More than two inches deep, a perfect spherical crater mocked Mina from across the apartment. Loading her spoon with cereal and swinging her feet from her stool at the breakfast bar, she darted her eyes from the hole in her wall to the doorknob responsible. She finished her mouthful of food with deliberate slowness and laid down her spoon.

If the damage to her place wasn't enough, the dark bruises around her wrists and poignant back pain most certainly were.

All of her carefully arranged plans were ruined by the edgy assassin now living next door. She lost count how times throughout the night she picked up her cell, her thumb hovering over her sister's number, only to remember her promise and put the phone back down. It was ludicrous.

But to be honest, the damage to her place really should've been the least of her worries.

Mina ran a hand through her hair in defeat. And so the plethora of things on her 'to do' list continued to grow. Less than a week until fall term began and she still had so much paperwork to finish; lesson plans to personalize and rubrics to layout. The possibility of accomplishing anything other than work seemed doubtful.

She gave up on the one-way stare down and took another spoonful of cereal, making a mental note to add a lot of spackle to her shopping list.

After breakfast, Mina jumped in the shower. As she stood under the hot spray, thoughts invariably returned to Bucky. She grew pensive. With a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, Mina pressed her lips together in a slight grimace.

RING, RING, RING!

Mina looked up out of habit, already decided to let the phone go to voicemail. The third call, however, was enough to finally force her out of the tub. Wet and irritable, she swiped her phone off the bathroom counter. Annoyance instantly gave way to restrained apprehension.

Caller ID: Jackson Young, a.k.a. Fury, Nicholas, J.

…

Bucky POV: Three days later

This was the third consecutive evening in a row Bucky found himself venturing into the local bookstore. As he swept his way inside, the smell of overpriced coffee and sweet pastries assaulted his senses. It was enough to give him a headache. But then Bucky wasn't here for the ambience.

Bucky stuffed his hands into his pockets and strode up to the staircase, the indelible flare of cinnamon red curls maintained in his left peripheral.

Being adept at blending in with a crowd, he weaved seamlessly through the throngs of people milling about.

His immediate goal; acquire the best vantage point.

If someone was tracking him, Bucky always sensed it. The uncanny ability had saved him from more than one or two sticky situations throughout his internment as the Winter Solider. It enabled him to disappear once HYDRA fell.

Somehow, one baby spider managed to catch him off-guard. He needed to find out how.

As Bucky approached a group of chairs closest to the balcony, which overlooked his objective on the first floor, the sharp cut edges of a book, resting unassumingly on one of the cushions, forced him to switch gears. He paused.

The Howling Commandos: A Fight for Freedom

Bucky decided on a new plan after spotting movement out of the corner of his eye. The girl was on the move.

…

Mina POV: Three days earlier

If someone wanted to take their own life in their hands all you had to do was drive in the streets of Bucharest.

After the third car weaved onto a sidewalk to bypass traffic, Mina felt relief when her destination finally diverted her away from the hustling traffic and outlandish drivers of the inner city; she simply wasn't in the mood. With one grip on the steering wheel, she relaxed against the headrest and ran a weary hand down the side of her face.

While Fury's abrupt orders this morning dominated the forefront of her thoughts, the rest were on Bucky.

Mina rolled her shoulders and gripped the wheel a little tighter.

Set apart from the more modern buildings, the bookstore Fury selected was located at the end of a long, narrow street, nestled in a more subdued version of downtown. Although a classic and elegant design, the shadows cast from the nearby causeway made the building appear more like a haunted house than a welcoming venue.

It was no wonder Fury choose it, she concluded.

Mina found a parking spot in a nearby lot and, after locking her car, swiftly headed towards the entrance, a bitter wind biting her cheeks and nose.

As she swung open the door, her roaming eyes immediately fell on the hooded figure quietly sipping a cup of coffee in the café. The semi-relaxed façade gave him away. Her pace was slow as she approached the table.

Upon reaching him, she slid into the seat opposite, a poker-face set firmly in place.

Fury never looked up. Instead, he simply rotated his mug until the handle was perfectly aligned with the stripes running across the tabletop. "Coffee's not too bad here."

"I wouldn't know." Mina frowned. "I haven't been in Bucharest for more than two days."

He took another sip of coffee. When he placed the cup back on the saucer, the soft clank filled the space between them.

"What's going on, Boss?" she probed.

Fury raised his eyes to meet hers. "Your cover has been compromised."

Mina forced herself to remain calm, but the knot in her stomach remained.

Did he know about Bucky?

Whether Fury was aware of the Winter Soldier's whereabouts or not, Mina needed to approach this with caution. On the inside, her emotions clashed.

Who exactly was she protecting? The truth was, she didn't have an answer. So all things considered, it was better to keep her cards close to the vest until she did and deal with the consequences later.

Shifting forward, Mina dropped her gloves on the table, a picture of the perfect spy: poised and controlled. "Does Natasha know?" She thought back on her conversation with her sister the night before. Never once was the possibility of her cover being blown discussed.

"If she doesn't already, she will soon."

Mina nodded. "How?"

"I may have kept you off S.H.I.E.L.D. records, but the secrets dumped on the net revealed HYDRA had their own file. Buried inside their archives are documented lists of your skills, missions, alias'. It's only a matter of time before the rest of the world decodes those encryptions. You need to be prepared."

She sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead, already feeling a headache coming on.

"Interestingly enough, that's not what worries me." He pulled a small box from his backpack and nudged it towards her. "This has all the information I've decrypted so far."

Mina took the box, weighing it in her hand—most likely a tablet, she decided—before slipping it into her purse.

"Your file contained an unidentified project within the organization, specifically targeting you as a candidate."

"A candidate for what?"

Fury picked up his cup. "That's what I want to figure out," he said softly.

Mina watched him expectedly as he took a long sip, eye contact never wavering. "You want me back in." She paused. "Do I have a choice?"

"There's always a choice. I'd just prefer you have all the pieces."

Silence fell over them as she weighed her options, but she threw Fury a tight smile.

"Do what you have to do. You know how to contact me," he said. His eyes cut to her purse, where she'd put the package, then back to her.

With a parting nod, Fury stood up from the table and grabbed his pack off the back of the chair.

There was nothing more to say on Mina's behalf, at least, not right now.

Over the last ten minutes of their hushed conversation the café had filled up with customers and the streets were buzzing as midday approached. Fury offered her shoulder a slight squeeze before he disappeared into the crowd.

…

As Mina sat on her couch, she held the tablet tightly in her hand, thinking hard. Night had fallen and the mirage of city lights playing on the air gleamed in through the windows. She turned the device in her hand, suddenly wishing Fury hadn't called her.

Mina closed her eyes, willing herself to think clearly.

Back in the old days, Mina wasn't someone to take lightly. She didn't avoid conflict, she charged it head on, followed her instincts. It had served her well.

She took a deep breath and activated the tablet. "Voice Activation Required," a female voice droned.

"Walsh, Mina, J."

"Access Denied."

Mina fell back into the cushions, nibbling her lip. When realization dawned on her, she inhaled sharply through her nose, then exhaled through her mouth and said, "Romanoff, Nina, A."

"Access Granted."

Thanks for reading, let me know what you think. Yes, I know this chapter was a cliffy and a filler, but more is on the way. Review!

-Emma

...

Mandatory disclaimer: Everything in the Marvel Universe—Marvel, and its characters belongs to Marvel Comics, etc... Similarities to the original characters or themes from the movies and/or comics are used on here for entertainment purposes only. No profit is being made. No infringement intended.

All I claim is the made up OC, Mina.