Heart of the Ocean

Chapter 9

Y/N has no idea how long it's been since she had seen the helicopter on the horizon since they had abducted her from Steve and Bucky. Oh my gosh, Steve and Bucky be so worried about her! Her train of thought is cut short as the bite of metal hits her cheek once more, and the metallic taste of blood fills her mouth.

Spitting out the blood, she glares as best she can at the hulking man in front of her. "Is that all you've got?" she bites out venomously. The only answer she receives is a matching blow to the opposite cheek.

"That's enough," the man from earlier steps into the room. "Hello miss L/N, my name is Alexander Pierce. I believe that you knew my associate, mister Rumlow. He told me a great deal about your work, so I'm hoping that you can help me. You see, I'm looking for a very rare species of fish. One that most people believe are merely myths and legends, but I know differently. You see what makes this particular breed so interesting is that from the waist up they look almost completely human, yet from the waist below, they resemble fish. Fascinating creatures, truly fascinating. Especially when one takes into account how they manage to breathe both above and below water. So you see miss l/n, it would be of the highest value to the scientific community if we would be able to study these creatures in a controlled environment, see what makes them tick. Will you help me bring this gift to the world, or must I ask mister Rollins here to convince you further?" Pierce finishes his speech with what he probably thinks is a winning smile but only makes y/n's skin crawl.

She tilts her head as if considering his offer then smiles. "Go. To. Hell."

Pierce sighs, shaking his head as if she had disappointed him. "Very well then, I suppose we'll have to do this the hard way," he says before walking out while Rollins gets a nasty grin on his features, reaching for one of the knives that lay untouched on the counter behind him.

After several attempts to calm both himself and Steve down, Bucky finally has a moment of clarity where he uses his fine-tuned hearing to search beyond the horizon for any sounds that are out of place. It's not as good as it is in the water, but it's good enough for now. Eventually, he picks up the faintest sounds of beating hearts, human beating hearts.

"Steve!" he yells to get the blond's attention who had been breathing heavily as he tried to ward off the panic settling into his heart. At the sound of his mate's voice Steve's head jerks up so fast he almost got whiplash. "I think I've found her."

"What? Where?" Steve asks, looking around to see if he could spot whatever had made Bucky say that.

"It's faint, but I can hear multiple human heartbeats. That means she was taken from us," Bucky's jaw clenches furiously at the mere thought of someone harming their sweet girl.

"Then we have to get her back! Come on!" Steve makes to slide back into the water but Bucky's hand on his chest stops him.

"Hang on, we have to be smart about this. As much as I want to go charging in, teeth bared, we can't risk whoever took her getting the upper hand. I'd never be able to live with myself if either of you got hurt. So here is what we are going to do." After explaining his plan to Steve, they both take off through the water, Bucky holding on tightly to Steve's hand and pulling him along since he was the faster swimmer.

Once they reach the yacht and pull themselves onto it, both take a moment to change forms. Now with them on two legs they slowly make their way through the yacht, Bucky in the lead and Steve covering his back. The only person they encounter on the upper levels is an older man, standing at the front with a glass in his hand. Bucky quickly snaps his neck and throws him overboard before they slowly make their way below deck.

As they approach the door to the lower decks, the smell of blood grows stronger, settling uncomfortably in their stomachs and making bile rise in their throats. Just as Bucky's hand touches the handle there is a loud gunshot from just beyond the door and the unmistakable thud of a body hitting the floor.