Remorseless

A grim scene opened up before her eyes, worse than any of the many nightmares she'd had over the last few months. After slipping in and out of consciousness she fought to stay awake, her cheek pressed against Bucky's wet, leather-clad chest. Zara clung to him as the water level rose, shivering with cold despite being wrapped in his arms as they both looked up into several gun barrels.
Zara's heart pounded furiously in her chest as she made out a smirk forming on Wards face through the smoke that was still filling the room. She tightened her grip on the chest straps on Bucky's vest, her eyes darting up to his when his grip around her body loosened. His expression had gone from one of worry to one of, well, blankness...

No...

Her stomach dropped as he stood, yanking her roughly to her feet by her arm. Panic hit her hard as she pulled against him, her thoughts going immediately to the blood in his hair, and suddenly she worried about the chip in his head being damaged. His grip tightened like a vice around her arm, making her gasp in pain and fear. She glanced up to see Larson standing beside Ward, being given commands, his eyes glazed over as he stared into space like a zombie.

Bucky moved again, his metal hand going to the gun at his hip, Zara losing her breath as pure terror took her over. She did the only thing she could do in that split second and went for his other gun, Bucky stopping her in time to spin her in against his chest. His flesh arm constricted around her body, holding her there uncomfortably tight as he threw his gun into the water below them.

"Bucky, what the hell are you doing!?" She choked out, hardly able to believe what was happening.

He pulled another gun out and threw it as well, one by one unloading his arsenal into the water below them, even taking her weapons and throwing them away, too. She struggled desperately to pull away from him, all her worst nightmares coming into fruition at once in front of her; the icy dark water rising, Bucky being under control, and the inevitability of Ward winning the battle against them - the burning building around them being an added bonus.

This can't be happening... I can't go through this again... I, I...

Zara gasped as her breath started to leave her, a panic attack imminent as she looked around for a way out, knowing it was absolutely hopeless. She twisted in Bucky's grip enough to see his blank expression as he looked up at Ward and Larson as if waiting for his next order.

Think, think THINK...

She knew without even trying that she couldn't fight Bucky, he was far too strong, easily double her weight, and had a height advantage of close to a foot. She looked up at all the guns pointed at them, the smoke filling the building, a dim orange glow from the fire above them, and the water spewing from the broken sprinkler pipes. The building groaned loudly, another chunk of ceiling falling into the water from across the room, and a crack making its way up the wall.
Zara swallowed hard and tried to settle her nerves, knowing that she'd have to use her brain to get out of this, and use it fast. Bucky began to move, dragging her along behind him as he made a beeline for a pile of rubble and began climbing it. Zara dug her heels in, trying to struggle against him, knowing if nothing else it would buy her valuable seconds to formulate a plan. Without thinking twice, he swung her over his shoulder, the pressure against her sore ribs taking her breath away.
"Bucky STOP... PLEASE!!" She cried, her plea falling on deaf ears as he lumbered along.
He effortlessly pulled them up towards the next floor, Zara gasping for breath as she looked over her shoulder towards their awaiting captors, Ward obviously loving what was unfolding.

Bucky reached up, pulling them onto the next floor through the gaping hole in the ceiling. He stopped beside Larson, setting Zara down on her feet beside him, a sinister smile on Wards face. Zara's eyes flickered around the room before she decided that her only chance was to take out Larson like she took out the force field guy. One bullet between the eyes and Bucky would be free, and she was fairly sure he could get them out.
There was a problem with killing Larson though - not only was he a local celebrity, but he also came from a family of attorneys... And then there was the ethical dilemma it presented of killing an innocent man. Bucky had been in the same boat only a few short years ago, doing horrible things under the control of Hydra...

Zara let out a strained breath, now wasn't the time to worry about remorse. Innocents had already died in this battle, and if Ward wasn't stopped, then the numbers would just keep stacking up. There was always going to be collateral damage...

Ugh, now is not the time to feel guilty. There was NO way to free Bucky without taking force-field guy out, and there's no way to get either of us out of here without taking Larson down. Bucky says it all the time - 'I'd rather be dead than under control again'...

She grit her teeth and lunged towards the soldier to her left, her fingertips grazing the handle of his pistol before Bucky grabbed her, yanking her away. The soldier was quick to get his act together, turning his gun to her, Ward letting out an amused laugh.
The building groaned again, another big chunk of burning debris falling through the ceiling above them, taking out part of the floor below as it crashed down.
Ward ordered some of his soldiers to get to safety, before muttering something to Larson. Without warning, Bucky shoved her into Wards grasp, Zara's trembling hands against his chest as she looked up into his dark eyes.
He spun her so her back was against him, one of his henchmen hurrying to tighten a zip tie around her wrists.

