Disclaimer: I own nothing Captain America-related, not even Bucky Barnes…though I might consider asking Marvel to loan them and the rest of the Avengers to me for a while. Until then, only original characters and plots/ideas are mine.

AN: Here's the next chapter! I'm sorry I didn't post earlier –I got the flu, and couldn't even get out of bed, much less post. (How's that for a start to the New Year?)

Also, the next chapter will be the last one, followed by the epilogue. I'm still not sure what my next fic will be about, but as soon as I do, I'll post it on my bio page. Please enjoy, and don't forget to review!

Chapter 20: Search and Rescue:

It felt good having the gun in his hand –actually, it was more familiar than anything else, but it was still oddly soothing, in its own way.

Inside his head, Bucky tried not to estimate how many HYDRA operatives he was going to kill today. Anna wouldn't want him reverting back to his assassin ways, but considering the circumstances, he was thinking that he just might be able to get away with it.

'Call it wishful thinking, but it could happen.' Best not to count on that, though.

Taking a deep breath, Bucky closed his eyes and tried to focus as the plane landed in an empty field. Skye was typing away at a computer, the rhythm of her fingers oddly relaxing to his frayed nerves.

As the engines slowed down, he tried to take a tally on the weaponry that he had been allowed to carry on his person. It was a calming exercise that, ironically, had been taught to him by HYDRA. It helped him focus on the task at hand, and allowed his mind to clear. Counting bullets and weaponry was quite beneficial, when it came to that sort of thing.

Bucky tried not to smirk at that last part. It was odd, being with a team of agents again, but also familiar. He hadn't enjoyed working with other HYDRA members, but it had been good to know that there were others there to watch his back. At least with this team, he wouldn't have to worry about them possibly putting a knife in his back if things went south.

He felt the jolt of the plane landing, and opened his eyes. All around, the others were watching him carefully, obviously expecting a large, violent outburst from him. Agent May looked relaxed to the untrained eye, but Bucky knew that she had a weapon close at hand, in case he decided to attack everyone and tried to head out and rescue Anna on his own.

Rather than reassure them that he was fine, Bucky looked over at Steve. "I'm ready. Let's go."

Steve studied him for moment. Finally, he nodded. "Okay, let's head out. Everyone remember to keep their lines open, and if anything goes wrong, get out as quickly as possible."

Natasha Romanoff gave him a significant look. Steve sighed. "Alright, everyone will get out except for me and Bucky, because I doubt that he'll leave the place without her."

"Damn right," Bucky muttered as they headed off the plane.

After the ramp lifted and closed behind them, securing Skye inside, they heard her clearly in their earpieces. "The site is about a half mile north of here, in a large valley. I'm sending the coordinates to you."

As everyone pulled out their devices, Bucky heard Skye typing frantically on her computer. "There don't appear to be any towns nearby, which is probably why it's such a good hideout. It's completely isolated, and no one to complain if they noticed weird stuff going on."

Everyone silently agreed.

Within twenty minutes, they had the building in view. No guards were visible, but that didn't mean much –not when it came to HYDRA. Bucky was willing to bet there were at least a dozen traps outside the door, and twice that many inside.

"This is too obvious," he muttered, to the others. "It would be a bad idea to try and break in here. There will definitely be another entrance, less guarded, elsewhere."

"Where do you think this entrance will be?" Skye asked, very likely echoing everyone else's thoughts.

"It could be anywhere," Bucky admitted. "But usually it's just at surface level, something like a hidden manhole cover, or a door to a fallout shelter. Are you able to pick up something like that with your computer?"

He waited, ears picking up the sound of Skye muttering and typing as she searched. Finally, she replied, "There are four points that could be entry points. I'm sending the coordinates to you on a map."

In seconds, he was analyzing the data along with the rest of the team. Two of the entrances Bucky immediately dismissed –they were too exposed, and getting inside would attract attention. A third was hidden behind a small tree which might be a bit too conveniently placed as a marker for the door. The fourth was hidden behind a significant rise in the ground, near a running stream what was too far out of everyone's way.

"Natasha, you take May to the door by the trees," Steve quietly ordered. "Bucky and I will make for the one by the stream. Barton will go with us and keep watch from the hill above our entrance, since it's the highest ground in the immediate area. The brush there will provide cover for him."

Everyone agreed, and broke into their teams.

They were taunting her, leaving the water and food on the table. Her stomach demanded that she tell them anything they wanted to know, so that they'd untie her and let her grab the sandwich that sat there, tempting her, begging to be eaten.

