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17. Well, I think I would for you
"You okay, James?" Natalia asks quietly.
He pulls on the rest of the new suit, biting his lip. "Maybe," he answers honestly as he walks up to the cockpit where she's sitting.
Holding out her hand, he takes it gratefully. "You can do this," she reassures him, squeezing his fingers briefly.
"I hope so," he replies.
"Clint's got his eyes on the situation. He says Rumlow is definitely in there, but he's not alone. Sam's on the way here. Do you want to wait for him?" she suggests as she sets the quinjet down on the roof.
He shakes his head. "No, we don't know how long he'll stay here. He hasn't exactly been holding still long enough for us to track him," he responds. "So I'd better go in there and at least slow him down. How many men does he have?"
"A few dozen, Clint said. There's a lot of movement amongst the ranks, apparently."
He nods seriously, strapping a gun into each holster as he frowns out the front window. She gets to her feet and stands next to him, watching him. "What?" he asks, glancing at her.
She smiles. "You and Stark do good work," she answers, touching the material of his suit. "Be careful, James," she adds.
"I'll do my best."
"I know."
Picking up the shield, he slips it onto his arm and wonders again if he should really be doing this. Some indication of that thought must show on his face, because she puts her arms around him insistently. "It's what he'd want, James. You'll make him proud," she tells him firmly.
A slow smile spreads across his face as he looks down at her. "What would I do without you?" he asks.
She kisses him gently before stepping back, smirking. "Get into trouble, I imagine. Now, get a move on, James. You promised me dinner after."
Grinning, he opens the hatch and heads out.
Captain America may not sneak into places, but he's not going to barge in like Steve always did. So he makes his way silently from the building where they landed down a few blocks to the building where Rumlow is hiding out. It's a HYDRA facility, or has become one, and he's gone to rally the troops. Or something to that effect. He knows Barton is somewhere above him, seeing better from a distance, as usual, and he is comforted that Sam and Natalia are both willing to provide backup. But this is something he wants to, no, needs to accomplish alone.
The building is suspiciously lit up more than any of its neighbors in this part of town, where most people don't venture at night. He doesn't see anyone making his way there, and is not surprised to find that most other structures in the area are abandoned. They don't know where Rumlow will be in the building, but he knows the man. There were some missions they went on together. Well, not in the sense that they were on a team, by any means. But Rumlow was often around while he was completing recent missions.
Glass shatters as he tosses smoke grenades into the first few floors, pulling a mask over his face as he makes his way through the chaos that results. Most of the men are on these floors, and they panic at the attack. Soon, though, they're unconscious, and he feels a little better that his first mission hasn't involved killing anyone. Not yet, anyway. It's not the plan, but he realizes it might happen.
The upper floors are less populated but the men have already found masks, so his grenades are of no further use. He is pleased that the suit does wonders to keep him from being injured as the men attempt to fight back. Bringing them down is easy; they are startled and not high in the rank order. Many are scientists, not soldiers, and he takes care to knock them out instead of killing them. Though perhaps people using their brilliance for the things this place encouraged would be better off dead; but that's not his place to decide. SHIELD will come and take them into custody if he asks them to.
As he approaches the top floor, a weight suddenly comes down from above and settles on his shoulder, sending a painful shockwave through him. His suit somehow manages to reduce this (for which he thanks Stark and his forethought-bordering-on-paranoia), but he drops to his knees for a moment anyway. Then he forces himself to get some distance as a grenade drops beside him, putting the shield between it and himself. He can just make out the sound of someone cursing above him before it goes off and he can't really hear anything.
" – ames, are you alright?" Natalia's voice in his ear.
"Yeah," he coughs back. "I think I found him."
Momentarily dazed from the explosion, he shakes it off and continues running up the stairs, finding a fortified door at the top. With help from the EMP and his metal arm, he gets it open in a matter of seconds. The darkness inside is certainly a disadvantage, though, since he doesn't know the layout of the building. Natalia was unsuccessful at hacking into their security, though perhaps there wouldn't have been cameras up here anyway.
