bucky. His eyebrows raised in the other man's direction, almost inquiring; an invitation. An invitation that Bucky saw, understood, and answered by placing his hand over Isaac's hand on the bar, the two of them adjusting their grasps until their fingers were entwined more comfortably. They stayed that way for a while, their hands clasping through the bars. Unfortunately, the spaces between the bars were too small for them to have any other physical contact beyond that. If there was enough space, they would no doubt be kissing by now. But this was as close as they could get. That didn't stop them from trying a little more.
Not wanting to leave just yet, Bucky moved closer to the bars and pressed his forehead against them, feeling satisfaction when Isaac did the exact same thing, the skin of his forehead just barely making contact with Bucky's through the bars. There was another pause, neither of them wanting to move away.
"I love you," Bucky said quietly after a moment of silence, knowing that these were words he needed to say, just in case.
Isaac seemed almost startled by those words. He wasn't sure why; it most certainly wasn't the first time Bucky had said them to him. But in this exact situation, it seemed odd to hear them. Nevertheless, Isaac felt, as Bucky had, that they were the right words.
"I love you too," Isaac replied, sending them both into another pause, this one lasting only half a minute.
Neither of them wanted to leave yet, despite knowing that they needed to. Of the two of them, it was Isaac who found the will to move first, backing away from the bars and gently pulling his hand out of Bucky's grasp, leaving them both feeling oddly cold at the sudden loss of contact.
"Go," Isaac said. "I promise, I'll meet you out there."
"You better," Bucky said. "If you don't I'll kill you."
This time, it was Isaac who released a breathy chuckle. "Take care of yourself, doll."
"You too, my love."
In response, Isaac gave Bucky another shaky half smile. Bucky smiled in the exact same manner before reluctantly turning and walking away from the door down the hallway. He stopped some ways down the hall before turning and looking back at Isaac, who was still watching him through the bars. Isaac gave Bucky a reassuring smile, urging him on. Bucky nodded slowly then turned, continuing down the hallway, taking a moment mid-way to contact Steve and inform him of the situation.
Isaac was right; the hallway lead directly to where he said it would. In a matter of minutes Bucky approached the door leading outside. He opened the door and found himself surrounded by the warm, late afternoon June air. He inhaled deeply, praying quietly that Isaac and everyone else would be able to do the same soon.
"Bucky, can you hear me?"
The stillness of the air around him made the sudden sound of Isaac's static voice over the radio sharp and startling, but not wholly unwelcome. Still, Bucky was beginning to agree with Isaac about whether he liked these devices or not.
"Isaac, what's going on?" Bucky asked. "Is everything all right?"
"Well, I'm alive, if that's what you're asking. Either that or I'm calling you from beyond the grave, which I highly doubt." Isaac replied, causing Bucky to let out a chuckle. "I haven't run into any trouble yet. Not big trouble, anyway. Basically, I've tried contacting Gabe and Frenchie on the radio to let them know I'm coming, but they're not answering. Do you think you can give it a go?"
"I can try," Bucky replied.
"Thanks."
"Gabe. Frenchie. Do you read?" Bucky said through his radio. "Verona and I have been separated. I'm outside the factory right now, and he says he's going to head down to the engine rooms to rendezvous with you. Did you receive his message?" There was no answer on the other end. "Gabe, Frenchie, do you hear me?" he asked again. Still no answer, so he tried calling Steve.
"I'm here, Buck."
"Private Verona's been trying to contact Gabe and Frenchie to let them know he's meeting them downstairs, but they haven't been answering. Can you reach them?"
"We've tried to reach them also," Steve answered. "But like you, no dice. Let's hope they just have a bad signal down there and it's not something worse."
"All right, thanks Steve," Bucky said. "Isaac…"
"I heard him, Sarge," Isaac said on the other end. "And if I can't contact them I'm just gonna have to head down there unannounced. I hope they won't mind me popping in."
"Just be careful on the way down, all right?" Bucky said.
"I will," Isaac answered. Then the call ended.
Had Bucky known that that would be the last time he would ever hear Isaac's voice for a very, very long time, he would have said something more.
It took Bucky about ten minute to jog up to the rendezvous point, located on an overlook hidden behind the tree line 85 yards East of the facility.
The first person he saw when he got there was Falsworth, who was acting as lookout. He was peering through his binoculars, staring in the direction of the facility. He didn't notice Bucky's arrival until the sound of rustling foliage caught his attention, causing his head to snap in his direction and his momentary look of alert alarm to dissolve into relief when he saw Bucky rather than some enemy.
"Good to see you, Barnes," Falsworth said in his familiar upper-class English accent. His words caught the attention of everyone else, who also were focused intently on the facility.
"Likewise," Bucky answered.
Steve emerged from behind Falsworth before trotting over and giving his friend a hug. "Glad to see you made it out, Buck."