'No,' she firmly told herself as Lennox sat across the table, looking as calm as could be. 'I won't touch anything they're offering!'

But she was so thirsty, and her mouth was so dry…

No, she couldn't. But how long could she hold out before they started to use other, more painful techniques to get her to talk?

'Bucky is on his way,' chanted part of her brain. 'He'll have contacted Phil and SHIELD by now.'

She had to believe that. If she didn't, she'd be giving HYDRA the upper hand, and that could not happen. Bucky had already suffered too much at their hands, and Anna was not about to put him back into them, especially not for a sandwich and a bottle of lukewarm water!

"You know, we're starting to lose patience with you, Miss Wallace," Mr. Lennox declared in a sharp tone. "We really had hoped that you'd have come to your senses right about now."

Well, too bad for them. Anna wasn't about to spill anything to HYDRA; not if she could help it.

That's when Mr. Stone (as Anna dubbed him) came into the room. "Sir, we have everything set up. Should we move her to the Reeducation Room?"

If she had the ability to swallow hard, she would have. 'Reeducation Room?' she wondered. 'That sounds like something the Nazis would put a prisoner through.'

Mr. Lennox's gaze never left her face. "Since she's proving herself to be quite difficult, I suppose the move is necessary. Make sure that, when the process is over, she is eager to comply."

Mr. Stone nodded, and quickly made his way over to Anna. "Don't even think about fighting," he growled into her ear. "You'll never make it out of here alive."

As bad-guy-cliché as that sounded, Anna knew he meant it. These guys were HYDRA, after all, and an ordinary girl like her didn't stand a chance against them. So, like any good hostage, she nodded her head.

Mr. Stone smiled his approval. "Don't worry," he said, "The countdown is almost up. We're expecting the Soldier to show up any second now –and when he does, I'm sure he'll be thrilled to find that you've joined our cause."

Her temper flaring, Anna glared at him. "I'll never join you," she managed to rasp out.

Mr. Lennox smirked. "Oh, we have ways of changing your mind. Get on with it, Stone."

A large, beefy hand wrapped around one of her arms, while the other gripped her throat. She had no choice but to go along with whatever twisted plan they had for her.

Glancing around the hallway they were in, Bucky tried extremely hard not to go charging out to meet any HYDRA guards that were heading their way.

Beside him, Steve was listening to Skye's instructions on how to attach one of the bugs to the computer system they'd stumbled upon. To Bucky's disappointment, his friend was also trying to keep an eye on him. In a way, Bucky could almost hear his friend's thoughts, most of which probably included: Don't even think about it.

Well, it was hard not to. He'd already taken care of two dozen guards and destroyed several traps set into the hallways, yet he still had the tremendous urge to punch, shoot, or tear apart something. But most of all, he wanted to interrogate someone in order to find out where Anna was.

Unfortunately, questioning the guards was impossible –taking out Steve and Bucky had been their priority list, and vice versa. Getting his hands on one living guard would have been quite beneficial on several different levels, but circumstances were, sadly, not in his favor.

"Done," Steve whispered as he finished installing the bug. "Skye, keep us posted on what you manage to get from their systems."

"Will do, Cap," she replied. "Actually, I'm getting something already."

Bucky waited several agonizing seconds before she spoke again. "Uh, oh," she muttered.

His attention focused entirely on the woman sitting a good distance away. "What?" Bucky growled.

Skye cleared her throat nervously. "Anna's been taken down to a room five floors below you. Apparently they're going to try some sort of 'reeducation process' with her."

As the Winter Soldier, Bucky had heard a lot about it, but never seen it done. True, he'd had brain wipes, but 'reeducation' was a step beyond that –and if what he'd heard was correct, it was not a pleasant experience.

"We need to save her," he said. "Now, before they get too far into the process."

Steve gave him a worried glance. "What happens if they do?" he asked, looking as though he might not want to know.

As they slipped quietly down the hall, Bucky decided to be brutally honest. "They become loyal HYDRA followers. They will follow any order, and give their lives for their leaders without a second thought. It's supposed to be impossible to break through whatever it is HYDRA does to the subject's mind, so even if we rescue Anna after she's been put through the process, she won't be the person she was before."

Steve was eerily quiet as they headed down another hall. "But you came back. You're becoming who you were before they found you."