Out of nowhere, a fist appears in his field of vision and he manages to twist away enough for the impact not to knock him out. Still, it hurts. But it is always easy for him to lose himself in the violence of the moment. The maneuvering and outmaneuvering with his opponent comes naturally, and he wonders vaguely if they have fought before.
"Come on, Bucky," Rumlow's voice mocks in the darkness. "It wasn't personal."
Snarling, he charges and manages to knock the man back a few yards with his left arm. "Wasn't it?" he asks harshly.
"Just trying to make the world a better place. You understand that, don't you, Soldier?" Rumlow continues, the sound of his voice betraying his location. Sloppy.
"How does killing Captain America make the world a better place?" he can't resist asking as they exchange a few blows before he lands a kick that sends Rumlow into a concrete pillar with enough force for it to crack.
Rumlow wheezes out a laugh. "When the good guys can't stop fighting themselves, they lose sight of what they're supposed to be doing. I was just reminding them," he says nobly.
"Oh, I'm sure a jury of your peers will understand that," he replies coldly, dragging Rumlow up by the collar and shoving him into the pillar again.
Rumlow is still smiling, though looking a little crazed. Of course, that may just be a result of his previous injuries. "How many peers do you think I have?" he wants to know.
Sighing, he ducks as Rumlow throws a punch, then tosses him away. He hits a desk and papers fly everywhere as it slides back a few feet. "Hopefully not too many," he replies. "You ready to surrender or do I have to keep kicking your ass?"
"I am enjoying this, seeing our little Winter Soldier play at being a hero," Rumlow replies viciously, getting to his feet and charging.
He lifts the shield and Rumlow hits it head on, his momentum bouncing him off the metal and into another pillar. Rumlow crumples to the ground. He approaches warily as the other man begins to stir. "I was never playing," he says, carefully aiming a punch and knocking his enemy unconscious at last. He looks around, surveying the mess, and decides he can wait for Sam now.
"An anonymous tip led SHIELD agents to find Brock Rumlow, alias Crossbones, restrained in an abandoned warehouse downtown. He has been detained in connection with the assassination attempt perpetrated against Steve Rogers, alias Captain America, and is in SHIELD custody. Reports of a new Captain America have surfaced in connection with this story, and we will continue to keep you up to date as it unfolds."
"Nice anonymous tip, Nat," Sam says with a grin, motioning toward the news story.
She smiles back at him. "Well, I didn't want him to be stuck there for too long. It might have been a little too tempting to get some revenge."
"I was hoping to see how we looked on tv, but maybe next time," Barton puts in with a sigh.
"Haven't we been on television enough, Clint?" Natalia asks him, raising an eyebrow.
He frowns at her. "Were you too busy checking out your boyfriend's new uniform to notice mine?" he asks plaintively.
"Probably," she replies with a grin.
Barton rolls his eyes. "Come on, Sam, let's leave these two alone."
Sam smiles at the exchange. "Alright. We did good, man. But I think that's enough celebrating for one night. Have a good one, Bucky, Nat."
"You too, Sam," she says with a kinder smile, which remains on her face as they leave. When the front door is closed, she turns to face him, looking serious. "You okay? You're awfully quiet, James."
He smiles at her. "I'm fine. Just thinking."
"Well, stop that. It's late," she tells him, turning off the television.
"Natalia… I'm not sure I should be doing this," he murmurs.
"Taking up the shield?" she asks.
"Yeah."
She arranges herself so she is facing him, looking at him intently. "You're a good man, James," she says seriously.
He smiles grimly. "Not really, no. But you're the only one who understands that."
Her expression softens and he pulls her against his chest, kissing her forehead. Running a hand through her hair, he thinks that she is – now. But there was a man who knew him, who saw him as he really was and always believed in his potential to be better. And he's spent most of his life trying to prove that man right. He can only hope that, if – when – Steve wakes up, he'll finally be the man Steve always thought he could be.