CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
( THE WINTER SOLDIER )
BLAIR'S EYES STAY glued on the highway in front of her. Sitting in the middle seat gave her the full advantage of being the backseat driver, however, it did come with it's cons.
Being on the run for a couple of days now, Blair has encountered more than what she had signed up for. A never ending road trip to New Jersey (yuck). Getting buried underneath the remains of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s first official base after finding out S.H.I.E.L.D. had been infiltrated by Hydra - a group that she thought was extinct. Crashing at a random persons house, he calls himself Sam - allegedly he and Steve were friends outside of work. Hijacking an army base for some bionic wings for random guy. And threatening S.H.I.E.L.D. authority - Jasper Sitwell. All to land in the backseat of a Chevy Malibu, driving towards a Hydra compromised S.H.I.E.L.D.
As if the past few days haven't been rough enough. "Can you not ride this guy's ass?" Blair's tone is mildly annoyed as she comments on Sam's driving. His hands grip the steering wheel harder as if he was trying to refrain from snapping back at her. "Blair," Steve warns in his mission tone - a term that Blair had coined as cold, hard, and authoritative. She smirks up at him, giving him a fake salute while rolling her eyes afterwards. She didn't want to be in this situation, she would much rather be off on her own like Quinn.
However, this was the fastest way to finding the alleged Winter Soldier that Natasha had informed her had killed Fury. Hopefully it was the same Winter Soldier who had once paid her family a visit. She shakes her head trying her best to clear her thoughts of her last. She couldn't let it get to her now. She was renown for not showing any remorse and staying completely emotionless when it came to her mission. Whether she liked it or no this was a mission.
A fast motion from the corner of her eye distracts her, almost beckoning for her attention. It's Sitwell. He keeps whipping his head from side to side, looking out of each window at the cars passing by. Whether he's looking out for danger or trying to flag down an innocent bystander to help him is unknown. Her hand instantly finds itself gripping firmly around his kneecap, causing him to squeak in pain as her nails dig into the fabric of his pants leg.
"What are you looking at, Sitwell?" she questions, her voice calm and cool. She doesn't even break eye contact from looking out the front window as Sitwell writhes in pain from the irritating sensation. When he doesn't answer promptly, her finger nails dig further in, causing him to thrash around in the backseat. Her grip doesn't let up until Steve commands her to stop in a threatening tone.
Annoyed, Blair rips her hand away from Sitwell, eyes scanning the infamous captain. "He keeps looking into other cars, he could be drawing their attention," she explains her actions. Sitwell let's out a groan before wryly laughing. Sweat beads off his shiny forehead as he glares at the agent.
"I'm not flagging anyone," he attempts to defend himself. "Hydra hates leaks," he trails off. Sam scoffs at him from the driver's seat, his hands gripping the steering wheel tighter. "Then why don't you shove a cork in it?" his voice sounds unamused, it sounds like he's scolding a child. Natasha pushes her way over Blair's lap to look between the driver and passenger's seat where Steve resided. "They're launching in sixteen hours, we're cutting it a little close," she tries to urge Sam to drive faster while stating their impending doom if they didn't succeed.
No doubt their heads were on the list for Insight. "I know," Steve states. "We'll use him to bypass the DNA scans and access the helicarriers directly,"
"You know who could've helped override the DNA scans?" Blair asks coyly, smirking at Steve in the rearview mirror.
Steve let's out a gruff sigh as he thinks about Quinn, who was no doubt what Blair was talking about. This whole time she had been stating it was silly to get rid of her so early in the mission. It's true they could've used her at Camp Lehigh, and to retrieve Sam's wings from Fort Meade. But her safety was involved and he had made her a promise that he would never purposely endanger her. He intended to stick to it.
"You know what, Norris," he mutters under his breath as he listens to her breathy chuckle. She knew how to hit him in the nerve that hurt the most. Meanwhile, Sitwell let's out another wry laugh. "Are you crazy? Using me to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D.? That's a terrible idea -"
Sitwell's discouragement is cut short as a metal hand breaks through the glass window where he had perched himself. The hand wrapped itself around Sitwell's collar, there's not a moment where anyone can blink as Sitwell is ripped out of the car and tossed like a ragdoll across the highway. Blair cringes as his body splatters against the front end of a semi on the opposite side of the highway. The sound of his screams still ring in her ears.
