favorite crime (b. barnes)

threat

As a child, James Buchanan Barnes was a peacemaker. When his sister Rebecca had a problem with any of her friends, James was there to resolve it. He never used violent tactics and everyone in his neighborhood loved him. He was the type of boy to run errands for the moms with too many kids to take care of. He took care of his mom when she was sick and bedridden, nearly dead. 

As a teenager, James became friends with a more troubled boy, Brock Rumlow. Brock and James were attached at the hip and after a while, James learned how to fight properly. James and Brock got in many fights with other kids at school. James moved out of his mother's house at age fifteen. He slummed it on the streets until Brock introduced him to a man by the name of Alexander Pierce. Pierce gave James a place to stay and he was an exceptional guardian. Until James walked into Pierce's office uninvited.

When James Buchanan Barnes was seventeen years old, he found the door to Alexander Pierce's office cracked open. As a child, even more so a teenager, James' curiosity was at an all time high. He knew his guardian was incredibly secretive and wary of who he trusted. James entered the office and noticed papers scattered on top of the desk. He approached the desk and stared at each one, looking for something, anything, that would tell him what exactly Pierce was up to. 

He finally caught a glimpse of a list of names that caught his attention. His heart began to race, he felt a sweat break on his brow. At the top of the list of names was his own. 

James woke with a start and sat up in his bed. His small apartment in Brooklyn was beginning to feel too small. Pierce and Rumlow were getting closer and closer to attempting to take him out. For five years, he had managed to keep Pierce happy. For five years, he had been a stone cold killer, no questions asked about the targets and only asked that Steve be protected. 

Steve. He was the only constant in James' life that mattered. Key word: was. After he finally met Iris Miller, he felt like Steve had undersold her. She was beautiful and he felt like he knew her for years after all the stories he'd heard from Steve. And then she grabbed his arm and smiled up at him and he swore it made the whole world a million times brighter.

James shook his head and laughed at how juvenile his thoughts sounded. He grabbed a cigarette and lit it up, taking a long drag. "Ah, fuck," he exhaled and let himself lean back against the wall. A knock sounded on his door and he reluctantly got up from the bed. He slipped on a pair of athletic shorts and lazily dragged his feet across the floor, all the while the knocking turned into pounding. "All right! I'm coming!"

Swinging the door open, he was faced with a seething Alexander Pierce. "Why is Rumlow nursing a broken arm, broken leg, and a broken nose?!" James leaned his forehead against the door. He knew Pierce would come knocking within the next few days. He didn't realize it would be within a 24 hour timeframe. "He had it coming, Pierce. He attacked Rogers." 

Pierce barged inside the apartment and pushed James against the door. "You bought his protection from ever being targeted or recruited, but you didn't buy protection from a simple fight in an alleyway!" James' breathing became ragged as he tried to remain calm and collected. He didn't want Pierce to read anything in his eyes. "I sold my soul to you, Pierce. What more do you want from me?"

Pierce stepped back, a maniac grin forming. "That you did, Soldier. You sold your soul to the devil. You gave yourself to me. I own you." He began to laugh and James' heart pounded against his ribcage, he was sure the insane man would be able to hear it. He watched as Alexander poured himself a glass of scotch, his laughter dying down to a dark chuckle. "Brock told me there may be another weakness in your life."

It took all of James' strength not to let his fear show on his face. If Pierce knew about Rebecca, there was nothing legal he could do to save her. There wasn't any way for him to know about Iris, they'd only just met. Even if he did know about Iris, Tony Stark and all his money and security wouldn't be able to save her. He knew Shield would look into Steve's life in Long Grove. He prayed Iris wouldn't somehow be able to be connected to him.