Chapter twenty nine
The Nomad opened the door slowly, and sauntered in. Bucky followed closely behind. Once they were both through the door, Bucky shut and locked it behind himself. There was no way Pierce was walking out of here.. Not alive at least.
Pierce was sitting at a light wooden desk, with papers stacked neatly on either side. In front of him was a briefcase, it instantly attracted Bucky’s attention, but it seemed to have escaped Steve’s.
When Pierce saw the Clown couple enter he leant back in his chair. Despite what he thought, Bucky could see that he was scared shitless. He had no back up and no defense.
"Alex.. How's life?" Steve said darkly, scanning the room with his cold blue eyes. He moved forward and placed both his hands on the opposite side of the desk and leaned forward. Intimidation was the first move of the delicious game that he and his Bucky bear were going to play.
Pierce cleared his throat, not taking his eyes off the Nomads. "Better than death." He retorted, trying to sound calm.
Steve just laughed. His smile disappeared instantly, and he slammed his palms flat on the top of the desk.
"You should have just stayed dead Pierce. For your own sake. Because this-" Steve gestured a hand between himself and Pierce. "Is going to get ugly real fast."
Alexander stood from his chair and level up with Steve. He looked Steve square in the face, then his eyes wandered over to Bucky, who was watching his boyfriend adoringly.
"I like your hair James, you must give me the name of your hairdresser." Pierce said, watching his face fall into a frown as he touched his hair lightly.
Bucky saw Steve’s shoulders hunch over and his right hand tensed into a fist and flew into the side of Pierce’s face. "Don't talk to him!" He barked, grabbing Pierce by his collar.
"Why's that Nomad? Scared he’s gonna realize the truth?"
Bucky’s eyes snapped up. He walked closer and placed a hand on Steve’s shoulder. "What truth?"
Steve shot him a glare, it was a 'shut up while I'm working' glare. He ignored him and asked again. "What is he talking about Daddy?"
"Nothing." He snapped.
Pierce darted his eyes between Steve and Bucky. "Awkward.." He teased.
Steve punched him in the face, his head rolled backwards.
"what's he on about?" Bucky asked again. His eyes wandered over to Steve , who now had a busted nose and lip.
"He knew James, he knew that I was alive, maybe even before you did. He knew my plans. My plans for you and he was going to let it happen. He was going to throw you to the wolves while he plotted his escape." Pierce said confidently. He knew if Bucky had any insecurities at all, it would be about his relationship with Steve.
"What?" He whispered, stepping away from Steve.
"You lying little shit." Steve shouted at Pierce, readying his fist for another blow. But he stopped when he felt the absence of Bucky’s hand on his shoulder. Steve turned to face him and saw that he had stepped away from him. His face was riddled with confusion.
"It's bullshit puppy. Don't listen to him."
Pierce was very good at reading body language, and he saw that Bucky was considering that he might have been speaking the truth about Nomad. "No James, listen to me. You and I both know that the Nomad only cares about himself. I told you before and I'll tell you again. He doesn't love you. The only person he loves is himself. You've outlived your usefulness James."
Within seconds Steve had his gun pressed against Pierce’s head. "Keep talking.. I dare ya."
"Is it true Daddy?" Bucky’s voice penetrated his ears.
"No."
"Look at me and tell me it's not true." Bucky snapped.
He refused to meet his eyes. "You should know by now that I'd never do anything like that to you."
Buckh stormed over to the two men and grabbed the revolver that was pressed to Pierce’s head. Steve shot around and tried to grab it back, but he stopped when he trained the gun back on Pierce.
The revolver was pointing at Pierce but his eyes were on Steve. He released Pierce and turned towards him. "This is exactly what he wants Bucky."
"Is it true?"
He sighed, the only way he would listen to him is if he told the truth. "Yes, I knew about Pierce. But I didn't know about his plans for you, at least not until-"
"-Until when? Huh?" Tears formed in his eyes.
"Shut up and let me finish would you?" He retorted. "I only found out this evening. I was going to finish him before anything could happen."
"How long have you known that he's been alive?" He asked, slightly calmer than before.
"Days, Bucky, only days. Which I assume is less than you've known. Am I right?"
"Yes." He admitted.
Steve turned back round to Pierce. "You wanna hear some truths? Let's hear some truths? I killed a friend of yours earlier.. He was very informative."
Pierce, who was once enjoying the couples domestic, wasn't enjoying it any longer.
"He told me everything about you.. Poor little Piercey being bullied through school. I bet your bully really scared the shit out of you didn't he? Hm?"
"Shut up!" Pierce shouted, trying to block out Steve’s voice.
Steve threw his head back and laughed. "I bet that's the sob story you use as an excuse for your sick obsession with fear and revenge. But Y'know what Piercey? The best revenge isn't planned." He chuckled. "Oh and lets not forget about the fear induced experiments that you'd preform on your patients at shield.. And they say I'm the psychopath."
