I rip my wrist out of his grasp and propel myself forwards as fast as I can. My scalp burns as someone pulls on my hair roughly, but all I can think about is getting away. Breaking free of their grasp, I bolt down the hallway weaving through the sea of people crowding the museum. fearing for my life, I look behind me to check the distance between myself and my pursuers. I suddenly slam into someone throwing me off balance and sending them into the floor. I crash into the ground, putting my arms out in front of myself to catch myself. An audible crack drifts in the air as I feel my wrist break from the force of the impact. I don't have time to feel the pain as I push myself off the ground and onto my feet again. I turn toward the door, bursting through it and stumbling onto the street. I look left and right debating which way to go.
I go left shoving past people as I try to put as much space between the mercenaries and myself as possible. My muscles burn from all the running, and my lungs can't seem to catch enough air. I want to slow down but I know that I can't. I look over my shoulder to see that they are close on my heels, gaining on me. I need to be fast, more agile than them if I plan on keeping my life. Ahead of me people are stopped waiting for the crosswalk sign to go from the orange hand to the white walk symbol. I don't have time to wait for the change, so I charge into traffic. Out of the corner of my eye I can see a car heading straight for me, the driver lays down on the horn screaming at me to get out of the way.
With all of my organs in my throat I take a leap of faith and spring upwards. I run up the hood and roof of the car before crashing and rolling on the ground. I quickly pick myself up and bold down the intersection. Making it to the other side of the road I look behind me to see the mercenaries are still chasing me but are further behind. So I pick up speed and cut a corner, slamming my back into the wall and staying as still as possible. After a few seconds, I see both of the hunters run past me oblivious to my sudden disappearance. I slump down and place my hands on my knees, panting to catch my breath. I feel like I'm going to faint so I put my head between my knees so my heart doesn't have to work as hard to pump blood to my brain.
Minutes pass as I take the time to calm down so I don't draw attention when I enter the streets. I check my wrist, remembering the sound of it breaking. There's no pain, no bruising, no anything. It's like it never happened. Maybe, since the fire, my healing speed has improved from before like my hearing, smelling and vision had. There are no scrapes on my palms from falling after my encounter with the car. The only thing that seems to be different, is my stamina. Maybe because it takes more energy to heal faster or use my other heightened senses. Before, my stamina was incredible. I could run without tiring, I could fight without feeling weak or losing strength. Now, it's different. I'm becoming weaker much faster, and that is a dangerous weakness to have right now with the circumstances I'm in. I shake my head to clear my thought. I don't have time to sit around and think about those things right now. I need to move, and fast.
I walk at a normal pace, going unnoticed by the people absorbed in the digital devices. The mercenaries know what I look like so it's easier for them to identify me. I'll need a new disguise, which means more stealing and shoplifting. I really hate that, because I feel so guilty afterwards. However, I have no choice right now, so I walk around looking for a place to make my transformation. Eyeing an H&M, I decide it's better than nothing, not like I could ever afford it anyway. Pausing I look down at my tattered, dirty joggers. Then I feel my loose fitting black t-shirt that has several holes in it, and my comfortable black coat that's covered in dirt and stains. There's no way I could go into an H&M unnoticed and come out without drawing attention. So I keep searching for a place that will have less expensive clothes. After a few minutes I come across a Forever 21 and enter, catching the attention of the cashier and a few helpers as the bell alerts them of a new customer. This just became a lot harder to get in and out unnoticed.
A friendly looking blonde haired lady walks toward me with a smile. Her brown eyes and freckled face give an inviting vibe to my anxious brain.
"Welcome to Forever 21! Is there anything in particular you are looking for today?" She asks, smiling and holding her hands in front of her.
"Um, no I'm just looking thanks." I answer while forcing a smile on my face.
"Okay well, if you need any help, my name is Tiffany." She says backing away from me. I turn and look at what I need to conceal and what I can use to conceal it. I decide that I want skinny jeans and a white v-neck sweater crop top. Next I grab a lot of random articles to conceal the ones I want to take. Then I walk over to Tiffany and tap on her shoulder.
