AN: Okay, so here is a treat for you. This is a long chapter, but it's more about Bucky than it is about Allie. I really enjoyed writing this, so I hope you like it. Thank you again to my readers/followers/reviewers. I appreciate the kind words and support from you all. Please let me know if you enjoyed this chapter (or even if you didn't) because this is something I have never done before. I got into Bucky's head... Anyway, happy reading!

CHAPTER 31

MARCH 3, 2014 6:45 AM

"Protect her," a familiar voice said.

'Protect who?' He questioned himself as an image of a baby appeared in his arms.

"This is my daughter," a blond man who stood in front of him, said.

He stared down at the baby, uncomfortably.

"For now on, your life's mission is to protect her."

The blond man and the baby faded as another man appeared before him. "Your life's mission is to protect H.Y.D.R.A's causes. Your life before now, no longer exists. You are the Asset or Soldier. You will not be called by any other name."

"What's your name?" a little girl's voice echoed.

'Protect who?' The Asset asked himself as he sat in his seat and patiently waited for his handler to assign his next mission. His thoughts were interrupted by a tall, dark haired man.

"Good morning, Soldier," Rumlow greeted as he entered the vault. He stood in front of the Asset with a grin on his face. "Today is a big day. You have two missions. First, Pierce's daughter has gone rogue and teamed up with Rogers, who is a fugitive. We need you to make sure Project Insight goes as planned. You will need to kill Rogers," Rumlow handed the Asset a folder. The Asset opened the folder to find two pictures of a man and a woman. He gazed his eyes back at Rumlow and let him continue. "Then, you will kill her," Rumlow pointed at Allie's picture. "Failure is not an option. Do not let either of them compromise you or your mission. Copy that?"

The Asset gave him a short nod before he stood from his seat.

Allie spent the whole night going through her things as quietly as possible. She would occasionally bump into things as she maneuvered around her bedroom in the dark. You see, after Rumlow left Allie alone, she took her chance to run away. However, as she opened the front door, a few S.T.R.I.K.E agents stood in front of the house, armed. They warned and threatened her to stay inside before they slammed the door in her face.

So, she came up with a plan. She wasn't one hundred percent sure if Fury would come back for her. The future was fuzzy which meant he considered the thought, but he hadn't decided yet. Even still, she wanted to be prepared. When the morning came, Allie made herself a pot of coffee and dressed herself in a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, a pair of black hiking boots and a leather jacket. She pulled her hair back in a french braid, to prevent the inconvenience if things went south.

Allie poured cup after cup of coffee until the pot was finished and made herself some breakfast. If she was going to run away, she needed to make sure she ate as much as she could, since she wasn't exactly sure when her next meal would be.

To kill time, she turned on the television in the living room. She put on the morning news for background noise and ate her breakfast with the gun she stole from Rumlow, in hand.

10:18 AM

Meanwhile, Captain America had already compromised two of three helecarriers that were to shoot at civilians. He stood in his classic uniform as he stared down his childhood friend on the balcony inside the third helecarrier. He hoped that Bucky would remember him and their friendship if he presented himself in the same suit they fought together in. But the Asset looked annoyed by the Captain.

"People are gonna die, Buck. I can't let that happen," Steve announced.

The Asset looked at him coldly.

"Don't make me do this," he begged.

When he realized his friend wasn't going to back down, Steve reached over his shoulder to grab his shield that rested behind his back. He threw it at the Asset, who effortlessly blocked it with his metal arm and they began to fight.

"Breaking news: Captain America and a man who appearss to be wearing some sort of jet-pack-" the news reporter announced as rolled her eyes. "-identified as Sam Wilson are fugitives worldwide. Citizens watch in horror at the sight above their heads to see massive air-crafts, hovering above Washington, D.C. Sources tell us that said air-crafts are actually called Helecarriers, which were manufactured by S.H.I.E.L.D-"

Allie advanced closer to the screen when she noticed two figures on one the helecarriers. Her heart dropped and she knew, somehow, that her Soldier was one of the silhouettes. Her eyes widened as she clenched her hands on the hem of her shirt.

Steve managed to bypass the Asset during their fight and reached Triskelion (the targeting blade system) that his friend prevented him from getting to. Steve took one if the chips from the system while the Asset stood from where he stumbled and attacked Steve before he had the chance to replace the chip with another. The Asset attacked Steve which caused him to lose grip of the chip he needed and watched it fall.

Allie watched the footage from the news with anticipation as the reporter announced that Captain America was fighting with an unidentified male.

"Please don't kill each other," she quietly begged to herself.

