Chapter 4. In the Dark
Content warning: contains violence resulting in death and serious injury.
When it came time for them to go to bed they went to the bedroom and looked at the double bed dubiously. Bucky said he would sleep on the floor while Natalie slept on the bed. Tammy had given them extra blankets and he put two and a pillow on the floor. Getting between them he undid his jeans and shimmied them off. He turned away from Natalie as he pulled the blankets around his shoulders.
"I won't look," he said. "I am a gentleman, or I try to be."
Natalie quickly took her top and jeans off and slipped a nightshirt on, then took her bra off under the shirt. She wore leggings for pyjama bottoms and got into the bed, turning off the light in the process.
"Good night, Bucky," she said.
"Good night," he replied.
They both lay there in the dark, listening to the other move.
"Natalie, do you mind if I turn on my sleep app?" he asked. "I use it to settle down so I can sleep. It drowns out house noises."
"Sure, go ahead," she replied. "That's probably a good idea."
He reached for his jeans and took his phone out of the pocket. She could see the glow from his phone as he opened it. A few moments later the sounds of a rain storm reached her and she smiled. It was a sound that she liked as well and she found that it helped her to relax. Soon they were both asleep.
He's with his squad and they are approaching the house. With hand motions he signals several of the soldiers to go to the rear of the property and watches as they scurry under the windows to get into position. The rest come with him and they take a zig zag route on the dirt roadway in front of the house before they're in position. The signal is given and he kicks the door in, aiming his rifle at the heads of any Taliban inside the small house. Two soldiers follow in quickly and flank him. No one is there and he stops firing. As his eyes get used to the dim interior one of the soldiers nudges him and draws his attention to the ground. Two young boys lie there, arms askew, a single bullet hole in the side of their heads. There is little blood which surprises him. If he hit them there should be blood splatter everywhere. Kneeling down to feel their pulse he is puzzled. Their bodies are cold but it's over 100 degrees in the shade. Someone is yelling at him and he turns. It's Rumlow, telling him he's fucked up big time. He's had enough of Rumlow's bullying him and challenges him. They start to fight and are pulled apart.
"I didn't kill them!" he yells at Rumlow. "They were already dead! Damn you, it wasn't me! It wasn't me!"
He screams it over and over again but all he is aware of are hands over him, hands holding his arms down, hands trying to keep him down. Then a different voice comes through...a woman's voice saying it's alright, he's alright and it's just a dream.
He opened his eyes to Natalie looking down at him. Her hands were on his keeping him from flailing around.
"Bucky, it's a nightmare," she said calmly. "You're alright. It's just a dream."
He sat up quickly, gently pushing her hands away. "I know," he said breathlessly. "I'm okay. Thank you, I'm okay."
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, concerned.
"No, I'm okay," he repeated, smiling slightly. "I'm sorry I woke you. Go back to bed. I'm just going to sit here for a bit and get my bearings then I'll go back to sleep. Really, it's alright."
Reluctantly she stood up and got back into the bed. She could see the dim outline of him sitting up and staring into the dark trying to centre himself. She fell asleep before he did so she didn't know how long he sat like that. When Bucky realized she was asleep he laid back down and turned so that he could see the outline of her body on the bed. It had been a long time since he shared a room with a woman. Even the odd sexual encounter he had experienced since he got out of prison had been brief affairs with either them leaving him in the night or him leaving them if it took place at their apartment. It should have bothered him that Natalie had witnessed one of his nightmares but it didn't and that surprised him. Her touch had helped and for that he was grateful. Slowly he felt drowsy again and was able to return to sleep.
In the morning he woke up and Natalie wasn't in bed. Her nightclothes were folded on her pillow and Bucky realized she was already up. Checking his phone for the time he was surprised that he had slept in. He pulled his jeans on, took his sleep T-shirt off and opened the hallway door before stepping into the bathroom. Quickly he washed his face and neck then returned to the bedroom to put a clean shirt on. He came down the stairs to see the other three sitting around the kitchen table with a coffee. Tammy got up to get him one but he waved her off and she directed him to where the mugs were.
"I guess I needed that sleep," he said, sitting down and having his first sip. "I don't usually sleep in this late."
"Tammy wanted to know how you two met," said Tim, with a sly smile on his face, "but Natalie said you tell it so much better."
"She always says that," said Bucky with a smirk. "We met at Yankee Stadium. She was on a blind date that wasn't going well. I guess the guy was a jerk and he spilled his beer all over her when he jumped up to cheer a home run. She was coming up the aisle to go to the ladies room and I was coming down. Well, I'm a sucker for a pretty lady in distress so I took her to the T-shirt stand and bought her a new T-shirt. She didn't go back to her date but she did sit with me for the rest of the game. I took her out for drinks after, a very nice dinner the night after that and we've been together ever since."
