Chapter 17

"Winter Soldier!" Burnow called out. His brow furrowed as he worked on yet another robot bug. Tools lined the side of the table next to him and test tubes of the super soldier serum stood in a rack in front of him. He looked up when he saw the soldier walk through the door. A malicious grin spread across his face when he saw the blank expression on the man's face. "I have a mission for you."

"Sir," the soldier said, standing at attention.

"I need you to get some information from an old friend from Hydra. Jared Salks." Burnow said, placing the robo bug down. He folded his hands together and rested his mouth against them. "I heard he is going to be in the city meeting up with some other old colleagues of mine. I need you to find them and get the information I need from them." Tossing a file onto the table towards the soldier without even looking up at him, he quickly turned back to his work. "Get going. Now."

"Yes, sir," the Winter Soldier said, nodding his head with a curt nod.

"Winter Soldier, one last thing," Burnow said, a large wicked grin growing on his face. "Does the name Madison or Rogers mean anything to you?"

"No, sir," the soldier said, brow furrowing in confusion. "Should I know them? Who are they?"

He held up two pictures. One was of a man and the other a woman. "Do you recognize this man or this woman?"

The super soldier shook his head. "I don't know who they are. Do I?"

"No, you don't. Just make sure you don't run into them. If you do, get rid of them," the scientist said, a glare set on his face.

"Yes, sir." With a turn of his heel he was out of the room in a matter of a few long strides.

His eyes were set, brow furrowed, as he made his way through the base's halls. Making his way with fast and heavy steps he headed towards the hanger where he'd take one of the few vehicles Burnow owned for his super soldiers and whoever was working for him at the moment. He climbed into a car and immediately set out for his mission's destination.

ooOOoo

Fingers tapped against the table as she stared at her computer screen. Her brow furrowed and she chewed her cheek as her eyes scanned across the images on her laptop. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She flicked her eyes up to the men across from her at the table. Sam and Trip quickly moved their gazes away from the blonde woman and began to look around their area. A hand clapped over her shoulder and she quickly turned her attention to Steve. The blond soldier gave her a small smile.

"You're doing great, Trace," he said, squeezing her shoulder. "You're doing great. First field missions can be a bit nerve wracking, but you're doing a great job."

"It doesn't feel like anything different than my usual work for the team," she said with a small laugh.

Trip turned his gaze back to the blonde hacker. He gave her a smile as well. "Yeah, it might seem like that at first, but wait 'til the fun begins. Then you'll see how different and difficult it can get."

Tracey smiled, chuckling lightly. "I bet. If it's anything like I've seen you guys do on the news, I'm sure it will be a bit interesting."

"And we'll make sure nothing happens to you," Sam said with a wink.

Tracey smiled again before turning back to her work. Her eyes looked up to the super soldier next to her when she felt his hand on her shoulder again. He had a strained smile on his face. She knew what he was thinking.

"We'll find Bucky, Trace. I'm worried about him too," he said, squeezing her shoulder.

"I'm worried what's happening to him. This shouldn't have happened to him. He worked so hard to get his memories back and now this. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have gone to Burnow. I should have gone to you guys the minute he called me."

"Hey," Steve said firmly. His brow furrowed as he stared down at the woman. "This isn't your fault. What happened to Bucky isn't your fault. It could have happened to any of us. We will get him back. I promise."

"Hey, guys," Sam said urgently and in a hushed tone. "Look over there," he said, nodding his head towards another table behind Steve and Tracey, making the other three follow his gaze. "I've swear I've seen those guys before."

"Same here," Steve said warily as he eyed the men with a side glance. He turned to Tracey. "Pull up the files with the Hydra agents."

The blonde woman nodded quickly and tilted her screen down so as to not bring the possible agents' attention towards them. Fingers flew across the keyboard as she searched the files on her computer. Within seconds she had images and names pulled up. "They're Hydra scientists. Patrick Stan, William Michaels, and Jared Salks."

"Wonder what they're doing here," Trip said, his brow furrowed.

