Buzzkill: The Reckoning

Chapter 50

It wasn't until they were in the air that Ruth's heart started to race.

"You have the coordinates set and ready?" Ruth anxiously asked Nat and Sam as they sat in the cockpit of the jet.

"Yep," Nat confirmed, having just lifted off and steadily moving higher into the clouds. "We're all set. With the speed on this thing we should be there in a few short hours."

"Good," Ruth replied, her heartbeat echoing in her ears.

An hour later Ruth sat in the main galley of the jet, resting her elbows on her thighs, bent over, her gaze fixed at a blur across the room. Her mind swelled with an unsure anticipation, her body eerily still as her thoughts continued to build. Who knows what Dani and Syd will think of her now. It took every bit of logic Ruth could muster to try and assure herself that they wouldn't kill her. The truth was, Ruth hadn't seen either one of them in seven years. Though they agreed to do this job, seemingly professional about the whole thing, the Woman was a part of their life too, and Ruth took that away from them.

A dull, throbbing headache began in Ruth's head, escalating slightly as the Woman's words rang in her mind. Images of the Woman throughout Ruth's childhood. Ruth looked to her as a guide, a leader, a safety net...family? No. She could never see the Woman as someone who loved in that way. But there were so many times, way back at the facility when she was young, where Ruth couldn't help but feel consumed with loneliness. The thoughts of her family being away from her, carrying on without her, became too much. In those moments, there was a comfort knowing there was someone where she was that actually wanted her.

"You alright?" Bucky's gentle presence sat beside Ruth.

Ruth nodded stiffly. "I'm just a bit uneasy."

Bucky sat in silence, taking in what Ruth said, knowing the uneasiness of going back to the past. "Well, if you ever want to talk about it, I'll listen."

Ruth looked up to him, her gaze now to his eyes that never seemed to run out of infinite beauty. She gave a gentle smile, sitting back in her chair, her shoulder brushed up against his, sitting in comfortable silence. Only the gentle purr of the jet's engines surrounded them.

Descending in an open field just outside the main building, the Quinjet landed smoothly beside the facility in Sweden, the front doors a few yards from the jet's loading door that opened to the outside.

As the door lowered, Ruth let out a deep breath, releasing the tension from her shoulders. Bucky, along with the others, stayed behind in the jet, Ruth urging them to for their own safety. She wanted to talk to Dani and Syd first. But that didn't stop Bucky from keeping a loaded assault rifle held comfortably in his arms in case either of the two women decided to try something against Ruth.

Walking out into the yard of the building she had just visited a few weeks prior, its lifeless shape still standing firm, Ruth quickly spotted both Dani and Syd a little ways from her, each of them with their own motorcycle. Syd sat off to the side on the seat of hers, sunglasses hiding her gaze. Dani leaned up against the seat of her bike, her arms crossed casually as she talked with Syd, stopping when she saw Ruth come into view.

Dani stood up. Her dark, intimidating presence still very obvious to Ruth. Dani walked over to meet Ruth, a smirk on her face as she seemed to examine her.

"Rutheous Hagrid," Dani called out. "Look at you, all grown up."

"You don't look too bad yourself, Dani Boy," Ruth replied with just as much snark in her voice. They shook hands, Ruth's uneasiness about either of them melting away as familiarity came flooding back. But even after all this time, Ruth couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed that Dani still stood taller than her, even though she herself was taller than the average agent that came through the facility.