Oh, Hell...
“You’ve gotta be kiddin’ me.” Anwyn sighed around a mouthful of apple pie, pinching the bridge of her nose. She dropped the schematics she was holding on the table. “His arm. Because OF COURSE they put a tracker in his arm…Communist pricks...”Bucky sat silently, fists clenched in his lap while Vinnie cleaned his rifle and nodded. “At least it’s just a splinter of the group…not many of ‘em left after that Captain America got done with ‘em.” Anwyn was nodding numbly at him over her pie plate, tapping her fingers on the table and chewing her lip.
Vinnie raised his eyebrow and continued. “But tall, dark and brooding here runs the risk of being tailed from now on if ya can’t get that sucker outta there. You too, coincidentally, since ya seem to be attached at the hip.” The last bit was said with a knowing smirk. Bucky tensed, annoyed at the mouthy old bear and even more annoyed that he was right. He didn’t want to put Anwyn at risk. Yet the thought of being given a second opportunity at...well, everything, just to have to give it up made him nauseous.
She looked up and sighed again. “I know a guy. Getting him here is gonna break more than few rules though.” Vinnie peered at her over the oiled rag in his hand and jerked his head towards Bucky. “Even if ya fix this problem, how do ya plan on keepin’ him hid anyway? His face has been all over the news. The whole damn world knows ‘bout him and HYDRA now.” Anwyn shrugged. “People see what they wanna see, Vin. A shave, a haircut an’ a nice set of business clothes…an’ nobody would look twice.”
Bucky shook his head. She couldn’t be serious…hiding in plain sight? He reached over and laid his right hand on her leg. “I’ll leave and figure something out. That would be best. Anwyn, you can’t keep puttin' yourself-“ “You shut your mouth this instant, James Buchanan Barnes!” She snapped at him so suddenly both he and Vinnie nearly fell out of their chairs and stared at her, wide eyed.
Vinnie recovered his composure first, returning his attention to his rifle and his rag. Bucky continued to stare at Anwyn, at a loss for words as he registered the panic in her eyes. She was afraid for him. Beneath that was determination. He remembered that look…hell itself was coming for whoever got in her way.
“I found you intending ta help ya, an’ that’s exactly what I will be doin’.” She grabbed the hand on her leg and clutched it fiercely, Bucky silently marveling at the strength in her slender fingers. “Stormy! Send for Rocky. I’d bet anythin’ he’s still tied up in South America with Eira. She can jump em both here an’ we’ll figure somethin’ out. Run decontamination on the grounds outside.”
She shoved her empty plate away from her and stood up, letting go of Bucky’s hand. “One of ya get up an’ help me get these idiots into the tank so I can incinerate ‘em. Can’t be leavin’ evidence around.” Vinnie rose without a word and pulled the small table out of the way while Anwyn pushed the button hidden in the drawer.
Bucky stepped into her path as she headed for the stairs. “We can load ‘em in…I’ll come get you when we’re ready. Take a few minutes for yourself.” Bucky guiltily remembered all the very recent bruises and fresh scars that had dotted her flesh the night before. She had more color in her face today that she did when he’d put her to bed, drugged and wounded. But he knew she needed any break he could give her.
Anwyn stared at him a moment before her face softened with exhaustion. If she were honest with herself, she'd admit that her body had begun to fail her before she had learned about Project Insight. Then several weeks of sleep deprivation, worry, jumping, fighting, being wounded and healing repeatedly had exacted an additional toll on her mentally and physically. She hung her head slightly. There would be no more putting off her injections once she had Bucky some place safe. It wasn’t a pleasant thought.
Standing aside she nodded. “Thank you, Bucky.” He smiled softly at her and nodded before following Vinnie down into the dark room, leaving her to flop down on the sofa. Vinnie had cleaned up the blood and put the cabin back in order before waking them, and she was beyond grateful for his help. He was sometimes a cantankerous, difficult old coot…but he had a soft spot for his friends. So did she. She felt herself smiling; she knew just how she was going to pay him back for getting him into this mess.
Within fifteen minutes, Vinnie was clomping back up the stairs to retrieve her. Nothing in the dark room would work for anyone but a Sentinel, it was all tuned into their biometrics. Anwyn plodded back down the stairs and pressed her hand into the scanner near the tank. They all stood silently, watching white hot flames burst to life inside.
Most of the Sentinel bases had disposal units such as this one, Rocky had insisted on it. He’d tinkered for months to get the calibrations right; nothing that went inside left a trace when the disposal tank was done running through it’s cycles. Rocky had also created protocols for decontaminating surfaces inside each property they used, but those ran automatically. One less thing for her to concern herself with when they moved on.
Vinnie stood to the side with Bucky, arms crossed, and watched the disposal unit run through it’s cycles. Bucky didn’t seem phased, he noticed. ”Probably seen, and done worse, as the Winter Soldier.” Vinnie thought. He found himself remembering the first time he’d seen Anwyn do what she did best. She’d bled out of the shadows like a specter and gutted his tormentors, eyes glowing like coals behind her mask.
They had been the worst of the bunch, hit-men with no limits. Murder or torture. Men, women, kids. He still remembered the rage in Anwyn’s eyes as he’d explained who they were after she’d cut him loose. She had ordered him to stay below while she eliminated everyone in the house and returned for him.