She doesn't have time to process everything that has happened just yet, her body sinks to the floor for cover as bullets begin to enter the car from the roof. Natasha passes above her, climbing into the front seat as she caresses Steve head, narrowly avoiding a bullet to collide with his skull.
Blair can see the prints of where the attacker has steadied himself on the top of the car. Using most of her strength in the small confinement between the seats and the floor, just musters up enough force to kick her legs up and pound against the top of the car where the attacker stood.
It knocks him off balance for a moment, Steve grabs ahold of the emergency break stopping the car immediately, throwing the attacker off and onto the highway. They all watch out of the windshield to see the attacker with the infamous metal arm, skid to a halt, unharmed and unphased as to what just happened to him.
Blair's eyes widen as she locks her eyes on to the unmistakable metal arm with a red star brightly painted near his shoulder. She had dismissed him as a myth after all these years. Her teeth grind together as she glares at the man. The Winter Soldier. "Is that -" she begins only to be surprised when Natasha starts shooting at him through the windshield.
She can see the tears starting to sting her eyes with each shot. Suddenly, a force strikes them from behind with enough force to get the car moving once again, unwillingly. Out of the side mirror Steve can see a black S.H.I.E.L.D. SUV pushing them along. Blair's eyes widen once again as she realizes the distance between The Winter Soldier and the car is growing smaller and smaller.
"Turn the wheel!" she screeches, leaning over the center console. She grips the steering wheel as Sam does the same. "I'm trying!" Sam shouts back. In a moment's notice, The Winter Soldier is flying high above the car, making Steve and Natasha very aware the newfound danger as Blair and Sam bicker amongst themselves.
Natasha leans back from Steve's lap, trying to fish for her gun that had splayed from her hand as the impact from the SUV. Her fingers barely scrape the top of the muzzle, before there's a crashing sound dangerously close to them.
Blair let's out a shriek as The Winter Soldier clamps down on to the steering wheel from the windshield and rips it off the hinges like it was nothing. "Shit!" Sam curses, brushing the glass off his lap. The distraction was what Natasha needed as she dips further down and whips her gun in her hand, shooting at the top of the roof aimlessly.
The weight of the assassin leaves the roof of the car, along with the pressure of the SUV for a moment. "What's the plan!" Blair shouts over the dying car, it had gotten so loud from the scraping metal against the highway. The rounds of bullets from Natasha's gun hadn't helped her hearing as well. The force of the SUV strikes them once again.
Each one of them looks to Steve for guidance, their eyes pleading with panic. He grabs a hold of his shield and nods his head at them. They all seem to get the gist as Blair crosses on to the center console beside him. "Hold on!" he shouts as he clamors to grab a hold of Blair and Sam from the distance they were at.
As the SUV rams into them once again, Steve opens his door, allowing all four of them to fly out of the car with only the door and the shield to protect them from the solid concrete beneath them. He loses his grip upon the second impact, sending Sam and Blair sputtering to a halt on the highway, while he and Natasha glide across the smooth surface, sparks igniting from the metal.
Thankfully, Steve's plan buys them all enough time to recover from the brutal blow of landing on the highway. Blair shakes her shoulders, as they begin to ache with pain. She's now thankful Quinn didn't tag along, she wouldn't have been able to handle this. Thankfully her gun was still placed in her holster on her hip. She thought for sure that would've gone from that impact.
She peers across the highway to see everyone spread out, she was the closest to the highway guard. A wave of relief floods her as she realizes that she could've gone over the short concrete railing and landed on the street below. She crouches below a black car, close to her as she see The Winter Soldier stand up with a grenade launcher, targeting the team.
She watches as the grenade launcher launches directly for Natasha who was still recovering from the fall. Steve jumps in front of her, pushing her out of the way from the explosion, his shield up, waiting for the impact of the weapon. The grenade successfully lands smack dab in the middle of his shield, protecting himself and Natasha from the fiery explosion. However, the impact from the explosion sends his body flying off the bridge, propelling his body into a bus on the ground.
The air from Blair's lungs escapes as she watches this cause a bigger accident involving a semi to hit the bus. People below are starting to scream from the chaos. She turns to look at Natasha from over her shoulder, with a nod from her she jumps the bridge. She wishes she was as strong as the insanely strong Avengers and just land on her knee with the impact of a small asteroid, but she's human.
