Remorseless

A deluge of thoughts flooded Zara's head over the next few days, the main one being how shocked she was at how hard just laying still was. There were plenty of times in her life - especially during especially demanding missions - when she thought she'd go home and sleep forever... Apparently this was easier said than done, given the opportunity.

Initially, simple things like time became difficult to gauge without having eyes open to see when day became night, never mind having access to the clock she could hear ticking on the wall nearby. She'd tried counting the ticks but found it to be too monotonous a task, finding herself losing patience with it quickly.

I thought counting was supposed to put people to sleep!? Ugh...

She eventually got herself into a rhythm when she came to the realization that the machine to her left beeped every 30 minutes or so, and with every second beep, a medic would enter the room. The same one would enter the room three times before the footprints and mutterings would change, giving her a grasp on when the shifts would change.
Her left wrist was handcuffed to the rail on the bed, which she was pretty sure was made from some sort of thick plastic. Unlike regular infirmaries, they hadn't bothered to bathe her or make her comfortable in any way, just doing enough to keep her well enough to serve her purpose. There was a blanket only just warm enough to stave off further illness, and the skin on her forehead and cheek felt tight and hard where the blood had dried and not been cleaned off. The beauty of this meant that she hadn't been stripped off, which also meant that the cigarette lighter she'd taken from the guard was still shoved into the band of her underwear.

With that information she began to nut out the finer details of her plan...



Bucky stretched his neck, his head going from left to right, straightening up before he rolled his shoulders back a couple of times, his metal  arm emitting a low whir. He looked down at the 'uniform' they'd given him, an almost exact replica of the one they'd made him wear during his time as the soldier. The leather was soft and tight to his body, stretching to fit his form with every movement he made.
"Why the hell do I have to wear this shit if you're not Hydra, and I'm not the Winter Soldier?" He asked, his voice low and his tone annoyed.
"Because what Ward says, goes... I believe you know damn well who pays for it if you don't comply" Came the cockney voice of the guard, a smug look on his face.

Bucky let out a frustrated sigh, pacing quietly, wearing the leather and boots in.
"What happened to your face?" He asked, not being able to resist being a smartass, his mouth curling up into an amused smile, which the guard didn't appreciate.
"Never you mind that, soldier..."

A dark cloud formed over Bucky for a few moments as it occurred to him that it may have been Zara... Every disobedience came with a consequence, and if she'd lashed out enough to cause that kind of damage to one of the guards, it was easy to guess what kind of shape she was in... Unless Ward had intervened. 'She's safe... As long as she's here...' he'd said.

Safe... Yeah, like hell...

He swallowed hard and tried to push the thoughts from his head. Worrying was only going to dull his senses, and he needed his wits about him if he was going to get them both out of there. He glanced up at the glass around the small office the guards had stationed themselves in, the reflection revealing to him that there was a man caged next to him on the other side of a thick concrete wall. His cell was much like Bucky's- three concrete walls, and bars across the front and over the top.
Looking up, the roof was high above him with large square metal duct pipes that ran along the room with vents to let air through. He began pacing again as he tried to piece together all his options to formulate a possible escape strategy.
The man in the cell beside him never spoke, and hardly ever moved. He was often addressed by the guards and seemed to have some sort of a positive rapport with them, which made Bucky wonder why he was locked up. The guards often handed him things through the bars which made it clear that he was the only one not contained within the force field.

Strange...

"Get  your rest, Barnes. We have a mission for you in a few hours" Came the cockney voice again, Bucky making eye contact with him briefly before sitting back down on his cot.

Oh I'll get my rest, alright... The second that door gets opened, all sorts of hell is going to rain down on you, asshole...




The machine to Zara's left had emitted its beep and she knew she'd have about half an hour until the medic came in to do his checks. She'd made her mind up that it'd be this cycle that her plan would kick into action. She dared to open an eye just enough to study the room, confirming that the rail was indeed some sort of industrial plastic, and that the only sensor in the room was a security camera which was pointed at the door, rather than her bed.
Zara swallowed hard, it was now or never...
She opened her other eye, the glaring florescent light in the room forcing her to squint as her eyes adjusted. She shoved as much bedding under the rail as she could, pulling the cigarette lighter out and giving the little wheel a few flicks with her thumb, lighting it. It went up pretty quickly, the synthetic nature of the material giving the flame a hot, blue glow. The flaw to her plan presented itself when she realized that not only did the sheets burn too quickly to make a dent in the plastic, but it was incredibly hot against her arm.
Zara grit her teeth as she folded the rail down, sliding off the bed, still cuffed to it. Her legs collapsed a little when they took her weight, Zara letting out a gasp as she winced, pain hitting her all over her body.

