Save Me || Bucky Barnes

39

After several hours of listening to the blonde soldier scream in pain and terror, the scientists decided it was time.

"She's going to be very unstable, but she should listen to your every command now." one told Rumlow.

"Just be wary around her and don't startle her. Not if you want a death sentence." another warned. Rumlow nodded in understanding before he stole a glance at the soldier. She sat quietly on a bench as other agents equipped her with reloaded weapons. Rumlow approached her just as she bent to pick up her mouth piece off the ground.

"No need for that, Blondie. Boss man wants this to hurt them, so leave that here." he instructed her. She nodded her head slightly before she placed it back on the ground and adjusted her ponytail. Rumlow stared at the emotionless woman. 

He wondered what had gone through her head as her mind had been wiped. Whether she thought of Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes or if she even thought of anything at all. Regardless, he didn't particularly care so he shrugged off the thought and gripped the top of the soldier's flesh arm.

"Let's get going. You have a lot to do today."

For the third time in the past 48 hours, the soldier was loaded into the backseat of a vehicle and whisked off to battle. She wasn't sure who she was supposed to fight or why, but she didn't really worry about that. It wasn't her place to worry about it. She let her handlers make the decisions, she just performed the tasks for them.

She was a weapon, plain and simple. But, weapons are bound to disintegrate at some point, right?

---

Meanwhile, Steve and Bucky remained silently sitting in the hallway simply decompressing from the emotional and physical toll the morning had taken on them.

"We should probably get back in there, Buck." Steve reminded the brunette quietly. All he got in response was a grunt of agreement and a slight nod. They then proceeded to stand up before walking side by side back to the room.

However, just as Steve placed his hand on the doorknob to open the door to the room the others were still in, Bucky placed a hand on his shoulder. He hoped to gain the muscular blonde's attention, which, in the end, he succeeded with.

"Yeah, Buck?" 

"I-I'm scared, Steve. I'm scared we can't save her. I'm scared she might actually get away from us this time and I'm scared that there really won't be anything we can do this time. I just want her back, safe and sound, and I want her to remember us." Bucky admitted quickly in a quiet voice so the others in the room wouldn't hear how shaken up he was.

"Then we'll have to make her remember us. I know somewhere deep down she still knows who we are, her mind just doesn't realize it yet. We'll save her from HYDRA and we'll get her the help she needs. It'll work out, just trust me." Steve spoke in the same low voice but with a rock-hard passion that inspired Bucky.

"Yeah, alright Steve. We got this. We'll get our girl back." Bucky smiled for the first time in days. Steve returned it before he twisted the doorknob and let them both back into the room. Everyone paused the conversation they were having to snap their heads around and glance cautiously at the brunette, wary of another outburst from him.

Bucky smiled at them apologetically and let them continue on with their conversation as he and Steve stood next to Sam.

"This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said, "Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility." See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues." Fury continued to talk about whatever they were talking about before. But as he spoke about trust issues, he gave a pointed look at Bucky before turning his attention to Natasha who had spoken up.

"We have to stop the launch." 

"I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore." Fury sighed before he bent over and picked up a suitcase. He unlocked it quickly, revealing three computer chips.

"What's that?" Sam asked. He knew that they were computer chips, but he didn't know what they were supposed to be for, hence why he asked the question. 

"Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized." Maria stepped forward to explain to the confused agents. The four of them shared a look before they focused on Fury as he began to explain some more.

"We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own."

"So those chips will cut the transmission and stop Project Insight?" Bucky assumed.

"Exactly. But, one or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are gonna die." Maria warned everyone.

"We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA. We need to get pass them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left..." Fury started talking but trailed off as Steve interrupted him.

"We're not salvaging anything. We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick, we're taking down SHIELD." Steve spoke sternly, albeit a little worried. SHIELD is, was, all he and Bucky had ever known since they were unfrozen from the ice. What would they do, what would they become, once SHIELD was destroyed? 

"SHIELD had nothing to do with it." Fury calmly argued with the blonde super soldier.

"You gave me this mission, this is how it ends. SHIELD's been compromised, you've said so yourself. HYDRA was right under your nose and nobody noticed." Steve argued right back. He thought that if the director had paid more attention that maybe, just maybe SHIELD could have stopped HYDRA sooner. 

If HYDRA had been stopped sooner, then they could have rescued Charlotte sooner. Then maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't be in the state she was in now. But Steve knew that was a long shot, that HYDRA had been programming her and abusing her for 70 years, and that's not something anyone can forget at the drop of a dime.

"Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed." Fury replied, still remaining calm as the super soldier continued to argue with him.

"And how many paid the price before you did?"

"Look, I didn't know about your sister." Fury apologized, looking first at Steve then at Bucky as he spoke.

"Even if you had, would you have told us? Or would you have compartmentalized that too? SHIELD, HYDRA, it all goes." Steve argued vehemently. Fury wasn't getting his point, or maybe he was and he just wanted Steve to see his side of things. Regardless, Steve wasn't having any of it.

"He's right." Maria agreed with the blonde. Fury sighed before he first looked at Natasha, then Sam, for support. He knew Bucky would side with Steve no matter what so he didn't even bother looking for support from him.

"Don't look at me. I do what they do, just slower." Sam pointed out before raising his hands in an "don't-look-at-me" manner. Fury sighed before he looked back at Steve.

"Well...looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain."