Saving | Bucky Barnes [2]

chapter ii

It wasn't about the fact that Winnie had a different mission to him, no, it hurt the Rogers boy that his own best friend didn't trust him enough to tell him about it. They told each other everything - well from what Steve knew everything - so how could she lie to him?

"I sent the greatest soldiers in history to make sure that didn't happen," Nick eventually turned in his chair, sitting up straighter as he spoke.

Steve clenched his jaw, "Soldiers trust each other, that's what makes it an army. Not a bunch of guys running around shooting guns."

Fury stood up from his chair, furiously looking at Steve through his one eye. "The last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye." The man took a brief pause, thinking his words through carefully. "I didn't want you doing anything you weren't comfortable with. Agent Romanoff and Agent White-" he nodded his head in Winnie's direction, "-Are comfortable with everything."

What he was saying wasn't exactly lying; they both were comfortable with everything. But was that a good thing? Probably not. It meant that they didn't have boundaries or enough empathy in some cases.

Oh how much our little Winnie White has changed over the years...

"I can't lead a mission when people I'm leading have missions of their own," the Captain explained sternly, tapping his finger on the table and his other hand on his waist.

"It's called compartmentalization. Nobody spills secrets because nobody knows them all."

Steve smirked sarcastically at the director, nodding in his direction, "Except you."

Fury rolled his eyes and took in a deep breath. He looked down at his desk as he chose his words carefully, "You're wrong about me. I do share. I'm nice like that."

With that, the director walked away from his desk and ordered Steve and Winnie to follow him. Of course, Winnie already knew where they were going for he had shown her it all before many, many years ago.

He led the two of them into an elevator, "Insight bay," Fury ordered. The machine scanned who was entering the compact space, making sure that everyone was prohibited to enter.

The machine beeped when Steve walked through saying, "Captain Rogers does not have clearance for Project Insight."

"Director override, Fury, Nicholas J."

"Confirmed."

At those words, the elevator began to move down, leaving the three of them in somewhat uncomfortable silence. Fury stayed next to the window, leaning against the bar and Winnie and Steve stayed on either side of him, not daring to look at one another.

"You know," the Captain spoke, breaking the silence, "They used to play music."

Winnie felt the corners of her lips tug up slightly at his words. Although the elevator music was completely rubbish, the White girl couldn't help but miss the soft yet funky melodies they used to play.

"Yeah," Fury acknowledged, "My grandfather operated one for these things for forty years. My granddad worked in a nice building; he got lots of tips." The director paused for a second, looking up. "He'd walk home every night, a roll of ones stuffed in his lunch bag. He'd say 'hi,' people would say hi back.

"Time went on, the neighbourhood got rougher. He'd say 'hi,' they'd say, 'keep on steppin'.' Granddad got to grippin' that lunch bag a little tighter."

"Did he ever get mugged?"

Fury let out a small huff as a laugh and shook his head, "Every week some punk would say, 'What's in the bag?'"