Bucky’s hand shot to his mouth, he remembered hearing about this during his induction day at shield . They called it 'In house madness.' That's why all the staff at Shield Asylum had psychiatrists of their own. Just in case things got heavy. It had never occurred to him before now. But he was one of the victims of this 'Madness' along with Pierce.
"I remind you of him don't I? I remind you of the high school bully who made your life hell..." Steve snarled.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Pierce screamed. "You don't scare me Nomad, your nothing but a-a clown."
"Nice comeback Alex... I can tell you really thought that one through." Steve said, laughing sarcastically. He turned his head towards Bucky . "Want to have some fun baby?” Bucky nodded enthusiastically. "You bet Daddy." He walked over to Steve and gave him back his pistol. Bucky moved towards Pierce and forced him to sit back on the chair. Bucky walked behind him slowly and rested his hands on his shoulders. "You're up for some fun, ain't ya Alex?"
He tried to seem not intimidated, but his quivering shoulders told a different story. "Do your worst. Any moment now my men will blow your brains out."
Steve threw his head back and laughed. "How they gonna do that from beyond the grave?"
"Just you wait.." He warned.
Steve looked over at Bucky. "Okay, we'll wait." He took a seat opposite Pierce, and looked at the Rolex on his wrist. "Mm.. Are they usually this late? I do hate it when people aren't punctual."
He winked at the brunette and he giggled. "Daddy? How about we entertain ourselves while we wait? I'm bored."
Steve’s eyes lit up and nodded. "Oh you’re gonna love this Alex, my puppy’s always been very entertaining."
Bucky leant forward and grabbed a pair of blunt rusty scissors from the stationary pot sitting on the desk. Grasping them between his two fingers he snapped the blades together.
The blond howled with laughter, knowing exactly what Bucky was planning. Bucky grabbed the crown of Alexander’s head and yanked it backwards. He cried out in pain.
Holding a huge chunk of hair in his fist he positioned the open scissors just above the roots. Before he took the cut, He whispered in his ear. "Going bald can be such a hair raising experience."
The scissors clamped shut, trapping the hair inbetween the blade. But, because they were so blunt they didn't cut right away. Bucky frowned and looked over at his Clown Prince.
"Oh Doll, looks like you might have to improvise."
Bucky grabbed the hair tighter and began to saw at the hair with the blunt blades. Then Bucky pulled harshly. A clump of hair was ripped out from his scalp. Blood covered the bald area almost instantly.
Pierce cried out in pain, when he felt the burning sensation of his hair leaving his head. No words could describe the overwhelming pain he was feeling in that moment and he knew it wasn't going to end there. His eyes watered as he gritted his teeth. Bucky noticed and smirked. "Oh Pierce, please don't cry. I'll even it out I promise. You're gonna look so handsome by the time I'm finished."
Nomad stretched back on his chair and watched Bucky pull two, three, four more chunks out of the mans head.
"Puppy? What do you call a group of rabbits hopping backwards?"
He smiled. "I dunno Daddy, what do you call a group of rabbits hopping backwards?"
"A receding hairline."
They both burst out laughing at the same time. But Pierce just yelled in pain. Steve's face dropped.
Bucky noticed the frown on his lovers face. No one made his Daddy frown. He released Pierce’s head slightly and bent down to rummage through the desk draws.
His face lit up. "It's not duck tape but it'll do." He said, producing a roll of parcel tape. Bucky bit of a section and placed it over Pierce’s mouth. But to his annoyance, it kept sliding off due to the tears that this pathetic man was producing. Bucky placed the beginning of the tape over his lips and wrapped it round the bottom half of his face. The Nomad wouldn't be interrupted anymore.
"Got anymore jokes Pud?" He asked enthusiastically.
He beamed up at him. "You bet."
Pierce let out a struggling cry when Bucky began to chop, pull and rip away at his hair.
Steve began laughing even before he told his next joke. "Why to bald men have holes in their trouser pockets?"
"I dunno Pud. Why do bald men have holes in their trouser pockets?"
"So they can run their fingers through their hair!" Steve laughed and slapped his palm on the desk, making Pierce jump. Bucky laughed and pulled out more blood soaked roots from Pierce’s hair. "Good one Pud!"
He took a step backwards and admired his work. "I think we're finished. What do you think Puddin? Should I take a lil' more of the top?" Bucky beckoned him over.
He stood form his chair, still pointing the revolver to Pierce’s head. Steve walked over to join his boyfriend and smiled. Pierce’s head was an absolute mess. Chunks of hair and flesh were missing from his head, but through all the blood you could distinctly make out a patch of hair, which looked like the letter 'S'.
"Oh baby, your talents never seize to amaze me!" He kissed him on the cheek.
