Relentless

More jets had gone over during the night. As crappy as she felt, Zara knew she had to keep on moving, something big was going down and despite everything going on with her and Hydra, she had the overwhelming urge to get back to Shield. She had rested in her spot by the creek for a few minutes, the world still spinning from cracking her head open in the crash. She'd sipped at her water bottle, but nausea had taken over and she'd been sick.
Zara cleaned herself up in the creek, shoving a fresh gun down the back of her pants. She winced at the bruise the last one had left on her back.

Toughen up, princess...

She picked up her backpack, putting the strap over her shoulder as she and made her way back down the hill towards the town. It wasn't long before the sun started creeping up, lighting the woods up in reds and oranges. A memory came to her of another day like this, what felt like a lifetime ago. A morning of determination, fear and adrenaline. She remembered the shock of being shot, her world fading and Bucky's worried face as he comforted her in what they both thought were her final moments... An icy lump formed in her throat just thinking about it. He'd been so desperate and so afraid, and then things had gone from bad to worse.
Zara sighed, at least this time she hadn't been shot, and she wasn't too badly hurt, save for a concussion and whatever was under the crusted blood in her hair. God, she missed him so much. She bit the inside of her cheek to hold the tears off, thinking what she wouldn't give to be safe in those strong arms again, looking into those blue eyes, kissing those delicious lips...



The sun was well and truly up now, Zara squinted as she looked down the road, her hand shielding her eyes. Relief hit her when the ground beneath her changed from dirt to concrete. The town was fairly deserted, which she found creepy - worse still when she caught her reflection in a shop window and a scene from a zombie movie popped into her head. She almost laughed out loud at the thought. Zara kept moving, it was going to be in her best interests to stay hidden, she looked like she'd been chewed up and spat out - not at all a conspicuous look.
She took a sip from her water bottle as she neared a train station that had seen better days, and keeping herself hidden she managed to pull herself up onto one of the freight carriages. She pressed herself up against the side of the carriage, somehow staying out of sight as an inspector made his way toward the engine. Zara could smell the booze on him as he went, which was fortunate for her. Not so fortunate for him, not to mention dangerous in a job around these gigantic machines. She slid into the carriage through a tiny gap, and settled down against the wall in the corner behind a couple of large crates. There was shouting outside the door to the driver, and to Zara's relief the engine came to life and the train began to slowly pull out of the station.

Goodbye shit-hole town...

Zara stayed awake for the whole trip, not feeling brave enough to let herself drift off. She crept to the crack in the door and peered out, her heart sinking when she realized she was in a city. A busy, bustling, major city. The train was slowing, and she felt herself start to panic. The unmistakable sound of metal on metal vibrated through the carriage as the brakes were applied and the train came to a stop. Zara slipped through the door and made a run for it, pulling her backpack onto her shoulder as she went. There were shouts behind her which she ignored, pulling herself up on the opposite platform and scrambling over the barriers. She ran out into the street, loosing herself in the crowds, allowing herself to take a breath. She put her head down and told herself to blend in. Don't run, don't stand out.

"Welcome to Baltimore" read a sign in a shop window.

Hmm, so that's where I am...

Another glance into the window gave her the time and date, which meant she had to keep away from Hydra for at least the next 48 hours... Zara let out a sigh, if she'd lasted this long, what was another couple of days? There was an air of unease around her. People were hurried, stressed and some were even frightened. She wondered if all city people were like this. Zara paused to gather her thoughts, she needed somewhere to lay low, perhaps if she could get into a hostel somewhere to clean up and she could go from there.
She managed to get into a room with a fake name and a large wad of cash - more than what she would have liked to part with, but the guy behind the desk drove a hard bargain.
"Money talks, bullshit walks..." He'd said, taking a drag of his cigarette, blowing it out the open window before putting his hand out. Zara had let out an exasperated breath. This time in a couple of days she'd be back at Shield, and she'd be safe.
The first thing Zara did was practically dive for the shower, washing the clothes she had on while she was in there and drying them by hand with the blow drier mounted on the wall. She raided the mini-bar for snacks, finding it was embarrassingly under-stocked. There were out of date cookies and the liquor bottles looked like they'd been opened already. She scrunched her face in disgust and pulled out her leftover pretzels as she re-loaded her weapons and laced her boots back up again. If there was one thing she'd learned about being on the run, it was to ALWAYS be ready to run.