"But I never went through the process," Bucky told him. "They wipe or treat each person accordingly. With Anna, it won't be the same as what they did with me."

He could feel Steve go tense with anger. "Then we'll have to get to her quickly. Let's move."

Bucky was too happy to do so.

Anna was helpless. Strapped upright on a platform, she was lifted so that she was perfectly vertical, her feet several inches above the ground. Her mouth was now perfectly moist, thanks to Mr. Stone, who had told her to drink from a water bottle, or else he'd force her. Her belly was now half full of water, but nothing else.

"It would only make a mess later," Mr. Stone said, smiling as Anna went pale with worry. "Now, be a good girl, and watch the nice show we have for you."

She refused to do it. As a film was projected on the wall before her, Anna closed her eyes and looked away, her mind struggling to close out the sound that accompanied it. Most of it was propaganda for HYDRA, as well as the sounds of battles and people crying in misery. It broke her heart, listening, but given that she was hungry and tired, her drained mind began to tune out the sound, even as her eyes avoided the images being played.

A rough hand grabbed her chin, forcing her mind to focus again. "None of that," Mr. Stone tsked. "I thought the water would help, but I guess I'll need these, after all."

He held up a set of devices meant to keep a person's eyes open, even as they struggled to blink. Anna fought, tossing her head back and forth as she tried, in vain, to avoid the device. But it was too easy for a pair of HYDRA loyalists to hold her still, forcing it onto her head as they pried open her eyes. Another strap was placed across her forehead, holding her head in place so that she couldn't turn away.

In less than a minute, she was staring at the images, all of which were, no doubt, meant to brainwash the watcher.

"Soon, you'll relax enough for the message to get through to your subconscious," Stone said, his voice turning oddly soothing. "Just let it happen. Soon, you'll be part of HYDRA, and all its glory."

Then she was left alone, eyes watering as she hoped that Bucky would get there soon.

"She's right across from you, Steve," Skye said into the earpiece in Bucky's head. "I can't get readings on how many are in the room, but from what the HYDRA computers are telling me, she's been in there for at least five or ten minutes."

Flexing his metal hand, Bucky watched as several men and women exited the room, the last person shutting the door firmly behind her before she hurried to catch up to the others. It was odd that this room was unguarded -but then, he and Steve had dealt with the guards on a nearby hallway. Luckily, the group was heading the opposite direction, so no one noticed that there were six or seven guards who were missing from their posts.

"How many do you think are inside?" Steve muttered to him.

"Probably only a couple scientists, to make sure the procedure goes well," Bucky quietly replied. "May, Romanoff, where are you, in case we need cover?"

"We're closing in on your side of the compound," May replied briskly. "If you want, we can provide a distraction and meet up with you."

Bucky considered it. It was possible that they hadn't expected him to call up SHIELD for reinforcements; they might even expect him to attempt a rescue all on his own. If they were expecting a raiding party, then HYDRA wouldn't know the number of agents that SHIELD could spare for a rescue effort, particularly for a girl who might not prove to be valuable.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. "We'll have to risk it, Buck," Steve whispered. "We need to get out before they know we're here."

Bucky nodded his understanding. "Then let's do it."

"Sir, we got a report from our operatives surveying Captain Rogers," one of the techs said from her computer console. "Apparently the Captain and his wife are not in the hotel that Stark Industries put them up in."

Lennox sat up in his seat, nearly dropping the computer tablet in his hand. He'd been watching Anita Wallace, wondering how long it would take for her to give in to the will of HYDRA.

"What do you mean?" he demanded.

The tech turned towards him, a worried look on her face. "It appears that they left," she said nervously. "Given the tight security of the building, our operatives weren't able to get in and retrieve an exact time of departure, but it was probably with the past six to twelve hours."

Throwing the tablet at the tech's head, Lennox began yelling orders, alternating those with choice curse words in various languages. "That means a rescue attempt could be here any moment! Hell, they could already be here! Get the guards on alert, and make sure that everyone reports in. Do it, now!"

People began obeying at once and in droves, like a hive that had been kicked. Lennox watched as responses from the guards began flooding in, but it wasn't long before several techs were reporting a lack of responses from several critical groups.

"They're here," he growled. "Tell Stone to get down to the Reeducation Room and retrieve Miss Wallace. If we lose her, we lose the Soldier."

And then, Lennox would lose his life to Whitehall.

Just as Bucky kicked in the door to the brainwashing rooms, an alarm began to blare. "That'd better be you guys causing problems, Natasha," he heard Steve mutter as they went in.