"Me too," Bucky replied. "Is everyone else out yet?"
"All except Jones, Dernier, and Verona," Steve said. "We're still waiting on them. We tried contacting them a few more times, but no luck."
Bucky's heart sank slightly. "So, what are we going to do?
Steve shrugged. "I don't think we can do much except wait, and keep trying to contact them. However long that may take."
Bucky nodded slowly, feeling his stomach tighten. He wished he could do something, but nothing came to mind. Looks like he was just going to have to follow the Captain's orders and wait.
He followed Steve and joined the others, taking a spot next to Morita who was fiddling with the radio. Morita, thankfully, didn't deduce anything suspicious from Bucky's desire to be close to the radio. It never occurred to him that Bucky was keeping close in hopes of hearing something from the remaining soldiers, primarily Isaac, who mattered more to him than any of them could ever know.
After a few more minutes, they tried again to contact Jones and Dernier. But again, nothing came out of it. Only static answered back. They then tried to contact Isaac, to see if he made it down to the engine rooms. But oddly, they got the same static reply. That caused Bucky to let out a nervous breath, which was noticed by Dugan.
"You OK, Barnes?" he asked.
Bucky looked at him, seemingly unprepared for the question, not really thinking that anyone could hear him. "Uh…" he breathed. "That static's making me nervous."
Dugan let out a prolonged exhale and nodded. "It makes us all nervous, Sarge."
Bucky didn't know why, but Dugan's remark caused him to secretly roll his eyes. Most likely because he knew that Dugan's nerves could never equate to his own. He had no idea just how nervous Bucky really was. In fact, 'nervous' was too simple of a word to pin down how Bucky felt right now.
"Captain, do you read?"
The silence was broken by the sound of Gabe's voice over the radio. In a second, everyone present gathered around the radio as Steve pushed his way to the front.
"I read you, Jones," Steve answered. "We've been trying to contact you, but couldn't. What happened?"
"Sorry Cap," Gabe said with an almost sheepish tone. "The engine rooms apparently have very thick walls. We couldn't get a signal through. We tried, as you did, but couldn't. Sorry for any heart attacks we might have caused."
This drew a laugh from everyone else. "Yeah, thanks for that!" Dugan said sarcastically.
"Anyway, is everyone else out?" Gabe asked.
"Pretty much, yes," Steve answered.
"Good. We just got out ourselves, and all the charges have been planted. Do you want us to detonate them now?"
"No," Steve replied. "Get to the rendezvous point first and detonate them from here."
"Right-io, boss," Gabe said. "We'll be right there."
Bucky leaned forward and tapped Steve's shoulder. Steve looked at him with a confused look, which then switched to one of realization when he saw Bucky mouth Isaac's name.
"Gabe, you still there?" he asked.
"Yes, Cap."
"I forgot to ask, is Private Verona with you?"
There was a brief pause on the other end before Gabe spoke. "Verona? No. Why?"
"He and Bucky got separated," Steve replied. "Bucky's here now, but Isaac isn't. He said he was going to go down to the engine rooms and leave with you two. He had tried reaching you with the radio but was unsuccessful. Did he make it down?"
There was another pause, which was not silent, as they could all hear the faint sound of Gabe speaking French, most likely to Dernier. Whatever Dernier's response was, it was too inaudible to hear. After a moment, Gabe spoke again, this time in English.
"If he did make it down, it must have been after we left, because we never saw him. We didn't even know he was coming down."
"Oh no," Morita muttered, causing everyone to look at each other in concern. Bucky felt his heart slide slowly down his rib-cage.
"Do you want us to go back in and look for him, Cap?" Gabe asked.
"No," Steve answered. "It's too risky. Come back to the rendezvous point, and we'll figure out what to do then."
"Roger that, Cap," Gabe replied. Then the call ended.
Bucky grabbed Steve's arm, a little harder than he should have. "What are you doing," he asked sharply. "Someone should go in and get him."
"I don't want to send any more men inside yet, just in case Verona has already gotten out," Steve responded. "So for now, we'll wait for him here. If he doesn't show up after a while, I'll head inside to retrieve him."
"I'll go with you," Bucky said.
"I'd love to have you come with me, Buck," Steve said. "But you just got here. I think it's best if you lay low with the others. Dugan will go with me. But let's hope we won't have to go in, and Verona will make it back."
Despite his desire to protest, Bucky didn't say anything, because he had never really considered the latter part of Steve's statement until now. Now there couldn't be anyone else who wanted that last part to be true more than him.
It took Gabe and Dernier about ten minutes to make it back to the rendezvous point. But after another fifteen, there was still no sign of Isaac.
The anxiety that everyone was feeling before had only increased in the last half hour as a result. Bucky couldn't take it. Each minute that passed without any sign of Isaac caused the anxiety and dread to clamp down on his stomach a little harder. They tried again and again to contact Isaac over the radio. But each time they were instead greeted by that same static.