"How does defeat taste, Miss Jones?" He purred into her ear, before leaving a lingering kiss on her neck, his eyes floating up to meet Bucky's.
"Get the fuck off of me!" She screamed, squirming in his grip, Ward restraining her effortlessly, slapping a hand over her mouth while he was at it.
He ran his metal hand over her flat stomach, his fingers tracing up the curve of her waist suggestively as if to test Bucky for a reaction. He stopped under her breast, Zara letting out another muffled cry as she struggled in vain to get away. Ward chuckled to himself when he got no reaction from Bucky, absolutely relishing the moment.
Zara looked up at Bucky with big, frightened eyes, not sure now where escape might lie. Her breathing picked up pace as she started to accept defeat, the fire loudly picking up ferocity in the room above them.

What now... What the hell do we do now...




Everything inside Bucky SCREAMED at him to get her out of Wards arms; his lips on her neck and the sadistic smile as his hands explored her body making Bucky want to rip his spine out. The look on her face was something he just couldn't even think about right now as the wheels turned in his head.
He'd heard the first command in his mind from Larson loud and clear, and was faced with a gut-wrenching decision- to roll with it, or to fight? Fighting meant taking on Ward, a collapsing, burning, flooded building, and the two dozen soldiers with assault rifles pointed at them. He knew he was good, but he wasn't THAT good. Rolling with it meant that they thought they had the upper hand, and even better - security would be relaxed.
The fact that he could hear Larson's commands but wasn't under any obligation to follow them was a huge bonus and meant he could play right into their hands. He'd earned their trust enough for Ward to have already sent some of his men away, the soldiers either side of Bucky not worried by his presence in the slightest.
Trying not to show any reaction to Zara was the hardest thing, she'd cried in his arms as he'd restrained her, his grip biting into her flesh. He knew he'd hurt her and hated himself for it. Even more so the fact that she'd probably never trust him again. He'd not only lied to her and betrayed her completely, but he'd literally handed her over to the very person who'd been terrorizing them both... All those months of her suffering nightmares would surely be back tenfold, and he was sure that every time he closed his eyes he'd be plagued by the sight of her looking up at him in fear.

He looked on, keeping his expression blank and obedient while his thoughts raged on in his head, the guilt eating him alive where he stood. The only thing that was keeping him going at this point was the lesser of two evils; Zara might hate him after all this was over, but at least she'd be alive. Hate, distrust and fear was a whole lot less permanent than death or capture. He'd make sure that Ward would pay dearly for that as well, if this cost him his relationship with Zara, then heads were going to roll - quite literally if Bucky had his way.

The tears had stopped rolling down Zara's cheeks and she just stared hopelessly into space, swaying on her feet occasionally as if she was about to collapse under the stress. She'd initially struggled against the zip ties around her wrists and the skin had split and bled, but by the looks of it she didn't care anymore. She knew there was no use in trying, and for the first time in her life, she'd just given up.

Her breathing picked up pace as Ward mumbled something to Larson, and barked an order at his soldiers. They were quick to follow their instructions to leave as more burning pieces of the building came down with a crash, embers flying around the room.

Bucky's eyes flicked between them all, making sure nobody saw him working things out, until that voice filled his head again.

Get Ward, Jones, and myself out of this building alive. Now.

Bucky let out a breath, giving Larson and Ward a nod of acknowledgement before turning to the soldier on his right. He reached over at lightning speed, snatching something from the young man's backpack and tossed it across the room. Zara's eyes followed it, widening when she heard the beep over the roar of the flames.

"NOO!!" Ward cried out, barely having time to turn away as the grenade detonated, a huge explosion bringing down the roof above them. There were shrieks of terror and pain as the soldiers he'd ordered out had been crushed in their tracks, flames engulfing the room they were in. Ward coughed violently, blinded by smoke, embers and gushing water for a moment, the sound of gunshots snapping him back into reality.
He sucked in a breath, realizing he was being dragged by the back of his vest, and his prisoner was no longer in his arms. Bucky picked up momentum, breaking into a jog as he carried Zara to safety, dragging Ward behind him. They made their way up a smokey, wet corridor which hadn't yet succumb to the flames, Bucky's boots sloshing through the water covering the floor. There was a loud crash overhead as a burning beam dropped through the roof, the wall quickly catching alight. Time was running out, fast.

