Buzzkill: The Reckoning

Chapter 2

       Tony was cordial. His greeting was formal and his words direct as he told Steve, Sam, and Bucky where they were going to stay and how things were at the house. Bucky didn't say a word, guilt still gripping him from his last meeting with Tony. There didn't seem to be any anger within Tony, but as Bucky looked into his eyes, he just couldn't shake the feeling.

       Settling down into his room, a place with a warm bed with plenty of space, an area to keep his clothes, and sunlight that shone through the windows. There was even a TV sat at a table at the end of the bed.

       Bucky didn't have much to unpack, so he just sat down on his bed, looking out to the sunlight through the window as if it would give him an answer.

       Steve made his way down the hall to Bucky's room with a letter in his hand. A letter that stuck out amongst the others in the pile from his old apartment. It was addressed to himself, but as he read it Steve soon realized it wasn't intended for him.

       "Hey Buck," Steve called out as he entered Bucky's room.

       Bucky looked up at him.

       "Do you know a Bonnie?" Steve asked.

       Bucky's heart slowed. His pulse beat loud in his ears. "Yes," he replied, his tone more urgent than he intended. "Why?"

       Steve held out the letter for Bucky.

       Bucky took it, the familiar paper feeling frail in his hands, warmth rushed to his face. As he read Ruth's words, the questions in his mind came to conclusions in an instant. She was scared. Scared for the future, scared for what was to come. He just wished he could have talked to her before she left, tell her how she never had to feel that way. Bucky looked at the date the letter was written. Two years ago. Oh God, is she still alive?

       "I'm guessing you're Clyde?" Steve asked.

       Bucky nodded, not making eye contact. His body suddenly felt heavy as if it would sink through the floor.

       "Who is she? Who's Bonnie?" Steve's voice was calm, but apprehension gripped his body. Sam walked up and stood beside him, hearing Steve's tone.

       Bucky took a deep breath, his stomach churning. "Her name is Ruth."

       "How do you know her?"

       Bucky kept his hands held firmly on the letter, as if this was his only line to Ruth. As if he let it go, he would be letting her slip away. "She's an assassin from Sweden. She was with me at the Hydra facility in DC a few years ago."

       "She's a Hydra assassin? Yeah, that's what we need." Sam chimed in.

       "No, it's not like that," Bucky quickly interjected. "She was an experiment."

       "So she was brought there against her will?" Steve asked.

       Bucky's adrenaline was building, his body fidgeting. "Yes and no. They told her they were SHIELD. Pierce and Rumlow were behind the whole thing," Bucky answered.

       "Damn," Sam uttered.

       "After a few injections Hydra had me train her to go out on missions. I would always accompany her incase she became a liability. I would be the one to eliminate her if something went wrong," Bucky continued.

       "You said injections," Steve started. "What kind of experiment was it? Another super-soldier serum?"

       "No, at least that wasn't the intention. It was more mind control. They tried to get her to become co-dependent to Hydra. In a way it worked, then it just destroyed her mind. The injections were brutal," Bucky explained.