Just as we are about to cross over into the shaft, an elevator lowers right in front of us and we back step into the shadows along the wall. The doors open and a man I've never seen before steps through. He has brown eyes and thin lips. He has a light brown stubble along his jawline and his hair is neatly combed back. He walks quickly forward with purpose and we take advantage of the elevator. He speaks to someone down the hall with a thick Russian accent. I only catch his first name Helmut. Bucky presses the button for the third floor and the doors close as we ascend.
"Why the third floor?" I ask, lost in his plan.
"We'll take the stairs."
"Huh, are you... fine but you're carrying her, she's heavy." I say shifting my weight.
"You better get used to it, you're going to be carrying both of us to the old factory."
"I'll conserve my strength but you're still carrying her up the stairs. Nine stories in this building, and you stopped at the third floor." I say, casting him a glance out of the corner of my eye. He's looking at me with amusement flickering across his eyes.
"Okay." He motions for me to hand her over, which I gladly do.
"Here's your syringe back." I say holding it out, but he turns around so that his pack faces me. I unzip it and slip the syringe in before zipping it back up. The elevator opens and we exit unto the empty hallway. I look in both directions for the stairs and see a sign on my right that leads me to where I need to go. I motion for Bucky to follow me, which he does and we make our way down the hallway silently.
Opening the door will be rather loud on the quiet floor, so I slowly and steadily apply pressure to the push handle. As soon as the door opens we rush through. I carefully close the door back before turning to the stairs. I take the stairs two at a time climbing quickly. My legs start to burn by the fifth floor and I'm sweating by the sixth. There's a narrower staircase leading to the roof and I continue moving forward. Shoving through the locked access door, we make it to the roof. The chilling midnight breeze blows my hood back from where it lay on my head. I turn around to see Bucky is exiting through the access door with the agent over his shoulder.
Once he is on the roof he sets her down and opens his bag. He pulls out two harnesses and six feet of rope before putting one of the harnesses on himself and then the lady. He attaches the rope securely to both harnesses before zipping up his bag and putting it back on. He picks up the agent and starts walking toward me.
"You'll carry her and I"ll hang down so you aren't holding both of us."
"Wow that's thoughtful."
"It's practical." He says, shooting me a 'duh' look. I respond with a roll of my eye before lifting her from his arms and pulling my wings out. I kick up from the ground and rise into the air. I have trouble lifting both Bucky and the perfume agent. I rise higher but I'm jerked back down a little as the rope becomes taunt. I strain to lift Bucky from the ground, my back aches from the effort my wings exert. Sweat trickles down my face as I fight for every inch of height I gain.
After several minutes I finally have Bucky in the air with me. I begin to head to the Hudson river when my muscles begin to quiver from carrying over three hundred pounds of agent and assassin. It takes two hours to reach the northern part of New York and an additional thirty minutes from Albany to reach the factory bordering the Hudson river. I desperately hope my muscles will carry us all the way.
"We're flying a bit low, can you get higher? I don't want to risk being seen." Bucky says through his earpiece.
"I'm trying my hardest." I say in between grunts of exertion in an attempt to climb higher in the night sky. I pull my wings up and the tips touch one another before I force them down with all my might. The cold wind bites at my skin as it clings to the trails of sweat covering my face. The loose strands of hair that have fallen from place in my ponytail, slap against my skin. Thunder claps over my head and raindrops fall like freezing bullets onto the three of us.
The wind picks up and the rain falls faster, obscuring my vision. I lose track of time as I concentrate on pushing past the pain on my skin and the cramp developing in my back. The wind at my back helps push us faster toward our destination. I coast into the city of Albany and turn towards the coast line of the river. I pick up speed as we near the last stretch of land before we reach the factory.
"Drop down slowly, I'll take the agent when I reach the ground." Bucky says, startling me. As the factory comes into view, I drift downward before flapping my wings furiously in front of me to ease Bucky's landing.
"Tell me when to drop her." I grind out with a clenched jaw. I feel the weight lift as Bucky reaches the ground. Instead of giving the agent to him, I land beside him and cast a look out of the corner of my eye. "What was the point in dropping her down to you? It's a six foot difference from me landing." I say with annoyance evident in my voice not from the situation but from pain. I shove the agent's body toward him and I begin to work the soreness from my muscles.