He picked up the pace, still holding Zara over his shoulder securely as he ran them down the corridor looking for an escape route. A loud, robotic sound interrupted his thoughts as a metal arm hit him in the leg, hard, tripping him up. He came down with a crash, Zara landing hard, unable to stop herself as her hands were still bound.
Furious, he stood up, turning to face Ward, who was still on the ground. Bucky stood on his chest, pressing down hard with his heavy boot, pulling out a handgun and aiming it at his head.

"I was ordered to turn you into Shield... But why bother? It'd be so easy to end you, right here, right now..." Bucky snarled aggressively as he thumbed the safety off, pulling the trigger quickly without thinking twice. Ward roared in pain, his hand going to the bullet wound in his shoulder above the joint to his metal arm.
Bucky let off another three shots, his gun going to clicks being the only reason he stopped. Ward gasped for breath, shocked that Bucky had let him live. He writhed in pain, looking up into the eyes of the former fist of Hydra, his expression serious and terrifying. The well placed shots had rendered Wards' metal arm useless, and at a guess he wouldn't be able to stand up on his own, much less run out of the flames when the time came.

Zara looked up in horror from her spot on the floor, having been unable to get to her feet. Bucky crouched down to pick Wards foot up, dragging him by it towards the nearest door off the hallway they were in. They passed Zara, Ward reaching out to her in vain, absolute terror in his eyes.
"Stay there" Bucky said coldly, making eye contact with her. A chill ran up her spine as she watched him kick the door open and toss Ward in like a ragdoll. He turned to close the door, his eyes meeting hers again, the fear showing in hers angering him again.

Zara jumped as the door was slammed, leaving her alone in the smokey, dark corridor, sitting in two inches of icy cold water. Her breath picked up pace as she looked to her left, the orange glow getting closer and closer to her, the sprinklers overhead not making much of a difference to the flames. She heard a gut-wrenching scream behind the door that Bucky and Ward had just gone in, suddenly feeling sick at the thought of what might be going on in there. She pushed the wet hair off her face, heart racing as she struggled to stand. Another horrible scream rang out, followed by a gruesome cracking sound and more screaming.

Zara's hands went to her mouth in horror as she contemplated making a run for it, her imagination running wild, having never seen this terrifying side of Bucky before. She stood, frozen in fear under the sprinkler as another series of screams rang out, more cracking and a final scream which was quickly hushed by a loud crash.

Bucky came out of the room a second later, eerily relaxed as he closed the door behind him. He made a beeline for Zara, her mouth dropping open involuntarily as he got closer. She stumbled backwards away from him, Bucky reaching out to grab her, pulling a knife from his pocket. Zara screamed, her hands coming up to shield her face as he grabbed her wrist. She was snapped back into reality, when she realized that he'd cut the zip tie, freeing her, rather than hurting her as she'd expected.
She swallowed hard, somewhat embarrassed at her assumption, confused as to what was going on with Bucky. He frowned as if reading her thoughts, hating the uncertainty in her face.

"We've gotta go" is all he said, keeping his voice low.

The orange glow got closer, the fire making its way along the corridor now. Zara took one look at it, and turned back to Bucky, knowing deep down that he'd get her out safe. She nodded, trying to slow her breathing down and get her composure back. He reached out, taking her hand and before she had time to argue, they were off running.
Zara grit her teeth, shielding her face from the water coming down overhead with her free hand, the smoke getting thicker and thicker the further down the corridor they ran. Bucky suddenly skidded to a stop, pulling Zara out of the way before a section of ceiling dropped down in front of them, crashing right through the floor. They backed away quickly as the floor began to fall out from under them, the walls around them quickly going up in flames too.
Bucky frantically looked over both shoulders before his eyes landed on Zara, both of them panicking now. Zara coughed as the smoke overwhelmed them both, her head spinning and her ribs still hurting like crazy. She shook her head hopelessly at Bucky, now more certain than ever that they weren't getting out of this one.

He grit his teeth again, there was no way in hell things were going to end for them like this. Not on his watch. He scooped her up and shielded her face, Zara coughing harder now as the smoke got too much, burying her face in his chest.
Bucky took a few steps back and with a short run-up, he jumped the gap in the floor, powering along as fast as he could go. He leaped over chunks of debris as they fell, the building starting to come down around them. They eventually came to an elevator shaft, Bucky testing the heat of the metal doors with his flesh hand.

Red hot... God dammit...

