I Walk The Line (A Bucky Barnes Fanfiction)

Chapter 20

Sam and Steve carried Bucky while I ran in front of them, trying to find some place where we could hide. The first thing I saw was a huge car garage. I'd taken a gun from Sam before, and was scouting the place out while the three of them hid in a far corner on the 2nd floor. Just as I was about to go back to them, I noticed a small, old car. It didn't really stand out appearance-wise. It got my attention because I thought it would be easy to steal. I remembered that my dad used to have a very similar model. I hadn't seen him in over 20 years, but that memory stuck with me for some reason. And I remembered that he always used to keep a spare car key in the glove compartment. The chances were slim to none, but I decided to try anyway.

I didn't have a bobby pin on me. I tried just opening the door, but they were locked. I sighed deeply and felt the wire of my bra poking at my side. It had been sticking out like that for a while and I couldn't afford a new one. That gave me a very stupid idea, but I was out of options. I lifted my shirt and took out the wire of my bra. It was thin enough to slip through the keyhole. After poking around for some time, there was a click and the door was unlocked. I jumped in and searched the glove compartment. And there it was, a spare key. I put it in the ignition and drove down to where Sam, Bucky and Steve were hiding.

"What the-" I heard as I was getting out of the car. "Get him in the back seat, come on", I ordered them. While they were doing so, I held my gun close to my chest, ready to shoot if anyone approaches. "Shotgun", Steve said breathlessly while pushing Bucky's legs in. "Oh hell nah, I'm not sitting back here with him!" Sam said angrily. He turned towards me and smiled. "Hey, Andrea-", he started slowly. "You're not driving", I cut him off, smirking. He scoffed and got in the backseat.

It took us a few hours, but we finally found a good place to hide overnight - an abandoned factory just outside Berlin. Once I pulled up, I turned around to check on Bucky. Sam was sleeping on his shoulder peacefully. I nudged Steve and pointed at them. He looked over his shoulder lazily, then back at me, smirking a bit. He shook his head and gave me his phone so I could take a picture. We woke Sam up after I did and got Bucky out. There was some sort of a press in the factory, and Sam insisted that we put Bucky's metal hand under it so he wouldn't be able to run once he wakes up. I found a warm corner in the same room as the press and claimed it as my spot. I was out cold as soon as I laid down.

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I woke up just before sunrise. Steve was sitting next to me, looking straight ahead, at Bucky. I didn't see Sam anywhere. "I can take over now", I broke the silence, sitting up. Steve jumped a bit at the sound of my voice. "No, it's fine", he told me. We sat in silence until Sam showed up. "Good morning, sleeping beauty", he greeted me with a smile. "Hey", I mumbled back. He sat next to Steve. "What did Sharon say?" He asked him.

"Sharon?" I asked, a bit in shock. "She can get our weapons back", Steve explained. We'd talked about the battle that was about to occur on the way to the factory, but that was the moment I realized it was actually happening. "I'll call her right now", he said, getting up. Right before he left the room, I called after him. "Hey, can you ask her to get me a new bra? This one's busted", I asked. I could tell by his face that he wanted to ask me to elaborate, but decided against it. "34C. Thanks", I added and Steve just nodded. "I'm not even gonna ask", Sam said under his breath.

We made small talk while waiting for Steve. Sam was telling me about how him and Steve would jog together when I noticed Bucky moving. I jumped up and went to kneel next to him. Sam called Steve, who came running seconds later. Sam pulled me up and away from Bucky, just in case he was still Winter. He opened his eyes slowly.

"Steve?"

"Which Bucky am I talking to?" Steve asked, stepping closer.

"Your mother's name was Sarah", Bucky said without hesitation. "You used to wear newspapers in your shoes", he chuckled. Steve smiled and looked at Sam and me. "You can't read that in a museum."

Sam's grip on my arm loosened and I kneeled in front of Bucky. "Andrea", he whispered. "Thank God you're okay." I smiled and gave him a hug. I felt only his right arm around me and realized he was still trapped by the press. I got up to release him.

"What did I do?" Bucky asked, now in a very serious voice. Before anyone could say anything, I jumped in. "You didn't do anything", I said sternly. "That wasn't you."

"I knew this would happen", Bucky growled. "Everything HYDRA put inside me is still there. All he had to do is say the goddamn words." He got up and dusted himself off. I went to stand next to Steve.

"Who was he?" Steve asked. Bucky shook his head. "I don't know."

"People are dead", Steve raised his voice, "The bombing, the set up, the doctor did all that just to get 10 minutes with you. I need you to do better than I don't know."

"Give him a break", I nearly yelled, turning to him. Bucky was staring at Steve intensely. Sam just stood by, watching with his eyebrows raised. Bucky sighed. "He wanted to know about Siberia. Where I was kept. He wanted to know exactly where." My eyes widened in shock. I remembered that place well. They'd sent me to Siberia with Bucky - Winter - a few times. Me for training, him for brainwashing. The images I saw when they'd send me up there were enough to drive anyone insane.

Steve frowned. "Why would he need to know that?"

"Because I'm not the only Winter Soldier."

I remembered them too. They were way worse than anyone I'd met. Unlike Bucky, they happily volunteered to be a part of the experiments. They could easily beat anyone and anything. The one time an ordinary agent was sent their way for training, he got ripped apart. Literally. The closest I got to them was when they'd freeze them, and even that wasn't entirely safe.

"Who were they?" Steve asked.

"The most elite death team", Bucky replied.

"More kills than anyone in HYDRA history", I recalled. They went face to face with every single victim, killing them with their own hands, and even then had more kills than my squad. And my squad used bombs and explosives.

"And that was before the serum", Bucky nodded. Steve was looking between the two of us, clearly phased. "They all turned out like you?" He asked.

"Worse", Bucky said in a low voice.

Steve gulped. "The doctor, he can control them?"

"He could control Bucky, so yes, probably", I told him, crossing my arms over my chest. I hadn't really thought about what he would want with them, but the realization dawned upon me as I stood there. I felt a lump rising in my throat. "This is bad", I said, almost breathlessly.

Bucky nodded, frowning. "They speak 30 languages, can hide in plain sight, infiltrate, assassinate, destabilize, they can take a whole country down in one night. You'd never see them coming."

Silence fell upon the room. They might had not shown it, but I could tell both Sam and Steve were scared.

"Maybe we could call Tony Stark and-" I started, but Sam cut me off. "Oh, he won't believe us."

"Even if he did, who knows if the Accords will let him help", Steve added. Nat vaguely explained the whole Sokovia Accords thing, but I still seized to see what the big fuss was about. They probably could've come to a compromise if they tried.

"We're on our own", Steve said in a final tone.

"Maybe not", Sam said. "I know a guy."