She launches a grappling hook from her wristband, slinging down to the ground safely. Civilians have started to gather on the street looking up at the highway at all the gunfire, along with the recent crash. Humans were always drawn to danger, their curiosity always got the better of them. She rolls her eyes as she begins sauntering her way over to the street corner where people were gathering.
"Somebody please call the emergency services!" she yells out in an authoritative tone. "And please seek shelter away from the gunfire! The situation is under control! Somebody does need to contact the emergency services for these people!" she explains pointing over to the bus, where she begins to pick up her speed.
She hops on top of the bus, trying to pry at the automatic doors. Her grip is too sweaty and not strong enough to even budge the doors apart no matter how much effort she put into it. She knew she had to get these people out. It was only a matter of time before Hydra turned their attention to her.
She quickly hops down from the side of the upturned bus and rounds to the front of it. She assesses the windshield for a moment as people are screaming from the inside, at the very back of the bus, laying face down is Steve. She rolls her eyes. He's the reason these people are going nuts. She turns her back on the bus for a moment, walking away as she hears the people inside panicking. She runs a hand over her face as she turns.
Her eyes narrow at the window as she begins to run full force at the bus. She slides on to her side, wincing at the pain of glass entering her side as she kicks the window, breaking it open. She's able to slide all the way inside, freeing everyone from the confirms of the overturned vehicle. She lays on her side as people pass her, trying to haul themselves away from the mess.
She bites the inside of her cheek as she tries to hide a whine from escaping. A hand moves absentmindedly down to her side that she was laying on, cradling the spot that caused the most pain. As she shakily withdrew her hand, it was coated in a thick maroon substance. Blood. "Ah, god," she whines, grinding her teeth together in pain.
She had felt worse but this was the first time in years that she had gotten injured on a mission. She had been so careless. "Blair?" Steve's voice croaks out from the other end of the bus. She lifts her head up just enough to see him start to stagger towards her before her head collapses back down on the metal inside of the bus with a whine.
Steve makes his way over to her, scanning her features. She was obviously hurt and in distress. She cradled her right side, where he noticed a small pool of blood was starting to form. Although his vision was a bit hazy from the impact he still knew they were in danger. "Come on," he urges her, sticking out his hand for her to take.
Her eyes refuse to even open to look up at him even though she desperately wants to, the pain is too blinding. Then the familiar sound of bullets whizzing by hits her ears, she sits up narrowly avoiding a bullet-headed straight for her. Although her side protests in her getting up, she forces herself to take Steve's hand and run with him.
They don't go for the front of the bus, Steve leads her towards the back where he breaks free of the emergency door. He forces her to go first as he runs for his shield, quickly grasping on to her shoulders and squatting her down next to him behind the shield where bullets ricochet off. "Follow my lead!" he shouts at Blair, who's face is becoming paler by the moment.
She nods her head once before pulling a gun from her holster. She cocks it and sticks it out from the side, firing at random as they proceed forward. It's faint but she hears the agents that are shooting at them falling one by one. She knows it isn't just her.
Steve forces their footing to fall behind a car that had been abandoned by a civilian who was getting caught in the crossfire. Even as they were getting shot at Steve rests Blair down behind the car, she winces in the process. "I'll be right back. Stay put and for the love of everything don't die," he directs her.
An order that she doesn't refuse as she can feel sweat start to build upon her brow. She never thought she'd die like this. She always pictured it doing something grandeur and further down the line. Not here. Not now. Not against orders.
Steve inches his way around the car, before running full force at an agent perched upon a car. He takes his shield and knocks him off balance before he flips over him and takes him down, splaying him flat on his back. He slides off the back of the car, trying to avoid any oncoming bullets.
He's caught off guard when he here's bullets from above firing back at the assault. His gaze lifts upwards to see Sam with a rifle in his arms. "I got this, go!" he shouts down to Steve, as he begins firing once again. Steve nods once before taking off towards Blair. As he rounds the car his stomach drops as he sees a pool of blood from where she sat. His eyes linger on the trail that followed where most civilians were evacuating. He groans to himself. She had gone off to find Natasha while injured. He sprints in the same direction of the blood trail, in hopes of finding both of them.
