"It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead."
-Kyle Reese from "Terminator"
Nighttime rolled over the busy city, but the city never slept. Car horns honked, startling the Huntress. The neon lights bothered her eyes as they tried to adjust to the new type of lighting, in this new world. There were no visible stars and it made her feel as though she was in a faux world; some illusion that blotted out the sky. The moon was a small sliver, peeking out from some smoke clouds coming from factories and cars. She noted once again how different this place was from anything else she had ever seen; small Russian towns, back roads, sometimes cities, but never a city like this. Nothing ever seemed to stop, nothing ever slept.
Despite all the distractions, the Huntress was still able to find out where Nicolas Fury was headed. He had tunneled underground, but neither the Winter Soldier nor the Huntress followed that tunnel. It could easily turn bad on their end, being trapped in that small space. It was obvious that Fury was a difficult but well-balanced, level-headed and experienced target. She had not called in their loss because they were given a longer leash; the Huntress was able to continue using her power to find Fury. If she could prove her worth on the field, she would be rewarded. Finding Fury was not the issue; as the Winter Soldier had said, he would not let himself get caught so easily.
But they were not there to catch him; they were there to kill him.
"How much further," The Winter Soldier asked firmly; he rarely had anyone work with him. While he knew the Huntress from past missions, he did not understand why she had to be there with him. He was fully capable of handling this one on his own; typically she would give the coordinates at the base, and he would take it from there. It was rare that they even crossed paths; he glanced at her and wondered what her use was. Aside from their target being on the move, there was nothing about this mission that was any different. He could have had the altered coordinates sent to him.
"He is on the fourth floor," she said to the Soldier at her side having to look up as he stood almost nine inches taller than her. While the Huntress didn't know what the soldier beside her was thinking, she had an idea; her use here was limited, but she could find exact location. She knew exactly what floor Fury was on.
"Come." He pointed towards the stairs hanging off the edge of the building next to the one Fury was in.
"Wrong building."
He glared at her, and she caved.
The Huntress kept her mouth shut then, climbing up behind him. The ladders seemed to keep climbing higher and higher, but she did not fear heights, nor was she getting tired out. Brisk but light winds blew over her skin. Her mask was still on, her hair loose over her shoulders, reaching just below her shoulder blades. Dressed in all black she blended in against the building under the starless sky. As they reached the top of the building, the Winter Soldier reached down and offered her his metal hand. Only a moments hesitation warped her thoughts, and then she gripped onto it not because she needed to, but because she wanted to show that she trusted him. They were partners, and that required trust. As she swiftly rose on the edge of the roof, she glanced over to the building where Fury was.
"There is someone else there," she spoke softly, as if she might be edging into territory she was not allowed in. She was only allowed to link to whom she was told, but she needed to assess the situation they were in before diving into it. Of course the Winter Soldier could handle it, but she couldn't afford a mistake and possibly losing their target again. Their target had already proven to be resourceful; who knew who he had gone to for help.
"I don't care." He grabbed his massive gun from the strap on his back and walked to the edge of the building.
"Stop," she said, walking up beside him and putting her arm out in front of his chest. Her arm pressed against his prosthetic arm and the cool metal chilled her even through her black gloves. "I can sense an... enhanced in there."
"I'll kill them too," he said in a single breath, sounding almost annoyed with her.
"Let me see who it is first," she said, trying to alter her mental bridge to form with the other person in there. To create her bridge with someone, she needed to know who they were, or at least that is what she had been led to believe. Up until now, she had always had a file of the person, but she had to try something new. Somehow this person with Fury had a connection with the Huntress, she could sense him the minute they neared the building. That was odd, but she was able to cause the mental link with him with ease.
She felt as though she had been hit in the gut when she linked with him, though she could feel the paranoia that the man was feeling, it was the ninety-five years of memory that flooded the Huntress with anguish. She gasped and glanced through the dark window where Steven Rogers and Nick Fury stood. She dove through Rogers's mind and found most of it blank from years of supposedly being dead. However, there was a startling realization that made the Huntress feel as though she was going to throw up.
Steve Rogers knew the Winter Soldier, who was known to him as James Buchanan Barnes, otherwise known as Bucky.
The Huntress steadied herself, glancing at James and wondering where he came from. Who was he? Why did she feel as though she knew him? She wanted so badly to create a mental link with him to figure out the answers, but she dared not. Something in the back of her head began to feel worried, her hands were sweating. She was told only to link with those she was commanded to, and now that she had connected with Rogers, she knew more than she dared to admit. The man beside her was cold, mission-oriented, and didn't want her there to begin with. Risking telling him anything that she had just discovered would be idiotic. The Huntress tried to approach the situation as best as she could.
"You don't want to do this," she said, knowing now that the other person in there, Steve, had a history with the Winter Soldier. It was going to cause an uprising. She remembered Mozart's 25th symphony and shuddered, a pain shooting through the carvings in her stomach. Despite everything she forgot, she never got that symphony out of her head, and she only knew that it had something to do with the HYDRA symbol carved on her stomach. Her arm was still outstretched in front of the Winter Soldier, and he quickly shoved it down with a force that made the Huntress submit. She was HYDRA property; it did not matter who had connections with whom.
"I have to do this." Even as he said the words, despite how strong they sounded, it was almost as if there was some hint of question. He lifted his large gun and fired two shots, both penetrating the brick wall across the gap between the buildings.
Silence filled the air despite the city noises below, the smoke from the gun swirled daintily into the sky, disappearing from sight momentarily, though the smell lingered. It was a familiar smell, one that the Huntress hated; it smelled like power. She feared what would come next; the target was only Fury for now, but she knew that the Captain had been a target before, and he would be the next biggest threat on the list, she had no doubt. She felt the faint heartbeat of Fury, and knew that the Winter Soldier had done his job. Glancing at him, she nodded to confirm that it had been a hit. The look he shot back at her suggested that he never doubted it in the first place.
A crash through the window of Steve's apartment startled the Huntress; she had disconnected her thoughts from him and hadn't seen it coming. The Winter Soldier looked at her and then nodded towards the other side of the rooftop. They began to run. She heard the whir of the shield before she saw it.
"Look out!" she shouted, and the Winter Soldier spun around to grab it, catching it effortlessly in his metal arm, looking directly at Steve. He threw it back and though the Captain caught it, he was sent backwards a few feet, skidding on the loose rocks of the rooftop. As the Winter Soldier jumped off the roof, the Huntress didn't make it; the shield hit her before she could join him, knocking her to the rocky rooftop.
She swallowed, forcing herself back up; the Winter Soldier was gone, but she was going to up against the Captain in a fight for her life. She rolled onto her back, gravel sticking into her jacket and her palms as she pushed herself up. She rose and reached for the bright shield, but Steve stepped on the rounded edge and it flipped up into his grasp. She looked at him, bringing her leg up to kick under his shield. He blocked it with ease, and then the dance began.