"Act natural Ms. Romanoff or I will shoot you."He says softly with a smile turning Ava into an alley "Where is he?"
"Who? She asks innocently.
"The soldier." He growls.
"I'm sorry I haven't seen any soldiers recently." She says calmly.
"Don't lie to me I know damn well you know where The soldier is." The man snaps at her.
"Dear his name is Bucky and I don't think you want to find him." She says with a smile. The man grabs a handful of her hair and slams her head against a dumpster.
"I'm going to ask you one more time where is The Winter Soldier?" He growls blood ran down Ava's forehead and her head throbbed.
"Right here." Bucky says grabbing the man he saw at Ava's apartment and throwing him down the alley with his metal arm. Bucky picked up the mans gun and walked over him but before Bucky can shoot him the man drives a knife into the soldiers metal arm breaking several circuits. Bucky shoots the man straight into the heart killing him with one shot.
"Ava." Bucky said kneeling next to her "Are you alright?"
"Ya I'm fine just a little cut." She said Bucky trying to help her to her feet "Your arm it's not working."
"No it's not." Bucky says trying to lift his arm to no avail.
"I have an idea." Ava says pulling her phone out of her bra and dialing someone. "Hey Pepper it's Ava."
"Hello Ava how have you been? Haven't heard from you in a while I have to admit I miss having you around." Pepper said kindly.
"Pepper I need yours and Tony's help." Ava said getting to the point. "is Tony available?"
"Yes all he's been doing since S.H.I.E.L.D went down is going over their file kicking himself for missing the whole Hydra thing. Here he is." Pepper said handing Tony the phone.
"Hello Aviator calling to beg for your job back?" Tony asks
"No actually I'm calling to ask a favor I need your bio-mechanical skills." She says Bucky helping her to the car.
"And why should I help you Avy?" Tony asks.
"Tony just help her she was a fantastic employee and the only reason you fired one of our top scientist because Natasha was her sister." Ava hears Pepper tell Tony.
"What's in it for me?" Tony asks.
"A chance to see a bio-mechanical limb attached and working with a body and a chance to hide something from Fury and piss him off." Ava says grinning.
"I'm in, come in the back door I gave your retinal scan clearance." Tony says before hanging up.
Ava and Bucky got into the back of Stark tower easily but just as they stepped out of elevator Tony's body guard Happy raised his gun. Bucky stiffened ready to attack if he needed to but Ava put her arm across his chest stopping him.
"Put your hands over your head." Happy orders.
"Happy put the gun down." Tony commands and Happy obeys.
"I am so fucking sick of people pointing guns at me and ordering me around." Ava yells at Bucky pulling off one of her heels throwing it at Happy.
"Hey hey calm down." Tony says and Bucky wraps his good arm around Ava and carries her into Tony's lab she was still fuming. Bucky found it kind of amusing he sat her down in one of the chairs Ava took off her other heel and stood up. "So where is this limb and you're bleeding."
"Someone slammed my head against the dumpster it isn't important." Ava said unzipping Bucky's leather jacket and helping him take it and his shirt off. "Here it is. Someone shoved a blade in do you think you could fix it?"
"Of course I can." Tony said telling Bucky to sit down.
"Oh my God Ava your bleeding!" Pepper says walking into the room. "Here let me get you fixed up." Pepper say ushering Ava out of the room.
"So James Buchanan Barnes how did you end up in the company of a top scientist, a S.H.I.E.L.D agent, the sister of Natasha Romanoff and not in a grave or a cell?" Tony asks.
"Hydra agents kidnapped me and he rescued me after Steve gave his memory a jolt." Ava says walking into the room noticing Bucky's discomfort at the question. He really wasn't sure why she didn't just run or tell her sister, or Steve or her employers he was the reason she was taken in the first place. He was the one who took her even but she didn't tell Tony that.
"How do you know who I am?" Bucky asks.
"I know a lot, Steve is a friend, you have a metal arm, I saw you on the news, and my father used to talk about the infamous Steve Rodgers and Bucky Barnes who saved gave his life yada yada." Tony answered.