Bucky then became too busy to hear her response, because his fists began colliding with the faces of several scientists. When there was only one left standing, Bucky grabbed the man by the throat and began to apply a significant amount of pressure.

"Where is she?" he hissed. "Tell me now, or I snap your neck."

The man simply pointed to a closed door behind him. Without hesitation, Bucky cut off his air supply, and in seconds, the man was out cold. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Steve take up a guard position just inside the door, to provide cover.

Taking a quiet breath, Bucky leaned to press his ear against the metal door. He heard the sounds of a woman whimpering and weeping, as well as quiet pleas for something to stop. Growling, Bucky kicked the door in, gun drawn.

The room was empty save for Anna, who was strapped to a platform facing a screen. Her eyes were forced open and watering as she tried to struggle against her restraints.

Rushing to her side, Bucky gently began to remove the device holding her eyes open. "It's okay, Anna," he whispered as her eyes were allowed to close. "I'm here."

The moment he finished tearing apart her restraints, Anna fell forward, her eyes closed as she collapsed against his chest. "Bucky," she whispered. "Bucky, my eyes…they hurt."

He immediately swept her up into his arms, holding her close. "It's okay," he muttered into her ear. "I've got you. Are you hurt anywhere else?"

To his relief, Anna shook her head, keeping her eyes closed. "Just a bit dizzy and weak. They didn't feed me, though they forced some water on me."

That was one of their tactics when it came to prisoners. "We'll fix that," he said as they headed out towards the door leading to the hallway. "As soon as we're safe, I'll get you the best meal SHIELD can put together."

Steve stepped up beside him. "Skye says we've got company coming. She's doing her best, locking down automatic doors to keep guards from arriving, but there's only so much she can do. She's battling against some of HYDRA's best computer techs, so we're going to have to fight our way out."

Much as he hated to do it, Bucky knew he had to set Anna down to walk on her own. "Anna," he gently whispered to her. "I need you to open your eyes and walk on your own power."

He watched with an aching heart as her eyes fluttered open. "I know," she said, her voice meek and quiet. "You need to fight."

The earpiece in his ear crackled. "Actually, you guys are going to have to make a mad dash for the nearest exist," Skye said. "I'm going to activate the base's self-destruct. You'll have only a few minutes to get the hell out of there, or get blown to pieces."

Bucky exchanged glances with Steve. "Okay, change of plans," he said to Anna. "I carry Anna. Steve, you shoot anyone or anything that gets in our way."

His friend grinned at him. "Sounds like a good plan to me."

"Sir, the self-destruct has been activated!" a tech yelled.

Lennox felt his stomach sink to the ground. "Shut it down!" he roared, watching as the countdown began.

"I can't!" the tech cried in panic. "This whole place is going to go up in three minutes, and counting! We need to evacuate!"

Slamming a fist into the arm of his chair, Lennox made the announcement for everyone to get out of the building. Damn SHIELD and their agents! Even when they were down to almost nothing, they were still a thorn in HYDRA's side!

"Sir, you need to get out!" the tech said as she headed for the exit.

But there was no escape for him. He had failed his superiors in retrieving the Winter Soldier, and HYDRA did not tolerate failures such as his.

Sitting back in his chair, Lennox waved the tech towards the door, not saying a word. The tech seemed to understand, and gave him a salute before running after the others. As the numbers of the countdown neared the detonation, Lennox looked up and saw his second-in-command in the doorway, a look of resignation on his face.

"Hail HYDRA," Stone said, giving the organization's grand salute.

Lennox nodded. "Hail HYDRA."

Watching the base disappear in a blazing fireball, Bucky felt a surge of satisfaction and peace. Striking a major blow against those who had tortured him for so long felt extremely good.

The only thing that felt better was the young woman in his arms, her head resting against his chest as she snuggled under a blanket. Right now, she was talking to Steve, who was answering all sorts of questions about his wife and the life the two of them were living. The chatter was oddly soothing, and Bucky found himself enjoying it.

On one side of the plane, the three female SHIELD agents were huddled around Skye's laptop, pouring over the data she'd retrieved from the base. Apparently, Skye had downloaded a large chunk of HYDRA files before the base blew, and now SHIELD had some information that they hadn't before.

But Bucky didn't care about that now. All he wanted to do was take Anna back to the base, feed her, and let her rest. After that…well, he would have to wait and see.

AN: Review?