Nothing But Ash

The last time Ren had been in Paris was in 2009 while writing a story on the ‘Grand Pari de l'Agglomération Parisienne’ scheme. Of course, back then her strolls through the city streets were much more leisurely. There’d been time to visit museums, stop at bakeries, and eat at some truly amazing restaurants. She’d even learned French for the extended trip. 

Now she and Sam were speed walking down the cobblestone lane while constantly looking over their shoulders. They’d been walking long enough that there were some people out. Even a few vendors were out in the street. 

Despite that, they hadn’t managed to lose their tail yet. Sam looked at her duffel bag, “You need to ditch that,” He told her. 

“I can’t, it’s got my suit in it,”

“It’s also attracting too much attention,”

His gear was stashed in a black backpack, much less conspicuous than the large bag she was carrying. A little way down the street was a cart sporting several purses. She walked over to it and examined the merchandise. Near the bottom of the hanging bags she found one that worked, a little green canvas backpack. They ducked into an alley as she moved the necessities from one bag to another. Mourning her clothes, Ren tossed the duffel in the nearest dumpster. At least she packed light. 

They tossed their phones too. They should’ve done that before they even left Sokovia. If Hydra could track communications it was almost certain they could track the phones as well. But everyone had been in such a rush that it had slipped their minds. 

The last detour was to pick up some light disguises. Baseball caps for both. Sam got a brown jacket to cover his gray shirt, Ren purchased a big scarf to wrap around her shoulders. There was no way in hell she was gonna lose another leather jacket. 

Nearly out of the street Wilson paused again. She backtracked to find him standing beside a cart full of jewelry. She knew what was coming. He had a shit eating grin, “Wanna buy me a friendship bracelet?”

She shook her head, “You know, I’m starting to think you’re jealous,”

“Wha- of C-3PO?”

“Mhm,”

He laughed, “I just think it’s funny that the two of you bonded so fast. Actually I think it’s great, the guy needs it. But c’mon, you bought a deadly assassin jewelry?”

“I was trying to be nice,” She said throwing her hands in the air, “He lost all his stuff when Hydra kidnapped him again and I thought he might like having something, fun,”

Sam clicked his tongue and shook his head, but they continued on. 

A map of the city might’ve been useful, but they couldn’t sit still long enough to figure out where exactly they were. They had lost precious time at the shops. Three times already the agents tailing them had been close enough to spot. Sharp turns and attempts to disappear into the growing crowds hadn’t shaken them. 

“Maybe we should split up,”

Wilson looked at her, “What?”

They maintained their pace and turned onto another street, this one was bigger and busier, “There’s only two of them. We split up, they split up. Plus they’re looking for two people right now and that makes us easier to track,”

He looked around like he was looking for another option. There wasn’t one, “Alright. But you lose them as fast as possible and we still meet at the Eiffel Tower,”

“Stay safe,”

Without another word Ren crossed the road and changed directions. From her periphery she watched one of the men cross as well. One of the storefronts she passed was labeled Fabulons Friperie - a thrift store. She ducked into the shop. Ditching her hat and scarf amongst the racks she made the sacrifice of her black leather jacket, replacing it with a white one. She also swiped a pair of sunglasses and, on a whim, a small gold bracelet.

Walking quickly to the back she passed the changing room and pushed out of the backdoor. Slipping a hair tie from her wrist she put her hair in a low, loose bun. A right turn took her into another alley and then back to another main street. Continuing down the thoroughfare and crossing to the other side, she spied the same agent again. 

Ren cursed and slipped into yet another alley. She wasn’t sure if he had spotted her or if he was just trying to find her again. Not taking the chance, she zigzagged her way through the streets of the French capital. Hopefully Sam was faring better. Stepping down another narrow path she looked back to see if the goon had caught up. She collided with something near the end of the alley and was promptly slammed into the wall. Shit , the agent must have circled around to cut her off. She was so screwed. A hand clamped over her mouth and she looked up into the eyes of her captor. 

They were blue. Very blue. She knew that blue. Barnes stared her down, willing her to be silent and stay still. Slowly, she lifted her sunglasses to the top of her head. His eyes widened as he recognized her. With the costume change and the deep shadows she must’ve looked like a random girl on the streets. He removed his hand but pressed his finger to his lips. 

