LEAVING TONIGHT. . . BUCKY BARNES

[ 011. ] where is my mind?

The second Alexander Pierce is out of sight, Avery's hand is wrapped around The Guard's bicep, as she drags her away from the crowd. Lucky for her they all seem to be crowded around the Soldier, and Avery's would care for him later but right now she has a bone to pick with her.

Avery shoves her inside the nearest empty room she could find, this case an abandoned office left over from when the bank they were residing at was still in operation. The Guard attempts to keep her balance from the force of Avery's shove, she staggers to grab on to the abandoned desk that is left in the corner.

"What the f—" The Guard is cut off because Avery's on her again, this time with her hand around her neck. She pushes her back against the desk, Avery pins her against it will her body weight, and the ledge of it digs into the back of her thighs.

"Liar," Avery snarls. She makes sure she's not hurting The Guard too badly, just to cut her oxygen supply off enough for The Guard to panic. And panic she does.

The Guard grips Avery's wrist tightly, desperately pulling at it, but Avery's is much stronger than her.

"You told him I was fine." Avery says, "You're lied to him."

Avery's grip tightens around her neck for a moment lifting her off the ground, just to let her go. The Guard drops back down to her feet, she turns her back and hunches over the the desk as she wheezes for air.

"Why?" Avery asks.

The Guard whips around, one hand holding her neck, and hiding the undoubtably red marks Avery has left behind. Her forehead creases as she furrows her brows, trying to make sense of what Avery was doing. She's also flabbergasted by the audacity she had.

"Why?" The Guard whisper shouts, "What the fuck do you mean– why? You know what happens right? You saw what they did to your little boyfriend in there, right? Are you fuckin' insane?"

By the look on her face The Guard can tell Avery doesn't buy her answer.

"You lied to him for what? So I wouldn't have to go that? Through something they have done to me a hundred times before?" She questions, "You have to do better than that, Guard."

Avery reaches forward again, hand back on her neck, this time she doesn't squeeze just leaves it there.

The Guard scoffs, "You're a fucking sadist, Subject."

"Talk," Avery shoots back.

Killer! She can hear her own mind yelling at her, or perhaps it's Kill her! Avery's not sure what her mind is telling her anymore, it's all blending together, but she knows she's not a sadist. She isn't enjoying this, but she needs The Guard to answer her. If she needs to use questionable methods to make that happen, then so be it, it's not the worst she's done.

"I'm trying to do my job," She finally says. "I'm trying to protect you."

"No," Avery says, she lets go of her as she takes a step back. "No, your job is to guard me, keep me in check. Your job isn't to protect me."

The Guard presses her lips together, biting the inside of her cheek as she thinks of her next move. She looks past Avery at the door knob, it's locked.

A sigh escapes her lips, she tugs her bulletproof vest forward, a manila file slips out.

Avery watches her intensely. As she holds the file in her hand, contemplating her actions before handing it to her.

Avery sees the shiny emblem before anything, immediately she takes a couple steps back. She shakes her head furiously.

"No," She says, a half cynical laugh as she tried to process what's happening. She feels a pang of pain in her head. Avery pushes the file back into The Guard's chest, a rough shove that causes her to stumble back. "You were just talking abou—"

"Take the file, Asset." The Guard pushes it forward. Her voice is strict, the same one she uses when she's giving her orders, or right before her nightstick whips down on her back. Avery winces.

Avery just stares at her hands, and how they're gripping the file tightly.

She takes a second, contemplating every action, every single decision she had made to lead to that moment. With a deep breathe Avery slips the file out of The Guard's cold hands, holding it in her own, suddenly the file seem to weigh a thousand pounds.

She gently runs her fingers over the shiny emblem printed on the front of the manila file. The faint light streaming through the crack in the door frame illuminates the file in front of her.

The Guard watches her face as she tentatively opens the file. The picture that had been paper clipped to the top comes loose, sliding down, on instinct Avery catches it.

She holds the old picture in her hand, eyes widening when she gets a good look at it. Her eyes, wide with horror, travel back up to the name on the file.

She's quick to snap the file shut.

"No," She says, voice brittle as she blinks away the tears that have gathered in her eyes. "No."

It's all she can bring herself to say as she throws the file across the desk.

Her mind is too fragile to process what she had seen in that file. The picture of a woman, long brown hair trailing down her shoulders and back, a serious look on her face like you would when you were taking a picture for your driver's license, or ID.

The Guard picks the file up, placing it gently in her hands.

"I know it's hard to see this, but you have to," The Guard says, voice softer than before. "We don't have much time, Avery."

Avery opens the file again, eyes traveling back to the name at the top of the file.

AVERY MCCOY. SHIELD ENGINEER.

She was right, she was good.

a/n: 🤨🤨🤨 anyways....... HAPPY PRIDE 🥳
written: april 27, 2021