Remorseless

Zara blew out a breath, wincing as the muscles around her ribs contracted. Her hand went to the site of the pain involuntarily , Bucky pursing his lips as he noticed. She gave a brave smile as he reached out to give her shoulder a squeeze, his face painted with concern, followed by another offer to carry her which she hastily declined.

The hallway was mostly clear now after the influx of soldiers that had stormed through while they'd hidden in the empty office. Bucky stood back up from his crouched position, helping Zara to her feet again, watching her face carefully as she grit her teeth, downplaying the pain she was in.
"I'm okay..." She whispered, cutting him off as he opened his mouth to speak. She pulled the slide back on her gun, arming it, and pushed the wet hair off her face, the sprinklers having saturated them both.
He let out a sigh, pulling the door open quietly and peering out of the room. He took Zara's hand wordlessly and pulled her behind him gently as they made their way along the corridor, the overhead lights flickering on and off intermittently. The floor was two inches underwater and it occurred to Zara as it sloshed over her boots that it was an unusual amount of water for just a sprinkler. The other question burning into her mind was wondering where it was going to drain to if they were underground?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of gunfire, Bucky shooting four agents before Zara's eyes had even picked them up through the sprinkler mist and smoke haze. She was suddenly very grateful for her company.
He turned to check if she was okay after he'd abruptly shoved her behind him, relieved that she'd grabbed onto the back of his vest to balance herself. She suddenly gasped with fright and reached around him, shooting another two guards in quick succession as they appeared in front of them.
Bucky wheeled around again as more shots rang out, his metal arm raised to shield them both from incoming bullets, the ricochet echoing along the hallway as each shell bounced off his hand. He shot back until all of them were dead, Zara losing count as to how many dropped onto the wet floor after he'd shoved her behind him again.
He turned to survey the area both in front of them and behind before taking her hand again and breaking into a fast jog. They rounded a corner, Bucky pulling her in after him, Zara suddenly concerned when he frantically started checking her all over for wounds.
"Bucky- Wha- What are you doing, I'm fine!" She stammered, grabbing his wrists to stop him, panic in his face, "I'm fine, they didn't get me.."

He stopped and pulled her into an unusually tight hug, Zara worrying a little, she'd never seen him this stressed in combat situations.
"I'm fine, Buck" She said again, reassuring him as he took her face in his hands and laid a kiss on her lips, "Are you alright?" She asked, her voice hoarse.
He nodded in response, letting out a tense breath before looking over each shoulder to check if the coast was still clear.
"That was too close..." He muttered, Zara not sure if she was meant to hear or not. She could feel his heart racing in his leather-clad chest, despite the cool demeanor he was trying to put on as he gathered himself together.
"We have to keep moving" He said, keeping his voice low as he shoved a fresh magazine into his gun, clenching his jaw as he tried to work out their next move.
"There's no stairwell on this level" Zara started, "I came down through the elevator shaft and kicked a vent in... The building's running on backup power, so the fans aren't running. The ducts are full of smoke so we'll have to get in and out as quick as we can... Not a great idea, but might be our best chance to get out?"
Bucky nodded thoughtfully, chewing the inside of his cheek for a moment before checking over both shoulders and turning to her again.
"Which way?" He asked.

Zara followed him down the hallway, her pistol ready to go in her left hand. Their journey to the nearest elevator was an uneventful one, the pair of them running with their heads ducked to avoid as much smoke as possible, Zara pulling her long sleeve over her hand and covering her mouth with it. The sprinklers were still going and the floor was soaked, their boots sloshing through an inch or two of water as they ran.
They came to a halt at the end of a long corridor, a set of steel doors presenting themselves on the left which Bucky made easy work of prying open. They peered into the shaft, not being able to see anything above or below them due to the thick smoke, Bucky cursing under his breath in frustration. He bit his lip for a moment as if trying to decide what they'd do, gently grabbing Zara absent-mindedly to pull her closer to him.

