Author's Note: There will be an epilogue! Don't worry, guys. Also, please let me know if you enjoy this story. I worked super hard on it, and I'd love some sort of feedback. Thank you so much! and as always, thank you for reading!
. . .
The mission was clear: Board the train, incapacitate Zola. Kill only if necessary. Only if. Bucky's mission was even more clear: Stay with Steve.
Snow began drifting down as they set up the gear. Most of the team huddled together, telling stories and cracking jokes to pass the time and ease their anxieties. Their laughter felt muffled and distant. Bucky tried to focus, but his mind kept slipping back to fragments of being bound by Zola and the smile of Rebecca on the platform. Steve looked out over the ravine, hands hooked to his belt. The crimson and blue of his outfit stood out vibrant against the greyscale cliffside. Bucky joined him. "What do you think?"
Steve frowned. "I think it's a long drop, and we'll have a short window."
"Let's be quick, then. You lead and we'll follow." Black smoke billowed on the horizon. "Here we go."
Steve turned to face the rest of the Commandos. "Alright." His voice was a little louder than necessary. "We'll have a ten second window to get from here to the train. We move fast. Any hesitation could get you killed. At this height and velocity of the train, we're nothing more than bugs."
"Captain, the train's less than a mile out," announced Morita, hunched over his satellite radio. "According to Stark's calculations, we drop in t minus 30 seconds."
Steve nodded. "Let's move."
Bucky's stomach lurched and his heart dropped. But he breathed deep and nodded at Steve. "After you." He gestured to the thick cable. Steve gave him a quick, crooked grin before hooking his grip. Bucky did the same behind him.
"Now!"
Steve launched over the cliff. Bucky shut his eyes and followed. All he heard was the scream of the frozen wind. He forced his eyes open to see the train rushing closer on the other side of the ravine. Just another mission. Steve dropped to the train, keeping low, and Bucky landed a second later, almost crashing into him. Once the others landed, they crept single file along the roof, crouched low for balance. Steve stopped at the center car and motioned for Dugan and Falsworth to continue to the front. They moved on while Steve and Bucky slipped into the middle car.
Bucky kept his gun at the ready, though there didn't seem to be anything more than packed crates and metal pipes stacked on the shelves. The car swayed with the clacking of the tracks, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Bucky kept his pistol aimed at the door in the back while Steve opened door to the next car forward. He took two tentative steps in before the door shut and locked. Bucky threw himself at the door, but it wouldn't budge. Through the small windows he watched Steve pop a round of shots at a Hydra soldier. There was another click behind him, and Bucky whipped around to see another Hydra soldier armed in an array of weapons and a machine gun arm aimed at his chest.
Bucky ducked, and the bullets hit the metal panel behind him. He rolled to the side and crouched behind a stack of crates. The metal-clad soldier hadn't moved closer, but when Bucky peeked around his hiding spot, the machine gun would loose several rounds. Bucky leaned against the crates, blood pounding in his ears and sweat dripping into his eyes. He watched the door separating him from Steve, but there was nothing—no sight or sound—to let him know Steve was alright. He breathed deep and shot towards the soldier. The bullets pinged and clanged, but didn't seem to hit anything but the wooden crates. He rolled to the other side of the car in hopes of a better vantage point, shooting as he went. Bucky popped over the top of the crate and fired three more shots before his magazine was empty. His blood ran cold with the empty click of his gun, and he sank back to the floor. He stopped breathing for a moment to listen. Nothing.
Bucky peeked from around his crate, but he couldn't see the Hydra soldier anywhere. With his empty gun raised, he slipped from one spot to another. Still nothing.
A sharp pain cracked over his skull, and Bucky spun around just in time to block another heavy fist to the face. The soldier was easily twice his size, and it took most of Bucky's strength to dodge and deflect his blows. He resorted to ducking and weaving, spinning, and hiding. He grabbed a small pipe from one of the shelves and swung hard, knocking a gun from the soldier's hand. Without hesitation, he launched for the gun, but the soldier was too close. Bucky knocked a crate between them before running. He gained enough distance to pull up his gun and got in a few short bursts before the soldier pried the barrel from his hands, tossing it across the car. Bucky tried to run, but he'd backed himself into a corner. Stupid move.
