'Where are we going?'

Winter Soldier paused in his march and turned to look down at the much smaller figure having to practically run to keep up with him. 'Out.' He answered simply and looked away. He really should try not to pay too much attention to her - She looked like her mother.

It was more than the red hair - it was the way she gave him a cutting look, as though she'd misheard him. The way she stood - Natalia always did stubbornly refuse to hold herself properly. He knew that she had no idea she was doing it - she had never met either of them - but he couldn't help but be reminded anyway and that reminder was not something he needed right now.

'How?' She asked.

'Helepad.'

She looked up at him with a frown and he braced himself for her questions. Normally, questions were bad, but he'd been asking an awful lot of questions lately himself. He expected her to remark that the second they got the plane started - they would be targets for HYDRA - or perhaps a query about why they weren't taking another route out of the facility. The answer to that was simple enough.

It was remote to say the least - on the Ukraine/Russian border and isolated. On one side by a cliff; The other - a dense forest almost too thick for anything but a foot soldier to get through. It was also at least ten below. While that was not a problem for Winter Soldier - it could be for the little girl. She wasn't dressed for playing hide and seek in the snow.

Instead of any of that, she simply replied 'Okay.' in an accepting manner.

He frowned at that - but brushed it off. Weapons were not made to ask questions or complain or feel in any way. She was already showing promise with her sense of preservation. They could work on the rest.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by an alarm ringing close by. In a monotone Russian voice the speakers announced that lockdown protocols had been initiated.

Shit. They must have known that he'd made contact and they were now leaving.

'We have to move.' He snapped. They had to get as far as they could as fast as they could before they were locked out of areas.

He took off into a sprint as Mantis gasped 'Wait, what?!' And chased after him.

Around the next corner was not something Soldier had hoped to see. A blast door was sliding closed - cutting off their access to the facility. Obviously, someone was clever enough to initiate lockdown and try to seal them in.

The little girl had overtaken him for the rapidly closing door - seemingly determined to go through it. Soldier had long ago plotted the probability that it was going to close before they'd even gotten close - although she was welcome to try and get herself killed under the thick plated doors.

The blast door closed, just as he'd predicted and Preying Mantis had bounced off the thick, reinforced steel painfully. She hit the floor shoulder first.

Winter Soldier slowed to a stop and cursed in Russian, feeling for a control panel he could destroy but there were none on this side he could readily see.

He turned, listening for the advancing line of Agents working their way through the floors, looking for them and then down at Mantis, who was doing some calculating of her own on the floor.

'We're trapped.' She noted. Tried to sound off-hand but there was a warble of nervousness in there. She hadn't yet perfected how to hide her emotions.

He said nothing, well aware that she was merely stating the obvious and used the time to map the area they were in. It was a large corridor with barely any way to bottleneck what what could come around the corner. Winter Soldier was good - the best - but he did not want to risk getting caught and wiped or worse - executed. It was a very valid fear. There was also the little girl to consider. She had been right when she said knowing him would be a death sentence.

And he had given it to her.

Winter Soldier caught sight of a vent - too high and narrow even for him but not for the little redhead if he lifted her up.

'Hey,' He grunted.

She glanced up at him from the floor.

He pointed to the vent and asked 'You think you can get through the other side and unlock it?'

Something calculating had come into her face. 'I can try.' She nodded.

Using the metal arm - he'd never admit that HYDRA had given him something useful, there. He hated it; would prefer a real one - as a stepping point, Mantis swung up and spent a second balancing before she began to yank at the vent.

'Any time now.' Winter Soldier grunted as the sounds grew louder. It sounded like they were working their way methodically through the facility. It would only be a matter of time before they found him. Trapped.

'It's. Stiff.' She grunted angrily. With an ear piercing screech, the plate came free and she dropped it easily as she flung herself into the vent. With the sudden loss of her weight, Soldier turned and caught the cover before it could hit the floor and give away his position.

He cursed the amateur move. It was bad enough that someone might have overheard that vent being pulled loose but the clattering would draw attention to him - and he had no cover.

Her legs disappeared around the corner and left him alone.

It was entirely possible, he mused, that Preying Mantis could simply abandon him to his fate. Or worse - double-cross him. He could do very little against the blast door. Had nothing on him that could make a dent in it.

Natalia was going to kill him for this foolhardy move. All to get to the little girl first. He'd known that if Natalia got to her first - he'd never have seen her - known about her. And honestly, something deep down inside - something he classed as more James Barnes than Winter Soldier - wanted to know her. Very much.

Two minutes turned into four - and then six.

Surely it wasn't that hard?

The sounds were getting louder now - he could hear individual voices. What was she doing? Having a tea party?

The door seals suddenly disengaged and he stood back, away from it as it opened to reveal a gory mess - the floor awash with blood. Three soldiers, dead. Preying Mantis in a now bloodsoaked medical gown was clutching a knife and keycard, panting furiously. He looked from her to the bodies and back.

'What?' She demanded with laboured breaths. 'I had no choice.'