She wasn't particularly tired, and didn't want to risk sleeping again. It was still early, just after 10.30am if the clock on the wall was correct. Instead she re-packed her bag and stretched out on the bed, turning the TV on while she fiddled with the gun she'd left out. She flicked through the channels, watching an old black and white movie for a few minutes, before getting bored and flicking again. Music video, infomercial, Captain America running through a war-zone, soap opera...

Wait... WHAT!?

She flicked back to the Cap scene, and scooted to the edge of the bed, eyes glued to the set.
"We bring you this exclusive footage, live from Washington D.C..." Came the voice of a female reporter. Zara's heart started to race, and she thought back to the jets flying overhead the night before. The reporter gave a running play-by-play of the events unfolding, the camera showing Steve running through the city, throwing his shield. There was shaky footage of a guy with a flamethrower standing on some sort of a monument, Steve trying desperately to get to him but he couldn't seem to push through whatever force was holding him back. There were gunshots in the background as the reporter ducked and made a run for it, her cameraman following her. Her eyes darted up to see a quin-jet materialize overhead and Shield agents come down on retractable cables, landed and took off running. Zara's hand flew over her mouth, stifling a gasp... She recognized several of them which could only mean they were from the rookie squad.

Jess...

It looked like they'd been dropped to contain the perimeter, dangerous move, but it was probably the limit of what they could handle. Unless they'd been in some serious boot camp in the last few days? Who knows... Zara shook the thoughts out of her head as she watched, eyes still glued to the screen. There were more gunshots and then the reporter was pushed to the ground and shielded by a leather-clad arm that held her there as more shots were fired. She was pulled to her feet by her tall, long haired savior and Zara made out a familiar voice in war-mode.
"Get the hell out of here. GO!" He said aggressively. "NOW!"
"Bucky..." Zara breathed, pressing her hand up against the screen as she seemingly locked eyes with him for a moment. She swallowed the lump in her throat, already making her mind up on her next move.

The reporter nodded and stammered a very nervous thank-you before turning back to the cameraman gesturing with her hand across her neck to cut the filming.
"That's it... Cut it" The reporter said, and then the screen shot back to the studio.
"Well there you have it. The President will be issuing a press conference as soon as soon as possible. Until then, we'd like to warn anyone to stay away from D.C area and surrounds. To anyone in the vicinity, we suggest you stay inside your homes, lock your doors, and stay safe."

Zara picked her bag up, shoving the pistol into the back of her pants and ran out the door. Part of her wanted to jump the counter and take her money back from the guy behind the desk, but then again she wouldn't have known what was going on if it wasn't for him... She glared at him on her way past and burst out the door, running down the street as fast as she could. She slowed when she came to the mouth of an underground car park, watching as a woman paid her ticket, and began to drive out through the open boom gate. Zara stepped in front of her, the car slamming it's brakes on, but not before clipping her. The woman in the car gasped in horror, getting out and running to Zara's aid as she feigned agony.
Zara gave her a shove, knocking her over as she ran to the car, got in the driver's seat and put her foot down, hard. The woman leapt to her feet and gave chase in vain, running out of puff quickly as she disappeared in the rear-view mirror.

Zara let out an uncomfortable breath, she didn't like doing these things, but she felt she had to get there. She doubted one more soldier on the field would be of much use, but she couldn't sit back knowing they were out there, and not help. She had this un-suppressible urge to make sure Jess was okay and to fight by Bucky's side. She was safe with him, and she could help keep the others safe.

I must be crazy...

At least she had little chance of being apprehended. By the way things were unfolding, the cops had bigger things to worry about than a stolen car...
She swerved hard, taking a corner way too fast, the car sliding around a corner before roaring off again. Zara cocked a smile, she hadn't lost her touch behind the wheel of a car. Her eyes shot in every direction, looking for signs and following them, getting on the 295 the first chance she got.
The first thing she noticed was all the outbound traffic coming from DC, thankfully there wasn't much going in. She put her foot down hard, watching the needle creep up on the speedometer.
"I'm coming Bucky..."



Steve caught his shield as it rebounded back to him, holding it back up again as more fire was thrown in his direction. He strained against the power or the flames, his feet sliding on the concrete under him, pushing him back. There was a loud explosion as Tony flew overhead, shooting a repulsor beam at the offender, throwing both him and Steve backward. They landed with a thud, Steve raising his Shield and Tony raising his hands, poised for another attack.