The massive soldier raised his own gun, aiming it at Bucky's chest. A guttural growl caught the soldier off guard as Steve stumbled into the car. He put all his force behind his shield as he used it to rocket a large pipe at the soldier. A string of bullets ricocheted off the ceiling as the soldier fell back. Steve tossed Bucky an extra pistol and flung his shield again. Bucky fired half a round, hardly denting the metal armor, then holstered the ineffective pistol. He could only watch as the soldier swung his fist, catching Steve in the stomach, and flinging him into the wall. Steve lost his grip on his shield, and it rolled close to Bucky. Moving seamlessly into his next move, the soldier unhooked a grenade from his belt. Bucky dove for the shield, grabbing it in time to knock aside the grenade.
The small explosion blew them all to the ground and ripped a hole in the side of the car.
Bucky's ears were ringing. All other sounds were muffled. Blood trickled from his temple where shrapnel cut him. The seconds to recover from the blast felt like hours. It took so much energy to drag himself to his feet, shaking his head clear. Regaining his bearings, Bucky focused on the fight before him.
Steve and the Hydra soldier were trapped in hand to hand combat, and it seemed Steve was losing. Bucky watched on, frozen in horror, unsure of how to help while Steve was being tossed around like a rag doll, landing hard on his back. The soldier fired jab after jab on Steve. He looked around for anything to help. Bucky lost control of the shield in the explosion, and now it lay in front of the hole in the wall. It was close to Steve, but each time he reached for it, Steve was pulled away by the Hydra soldier. He grabbed Steve by the ankle. Bucky lunged forward, but was too slow to stop him from pushing down on Steve's shin. The snap was swallowed by Steve's scream. He tried to twist away, but he just couldn't get free. Bucky dashed for the shield and threw it at the soldier's shoulder. The shield hit its mark and returned to him.
"Bucky!" Steve cried in warning. The Hydra soldier had pulled his gun on Bucky, and he had a split second to duck behind the shield, narrowly avoiding the electric pulse. The force of the blow pushed him back a foot. Bucky pulled out his gun in a last-ditch effort to fight back. Steve dragged himself to his feet, favoring his left leg. The Hydra gun whirred and shot another pulse. Again, Bucky ducked behind the shield and was pushed back even further. He was shot with yet another pulse before he could step away from the hole in the wall and fell with a throat-scratching scream. He caught himself on a thin metal railing. The train's wheels screeched not six inches from his face, and his feet dangled over the cliff's edge. His fingers began to slip on the icy railing, and he hooked his arms around it.
"Bucky!" Steve's face poked out over the edge. He extended his hand as much as he could, but it was still about a foot above Bucky's face. "You're going to have to reach!"
Bucky unhooked one of his arms, swinging wildly, and missed. He almost slipped again. After resituating his grip, Bucky locked eyes with Steve. With a grunt, he reached for his hand. Their fingertips grazed, and Bucky waived his hand in a flash of panic. His other arm was slipping from the railing. Steve caught a flimsy hold of his fingers, and tried to grasp Bucky with both hands. In a second, his face changed from hopeful to horrified as he was pulled back just an inch or two by the Hydra soldier. Bucky knew he wasn't going to make it. He felt his fingertips slip from Steve's. There was a sickening mechanical groan as the metal railing snapped.
Steve kicked with his uninjured leg, not paying attention to where it landed. He scrambled to catch Bucky, but there was nothing he could do. Their screams echoed as one. Steve hung half out of the train, hand still extended to Bucky. Snow, fog, and rocks swallowed his falling form. Steve was paralyzed with shock until the Hydra soldier pulled him back into the train for another beating.
He rolled away, grabbed his shield, and flung himself in a flurry of fists at the soldier. A single swing with the shield sent the soldier reeling backwards, but Steve didn't relent. He brought the shield down on him again, and again, and again. The Hydra mask shattered, revealing a bloody broken face beneath, hardly recognizable as a man. The shield dropped from his grasp, and Steve continued punching the lifeless form.
It took both Dugan and Falsworth to pull him off the Hydra corpse. Steve's voice had gone ragged from screaming. His vision was blurred from the tears. He crumpled in the corner, and Falsworth knelt down in front of him. He was speaking in soft tones, but Steve didn't hear. Nothing he said could bring Bucky back.