Blair pants as she slides her back down the side of a white van, leaving a trail of blood on the side. She had finally caught up with The Winter Soldier. His presence loomed within the middle of the street, searching for Natasha it seemed. Just looking at him sent a chill down her spine, and made her legs feel like jelly. She quietly cocks her gun once again, peering cautiously from the side of the van as he strolls through the street, grenade launcher casually strewn across his shoulder.
She has to swallow her fear and replace it with a fake confidence as she steps out from behind the van, armed and aimed at his head. She fires, catching him off guard as the bullet grazes his only flesh shoulder. He quickly turns around, firing a grenade in her direction. She quickly leaps out of the way, falling on her bad side.
It makes her want to double over in pain but she persists by stumbling upwards. The pain is too strong for her body, she staggers before falling to the ground. She groans as she presses herself up against the wall, trying to keep her mind clear and focused but everything seems to be in a haze. She was losing too much blood. Her ears pick up on the sound of someone cocking a gun, and the familiar scent of hot metallic from the muzzle of a gun.
She opens her eyes to look up at the eyes of The Winter Soldier. She can't help but giggle at how menacing he was trying to look. His eyes hold a look of confusion as he looks at the giggling agent, standing on her last leg. "You're really not going to remember me?" she questions, her voice cracking under the exhaustion that was sweeping over her. "Do you remember my family? Do you remember when you found us?" she asks, smirking up at the assassin.
He presses the barrel closer to her head, only causing her to huff out a sigh in exhaustion. "Of course you don't," she mumbles. Before he can even pull the trigger, Blair tilts to one side, slumping down onto the cool pavement of the sidewalk. Eye closed, head throbbing, and breathing labored. She waits for the bullet to put her out of her misery, it feels like an eternity, but it never comes. She gains enough energy to look behind her where The Winter Soldier was lurking. Her eyes widen when she realizes no one is there.
Confusion spreads throughout her body as she gasps for air. Why would he spare her? A dreamlike state seems to seep into her mind, making her feel relaxed. Her vision fades to black as she hears the faint sound of an explosion further up the road.
Unknown to the now knocked out Blair, the explosion was caused by The Winter Soldier himself, trying to hunt down the renowned Black Widow. He's taken by surprise when she wraps herself around his shoulders, wire taut in her hands as she pulls it around his neck. The attempt to strangle the assassin has him clamoring backward, knocking them into a car. He easily flips her off his shoulders, sending her sputtering across the asphalt.
She recovers as she bounces off the ground, sending a shock disk flying. It latches on to his metal arm, sending an electric shock throughout the arm, seizing any motor control that he had in it. Natasha uses this time to bolt in the opposite direction of him, running back to where she had last seen Steve, Blair, and Sam. The highway. She never remembers anyone ever being this lethal. To kill in cold blood with no motives whatsoever. Yet, there he was chasing after her.
By the time Steve makes it over to Blair, she lays unconscious in a small pool of her own blood. Without her moving and twitching from the pain Steve can get a good look at the wound. It's all up and down her right side of her abdomen, glass shards from the windshield of the bus sticking out and protruding out from under her torn shirt. The shards are too deep for him to remove, some are so small he can't even imagine trying to pull them out with his fingers.
Instinctively, he pushes her back up against the side of a van, listening to her whine in protest and pain. He unbuckles the belt around her pants, making her groan in protest. "This isn't what it feels like, Norris," he hisses under his breath as he successfully maneuvers the belt off of her completely. He slides the red hoodie she still adorned from the mall and places it over her wound while securing it with the belt. She coughs a little as her eyes somewhat flutter open.
"Captain," she breathlessly breathes out, catching his attention. His brows raise with concern as he looks at his pale friend. What he had once recognized as a smartass, coy, cat-like agent was nothing more than a scared child afraid to die. Her deep chocolate eyes beg him to help her without actually saying it out loud. They had been on many missions before, she had been more faithful than any other agent or strike team member, she always followed his orders and most importantly she believed he could do it.
