I Walk The Line (A Bucky Barnes Fanfiction)

Chapter 30

"Hello there, the angel from my nightmare, the shadow in the background of the morgue...", I hummed to myself as I reloaded my gun. There was yet another explosion, but I was safe behind a large oak tree. I could hear people yelling and shooting, not too far from where I was hidden. Something flew across the sky and I recognized Tony in his suit. I rolled my eyes. He was about half an hour late. Clint and I were barely keeping it together. He shot some HYDRA agents and I heard him groan in annoyance through my ear piece.

"Enlighten me as to how you're not dead from alcohol poisoning right now", I asked out loud. I jumped out of my hiding spot and started running towards the door of the base, occasionally shooting whenever someone got too close. An arrow zoomed past my ear and went straight into an agent's stomach. "I'd like to know too, Stark", Clint said.

"Both of you, shut up", Tony scoffed. I didn't have time to reply as two agents started shooting at me. I ducked and rolled into a muddy pit, out of their sight, and started shooting from there. I felt my blood soaking up my uniform and a sharp pain in my left forearm. "Shit", I muttered under my breath and sat back for a second. "Language", Clint imitated Steve. A moment later, the two agents stopped shooting. I waited a bit, then peeked out. They were both on the ground, unconscious, and Tony stood on the edge of the pit I'd fallen into, holding out his hand. I took it and he helped me up.

"You hurt?", he asked and I heard double, his voice coming from the earpiece and from him. I shook my head no. "I don't want Frosty to kill me", he added. I rolled my eyes. Very typical of Tony to only think about his ass. "I'm fine C-3PO."

He looked me up and down, stopping on my bleeding arm. "You've been shot", he announced blankly. I checked how many bullets I had left and walked pass him towards the door of the base. "Go help Clint." And sure enough, a few agents were going his way and there was a lot of yelling in that general direction. I heard Tony taking off.

I turned my attention towards the door in front of me. They would unlock if I typed in the right pass code. We were already behind the schedule, Tony being late and all, so I didn't even try to crack it. Instead, I pulled out a small contraption Tony had made in his lab and attached it to the lock. A few clicks later, they were unlocked.

I walked in, closing the door behind. The building was dark and weirdly quiet. I pulled my gun out and started searching for the computer room. This was a very small base compared to all the other ones I'd seen, and most of the guards and agents were outside, trying to keep us out. I only ran into a few agents, but they weren't much of a threat. I took them all out, except one guy, whom I used as a guide to the computer room. Once there, I forced him and three other guys who were working there in the supply closet and locked it from the outside.

"I'm in", I said into the little mic in my watch. I took out a flash drive, plugged it in and sat back, waiting for all the files to transfer. "Don't waste your time on me, you're already the voice inside my head..." I sang. It reminded me of Bucky for some reason. I smiled at the thought.

"Andrea, how much have you got left?" Clint's voice interrupted. I looked back at the screen. "Uh, about a minute or so, why?" Before he could answer, I heard a helicopter outside. That means we're probably ready to go. "They sent backup", Clint finally said. Shit. Shit shit shit.

I couldn't pull the flash drive out yet, the transfer wasn't complete. I turned towards the door, aiming the gun at it, waiting. In my mind, I was retracing my steps, trying to remember all the doors and corridors I passed on the way, thinking of an escape route. There was another door on the other side of the room. I could see light coming from underneath it, I recognized the warm glow of the sun. There must be a window in that room, I thought. I could go through there if-

The computer beeped, signaling that all the files were transferred. I quickly turned to grab the flash. When I turned back, there was a man standing at the door, gun in hand, aimed towards me. I put my gun up too, slipping the flash in my back pocket. I was entirely frozen from shock.

"Andrea?" Connor said, frowning. Angry. Confused. 

I hadn't seen Connor ever since Bucky and I escaped. The immense guilt I felt that day came back as soon as I heard his voice. The urge to drop my gun and go up to him and hug him was almost unbearable. 

But, he was the enemy. And my slight case of Stockholm Syndrome was not gonna stop me from getting the mission done. 

We stood in silence for what seemed like ages, staring at each other's eyes. He'd changed. His hair was different. Instead of a buzzcut, he now had a mop of brown hair on the top of his head, while the sides were shaved. He had a scruff and a new scar right across the right part of his lip.

Finally, he lowered his gun, but I kept mine up. "What the fuck are you doing?" He asked in disbelief. "You're gonna shoot me now?"

My entire arm hurt from the force with which I was gripping my gun. I bit the inside of my cheek, but my gun stayed up, aiming for the head. "I can't stay and chat, as much as I'd love to", I told him. He raised his eyebrows, nodding ironically. "Wow. You know, I never thought you'd be the one to betray me."

Get it together, Andrea.

"You have no idea what they did to me and Bucky. Especially Bucky."

"Bucky? You mean Winter?" He laughed. I realized that I kinda missed his laugh. I cracked a smile.

"I'm glad you didn't die at any point. Surprised, but glad", I joked. His smile disappeared immediately.

"I really wanted to, though. After you left." I didn't reply. I felt ashamed and bad, but I knew it had to be done. I could never explain it to Connor, nor could he ever understand what it was like. He wasn't forced into HYDRA. He wanted to be there.

We stood in silence some more, until I heard footsteps approaching. Another person stepped into the room and I immediately pointed my gun at him. "The rest of the building is clear", the stranger said. He hadn't noticed me yet. His voice sounded a bit familiar, but I couldn't place it. I took a step back, still pointing the gun at the two of them. Connor didn't take his eyes off me at any point.

The stranger finally noticed me. He pulled out his gun and aimed it at me, looking frantically between me and Connor. I narrowed my eyes. He even looked familiar. He had short black hair. He was tall, taller than Connor. I could see his muscles through his shirt. There was an eye patch on his head, covering his left eye, with burn scars visible under it. His right eye, green and cold, somehow awoke a feeling of safety and calmness in me. Still, I could not place it. My mind was a mush.

I finally stopped staring at the stranger and looked back at Connor. He looked hurt and angry and like he was thinking hard about this situation. His right hand, in which he was holding the gun, twitched slightly. Instinct took over and I pulled out my second gun, pointing it at him.

"Andrea", Connor started warningly. The stranger's expression changed when he heard my name. He frowned, confused. He started lowering his gun. Connor noticed this. "Miles, keep the gun pointed at her", he ordered.

Time seemed to stop at that moment. Everything just stopped. My brain finally put all the pieces together. My heart skipped a beat and I unintentionally held my breath. I started feeling lightheaded. My grip on the gun handles tightened to refrain my hands from shaking. The realization hit me like a truck.

There he was. My dead boyfriend Miles, whom I executed myself, standing right in front of me. Very much alive.