"What did I tell you?" beamed Natalie. "His version is much better than mine. In my version there was a lot of swearing directed at the date."
"That's so romantic," said Tammy enthusiastically. "I thought you weren't a Yankees fan."
"I'm not," said Bucky. "Free tickets from a business contact. A ball game is a ball game."
Bucky winked at Natalie and she smirked while she shook her head. He was quick witted. She had to give him that. Tammy stood up to make breakfast and Natalie asked to help. Tim got the kids up so Bucky went to make their bed and make it look like they had slept together. After breakfast Tim said he needed to chop more wood for their fireplace so he and Bucky went out to work on it. Even though it was only 50 degrees outside Bucky became so warm he took his shirt off. Tammy noticed from the window over the sink.
"I don't remember Bucky being that muscular," she said to Natalie, who came to see. "That is something to behold."
"It is, isn't it?" replied Natalie. "I never even noticed when we first met."
"I bet you noticed in bed," joked Tammy.
"Well, it's other things I notice in the dark," noted Natalie, then she changed the subject. "Tell me how you met Tim."
Tammy started telling the story as she kept cooking breakfast. Natalie listened but found her attention kept getting drawn to Bucky's physique as he chopped log after log into smaller pieces. The man was a machine and kept chopping until Tim said there were no more left. They both came in and Bucky excused himself to quickly shower. When he came back Natalie couldn't help herself.
"You always smell so good after a shower," she said, putting her arms around him and smelling his neck. "It's irresistible."
"Thank you," he replied and made it look like he was kissing her neck but whispered. "Don't overdo it."
He smiled at her and she smiled back. Tim watched them and raised his eyebrows at Bucky. He just looked guardedly at Tim. That night while they were getting ready for bed he asked Natalie what she was thinking.
"What was I thinking?" she asked as she switched shirts while his back was turned. "Tammy was practically drooling when you had your shirt off. I had to pretend to be at least as interested to keep it real, Bucky."
"Oh, I guess I didn't anticipate that," he replied. "Sorry."
"I have a question for you," she asked. "What was with the nightmare last night? Can I expect a repeat tonight?"
"Steve tell you I have PTSD?" he asked quietly. She said yes. "I was accused of killing two children in Afghanistan 10 years ago. I was court martialled and found guilty. The nightmare is of me finding those two kids already dead and being arrested for their deaths."
"You didn't do it," she stated factually.
"Thank you for saying that," he replied. "Only Steve and Sam believed me. Well, my mom and sister as well. No one else did, not even my dad. I spent a year in military prison and received a dishonourable discharge. Was told to consider myself lucky."
"A guilty man wouldn't be reliving it over and over again," she replied. "Not if he did it deliberately. Does your beef with Rumlow have anything to do with it?"
"I think he's the one who killed them, then set me up to take the fall," he said, looking directly at her. "I don't know why or how but my gut tells me he did it."
Natalie had been standing beside the other side of the bed while he told his story. She moved to stand in front of him and put her hand on his arm.
"Thank you for being truthful with me," she said sincerely. "You must be a man of great feeling to still be bothered by the deaths of those boys, even though you had nothing to do with it. I hope that someday you find peace."
He stepped back uneasily, breaking the physical contact between them. "Thanks," he said nervously then started laying his blankets down on the floor.
She got into the bed and turned away so he could take his jeans off. "I liked the rain storm sounds you brought up on the sleep app," she said. "If you want to play it again I'm good with it."
Then she turned off the light and smiled when she heard the rain storm from his phone. It took no time for either of them to sleep and for that night, at least, he didn't have his nightmare. The end of their sleep was when Tim banged on the door shortly before 7 am and stuck his head inside.
"I'm sorry, but Tammy answered the phone," he said. "They asked for you, Bucky, and she said you and your girlfriend were still asleep. When she asked if she could take a message they just hung up. It has to be Rumlow."
Bucky jumped up from the floor and pulled his jeans on while Natalie gathered her clothes together and went to the bathroom to change. Tim stood there.
"What's the play, Buck?" he asked.
"Get Tammy and your kids to a safe place, you too," he replied, repacking his bag. "They'll hurt you to make you tell them where we are so I'm not telling you. I have other friends we can bunk with."
"I can tell them you're headed north," suggested Tim.
"It's not like I can go east, or south since they're coming from that direction," said Bucky. "Be careful, Tim. He's dangerous and he has hired guns with him. I'd rather you didn't mess with them at all."
Tim turned around and told his wife, who was in the hallway, to get dressed and ready to leave. She was confused as to what the problem was and was arguing with her husband about it. Bucky came towards her and touched Tammy's arm.
