Chapter 5
My head hurts. I groan, opening my eyes slowly, greeted with a dimly lit room, hues of orange flickering across the walls. I blink in an attempt to restore my vision, looking at my surroundings. I lie on an assortment of old pillows and blankets, a musty smell filling my nostrils. I try to move, but my hands are still bound together. I manage to shuffle to a sitting position, trying to get a better look at the room as my eyes adjust to the light.
There are other girls, some sleeping, and some awake, like me. They lay on similar makeshift beds, covering themselves with the blankets. They look terrified, and they have every right to be. I am too, but luckily, I’m here to work, so I need to pull myself together.
After what feels like ten minutes of a terrible hangover, my head seems to clear somewhat. My body still feels slightly numb from whatever drugs they made me inhale. I look to my feet to see that I’m still wearing my converse, and I let out a sigh of relief, reaching down to the laces. I tie them in such a way, around my wrists, holding the ends, and start moving in a sawing motion. The friction snaps the plastic ties after a short while, a great trick they taught us at the Academy. I rub my wrists to relieve some of the discomfort.
The team aren’t here yet, so I need to figure out how I can help, but before I can achieve anything, the creak of metal interrupts me. I divert my attention to the door at the end of the room, my head throbbing as I move too quickly. The light behind the door casts a shadow into the room, of a large figure making their way in. A few whimpers sound from across the room, and I’m sure they’re anticipating what’s about to happen, even though they all seem drugged up to high heaven. I trust their instincts and prepare for the worst.
As the metal door shuts, the footsteps become louder, as the man reaches the centre of the room, scanning his eyes over us. I cover my free hands under a blanket, observing silently. I can’t quite see his face in this light.
“Katya.” His voice booms, and it’s unfamiliar. A louder sob drowns out the others, and I turn to see a young girl scrambling to put her back against the wall. The stranger notices this, and marches over to her, grabbing her arm. She’s too weak to struggle against him, and my stomach turns. I can’t let him take her, what if the team don’t find her when they arrive? What if they escape, taking her with them?
My legs wobble as I stand, the blanket falling to the floor. The man is facing away from me as he grabs Katya, pulling her up from the floor. I take a shaky breath, walking up behind him.
“Hey!” I yell, as clear as I can. He turns towards me, and I drive my fist into his cheek, and he stumbles backwards, letting go of Katya, presumably. I harden my stance, gulping as he recovers. I probably look ridiculous, squaring up to the huge hunk of muscle in front of me. I don’t care, I’ve dealt with worse, and these girls are in trouble. “Piece of shit, come on!”
He wipes the corner of his mouth on his sleeve, striding towards me. I step backwards, suddenly regretting my decision as he moves to pull a gun out of a holster on his hip. How did I not notice that? My eyes widen and I make a dart for the gun, his finger on the trigger. I force his hand upwards, the bullet firing into the ceiling, flakes of cement falling onto our heads. The other girls in the room scream, and I twist his wrist, disarming him, throwing the gun to the door after removing the clip. A fist meets my face, the pain ripping through my lip. I stumble backwards, a metallic taste filling my mouth. “Shit.” I mumble under my breath, spitting blood onto the concrete floor.
The after effects of being drugged are making my movements slow, and my reactions slower. He manages to reach my space as I lift my head, pulling out a rag from his pocket. Not again. I dodge his grip, landing punches to his stomach. He grabs my hair, yanking my head backwards, planting his knee into my stomach. Pain rips through me in the form of coughs and splutters, as I fall onto the ground behind me, my head hitting the concrete last. The ringing in my ears is deafening, and my brain is screaming for me to get up, by my body won’t move. My eyes roll back as the man’s weight suddenly crushes my ribs, and his rough hand grips my windpipe, the cloth no longer sinister enough. I gasp for air, my pulse beating strongly in my throat.
My hands claw at his face, trying to find a chance to break away. I manage to free my legs enough to kick upwards, earning a cry of pain from the man. No matter how big the guy is, that will always work.
His grip loosens on my throat and I suck in a huge breath, bucking his weight from on top of me, I scramble towards the gun at the door, my fingertips reaching the metal handle. My chance is ripped away as the man grabs my ankle, pulling me backwards. I cry out, using my other foot to kick him in the face, and his hands give way again. I scramble back to the pistol, picking up the loose clip and slamming it back into the chamber. I roll onto my back, aiming towards him, his face now inches from the barrel, his nose dripping with blood. I cock the gun, and he freezes. I take a quick glance behind him, and the rest of the girls are also frozen in place, staring at me.
