The Guide To Moving On

Chapter 50 - Back in action

So, I know the last few chapters have been cute, fluffy and a little slow, but you better get ready for the rollercoaster of events to come!

Happy reading!

Nat's POV

The small break that Fury had given us over Christmas has come to a close and we are right back at it with the missions to take out the seemingly never ending supply of bad guys.

The latest in our line of missions is an under cover investigation mission surrounding a series of assassinations in Morocco. We had been here for about a week, scouting everything out and gathering information. 

We knew that it was only one assassin, but they were fast, skilled and slippery as hell. We had fought him once, briefly, and I noticed there was something about his fighting style that was familiar, like I had fought him before. 

If I was correct then this mission was about to get a hell of a lot more difficult and interesting than it already was. 

He had gotten away last time before we could catch him, but I had managed to put a tracker on him, which is why Steve and I were currently crouched behind a car, trying to figure out where his next attack was coming from. 

The next thing we knew a grenade came rolling under the car and we jumped into action, Steve putting his shield over the grenade so that it would explode inside the shield and I loaded and shot my pistols, hoping to get a good shot on him. 

He was wearing glasses and a muzzle, so when one of my shots landed on his glasses, it shattered but had no physical affect on him unfortunately. 

It did mean that he had to take them off to see, which gave us a few precious seconds to regroup and ready our next attack. 

This continued for another 20 minutes, and it became increasingly noticeable that he was attacking Steve mostly, no matter how much I tried to gain his attention and get him away from Steve to give him a break. 

But it wasn't working. As Steve and he kept fighting, I snuck up behind him and jumped on his shoulders, ripping off his muzzle and chocking him. 

"Steve now!" I cried, hoping that we could finally finish him off. But as I looked over at my partner, Steve was completely frozen. His shield clattered to the ground and all I could do is watch in horror as my husband left himself unarmed and frozen in front of our target. I looked down and gasped. 

It was exactly who I thought it was. James. 

"Bucky?" Steve croaked and I looked up shocked. This is Bucky? Steve's army friend? There is no way. 

"Who the hell is Bucky?" He deadpanned and threw me off his shoulders. I aimed my gun at him, but at the last second, he exploded a smoke grenade and disappeared completely. 

"Shit." I mumbled and looked over at Steve who was still standing there shocked. 

"Steve we have got to go!" I instructed him, pushing him in the direction of our hideout to regroup. He had some serious explaining to do, but I was also quite worried about his sudden actions. 

"What the hell was that Steve!?" I shouted as we got back to base. I was furious. We almost had him and Steve FROZE!

"He is supposed to be dead." Was all Steve said as we sat down. 

"It was definitely him. But when he looked at me, it was like he didn't know me. Like I was some stranger." He continued, as tears trickled down his face. 

I sighed, dropping my previous anger and switching to comforting wife mode. 

"Steve that isn't Bucky, or at least the one you know. He is the Winter Soldier. A brainwashed, mind controlled assassin." I soothed.

"But he didn't even know me." He croaked. 

"Steve, he has been brainwashed. Brainwashed. His brain has been put in a blender and he has no idea who he, or anyone else is. Trust me I know." I said, deciding now was not the time to bring up the fact that James and I had been close for years. The one good thing about it being him is that I saw what they did to him in the Red Room. He was brainwashed and tortured just like the rest of us, hence how I knew why he didn't recognise Steve. Or at least that was what he was like with me every time it happened in the Red Room. 

"Steve, he is dangerous and he isn't going to stop unless we make him. We have to keep fighting him until we win, we don't have a choice." 

"How can I possibly hurt my best friend?" He cried hopelessly. 

"This isn't your best friend remember. We need to take him down and whoever is controlling him, then we will see what we can do to bring your best friend back. It has to be like this." 

Unknown POV

"Status report." 

"Female and male, both enhanced. Their whereabouts have been located. Permission to engage?" They robotically replied and I smiled at the good news. 

"Permission granted. You have 1 hour to bring them here, alive." I seethed into the earpiece. 

Finally. After all of the planning and work that went into this, it is finally paying off. I am going to get my revenge and gain what is rightfully mine.