"Could just be a casual meet up," Steve said. "They're not the ones we need to worry about. Right now we need to find out where Michael Burnow is and get Bucky back." He turned back to Tracey again. "Anything in the street cameras?"

Tracey shook her head. "Nothing. I don't think Burnow has sent Bucky out at all. It's been nearly two weeks. He's probably sent him out to other Hydra bases or something."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean we won't find him," Steve said, with a small nod. Standing up, he pushed his chair back and tossed a few bills onto the table. "Let's get going." He led the way out of the restaurant's patio, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he made his way down the street.

"What now?" Sam asked, catching up to the captain.

"We report back to the rest of the team and find out what they have found. If they've found anything-"

The four whipped around when they heard screaming coming from behind them. They had only reached the corner of the street since leaving the restaurant, but behind them they could see people running from that exact spot. People were running every which way, scattering, as they tried to get away from whatever menace was causing chaos there. They team rushed back, picking up their speed.

"What the hell did those Hydra agents do," Trip grumbled as he ran behind Steve.

"Not sure, but whatever it is we'll stop them," Steve said, a glare growing on his face. "Tracey, you stay behind. You're not able to handle fighting these guys."

"Right," she said with a quick nod. She stepped off to the side and watched as the three men. Her brow arched up as she watched more and more people run away, all the while wondering what those three Hydra scientists could have caused. She shook her head. Shifting from one foot to the other she waited, nervously. What could the Hydra scientists possibly be doing out in the open? They rarely ever did anything that could bring attention back to themselves. Especially not after the DC incident. Her brow furrowed. She was already out on the field. There had to be something she could do instead of standing off on the side lines. She huffed and ran towards the restaurant. She wasn't going to sit around this time.

At the restaurant she pushed her way past the remaining customers who were running away from the area. She shoved and pushed her way through. The sound of her three teammates fighting could be heard up ahead of her. She slowed her pace when she was reaching the restaurant. Not because of the crowd, but because of what she saw on the way.

On the ground next to the gated fence around the restaurant's patio was one of the scientists. Jared Salks. The man's leg was twisted into an angle that it should never be in, making the hacker's stomach churn.

"Hey! Help me out!" he yelled at her, grabbing a hold of her shirt, using it to pull himself up.

The hacker stepped away, pushing the man off. She didn't have time for Hydra. She had to go help her teammates. She ran, as fast as she could, the rest of the way to reach them. But upon reaching the restaurant, her running slowed down as she saw what was in front of her.

Steve, Sam, and Trip were facing off against one man. Each doing their best to take him down. She saw Sam fly through the restaurants window and skid across the floor a couple more feet. That left Steve and Trip to face the man. But watching the super soldier and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent face off against the man made her pause and stare.

Her eyes widened and her breath hitched. She stood there, frozen, as she watched the man in front of her fight against Steve, Sam, and Trip. She watched as he threw Trip across the street and into a car. She would have ran over to make sure her friend was alright, but her feet wouldn't let her. A shuddering breath went through her lips and her body shook. Tears were welling up in her eyes.

He was here…

Subconsciously, her feet began to pull her towards him. Her eyes were only set on him. Nothing around her mattered. No sounds around her reached her ears. She was set on one path with one mission. To bring him home.

"Bucky!" she called out.

Steve whipped his head around to face the woman coming up to them. His eyes widened. "Tracey, no! Get back!" he yelled, waving a hand at her, shooing her away. He quickly diverted his attention back to his best friend as the other super soldier threw a metal fist at him. Steve threw his shield up at the last second and the sound of metal against metal rang through the area.

The Winter Soldier's eyes shifted to look at the woman standing off to the side. His brow furrowed and face scrunched up. He threw Steve away from him, sending him into the building's wall. His feet stomped towards the woman and he held up his gun towards her.

"Беги, дорогая."

Tracey's eyes widened and she shook her head. What did he just say? It was Russian. She knew that. She had heard Bucky speak it when he had rescued her last year from the Hydra agents. She had heard him and Natasha speak it to each other on a few occasions, snickering and laughing when the others questioned what they were saying. She knew he had told her the number of times he had lost control during a mission and how he had said something in Russian. But never had she asked him to teach her some of it. She knew he didn't always like speaking it. Mostly because she knew he didn't like to lose control and she wanted to respect his space. But right now she wished she had asked long ago. She wished she knew what he was saying to her now. However, she knew it couldn't be anything good.