The building groaned again, the sounds of more yelling echoing up the elevator shaft spurring Bucky into action again.
"I don't like that we can't see in there, but we've got no other choice..." He said as if answering Zara's unspoken concerns, "If it was just me, I'd go in a heartbeat. Things are different when you're trying to keep someone else safe..."

The worry in his voice sent a chill up her spine, Bucky never got worried unless things were really bad... Zara let out a couple of muffled coughs into the sleeve of her shirt, closing her eyes for a few seconds, not sure if the water or the smoke was making them sting. She gave them a rub, shaking off any traces of vulnerability she thought she may be showing as she took his hand, putting up a united, strong front. The two of them looked up, watching a cloud of smoke making its way down the corridor towards them, swallowing them up in darkness. Bucky reached up with his free hand to quickly push his dripping wet hair back off his face, blowing out a breath as he grabbed her and pulled her into the elevator shaft.
He lifted her onto the service ladder in front of him and ordered her to climb, following close behind her. She grit her teeth and pulled herself up, rung by rung, trying her best to ignore the pain she was in. Tears stung her eyes as the smoke got thicker and thicker, the very act of breathing nearing impossible, never mind trying to climb a ladder. Dizziness took her over as she struggled against herself, the only thing keeping her going was Bucky's encouraging words coming up from below her. She gasped in every breath, her hands shakily trying to grip the wet ladder rungs, when a noise above them got her attention.
"SHIT!" She heard Bucky curse before she realized he'd yanked her away from the wall and they were free-falling. Her body crashed into his as he pulled her into his chest with a thud, holding her there tightly as sparks above them lit the shaft up enough for her to see what was going on.
They slid down the elevator cable, Bucky's metal hand gripping it as he tried his best to slow them down. Zara risked a glance upward to see the elevator coming down above them, before she had to jam her eyes shut again as they dropped through a thick cloud of black smoke.
"Hold your breath!" He only just had time to yell, Zara quickly obeying him as they plunged into cold, dark water. Terrified, she opened her eyes underwater to see Bucky prising the nearest door open before dragging her through it, the elevator barely missing them as it crashed down where they'd just been.
The breath left Zara's lungs in horror at their extremely close call, Bucky pulling her along behind him by her arm as he desperately kicked to the surface. The pair of them simultaneously gasped in a breath when they popped up into an air pocket, their heads inches from the ceiling.
Zara coughed wildly, panic taking her over when she realized the water was slowly rising. She desperately reached up, clinging onto an overhead pipe, tears running down her face as her worst nightmare came into fruition.
"Bucky? " She called out, frantically looking for him, "BUCKY!?"
"I'm here, I'm here..." He reassured her, unable to hide the worry in his voice as he came up beside her, both of them clinging onto the overhead pipe, water pouring into the room.
"Are you okay?" He asked, Zara bravely nodding in response.
"Are you?"
"Yeah"
Her eyes flicked around the room, looking for a way out as she tried to steady her breathing, before turning to him again. She shivered against the cold, her teeth chattering furiously as she made eye contact with him again.
"I don't know what to do..." She said hopelessly, choking up as the tears fell again, "I wanted to save us, but I don't know if I can... I'm so sorry..."

Bucky frowned, his heart breaking as he desperately tried to think up a plan to get them out, his eyes locking onto the pipe that the water was pouring out of. He grit his teeth when he came to the realization that it'd been cut, along with the pipe at the opposite side of the room.
He looked back over to Zara who had all but completely unraveled, hanging onto the pipe for all she was worth as she lifted her chin to keep her face above the water. He'd never seen her so scared and more than anything all he wanted to do was save the day, get them out and protect her. To hold her and keep her safe and warm...

"Don't you dare start that" He soothed, "there's still time..."