Suck it up...

She swallowed hard, holding the lighter against the mattress, relieved when it finally took, the heat coming from it much hotter than that of the sheet.
She was initially disappointed when the plastic didn't start immediately melting like she pictured it would in her head, relief soon hitting her when she realized it was softening a little. She pulled against it as hard as she could, the cuff moving through the thick rail little by little, Zara worried now that she was making too much noise, drawing attention to herself with every hard yank. The cuff bit into her wrist, the broken skin quickly going from sore and red to bloody. She clenched her jaw, pushing through the pain, yanking at it again and again to get away from the heat of the flames which had now engulfed the bed in its entirety.
Zara's breath picked up as panic and doubt took her over, her heart rate through the roof as she struggled to yank the cuff through the softening plastic of the bed rail. She put her foot against the bed and gave another series of violent yanks, the thought entering her mind that breaking her wrist might have been a better option in hindsight... It was only a matter of time before someone burst into the room and busted her now.

With one last explosion of effort she pulled herself free, falling onto the concrete floor in a heap. She looked up and with perfect timing, someone had entered the room. She kept low, using the black smoke as a cloak to hide beneath as she snuck up on the man who was now wielding a gun and on high alert.
Zara pounced on him, not wasting any time in disarming him. She used the butt of the pistol as a baton, thumping him in the temple twice, hard. He dropped to the floor unconscious, Zara searching him for anything else of use, finding a pocket knife that looked like it'd seen better days... She shrugged as she shoved it in her pocket - anything was better than nothing. She held her breath as she carefully maneuvered the burning bed under the air vent in the roof, climbing up onto it, avoiding the flames as best she could. She pushed the vent aside, and pulled herself up into the roof duct, the burning bed tipping onto its side as she pushed off it. She replaced the vent cover, peering back down into the room as the flames took to the wooden cupboards and made their way up the wall.

And that would be my cue to make tracks...

 Zara swallowed hard and looked over each shoulder, hesitantly making the decision which direction would be the best way to go... She hastily crawled on all fours to the next room, smoke following her along the duct quicker than she'd like.
She peered down through the vent, realizing that she'd have to go much farther than she first thought if she was to find a way to get to Bucky. Now that the smoke was spreading, she'd have to hurry to get to him before security was stepped up, too.
She held in a cough, hurrying along as fast as she could, peering down every vent she could to get an idea of where she was.
Zara came to a small room, dark and obviously unused. She assumed it to be an office, and took the chance on it, pulling the vent back and dropping from the duct pipe onto a conference table, landing as softly as she could. She blew out a breath, her eyes crunched shut for a moment as she breathed through the pain in her ribs and chest.

What the hell am I doing?

Come on, you can do this...

She shook off that horrible doubt feeling and got up, one hand over her sore ribs and the other holding the gun up as she made her way to the door quickly and quietly. She peered through the window in the door with her wits about her and her finger on the trigger. The corridor was empty and dark, making it an easy escape. She half jogged, half limped down the hall, coming to an elevator door, her heart sinking when she noticed that the lights on the floor buttons where out.

"Shit... The fucking power's been cut" She cursed under her breath, wiping her brow as she took a couple of deep breaths to try and calm herself, panic well and truly setting in. She glanced over each shoulder while figuring out her next move...

There's no stairwell to the basement, and they've either cut the power, or it's gone out on its own. They either know something's happening or they're about to find out... Come on, Bucky needs you, THINK!

Zara bit her lip, her eyes darting back to the elevator door. She shoved the gun into the band of her pants and squeezed her fingers into the gap in the door, forcing it open. She'd seen Bucky do this before and it wasn't until now that she appreciated how much strength it actually took... If he wasn't hurt, she was going to need every bit of that strength, speed and stamina to get them both outta there...
The doors finally parted enough for her to peer into the elevator shaft, smoke pouring out, making her eyes water. Her stomach dropped, reminding her of an intense fear of heights that she wished she didn't have, even worse now that she couldn't see what she was doing amidst all the haze.

One slip and you're dead as a door-nail...

