Audrey grinned, "Very much so. I can't wait to hear the three suggestions for his public loss when I win. My pick from those suggestions will be glorious, along with that personal loss...One month of no womanizing, both on the field and the base...Ha, I bet he would pout and have a tantrum when he realizes that he can't even get a woman when he has to reject them in every way possible without using his charms!".
Peggy raised an eyebrow, "You are really enjoying the implications of this deal...You know, you don't have to prove that you can outrace a man, you're already one of the best mechanics ever!".
Audrey looked at her, "Peggy, you have no idea what a woman in a man's world for mechanics and such is not equal to have! I was so lucky that Papi taught me as he loves me so much and saw that I had potential with a natural talent to fix anything with a motor, and that there are so many people who gradually accept my talent and my gender, like Phillips and all, but other people, they are so jealous and upset. No way that I can lose to Barnes when he thinks that I can't do it like him and that I'm a teenager, not even almost a woman that he's judging! And before you ask, he only acknowledges and respects you because you're married to his brother and all!", with a scoff.
"Yeah, I've noticed that...", Peggy sighed. She was in a similar boat herself in this situation too, but she liked to think that women like her and Audrey were slowly making a difference. The same could be said back home with many of the women working while the men go over to fight.
Audrey replied, "Neither way, the people will have something to talk about when they see us race, and it will be spectacular!".
"I hope neither of you push it too far with things... last thing we need is really anyone to get hurt over this.", Peggy reminded as Audrey chuckled, "Relax, I've got you and he's got Steve to make sure that we don't go too wild.".
Peggy sighed, "If I didn't know any better, I would think you're jealous of him because he got the leverage of being a man and all, next to being charming and such.", with a smirk.
"What? Me jealous?! Don't be ridiculous! He is clearly looking to boost his reputation, and he's not that charming! He is so cocky to think he could get all the women he wants, and brag to all his friends about fighting Nazis and all, and sure, women flock to him because they think that he's a dreamboat!", Audrey scowled.
Peggy grinned, "So, you actually admit that he's a dreamboat?", catching Audrey's words, and Audrey froze, blushing before shaking her head, "Oh, hell, no! Who cares if he's a really fit and handsome guy?! I don't! Let me damn focus here, so lay off, Peggy!", narrowing her eyes as she went to work a bit more urgently on the motor and all of her vehicle.
Peggy was silent, smiling to herself, realizing that Audrey is attracted to Bucky, and she knew Audrey would keep Bucky on his feet if they chilled out after this race...She will have to tell Steve about this, and if she ain't wrong, Bucky would be attracted to Audrey too as well.
A couple of hours later, along with a light lunch, the race was ready for noon, and per the audience's wishes, Bucky and Audrey would have to run three laps, and so, most of the base were out to watch, stationed at different spots of the track, raising bets and such.
Audrey, holding a helmet under her arm, and all, looked at Bucky as they met up to shake hands and trade a bit of final trash talk, "You'd be lucky to lose by a mile, Barnes. I have confidence that my juiced-up Jeep will beat your ugly Jeep.", as they stood behind their Jeeps, ready to don their helmets and be set to race.
"Please, have you ever actually raced a vehicle or only fixed them when they got wrecked by someone who didn't know how to drive?", Bucky responded with his own trash talk. "If I recall...", he said on his breath in a lower tone so only they could hear. "Wasn't much of a place to put the pedal down when traveling under the Atlantic.".
Audrey narrowed her eyes and spat-whispered, "At least I got skills.", before raising her voice, "I would wish you luck, but you better make your luck, Barnes.", and Bucky grinned, "Ditto, Ramirez. See ya at the finish line. We will see who's the better winner.", shaking her hand firmly.
They nodded at each other, donning their helmets as they went into their Jeeps while Steve stepped out to stand front and between the two Jeeps, with three colored mini flags in hand, announcing, "Remember the rules: no cheating, no ramming, no turning out of the track, and most of all, don't kill anyone! So, on that note, rev your engines!", holding up the red flag.
Audrey and Bucky exchanged looks and smirks as they revved their engines, keeping steady on the pedal, exhaling deeply and slowly as Steve dropped the red flag, "Ready!", picking up the yellow flag, "On your mark!", dropping it, and then held up the green flag, holding it for a moment, looking between the drivers, and dropped it, "GO!".
The two jeeps took off, kicking up the sand and dirt as they started to follow the path that was laid out for them to follow; keeping close with one another as both jeeps were able to keep up with much of the fixes and improvements the two of them had done to their vehicles.
