A/N: BUCKY'S BACK! Just like I promised :)

Big thanks to: Alybaly1, mia-secret's, blondieluver612, Lara Barnes, JollyBananaStuff, BrokenStrings99 and KacyLee for following/favouriting. Thanks, guys :3

Review Response(s):

BrokenStrings99: I'm glad you think it's interesting. And I like to proof-read my work at least once before updating, but with the number of times I've reread my work while writing it, I might as well have gone over it half a dozen times. I still worry I've missed some mistakes, though.

Lara Barnes: Hehe, yeah, I love the Winter Soldier, too. I've read only one other girl-falls-into-Marvel fic, but I think it's in the middle of being rewritten, and it isn't a Bucky fic either, so...

2000Aerobars: I'm not sure I'd quite call it fun...

7 - An Overlap of Duty

The room was full of dancing and twirling bodies, a lot of glitter, and a band playing on a wooden stage above the rest of the room.

Magnolia took my hand and led me through the crowd, my red dress and her purple dress with white polka dots drawing the eyes of both men and women. My blonde hair and her black were so starkly contrasting that they both somehow acted like beacons, even though there were many other blondes and many other black haired people in the packed room.

She pulled me towards a table with four men sat there, talking in low tones. Two were wearing black suits, one a grey suit, and the third was wearing some kind of... robe. He was dark skinned, so I assumed it was something to do with his culture.

The man in the grey suit smiled at Magnolia. On closer inspection I noticed they had the same hair colour and eye colour, and even had the same nose. Siblings. "Magnolia!" he declared grandly, smiling. "Have a seat! And your friend, too!"

Magnolia smiled. "Nice to see you again, Peter. Don't mind if I do."

Magnolia sat on the end of the left chair while I perched myself on the end of the right, next to one of the men in a black suit.

"So, what brings my baby sister to this end of the city?" Peter asked, leaning back against the wall.

"I wanted to introduce Cynthia here to Francesco," Magnolia replied with a white-toothed, charming smile. "I felt it was finally time they met."

"Ah, sì," the man on Peter's other side said (he was also wearing a black suit). "I have heard a lot about you, Madonna Cynthia." He held out a hand, and I stretched mine out too, expecting him to shake it. But instead he took my hand and placed a kiss on my knuckles, never taking his eyes off my face. "I must say you look extremely beautiful," he said bluntly.

I plastered a genuine-looking but completely fake smile on my face. "The pleasure is all mine, messere." The words came without forethought, and for a moment I was confused as to where the foreign language came from, but then figured it must have been something I learned a while ago. Something I'd since forgotten I'd learnt at all.

He raised his eyebrows. "You speak Italiano?"

I shook my head. "Regrettably not. I know a word or two, but no more than that."

He hummed. "Do you speak any other languages fluently?"

I nodded. "Yes, actually. I am fluent in Russian. I spent a few years there."

"During the war?"

"No, long after. From..." I frowned, pretending to be thinking it over. "From '58, I think, to the beginning of '62," I lied.

"Ah, I see." Francesco smiled at me, then glanced at the others. "Allow me to introduce my associates," he said. "Peter Cartwright, as I'm sure you already know, as well as Wolfgang Schmidt, from Germany, and Abbas Achar, from Syria."

I sent them my customary smile. "A pleasure, gentlemen," I said, bowing my head slightly. I then turned to Magnolia. "Would you like a drink?"

She hummed. "Oh, that would be lovely, hon. I'll have a cuba libre, with extra ice and no lime."

I nodded my head , getting up and heading towards the bar, seating myself at one of the wooden stools. The barman asked what I wanted, and I ordered the cuba libre along with, and I quote, "Something with enough whiskey to knock out a horse. But make it taste nice."

He sent me an odd look, but wandered off to get my order anyway. While I sat waiting for the drinks, a man sat himself next to me. I looked him over quickly, his closeness causing the 'lady' part of my mind to be replaced by the much larger assassin part. He was tall, broad shouldered and clearly very rich, if the expensive suit and jewellery he was wearing were any indication. He looked fit, however a quick examination of his physique told me he'd be heavy-footed in a fight. And that was if he could even fight at all.

