Chapter 3
Landing in New York had been a bizarre experience for Harry. Not because of all of the muggle technology or the crowded environment, no. it was all Bucky's fault. It started as the crew prepared for landing; the assassin got up from his chair and disappeared from Harry's sight. The teen figured he went to the loo and paid him no attention after all it was a long flight and he never left his seat so it was all normal, until a black haired man set next to him ten minutes later. Harry looked at his partner who now had subtle stubble and black rectangular glasses which slightly obscured green eyes. Harry stared at him in confusion but the bastard just smirked and took a sip of his new drink.
"Were you really expecting me to pass boarder control with my real appearance? I wouldn't even make it ten feet without setting off national security alert" Bucky than proceeded to open a bag of candy and offering some to Harry who just shook his head in disbelief
"Are you sure you are a super assassin? I was expecting something fancier like a fake prostatic or an equivalent of glamour. I knew you won't be able to just pass the cameras but, I mean, some contacts and a pair of glasses? Really? I mean how is it even going to pass the scanners?!"
Bucky just winked at him and Harry buried his head in his arms
"Don't worry kid, if its good enough for superman it is good enough for me" Bucky joked "and it is not meant to fool the cameras, just the people" and with that the conversation was over.
They stood in line for the border control when Harry broke the silence
"Come on. tell me how are you going to make it out of here? Do I need to prepare for a fight or to be escorted by security?"
"I told you not to worry kid it is going to be fine. I promise" Bucky still had that annoying smirk as they stood in front of the lady who was looking over their passports. As she looked over to Bucky, the assassin sent her a flirty smiled and winked making her blush and quickly stamp both passes letting them cross
"Did you really just try to hit on the security lady?" Harry wondered as they walked pass the people heading to the languages claim "what happened to keeping a low profile and not getting noticed?"
"Didn't you know that all of the airport workers get a file of wanted people to identify in case they know how to avoid the cameras?" Bucky asked "and ever since Washington my picture is in the file with a big red warning. So while my prints are not in the database and I keep my head in an angle that makes pinning me harder the border check personal still know me. But, and it's a big but, they are only people and most tend to get really flustered when being seduced. Their brains kinda freeze and focus on the wrong things, most certainly not the wanted lists"
"But you just smiled at her" Harry was amazed by the ability to easily manipulate others
"A little smile, eye movement, a hand gesture. These are all little quirks people notice and file subconsciously so when I leaned forward and winked her brain saw it as seduction and reacted as I assumed"
"How did you know it was going to work?"
"Boarder personal are stuck in a small both alone all day with a mundane job. Most people ignore them the same way one ignores the flight attendants so any sign of attention, especially by surprise, have a bigger affect. Besides no person would think that a wanted man would be crazy enough to hit on the security or boarder control"
"It… it actually makes sense" Harry was surprised that something so simple was so brilliant. He started to see the assassin in a new light.
"Go get your bag, I need to grab something" and with that Bucky patted his back and disappeared in the crowed leaving Harry alone and confused by the fast turn of events.
He found his duffle bag already waiting on the conveyor but Bucky was still gone. Harry decided to pretend as if he was looking for another bag as to not draw further attention. He was starting to question his choice as the minutes passed and more people came and went. Ten minutes passed before Harry jumped in surprise as someone tapped his shoulder. Spinning around Harry saw Bucky standing with a similar duffle bag to his own
"Where did you get that? Please tell me you didn't steal it from some poor passenger" Harry was not ok with stealing from innocents
"Nope, I borrowed it from the security room" Bucky replied as he pushed Harry towards the exit
"You stole it!" he hissed
"Borrowed" Bucky corrected "I will return it the moment we are safe at Stark's, scouts honor and all that"
"How did you even get it? Did you just approached a security guard patted his dog and asked for his gun?"
"Of course not, I sneaked into the security storage and knocked out the guard that was there" Harry froze in his place before Bucky pushed him again "which means we need to be out before he wakes up or somebody finds him"
"I hate you" was all Harry managed to say before they hurried along out of the airport to find a cab to the city
The drive was tense as Harry refused to look at the assassin next to him who manage to look a bit guilty under the teen's angry looks
"I still don't get why you are so mad at me I said I will return it all once we reach the tower" Buck truly though Harry was over reacting
"I am angry because you turned me into a criminal on my first day alone in the muggle world" he hissed back "And I am only fifteen"
"Fourteen" Bucky whispered but closed his mouth as harry shot him a crossed look
"And now they will know you are in the city because they will investigate it! They will be looking for you and me! That was stupid"
"Well we couldn't just go there unprotected. What did you want me to do? Go in there all exposed?"
