𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 | bucky barnes

28: Mission

"Where do we start?" Nat asked, looking each shelf up and down.  The trio wandered around, every footstep echoing off the walls.

Steve read the labels on a couple of the boxes. "They're alphabetical," he said.  "And Bucky's last name is still Barnes in German.  So we start at B."

Cat walked past a couple of rows of shelves, and Nat and Steve followed.

"A, A-K, A-R, A-Y... B! Here."

She turned down a column where she saw a box labeled BI bis BIR.

Natasha looked at the boxes on the lowest couple of shelves.

"These are B-I, and above them is B-E.  That means B-A..." she looked up, "Is all the way up there."

Cat shrugged.  "Not a problem," she said.  She used her powers to grab boxes from the top shelf, one at a time, and bring them to the ground.  Steve looked at them and pushed them aside if they weren't what he was looking for.

"Here," he said, pushing the other boxes to the side.  "B-A."  He opened the box and began fingering through the files, muttering the letters the words and names began with as he went.

"... B-A-R... Barnes," he said.  He took out three files with the last name on them.  He looked at the two girls as if to make sure they were ready.  If it wasn't here... they'd have to get it the hard way.

Cat and Natasha both nodded.  He opened the files, skimming through one of them.  Cat walked over and looked over his shoulder.

"There," she pointed.  There was a file that had WINTERSOLDATENPROJEKT printed on its cover.  She picked it up and looked for a paper that listed procedures and scientific methods, tests they did, formulas.  She found it near the middle of the stack.

"Look," she said, taking out the paper and turning to Steve and Nat.  She smiled.  "It's here."

Steve nodded and smiled.  "We'll take all the files," he said.  "Bring them back to Wakanda. They can translate and recreate the science, and it'll be done."

"Then it's over?"

"Not yet," said Natasha.  "We can't just let the other HYDRA facility exist."

"So we have to go do the hard stuff now," said Cat.

"You can handle it," said Nat reassuringly.  "I've seen you.  You're good."

Catarina smiled in thanks.

"Okay," said Steve, standing up.  "Let's take these and go."

Cap gathered the papers from the three files while Catarina used her powers to put the boxes back on the top shelf.

"Why are you putting them back?" asked Nat.  "We're destroying this place anyway."

Cat shrugged, and Natasha smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Let's go," said Steve. 

"Bring the quinjet around," said Nat.  "Before I blow the place to pieces, preferably."

"Will do," he said. He and Cat ran into the nearby garage and quickly got into the quinjet, hearing the boom from a couple hundred feet away.  Cap got the jet into the air and swerved it around to where the building began to glow orange.  He quickly opened the door, and Nat ran up the ramp to get inside, and just before the aftermath of the explosion shook the quinjet, the bay door closed and Natasha came inside, out of breath. 

Steve was still up front steering, but Cat was there to meet her, ready with water and a first aid kit.  

"You good?" Cat asked.

"Fine," Nat returned, a little out of breath.  "Thank you." 

Cat handed her the water, and Natasha sat down and took a long sip.

"Need first-aid or anything?"

"I don't," said Nat, putting down the water, "but you do."

She pointed to Cat's still bleeding shoulder, where the bullet had skimmed her. Cat looked at it.

"Oh, that," she said.  "I'll be fine."

"Put something on it," said Steve from a little way up front.  "Clean it, or something."

"Okay, alright," Cat said.  She opened the first-aid kit and washed her wound.

"So," Natasha said, moving up two seats and sitting next to Steve.  "Where to now?"

"T'Challa's apparently dealing with something in Wakanda at the moment," he said.  "I asked if I could help, but he said this was his problem, that it was fine."

"Was it fine?"

"I couldn't tell exactly, it was just a message," he said.  "Anyway, we're going to take down that other facility.  Who knows, it might just have more on Bucky.  But this one's active - so we'll need extra help."

"So what exactly is the first order of business?" asked Catarina.

"We're going to get Sam," said Steve.

"And where's this facility?"

"Tiny town on the Russian border," said Steve. "Y'know, you two should get some rest," he said.

"We should get some rest?" asked Nat. "Steve, you've been flying the quinjet the whole time."

"Yeah, let one of us take it," completed Catarina.

"I don't want to—"

"Come on, Rogers, just give in," said Nat.  "We can take shifts.  I'll go first.  Once we get across the ocean, you can take it.  Then once Sam's here Cat'll do it."

"Alright," said Steve, quickly switching places with Nat.

"You guys can rest on the benches in the back.  I'll wake you if you fall asleep."

Steve nodded to her in thanks, then moved to the back to sit across from Catarina.

"You did good," he told her, once they'd both sat down.  "Not your first mission, I'm guessing."

"Yes and no," replied Cat, still putting pressure on her arm.  "I'd been trained for a long time, went on, well, I guess you'd call it simulated missions.  But the first real one I was sent on, I got away.  So this was the first mission I'd ever finished."

"We're not finished just yet," smiled Steve. "There's still the second facility."

"I figured it wasn't that easy," said Cat.  "Where did all the other HYDRA facilities go anyway?"

Steve looked down. "It was the Avengers' job," he said.  He looked back up.  "We got a lot of it done, too, until Ultron came along.  Guess that made us miss a couple."

"That's what started all this," said Cat in realization.  "Ultron," she said.

"Guess it did."

It was awkwardly quiet for a minute.  They both looked around aimlessly, trying to think of a topic to get rid of the silence. 

"Y'know, maybe we should just get some rest," said Cat.   She leaned back against the other side of the bench and let her posture go.

"Shut-eye would be good," said Steve. 

Cat closed her eyes and tried to think of things that wouldn't cause her nightmares.

a.n.:

lol I try to make the stock photos not look like stock photos

anyways, its MONDAY, babays!!

steve and cat are father and daughter besties confirmed.  i literally love them both sm

don't forget to vote ♡

molly