Voices yell from the other side of the door and my pulse quickens. The door is opened behind me, and the sound of more screams from the women and girls imprisoned fill the room. Heavy boots pass my head, someone coming into view above me. They grab hold of the guy towering above me, and I drop the gun, the metal clattering to the ground.
I groan, rolling onto my hands and knees, my head bowed to the floor. Blood runs from my nose and mouth, droplets falling onto the concrete. My head is fuzzy, and my body aches, but as a pair of hands wrap around me I still manage to gurgle a response. They found me.
“No...” I swat the hands away, slurring. “Get them out.” I point behind me to the imprisoned girls, crawling to rest my back on the closest wall, closing my eyes briefly. I can hear a flurry of bodies pass me, above the ringing in my ears, and I trust that the team are escorting the girls to safety.
“Hey.” A soft voice interrupts my thoughts, a small hand brushing the sodden strands of hair away from my face. “Come on, stay awake.” My eyes focus slightly, finding Maria crouching in front of me, studying my face.
“Deputy Hill. Thank god.” My breath wheezes as I speak, and she chuckles at my expense, and I groan at the throbbing pain in my head.
“Let’s get you up.” She motions, helping me to my feet. I stumble as I stand, the blow to the head really throwing me off balance.
“Barnes.” She calls, turning her head to the side, ducking her head under my arm. “A little help? She’s basically deadweight.” We take a few steps before a second support comes, mimicking Maria’s action.
“I've got her, go help the others.” I hear Bucky speak, his voice gruff, and I've never been so glad to hear it. As Maria let’s go, Bucky catches my waist so I don’t fall, and I lean into him to help me walk. I cough, sparking the pain in my stomach, but we keep walking. I don’t pay attention to the building we walk out of, but I begin to relax when I see daylight.
In the time it took for them to find me, they managed to fly a Quinjet over to Europe, if that’s where we still are. I clamber up the ramp, until we reach somewhere for me to sit down. Bucky helps me reach the bench at the side of the cargo hold and helps me lie down. A sharp pain in my side makes me groan.
“I think he cracked a rib.” I mumble. It hurts more when I talk.
“Probably more than one.”
Bucky removes his jacket and hoodie, folding them over. He lifts my head and places them underneath, perching on the side of the bench. “We’re gonna get you back, get you looked after, alright?” He says, placing his palm on the top of my head, carefully. I nod slightly, taking a shaky breath, closing my eyes. “I’ll be back, just gonna find you something for the pain.” I feel him leave, returning only a moment later.
He sits back in the same spot, holding out something in his hand. “Here, take these.” Bucky passes me two pills, and I take them from him. I pop them into my mouth and he holds out a bottle of water, which I turn to the side to sip. The contact stings my lip, forgetting it was busted not long ago, and I wince. I sigh, resting my head on his jacket.
“I’m gonna clean you up a little. Sorry if it stings.”
It does sting, slightly, as Bucky gently wipes the gauze over my face, removing the blood from my mouth and nose. He’s especially careful around the delicate skin on my bottom lip, so he doesn’t break it again. I grab his free hand as he hovers over the wound, not wanting him to touch it.
“Sorry, I’ll stop.” He whispers, pulling his hand away. He focuses his attention on my knuckles, wiping the alcohol dampened gauze over them, the sting less apparent.
“Did you get them?” I ask, my voice hoarse. After leaving the building I was held in, I didn’t notice whether everyone had been caught. I open my eyes, and he’s smiling, his eyes flickering to the various injuries scattered across my face. He strokes the back of my hands with his thumbs.
“Yeah, we got ‘em.”
I return a small smile, despite the pain. “Good.” I slur, the pills I swallowed before starting to kick in. Bucky’s weight shifts, and I feel him leave my side. Multiple pairs of boots clunk against the metal floor.
“The women have been handed over to authorities, they’ll take it from there. We’ve got the perps.” Someone shouts, and I think it’s Maria, but Bucky doesn’t care about that right now, he shouts something else right back to her.
“She’s got broken ribs. We need to get her back, ASAP.” Bucky’s voice fills the cargo hold as my eyes become heavy, the footsteps get quieter, and the voices become jumbled.
I succumb to sleep once more.