I Walk The Line (A Bucky Barnes Fanfiction)

Chapter 7

We had about 4 days to prepare for the high profile mission. It was obviously of extreme importance to HYDRA. They even had me upgrade Winter's arm. I did everything in my power to seem overly calm, for the sake of annoying my superiors.

"After all the shit you pulled over the years, I'm surprised you're still alive", Connor told me, as I used one of the papers from the Captain America file as a napkin, just as Lascombe was walking by. I knew the only reason they kept me was because I learned everything I know from SHIELD's agents, and HYDRA could never find such skilled people.

Over those four days, I developed what seemed the worst escape plan anyone's ever come up with. The whole thing depended on Winter. I had spent more time with him, feeding him more and more information about his past. I knew they'd completely wipe him right before the mission, but I had to try.

The day before the mission, Connor was sent out to put a tracker on our target's car. When he came back, he said that he saw a red haired woman with Captain America. I just hoped she wouldn't be around when we attacked.

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The day of the mission finally came. We hadn't told our team any details about who the target was. They were excited at first, especially when they saw the expert equipment we were given. It wasn't until we were in the car when they started to wonder why exactly we needed it.

We all fit in 3 SUVs. Winter was sitting shotgun so I had to drive that one. No one else wanted to sit next to him. Connor kinda offered to, but I could tell he wasn't comfortable with it.

We got to our location, on the bridge above the highway, and followed the target. Winter got up on the roof. I sped up, driving right next to his car. There was a flash of red hair, but I'd noticed it too late. Winter jumped on their roof and I drove into the side of their car. The next thing I knew, Winter was standing in the middle of the road, steering wheel in hand. That was our queue to get in position.

All hell broke loose. Everything was happening so fast. Natasha was shooting at us, trying to cover for Steve while he was fighting Bucky. I saw that most of our guys were focused on her. "She's not our target, he is!", I yelled, pointing at Steve. Of course, one smart ass decided to ignore me, running up to Nat and kicking her right in the stomach, which sent the flying off the bridge. It was all happening too fast for me to keep track. 

By the time I'd got off the bridge, Winter had managed to turn over an entire bus. I saw Natasha knocking out one of our agents. I ran out and tackled her. "Pretend to fight me", I told her, and we rolled away behind a car. I finally let go of her, but she pulled me close, holding onto my collar. "What the fuck Andrea", she growled.

"Nice to see you too, Natasha", I scoffed. Her grip tightened, dangerously close to choking me. "I can't really explain this, but that guy fighting Steve is his best friend and my only chance of getting out of all this shit so I kinda have to make sure he stays alive", I quickly explained. She didn't let go. "Why should I trust you?"

"I don't know if you noticed, but you're not dead."

She laughed sarcastically. "It's cute that you think you can kill me."

"Well, I did learn from the best", I said. That finally drew a real smile to her lips. She let go of my collar.

"Bucky?" I heard Steve say. I looked over the hood of the car. Bucky's - Winter's mask was off. He looked confused. "Who the hell is Bucky?"

Shit. He didn't remember. The fight continued. Nat went off to fight some more guys, but I just stayed there. I felt almost numb. Another opportunity was wasted. I should probably start dealing with the fact that I'm stuck with HYDRA forever, as is Bucky. Poor, poor Bucky, whom they tortured, made into a killing machine and turned against his best friend.

There was no way this wasn't gonna end in a massacre. I had to keep my mind on the mission - protect The Winter Soldier, as odd as that sounds.

Steve was so focused on Winter that he didn't see me coming. I jumped on his back and hit him in the head with my gun. He fell to the ground. I ran to Winter and grabbed his arm, dragging him with me. But not towards the car. I signaled for backup, but it would take them a minute or so to get to the back alley I was headed to. Once in the shadows, I grabbed Bucky's face with my hands and pulled him closer.

"Your name is James Buchanan Barnes, your nickname is Bucky, that out there was your best friend Steve Grant Rogers and you mustn't kill him, no matter what they say, you hear me Bucky? He'll be able to help us. Please, Buck, please, just remember this, remember my words, try, this is the only way we could escape them. You have to trust me. Do not kill Steve. Do not kill Captain America." Before I could say anything else, I heard a car approaching. I let go of his face and we jumped in the backseat.

"What the hell was that?" Connor screamed from the driver's seat. I looked up at Bucky. His expression was blank.

"I tried to take on the red head, but she was a lot harder to beat than I thought", I explained. "And besides, he was about to get himself killed. Our mission was to keep Winter safe, nothing more."

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The same second we came back to headquarters, Bucky was dragged away to be wiped again. After describing everything in full detail, we were let go to get some rest. Everyone except me, of course. Doctor Lascombe pulled me aside while the room emptied.

"The soldier said something strange", he told me. I acted surprised. "He can speak?" I asked melodramatically. Lascombe rolled his eyes at me.

"Yes. He said that he knew the target."

"Yeah, from the picture. Duuh", I played dumb. "Why are you telling me this anyway? Want me to figure out how he still has a functioning brain after all the shit you put him through?"

Lascombe sighed. He looked tired. "You can go", he dismissed me, turning away to look at some files.