"Alright, that's it," Steve finally said, standing up. "We're going in. Dugan, let's go." Dugan nodded and stood up as well, his gun already locked and loaded, as it usually was.
"Are you sure you don't want me to come?" Bucky asked.
"I'm sure," Steve answered. "Just wait here with everyone else. We'll keep in touch. Falsworth, cover us." Falsworth nodded.
"Let's hope that our inability to communicate is just because Hermes has hunkered down in the engine rooms and can't get a signal through," Dugan said. "Poor kid's probably gotten himself lost down there. He tends to do that, you know."
"Yeah, let's hope," Steve said as he and Dugan headed off down the side of the overlook. It was starting to get dark and it didn't take long for their forms to disappear in the growing darkness.
Everyone else remained completely silent as the minutes passed, each one listening for Steve or Dugan's voice on the radio, providing light in the darkness, metaphorically speaking, of course.
Bucky didn't even know how much time passed (a long time; way too long for him) before the radio suddenly crackled to life. "Hello, anyone there!?" It was Dugan.
Everyone jumped up and ran to the radio. "Yes, we're here," Morita said.
"OK, good," Dugan said. "Cap and I are outside now! We couldn't find Hermes anywhere! He's nowhere in the engine rooms. We have another problem! When we got to the engine rooms there were dozens of HYDRA soldiers swarming the place, and they came dangerously close to finding and disarming the charges. We were able to fight them off, but more will be coming. Cap says we have no choice now; we have to detonate the charges right away!"
"What about Isaac?" Bucky asked frantically.
"Buck?" It was Steve's voice this time.
"Yeah?"
"We don't have a choice. We have to set those charges off really soon. It's the only chance we have of taking this facility down, a chance we may never get again."
Bucky found himself unable to answer with words. Instead, he released a loud breath.
"Don't worry, Buck. Isaac is smart. He knows better than to stick around too long when there's no one there for him to meet up with. If he wasn't in the engine rooms he most likely got out already. He's probably laying low outside somewhere."
Bucky recognized this as Steve trying to calm him down. It didn't really work, but Bucky knew that Steve was right; it was now or never.
"OK," he said.
"We'll let you fellas know when we're a safe distance away."
"Gotcha, Cap," Morita said as the call ended.
"I'm sure Private Verona's fine," Major Pascal said, while his men remained silent. "I'm sure he's too smart to hang around an enemy facility when he knows his men are here waiting."
"Then why hasn't he contacted us yet?" Bucky said.
Everyone else fell silent at that, simply because none of them wanted to voice any other possibility beside 'he got out and he's safe'. So silence was the only thing heard for the next ten minutes. After that, the silence was soon interrupted.
"Morita?"
"Yes, Captain," Morita answered.
"We're a safe distance away. You guys can detonate the charges now." The order was given with a flat, almost solemn tone that everyone could hear.
Morita paused before responding. "Yes, Captain."
Morita turned and looked at Dernier, who was clutching the detonator in his hands and gave him a nod. Dernier hesitated, first looking at Gabe, who spoke to him in French, urging him on. He hesitated a little more, looking around at everyone else, as if looking for approval. Bucky fixed his eyes on the Frenchman, who made his rounds looking at each of the Commandos before his eyes made it to him. Swallowing to relieve the sheet of sandpaper his throat had just become, Bucky finally relented and gave Dernier a slow nod of approval. Steve was right; this was their only chance.
Dernier still looked unsure, but nevertheless let out a sigh and pushed the button on the detonator, turning the factory into a blazing, towering inferno that lit up the darkling sky in a matter of seconds. The blast of the explosion sent many of the soldiers to the ground to take cover, while others simply ducked away from the blast. Once the dust had cleared, everyone straightened up and stared at the now burning factory, many considering, but not accepting the idea that Isaac could have gone up in smoke with it.
The fire from the burning factory lit the surrounding areas with a light almost as bright as day, and in the distance they could hear men shouting in multiple language, no doubt HYDRA soldiers shouting in distress. The light from the fire allowed the Allies to see farther ahead of their hiding spot, and soon they saw Steve and Dugan returning. However, upon getting a closer look at the two soldiers, all their expression twisted into frowns, then looks of alarm.
Steve and Dugan were not walking toward them; they were running!
"Take cover!" Steve shouted as he and Dugan ran toward the rendezvous point.
Two seconds later, they were followed by a barrage of bullets and gunfire right behind them, sending the Howling Commandos and Pascal's men diving behind trees and rocks for cover. Steve stopped and turned, using his shield to protect himself and Dugan from the bullets as the latter picked up his speed and dove behind a tree across from the rock Bucky and Falsworth were hiding behind. A moment later, Steve turned and ran to the rendezvous point, quickly ducking behind the same rock as Bucky and Falsworth. They took a peek over the rock and saw a line of HYDRA soldiers heading towards them, firing their weapons.