She said a silent prayer and jumped from the door, almost missing the elevator cable which she was aiming for. Her hands locked onto it desperately, the skin on her palms burning like hell as she slid to a stop. The pain in her hands was almost too unbearable to ignore, the air leaving her lungs in sheer unbridled panic. Suddenly she was convinced she couldn't do this, fear paralysing her-

"You can fucking do this, Zara. Get it together or you both DIE!" She scolded herself out loud.

She swallowed hard, involuntary tears leaking from her eyes as she loosened her grip, pushing through the pain as she hung onto that cable like life itself. One hand under the other she began to climb down, every movement hurting like hell.

Pick up the pace... You don't have time to fuck around, Bucky's life depends on this, and so does yours...

She found a rhythm, imagining she was on the ropes in the gym again, getting closer and closer to the basement floor. The lower she climbed, the easier it got for her, and the clearer the air got - for now.
As her eyes adjusted to the dark she came to realize that the air ducts like the one she'd just been in, vented into the elevator shaft.

That would explain the smoke, I guess...

She smiled to herself as she decided to take a gamble on one of them. The floor was somewhere in the vicinity of twenty feet below her, which meant that she'd pop out somewhere above his cell if she had the right duct. She began to swing on the cable, her stomach in a knot now as she built up enough momentum for her feet to kick the vent in.
She kept swinging, knowing she'd only get one chance at this or she'd fall to her death...

One... Two... Two and a half...

She let out a grunt as she let go of the cable on three, flying towards the square shaped hole in the wall. She caught it, struggling to hold onto the shiny metal edge, but managing to pull herself up into it.
"Jesus Christ..." She muttered, pausing for a second to catch her breath, shaking like a leaf. She glanced down at the palms of her hands, the skin burned, red and stinging like crazy. Zara thanked her lucky stars she'd gotten this far, surely Bucky wouldn't be too much farther and she'd have a little backup. She wiped the tears off her face with the back of her hands and patted her hip to make sure the gun was still there.

No time for melt-downs... get on with it, girl...

She gathered herself back up again, making her way down the duct, peering down each vent as she passed over them. It became obvious that word had gotten out that she'd escaped, commotion spreading between the guards in the halls.

Fuck, fuck, fuck...

Soldiers were on high alert, some were running, and every single one of them were armed. Her chest tightened and she kept moving, hoping Bucky was okay. She pictured him surrounded, and her thoughts wandered to her pistol and its' very limited amount of bullets. She kept moving, becoming aware of the smoke thickening and following her along the duct.

Surely the rest of the building hasn't caught alight!?

She stopped in her tracks over the fifth vent she came to, looking down to see a long haired, leather clad Bucky, pacing back and forth. Her breath hitched and she covered her mouth to quiet a sob that threatened to come out. Her eyes darted around the room, from where she was she could see a bald man in the cell beside him, and guards in front of a makeshift office beside the main door. She wouldn't be able to drop down to him as his cell had a roof of steel bars - eliminating the possibility of him attempting to escape. The other obvious problem she faced was the fact that his room would be sealed with a force field.
It was an easy call to make that it had to have been generated by an inhuman, rather than a machine, much like the one that'd caught them out at the safe house.
Peering around the room, the advantage was that aside from the two guards, there was only the bald man in the room with him. None of them knew Zara was there, and if she could take the force field out, then they'd have no chance of stopping Bucky once he escaped. She swallowed hard, taking a moment to think about what she was about to do, deciding the bald man had to be the one responsible for the force field. He looked like a nice enough guy, and was there against his will if he was in a cage. Him and the guards were going to have to die, and countless others when Bucky was free, innocent or not.
She exhaled as she held the gun out, taking comfort in the fact that the innocent couldn't be rescued anyway. As much as she'd love to save them all, it was going to be impossible. Time was against them and now the building was filling with smoke and armed guards.

There was no time for remorse or regret, it was now or never. Kill em' all. Escape. Go after Ward.

She aimed the gun through the holes in the vent, pointing the barrel at the bald man. She exhaled as she pulled the trigger, watching him fall to the floor before the guards snapped into action. She kicked the vent out, the grid hitting the metal bars above Bucky's cell, Zara dropping the gun down to him as a shower of bullets bounced off the duct she was hiding in.
In her panicked attempt to get out of the way she slipped, falling from the vent hole, the bullets miraculously missing her. She hit the bars across the top of Bucky's cell, landing hard on her stomach, winded. Gunshots rang out, Zara jamming her eyes shut in the hopes that she wouldn't be hit.
The room went quiet, save for the sound of the fire sprinklers in the ceiling coming to life. Relief flooded over her that the guards were dead, and Bucky was alive. His eyes were full of worry as he hurried to the cell door, effortlessly tearing it from its hinges. Zara pulled herself to the edge of the cell, unable to speak out loud to him, struggling with every breath still. She glanced up at the air duct she'd just been in, it only now occurring to her the height she'd fallen from and how lucky she really was.

