December // A Winter Soldier Story

34

He rounds the last corner, certain he will unearth something that will collapse the last bit of hope remaining in his chest. But there is no one in the hallway where Lea is at all. And when he runs up to her cell, he is surprised to see her sitting completely untouched.

"Bucky?" She questions, eyebrows furrowed with worry. "What's going on? Why are the sirens going off?"

He stares at her for a moment, marveling at how no one has gotten to her yet. After a moment of confusion mixed with relief, he shakes his head, eyeing the lock to her door.  Inside, the shock gives way to continued hatred for himself and his careless actions. "I don't know. It might be because of me. We need to get you out."

Her face contorts with confusion as she struggles to get up in her weak state. Watching her weak stature clamber to an upright position pains him. "What did you do?"

He opens his mouth to answer, but before he can, he hears footsteps hurrying down the hallway towards them. Immediately, he morphs his appearance to match the Winter Soldier - he can't slip up again. As a group of men appear from around the corner and run towards him, he wonders what they want - Lea, their brainwashed weapon, an end to their escape before it even begins.

But the men run right past him. One of their walkie-talkies sounds off as they go by - he hears two words. Captain America.

Stunned, he keeps watching the men run until they turn the corner and disappear. Steve? Is he...here?

"Why did they say that? Is Steve here?" Lea asks, reaching through the cell bars to clutch his arm. They exchange a glance full of meaning. If Steve is here...then this is their best, and probably last, chance at escaping.

There is also a tug on Bucky's heart at the sound of his name. Steve is the key Bucky needs in order to unveil his past, understand his present, and create a new future. He is also necessary to help get Lea out of Hydra's grasp. If Steve is here, Bucky needs to find him.

"He might be here. And if he is, then we need to find him and get out of this place as soon as we can." Bucky's words clearly convey one thing: they are going to try and escape. Lea's eyes briefly flash with fear as she realizes what he means, but she blinks it away and nods. Bucky admires her bravery.

Her eyes then flick up to the top of the cell bars. "How am I going to get out of this cell?"

Bucky hardly has to look around. He knows these doors are no match for his strength. Grabbing the bars, he pulls them wide enough for her to slip through with just a few seconds of effort and a grunt.

She seems shocked that it was that easy to break out. He almost explains how the low-threat block she is in has normal prison cells, which are made of cheap and weak metal, but they are pressed for time and it is unimportant. Instead, he wraps his real hand around her arm and looks her up and down.

"You are weak and hurt. There's no way you're going to get out of here in this state."

She looks slightly offended by these words. "I'll be fine. I haven't felt this energized in years. My adrenaline will help me survive"

He doesn't believe her. He puts his metal hand on her other shoulder and makes her face him. "If I carry you, we will get out of here easier."

Lea raises her eyebrows. "If you carry me, you won't be able to fight off anyone who comes to attack us. I will follow you and we will be fine."

He thinks she talks a big game for someone who has tens of new scars lining her body and is beyond fatigued from so many days of torture, but the defiant look she has on her face tells him he's not going to win this argument. He will just have to try and protect her the best he can as they make their way out.

Reluctantly, Bucky nods, pulling his thumb up to her cheek reflexively. He rubs it briefly against her skin in a short moment of peace. Lea stares up at him through her eyelashes, and time seems to slow down. He doesn't even realize what he is doing until he's already done it.

A tugging feeling begins in his chest and sends shivers running down his spine. She sets his body on fire in a way that is different from the white-hot rage that usually makes it's way through his flesh, and like an addict, all he wants is to chase the feeling he gets when she ignites him. She is so beautiful and headstrong, and she helps him recall what it is like to feel. He has no idea what any of this means, but is beginning to think she may be just as necessary to his recovery as Steve.

"Follow me as closely as you can. The second anything goes south, call me, grab my hand, something," he instructs, his voice soft but stern. She doesn't take his sternness as an insult because she knows it is out of care. Her head nods in reply.

He grasps her upper arm with his metal hand and turns, heading down the hallway as if she is his prisoner. He again reverts back to the soldier's appearance: a fractured, empty gaze, a face that is numb to all feeling because he has no recollection of what emotions are. This will allow them to slip through the crowds unnoticed - at least for a little while.

They head down the hall quickly and quietly. As they come across guards, not a single one stops them. The Winter Soldier transporting a prisoner is not a strange sight. On another day, they might look more closely at the soldier, but their hands are currently tied up in fighting what may be an angry Captain America. Lea does her best to look miserable, and Winter does his best to look empty, and this helps them make it almost all the way to the door.

What gives them away is when Lea suddenly collapses.

Winter is shuffling forward when he feels a tug on his metal arm, and hears the sound of knees hitting the hard concrete floor beneath his feet. He whips around only to find Lea out of breath and crumpled into a weak ball.

He casts a quick glance around before crouching beside her. No one is paying any attention at first, but it is when he uses his fingers to lift her chin - forcing her weary eyes to meet his, which are full of emotion and awareness now that she needs him - that a guard catches the soldier acting out of character, and this is all it takes to capsize their entire plan.

"Lea," he whispers, having not noticed the guard behind him. "What's wrong?"

Sharp, fast breaths are heaving through her chest. He looks closely and finds that she is shaking. 

"My body...my body is so weak. My muscles are giving out."

His thumb quickly carves a circle into her skin, conveying his sympathy before letting go and hooking around her upper arm. Bucky knows he needs to get her out as quickly as possible. If he has to do this by dragging her, then so be it.

It is when he is pulling her to her feet that her eyes go wide. Bucky whips around - he is just in time to hear a gunshot. 

A heartbeat later, he feels the full brunt of a bullet.