Angel of Death • B. Barnes

The End

Dia woke up early in the morning to see them go. Not that she'd been able to sleep that night anyways. The thought of them going headfirst into HYDRA territory gave her nightmares. But she was confident that they would make it. They'd all meet back here to watch the sun rise on a new world.

'Come back to me, James Barnes,' she said, holding him close. If it were up to her, she'd hold him like this forever.

'I will always find my way back to you, okay?' he said, lifting her chin so she'd meet his gaze, 'No matter what,'

'Okay,' she said as Steve walked up to them.

'We should probably get going,' Steve said.

'Alright,' she nodded, stepping back from Bucky, 'Go save the world,' she smiled before they turned and walked off.

***

some time later...

It was a 6-mile walk to get to where she knew the closest HYDRA undercover agent was. It was exhausting, but she had to be there and back without anyone noticing. So she went as fast as she could. And she wouldn't stop. Not until she was free. She wanted to start her new life without any ties to HYDRA. Whatever they were doing, whatever it had become, she didn't want any part of it. Her father would understand. He only wanted the best for her.

By the time she made her way up to the bar where she knew the agent was, her hands were shaking. It was as if she couldn't breathe deeply enough to fill her lungs. She reached out to the door, hesitating for a moment. Would she ever see her father again after this? Jenny? Was this really what she wanted? To leave behind the past 25 years of her life?

But she couldn't help but to think about the next 25 years. She couldn't live a lie with Bucky. She couldn't live two lives. So she ripped the handle, swinging it open.

She sat down at the bar. The bartender almost immediately came over to where she was.

'What can I get for you, miss?' he asked.

'I need you to send a message for me,' she asked, her accent heavy, 'Can you do that for me?'

The man smiled, recognition crossing his face, 'of course, Blue Angel,'

'I want out. By tomorrow, I'll be gone and you'll never hear of me again,' she said, 'tell my father I'm sorry,'

The agent sighed, 'he saw this coming you know,' he said, 'I really thought he'd be wrong,'

'What?'

'You really thought he'd let his greatest weapon slip away?'

Suddenly, the agent stuck a needle into her neck, and everything went dark.
***

They had been taking HYDRA bases down left and right over the past few months. And every time, Steve would send word to Peggy, telling her what bases and where.

And every time, Bucky would send a letter to Dia. He could count all the stars in the sky by looking at the constellations in her eyes. That was his favourite pastime.

They were standing on the precipice of a cliff, about to hijack a train.

'Remember when I made you ride the Cyclone at Coney Island?' Bucky asked, looking over the edge.

'Yeah, and I threw up?'

'This isn't payback, is it?' he frowned.

Steve smiled for a moment, 'Now why would I do that?'

Jones cut in after hearing something over the radio, 'We were right, Dr Zola's on the train. HYDRA dispatcher gave him permission to open up the throttle,' he said, 'Wherever he's going, they must need him bad,'

'Let's get going, because they're moving like the devil,' one of the men said, looking through the binoculars.

'We only got about a 10-second window. You miss that window, we're bugs on a windshield,' Steve said, hooking up to the cord.

'Mind the gap,'

'Better get moving, bugs!'

Steve pushed off, flying through the air, Bucky following closely behind. They all dropped down onto the train, gripping it tightly before getting up and walking across the top. They stepped down the ladder reaching down the side, stepping into the train. Bucky closed the door behind them.

The train car was filled with pipes and containers filled with God-knows-what. Steve walked into the other train car, the door quickly shutting behind him, separating him and Bucky. It was a trap.

Footsteps came up behind Steve, and a man with a large gun started shooting blue streaks at him. Each bullet singed the wall behind him.

In the other car, Bucky was facing a masked gunman. And by his count, he was almost out of bullets. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up.

He fired one more time, hearing the click that meant he was out. He pressed himself up against the wall. So this was how he died, in a foreign country while fighting a war that he didn't even want to fight in the first place. He was breaking his promise; he was leaving her behind.

Suddenly, the door behind him opened and Steve threw him a gun, rushing at the guy, sending him to the left side of the car. Bucky fired and hit him square in the chest.

'I had him on the ropes,' Bucky said.

'I know you did,'

Steve looked over, noticing a box of files that must've gotten knocked over in the chaos. He knelt down, picking up one of the folders, a photo falling out of it. It was Dia. He opened the folder, seeing a packet of papers, the first one being a complete description of her as they knew her. Save for the top of the page, listing her as an Agent Villalobos.

'What's that?' Bucky asked, kneeling beside him, freezing up the moment he saw what was in his hand.

'I'm sorry,' was all Steve could manage.

'Serves me right,' Bucky laughed, tearing up, 'I should've known it was too good to be true,'

'You gonna be alright?' Steve asked.

'I don't know, Steve. I don't know,' he said, standing up.

Suddenly the familiar whirring sound of the blue gun came up behind them. 'Get down!' Steve yelled, holding up his shield only to get knocked back by the weapon.

Bucky grabbed the shield, shooting at the masked agent, a new rage building up in him. The man fired, knocking him off the train.

'Bucky!' Steve yelled, coming after him, 'Hand on,' he said, as Bucky was grasping onto the side railing.

Bucky could feel the railing tearing off of the train. And by the time Steve called out to him, a part of him knew it was too late.

The railing came off of the train, and Bucky fell. And he didn't stop until he hit the ground far below the train.