She shook her head as she stared at the man. Basically staring down the barrel of his gun as she stood rooted to her spot. "No, Bucky," she said firmly, her brow furrowing. "Bucky, listen to me. This isn't you. You're a good man. You're not this person. You're not the Winter Soldier," she said, taking a step towards him. She stopped when she heard him cock the gun. She took a deep breath, taking another step towards him. Her eyes watched as he placed a finger on the tripper. Her eyes looked up and matched his glare. His was anger, but hers was more determined. Determined to bring him home. "Bucky, please," she begged. "Don't do this. Come back to us. You're not this person. You don't work for Michael Burnow."

She gasped as Steve jumped out of nowhere and tackled the super soldier to the ground.

"Tracey! Go!" Steve screamed. "Get out of here! Now!"

"Come on, girl," Trip said, coming up from behind her. He grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her away. He ignored her protests and dragged her away from the fight. "We need to go, Trace."

"No! We can't leave him!"

"We have to! Leave it to Steve! He will get him back! I promise."

Tracey took one last look behind her towards Bucky and Steve as they fought. She watched as Sam jumped into the fight as well. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and nodded her head, following the agent.

ooOOoo

Tracey quickly rushed to Sam when she saw him walk off the elevator. "Is Bucky alright?"

Sam sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Trace."

The hacker chewed her lip and nodded her head. "How's Steve though?"

"He's fine. As far as I know…" Sam said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine…"

"Tracey," Steve said as soon as he got of fthe elevator. "I'm sorry. I tried. I tried to get him back."

"It's fine, Steve… What happened?" Tracey asked, chewing her cheek again.

Steve sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I tried to get him to remember, but he got away. He took Jared Salks and ran off. I'm sorry, Trace. But I promise you, we will get him back. I miss him too."

"I know. I'm sorry, Steve. It can't be easy fighting him like that." She gave him a small smile. "Thank you for trying."

"I'm not letting my best friend be used as the Winter Soldier again. He doesn't deserve that again." He sighed again. "I gotta go talk to Coulson. I'll talk to you later, Trace."

"Alright."

She watched as Steve and Sam let her floor before she slumped down on the couch. Dexter jumped up and laid down, putting his head in her lap. She smiled lightly and scratched her dog's head. "I miss him too boy." She leaned her head back on the back of the couch and closed her eyes with a sigh. They were going to get him back. He wasn't going to go through what he went through with Hydra as the Winter Soldier again.

Hey everyone! Sorry for the (kinda) late update. I've been busy this week. I had a lot of stuff going on last week. I was planning on working on this chapter this weekend because I didn't have anything planned for Valentine's Day, but then a friend and I made plans and then Barry/Mark and his girlfriend came along to hang with us. It was fun. Then yesterday I spent the majority of the day in bed because I didn't have much to do. Then when I decided to get up my three friends came into my apartment for an early birthday surprise. Now I decided to work on this chapter late so I could update by tonight/today because I'll be spending the day with my friends doing God knows what they have planned for my birthday.

If anyone catches something I threw in here I'd love to hear what you guys think. It's a bit of foreshadowing to a future chapter ;)

Also I'm kinda not sure if I should continue this story or not. I do want to continue, but I'm a bit upset (I guess is the word) because this story hasn't gotten a lot of reviews, follows, or favorites. I keep getting favorites for Winter is Ending which I'm happy about, but I rarely ever get anything for this story. I'm kinda worried about this story because I have worked a bit more on this story than Winter is Ending. I was excited about posting this because it was one of the stories that I actually liked the plot that I came up with because I never come up with good enough plots. I think I've even lost a reader because I used to constantly get a review from them but it stopped. I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I want to keep updating it because I want to finish it for myself and for those who are still reading it. I'm not sure…

Anyways I hope you guys liked the chapter.