Still pressing her against the brick wall he turned to watch the street he’d come off of. Coming down the hill of the narrow side street were two more Hydra agents. Ren felt jipped, why did he get two?

They were looking around for Barnes, but managed to miss the small alley’s opening. The two continued on. They stayed where they were, breathing heavily, while they watched where the agents had disappeared. A minute or two passed as they waited for the coast to clear and made sure the goons didn’t double back. She became acutely aware of how close they were. His hands pinned her arms to the wall, and their noses were nearly touching.

“Well isn’t this cozy,” Echoed an electronic voice from above them.

Barnes jumped backward and pulled the pistol Ren had given him. Above their heads was a sleek red drone, the same color as Sam’s wingsuit. 

“You are so creepy,” She told the drone.

“You like him?” Sam asked, “His name is Redwing,”

Barnes shook his head, “I’m not calling it that,”

…

Tails lost, the three sat at a café table near the base of the Eiffel Tower. Open view, enough foot traffic to hide them, but not enough to conceal any potential agents. Sam was still using Redwing to search for Steve. 

After they had separated he had donned the wingsuit and perched on top of a building. Next, he’d used the drone to take out the agent following him. It was fast and efficient. Allowed him to look for the rest of them. She and Barnes had made his job easy by running into each other. Apparently Steve and Bucky had the same idea as she and Sam did and they'd split up to be harder to follow. 

Since they had the downtime Ren decided to order a coffee and a croissant. No point in going hungry when she wasn’t sure when they’d have another chance to eat. Wilson followed her lead and got himself a sandwich. Eventually Bucky was bullied into getting something to eat too. He ordered a small bowl of fruit and she made him get a croissant as well. 

As they ate they worked on their plan. There were too many Hydra agents in the city, all focused on catching them. Chances were, there would be a unit waiting at the airport. Staying in Paris any longer only gave Hydra more time to find them and to send more agents. The plan they landed on was risky. But given that they were short on time, resources, and pretty much everything else… it was the best they could do. 

She sipped her coffee, croissant nothing but crumbs on the plate, and watched the street. Barnes squinted and leaned closer to her.

“Look at me,”

She did as he asked. Her sunglasses were back on which distorted her view of him. He was looking into her eyes but he wasn't focused on her. The glasses, she realized. They were reflective.

“What do you see?” She asked.

He pressed his lips together, “Hydra agents, four of them,”

Either they had regrouped or this was a new set. Looking over his shoulder she spotted the group of four heading toward them. They were dressed normal, she didn’t know how Bucky had made them. It wasn’t important. 

She made to get up before stopping and reaching into her jacket pocket. Out of it came the gold bracelet she’d taken from the thrift shop. With a smirk, she dropped it in front of Sam, “For you, sweetheart,”

As much as Ren wanted to see his reaction there was no time to waste. She strode away from the café and the approaching agents. Stalking down the sidewalk she tried to match her pace to the others around her. Loosening her posture and settling into a relaxed stride she fought the urge to look back. The attempts at blending in were useless when someone grabbed her arm and dragged her into an alleyway. There was no time to react as a needle was shoved into her neck and the world went black.

…

Her head felt fuzzy. When she shook it it felt too light and too heavy at the same time. She tried to rub her eyes, but she couldn’t move her hands. Dropping her head back, Ren fought to open her eyes. The room was spinning. Or was that just her head? Everything felt a little groggy. 

Rolling her head to the side she tried to examine her surroundings. It took a minute for her eyes to talk to her brain, another for her mind to understand what she was seeing. At least it wasn’t a warehouse this time. It looked like an apartment, luxurious, though only half built. The view was actually rather nice. A shame that the Hydra agents ruined it. Right, she’d gotten herself kidnapped. How nice. 

“How nice of you to join us,”

Bad guys shouldn’t be allowed to be sarcastic , she thought, it just ruins sarcasm for the rest of us .

The voice continued. It was American, and familiar. She rolled her head upright and looked at the man before her. Well wasn’t that just awful, she knew him. Although, the puffy, half-healed burn on his throat made her smile. It was shaped like her hand.

