"As most of you are aware, last night Agent Simmons has returned to us, and will be rejoining the team along with Agent Morse." Phil said as the team stood gathered in his office on base. Like usual, Jane and Bucky stayed at the back. Jane looked over to see the two women Coulson was referring to and wondered what they were like. Bobbi seemed a bit intimidating, but Jemma looked like the kind of person Jane would get along with if they'd met in any other situation.
Shifting her gaze to the other side of the group she saw Fitz standing with his head tucked, clearly not having one of his better days. Jane's heart went out to him, and she couldn't help thinking about what it must be doing to him to have Simmons back. She'd never known them together, but with the few times she'd heard Fitz talk about her, Jane could tell they'd shared a unique and special bond.
"So, I stopped by your bunk this morning to talk to you about something, but you weren't there." Skye said quietly to Jane as Coulson continued talking about the plans for the day. Her words pulled Jane from her thoughts and she looked over at Skye.
Jane felt a small flush creep into her cheeks and she fought to keep it from showing. Her mind went back to earlier that morning when she woke up to find herself practically pressed up against Bucky who had been still asleep. She didn't think the team were the kind of people to get uptight about that sort of thing, but she didn't really want to test that theory. She didn't want to seem unprofessional, and more so she didn't want to confuse Bucky, making him think she was giving him signals. However, he hadn't brought up the subject and she didn't how to bring it up with him.
"Look I'm not judging or anything, it's just—" Skye said.
"Nothing happened." Jane quickly interrupted, trying to keep her voice low. "I was just being moral support for him, it wasn't anything like that."
"Alright then." Skye said, taken aback by Jane's earnest response. "I was just going to say—" Skye had to stop mid-sentence, as Coulson was soon interrupting her.
"Something you'd like to share with the team, ladies?" He asked, making everyone turn to look at them.
Jane shifted uneasily under the stares of everybody. "Nothing, sorry sir." She muttered quickly.
"I have something, actually." Skye piped up. "Our work on the Eclipse files found some evidence that the club is indeed a front for HYDRA communications. I decoded a transmission and there's definitely something big going down tonight, but we have to act fast if we're going to do anything about it."
Jane looked to Skye in disbelief. "What do you mean, why didn't you tell me about this?" She asked in a whisper.
"I was trying to." Sky replied sternly under her breath. "But I couldn't find you." She added with a hint of irritation.
Coulson looked pleased with Skye's announcement and nodded his head. "Good. We'll discuss it further and I'll let the rest of you know when we have a plan laid out. When nobody brought up any objections he continued on finishing up his brief meeting.
"Skye, take these and explain to everyone what the plan is." Coulson said as the four of them finished discussing the results of the work Jane and Skye had done regarding The Eclipse. Skye nodded and headed for the door to find the rest of the team so she could lay out the strategy Coulson and May had agreed upon.
"I'll come with you." May said, following her out.
Coulson started arranging things on his desk, but Jane didn't leave. "Sir, can I ask you something?" She finally asked, hesitantly.
"Sure, what is it?" He asked, looking up.
"Well I was just wondering; you never mentioned me or Bucky in your plan for tonight." Jane said, stepping closer to his desk. Coulson just looked at her, waiting for her to elaborate. "I guess what I'm asking is, do you think it would be possible for us to accompany the team on this one?"
"In the field?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. "Absolutely not." His tone told her the subject was non-negotiable, but she wasn't satisfied leaving it at that.
"But sir," She pleaded, "we've put so much work into this, it doesn't seem fair that with all the time we've put into it, we should be expected to just sit back and let someone else take over."
Coulson sighed and responded, "It's not a matter of your dedication; it's a matter of qualification. I know May's been working with you on training, but you're nowhere near being field ready."
"What about Bucky, he's got as much training and field skills as the rest of the team combined, surely you can't be content with just letting that go to waste. At least let him go along." Jane said.
"And risk the success of the mission as well as the safety of my team? I can't do that Jane." Coulson said, still unconvinced by her pleading. "Barnes is still incredibly unstable, and as helpful as it would be to have his skills, it isn't worth the risks it would add." Jane opened her mouth to protest but Coulson cut her off. "Under no circumstances are either of you to come on this mission, do you understand?"
Jane couldn't help but let her disappointment show, but she still forced an acknowledging nod before she exited the room in frustration.
"Here, these should help your headaches." Jane heard a voice say from behind her from where she stood watching Bobbi and Hunter getting suited up for the mission. It was an all hands on deck sort of thing, and somehow the two of them had gotten assigned as tactical backup. A decision Hunter seemed to be opposed to.