"Still you took a whole bag with you like you are planning on going into a fight" Harry still tried to not think of the bag full of guns that was stashed in the back of the taxi
"Nothing like that but I wanted to be prepared just in case and I won't apologize kid. You have zero experience in this kind of stuff" Bucky was starting to be annoyed. He was a grown ass assassin who should not be lectured by a kid! He was an expert
"So what are you planning to do? Just walk up the front door and say hey?" Harry was crossing his hands in anger. He didn't know who he was angrier at; Bucky for doing this crazy shit or himself for getting into the situation to begin with
"We will talk about in once we reach our destination" Bucky said. He gave the driver an old HYDRA safe house address and he was hoping it was still empty, he really didn't want to use these guns and the kid would be pissed if he killed people in front of him, Steve would be too once he found out.
"Fine. But you will tell me everything" Harry was getting tired of being kept out of the loop. Dumbledore did it all the time and he was not going to let Bucky do it to
"I will kid" Bucky said before tensing as police sirens were heard "shit"
"What is going on?" Harry asked as the taxi stopped along with the other cars. They were just crossing from Queens to Brooklyn and they still had to reach Manhattan
"It's the Avengers alert" the driver answered "it means there is a fight and civilians are to take cover, they installed it once it was clear that the city was going to continue on attracting bad guys" Harry and Bucky shared a glance
"So what now?" Harry asked
"Well you could come with me and have a cup of coffee, the traffic ain't gonna move until it is all clear, which could take some time" the driver shut off the engine
"Or we could just pay you extra for taking us here and leave you to it" said Bucky and handed the man a hundred dollar bill and exited the car
"Have a nice day sir" the taxi driver smiled before popping up the trunk
"Thank you" Harry mumbled before hurrying out as well and grabbing his bag from Bucky's starched hand
"Lets go I know the way"
"Is it really a good idea? The city is under attack, maybe we should stay in a café like the driver said" Harry did start to hear the distant sounds of a fight
"The noise is far from here and look around kid" Bucky pointed at the people on the streets that kept on with their day "nobody else is worried, you heard the driver its normal here and as long as the fighting is happening far away from here we have nothing to worry about"
Harry looked at the busy streets. Some people did enter the buildings but most just carried on with their business. And so Harry was following Bucky through the busy streets of Queens 'or was it Brooklyn already?' the young wizard had to trust the assassin with the directions as the streets resembled a maze and Harry didn't have a good experience with mazes.
He suddenly crashed into Bucky's back as the assassin stopped in the middle of the street. Harry opened his mouth to complain but was suddenly slammed to the ground with Bucky on top of him. People began to scream as loud booming sounds enveloped them. Harry froze as his eyes closed instinctively and the earth shook beneath him.
He couldn't figure out how long it have been since Bucky threw him beneath him until the man rose to his feet again and the world came to view. There was dust everywhere and it filled Harry's lungs causing a fit of coughing. The street was filled with concrete as buildings were damaged and parts of them fell to the ground. Sirens filled the air as people screamed, some for help and some from shock. It reminded Harry of the quidditch cup tournament last year and for a second his brain was looking for any signs of Death Eaters presence only to find a large blond man standing surrounded by debris. The man, 'Thor' his mind supplied, shook his head in confusion and looked around, seemingly confused as to where he was right now.
"No, man of iron, I was thrown off course. Did you manage to capture the villain?" Thor was holding a hand to his ear and Harry guessed he had some sort of a communication device "Great! I shall wait here and make sure all people are unharmed" the god boomed making Harry cringe from the sound. The teen turned to see Bucky and he yelled in surprise. The assassin was bleeding from his non-metal hand as a shard of glass hit him.
'He was protecting me' Harry thought in wonder as he rushed to his partner 'no one ever did that before, not while risking themselves'
"It's ok kid, just a scratch, won't even require stiches" Bucky said "are you ok?"
"Am I ok?! You are bleeding!" Harry sounded very distressed causing Bucky to frown
"I told you it's nothing" Bucky said as he moved his hand as if to prove his point
"The boy is right young man" Harry turned in surprise as Thor spoke. The god heard his yell and came to assess the situation "I saw you protecting the boy, it was very brave of you" He told Bucky. The assassin stiffed as he looked at the god searching for any sign of recognition
"Of course I was protecting my little brother" Bucky lied effortlessly "nothing brave about it"
"Bucky you need to be checked out by a medic" Harry stressed looking at the still bleeding wound. Bucky was about to argue when he too froze
"Thor! Stark said you might need help!" Captain America came rushing towards the god. Harry's mind was spinning at the fast turn of events as everything came to a halt
"Bucky?" The captain asked in shock as he saw the assassin
"Hey Steve" was all the assassin could say