"Those sons of bitches found our hiding spot!" Dugan shouted as he fired his gun at the HYDRA soldiers. "How did they know where we were?"
"I don't know!" Steve shouted. "But they found us nonetheless!"
"What do we do, Captain!?" Falsworth asked.
"For now, just keep firing!" Steve answered.
Not that he needed to say it, as everyone was already firing. The odds weren't looking good, though. There appeared to be an ever increasing number of HYDRA soldiers. Every time they killed one, more appeared. Looks like HYDRA still lives up to its name, even in the heat of battle. And going up against this ever increasing number was just Steve, the Howling Commandos, Major Pascal, and eight of his men.
Sixteen against God only knows how many.
"Good God!" Morita said, firing his gun nonstop. "How many soldiers do they have in this Goddamn factory?"
"Well, it was a big factory," Gabe responded as he too continued to fire.
"CAPTAIN!"
Everyone turned toward the sound of Major Pascal's voice, and saw the Frenchman looking at them in distress. They saw, to their horror, that he was kneeling next to the body of one of his soldiers, who had just gotten shot through the neck and was now lying lifeless on the ground next to a pool of his own blood, still grasping at his wound after pointlessly attempting to stop the bleeding himself. Two other soldiers were also kneeling next to their fallen comrade, clutching the body while screaming in anguish (Whiskey Eyes and his brother, Bucky suddenly remembered with a burst of shock at that sudden realization).
Now, it was fifteen against God only knows how many. And they were advancing on the tiny party way too quickly.
"Bloody Hell!" Falsworth said. "We could really use Verona right now!" He kept firing his gun as if his life depended on it, which (no shit), it really did! "What's our course of action, Captain?" he asked Steve.
Steve didn't answer him at first. His eyes were still glued on the French soldier that had just gotten gunned down, his heart a heavy stone in his chest.
"Steve?" came Bucky's voice. This time, Steve responded and looked at his friend. "What are we going to do?"
For a moment, Steve just stared at him, his mind in chaos. Were there less HYDRA soldiers heading toward them, the odds would be better. Steve could take on 6-10 men by himself in hand-to-hand combat, while everyone else took care of the rest. But there were a lot more soldiers than that. Not to mention that the Allies were now down by two men; one was dead and the other was, at the moment, curiously MIA. The odds were not in their favor at all right now.
"There are too many of them," Steve finally said. "We have to call a retreat!"
Bucky's face dropped in disbelief. "We can't go now. What about Isaac? We can't just leave without him!"
"We have no choice, Buck," Steve said. His voice was firm, but his eyes betrayed his blatant feelings of guilt and reluctance at his choice. It could even be debated whether he was intending to try hiding them or not.
"No, Steve," Bucky countered. "I already left him behind once. I can't do it again. I won't!"
"If we stay any longer we'll be overrun, and we could lose more men." Steve responded. "We're already down by two, and I am not going to risk the lives of any more. We've done what we can here. Now, we need to get our tails out of here before we suffer any more losses."
Bucky didn't answer, although he wanted to. He wanted to protest, to fight for Isaac more. But Steve had made an upsettingly good point.
"Believe me, Bucky," Steve said. "I wouldn't be doing this if there was any other way."
Bucky's chin fell against his chest, and he exhaled sharply. He really couldn't come up with a response. So with regret wringing his heart and stomach dry, he let his silence speak for him, revealing his acceptance. Steve nodded in response.
"Fall back!" Steve shouted at the others. "Fall back now!"
The Howling Commandos, at first, looked at Steve in momentary confusion, even though the reason for such an order shouldn't have been all that elusive. They were being advanced on by an uncountable number of enemy soldiers, after all. It should have been an order they would obey without hesitation. But the awareness of their last companion's absence locked their eyebrows together, and stopped them from moving immediately.
"That's it?" Dugan asked. "We're just gonna leave, without Hermes?"
"Does it look like we have a choice?" Bucky asked flatly before Steve could, motioning toward the advancing soldiers.
Dugan looked out at them. "Good point," he said. "All right, you boys heard the Captain. Move out!"
Dugan's words were soon followed by Major Pascal repeating the order to his own soldiers in French, to which they responded with an affirming nod as they lifted the body of their fallen comrade.
Everyone else stood up and began backing up with their weapons pointed at the advancing soldiers. Steve raised his shield to deflect some of the bullets, protecting as many men as he could. Dugan released bullets in endless streams, yelling his usual war cry as he did. Everyone kept dodging behind trees and rocks, cover after cover, as they moved backwards in retreat. At one point, Bucky dodged behind the same rock as Gabe and Dernier, who were firing their guns nonstop.