"Oh hey, Jemma." Jane said, turning to see the owner of the voice, holding out a small yellow bottle of pills. She hadn't realized she'd been rubbing her forehead, but Jemma's words made her aware of it and she dropped her hands to her side.
"Bucky said you get them sometimes." Simmons said with a smile, dropping the canister into Jane's hand.
Jane unscrewed the cap and pulled out two of the small pills. "Oh, so you guys met then?" She asked before tossing the tablets in her mouth.
"Yeah, we crossed paths in the hallway earlier." Simmons replied. "He speaks pretty highly of you, you must be proud of the progress you've made."
Jane shrugged. "I can't really take all the credit. He's the one who had to put in the effort, otherwise I could talk for hours and it wouldn't do a thing."
"Still, you helped him remember a high ranking member of HYDRA, of whom we now have the opportunity of getting intel on tonight." Simmons said encouragingly.
"Yeah I suppose so." Jane answered with a smile. "Speaking of which, how come you aren't getting ready? Did you get benched too?" She asked.
"Turns out getting your cover blown for all of HYDRA to see makes it a bit difficult to show your face anywhere." Simmons answered and put her hands in her pockets. "And besides, I'm not really much of a field agent. Much more comfortable in the lab."
Simmons's mention of the lab made both of them think of Fitz. "Tell me honestly, how has he been doing while I've been gone?" Simmons asked quietly.
Jane wanted to tell Jemma how horrible her decision was, to essentially abandon her friend when he was in such a state, but she held her tongue. Instead she answered, "It's slow, but I think he's getting better."
Jemma nodded. "I do feel bad for leaving him like that. I hope you know that."
"You don't have to explain yourself to me." Jane said, though she didn't believe her own words. "You were in a difficult position and you did what you thought was right."
"I just couldn't bear to see him that way, and I thought if I left he'd be better off." Simmons said, still feeling she had to give an explanation. "But now that I'm back, it's like we hardly even know each other anymore. I can't even have a conversation without him getting frustrated and one of us having to leave."
Jane watched as Skye, Trip, and May joined the others and the got ready to head out. "Just give it time. Don't give up on him yet. The trust you guys had before won't come back right away, but as long as you keep at it, all hope isn't lost."
"There you are Jay, I was wondering where you had run off to." Bucky said and Jane turned to greet him with a smile. He took a spot standing next to her and put his arm around her. Jane flinched slightly at his touch, but she didn't say anything.
"Well, they look like they're ready to head out." Simmons said as Coulson entered the room and started rounding up the team members. "I think I'm going to go see what Mac and Fitz are up to."
"Oh, okay." Jane said a bit surprised, and waved as Simmons left. Casually slipping out of Bucky's arm, Jane turned to face him while leaning on the railing behind her. Bucky saw what he was doing, but pretended not to notice. "So, seeing as we've got the night off, what do you propose we do?" She asked, trying to sound lighthearted and upbeat.
Bucky pretended to look thoughtful, but a smirk grew on his face. "Well I've been doing some thinking, actually."
"Oh have you now!" Jane quipped back with a smile.
"Indeed I have, if you can believe it." He replied. "Mac was showing me his videogames earlier and I wondered if you wanted to give them a shot with me."
Jane wrinkled up her face at him. "You know I'm absolutely terrible at those things…" She said trailing off.
"Well it's not like I'm any better." Bucky chuckled. "Steve and I played once, and we both spent more time trying to figure out what in the hell we were doing than actually playing the game. Though I hate to brag, but I did totally beat him. For some reason I couldn't ever get him to play again." He said.
Jane laughed, "I guess I don't have a choice then, do I?"
"Everyone ready?" Coulson's voice echoed from below. "Okay let's head out." As they finished up their last minute preparations the team piled into the SUV and May lowered the garage hatch, a gust of the chilly Russian air breezing its way in. Jane crossed her arms against the cold, and the two of them waved goodbye as the vehicle exited the ramp, the hatch closing after them.
"You've got to go in reverse first, you're stuck behind the tree!" Bucky exclaimed as they both watched Jane's silver car spinning its wheels furiously on the screen.
"I'm trying, it's not working!" She shouted back, laughing at her utter inability to maneuver her vehicle. Bucky's half of the screen showed his own red car sitting across the finish line, while Jane's was still half a lap behind.
"You have to push this one and this one at the same time." Bucky said, pointing to the buttons on his controller.
"I am! I think my car is defective." Jane retorted.
Bucky just laughed. "That's what you said the last three cars you picked."