She reminded him a lot of Coulson. His lips press together firmly as he gazes into her eyes. "You stay right here, that's an order," he commands, placing his hand against her shoulders. "I will be right back," Blair let's out a tired chuckle once again before leaning her head against the cool metal of the car she was pressed up against. "Yes, Cap,"
The Winter Soldier was slowly moving in on his next target. Natasha swivels her head to the side to see him sauntering over towards her direction as she darts back to the highway. Luckily there is no gunfire coming her way from the highway. Perhaps they were still busy fighting off Sam, he seemed to put up a good fight. "Move!" she yells at the civilians still fleeing from the gunfire. "Get out of the way! Clear the streets!" she beckons, waving her hands behind her as if to usher any innocent bystanders away from her.
There's a searing pain in her left shoulder, accompanied by a ringing pain in her ear. Immediately she hides behind a car, grasping at her shoulder. As she pulls her hand away there's the unmistakable smear of blood pooling up in her hand. She groans in pain and frustration. She couldn't believe that he actually shot her, she was sure enough to give him the runaround.
There was no sign of Steve, Blair, or Sam in sight. She feared she may be the last one left for a brief moment. She allows herself to slip out of the moment, slumping her back against the car as she pants from exhaustion. There's no sign of the assassin anywhere, yet she keeps her eyes shifting to each car, looking for any kind of sign. As she begins to let her guard down, The Winter Soldier surprises her by jumping up on the roof of the car right next to her, gun trained on her. She clamors backward, trying to get on her feet to run away but any attempt at it would be too late.
Luckily, as she struggles to stand up Steve comes from nowhere and tries to hit The Winter Soldier with his shield. Instead, the assassin, greets the shield with a firm punch with his mechanical arm, causing a ringing to alert everyone in the vicinity to stay away. Steve grits his teeth as he tries to push against him, but he loses control, sending him backward. The assassin begins shooting at him, just as he curls himself behind his shield. Steve breaks eye contact for a moment and connects them with Natasha, who appears to be injured as well but not dying like Blair.
"Find Blair! She's been hurt!" he orders Natasha, his voice getting drown out by the barrage of bullets. She nods her head once and begins to make her way up the street to find her fellow agent. As soon as the bullets let up, Steve flips over towards the closest car, seeking shelter from the next aim of bullets he has for him. He flips over the hood of the car and knocks the assault rifle from his hand, sending it flying to the ground. It's not his only weapon though, as Steve still has to shield himself from the handgun he pulls out.
Once again, Steve is able to knock it out of his hand, just as he tries to land a blow to the assassin's face, but it's easily blocked. Here he thought that The Winter Soldier only relied on guns, turns out he's just as good at hand to hand. Before he knows it, he's being forced to flip upside down to avoid a blow. He feels a tug at his shield and watches it come off as the assassin places it on his own arm. He glares at the man, he's the one who had put everyone's lives at risk and was currently causing Blair to die.
The Winter Soldier slings the shield back at Steve's head, where he narrowly misses it, watching it lodge itself into the backside of a van. His feet are already headed off towards The Winter Soldier, he doesn't have time to even think about going back and grabbing the shield. He avoids any swings and slashes the assassin tries to take with the small knife he cradled delicately in his hand. He's able to land a swift kick to his torso sending him flying back into a car, dropping his knife in the process.
All he feels is anger as he charges towards him, kicking him in the chest forcefully once again. He tries to get a good hook in but the assassin counters and tries to punch him as well, sending them both staggering as he tries to hit Steve over and over again while Steve dodges. Steve finally seizes the mechanical arm and flips him over onto his back. It's the wrong move.
He realizes this as the mechanical arm doesn't let go and instead latches onto his throat in an attempt to choke him. Without warning the assassin pulls him close only to throw him over the hood of a truck, sending him sprawled out on his back. His eyes open just in time to see his opponent on top of the hood of the car, fist balled up at his side.
Steve rolls over to his side to avoid a direct fatal blow to his head. The ground around the mechanical arms fist gives way, making a small hole in the ground. Steve swallows a hard lump in the back of his throat as he realizes that could've been him. He stands up to face his opponent once again only to be struck several times in the side, the last sending him pressed up against a van.
Steve regains hope in the fight as he realizes that this is the van with his shield stuck in it. He barely has time to bring his hand to his face as The Winter Soldier threatens to stab him once again with a knife. Instead, the knife punctures deep within the side of the van. The assassin glares at Steve as he places a hand up against his throat sliding him down the length of the van.