"She's not my girlfriend, she's my client," he said earnestly. "I'm trying to keep her safe from a guy who would kill her without hesitating. I'm sorry we lied but I thought the less you knew the safer you would be. Now, please do as Dum Dum says. Get yourself and the kids dressed and go somewhere, anywhere but here."
Tammy slapped him then burst into tears. Bucky took it without complaint and went out to the car with his bag. Then he went back inside to wait for Natalie. She came down the stairs with her bag a couple of minutes later followed by Tim and he could tell by the look on her face that Tammy had confronted her as well.
"I'm sorry," he said.
She walked past him without comment and he looked at Tim. His friend just nodded his head grimly. "Good luck," he said, then ran up the stairs to help his wife pack.
Bucky pulled out of the driveway and started driving. "I'm driving to Albany," he said. "Once we're there we can decide whether to go north, west or south. They'll be okay if they can get out of the house and hide out."
"We should have never put them in jeopardy," Natalie said, her voice tinged with anger. "What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking of keeping you safe," snapped Bucky, equally angry. "How did they know you were with me? How did they know to call Tim? Have you thought of that? I didn't tell Steve where we were going but somehow they knew where we were, together. They probably started phoning all my friends, trying to find the one that would let it slip I was there. It just happened to be the first one."
"When they brought your name up there was only Sam and Steve in the interview room with me," said Natalie. "So one of them said something to someone, maybe innocently...I don't know."
"No, neither of them would let it slip," replied Bucky. "They just wouldn't."
She turned the radio on, and cranked up the volume, not wanting to talk about it anymore. They drove like that all the way to Albany, a trip that took over three hours. They stopped at a little coffee shop and sat in a booth. Just like Rumlow, Natalie noticed that Bucky sat with his back to the wall so he had a clear view of both the entrance to the place and any exits. They ordered a quick meal and while they ate Bucky took note of everyone who came into the coffee shop.
"Can we go to Canada?" she asked finally. "I have friends in Hamilton."
"I'm not allowed to cross the border," he replied. "I have a record. I could take you to Buffalo and they would have to come across the border for you. Even then I don't know how safe you would be."
"So we can't go north, we can't go east, south is New York, that leaves us west," she said with some disappointment. "Not many choices. Let's go to Buffalo, then. At least I can call my friends and if they're home they can come and get me. You can then lead Rumlow on a goose chase."
"That's actually not a bad option," admitted Bucky. "I'll phone Steve while we're there. Listen, put my phone number in your phone, just in case."
They ate their meal and were back on the road shortly after gassing up the car. Bucky took the long way there wanting to avoid the toll roads. By his reasoning the toll booths often had traffic cameras installed, cameras which were accessible to police. If there was a leak at the police station they didn't want to be tracked. They arrived in Buffalo well after sunset and Bucky drove to the northern end of the city to get a motel. While Natalie phoned her friends he called Steve but it went straight to voice mail. It occurred to him that he shouldn't use his cell phone so he found a pay phone, blocked its origin and called Sam. He picked up on the first ring.
"Detective Wilson."
"Sam, it's Bucky. We had to move from our first location. Rumlow figured out where we were."
"I know," replied Sam. "Dum Dum called Steve. They got out okay but his wife forgot something and he went back for it. They jumped him, roughed him up. He'll be okay, apparently put two of Rumlow's guys in the hospital. We think there's a leak here because they shouldn't have known she was with you."
"We're exploring an alternative here," said Bucky. "I'm not telling where here is but if it works I should be able to lead Rumlow on a merry chase. Any word of her sister yet?"
"No, but we found her clothes," said Sam. "He put them in a dumpster. His fingerprints were all over the suitcases but they are his suitcases so that's not useful as evidence. We're checking security videos to see if he did the dumping. Be careful, Bucky. Don't take any chances."
"Will do," replied Bucky. "Do you know why Steve's phone went straight to voice mail?"
"No," replied Sam, sounding puzzled. "But I'll ask him. Take care buddy."
Bucky started walking back to the motel and noticed a pizza place. He ordered a large with everything and a couple of soft drinks then went to the room. He called out to Natalie and she opened the door, smiling when she saw the pizza.
"I hope you like it with everything," he said. "I'm hungry."
"If it doesn't have everything I don't want it," she replied, bringing a smile to his face.
She pulled out a large piece and ate two quick bites as she sat on her bed before speaking. "It's a no go with my friends," she said. "They moved to Montreal last year. Didn't even tell me. What did Steve say?"
"Didn't talk to him, talked to Sam," replied Bucky, also enjoying his pizza. "They found your sister's clothes, in a dumpster. They're checking security videos to see if there is footage of Rumlow dumping the suitcases. No sign of her yet. Dum Dum went back to the house to get something they forgot and Rumlow's guys jumped him. He's okay, put two of them in the hospital."