"You all alone, sugar?" he asked, a slight slur in his voice.

"No, actually," I said, oddly far more comfortable with him than I had been with Magnolia and her friends. Threats and fights were something I was used to. Flirting and socialising...? Not so much. "If you look over my left shoulder you'll see a table at which are sat four men and a woman. They're my companions for tonight."

"Then why are you here while they're all the way back there?" he asked, leaning in a little closer. I couldn't tell if it was because he was drunk and therefore was unsteady, or because he was going to attempt to make a move on me.

"Magnolia asked for a drink, and I fancied one myself."

"What're you getting?"

"I don't know," I answered. "I'm letting the barman choose for me."

"A risky decision. Gareth's been known to make some deathly cocktails."

"Oh, believe me, I'm counting on it," I said. I knew I couldn't get drunk, but give me enough strong drinks and I'd be able to feel a tingle in my body for a few minutes.

The barman - Gareth, apparently - appeared then, handing me two glasses. One was clearly Magnolia's cuba libre, while the other was a red colour. I went to stand, intending to return to my table, but the rich man caught my wrist, slightly spilling Magnolia's drink.

"Where you going, dollface?"

"Back to my table."

"Did I say you could leave?"

I rolled my eyes. "Did you say I couldn't?" I challenged. "Let me go and deliver my friend her drink."

"Only if you swear to come back to me."

Groaning, I nodded. "Fine, fine. Just give me a second."

He let go of my wrist. I walked over to Magnolia and placed her drink on the table. She beamed up at me. "Thanks, hon." Then she saw my irate expression. "Cynthia, what's wrong?"

"Trouble," I murmured, knowing she'd understand.

She sighed heavily, then said, "If you must do this, at least take it outside."

Smirking devilishly, I nodded and headed back to the man. "You got a name, sailor?" I asked, leaning against the bar but not sitting down.

"Brian," he said.

"Well, Brian, what do you say to you and I stepping outside for a minute?"

He grinned and instantly wandered out, staggering into people as he went. Rolling my eyes, I quickly downed my drink, enjoying in the fruity taste whilst also relishing in the burn of the alcohol, before following him out.

He was slightly to my left. As I came to meet him I noticed he was stood at the entrance to an alleyway. Oh, I knew where this was going.

Predictably, as soon as I was in reach, he grabbed my arm and threw me against a wall.

He sneered. "You're just my type," he hissed loudly, spraying spit over my face. I grimaced. "Blonde. All curls and curves, but you've got muscle too, haven't you? I like a strong girl."

"You probably won't like me in a minute if you don't let go," I said calmly.

"Ooh, you've got balls, too." He loudly enhaled, shoving his nose into my hair. "I'm going to love making you scream."

Sighing in exasperation, I unstrapped a knife from my thigh and sliced upwards, cutting through cloth and skin. The man let out a loud cry, clutching in vain at the fifteen inch long laceration across his chest.

"I warned you," I said, kicking him squarely in the chest, making him collapse to the ground and cry out in agony. "You messed with the wrong girl, Brian."

"Bitch!" he cried, struggling to get back onto his feet. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Silverthorn," I said, advancing on him and using my full weight to keep him pinned to the ground. I wasn't oblivious to the fact my heel was digging into his wound either. "I am a trained assassin. Honestly, you had it easy."

"So you're going to kill me, huh?"

I smirked and shook my head. "No, I'm going to let you live so you can spend the rest of your life in fear of me and my kind. And perhaps it will also make it harder for you to find a woman when there is such a large, ugly scar across your torso." I smiled at him, then turned away, expecting to simply walk off.

Instead, to my surprise, there was a shadowed figure standing at the entrance to the alleyway. I calmly walked towards him, figuring he would just be another brute who thought he could take advantage of the lone woman.

But as I neared I started to notice familiar features. Brown hair. Stubble. And, of course, a metal arm.

"That was dramatic," he said dryly.

I shrugged. "He deserved a little flamboyancy." I frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here on a mission," he said. "I've got until midnight to get it done."