“Heya Danny,” She slurred.

He gave her an annoyed look, clearly he didn’t enjoy being interrupted, “Hello Ren, or should I call you Rachel?”

“I’d rather you didn’t call me anything,”

A backhanded slap was his response. That cleared her head a little. The urge to hit him back was strong, but the handcuffs holding her to the metal chair she sat in prevented that. She sighed, “I really wish I could stop getting handcuffed… and least in this kind of situation,”

Daniel grew more irritated, “I know you think you’re real special, but I have a bigger target this time,” Fabulous, more monologuing, “We ought to thank you, for bringing Captain America and The Winter Soldier to the same place. Although your little rescue missions have been a pain in the ass, you lot killed quite a few of our agents,”

“My apologies for the inconvenience,”

God this was getting fun, his face was literally turning red. 

“Where are they?” He demanded.

Ren pursed her lips, “Where are who?”

“Your friends,”

“Well I have a lot of those, they live all over,” Another slap, she spit some blood on the unfinished floor, “Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t understand that,”

“If you insist on being difficult, then I won’t be able to be so… nice,”

“Is that what this is?”

He nodded smugly, “Ugh, then I’d hate to see mean,”

“Does that mean you’re willing to cooperate?”

“Mmmm,” She pretended to think about, “Nah, I’d rather not,”

Another agent stepped up and throw a right hook. OW , that one hurt. She glared at him. He hit her again. She only laughed and looked at Daniel, who had taken a step back, “Always running away from the fight aren’t you? Afraid to get your hands dirty?”

“I’d rather leave it to the professionals,” He retorted with a superior look. 

Ren rolled her eyes. Like she hadn’t taken a punch before. Back when she was a kid she’d had a bit of an attitude problem. Other kids and foster parents had tried to beat it out of her. None of them had succeeded, Hydra wouldn’t either. Though they sure as hell tried. 

On the bright side, her head didn’t feel fuzzy anymore. Her focus was razor sharp. She could feel the pounding in her head, feel that her left eye was starting to swell shut, and that her cheekbone probably looked pretty gnarly. There was blood coming from somewhere. Several somewhere's. The body shots the interrogator had taken were aching. Her ribs might’ve been bruised and she was regretting her early lunch, since she was about to throw it up. 

Doing her best to play tough, she shot the man another award winning grin, her teeth coated in her own blood. He hit her again. She wasn’t sure how much more of this she could take. 

A wave from Daniel and the man stepped back. His knuckles were bloody. Daniel adjusted his immaculate suit. Crouching in front of her, he pushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear, “Are you ready to talk? It’s a shame to see a face like yours so mutilated,”

She spat on him. A mirthless chuckle left her lips at his look of shock, at the sight of her blood marring his crisp white shirt and splattered on his face. Yet another backhanded slap.

“Jesus,” She cried, “Do you even know how to throw a punch? Or is bitch slapping the extent of your fighting abilities?”

Sadly she never got to hear his response. One of the guards dropped to the floor as the window behind him shattered. Right behind him was Redwing, who shot another five agents before a bullet caught his right flank. Poor little guy fell to the balcony. Her spirits remained high when another red blur landed beside him. From behind she heard as the door was kicked in. 

“About damn time,” She muttered.

Holding her powers at bay had taken all of her concentration. Now she let loose, and the handcuffs melted into a silver puddle. Disappointment washed over her as she realized all the agents were already taken out. Ren really wanted to hit someone.

“Couldn’t leave any for me?” She asked.

Steve laughed, “Maybe next time,”

“There might be some stragglers downstairs if you’re really itching for a fight,” Sam offered. 

She meant to make a witty response, but her vision started to go fuzzy. Before she could stumble an arm wrapped around her waist. She caught herself with a hand on his chest, “Thanks Buck,”

The words were barely a whisper as her vision continued to blur. Black was creeping in on the edges but she pushed it back. 

“What took you guys so long? Was the tracker working?” Her voice came out breathy. 

“Steve took his sweet time catching up with us,” Sam informed her.

“Well not all of us can fly,”

Barnes was looking down at her, “Are you alright?” He asked gently.

Ren nodded, “Yeah, totally,”

She passed out.