Suddenly, Dernier started muttering something in French and set his weapon down on the ground, painting frowns on both Bucky and Gabe's faces. Neither of them had much time to ask what he was doing before he reached into his coat and pulled out, not one, but two grenades, causing the other two men to instinctively move a couple inches away from him.
"Emergencies," Dernier told them, raising the grenades up slightly in one hand.
The corner of Bucky's mouth quirked up upon hearing that; he shouldn't be surprised that Dernier kept grenades for the same reason Isaac did.
Both Gabe and Bucky kept their distance as Dernier took a quick peek over the rock before removing the pin from the first grenade and chucking it in the direction of the advancing soldiers.
"Grenade!" Gabe shouted, causing everyone to duck behind their current covers.
His words were immediately followed by the faint sound of the grenade hitting the ground, and the panicked shouts of the advancing enemy soldiers in a multitude of different languages as they attempted to put as much distance between themselves and the grenade as they could, which they failed to do before it went off, sending several of them flying. Dernier didn't give them any time to recover before he repeated the same action with the second grenade, to the same effect.
No doubt, Dernier's decision aided the Allies immensely. In the time it took for the HYDRA soldiers to recover from the grenades and continue their advance, the Allies were able to complete their retreat, slipping back into the darkness of the forest, many of them moving with heavy, unwilling steps.
Almost immediately after arriving at the camp, they made arrangements for the fallen French soldier to be returned home for burial, and Private Isaac Jonas Verona was declared Missing In Action.
Or, as defined by the Howling Commandos, Missing In Action...for now.
The next morning, the Howling Commandos did something that they'd never done before; they returned to the facility they had just destroyed.
Schmidt had already come, inspected the damage, and left hours before with most of the staff, leaving behind a small skeleton crew of HYDRA soldiers to clean what they could of the mess.
The Howling Commandos, as well as Major Pascal and his unit, picked a hiding spot about 80 yards North of the factory's ruins, in a spot that was even more hidden by the tree line than their other hiding spot had been. There, they waited until Schmidt was gone before making their advance on the facility.
Schmidt had left barely thirty men behind to clean up and collect any corpses or still usable equipment; a number that the Allies could easily handle.
Subduing Schmidt's men was not as easy as it should have been. The Allies forgot to remind themselves that every HYDRA soldier had cyanide pills on demand, and didn't like getting caught; a deadly combination. Of the thirty men left behind by Schmidt, they only managed to stop six of them from committing suicide. The others were successful; meeting their foaming, convulsive ends right before the Allies horrified eyes. The surviving soldiers were quickly subdued and held at gunpoint while the rest of the Allies started where they had left off on their search, trying to find some clue to tell them what happened to their missing soldier. Thankfully Schmidt's crew had already done a good chunk of the work. The Howling Commandos started by looking at the corpses of those who were killed in the explosion that had been collected so far, which consisted of only about seventeen men.
Bucky didn't participate in that search. He couldn't bring himself to; fearing that one of those corpses would be wearing Isaac's uniform, confirming what he dreaded most. So, Dugan and Morita conducted that search, looking over the bodies which had been conveniently laid side-by-side by Schmidt's crew, their features grim as they prepared for the truth. Meanwhile, Falsworth was with a small handful of French soldiers looking over the collection of intact equipment found in the wreckage that Schmidt's crew had gathered so far.
Bucky stood next to Steve, Colonel Phillips, Peggy Carter, and everyone else, waiting for word of what was found in both piles. After a few minutes, they were approached by Dugan and Morita, their stances stiffening as the two men got closer.
"Good news so far," Morita said. "We checked the bodies and they're all wearing HYDRA uniforms. Doesn't look like Verona's among them." His words caused everyone's stance to soften.
"Now, we shouldn't get our hopes up," Dugan said. "Remember, those are just the bodies that they've collected so far. There still could be more lying around in the wreckage. And...well, there's just no tellin' who we'll find."
"Well, then we better start looking now," Steve said.
"Captain!"
Their heads all abruptly turned at the sound of Falsworth's voice as the Brit approached them, clutching something in his arms. Once he was right in front of them, they saw that the object in his hands was an M1941 Johnson rifle, damaged from the blast but still mostly intact. Recognizing the gun instantly, Bucky pretty much snatched it from Falsworth before the man had time to speak.
"That's not a HYDRA weapon," Falsworth said, despite the gun being abruptly taken from him. "Look along the butt."
Bucky flipped the gun over, revealing to everyone the letters carved into the butt.
I.J.V.
Isaac's initials.
Isaac had put them there using his own knife. For some reason he had become madly infatuated with this particular rifle, out of hundreds of them. It was something about the grip, he said; something about it that made that rifle feel good in his hands. He could never explain it. So he didn't try. He simply made sure that he claimed it before anyone else did, even going so far as marking it with his initials. As far as everyone was concerned, the rifle was his. Thankfully, he had enough integrity to not go down the Dugan route and give the rifle a name (Dugan had named his favorite gun Esmeralda, inducing chuckles from everyone else. He usually just ignored them, though). Isaac would simply address the rifle as 'old boy'. It was never an official name; just something he called it from time to time.