"Surprised your car hasn't already blown a few gaskets!", Audrey laughed as they made a hard turn, Bucky bumping into her side as he is cutting the turn to the inside, trying to get the preferred lane. "I'm surprised yours is keeping up with mine!", Bucky shouted back.
Audrey retorted back, "Let's see if you can keep up!", with a grin as she grabbed the stick, pushed the brake, and then turned the wheel, side-bumping Bucky as he grabbed his wheel, as she then pushed the gas, passing him and then saluted as she sped off ahead, "Beat that!", fire in her eyes even brighter than that day he first saw her.
He was stunned of that move and was impressed for a moment, "Oh, yeah?! Let's see if you can do this!", as he revved faster with the stick, and then used his gas and brake at the same time as he turned the wheel, then flipped one side as he ran over Audrey's jeep, and then landed back with a thudding sound as he sped off as he took another turn on the track, "I ain't a rookie at wheelies!", with a smirk.
Audrey was shocked and impressed as she pushed the gas even more to catch up, and realized that he was having as much fun as her while being cocky and such, and so, they kept showing off and catching up at turns and such as they ran the three laps, with the outcome looking like at every moment that Audrey or Bucky is actually ahead, making everyone watch with excitement, anxiety, astonishment, praying to the gods to win some of their bet money and all, and finally, the finish line was in sight, with Steve having done quickly in tying a thick red ribbon across the track with Peggy putting up the finish line flags at the side of the track.
Of course, neither of them would have a chance to reach the finish as the buzzing of twin engine aircraft roared and the sounds of machine guns firing and hitting the ground around them, causing them to both swerve out of the way and dive out of the vehicles as rifle fire and other weapons rang out.
"Bf-110s!", Steve called out as he ran over towards Bucky and Audrey's position as Bucky glanced up to see at least four of the Luftwaffe planes buzzing around with two bombs on their wings, more than likely, of the thousand-kilogram types. One of them dropped their payload nearby causing a large explosion.
"Looks like fat man Göring decided we were too comfortable around here!", Bucky shouted as a few more troops ducked down with them in a sandy ditch.
"Where the fuck is the air force?!", one of the privates cursed as Steve shook his head. "They can't be everywhere all at once; and even then, some of Krauts will slip or sneak through... just focus on trying to hit them!", Steve ordered as the troops fired another salvo of small arms at the aircraft.
Bucky saw the distant other groups on the track taking cover as they shot out at the planes, while some ran towards the base where the patrols and the training squadrons were firing their tanks and machine guns at the planes while he shot from his gun that he grabbed from his ankle, as the planes circled around.
"Here they come again!", Steve shouted, and one of the planes dropped another bomb, near Audrey's Jeep, exploding the Jeep and the surroundings everywhere, and Bucky heard a pained and horrified scream a few moments later, looking over to see Peggy shooting with her gun, covered behind a rock, "Hold on, Audrey!".
Bucky narrowed his eyes, "Steve, cover me!", before he ran out of the ditch, sprinting as Steve kept shooting and shouting orders, covering Bucky's back, as the first two planes with the remaining one bomb on the other wing, while the last two planes still had its two bombs, kept circling with machine guns firing, looking for other sites to drop the remaining bombs on the base.
He saw Peggy grab another gun out of a dead comrade's hip and kept shooting as he saw Audrey pinned under one of the Jeep doors and a pile of big rocks, trying to budge them off, but it was too heavy and she looked mostly intact, but all scratched up, and moaning in pain with tears falling, marking her soot-covered face, "Help me! I can't breathe!", as Bucky ran over, "Audrey! I got you!", glad that it wasn't a damn boulder otherwise there would have been major problems.
Audrey opened her eyes in relief and horror, "Bucky! It hurts to breathe!", and Bucky replied, "Steady, take little breaths. I ain't leaving you behind!", as the code of being a Ranger is ingrained in him ever since he came to Europe, using his hands, ignoring the pain of being cut and such as he focused on removing the big rocks.
"They're coming back around again!", someone called out as Bucky growled and found a nearby Garand rifle that someone dropped just before he picked it up.
"Stay down for a sec.", Bucky told Audrey before he aimed as one of the 110s flew back and fired the rifle a few times. The 110 went very violent and spun upwards for a moment before starting to come back down a way from the group; smashing into the earth as Bucky's eyes were a bit wide at what he just accomplished.
He must have somehow hit the pilot, either killing him or knocking him out at least and with no one at the controls of the two-seater aircraft; since the rear gunner of it wouldn't have been able to get to the front stick in time, it just ended up pilotless until it crashed.
It was one of the planes that still had that one bomb, and it exploded moments later after it crashed, as he ducked down in cover.