"I'll get started on the interrogation." He says, brushing off my actions.
"Fine." I say shortly as I try to relive the cramp that developed in my lower back. The bricks on the factory are all but stable, some spots are bare and open to the world. The old metal door slams closed and I can hear Bucky tying the agent into place on the chair. I turn my attention to the tranquility of the river as he gets to work on her. I don't want to hear him extract information from her. Interrogations were never my favorite activity to do or receive.
I stand in the rain for hours trying to block out the sounds of her screams and his assault on her. I can hear each punch that lands on her skin. I can smell the sweat beading from her pores. I can taste the metallic scent of her blood as it seeps from her wounds. I focus on the deciduous trees blowing in the wind as the rain wrecks havoc on their leaves. The rain swirls in the wind like a thick mist that caresses the branches of the trees.
"Eden! Get in here, there's something you need to hear." Bucky calls out to me from inside. A shroud of anxiety hangs around my shoulders as I push the door open and step into the room. My eyes snap to the bloody, beaten agent. One of her eyes is swollen shut and she's bleeding from her cheek and forehead. She has scratches littering her body and her skin is covered in a sheen of sweat. She looks me dead in the eyes, her ice blue orb shining with hatred. I cut my eyes toward Bucky and express uncertainty as of why I'm needed.
"What-" I start before I'm interrupted.
"Tell her." Bucky snaps out at the agent. She looks at him defiantly and keeps her mouth shut. Bucky grabs her jaw tightly and her face twists in pain. She lets out a muffled whimper before jerking her head out of his grasp, and looks back up at me as she speaks.
"You could at least remember me." She says with disdain. I'm lost as to what she means.
"What do you mean?" I ask tentatively.
"My name. Milenda. Remember me? I took you from the museum. My partner Kable, you killed him at the storage facility. I've enjoyed hunting you down, watching your partner bleed... was euphoric." I clench my jaw in anger at her remarks. "You thought you could hide from us? We have agents EVERYWHERE."
"Get to your point." I say roughly, wrinkling my nose as my temper grows.
"Oh no, I think I'll take my time. Let's start with Tiffany. Don't you remember sweet little Tiffany from Forever 21? While you were shoplifting she was telling us everything about you. What you were wearing, what you stole, your hair color, and any disguises you could use."
"What's your point Milenda." Her name leaves my mouth with a foul taste.
"Oh use your brain you poor insolent child. We are EVERYWHERE. Who do you think we work for? Some poor company with no connection to your roots? Don't make me laugh. Do I need to spell it out for you? Griffon ANA. G R I F F O N A N A. Graffanino." She says with a sickening smirk growing on her lips.
"No, no you're wrong!" I say as the invisible shroud grows heavier with each passing second.
"Do you really think Giovanni didn't know you were coming? The man you asked for directions, he may look innocent but he's been an agent for Giovanni for years, even while HYDRA was still up and running. How do I know about HYDRA? Did you honestly think Giovanni didn't know you killed his father? He's been planning this for over a year. The bread he packed for you was poisoned. Your old outfit was coated in Ganesha." I suppose it's fortunate that I didn't eat the bread.
"Shut up!" I yell at her. I tremble with rage and it takes everything I have not to snap her neck.
"Giovanni could never love someone like you, you petulant child. You're so predictable, it's embarrassing." She says egging me on, daring me to move against her and I fall into her trap.
"Then you already knew your fate." With a bellow of rage, I take her head in my hands and snap her neck with ease. I hear Bucky sigh behind me and I turn to face him.
"You know you did exactly what she wanted." He says from his propped position on the wall, arms crossed.
"I don't recall you stopping me." I return still angry.
"I got what I needed from her. That," he says lifting away from the wall and motioning with a finger between her and I. "was your battle."
"Yeah." I say looking down at my hands. I run through everything she had said again in my head. I should have known, I should have put it together. Giovanni worked for HYDRA so it makes sense that getting my file would have been something he was more than capable of doing. He has the connections and resources to make all of this happen. Everything points to him, I just don't want to believe it.
"How are you holding up?" Bucky asks me as he studies me from a distance.
"I'm furious, conflicted, and vengeful." I confess as I begin to pace the floor.
"Do you want to finish this?"
"There's nothing I want more."