He looked back over his shoulder, the flames getting closer and closer. He swallowed hard and jammed his metal hand into the gap between the doors and pulled, getting out of the way as quickly as he could. Flames roared out of the elevator shaft, the doors opening kick-starting an inferno, the heat almost unbearable. A glance down to Zara made his chest tighten as he saw her drifting in and out of consciousness.

Fuck, fuck, fuck...

His heart raced in his chest as the flames subsided enough for him to step into the shaft, a rare moment where he was grateful for his metal arm. He held his breath, tossing her over his shoulder and jumping towards the ladder, praying that it'd hold them. He climbed as fast as he could, the soles of his boots melting on the metal rungs of the ladders, the heat and smoke suffocating him.

He took a gamble at the second elevator door they got to, and pried it open, keeping out of the way for the sudden inevitable burst of fire, shielding them both as best he could.
The room before him was the worst one yet damage-wise. The air rippled in front of him, the heat like nothing he'd ever felt before. He scanned the room in seconds, and locked onto a row of blown out windows. There was no way they were getting out without getting burned, but it was a whole lot better than dying, and they were well and truly out of options now.

Here goes...

Bucky swallowed hard and made a run for it, sticking to the edge of the room where the building would in theory be the most sound. Embers flew at him as he ran through the flames trying desperately to shield them both as he made a beeline for the window. A loud crack rang out as his foot went through the floor, tripping him up. Zara flew from his arms despite his best efforts to grab onto her.
"NOO!" He screamed out as she landed, Zara's body rolling towards a hole in the floor, jolting her back into consciousness for a moment. She gasped, reaching out for him in that split second as he yanked his foot free and clumsily lunged for her at the same time. His metal fingers grazed her fingertips as time seemed to stop, Bucky's world running in slow motion as he held his breath. He barely had time to notice the floor underneath him had dropped as his flesh hand desperately swung to catch hers as she fell.

His hand locked around hers with a loud slap, Bucky looking down into her frightened eyes, the scene taking him back to the Hydra battle. He'd watched her fall into a pit of flames, much like the one underneath her now... This time she hadn't fallen, he'd caught her, and through some miracle, his metal arm had locked around a beam and they were both still okay. He swallowed hard again, relieved for a moment but knowing they weren't out of danger yet as he pulled them back up.
He scooped Zara back up, more determined than ever as he took off running again, keeping his steps as light as possible as they got closer to the window, the building groaning as more and more of it collapsed around them. He held his breath, taking a leap of faith, the window being higher above ground level that he'd counted on.

The cold night air just about knocked the air out of his lungs, Bucky bracing himself as they came down, hitting the snowy ground outside. He landed in a crouched position still holding Zara, his metal hand against the ground to steady him before getting back to his feet. He ran like hell into the woods nearby, looking over his shoulder a couple of times to make sure the coast was clear without slowing down. He ignored his heaving breath and the pain shooting up his leg where it had gone through the floor, only caring about getting them as far away from the building as possible.
He slowed to a jog, eventually stopping in a particularly sheltered area, his legs giving out as he sunk to the ground in sheer exhaustion. Zara was still in his arms, Bucky beyond relieved that she was still breathing as he checked both of them for wounds. Their clothes were quite torn up with plenty of jagged burn holes revealing sore red flesh underneath. They'd certainly have scars to show if they made it through the night.

He gathered himself up, trying to catch his breath, suddenly worried when he realized they were both soaking wet, shivering, and sitting in half a foot of snow.

"Where the hell are we..." He wondered aloud as he looked around him, his hand over his chest as he caught his breath. He'd had himself convinced that they were in a city building, it coming as a surprise that they were in an underground bunker in the middle of nowhere... His next thought went to home where it had stopped snowing weeks ago. Bucky shook his head, deciding he'd have time to work it out later. He peered down at Zara's pale face, chattering teeth and blue lips, deciding that he'd have to find them somewhere dry to hide out until the morning - whenever that was.
He let out a long breath as he struggled to his feet, still holding her close as he looked around, confused as to which direction would get them anywhere.

Why do we always get into these situations when it's fucking cold, wet and dark!?

They now had a whole new set of obstacles to worry about, the threat of hypothermia now looming over them as the heavens opened up, dropping a fresh layer of snow which could be seen in the clearing nearby. He decided to head in the opposite direction to the burning bunker, the sky full of embers becoming a good guide that they were going in the right direction.

He trudged on, breath hanging in the air, and wet clothes sending a chill down to his bones. Bucky let out a breath, planting a kiss on Zara's forehead, making a silent promise that he'd get them to safety. One way or another, they'd get home safe...