"You know what," she said defiantly, "you can just shush it over there. I was doing just fine until you had to go and mess me up with all your special bonus tricks." Finally, after hitting several more walls, Jane finally made it to the finish line and confetti washed over the screen.
Jane leaned back against the couch with a sigh of relief as the menu loaded. "Well I'd congratulate you on your improvement, but I'm pretty sure that was your worst lap time yet." Bucky joked.
"Oh shut up." Jane smirked back. "I think you've programmed that so you could cheat." She said, pointing to Bucky's mechanical arm.
"Oh-ho, man the denial is strong tonight!" Bucky quipped. Jane merely replied by rolling her eyes at him. Bucky set his controller down next to him and grabbed the box of leftover Chinese from the coffee table that they had made their dinner. Jane balanced her controller on the arm of the couch and grabbed a fork.
"If I suggest something, will you promise not to freak out and call me crazy?" Jane asked between mouthfuls of orange chicken.
"I suppose." Bucky mumbled through his mouthful of food.
"What if we took a field trip of sorts? You know, go see how everyone's doing on the mission." She commented.
Bucky let out a laugh, thinking she was kidding. When he realized she was being serious his smile faded. "Wait, you're serious about this—you and me, crashing the team's mission?"
"Hey, you promised!" She groaned. Bucky raised his hands in surrender as though to say he hadn't said the words—even if he had thought them.
"No, it's just—you said you talked to Coulson and he said we were to stay here." He stammered.
Jane took another piece of chicken from the box. "Yeah, but come on, what does he know. We've been cooped up for weeks, if it's not on the bus, it's at base. We deserve to get out don't you think?"
"Sure, but don't you think Coulson would be upset if he found out we left?" Bucky asked, not convinced of Jane's proposal.
"Oh he'll get over it." Jane answered with a wave of her hand. "Besides, I was told when I came here that I was to do whatever I felt was best for my patient, and this is what I say is best. Just think about it." She continued, seeing he wasn't yet won over on the idea. "Actually seeing people other than the team, real fresh air, getting to actually walk somewhere other than back and forth through the hallways."
Jane's persuading got Bucky thinking and he had to admit it did sound nice. They had been kept inside for a long time and he missed the feeling of the outdoors. However, one thing was still holding him back from feeling okay with the entire thing. "And what if I have a flashback while we're out there, then what?"
Jane looked at him as though he had just asked a stupid question. "Then we'll work through it the same as always. What difference does it make if it's here or there? I'll be with you the whole time there's nothing to be afraid of."
Bucky had started to warm up to the idea, but Jane's eagerness and his desire to not disappoint her, were the factors that really prompted him to finally agree, rather than any sound reasoning.
A cold gust greeted the pair as they stepped into the night air and slipped away from the cloaked aircraft. "It's good May didn't park us too far from the city." Jane remarked.
Bucky just pulled the collar of his coat higher, mumbling unintelligibly into it. He hated Russia, but he wanted the night to be enjoyable so he tried to ignore his distaste for the country. The lights of the city glowed in the growing dusk as they made their way to the outskirts of the town. After hailing a cab, they piled into the back seat, glad to be out of the chilly air.
Jane pulled the slip of paper from her pocket with the address where Coulson and the team were, and using her very limited Russian vocabulary attempted to convey the information to the driver. However, her struggling to pronounce the words correctly only resulted in the driver looking at her thoroughly confused. Bucky held back a smile as he watched the two arguing back and forth, neither knowing what the other was saying.
Finally, deciding they'd struggled long enough he leaned forward in the seat and related to the driver where they were headed, in flawless Russian. Jane looked at Bucky with a deadpanned look. "What, you couldn't say that five minutes ago?" She sighed.
"It was fun watching you argue with him, I couldn't pass up that kind of entertainment." Bucky answered with a laugh. Jane tried to glare at him but his happiness was soon contagious and she couldn't help but smile. "Jerk." She said, punching him playfully in the arm. Instantly she recoiled, realizing she had punched him metal arm. "Wow I just can't win today." She chuckled, marveling at her genius.
"Here, let me look at it." Bucky said, taking ahold of Jane's hand.
"Oh it's fine, I barely hit you." Jane protested, pulling her hand back.
Bucky shrugged, "Well can I look at it anyway?"
"Really, it's fine." She said more seriously, keeping her arm tucked in by her sides.
Bucky's smile faded into a line and he settled back onto his side of the car, letting go of her hand. "It's okay, I get it. I'm not an idiot, I saw how you pulled away from me earlier." He said quietly.
