When It Snowed

Chapter 22 - Cat and Mouse

Whatever was happening, it had to do with Finley. HYDRA wanted her back, and they sure weren't happy that SHIELD had gotten to her first. That had to be who was doing this, they were the only ones strong enough to even take a stand against SHIELD after they had rebuilt.

"The East Wing is compromised." The voice over the intercom filled the hectic hallway. "I repeat, the East Wing is compromised." For such a dangerous situation, Bucky hated how calm the automated voice was during times like this. It was annoying and repetitive, something he just didn't enjoy. At the moment, Steve was called off to take on a group of troops gathered towards the entrance of SHIELD. Steve wasn't an idiot though, he knew it was a diversion. That's why they agreed that Bucky needed to go check on her, Sam volunteering to tag along with him. Steve would only be gone for a few minutes so HYDRA would think that their little distraction plan would work.

Following the directions Fury had given him to Finley's cell, Bucky approached the glass windows and was forced to stop dead in his tracks seeing a man curled up on the floor outside of the cell walls. He was wearing  a white coat, glasses, looked to be a doctor of some sort with his clip board on the ground beside him. "Help me!" He cried grabbing onto Buck's arms as he helped him to his feet. "Please, help me!"

The touch of the doctor sent waves of disgust through Bucky's body and he didn't understand why. Following his instincts though, Bucky pushed him off of himself and stood before him angrily. "Who are you? What do you want?"It didn't take long before Bucky was pleased with his natural instincts. The man's face curled into a dark smile, eyes locked on his, and voice falling deeper than it had been before while he was calling for help. This man was a part of HYDRA, and Bucky could only pray that he wasn't able to get a hold of the woman behind the cell walls.

"To see an empire fall." Zemo had finally let out.

Sam had suddenly entered the scene finally being able to catch up to the Super Soldier's sprint.

"What's going on?" he asked hoping to be filled in on the situation.

"He's HYDRA." Bucky hissed winding back and striking Zemo across the face knocking him out.

Then, turning to the cell door, Bucky watched as Sam typed in the code to her cell and the door slid open. Sam entered first, Finley's name coming off his lips hoping that she was alright. As soon as it did though, he was cut off. Her metal hand gripped his throat with dangerous strength before she had wound back and threw him against the wall. Immediately the wind was knocked from his lungs 

Knowing immediately what had happened, Bucky joined the fight and tore her away from Sam. She was forced against the opposite wall, and Sam watched from the ground as Bucky tried calming her down. "Finley." They engaged in hand to hand combat but all Bucky tried to do was hold her in place. "Finn stop!"

There was a new anger in her eyes, one that Sam had never seen before.

It didn't look like the woman from the street hours ago. She would hesitate every time she saw Bucky, any time she heard his voice. Now though, all she seemed to want to do was kill him.Sam had heard stories of her before, what she meant to the boys. So seeing her in the state that she was in now, Sam believed that terrible things had happened to Finley- and this wasn't the girl that Barnes had fallen for years ago.

HYDRA had gotten a hold of her, they were both just too late to stop it.

"You're name is Finley Reaser, you know me!" Bucky pushed away one of her swings catching her off balance. He tried, and he tried, and he tried to break through to her. Knowing he didn't have any other option though, Barnes wound back with a quick jab and struck her across the side of the face.