Battlefield ★ Bucky Barnes

XXXVIII. Just Give Me One More Day

"What's our status with this one?" Garrett asked Ward.

Ward let out a breath and turned to face Garrett. "He won't break; I've done everything I can do."

"Then he's a liability, Ward," Garrett scoffed. "We've spent four days trying to trigger the soldier, which is something I'm not very happy about. Are you unaware that we have things we need to get done and a time period in which they need to get done by?"

"I'm aware," Ward sighed. "Just give me one more day."

Before Garrett could respond, one of his officers burst into the room, attracting the attention of all three men. "We've detected activity in our airspace, but we've found no physical evidence present. We think it may be Coulson and his team, sir."

Garrett turned back around to look at Bucky, who was only sitting in his seat with a slight smirk on his face. Garrett then looked to Ward, who seemed to be very angry with this newfound information. "Looks like you won't be getting that extra day after all, Agent Ward. Kill Barnes; it's clear that Hydra has no use for him anymore."

Garrett then turned to look at the startled officer. "Shoot them down; if they reach the base, the next person to die after Barnes will be you."

"Yes, sir."

Meanwhile, Connie was working on adjusting her tactical suit to further help conform to her comfort. She placed the ICER she had been given in a holster on her right side, while she placed a pistol in the holster on her left side. It had taken a while for Phil to agree to it, because he knew just how irrational she could be sometimes, but using his words from the briefing the previous day won him over instantly.

As Connie finished zipping up her boots, Phil made his way into the lab. He had something in his hands, but Connie didn't pay much mind to it.

"Are you ready to get your boy back?" Phil asked her.

Connie only nodded and grabbed her earpiece from the table and placed it inside her ear. She had been particularly quiet since the team meeting had ended the day before. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to anyone, but she had far too much on her mind that she was focused on. Talking and engaging would only serve her as a distraction, and that was something she didn't need at the moment. She needed to be alert in order to get Bucky back.

"I have something for you," Phil said. He held the long, black casing out to her and she took it, her brows furrowing slightly as she looked over it.

"What is it?"

Phil shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Just open it, Connie."

And so she did. The moment she pulled the casing open, she was met with the sight of two, long black batons. They looked very similar to the batons she had lost in the Potomac, though they appeared to be upgraded to some extent.

"They're your battle staves," Phil told her. "I know how much you enjoy using these things in battle, and I'm also aware that you lost your old ones in the helicarrier battle, so I had Fitz construct a new pair for you. He even had your initials engraved on the bottom."

Connie smiled at the gesture and twirled the weapons around in her hands as if to get a feel for them. Using batons during combat made her feel a lot more comfortable than using firearms, though she had no problem using firearms if she needed to. "Thank you for this, Phil," Connie spoke quietly.

Phil grabbed the quiver for the batons from inside the casing and moved behind her in order to attach it to the clip on her back. Once he had done so, he proceeded back to his previous spot in front of her and smiled.

"Anything I need to know about these before heading into combat?" Connie inquired as she placed the batons into their quiver, locking them into place.

"They're synced to your biometrics, which means only you can use them to their effective capabilities," Phil began. "They do, of course, deliver a strong electrical shock, and Fitz also thought it would be cool to include lasers for you to cut into things with if you needed to."

Connie laughed and nodded her head. "I'll have to thank him for his generosity later."

"Maybe after all of this is over, if you're up for it, you could join the team?" Phil asked her hopefully. He missed having her around more than he cared to admit. "I talked to the team about it and they all agree with me that we could use someone like you on the team. Skye practically fell out of her seat when I mentioned it. I think she's taken quite a liking to you; I told you the two of you would get along well."

A quiet chuckle escaped Connie's lips and she shook her head. "Tell her the feeling is mutual, but I'm not sure, Phil. I know that when we get Bucky back, my main focus is gonna be on taking care of him and making sure he's safe. I can't bear to leave him, and you know that."

"I completely understand," Phil replied with a small smile.

"Just know that I appreciate the offer more than anything."

Phil opened his mouth to respond to her, but as he did a strong force hit the plane. Connie held onto the lab table to keep from falling to the floor, while Phil did the same. The plane was hit yet again, and before the two of them could think, Steve was running into the lab in all of his Captain America glory.

"The fighters have spotted us," he said.

"But how? The plane is cloaked," Connie exclaimed.

"There's no time to discuss that, we need to get on the ground," Phil retorted.

Connie seemed to perk up, and she pushed herself off of the table and towards the entrance to the cargo hold. Phil and Steve followed behind her, unsure of her intentions at first, though they became quite clear the moment she picked up a parachute and began strapping it on.

"Connie, what are you doing?" Steve called out to her.

"There's no time to discuss that," Connie repeated Phil's words as she pressed the release button on the cargo hold door. "I'm going to get Bucky back."

Connie jumped from the plane before the two could even think, and Phil looked to Steve.

"Go after her," he instructed the Captain.

"What about you and Agent May?"

"Just go," he pressed. "As of right now this mission not only entails getting Barnes back, but it entails preventing Connie from getting herself killed over him. Now go."

Steve only nodded and grabbed a parachute. He strapped it onto his back and grabbed his shield, and in seconds he was taking off through the air after his very determined little sister.