Bucky fired his assault rifle, hitting three soldiers dressed in black, before turning around and running through the city under a cloud of dust. He ducked his head as he ran, more explosions sounding in the distance.
"Go, go, go!!!" He called out as the ground shook, a couple of Shield recruits making a run for it just in time to miss another ground-shaking explosion. He was quick to get back to his feet, looking around as is to survey the scene in seconds before firing off another two shots from his rifle.

"Who's idea was this again?" He said loudly, with a hand over his ear.
"Not mine, that's for sure" Came Steve's voice through the earpiece. He glanced over his shoulder, with concern in his eyes before getting back to the action.
"Half of these recruits aren't ready for this..." Bucky said.
"Oh, will you look at that, Barnes has a heart after all-"
"Fuck off, Stark"
"Now, now guys... This wasn't Coulson's call, this came from higher up so let's get through this and we can argue the point later" Steve's diplomatic voice came again through the earpiece.
"We don't protect them, they die. Point is, we're here to do a job, not babysit" Bucky said, ducking and shooting again, cocking a smile when he heard the shriek of the guy he'd hit.
"I'd like to strike my previous comment from the record..."
"Shut up Tony" Bucky and Steve said at the same time.
"Coulson, we're getting slammed in here, better pull the kids back" Steve said, putting a hand over his ear. "...Coulson?"



Zara felt her stomach drop when she saw the scene unfolding in front of her as she accelerated towards D.C. It occurred to her that this was possibly the most idiotic idea she'd ever had. The self-doubt settled in and she swallowed hard as she slowed down.

Why are you here, Zara?
I don't know!
What made you come here?
I can't sit by and watch them fight. I need to help. I need to protect them, they can't fight like I can...
And then what!?
Keep fighting. Find Bucky. Save the day.
That's ambitious...
I'm Zara Jones. What did you expect?

She grit her teeth and stopped the car as close as she could get without being seen. She pulled the weapons out of her bag and loaded up. Switchblade in her boot, knife in a sheath strapped to her thigh, Bucky's gun still down the back of her pants and the Frenchman's pistol in her hand. Safely off, and ammo in her pockets. She closed her eyes and exhaled.
"Here we go..."

The second Zara stepped out of the car, shots were fired at her which she dodged as she returned with deadly accuracy. She grinned to herself as she remembered Bucky's words. 'Using your combat skills are much like flexing a muscle. The more you work at it, the stronger you get. The more you shoot, the better you shoot. The more you fight, the better you fight.' Turns out he was right as per usual. Her advantage was that she had already been a dangerous opponent once upon a time. Fortunately she was well on her way to getting those skills back.
She paused, stopping to survey the scene as she crouched, pressing her back against an upturned car. Whoever they were up against were proving a point, what point was anyone's guess. Who the hell would just rock up and decide to start a war in the nation's capitol? It felt a little below Hydra if she was honest with herself, but as usual she'd be on the lookout.

Zara crept quietly to the next hiding spot, following her pistol as she looked around where her next move was coming from. There were casually dressed guys with all sorts of ammo and weapons strapped to them. She watched them, trying to work out if they were undercover Shield agents or, well, the bad guys. Her question was answered quickly as one of them shot at a uniformed U.S military soldier and ran. Zara aimed her gun and shot him from where she was crouched, hitting him in the back of the neck. The Army soldier turned and pointed his gun at her.
"Identify yourself!!" He screamed at her, sending a chill down her spine.
"Zara Jones, Shield. I'm a friendly!" She called back, raising her hands. "I'm approaching you!"

"Put your gun down, Private" She said, lowering her own weapon as she crouched beside him, being careful to lower herself slowly and keep her stance as non-threatening as possible.
"Corporal..." He corrected her.
"Sorry. What the hell is going on here?"
"You should have been briefed."
"I've been AWOL. I'm here to help." She said turning to shoot over her shoulder after ducking a set of shots.
"Terrorists" He said, keeping it brief.
"Seriously?" She asked, almost disappointed. "What do THEY want? Why is Shield involved?"
"What all terrorists want. Power. They won't get it though, and we aren't afraid of them. They've got gifted's on their side so we called Shield in..."
"Oh okay, that makes a bit more sense then... Are Hydra involved?"
"We're not sure..."

