Gold to Airy Thinness Beat

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Bucky stood under the shadow of a tree while Dugan muttered under his breath and peered through his binoculars. His target was a large mansion set in the middle of an equally big estate. Manicured lawns covered with lush grass rippled out in all directions, carefully sectioned off by pebbled paths and ornate paving stones. One area, bordered by small hedges, held a garden while another nearby had a large pool surrounded by lounge chairs.

The mansion itself was several stories, made of rough stone hewn and placed long before the Industrial Age had kicked into gear. The entrance itself was a large archway that opened onto a cobblestone circle big enough to have once allowed horse drawn carriages to drop off guests and leave again with little trouble. A fountain dominated the center, the water currently shut off leaving the marble statues of dolphins leaping into air looking as if they were committing suicide rather than playing cascading water as they would if the thing were on.

There were several cars parked around the fountain but, as they'd arrived late thanks to Morita's inability to tell his right from his left, the occupants had gone inside before they could be identified. It could be, as the intel had suggested, a Hydra safe house currently being used for a meeting of high ranked operatives.

Or they could be looking at a normal residence hosting a bridge club.

Dugan swore under his breath. "I can't see anything. If they're in there, they weren't kind enough to sit near a window."

Bucky glanced toward the rest of the Commandos, scattered about him behind other trees in the small park the obscenely wealthy owner had put in because he apparently lacked common sense when it came to security or fire hazards.

"Nothing," Morita hissed from a branch just over his head, putting down his own binoculars. "I can't see anything. No telling what the hell is going on in there."

Almost casually, Bucky crouched and grabbed the shield resting against his leg. He stood again and strapped it onto his arm as Dugan said, "back up will be here soon. We can surround the house then and--"

His voice trailed off as Bucky strode right past him, a fixed look on his face.

"What the hell?" Gabe hissed from nearby. "Sarge, where are you going?"

"Where do you think?" Bucky growled, walking straight out into the open. A hot sun beat down from overhead and he found his mind wandering, as it always did, to a quiet mountainside. He wondered if the sun was out there too, if it was hot enough to melt the snow at the bottom of a ravine and if so --

He clenched his jaw so hard the bones creaked and jerked his pistol from its holster at his side. A spark of light winked at him from the rooftop of the house and he raised his shield. The familiar crack of a rifle rang out and, a moment later, a bullet slammed into the shield, followed quickly by several more.

"What do you know," Bucky said, "either's it's a really paranoid bridge club or we've got a Hydra gathering." Still casual, he moved to the foot of the driveway that led up to the main house. It was bordered on both sides by a decorative, knee high brick wall and regularly spaced trees. Bucky knelt at the base of the wall and slung his rifle off his shoulder. Bullets pinged off the brick, sending dust and bits of shrapnel into his face but he ignored it.

Bracing the rifle on the wall he crouched lower and peered through the scope, sighting on the figure on the roof. He held still, waiting for the figure to pop up again, and then squeezed the trigger, once.

The shooting stopped.

Bucky got to his feet and tossed the rifle back over his shoulder. He retrieved his shield and continued up the driveway. He kept an eye out for more movement on the roof but the occupants inside were either overconfident assholes or too cheap to pay for more than one sniper.