Bucky was quick to position himself under her when she got close enough, glancing over his shoulder before his eyes met hers again.
It took everything in her not to cry as she paused at the edge, not sure whether she was relieved or still scared out of her mind. Probably both if she was honest....
"I got you baby. Just jump..." He soothed, a sense of urgency in his voice behind the kindness. She pushed off the edge, trusting him to catch her. She landed in his arms with a thud from that height, letting out a whimper when the pain in her ribs hit her again. He was already running with her before she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his chest.
They made their way to the guard office in seconds, Bucky setting her down momentarily as he pulled half a dozen guns and spare magazines from them. He scooped her back up before she had the chance to argue with him, her head still spinning from the fall as he ran them down the hallway at super soldier speed.
Explosions rang out above them making the building shake, and the room quickly filling with smoke, gunfire ringing out again as Bucky went into soldier-mode, relentlessly taking down anyone who came into sight.

Bucky ran them down the corridor, holding his gun up again when he heard several sets of footprints coming towards them through the smoke. His arm tightened around Zara protectively as he was hit with the realization that he couldn't take out every single one of the men approaching and get them out safely.
He backed into an empty dark room, closing the door quietly behind them, cradling Zara's head against his chest to keep her quiet. He backed them into the corner where he crouched to stay hidden in the shadows, listening to the soldiers making their way past them. Zara got her bearings together enough for him to set her down in front of him, both of them remaining silent while they hid. Bucky looked her up and down, examining her for a few moments with a regretful expression on his face before pulling her trembling body into his arms again.
They both remained silent until the sound of the last set of boots was well into the distance, Bucky pulling away enough to look into her eyes, pausing for a moment before he spoke, his voice a whisper.

"Jesus Christ, Zara... What the hell happened to you?" He asked, brushing the wet hair from her face,
"I got you out" Came her wheezy, hoarse reply, Zara trying her best to smile despite their precarious situation. Bucky let out a pained sigh as he pulled her back in, holding her protectively against his chest. Her eyes closed as she suppressed the urge to lose it right then and there when his arm tightened around her, his hand rubbing her back, soothing her.

"I'm so sorry, Zee" He whispered into her ear, followed by a kiss on her cheek as he listened for the commotion in the hall to die down, "This never should have happened while you were with me"
"It's not your fault" She croaked, tears stinging her eyes again as she bit her lip, hanging onto him even tighter.
"Yes it is, I should have killed every last one of them when I had the chance... You should have been safe"
"I am, I've got you don't I?"

Bucky let out a breath, nodding as he gave her another squeeze, "I don't care what I have to do, but I'm gonna get us both outta here. That's a promise..."
"I know you will" She said, pulling away enough for her lips to find his, her eyes closing as his hand cupped her cheek. He kissed her tenderly, Zara feeling protected in his arms amid all the smoke and water and chaos around them, a rumble reverberating through the building.

They pulled away from each other mid kiss, exchanging a worried look.
"Yeah, I kind of set the building on fire..." Zara admitted, Bucky nodding, having come to that conclusion for himself when the sprinklers had been set off.
"You don't do things by halves do you?" He said standing, pulling her to her feet gently, Zara still holding onto him as she tested her shaky legs.
"I'll carry you" He said, bending to scoop her up, Zara putting her hands out to stop him.
"No I'm fine. You shoot, I'll stay at your six..." She said, objection showing on his face, "Feel like saving the day?"

Bucky let out a breath and nodded, cocking his gun and tossing her a spare pistol as he stepped towards the door to peer out the window.

"You stay behind me" He said, his no-nonsense voice on, "No hero stuff"
"No hero stuff" She agreed, flicking the safety off her gun.
"I mean it, Zara. You did your part, now I'm gonna do mine. I'm in charge from here on out"

She nodded her head and relaxed a little as she reached out for him, Bucky leaning down to kiss her, pausing before his lips touched hers. Water dripped from his hair as his piercing blue eyes bore into hers as if waiting for an answer to a very serious question.

"You're in charge, Buck... Now kiss me and get us the hell outta here..."