Bucky then exhaled as his ears rang for a moment before clearing up, and turned over to Audrey, "Did they hit anything just now?", and Audrey shakily shook her head, "No...But I'm still pinned...", and he laid the rifle against the side, resuming the quick work of the big rocks, grunting at a couple of heavy ones, pushing them off the Jeep door, and then worked at lifting off and pushing the Jeep door in a thudding flip away from Audrey.
Audrey started to move, breathing easier before she shouted in pain, clutching her side, "Damn, I think a couple of ribs are in bad shape...", and Bucky replied, "You're not coughing up blood, must be really bruised or at least slightly cracked.", hearing more machine gun shooting as the planes came around again.
"Shit!", Bucky scooped Audrey up, picking up the rifle, and ran to take cover in a hollow crevice of a ditch on the outside, laid her down gently, "Easy now, Audrey.", before whipping around and hiding Audrey as he aimed his rifle, shooting at another plane, barely hearing Audrey mutter in Spanish Mexican, barely seeing a glow behind him, as he focused.
The next plane, he must have gotten the rear gunner for the next thing he knew, he was slammed back by a bullet in his right arm, "Ah! Damn it!", clutching it, and kneeling down in pain.
"Bucky!", Audrey shouted, coming around him to check, and Bucky looked at her, "Audrey, it's not safe! Get back behind me!". Audrey narrowed her eyes, "Don't think so. And besides, worked my crystal on the ribs.", grabbing the rifle from his hand and then checked it as she then aimed at another plane, and shot out at the engine as it came around while she took a deep breath and exhaled.
Bucky stared in shock and astonishment as the plane went out of control and spiraled out to a section close to a ditch near them, with the two gunners shot down by privates there, and Audrey turned around to smirk at him, "There's always a weak spot in the motor grate. And Peggy may have taught me a few tricks back in America before I had to leave for Mexico.", blowing smoke off the rifle, clearly out of ammo, while the crashed plane burned.
The remaining two planes clearly knew that something was very wrong that simple small arms fire downed two of them and knew it was best to retreat while they can before any Allied patrols reached them. After a few minutes, everything was quiet again as Audrey continued helping Bucky.
"I swear, one of these days, I'm really going to end up losing this arm and no crystal's gonna help...", Bucky said as Audrey chuckled.
"I don't think you could, not while Steve, Peggy, Mole, or I am around to help out. You're a tough soldier, Bucky.", Audrey replied as she used the crystal to draw the bullet out, "And a darn good Ranger, through you tend to get in trouble.".
Bucky grunted in pain, "I guess I am something of bad luck in a way...I was mangled on my left side and arm before Jacques came in, and now this is my right arm...Any chance I could shoot again?".
"Looks like it didn't hit your nerve system, so you're good on that...You will still be sore anyway...", Audrey replied, and Bucky sighed, "Lady Fortune must be liking me because I end up bleeding and came out on the other side unscathed...".
Audrey replied, "Well, that's one woman I couldn't mind as you deserve to live a long life, being the silly uncle for Steve and Peggy's kiddos. You're very lucky that it only hit your arm, not your heart, through it would have been close...".
Bucky looked at her, "That would have been terrible, because I couldn't have a heart to realize that I was a damn fool...Why I was messing around with women was because I didn't know what I was looking for...I never had a father who stayed around even after my youngest sister was born...There was an argument...I was only one boy, in a spread of three girls, and well, you can imagine feeding four kids and themselves on top of it...I guess he couldn't handle the responsibility anymore...I was upset at him for hurting Momma...I guess I was afraid of settling down because I thought flirting and sleeping with women seemed like the least painful reason without hurting their feelings and all like how he hurt Momma...And now...I guess I was jealous of you because you were the only woman who refused to give in to me...You're right...I'm a coward deep down...".
"Where exactly did this all come from?", Audrey asked as she raised an eyebrow. "Don't really know, guess that bullet knocked some sense into me... that and you did help save my life there. I get the feeling if those 110s didn't retreat, they might have eventually got me on one of those passes.", Bucky said with a slight shrug.
Audrey replied softly, "Yet you ran all the way to save my life too...", and Bucky replied, "I couldn't leave you like that...I know Steve and Peggy would say that it wasn't my fault if those 110s came around a bit faster before I did...And I would give you the credit for saving my life...Who cares what those people think? You were smiling and laughing and having fun in that race like me...You are something else, Audrey Ramirez...You impressed me, and I don't care anymore if I won, as long as we didn't lose our lives like how we almost did, as you won my heart, believe it or not...".