(Bucky's POV - late night)
It was just past 2 a.m.
The compound was dead quiet-except for the low hum of the old overhead lights and the soft clink of ice in a glass someone left behind. Everyone else was asleep or pretending to be. Bucky sat alone in the comms room, blue light from the monitor glowing against his face, jaw tight.
He should've been sleeping. Should've let it go.
But he couldn't.
He typed the same words again.
Frankie Vale.
The screen processed.
Then blinked.
Search results: Classified. Clearance Level: Red Omega.
Override attempt...
Denied.
He leaned back in his chair, rubbed his face, then tried a different route. Unofficial logs. Old black-ops data. Caches buried under a dozen aliases and scrapped files from Val's darker projects.
He got a hit.
Just one.
A photo-grainy, black and white. Brown hair, unreadable face, half turned toward a camera. Tactical gear. Red streak just barely visible.
Frankie Vale.
He clicked it.
The screen flickered, then pulled up a file.
NAME: Vale, Francesca
ALIAS: "Ghost Protocol" (unconfirmed)
RANK: [REDACTED]
ASSIGNMENT: [REDACTED]
SUPERVISOR: Fontaine, V.A.
OPERATIONAL STATUS:
>> DECEASED.
Bucky stared at the word.
Deceased.
There was no body. No death record. No detail. Just the word-final and cold.
He leaned in closer, narrowing his eyes.
In the metadata below, something flashed. One fragment of corrupted text.
"Last active trace: 6 weeks ago, Sector 7-Thunderbolts extraction zone."
She's not dead.
He whispered it like a truth no one else would believe.
He minimized the screen, shut off the light, and stood slowly.
The team might not know who she was.
Val might think she was gone.
But Frankie Vale wasn't a ghost.
She was alive.
And Bucky was going to find her.
YOU ARE READING
Code Name: Untraceable
FanfictionShe's not on the roster. She's not in the system. She's not even supposed to be alive. Every mission the Thunderbolts run, she's there-appearing out of nowhere, tearing through enemies like a storm, then vanishing without a trace. One time? Coincide...
