The Soulmate Initiative: Book 1

14. I'm not gonna kill anyone

LOCATION: BUCHAREST

Johanna Barnes buys some food from a market and sees a man at a newspaper stand watching her suspiciously. She makes her way over to the stand and the man runs, she takes a look at the newspaper to see a photograph of a hooded figure and the words 'Winter Soldier'. She puts the paper back down and glances around. She makes her way to the place she's been staying, but someone else gets there first, it's Stacey. Stacey takes a look around, she finds a notebook and has a flick through it, Suzanne talks through her comm "Heads up, Cap. German Special Forces,  approaching from the south." "Understood." Stacey turns round to see Johanna standing there, she's cautious "Do you know me?" Johanna replies "You're Stacey. I read about you in a museum." Suzanne updates Stacey "They've set the perimeter." Stacey places the notebook down and very slowly approaches her soulmate "I know you're nervous and you have plenty of reason to be. But you're lying." "I wasn't in Vienna. I don't do that anymore." Suzanne speaks again "They're entering the building." Stacey continues to approach her soulmate "Well, the people who think you did are coming here now. And they're not planning on taking you alive." "That's smart. Good strategy." They both hear footsteps approaching, as Suzanne says "They're on the roof. I'm compromised." Stacey still tries "This doesn't have to end in a fight, Anna." Johanna sighs "It always ends in a fight." Suzanne sounds urgent "5 seconds." Stacey groans "You pulled me from the river. Why?" Johanna looks at Stacey "I don't know." "3 seconds." "Yes, you do." 

"Breach! Breach! Breach!" A flash bomb is thrown into the room, but Stacey bats it away with her shield. When a grenade is thrown through the window, Johanna kicks it to Stacey, who puts her shield over it as it goes off, having absolutely no effect. They start breaking the door down and swinging in through the windows, Johanna and Stacey have no choice but to fight, though Stacey makes sure to just knock them unconscious. But Johanna, not so much. One comes through the door on the balcony and Stacey kicks him, then Johanna tries to go out the door, but Stacey reaches for her "Anna, stop!" She grabs her hand and Johanna spins herself round so she's now facing Stacey, as she continues "You're gonna kill someone." Johanna uses her mechanical hand to push Stacey down on her back on the floor, she then punches the floorboard next to her head, making Stacey flinch. Johanna looks Stacey in the eyes "I'm not gonna kill anyone." She then pulls a backpack out from the hole in the floorboards and throws it out of the door, over the balcony and onto a lower building. Someone else climbs through a window and Johanna looks away from Stacey, to shield herself with her metal arm, from the bullets coming her way. Stacey quickly stands up and shields the both of them with her shield as more enter the room. Johanna pushes Stacey out onto the balcony and approaches one of the shooters, her hand raised in front of her, deflecting the bullets. When she reaches him, she slams him into a wall, then knocks another with a cinder block. On the balcony, Stacey is fighting with a man. As more break through the front door of the apartment, Johanna punches through it, knocking the closest guy out. She then fights her way down to the next level. 

Stacey runs through the apartment and down to the next level, catching a guy who Johanna knocks over the edge of the stairwell "Come on, Anna." The pair stare at each other a moment, Johanna shrugs a little and the pair keep fighting. As one guy almost shoots Johanna, Stacey throws her shield at him, she then looks to Johanna, who gives her a small nod, then continues descending, by jumping down the centre of the stairwell and catching a railing several floors down. Stacey retrieves her shield and runs down the stairs. 

Johanna punches open an apartment door and runs all the way through to the balcony, then leaps to the building below, rolling when she makes contact and grabbing her backpack. She sees a shadow jump up behind her, it's the Black Panther, he pushes out his vibranium claws, ready to fight the Winter Soldier to the death. They are both incredible fighters. Stacey reaches the balcony and looks over the edge to see them fighting closely, she also sees Suzanne flying round the corner, so she backs up a few feet "Suzie, southwest rooftop." "Who the hell's the guy?" "About to find out." She runs and jumps over the balcony, landing on the roof with the others, just as a helicopter approaches and starts shooting at the fighting pair, but the bullets just bounce off the Black Panther's suit. Stacey looks at the helicopter "Suzie." "Got him." Suzanne flies over to the helicopter and kicks it's backside, making it spin out of control. Johanna manages to push the Black Panther away, then she grabs her backpack, putting it on and running to the edge of the roof. 

Johanna drops down onto the ground, followed by the Black Panther and then Stacey. The helicopter returns and aims for Johanna, but she just keeps running, then drops down a bridge, almost getting hit by several cars. She runs in the same direction as the cars, the others join her once again, but the pair of them close to each other now. All three of them running at about the same speed through a long tunnel. Police vehicles join the chase "Stand down! Stand down!" Stacey jumps onto the front of one of the Police cars, causing it to slam it's breaks. Then she opens the door and pulls the officer out, she kicks out the broken windshield, gets in and drives after the others. She passes the Black Panther, who latches onto the back of the vehicle, she tries to shake him, but he clings on "Suzie, I can't shake this guy." "Right behind you." As a group of Police cars try to get past Stacey's vehicle, she rams them. At the end of the tunnel, another group of Police cars block Johanna from escaping, so she has to detour, Stacey makes the same detour. A motorbike is about to pass Johanna, but she grabs the handlebars, the person flies off to the side as she swings the bike round and lands on it on the road, going the way she wants. Stacey, with the Black Panther still clinging to the vehicle, catches up to her. Suzanne flies down into the tunnel at a gap in the ceiling, at the same time, the Black Panther climbs over the vehicle and launches himself at Johanna, trying to get her off the bike, but she manages to throw him off. The Black Panther sees Suzanne coming and grabs her midair. 

As Johanna exits the tunnel, she throws a device at the ceiling that blows up, but the Black Panther dives under the explosion and pierces the motorbikes tires, throwing Johanna onto the road. The pair tumble along and when Stacey reaches the cave in, she jumps out of the still-moving car and runs. Stacey grabs the Black Panther and throws him away from Johanna. The Police surround them, there's no escape now. War Machine lands, she points one repulsor at Johanna and the other at the Black Panther "Stand down, now." Stacey puts her shield on her back and the Black Panther retracts his vibranium claws. Rhodes sighs "Congrats, Captain. You're a criminal." She raises her hands in surrender as the Police all close in, weapons raised. They also found Suzanne and push her along to where the others are. The Black Panther raises his hands in surrender and removes his mask, revealing that he is T'Challa. Rhodes, still in suit, gives him an acknowledgement "Your highness."