A sensible man would have been terrified of her, her colleagues, what they did in the world. She was a mutant super soldier from a super-secret organization that was founded by God only knew who. His friend would have been frightening enough on her own, but there were five others like her. And they didn’t fuck around. But he never claimed to be sensible…and frankly, he admired her. Power became it's own master for many who tasted it, but that was a temptation that she had not given into.
Anwyn had a temper but stuck to her guns and did what she felt was right. She was fair, tough and didn’t target anyone that hadn’t harmed or killed innocent people for personal gain. She believed in second chances. So here he was, a reformed criminal …now a contact for a group that would give any government in the known world an absolute shit-fit if they realized what these people were capable of.
When the unit clicked off, she started back up the stairs without a word. Bucky and Vinnie fell in line behind her, equally silent. Each of them was lost in their own thoughts. Anwyn was brooding over how to keep Bucky safe and about the unpleasant week awaiting her when she returned home. Vinnie was brooding over how to keep his stubborn friend from doing anything stupid. “Then again, harboring an internationally wanted assassin is about as peak stupid as a person can get…” he mused to himself. And Bucky was brooding about pretty much everything…from HYDRA, to his arm, to Anwyn, to his uncertain future, to his unknown past.
As the brooding woman reached the top of the stairs, she let out a stunned screech and leapt backward into Bucky. He, in turn, stumbled into Vinnie who let out a string of curses. A lilting voice teased “Whatever this is about had best be important. Ya cost me a head an’ some cash.” Bucky and Vinnie jostled each other to see what was going on as she started laugh and bolted up the last remaining steps.
“DUW DYWEDWCH! EIRA! Can’t ya ever just knock!?” Bucky made it to the top of the stairs in time to see Anwyn’s sister wrap her in a tight hug. “Never. I enjoy scarin’ the snot out of ya.” A curly haired Hispanic man with glasses stood off to the side, backpack over one shoulder, trying and failing to smother his laughter.
Eira was still laughing and babbling at Anwyn in Welsh when she caught sight of Vinnie and smiled broadly. Her face quickly fell into a mask of confusion when she saw Bucky. She shoved her taller sibling to the side and glared at her, and then glared at Bucky. “What the hell?…He…he isn’t dead. And that’s….”her eyes trailed to his arm. “Oh no. Oh, hell…” she uttered. Anwyn nodded. “Bit of a situation here. Didn’t just call ya over for tea an’ sweets.”
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The tiny cabin was cramped as Vinnie sprawled on the sofa with a beer and book while Awnyn, Bucky, Eira and Rocky crowded around the small kitchen table. Rocky had eyed the schematics they’d found, doodled out his own on his tablet and was now examining Bucky’s arm with a thoughtful expression. He tapped the metal arm and nodded to himself, scribbling down more notes. It had taken Anwyn two hours of explanations to bring her companions up to speed on his situation. Bucky eyed Rocky uneasily with icy blue eyes, but found it difficult to feel threatened by the slight man.
Eira had been ready to help her former brother in law immediately. Rocky, always the voice of pragmatism, had taken more convincing. He’d rattled off no less than fifteen scenarios where harboring the Winter Soldier resulted in death for one of them or their ward. And no less than ten scenarios resulting in exposure for one or more Sentinels.
Finally, he’d been silenced when the sisters had convinced him Bucky could be as much of an asset as a hindrance…and that refusing to help him was giving an enemy an edge. Rocky was always looking for an opportunity to gain an advantage, and Anwyn knew she had him when he realized Bucky was a genetically advanced human with strengths to match any of theirs.
“They put a tracker…in your arm. Clever. Need to scan… be sure there are no other surprises hidden away in there. HYDRA is known for nasty surprises. It’s remarkably advanced too, considering who crafted it.” He ran a hand through his curly black hair, brown eyes sparkling with excitement at the prospect of a challenge. “Alright then Pajarita, no more fretting. I can fix your terrifying, broken boyfriend. But not here. Eira, I suppose you can get us a jump point to Los Angeles? The lab there will be sufficient. Don’t forget Anwyn’s car, or she’ll have another fit. You too, Pops. You may be on someone’s radar now.”
Vinnie looked up for the first time. “Nope, no way. City life isn’t my deal anymore kid.” Anwyn frowned at him. “No arguing. You are comin’ ta stay with me for awhile… the garage fridge is full of beer that needs drank.” She finished with a smile. Vinnie glared at her but his eyes softened when he saw her concern. He knew, deep down, that if she was worried…it was bad. “Fine, fine. But I leave when I want.” “She nodded. “Fair enough.”
Bucky had been silent so far, fidgeting with a loose string on the long sleeved black shirt he wore, sleeves pushed back so Rocky could examine him. “Can you really get us all through to wherever we are going…in one piece?” Eira and Anwyn both broke into giggles. “How do ya think we pull off all of our raids? It wasn’t magic…just me. Sometimes Wyn. Usually me.” Eira teased him.
“Fair warning…your arm will probably be a paper weight for a few hours after the jump. Most electronic gadgets wonk out. Probably for the best…should kill that tracker long enough for Rocky to yank it out.” Anwyn told him as she stood up and stretched.
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An hour later they had all filed outside and stood around staring at one another, bags piled in and on the car. The three Sentinels looked unbothered. Vinnie looked like he might throw up; he had been through this several times before with Anwyn and it still unnerved him. Bucky was so tense that he looked like he might punch anything that moved too fast. Eira smiled at them. “Ease up boys, it’ll be over with before ya know it.” Before anybody could object, Eira lifted a hand nonchalantly and everything went dark and cold all at once