"Drop it!" Steve warned as he wrapped his arm around the Asset's normal one from behind. The Asset grip grew tighter onto the chip as he swung his other fist at Steve. "I said, drop it!" Steve shouted, unfazed by the blows. When he didn't comply, Steve pulled the Asset's arm from his socket. As Steve realized he wasn't going to let go, he wrapped his other arm around the Asset's throat and constricted it as long as he could. When his body went limp, Steve rushed back to the Triskelion.

On his way up, he felt something penetrate through his left leg. As the pain grew, Steve stumbled collapsed to the floor. He picked himself up and turned around to find the Asset back on his feet and a gun aimed at him. Steve bolted back to his feet to complete his mission as the Asset continued to fire his weapon. Disappointed he missed, the Asset rushed his way up to the Triskelion as Steve reached his destination.

"Thirty seconds, Cap," Agent Hill's voice spoke through his earpiece.

"Stand by," he managed to mutter as he seethed from the pain. As he took out the compromised chip and place it into the targeting system, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen followed by the sound of a gunshot. He fell to the floor from shock and pain, but willed himself back up with the strength he had left to place the chip in the system's computer. Satisfied by his success, Steve let out a sigh of relief. "Charlie locked," he confirmed to Agent Hill.

"Okay, Cap, get outta there," Hill urged the Captain.

Steve collapsed against a post from exhaustion. "Fire now," he ordered.

"But, Steve-" Hill tried to argue.

"Do it! Do it now!"

Allie watched all three helecarriers aim their weapons at one another and fire. She felt relieved and worried at the same time. Millions of people were saved, but what about her Soldier? Would he survive? All she could do was wait. It was up to Steve at that point.

Steve watched a large chunk of the air-craft's frame land on the Asset's torso. As he watched him struggle to get it off of him, for a moment, Steve considered leaving him. But, right as the thought popped into his head, his friend looked at him in helplessness. He then made the right decision. He needed to get his friend back, even if it killed him. He lost him once, he couldn't bare the thought of losing him again. He clumsily made his way down to the bottom of the air-craft and stumbled to his knees as he managed to pull the frame off of the Asset.

The Asset was confused by the Captain's actions, but maneuvered himself from underneath the heavy object. As they stood themselves up, Steve spoke out, "You know me."

"-Your life before now, no longer exists," a male's voice said in the Asset's head.

"No I don't!" he exclaimed as he lashed out his metal arm and punched Steve in the chest.

"Bucky," Steve said calmly as he straightened himself up. "You've known me you're whole life."

"Bucky, no!" the Captain's voice echoed.

"Don't let either of them compromise you or your mission," Rumlow's voice said.

Frustrated by Steve's persistence, the Asset backhanded him.

"You're name... is... James Buchanan Barnes," Steve tried to remind him.

"What's your name?" a little girl asked.

"James! Get up, you'll be late for school!" a woman yelled.

"Shut up!" he screamed not only to Steve, but to the other voices in his head. He lunged at Steve again punched him.

Steve stood up one more time as he ripped off his mask. He faced the Asset and stumbled before he caught his footing. "I'm not gonna fight ya," fatigued, he sighed as he dropped his shield and let it fall out of the air-craft. "You're my friend."

"Don't let either of them compromise you or your mission."

"Your life's mission is to protect H.Y.D.R.A's causes. Your life before now, no longer exists."

He needed to complete his mission. Captain America is his first one. He curled his metal fingers into a tight ball and hit Steve on the jaw which caused him to fall backward. They both landed on the glass dome with Steve on his back and the Asset on top of him.

"You're my mission," he told Steve before he began to pound him in the face, repeatedly. Then, there was something that caused him to slow his blows and as he lifted his arm, he hesitated. He peered down at the Captain's face in horror. 'I've seen this before,' the Asset realized. 'So many times. But, the bruises were never by me. No-'

"Then finish it," His thoughts were interrupted by Steve's voice. His real voice. Not the one in his head. "Cause I'm with ya 'till the end of the line."

Suddenly, he remembered Steve Rogers. but, he was different. Skinny and sickly. He remembered standing in front of a door as he patted the blond male on the back.

"I'm with ya 'till the end of the line, pal," he told Steve.

He held his fist in the air, conflicted and torn. He felt this feeling before...

Suddenly, the glass beneath them, broke. As of result, Steve's limp body fell and landed in the river. The Soldier held on to a post for dear life. He knew Steve, but how was the question. He jumped into the water after Steve as he watched him sink to the bottom. He took his metal arm and grabbed one of the straps on his uniform before he swam up to the surface. When he got to the shore, he laid Steve's unconscious body and checked his pulse. He was relieved that he was still alive, but felt disappointed that he wasn't alert enough to answer his many questions. He realized he could do nothing more for the Captain and walked away.