Jane felt the blood rising in her cheeks and she looked quickly down at her lap. "It's not like that, I just—" She stammered.
"Then what is it?" He asked. "Because it seems pretty clear to me you are trying to send a message."
"No, no it isn't your fault, you didn't do anything." She said quickly. "And it's not that I don't like you, I just—I want to be professional." She stammered, looking for the right words. "Coulson hired me for a specific job and I intend to fulfill that."
"Right, I'm just the patient." Bucky mumbled under his breath.
"I didn't mean it like that." She answered, shaking her head.
He shrugged, "No, it's fine, I understand. I'll stick with doing what I'm told." He said, trying to hide the tension inside him.
"Bucky, please—" Jane pleaded, putting her hand on his arm.
"We're here." He said simply as the cab driver pulled the car to a stop.
Jane shut her eyes, knowing that the conversation could've gone a whole lot better than it did. She handed some cash to the driver and stepped out into the street before joining Bucky on the other side. Seeing The Eclipse up just ahead they found a café that was still open, a few doors down from the club, on the opposing side of the street.
"Here, put this on." Jane said after that sat down at one of the tables by the window. In her hand was a small box with an earpiece inside. Bucky accepted it and watched as Jane put an identical one into her own ear.
"There, now that we're close enough we'll be able to listen in on the team, but they won't hear us." Jane said, when they had both clicked on the devices.
"Sochinsky and Gagnier are heading towards the bar." They heard Coulson say through the earpiece.
"I got eyes on him." May answered casually. From where he was sitting, Bucky could see the entrance of the club down the street, but for Jane to see it she had to turn around in her chair.
"So when was the last time you were in Russia?" Jane asked after their drinks arrived at the table.
Bucky took a sip of the warm liquid. "You've read my file, I'm sure you already know the answer to that."
With a shrug she replied, "I don't care about the file, I'm asking you about it."
"About six months ago." He said, finally agreeing to indulge her. "Before Steve found me of course. HYDRA had an asset they needed to reacquire but was in a high security prison holding. They needed him out but because of the circumstances they couldn't send a large crew in. So I was the lucky one who got chosen to infiltrate a detention base, taking 24 guards and 31 prisoners so that HYDRA could have their scientist."
Jane wasn't sure how to respond, so she ran her thumb back and forth across the handle of her mug. She'd of course already known about the incident as it had been included in his file, but hearing the words from his own mouth made it seem different somehow.
Jane and Bucky could hear Hunter and Bobbi arguing back and forth through the earpiece, seemingly ignorant of the fact that the team were all still listening. "Coulson, I swear if you make me babysit these two on a mission again I'm moving to Florida and you're not going to convince me otherwise." Trip said exasperated.
"Any sign of disturbance out there?" Coulson asked back.
"Other than the incessant bickering of the old married couple? No, no problems here, everything is clear." Trip answered.
"We're not an old married couple." Bobbi retorted.
"Funny how you seem to forget that fact at convenient times. If you're not my wife I don't have to agree with everything you say." Hunter quipped.
"Right, because I'm the she-devil who forces you to follow protocol." Bobbi mumbled back.
"Hey, I—come on, that was one time." Hunter stammered. Trip let out a long languished sigh.
Coulson's voice came back on the line, "Okay children, save it for later. Some of us are trying to actually do some work here."
Jane heard the door of the café open behind her and looked to see a man stumble in, clearly drunk. "Sir, you can't be in here like that." One of the waitresses said to him in Russian when the staff realized he was far past coherence. He stumbled to another couples' table and mumbled at them indecipherably until they quickly shoed him away.
Jane and Bucky tried to just ignore the man, but their efforts were in vain as he soon hobbled his way to their table, practically laying on it. "A fine assed woman like you shouldn't be hanging around here, why don't we head back to my place?" The man slurred, with a big grin, though Jane was unable to understand anything he was saying and just looked at him worriedly.
Bucky, however, could understand every word and in an instant had a firm hand on the man's shoulder, pushing him away from Jane. "What kind of pig greets a woman like that?" He asked angrily in the man's native tongue.
"Hey look man, I'm just looking for a good time, and it seems you're lady is too. She's just a whore, what's it to you." The man answered back, seemingly un-phased by Bucky's stern demeanor.
Bucky stood quickly from his chair and grabbed the man by the collar of his jacket as Jane looked on in surprise. "Don't ever talk about her like that again." He breathed, shoving the man backwards until he fell on the floor. "If I ever hear you treat a woman like that again I'll rip you're vocal chords clean out of your throat."
