𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 | bucky barnes

73: More fights

"She said what?" said Sam to the other line, frantically, as he, Cat, and Bucky walked down the streets of Riga. It was his sister, Sarah. Cat was worried because of his tone. "Listen," he said. "Pack an overnight bag and take the boys."

"What's wrong?" asked Cat.

Sam put the phone to his side. "Karli called Sarah," he said gravely. "She threatened my nephews." He put the phone back to his ear. "Okay," he continued. "Go somewhere safe. Only pay cash, alright? Let me know when you get there." A pause. "I know. Look, I love you. I'd never let anything happen to you and the boys. You know that." Cat looked at Bucky, who just looked down at his feet as he walked. She turned back to watch Sam. "Okay," he said. "Bye." He put the phone down.

Bucky and Cat turned to face Sam as the trio stopped on the side walk. There was a solemn look on his face. "Karli wants to meet. She left a contact number." His phone then made a quiet chime, and he looked down at it. There was a text from "unknown" after one he had just sent, but Cat wasn't close enough to read them.

"What does it say?" she asked.

"She wants me to meet her," he said.

"You?" she questioned.

"She said come alone," explained Sam. He looked from Cat to Bucky.

"We're coming with you," he said.

They left and got suited up— the girl was an international threat, after all. It was better to be careful. Cat wasn't able to get ahold of any gloves that could focus her powers good enough for her standards— she decided it was fine that she went without them.

They walked into the plaza through a large stone archway and looked around warily. "Karli!" Sam called. They looked over on the second floor of balcony above them to see Karli leaning over the concrete railing. The Falcon looked up for a moment then left to go up the stairs. Catarina and Bucky followed him.

Karli was just near the entrance to the floor. They walked up the last step and Sam immediately started talking to her. "You called my sister?" he said angrily, walking towards her. "That's how we gon' play this?" Catarina and Bucky turned another way, walking to the other side of the balconies, watching their conversation.

Karli was leaning up against one of the pillars. Her arms were crossed and she looked at him softly from afar.

"Sam, I would never hurt her," she said. "I just wanted to understand you better." She glanced behind him at Cat and Bucky. "I see you, um, didn't come alone," she continued, standing straight.

Sam didn't acknowledge her statement. "You have to end this now," he said seriously.

"I don't wanna hurt you," she said, shaking her head. Though her statement applied that if necessary, she would. "You're just a tool in the regimes I want to destroy." She paused, then her eyes moved to Bucky. "You're not hiding behind a shield." She looked back at Sam. "If I were to kill you, it'd be meaningless." Sam scrunched his brows and looked back at Bucky and Cat. She raised her brows shortly. "I was gonna ask you to join me," she continued, as Sam turned back to face her. "Or do the world a favor and let me go."

Sam then got distracted, and looked down at his wrist at the small, red screen. He looked a bit panicked. "It's Walker," he said, turning his head to face Cat and Bucky.

The three of them immediately took action, jumping from the second floor balcony into the courtyard. But as they pounced, Karli followed, bumping into Bucky mid air and knocking him against one of the pillars. Cat made a motion with her hands, pushing him to land on his feet before he fell onto his back. Bucky landed crouched down, but immediately got up.

Bucky glanced at her, and she nodded back. In the few seconds they had already been on the ground, Karli began fighting off Sam. She had her Flag Smashers mask on. As Sam knocked her to a wall with his wing, he turned to them with the second of time he had.

"I'll send you the location. Go," he said urgently. Bucky and Cat nodded, then ran out of the courtyard. Cat heard the powering up of Sam's wings as he flew out of that place.

Bucky and Cat sprinted down the street. After hiking their way through a shortcut, Bucky jumped off the top of the small building they had been on and onto the street, straightforward. Cat continued making her way across the tops of buildings, making sure she could see the path that Bucky was taking.

The duo followed Sam's coordinates to the building that Donya's service had been in.  Bucky slammed open the large wood doors and ran up the stairs in twos.  Cat was panting, nearly breathless— he was not. She envied his endurance, but didn't have any more time to think about it before one of the other Flag Smashers jumped down from a platform above them, slamming Bucky into a wall.  Cat turned around to help him— but another one ran down the stairs and pounced onto her, immediately throwing punches. 

The Flag Smasher was bigger and burlier than her— but she assumed that she was smarter.  The first punch took her by surprise, taking more of the air from her lungs, but the second one was expected, and she hit him back just in time with a strong burst of her powers, throwing him upward against the wall on the stair landing. Bucky threw the Flag Smasher he had been fighting down the stairs at the same instant— then grabbed Cat's wrist before either of them could even stand up and jumped over the stair railing with her. He let go of her, then kicked the man he had been fighting up against the wall once more with superhuman strength, breaking drywall and making bricks fall. The Flag Smasher let out one last grunt, then fell unconscious.

Bucky stared at him for a moment. "Stay there," he said.

They rushed down to the action. Walker, Sam, and Hoskins were already down there, outnumbered by Flag Smashers. As they got down, they paused, peering around for someone who looked like they needed help or a Flag Smasher looking for a fight. Only a second after they got there, a knife flew straight at Cat's face from a fight some way's away— Cat put her hands up, but Bucky caught it mid air, inches away from her face.

Bucky looked at her, and Cat looked back, wide eyed. Cat then looked beside him. Bucky followed her gaze to see two Flag Smashers standing some feet away from them, silver knives in their hands. Their eyes were the only thing they could see through their masks, but they didn't need anything else to see the angry, determined looks on their faces.

"You want it?" he asked, holding up the knife that he had just caught.

Cat shook her head and stared at one of the Flag Smashers. "You keep it," she said, shaking out her hands.

Here was one looking for a fight.

a.n.:

they want eachother so bad and everybody knows it except them

slay guys i actually published it on monday! I'll try and remember to publish again sometime this week

love you, don't forget to vote!

molly WHO IS GOING INSANE OVER THE FACT THAT LONG HAIR SEB IS BACK