Ghostwalker ▷ b. barnes [2]

xxv. weapons don't weep

Bucky stopped struggling. But his eyes continued to snap around.

On her, they froze.

He went lax, metal fist unclenching.

Rumlow gazed over, looking impressed, then looked back. He tilted his head. "Who is this woman, Soldier?"

Sam's heart twisted.

She wanted to rip Rumlow's head off.

"Smalls."

All of Sam's anger dissolved. She stood taller and stared at Bucky in shock and surprise. His brows knotted together, lips parted and eyes cracked. He searched her face like she searched his own. Her name sounded on his lips again.

"Smalls?"

"I... It's me, Bucky."

"You," he said. The smallest of light flashed in his eyes. His chest stopped rising and falling so rapidly, focused solely on her. "You're here."

"Y-yeah. I'm here."

She was faintly aware that the rest of the room was watching in rapt silence. Even Pierce, as if what he was seeing was something astonishing. Something shocking. But Sam didn't care.

"I'm here, Barnes."

"I promised—" His face contorted. "I fell."

"You did," her heart cracked. "But you're okay, Bucky. You survived."

"I... fell."

His metal fist clenched again.

Sam clenched her jaw hard, closing her eyes to a falling tear. But when she opened them again, Pierce had stood, stepping between them. She couldn't read his face.

Couldn't tell if he was angry or awed.

"That's enough."

His voice, though cold and commanding, shook a little. The guards around him shifted and Rumlow squared his shoulders. "Sir?"

"I want him wiped. I want her gone."

"Out of the room, sir?"

"No," Pierce's eyes flashed. "Out of his memory."

Sam's throat closed.

"Smalls," Bucky whispered again. A sudden defiance coursed through her veins and she yanked against her cuffs, metal ringing through the air. The closest guards drew their guns but she didn't care, focused on the man across from her.

Rumlow waved a hand through the air and the others moved toward Bucky, pulling him against the chair and checking the metal restraints. Rage turned Sam's vision red.

"Don't touch him. Don't touch him!"

He didn't fight back. But his lips kept moving.

"When he's wiped," Pierce growled. "I want to see her in that chair."

Rumlow looked surprised. "Sir?"

"If we can't have Miss Clarence's compliance, we'll damn sure have the Phantom's."

Pierce stalked from the room and Sam continued to yank on her restraints, trying to break loose. She flickered for a moment, but not long enough. Exhaustion crashed over her in waves. Her entire body screamed in pain; her stomach, her stitches, the buises coloring her arms.

The machine behind Bucky came to life. Whirring and crackling, blue electricity on metal that wrapped around his head. Sam's breaths hitched and she tried to kick at the nearest guards.