As they near the end, Steve turns and flips the assassin over on his back before flipping up and grabbing on to his shield and yanking it out of the van with force. He doesn't have time to delight that he has his shield back at The Winter Soldier attempts to slash at him several more times, his shield takes the brunt of the hits. Steve latches on to the mechanical arm and tries to break it with his shield but for some reason, the metal will not bend. His mind can't form a single coherent thought except for the word vibranium. The arm must be made from vibranium.
When that doesn't work, Steve grabs ahold of the assassin and flips him over his shoulder, sending him flying. His masks sputters across the ground, as Steve looks at it out of breath. He didn't know how much longer he could take of this.
As the assassin turns around, he can feel his heart falter for a moment as he takes in the features. The eyes, the mouth, the chin, the hair (even though it was the longest he had ever seen it). It was undeniably, without a doubt in his mind, Bucky Barnes.
His mouth is agape from the confusion as he narrows his eyes at his once long lost friend. It couldn't be him, he watched him fall, no one could be survived that fall. Yet, everything about him screams Bucky. It takes him a moment before he can even speak.
"Bucky?" he calls out, confused beyond belief. The assassin is confused as well, but his facial features won't let him express it.
"Who the hell is Bucky?" he replies, whipping a handgun out and training it on Steve.
Before he can even take the shot, Sam comes in, wings spread as he delivers a swift kick to the assassin. He comes skittering into a stop as he lands on the ground, glaring at Bucky who gives him a glare back as he stands up. Bucky looks around between him and Steve still confused about who these people are and why he can recognize who he's attacked. The man across the way, the girl he spared, the girl he shot. He had run into them all at some point in his life, yet he can't recall how and why.
Steve attempts to take a step forward but immediately steps back as a grenade explodes near his old friend, sending him flying. He peers over to the side to see Natasha with the grenade launcher that he had discarded. Blair was perched up beside her, clinging on to the red hoodie he had placed over her wound.
He's relieved to see them all, although they looked like hell, at least they were alive. Mostly. The sound of sirens flood the air, alerting them of incoming company. Blair sighs as she sits on the hood of a car. She wasn't able to put up a fight in this condition. Neither was Natasha with her shoulder.
All Steve can do is watch helplessly as a handful of black unmarked SUV's with sirens and lights on surround the group. Groups of armed agents step out of the vehicles, all weapons targeting the group of renegades. "Drop the shield, Cap!" a familiar voice calls out to him. He wants to roll his eyes as he sees the smug look on Rumlow's face demanding him to drop his weapon. Steve looks over to Blair and Natasha who have already surrendered, hands being cuffed. He reluctantly drops his shield.
Even though they had been caught, at least he could let them go without any trouble. Rumlow kicks the back of his knee in, forcing him on the ground with his hands in the air. He still couldn't get the image of Bucky's confused face out of his mind as he feels the barrel of a gun being directed at his head. He doesn't even since when Rumlow places the cuffs on his hands too tightly, nor does he care once the barrel is complete up against the back of his head.
All he could think about was Bucky and how the hell he ended up in the twenty-first century with him. The whir of a helicopter hovering nearby was enough to whip up some debris, dirt lines his face as his eyes stay trained on the ground. "Not here," he hears Rumlow command the person next to him. "Not here!" This time it's a little more firm, and he feels the barrel of the gun fall from his head.
Rumlow grips onto the back of his arm, forcing him to stand up. He follows his movements and stands up completely, following his footsteps towards a black unmarked can where two agents already sat perched within. "Get in, Cap," Rumlow instructs the worn down and tired Captain America as he places him in the back of the truck followed by Natasha and Blair, then finally Sam.
Rumlow takes a look at the crew that he had once worked for, scanning the wounds Natasha and Blair had received and the distraught look on his former leaders face. Rumlow smirks to himself as he grabs the black doors that would lock them into place. "You know, Cap," Rumlow calls out to Steve, drawing his tired eyes towards him. "If only your girlfriend would've cooperated like you,"
Steve's heart begins to race. Natasha throws him a worried look. He looked as if he was about to have a panic attack. Although, she was not his girlfriend Steve knew exactly who he was talking about. "Quinn," he breathes out just as the black doors start closing. Rage overflows within him now, he had stayed quiet long enough. He attempts to stand up to bolt towards the closing doors, glaring at a smirking Rumlow. "What did you do to her!"