"Can I get a dressing room please?" I ask with a smile.
"Sure, of course! This way, follow me!" She says happily and leads me down a row of dressing rooms. "Here we go, lucky number 7!" She says opening the door for me.
"Thanks." I say closing and locking the door. I strip out of my clothes and remove the tags off of the clothes. I grumble when I see that I have ink tags too. I would need a great deal of luck to get this off without having ink on it. Taking the white sweater, I slowly and carefully I pry the top off of the tag and pull the two pieces apart. Next I work in the pants, they didn't come out unscathed. There are three medium sized ink spots on them. Unnoticeable from a distance but up close it's a dead give away. Nonetheless I put on the stolen merchandise and then put my other clothes on top of them. I look at my reflection in the mirror, making sure I don't look exposed. After I'm content with my appearance, I grab all of the other clothes and open the dressing room door and see Tiffany waiting for me.
"Are you done with those? Let me take them for you." She says smiling at me as she takes the clothes from my grasp. "Nothing you liked?"
"Well it all looked really pretty on the mannequins... and then I put it on and it just wasn't what it looked like before. I guess it's just not my day." I say shrugging.
"Maybe you'll find something you like on round two?" She says attempting to lift my spirits that don't need lifting.
"Maybe." I say walking down the hallway as she put the clothes on the rack. To prevent arising suspicion I wander around for fifteen minutes before leaving. I blend in with a crowd of tourists, chattering in Japanese.
I break away from the crowd near a park and use the restrooms to shed my tattered old clothes and hat. I fix my greasy hair as I walk out, already missing my comfy black coat. My exposed midsection makes me feel slightly vulnerable as I attract looks from men passing by. Maybe my choice in outfit was a mistake, but the material of the sweater was as soft as down feathers against my skin.
I start on my journey to the safe house where Bucky is staying at. I'm not sure if he's moved safe houses since he found out that we are being hunted, but it was worth a shot. Along the way I periodically check behind me for signs of suspicious activity. However, just to be certain I'm not leading the killers to a safe house, I take several diversions before finally coming to the actual building. The five story abandoned apartment building looms above me in fading red brick.
I muster up my courage and enter the building. There are several doors leading to their own housing units and a lonely staircase to the back of the hallway. I quietly walk towards the stairs and ascend them. The second floor mirrors the first but some of the doors on this floor are broken or are coming unhinged. There's no sign of him on this floor or the one below. I stop and close my eyes and focus on the sounds around me.
The sound of rats squeaking from the ground floor reached my ears first. Next I hear the chit chat of a group of people from a few blocks away. Then I hear the hum of a plane engine as it passes in the sky. Creaking floorboards steal my attention from the conundrum outside. Focusing on the origin of the sound I hear the hum of electricity and the sound of water running through the pipes. With my minds eye, I visualize which room the noise could originate from. I can tell it's on the floor above me, and it's midway down the hall on the right side, but I don't know the exact room.
Opening my eyes, I start up the stairs and turn around to scan the hall. There's light peeking from the cracks of a door four rooms down from my location. I take a deep breath before walking to the door. I pause, with my hand raised and ready to knock. He could try to kill me, and based on past experiences with that issue, he's had a VERY successful record. I start to knock, softly at first before gaining the courage to make enough noise to grab attention. I stand and wait for the door to open, but also am fully prepared to protect myself if I need to. The door opens and a metal hand shoots out and grabs my neck before pulling me in roughly and closing the door.
"You again. What are you doing here?" He asks as I reel from what just happened.
"I didn't have anywhere else to go, I wasn't followed I made sure of that. And you can let go of me now." I say watching him nod, his eyes look conflicted as if he wants to trust me but doesn't know if he should but he lets me go nonetheless.
"What do you want? I told you I don't want to work together but yet, here you are . So explain to me why you keep ignoring me." He says motioning for me to have a seat. Sitting on the tattered sofa cushions I clear my throat before answering.
"Well first I would really like a shower." I say dead serious. This was going to be one long ass conversation and I certainly did not want to have it smelling like a sewage system.