There was another loud explosion which Zara and the Soldier shielded themselves from, before exchanging a knowing look and a nod.
"Stay safe, Corporal" She said before making another run for it. He called out after her but she ignored it, running toward a collapsed building and pressing herself against it, realizing too late that she was only one crumbled pile of bricks away from one of the terrorists. He didn't look at all how she'd envisioned. When someone says terrorist, you get a picture in your head. This was a normal, white collared looking American guy. Dressed in a military getup, cargo pants, combat boots and ammo strapped to him like freaking Rambo. He had two hostages bound and bagged, and had a completely ostentatious looking gun pointed at them. It was a feat in itself he was able to hold the thing up with one arm. He radioed for backup, sounding quite pleased with himself.

Zara took a step in to get a better look and was shot at, the bullet ricocheting off part of the building behind her. She spun and returned fire, missing her shot as she leapt behind the collapsed wall that had saved her, into full view of the terrorist. She pointed her gun at him with lightening speed and pulled the trigger *click, click*

Fuck it!

She hit the deck as he pulled his own trigger, his weapon emitting a loud BOOM, the shot sailing straight over her as the recoil made him stumble back. She got up and ran at him, knocking it out of his grip and going in with a series of punches. She sent a high kick into the side of his head, making him wobble.

You're supposed to be unconscious you stubborn prick...

In the meanwhile the other shooter had snuck up behind her and held his weapon up. Zara grabbed her dazed assailant, spinning him in front of her, using him as a human shield as the shooter opened fire. This gave Zara valuable milliseconds to pull Bucky's gun from behind her back and shoot at him, hitting him in the throat. There was a sickening gurgle as he dropped, Zara stood, chest heaving as she glanced her eyes in every direction before she deemed it safe enough to lower her gun. She jogged over to the hostages, pulling the bags off their heads.
"Rachael!?" She gasped, recognizing one of them. She pulled her switchblade from her boot and cut the zip-ties from their wrists and ankles.
"Oh my god, Zara..." Came the teary voice of the blonde girl as she threw her arms around Zara's neck desperately. She didn't know the brown haired girl sitting beside her, but it was clear she was just as grateful.
"What the hell are you guys doing out here?" Zara asked, jogging over to the dead terrorists and raiding them for weapons. She tossed each other girls a loaded gun each as they spoke.
"We were guarding the perimeter."
"You shouldn't be out here" Zara snapped, angry that they'd been put into the field.
"They didn't know it was going to be this bad. It was all going fine, and then more came, and it was too much for us to handle..." Rachael explained, pulling herself together.

"Where are the others? Are the elites safe?"
"Stark and Rogers were taking on an opponent near the White House last I heard. An inhuman. Romanov and banner aren't here from what I know, but most of the senior agents are out there. I know that much for sure."
Zara nodded, her bottom lip between her teeth, mind racing.
"What about Barnes? Has Ward said anything?"
"Last I heard, Barnes was near the mouth of the bridge near the Lincoln Memorial, it was bad over there. I don't know where Ward is, we... Haven't been in touch for a while." Rachael explained somewhat awkwardly.
"Okay, you guys need to keep moving. Head away from the town center." Zara said authoritatively, nodding away from the action.
"What use are we there?"
"You'll be safe, and nobody will have to come and save you" She said, earning a somewhat pissed off look from the pair of them. "It's not personal, they should never have sent you guys. Your safety is all that matters, okay?"
"And what about you?"
"I'll be fine" Zara said, looking over her shoulder, giving a smile when she found eye contact with the girls again. "Besides, remembered how to shoot" She joked. Rachael shook her head, letting out a chuckle.
"For what it's worth, Zara... I'm..."
"Don't worry about all that. It's fine. Really... Some other time." Zara said as she tucked her blade back into her boot and shoved Bucky's pistol into the back of her jeans.
"You guys need to go. NOW" She urged. "Eyes open, head down and stay safe."
Rachel and the brown haired girl both cocked their guns and nodded, moving out. Rachael paused and looked back over her shoulder as Zara pumped an assault rifle, readying it to fire.
"Take care, Zara" She said with a nod before disappearing over the hill.

The ground shook again, Zara taking it as her cue to get moving. She swallowed hard, saying a silent prayer that she'd live through this. She'd make sure there were no other hostages, and then find she'd find Bucky... The sky lit up in orange, another explosion going off, loud enough to make her ears ring. She shook it off and took off running into the battle zone, rifle in hand and at the ready.

Okay Zara, now's your chance to make a difference. Let's see how close to the sun you can fly...