He was insanely fond of that rifle, so much so that he would never just leave it behind, if he had a choice.
"Do you know where they found it?" Peggy asked Falsworth.
The Brit shook his head. "We'll have to ask them that."
"And that's exactly what we'll do," Bucky said sharply.
He turned and made his way over to where the remaining members of Schmidt's crew were being held at gunpoint by Major Pascal's men. Major Pascal was standing in front of them, keeping a close eye on them, as well as his men. Bucky approached him with a quickened pace, causing the Frenchman to turn with a start when Bucky suddenly appeared right next to him. Once he recovered, he gave Bucky a polite nod.
"Sergeant Barnes," he said.
"Major Pascal," Bucky returned. He then showed him the rifle. "This is Private Verona's rifle. It was among the intact equipment they were able to collect so far. We need to know where they found it. Do you know if any of these men speak English?"
The Major shook his head. "No. But let's find out." He then turned to the HYDRA soldiers. "Do any of you speak English?"
The only answer the HYDRA soldiers gave were looks of confusion. The Major cocked an eyebrow, his sharp, grey eyes scanning the soldiers before he asked the question again, in French. This time, he watched the soldiers closely, gauging their reactions. As he had hoped, even more, in fact, he saw most of the soldiers' faces and body language give away little flickers of recognition, despite their best efforts to conceal it. Pascal's lip quirked as he paced in front of the soldiers a few times before pausing.
"{I know most of you are Frenchman, or at least understand what I'm saying,}" he said in French. "{Your bodies give it away. So I'm sure you should be able to answer our question.}" He took Isaac's rifle from Bucky and held it up so the soldiers could see. "{This rifle belongs to an American soldier who disappeared last night during the mission. We need to know where you found it.}"
None of the soldiers answered verbally, causing the Major to let out a sigh as he started pacing in front of them again. He did this for a full minute. If his intention was to make the soldiers uneasy, he succeeded. Many of them shifted uncomfortably whenever the Major's grey eyes passed over them like a searchlight. Before long, he suddenly stopped in front of one of soldiers, a young one. Despite the Major's eyes staring down at him, the soldier kept his head down and eyes averted, but just barely. Major Pascal then squatted down in front of the soldier; his eyes remaining completely pinned on him.
"Bonjour, Monsieur," he said. "{You speak French, do you not?}" He knew the answer already, but wanted to try and get the soldier to talk. As expected, the soldier held his tongue. "{Hey!}" Pascal said sharply, grabbing the soldier's chin and forcing him to look at him. "{I asked you a question. You speak French, do you not?}"
"Oui, Monsieur." the soldier said, finally relenting.
"{I thought so,}" the Major replied. He brought the rifle forward for the soldier to see. "{You can't, by any chance, tell me where this was found?}" The soldier shook his head, causing the Major to purse his lips. "{I find that incredibly difficult to believe.}"
"{I mean it, monsieur,}" the soldier replied. "I really don't know where it was found. I wasn't one of the people who found it.}" He turned, motioning to the soldier on his right. "{Auguste here was, though.}"
The soldier in question, the one named Auguste, sharply looked at the younger soldier with a stunned expression at how much he had just said.
"{Oh, he was?}" Pascal said, turning his attention to Auguste.
"{You puny, gutless traitor!}" Auguste snarled at the young soldier. "{You betray HYDRA!}"
"{I betray no one,}" the younger soldier replied. "{I reveal no big secrets. They are only searching for one soldier, who is probably dead already anyway. I give them nothing of great worth!}"
"{Little ingrate!}" Auguste snapped. "{If we ever get out of this I'll rip your tongue out!}"
"{You can do it now, if you like,}" the Major interjected coolly, drawing looks of shock from both the soldiers. "{After all, he has nothing valuable to share with me, as he said. So his tongue would be no great loss to me.}"
The two French soldiers who were holding the two HYDRA soldiers at gunpoint looked at each other with amused expressions that evolved into smirks. They knew the Major, and could tell when he was joking. But the HYDRA soldiers did not, which was just how the Major liked it. He liked to leave them squirming. He was pretty wicked that way
"{You on the other hand,}" the Major said, turning back to Auguste. "{…do have something good to tell me, no?}" He held Isaac's rifle forward again. "{Where did you find this?}"
Auguste responded by spitting at the Major's face, who jumped back slightly with a gasp. The soldier pointing the gun at Auguste shouted a curse in French and kicked Auguste in the ribs, sending him face down on the ground. The Major quickly raised his hand, stopping his own soldier from doing anything else. He grabbed Auguste by the collar and hoisted him until he was looking him in the eyes.
