Red, White & Blue | Bucky x Reader

Chapter Twelve

I drive for most of the night, first following the road to Azzano, then the road signs into Austria. To avoid possible enemy soldiers, I decide to drive around the settlements I come across. I pull the map from my pocket as I approach Kreischberg, finding the base tucked between two mountain ranges.

Driving along the deserted road, I suddenly see a light poking through the forest. I steer the truck into the trees, cringing as leaves and twigs crunch beneath the tires. After folding up the map and tucking it under the seat, I climb out of the cab. Deciding its best not to just leave the truck out in the open like this, I grab a few branches from the ground and throw them over the vehicle, hoping that the leaves will camouflage it enough to keep it hidden until I come back for it later.

I slowly make my way toward the light and reach the clearing, finding, not an army camp, but a large building, its floodlight illuminating the area. There is little to no military presence wandering around outside, meaning that if they are here, they're inside the building. Realizing that I'm not about to sneak into an enemy camp, I feel a sense of relief. However, that quickly fades as I notice the sheer size of the building.

"How am I supposed to find Bucky in a building that huge?" I silently ask.

I tuck my hair inside my hat, hoping that between this and the baggy field uniform, I'm mistaken for a man, at least from a distance. Thankful for the multiple layers of clothing I'm wearing, I quickly remove my baggy work shirt before quickly moving towards the fence.

After climbing up, I throw the shirt over the barbed wire, covering it as I slide over. Once on the other side, I tug my shirt from the wire and drop to the ground, hearing the soft rip as it catches and tears. I pull my work shirt back on before checking the damage, only a small tear along the seam, nothing too major, and, thankfully, my undershirt covers the skin that would've been exposed.

Sticking to the shadows, I sneak to the first door I see. I don't expect the door to be unlocked, but I give the handle a turn, surprised when the door opens. Silently, I enter the building.

The hallways are not as brightly lit as the grounds are outside, and the walls are made of grey brick while the floor is concrete. Knowing that they wouldn't keep prisoners near the exits, I decide to make my way toward the centre of the building and search for any stairwells going down.

I tiptoe through the hallways, paranoia slowly creeping in. This was too easy.

Rounding a corner, I suddenly crash into someone's chest. The soldier is surprised by my sudden appearance, and I use this to my advantage. Utilizing the skills Bucky taught me long ago, I kick the enemy soldier in the back of the knee. His weight shifts, and he drops to the floor as his leg gives out. At the same time, I spin on my heels, sprinting in the opposite direction.

"Eindringling!" the soldier shouts, recovering and chasing me through the halls. "Eindringling!"

More soldiers appear, responding to the shout, and I take every turn I can, trying to escape them. When I get to the end of the next hall, I slam into the doors, only to discover that they're locked, and I turn to face the soldiers as they close in. Two of them grab my arms and drag me back through the halls in the direction that we came, finally arriving at a small room where the two soldiers tie me to a chair before moving to stand against the wall.

A few minutes later, an officer with mahogany brown hair and a cruel smile walks into the room. In his hand is a small scrap of dark green fabric, the scrap of fabric that tore from my uniform when I climbed over the fence. They knew I was here.

"Welcome," the officer says, although his voice lacks the sincerity. "Who might you be?"

I stare at him but say nothing, and he backhands me across the face, his strength almost inhuman. It knocks my hat askew, causing some of my hair to slip out from below.

"I asked you a question, fraulein," he says. "Did you think you could just walk into my facility without any repercussions?"

Again, I say nothing, earning me another slap. This time, my mouth floods with the metallic taste of blood. Mustering up all my courage, I stare at the officer and spit, and a mixture of my saliva and blood splatters across his face. He sighs and takes out a handkerchief.

"Perhaps this will loosen your tongue," he says, wiping his face and gesturing to one of the soldiers.

The soldier steps forward and punches me in the jaw. The force causes my head to snap back. Before I can recover, the soldier kicks me in the chest, knocking the air out of my lungs and sending me crashing to the floor, still tied to the chair. He kicks me repeatedly in the stomach as I choke and gag, and bile rises in my throat as I struggle to free a hand from my restraints.

"That's enough," the officer orders and the second soldier steps forward to help is companion lift my chair back up. I gasp for air and cough up blood, feeling it drip down the side of my chin.

"Anything you would like to say?" the officer prompts, leaning forward and taking my chin in his hand, forcing me to look him in the eye.

"Go. To. Hell." I say in between gasps, pulling my chin from his grasp and spitting blood at his feet.

"Very well. If you refuse to speak, you will be made useful in other ways."

The two soldiers step forward again and I flinch, preparing for the worst. But, instead of hurting me, they untie me from the chair and lift me by the arms, escorting me from the room. I try to memorize our path as we walk down the hallways, but each time we turn a corner, the next hallway looks exactly like the last.

Finally, we come to a multi-storied room somewhere deep inside the building, catwalks above connecting each side of the room to the other. On the floor sit multiple cages, each one filled with men, the captured soldiers.

The enemy soldiers stop in front of one of the cages, unlocking the door before throwing me inside. My knees hit the ground as my hair falls around my face, at some point during my interrogation, I lost my hat.

"Y/n?" a voice asks.

I look up to see Dugan and Jones amongst the rest of the captured troops. Although we're now prisoners, I'm glad to see them alive.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Dugan asks as he helps me up, confusion clear in his tone.

"Would you believe it if I said I was here to rescue you?" I reply, trying to make light of the situation. "Is Bucky...?"

"He was captured with us," Dugan explains. "But they took him to an isolation ward, and we haven't seen him since."

"He's alive?" I croak out as tears of relief flood my eyes.

"As far as I know."