Zara gave in to the tightening of her chest again, wheezing turning into a coughing fit as more smoke seeped into the room through an overhead vent. Bucky pulled her away from the pipe, keeping her above water level as best he could as he swam them as far away from the smoke as possible. He placed her hand around another exposed pipe so she had something to hang onto, the building groaning loudly above them again.
Her eyes shot to his, full of fear again as if reading his mind...

It's going to collapse...

"I've gotta find us a way out" He said, not wanting to leave her, but finding no other option, "you stay right here and don't move from this spot" He added authoritatively.
"Bucky-"
"-I'll be right back, okay? I won't leave you in here, Zee. That's a promise."

Zara nodded, her lip trembling again despite trying hard to be brave.
"Be careful... Please..." She begged, trembling still as she reached out to put an arm around his neck, the other still holding the pipe above her to stay afloat.
Bucky nodded, his free arm wrapping around her and pulling her into him, tight. He let out a breath before leaving a kiss on her temple.
"I will. Stay here and don't let go of that pipe, I'll be right back. Okay?"
"Okay"
"I love you"
"I love you, too"

He kissed her tenderly, something about his lips leaving hers making Zara's chest tighten uncomfortably again. She watched as he took a deep breath and disappeared below the water, biting her lip as that horrible feeling of dread overwhelmed her, a ball of ice seemingly forming in her chest.
The building groaned again, a loud crash erupting in the room above her, the few emergency lights in the room flickering before totally losing power. The room plunged into darkness, Zara losing her breath as panic and hysteria settled in, Bucky nowhere to be seen. She could hear her heart thumping in her chest over the sound of water gushing and her rapid breath.
She waited for a minute or two, worried now that Bucky hadn't resurfaced yet. The thought of him being trapped underwater entered her head, and she wondered if the super soldier thing meant he could hold his breath longer underwater...

No, that's ridiculous...

She gave it another minute before she decided she was going to have to dive under to find him, the thought of duck diving into cold, black floodwater terrifying, but the thought of losing him even worse.
The building groaned loudly above her head again, snapping her out of her train of thought. She let out a gasp when a chunk of concrete dropped from the ceiling, opening up the ceiling above them, along with a whoosh of more water, like a floodgate opening.
Zara gasped and held her breath before her body was forced under, and she began kicking like mad to try and find her way to the top. She managed to drag a breath in when her face surfaced momentarily before being washed away by another gush of water like a surfer being sucked through a barrel.
She was slammed into a concrete wall, her head bouncing off it hard, dazing her. Her body went limp, dread setting in as the fear of dying crossed her mind.

Where the hell is Bucky!?!?

Relief hit her like a truck when she was pulled out of the water by a strong arm, Zara still not with it enough to open her eyes or answer the voice calling her name. She had just enough strength to cling onto him as he climbed through the rubble, up out of the water, dragging her behind him.
"Zara..." Came his voice again when they paused, solid ground below them, "Zara!"
She groaned and tightened her grip on his bicep, feeling a hand behind her neck, followed by lips on her forehead. She opened her eyes, not seeing much in the dark, her hands making their way to his cheek, his familiar stubble scratching her hands gently. She let out a breath of relief as her other hand found his metal arm, reassuring her brain that it was in fact him and not Ward.
"Are you okay?" She asked, her voice hoarse and tired as her hand settled on the back of his head, feeling warm blood in his hair, "Jesus Christ, you're bleeding!"
"I'll be fine, I just got in the way of the ceiling when it fell..."