"{Fantastic aim there, soldier,}" he said, wiping the saliva off his face with his sleeve. "{But was that really necessary? We're not asking for any of HYDRA's deepest secrets. We're just trying to find our missing soldier. So, I'll ask again; where did you find this rifle?}" Auguste answered the Major with a glare, but said nothing. "{Where did you find it?}" the Major said again through gritted teeth.
Auguste glared at him for a few more moments before letting out a sound that was some gruff hybrid of a growl and a sigh before finally begrudgingly answering the Major's question in French.
Bucky remained where he was, anxiously watching Major Pascal interrogate the soldiers, and understanding almost none of what they were saying, only half noticing that Steve, Peggy, Colonel Phillips, and everyone else had joined him. After a while, he heard the Major say thank you in French before standing up and walking over to him.
"He says that they found it on the South-East side of the wreckage," Major Pascal told Bucky. "-not that far from where the Primary Office was located. They were in the middle of searching there when we interrupted them."
"Well, looks like we're just gonna start where they left off," Colonel Phillips said, before turning to the rest of the Howling Commandos. "Alright men, you heard him; South-East side, now!"
No one hesitated a moment, quickly making their way to the South-East side, which looked like it had only been partially cleared.
"Alright," Steve said. "Everyone spread out and start moving debris. If you see anything, even if it's a body, give a shout." Everyone could agree that they actually heard Steve's stomach drop slightly in his voice as he said the last part.
"Move it, boys!" Colonel Phillips shouted, sending everyone scattering.
For the next hour they worked furiously, moving debris and working in twos or threes to lift the bigger stuff. Bucky didn't try to count how many times his heart rate would crescendo rabidly to a point of near failure only to die down just as quickly whenever a large piece of debris was moved, fearing that they would find Isaac's body underneath, only for there to be nothing. He couldn't decide whether he actually felt any relief from empty discoveries like that, or just further dread. At least a body would provide some closure. But this…this was just…nothing. That could mean Isaac either is alive, or the blast didn't leave his body intact. Even then, they'd expect to see at least some trace of his corpse. But they haven't even found that.
Looking back, Bucky realized that it was from these ups and downs in heart rate and one empty discovery after another that the not knowing was able to latch onto him and start sucking him dry. Yeah, this was right around when it started.
Suddenly, someone gave a shout, causing everyone to drop whatever size debris they were moving and turn their eyes to the direction it came from. What they saw was Dugan stumbling across the wreckage, waving around something in his hands; something that appeared to glint every time the sun hit it from certain angles. Everyone immediately ran toward Dugan, meeting him half way just was he presented his findings to them. You could almost hear the collective rise in everyone's heart rate when they saw what Dugan had found.
Resting in the palm of his hands was a couple of dog tags attached to a broken chain. The edges were warped from the heat of the blast and some of the words had been browned and melted flat. Only the familiar shape of Isaac's name was still intact.
"They're Verona's dog tags," Dugan stated, rather unnecessarily. "He was definitely here."
"Where exactly did you find these?" Steve asked.
Rather than answer verbally, Dugan simply turned and ran back in the direction he had come from. Everyone else followed without a question. After a moment of darting clumsily across fallen debris, Dugan suddenly stopped.
"I found them right around here," he said, drawing circular motions with his hands, indicating where.
"Alright," Steve said as he turned to the others. "Everyone pair up and spread out. We'll resume the search from here and move outward. Holler if you find anything else. Let's move!"
Everyone nodded in affirmation and spread out. Bucky was paired up with Dugan, Gabe with Dernier, Falsworth with Morita, and Steve with Peggy, who insisted that she help out. Everyone knew better than to fight her. Because no matter what, it's always best to just do as Peggy says.
They searched for another half hour to forty five minutes, moving debris with an almost furious determination. Major Pascal ordered the few men of his unit who were not watching the prisoners to join in the search. Looking back, Bucky doesn't remember seeing Whiskey Eyes or his brother there at all. They had stayed back at camp, with the body of their fallen fellow soldier. Bucky sure as hell hoped that they wouldn't end up going through the same thing with Isaac.
"Capitaine! Capitaine!" Jacques Dernier suddenly started shouting.
Everyone turned to see the Frenchman waving his hands to get Steve's attention. Like before, they all stopped what they were doing and ran toward the spot where Dernier and Gabe were searching. As they got closer, they saw that Gabe was bent over, the back of his hand pressed against his lips, as if he had just vomited, or was about to. Dernier had a perturbed look on his face.
"Careful, guys," Gabe croaked out. "It's not a pretty picture."
If the smell was anything to go by, they had no doubt he was right; that unmistakable smell of burnt, decaying flesh. Smelling it was enough to send Bucky's heart rate into panic mode. But once he saw it, his heart almost stopped dead.
