Winter Soldier (Book One)

Chapter: 3

DAY: 5
Lark

Baxter was nice enough to give us both a change of clothes, or at least the start to some. All I could muster was a new shirt, the rest he gave to Bucky to try. He even went as far as to dig out a pair of work gloves for him to wear, intent on making sure his arm and hand was hidden. 

I stood on deck as Baxter began to sail us back up the bay, the Bucky stood a distance back, and I could feel his eyes on me. On the horizon, the sky was turning to purples and deep reds. The sight of it made me nervous, almost sickly. There was that dull ache that chanted not out of the woods over and over; throbbing with the rapid beating in my chest.

Baxter sailed up the bay, all the way to a closed down bridge. It was rusted, vines grew all over the rails and above on the gravel. It was more discreet than I expected, trees lined up almost against the water on one side, the other nearly barren. There was a steep slope on either side of the bridge leading up, it seemed the only way to get up.

"Steer clear of main roads, they get quite busy." Baxter said as he dropped anchor. 

"I trust we can keep this encounter between us?" Bucky asked, looking over the slope for a way up.

"I've got no one but myself to tell." 

"Thank you, Baxter." We shook hands quickly.

With carefully planned words we left Baxter jumped onto the lower bank. Bucky helped me onto the bridge, practically lifting my up by the collar of my jacket until I could plant two feet on solid ground. I had the strange feeling then that I knew how a kitten felt in its mother's jaws. Bucky turned us both towards the trees, pushing on my backpack as we moved.

"Do you know where we're going?" I asked as he started leading the way.

"Yeah." He answered, looking through the trees, his hand hovered at his side, where I suspected he was keeping the gun.

"Are you going to tell me? The other side of the bridge looked like better odds." 

He turned on his heel, stopping me in my tracks. "The otherside was barren. A good indication that there was a small development somewhere nearby. While that might seem convenient for you, it's not for me. A developed area means roads, higher foot traffic, cameras, witnesses. And while a small town may not seem like a hustling spot for news to travel, I would rather not take a chance like that with you in towe."

"If I'm a handful you can just finish me off." I gestured to my arm and he scoffed.

"It sounds like you really want a bullet in your skull. I've got half a mind to oblige you."

"Rather than trekking through the woods until we both turn into sasquatches, I think going into that small town could actually give us an advantage. People are less likely to look at the two of us suspiciously if we're not sticking to back roads and ducking into bushes. I purpose we head into that town to get better bearings."

"People are going to recognize us, me most of all."

"No they won't." I pulled my hair out of it's braid and held out the hair tie to him, but he just stared at it. "Put your hair back, keep the hat on and unzip your jacket."

He finally took it from my hand, then almost expertly tied back his hair into a low messy bun, unzipping his jacket just a little. I quickly fixed it, pulling the zipper down further much to his protesting. I pulled off the jacket and tore off the makeshift sling, forcing my arm through the sleeve of the jacket, fighting off a pitiful whimper of pain. "What the hell is this going to do?"

"We look like tourists." I said, flipping my hair over to one side, making it messy. I bent over and loosened the laces of my boots and then rolled up the ankles of my jeans into a neat roll. "Influencers like to visit small towns because they think it's trendy and cute. If we look the part, people will actively try to ignore us."