Zara blew out a tense breath, her thumb tracing his cheekbone as she cupped his face. Another loud crash made them both jump, Bucky pulling her against him protectively, Zara's head snapping towards the direction of the noise. A chunk of ceiling came down, hitting the water with a loud 'splosh', revealing dim emergency lights still working in the floors above them.
Bucky was already on his feet, pulling Zara to hers as his eyes locked onto a desk on the other side of the room. He tightened his grip on her hand, running with her to the other side of the room, carefully going around the gaping hole in the floor and keeping his head ducked from the falling debris.
He lifted Zara onto the desk, climbing up after her and helping her up through the hole in the roof to the floor above them. The rubble surrounding them made it easy to go up through the floors, Bucky in full 'super hero mode' now as he worked tirelessly to get them both out of there.
They stopped for breath, both of them peering down through the gaping hole that was now the collapsed center of the building. It was hard to tell how many floors they'd climbed up through now with concrete, furniture, and various other pieces of debris scattered everywhere. Worryingly, it hadn't taken long for the water level to rise, Zara now also becoming aware that the pipes had been cut off and the building had been flooded intentionally. When she gave it some thought, it was probably all too convenient that they hadn't been intercepted on the way to the elevator shaft, and that the elevator itself had come down above them, forcing them back into the basement...
Movement above them interrupted their moment of peace, Bucky swallowing hard and looking up as vibration shuddered through the building, another section of the roof collapsing. Bucky pulled Zara in tight, wrapping his arms around her and trying to shield her as much as possibly while she clung to him. He'd deflected as much of the ceiling with his metal arm as best he could, the sheet breaking in half as it hit them.

A whistle above them got his attention when the dust settled, along with two dozen soldiers with rifles pointing at them. His heart sank instantly when he realized they were terribly outnumbered, his eyes darting back down to the very out-of-it girl who was now slumped unconscious in his arms.
"Barnes..." Boomed a familiar, smug voice amidst the crowd, "It's over"

Bucky drew in a breath, uncertainty taking him over as his mind raced, desperately searching for a solution. His heart thumped in his chest and his breathing picked up as he took in the scene around him.
Surrounded by enemies, Zara's limp body in his arms, and the gaping, rubble filled, smoking cavern that was opening up underneath them...
His chest tightened as he looked down at her still face in the dim lighting, she was so pale, so vulnerable. She'd gone through hell to get him out, and now he wasn't so sure if he was going to be able to return the favor. He brushed the wet hair off her face, a condescending laugh erupting from above him, infuriating him.
"Bucky, Bucky, Bucky... Look at what you've become..." Came the voice again, Bucky glaring in response.
"What's it gonna take, Ward?" He asked, his voice dripping with hostility, "If you want me, you've got me... Let her go and I'll do whatever you want."

Ward let out a deep, throaty laugh, thoroughly amused.
"Giving up that easily?" He taunted, pulling a gun out and pointing it at them, coming up alongside his soldiers, joining the ranks.
"You'll only keep coming for us... Coming for her..." Bucky said, "This ends here and now"
"Let's just get one thing straight - I'M the one calling the shots here, not you."

The building groaned again, snapping Ward into business mode as he motioned for someone to come to his side, Bucky clenching his jaw as he tightened his arms around Zara. She stirred in his arms, her eyes opening slowly as the scene materialized around her. He rubbed her back reassuringly as he watched her expression go from realization to fear, his eyes going back to Ward and the man beside him.
Bucky let out a breath, trying his best not to look relieved as he realized it was Larson.

Ward smiled, relishing the fact that everything was going exactly to plan; he had Bucky and Zara right where he wanted them. With the Winter Soldier under his control, he would be a force to be reckoned with. Not only was Bucky a valuable asset when he co-operated, but he would also become an invaluable bargaining tool to be used against Shield if things went south. He'd be able to take down the Hydra leaders once and for all, and the inter-faction war would be over. No more political agendas, no more competing within the upper ranks... Hydra would be whole again, and it would be his to manipulate how he pleased.

Bucky screwed his face up, suddenly hit with a strange dizzy feeling which was followed by a ringing in his ears.

No, no, no... This is NOT happening...

He jammed his eyes shut, trying to shake it off, Zara picking up that he was in trouble, her frightened expression hitting him hard as guilt suddenly took him over. His body trembled, panic rising up in him as familiar feelings manifested, his thoughts going straight to the microchip in his head, and the blood in his hair...

That's when he heard the command in his head.

Get up, and hand Zara Jones over to us...