It took a few hours for Tony to fix and take the data he wanted. Ava told Tony about everything that happened. She liked Tony and trusted him sure he could be a narcissistic asshole but he had been a great boss when it came to science. She missed working with him, she had lost her job because Tony found out she was a Romanoff and Tony didn't trust Romanoffs. She didn't blame him she and her sister had always been good liars and sneaky.
"I'm done and I'm going to give you two hours before I call Steve. I have to call him or Pepper will strangle me." Tony says ushering the two out the door Bucky's arm working better than it ever has.
"Well now that your fixed I saw a clothing store a few miles from the hotel. We can run in and grab a few things for you." Ava said. She noticed there was something bugging him he was tense his grip on the steering wheel tighter than needed and his jaw was clenched. "What's wrong?"
"We should get out of the city." He said sternly not even looking at her.
"Why? We were attacked by one person who got lucky." Ava shrugs.
"He didn't get lucky he's been tracking us he was at your apartment last night." He responded.
"Wait, how do you know he was at my apartment last night you were at the hotel with me?" Ava asks Bucky still doesn't look at her and doesn't reply "James How do you know he was at my apartment last night?" She demands.
"There are video cameras in your apartment Pierce set it up so I could get the video anywhere." He says not daring to look at her.
"How long have they been set up?" Ava says quietly not sure if she wants the answer.
"Two months." He had been watching her for two months as an order from Pierce he'd watched her dance around her room, watched her share intimate moments, watched her cry, watched her work out, watched what her life was like for two months, the thought made her skin crawl.
"Pull over." She snaps when he doesn't she yells at him "God damnit Soldier I said pull the fucking car over!" This time the rage in her voice and the way she spat out the word Soldier made his stomach drop he pulled over. As soon as the car came to a stop she jumped out ran her hands through her hair she was angry shocked and she felt violated. "You've been watching me for two fucking months and after like 2 weeks of being around me all the time you never thought to bring it up?"
"It was a mission I was assigned I always did my missions." He stated standing behind her.
"Was there a camera in my bedroom?" She asked.
"Yes."
"Oh my god. Did you only watch me through the camera feed?" she covered her mouth she didn't move to look at him she couldn't she thought about all the things he could've seen.
"No." he answered and her stomach dropped "there were times I'd watch from the fire escape or I'd go inside and check the perimeter when you were asleep. I watched when anyone who wasn't your sister was over to make sure you were safe."
"Safe for what? Safe for Hydras men to kidnap and take advantage of? You watched and kept me safe so Hydra's men could tear me away from MY life threaten My family and you did it from MY fucking fire escape? For two fucking months you fucking watched me what else did you fucking do?" She turned around facing him screaming the words at him.
"I took blood samples for Pierce to research into you." He says not wanting to hide any of it from her.
"YOU TOOK MY BLOOD? SO PIERCE KNEW WHO MY FAMILY WAS BECAUSE OF YOU?" She screamed and he just nodded she slapped him hard across the face. He was the reason Pierce knew who she really was she had just though Fury told him. She went to punch him but he grabbed her and pinned her to him and she struggled against him.
"Ava I didn't know who you were or that Pierce was evil you were just some small woman I was ordered to watch. I never hurt you Ava or your sister." He says trying to
reason with the woman.
"Let go of me Soldier." She growls at him he looked hurt at the way Soldier came out of her mouth like something that disgusted her.
"Ava we have to go." Bucky Says seeing a car starting to slow down and pull in a few feet behind theirs.
"I am not going anywhere with you!" She says pulling away from him she didn't notice the two men getting out of the other car carring guns until they started shooting. Ava's eyes widened.
"Get in the car." Bucky commands running for the drivers side and Ava ran for the door. She was nearly inside when she felt a sharp pain in her side she fell into the seat of the car and closed the door as soon as she was in Bucky sped off.
Ava touched her side and winced feeling warm sticky blood coating her finger. Her eyes snapped shut and she yelped in pain when Bucky hit a large hole in the road going way over the speed limit. He looked over at Ava when she yelped and saw blood she'd been shot. He cursed and Ava to his surprised chuckled.
"Why are you laughing?" Bucky asked turning onto a rural back road.
"I've never heard you swear do it again." She said softly.
"You were just fucking shot Ava." He said and she smiled before blacking out.