"Who's your target?"

"I don't know his name."

"What does he look like?"

"Black hair. Green eyes. Expected to be wearing a grey suit."

I groaned. "Brilliant." Sighing, I ran my hands down my face. "Your man is called Peter Cartwright. He's my etiquette trainer's brother."

"How is that going, by the way?"

I chuckled. "Oh, fabulously," I snarked sarcastically. I shook my head. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd probably rather be frozen alive."

"That bad, huh?"

"Worse. At least Miss Cartwright is nice enough." I shrugged, then asked, "Do you want me to see if I can lure Peter out here?"

"It'll certainly help. Thanks, Silver."

"Hey, we're partners. It's what we do."

The Winter Soldier glanced over my shoulder. "I think your friend is going to be calling the cops before long."

"In that case we'll have to be doubly fast."

"You might want to make a trip to the restroom first," he pointed out, and I glanced down to see I was splattered with blood.

I smirked. "It's a good thing I wore a red dress, then." I winked at him - causing him to roll his eyes - before heading back to the party, unconsciously sashaying my hips a little more than usual. I ignored the other partiers and headed straight for the ladies' room, which was luckily empty.

I grabbed a few towels, wetted them, and then started to scrub myself clean of blood. It took a while, but by the end you couldn't tell I'd even been touched by the stuff.

I went back out and sat myself down again, smiling at Magnolia when she sent me a questioning look.

She sighed. "Well, as much as this talking is nice, I want to dance," she said with a grin. She wiggled her eyebrows at the Italian sitting in the corner. "Could I have this dance, Francesco?"

He smirked. "Isn't that supposed to be the man's line?" But nevertheless he nodded his head, prompting Peter to stand up to let the Italian out.

Peter turned to face me. "And what about you, beautiful Cynthia? Would you like a dance?"

I smiled coyly at him. "You know what, Mr Cartwright? It would be my genuine pleasure." I accepted the hand he offered and then took the lead, tugging him closer to the doorway, but no so close as to make it seem suspicious. We stood still for a few seconds, before the next song started and we began to dance along with it. His style of dancing was... odd. Familiar in the way it looked, but I felt that I was used to dancing a different style. Still, it wasn't too difficult to mirror, so before long we were twirling (unbeknownst to him of course) closer and closer to the door. By the end of the song, I was feigning being short of breath.

"I think I must go and cool down," I said, fanning myself with my hands.

"I'll join you," Peter said with a charming smile.

"Oh, no, you don't have to-"

"I insist. It wouldn't do for you to get attacked."

The insinuation behind his words made me grit my teeth, but before he could see my annoyance I was walking out the door. My eyes instantly swept my surroundings, and I spotted the Winter Soldier on the roof of the building opposite the bar.

I turned to Peter with a smile. "Thank you for accompanying me out here."

"I was merely doing what any gentleman would do," he said, taking my hand in both of his and placing a kiss on my knuckles, much like Francesco did. But Peter's lips lingered, and the look he gave me could only be described as lustful. I smile sweetly, pulling my hand away. I stepped back slightly, and as soon as I had distanced myself from him, a shot cracked the air. The man opposite me gaped, looking down at the perfectly placed bullet in his chest. He then collapsed. I sent the Winter Soldier a quick grin, before placing a frantic look on my face and rushing back into the party.

I battled my way through the crowds until I found my 'friend'. "Magnolia!" I cried, catching her attention.

She frowned, seeing my face. "Cynthia, honey, what is it?"

I took her hand and dragged her out. Magnolia let out a cry as soon as she saw her brother on the floor. She fell to her knees beside him, her hands shaking. "I'm sorry," I said quietly.

"No, no, nonononono. Peter! Pete, wake up, please! Wake up, I beg you." She fell into loud sobs, while I simply stood awkwardly to the side. I wasn't used to dealing with emotional people, but Magnolia was especially emotional, and as a result I was completely lost. Magnolia turned her head to me, eyes bloodshot, looking furious. "Find whoever did this. End them."

I hesitated, then nodded my head, before turning and walking calmly down the street.