Around the room, the other customers were glancing around at the incident, however, many tried to ignore it and carry on with their conversations. Jane, taken aback by Bucky's sudden outburst of violence rose from her chair to intervene. "Bucky, calm down this isn't like you." She pleaded quietly, trying not to elevate the situation.
"He's not going to get away with that kind of blatant disrespect." Bucky said in English as he yanked the man's jacket pulling him off the floor.
"By bashing his head in?" Jane asked incredulously. "He's drunk out of his mind, he hasn't a clue what he's doing!"
Bucky wasn't convinced and pulled the man closer, glaring at him. The inebriated man had lost his previous joyousness and now look frightened in Bucky's grip. "H-hey look man, I'm not looking for trouble. I was just kidding about the girl." He stuttered nervously.
"Shut up, you pathetic excuse for a man." Bucky grumbled back angrily.
"Rusakov is heading for the front entrance." She heard Coulson say in the earpiece, and her heart seemed to skip a beat at the sound of the familiar name.
"We're on it." Bobbi answered.
Bucky looked up towards the window to see a man walking out of The Eclipse half a block down. Without a word he dropped the man in his hands and headed for the door swiftly. "Bucky stop!" Jane shouted as she quickly followed him out. Rusakov was the name of the HYDRA operative Bucky had given them intel on, but from the information Jane had about the mission, he wasn't supposed to be at the club that night. Bucky's experience with the man had been considerably less than ideal and she knew if Bucky came into contact with him things would end very badly for everyone involved.
Without bothering to look for traffic, Bucky stepped into the road, walking quickly with only one goal in mind. Several yards behind him, Jane weaved between cars trying to catch up to him without drawing too much attention. "Shit." She whispered under her breath as Bucky approached the man, knowing she was unable to stop him.
"Uh, Coulson, I think we might have a problem here." Bobbi's voice echoed over the line.
"I thought the point of this was to get a track on him discreetly, so why is metal arm all up in this guy's face?" Hunter questioned.
"Move in now." May commanded after arriving at the front entrance and seeing Bucky deck the man whose expression was one of smug satisfaction at seeing Bucky. Jane arrived at the sidewalk in front of the club's entrance to see Bobbi, Hunter, and Trip close in on the feuding pair, while trying to keep their weapons discreet. May startled Jane by arriving at her side out of seemingly nowhere. Skye followed after her, but didn't say anything.
"What the hell did you think you were doing bringing him here?" She asked fiercely, her gun drawn by her side.
"I—I—I didn't mean—" She sputtered breathlessly. In front of her, Bobbi raised her I.C.E.R. and Jane's breath caught in her throat. Bobbi pulled the trigger, but before the bullet could hit him, Bucky raised his arm to catch it in his metal hand, where it came to a stop without effect. Bobbi and Trip exchanged shocked glances before realizing this meant they in no way had the upper hand in the situation. Meanwhile Bucky and Rusakov still struggled against each other, until Bucky finally got his hands around the man's throat.
"Somebody get in there, we need Rusakov alive, and the street is going to be crawling soon." Coulson said. Jane couldn't figure out where Coulson was at, but she assumed he must have a good vantage point of the scene.
"All those innocent people you made me kill, at least when I kill you I won't have to worry about regretting it." Bucky snarled at the man in Russian.
Despite his quickly diminishing oxygen supply, Rusakov managed to find the air to sputter back, "They weren't all innocent, and neither are you." His words only made Bucky angrier, yet none of the team members had moved any closer, each one hoping to not be the one who had to step in.
"Someone move in!" Coulson said louder and more frustrated. Everyone still hesitated, and without thinking Jane broke away from May's reach and rushed towards Bucky.
"Hey—!" May yelled after her, despite knowing it would do no good.
"Bucky stop!" Jane shouted as she reached for his arms to make him let go of Rusakov. Instinctively Bucky swung at the individual coming at him, the force of his mechanical arm sending Jane stumbling backwards several feet on the ground. She grimaced at the pain from the impact but scrambled to get herself back up as quickly as she could. "This isn't going to fix anything!" She pleaded again, trying to get him to look at her.
This time, Jane's voice registered in his head and he turned to see her standing there with tears welling up in her eyes, begging him to stop. His hesitation was all the team needed, and they quickly rushed in, pulling Rusakov away from Bucky.
Bucky looked stunned as he took in the bruise on Jane's face that had already begun to change color. She could see the change on his face as the realization hit him, that he was the one who had done it. "No, no, I—" He stammered, trying to find the words. Jane turned away, unable to watch as Bobbi fired another I.C.E.R., this time being successful.