Sticking out from underneath a large piece of debris was a human hand, burned and mangled from the blast. There was no sleeve visible, so there was no way to tell what uniform the corpse was wearing. Everyone stared at the hand, their fear stiffening them into statues.
"Is it Isaac?" Bucky finally asked, his voice hoarse.
"We don't know yet," Gabe said.
"Well, there's only one way to find out," Steve said. "We have to move the debris."
At that, Gabe turned away, shaking his head with his hand raised in a dismissive gesture. "I can't – I can't do it, Captain. I'm sorry, I just can't."
Steve looked at Dernier, and the Frenchman shook his head in response, the same troubled expression as before. Among the Howling Commandos, Gabe and Dernier were not usually the ones with the weakest stomachs (for sake of their dignity, let's not name who is). In fact, even with dead bodies, they usually did a good job of holding things together. But this time, there was a possibility that the body was someone they knew, someone they fought alongside, and even considered a brother. Since everyone else was feeling the same way, they could not blame the two men for turning away.
"I'll move it," Steve volunteered. His voice was heavy and uneven.
"I'll help you," Dugan offered, his voice matching Steve's.
The two men stepped forward and together lifted the debris. Bucky turned away, choosing to stare down at the ground instead. He couldn't bring himself to look, not even wanting to prepare himself should his worst fear come true. He listened to the sound of movement, Dugan and Steve's grunts as they lifted the debris together, expecting to hear them say that they found him. Instead what he heard was Dugan let out a sigh of….relief? Did he hear that correctly?
"It's not Verona," Steve said. "Just another HYDRA soldier."
"Thank God," Peggy said in a soft, breathy voice.
It took Bucky a second to finally find the courage to turn around and look at the corpse. Somehow the knowledge that it wasn't Isaac was the only thing giving him that courage; he never would have been able to do it otherwise. Even when he was looking at it, he still didn't quite believe that it wasn't him. He kept waiting for his eyes to reveal that his hope was blinding him, and the corpse would turn out to actually be wearing Isaac's uniform. He kept waiting for it to happen, which it never did. Slowly, his hope returned as the truth cemented itself in his mind.
"Alright," Colonel Phillips said. "Our search isn't over. There's still more ground to cover. So let's get to it. Come on, we're burning daylight here, people! Keep looking. Go!"
They spent the whole rest of the day searching through the ruins. They found nothing else except half a dozen corpses of more HYDRA soldiers. Otherwise, there was nothing there except debris, shrapnel, and other remnants of the ruined factory. They even searched the surrounding grounds, in hopes that they would find some evidence of Isaac having made it out. Again, nothing was found.
Around this point, Bucky was struck with an awful thought. If they couldn't even find Isaac's body, then he must still be alive. If he's not here, then there's the strong possibility that HYDRA could have gotten a hold of him. Bucky shuddered at the thought, remembering all too well the tortures he and Isaac had endured the last time they were prisoners of HYDRA. Well, he didn't know exactly what Isaac had been through, but if it was anything like he himself had experienced, he had no doubt that they'd do the exact same thing to Isaac again. He almost wished Isaac was dead; at least then he would have been spared from having to experience that agony again. He relayed this suspicion to Steve and the others, who all seemed to already possess the same thought
Nevertheless, they kept searching. They would have continued to search all the way into the night. Unfortunately, they were forced to abandon their search on the cusp of evening because Morita had intercepted HYDRA communications and learned that Schmidt was returning that night to check up on the progress of the clean-up. Reluctantly, the Allies had no choice but to stop abruptly and leave in the same fashion. They tied up the enemy soldiers they had captured and left them behind for Schmidt to find before beginning their slow trek back to camp.
They returned to the camp with empty hands and heavy hearts, many feeling like they really needed a drink, while others claimed that they didn't feel like drinking, some not even having the will to keep the drink down.
"Get some sleep, men," Colonel Phillips said. "It's been a long and exhausting day, and we could all use some serious shut-eye. We'll continue searching tomorrow, and any other day after that we may need. We won't stop until we know what happened to Isaac Verona. Until then, rest well, men."
Everyone wished him good night before retiring themselves. Bucky let out a secret humorless laugh at the Colonel's words. Getting sleep was not going to be as easy as it was to simply say. It made Bucky's stomach sink knowing that tonight, and God only knows how many nights after this, he would be sleeping alone. He hated sleeping alone now. He hated the fact that the nights he and Isaac spent together were few and far between. While it made those nights seem even sweeter, it also made the spaces in between seem more empty and cold. Now, the thought that he would be sleeping alone, like he had during those long spaces, for a very long time, maybe even indefinitely, made his stomach feel hollow in a way unrelated to hunger. Nevertheless, he also retired to his tent, trying to at least get some sleep before they resumed the search the next day.
Thus began the longest and hardest 4 months he had ever experienced.