Steve pulled out his phone and snapped a picture. "One for the album."
Pierce struggled to break free, although he wasn't physically tied up, he felt paralyzed.
Steve hunched his back and moved round to face Pierce. He showed him the photo. Pierce’s cries were muffled by the tape but you could still hear his struggling pain and protest.
Bucky leant over his right shoulder and looked at the picture. "You’re branded bitch." He snarled in his ear.
Steve looked up at his Bucky bear. He was so proud of Bucky. Despite his short hair, he had never looked more beautiful than he did in this moment. Spots of blood decorated his chin and neck and his eyes were pure fire.
Bucky caught him looking at him and he smiled, mouthing the words 'What?'
He stood abruptly. Pierce wasn't going anywhere so he decided to take advantage of this moment. Steve outstretched his arms and ginned from ear to ear. "Come here baby."
Bucky giggled and threw his arms around his neck and kissed him hotly. His hands snaked around his waist and he pulled him close.
Pierce let out a sigh of relief when he noticed the two clowns were preoccupied. Shifting in his chair slightly he slowly reached out to the brief case sitting in front of him.
Gently and quietly he unlocked it and slipped his hand inside.
Steve pulled away from Bucky when he heard the desk chair scrape against the floor. Pierce was standing upright, holding a pistol sized dart gun at the Nomad. His free hand unwound the parcel tape covering his mouth.
"How the tables have turned." He remarked, wincing when he moved his head to aim.
Steve was staring at the barrel of the pistol. Without wasting a second, he pushed Bucky behind his back and aimed his own revolver at Pierce.
"No tables have turned Pierce. I could kill you quicker than you could say 'Fear fetish'." Steve retorted.
"You shoot, I shoot. We both die. But mine will be instant.. Yours will be slow and painful."
"Talking to you is slow and painful Pierce. I can't imagine it being any worse than that." He chuckled.
Bucky peered over Steve’s shoulders and saw a black dart sticking out of Pierce’s pistol.
"Fear toxin." He mumbled quietly. Bucky touched his neck, feeling the rigid mark of where Maria had inserted the syringe full of Tasha’s anti-toxin.
His immunity could end this. He could end this.
"Well, there's only one way to find out." Pierce pinched his eyes closed and fired the pistol. Within an instant Steve fired his.
One bullet and One dart where airborne at the exact same moment, crossing paths mid air.
Adrenaline took over Bucky’s mind and everything happened in slow motion. He grabbed Steve's forearm and pulled him backwards. He couldn't react to his movements, everything was at lightening speed for him. He saw a blur of metal and black from Bucky diving in front of him.
"Bucky!" He yelled.
The dart came at such a velocity that when it embedded itself into Bucky’s shoulder, it threw him backwards.
He fell into Steve, he caught him as they both staggered backwards to the wall and fell softly to the ground. He grunted in pain when Bucky felt the sharp tip of the dart break the surface of his skin. Steve pulled the needle out instantly and threw it to the ground. He grabbed his face with his right hand and pulled it round to his. "Look at me."
Bucky opened his eyes slowly and smiled up at him. "I'm immune." He said looking into his eyes. But to his surprise he didn't question it. "Tasha’s special brew of anti-toxin."
"I know." Steve growled, he felt like a bit of an idiot not realizing it sooner. "Don't you ever do that again."
Bucky laughed. "You're just pissed because you got saved by me... It's okay Pud, I won't tell anyone."
Steve growled and stood up, bringing Bucky up with him. They both turned to face a hunched over body crawling towards the door.
The next thing Piece saw was a pair of black shiny shoes and a pair or black combat boots face him.. He looked up and saw the Nomad and Bucky smiling widely at him. The bullet had pierced his collarbone.
He looked up at them in astonishment. "How did you-?.. The Toxin, it should of-"
"Wouldn't you like to know." Steve said, training is revolver to the spot between Pierce’s eyes. Bucky was holding Pierce’s pistol in his hand. He emptied the chamber and shoved a bullet inside.
Pierce now had two weapons pointing at his skull. "Any last words?" Steve asked, sounding as if he cared about what Pierce had to say. Pierce struggled to his knees. "Your empire will fall. Maybe not now. Maybe not by me. But it will happen and anyone close to you, will fall with you." He said, fixing his eyes on the two barrels. "You'll both fall."
Steve leant down and hovered his face over Pierce’s . "You're the one falling." He stood up straight next to Bucky and without another word, two shots rang out in unison. Both bullets embedding themselves in his skull. Pierce’s cold body fell backwards and his raw shaven head hit the floor with a 'crack'.
Steve slid an arm around Bucky’s waist. "It's over." He turned to him. "Can we check for a pulse. Y'know just in case?"
There was a moment of silence between the couple, and then they burst out into loud hysterical laughter.