"He is formidable, isn't he?" joked Natalie.
"Yeah, I wouldn't want to mess with him," said Bucky, laughing. "That's why I keep him as a friend. Oh, Sam also said they're looking for a leak at the station."
He sat back on the bed and turned on the TV, flicking through the channels until he came to a showing of Run Silent, Run Deep. "This is a good one," he said. "Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, submarine warfare in WWII. Do you mind?"
"No, not at all," she said. "I vaguely remember this. Maybe my grandpa was watching it or something."
They watched it quietly with the occasional bit of information from Bucky about certain aspects of it. When it got to the scene where a torpedo's fasteners were loosened and a young sailor fell on the floor in front of it Natalie yelled "Get out of there, dummy" to Bucky's amusement.
"I remembered that part," she said grinning. "It never changes, he doesn't get up and splat, he's toast."
The remainder of the movie passed and after the closing scene she sat back on her bed, satisfied.
"That was good," she said. "You like old movies?"
"Yeah, I do," he replied. "Watched a lot of them in my year in military prison. They thought it was punishment but I loved it. Listen, I kind of want a night cap. You okay if I slip out to the liquor store? I shouldn't be more than 20 minutes. I'll say splat as the code word for you to open the door."
"Go ahead, I'll get ready for bed while you're gone," she replied, taking her night clothes out.
Bucky reached inside the envelope that had been inside his jacket and was now in the night stand for a fifty dollar bill and left, asking at the front desk where the nearest liquor store was. It was about a ten minute walk away. He got a decent bottle of scotch and started back to the hotel. About half way back he heard footsteps behind him and he glanced back to see a big guy following him. Picking up the pace he was within sight of the motel when the steps behind him quickened into a run. He turned around in time to be tackled, the bottle of scotch falling and shattering on the ground. Bucky rolled onto his back throwing the guy over him and he stood up facing him. The guy stood up and pulled a knife out of a sheath.
"There's a bounty on you," said the guy. "Five big ones for the first one to take you alive and they definitely want you alive. Ten big ones for the woman. Where do you have her? Here at this dump?"
"You have to take me first," replied Bucky. "I'm not going to make it easy for you."
As they circled each other Bucky took his jacket off and wrapped it around his right hand and wrist. The guy made a few feints but Bucky didn't fall for them. He tried to see what was available around him that he could use as a weapon but there wasn't anything he could use. Suddenly the guy charged him and began to furiously slash at him. Bucky did his best to avoid getting slashed but the knife went into his forearm above the jacket and he screamed in pain. It made his attacker overconfident and he pressed his advantage. Bucky kicked the guy in the knee and heard it pop as he dislocated it. As the attacker collapsed Bucky brought his knee up against the man's chin and knocked him over. He hit the ground hard, the back of his head cracking the pavement and he laid still. Bucky checked his pulse and swore when he didn't find one. He looked at his arm in the dark and determined the artery wasn't cut but it was still deep. Dragging the man behind a series of dumpsters with his left hand he then looked in the dark for the knife and picked it up, using a piece of newspaper to handle it. Wrapping it carefully he stumbled towards the hotel, his vision greying out and realized he was probably in shock. Slowly, painfully he kept focussed on getting back to the room and stepped up to the door banging on it.
"Splat," he said as loudly as he could. "Splat."
Then he fell over, unconscious. Natalie looked out the window and saw Bucky's legs on the ground. With a cry she opened the door and saw him laying in front of the door, his hand on a bloody piece of newspaper. She dragged him in and ran to the phone to call for an ambulance then put the phone down.
"Fuck, what do I do now?" she asked herself.
Bucky's arm was bleeding still so she went to the bathroom and grabbed a towel, wrapping it tightly around his arm. Pulling her jeans on over her night clothes she looked in the envelope and pulled out some money. Then she went to the motel office.
"Do you have a first aid kit?" she asked. "I need a first aid kit."
"Yeah, we have one," said the guy. "Is someone hurt?"
"Just a nasty cut," she said. "I need to dress it before I take him to the emergency department."
The clerk looked suspiciously at her and brought it out. She thanked him and ran back to the room where Bucky was still out cold. Gently she lifted the towel off then pulled off his bloody T-shirt and gasped at the wound. It was deep but it had mostly stopped bleeding. Looking through the kit she found a suturing kit, and some antiseptic. She dragged him into the bathroom and cleaned the wound as best she could with soap and water then liberally put antiseptic in it. Threading the needle she cleaned it with antiseptic then gingerly began suturing the cut. When she thought she had put enough stitches in she bound it firmly with a dressing and then put an elastic bandage around the whole thing. Wetting another towel she cleaned up the blood on the floor as best she could before she sat in the corner of the bathroom and cried hard.