Back to Work
The first job Bucky ran with Anwyn was ironically in Argentina, in the same base she’d cleared a decade earlier. Hydra had reclaimed their former haunt with a vengeance. “Endless. Like fuckin’ cockroaches…” She muttered under her breath as they scoped the small base out on a distant hill. One of the Sentinels he hadn't met had forwarded on the information about this base.
Night had fallen and they were hunched in the shadows, deep in the jungle. The sound of night birds and insects filled the sticky air. They’d been over the plan a dozen times, and he felt confident with it but he still felt jittery. It made no sense to worry about a woman as fierce and capable as his was, but worry he did.
Bucky was gripping this rifle so tightly his right hand ached and was careful to keep his left under control lest he break his weapon. Revenge was something he wanted so badly that he could hardly contain himself. He wore the new tactical suit and was pleased that it covered both his arm and his face, he didn’t want to be recognized while exacting his bloody vengeance. Whatever had been done to shield his arm from the effects of jumping worked, but teleporting still made him nauseous.
He peered over at the woman beside him, clad in all black with an angular black mask over her eyes, cheeks and nose. She looked eyeless this way, but he knew there transparent portions of the mask that showed the faint glow of her eyes when the fire in her blood ignited. She looked more at ease than he felt, crouched down, and fidgeting idly with the weapons belt around her hips. He knew her long hair was braided up under the hood she wore.
Even looking like a shadow from the darkest pit of hell, her presence calmed him.
A rustling sound to his left caught his attention and he tensed. He nearly filled a small figure in black with bullets as it popped out of the bushes and waved. Anwyn sighed and nudged him with her elbow to get his attention. “Its alright.” Then to the shadow, “You’re late.” A familiar, tinkling laugh sounded softly in the darkness as the figure slunk closer.
“Got their generators rigged ta blow. Got ‘bout two minutes before they go dark. Ya melt the other doors shut?” He saw Anwyn nod out of the corner of her eye.
The smaller black clad figure tilted her head towards Bucky. “Ya sure ya want him here? Its Hydra….” Her voice was concerned more that accusatory.
“He’s a sniper…Will be like shootin’ fish in a barrel when they flood outta the front.” She tossed her sister a small thumb drive which she caught and pocketed. Silence filled the air for a few moments before a muffled BOOM echoed in the darkness and all the lights went out along the perimeter. The building went dark a moment later. Only moonlight illuminated their target now; confused voices filled the night from the guards. “Lights out!” Anwyn hissed, jerking her head at the roof where the guards had been patrolling.
A bright smile lit up the part of Eira’s face that wasn’t covered and she was gone in the blink of an eye. Bucky turned his eyes to the men on the roof in time to see a shadow bleed from the darkness and take down the three guards quicker than he thought possible. Not a single one knew what hit them; not a single one uttered a sound. A soft, bird-like whistle trilled in the night. An “all clear” signal. “They really have this down to a god-damn art form…” he mused.
The woman crouched next to him huffed and stood. “Let’s see if they like it as hot as you do...” A suggestive smile spread across her lips as her eyes glowed behind the mask. “Stay here an’ take ‘em down as I flush ‘em out. We’ll go in together for a sweep for anything valuable.” Bucky nodded at her, knowing his smile was hidden behind the hood and mask he’d been given.
“You’ll be payin’ for that comment later, doll.” He whispered through the mask. It was much like the one he had worn before, but he didn’t mind. The purpose of it was different now. He shifted the hood he was wearing a bit and got into position with his rifle as Anwyn flicked out of sight.
It was silent long enough to make Bucky nervous, but it was almost cathartic to see the first several operatives spill out of the front door. Yelling and stumbling into one another, he caught a few words of Russian. “Solovey!” “Bezhat!” A thrill went through him as the first two crumpled to the ground, the sound of his rifle shots echoing in the night. The thrill dug deeper into the pit of his stomach as another three fell, and then two more. Every shot found it’s mark.
A couple of stragglers scrambled for the shadows and peered into the tree line, looking for him. They didn’t get to look around dumbly for long, as Eira leapt from the shadows and gutted them. She vanished before the bodies hit the ground. Bucky smirked under his mask. "I could get used to this…" The thought echoed in his mind as he took down two more fleeing enemies.
Rustling in the foliage roughly fifty meters to his right was met with a well-placed bullet and the man dropped to the ground.
Eira had eliminated another three on her own. A second muffled explosion sounded in the night and he flinched, searching for the source. A garage almost hidden in the shadows and trees was burning; likely Anwyn’s doing. Screams rose shrill and panicked in the night as the hungry flames devoured the enemies sealed inside.
“No vehicles and no escape now, you sorry bastards.” He muttered grimly, feeling a vicious satisfaction rise in his chest. Another shrill whistle split the night over the roaring din of the fire. He saw his partner wave from the roof before she flickered out of sight.
He shifted to his feet about the time Eira appeared next to him. “Get ready, clear inside an’ time ta go.” He nodded as she grabbed his shoulder and the now familiar sensations of dark and cold washed over him. He shook his head free of the dizziness as they strode into the dark doorway.
His eyes adjusted to the dark quickly, and he could see that Anwyn had been as busy as they had been. Bodies littered the floor. She stepped out of the darkness and picked her way forward, grinning like the Cheshire cat. “Shadow, control room is clear. Ya know what ta do.” Eira let go of his shoulder and scouted ahead to set to work.
“You’re with me, Prince Charming.” She inclined her head towards Bucky with a soft smile. She’d been trying aliases for him for the past week, each one more ridiculous than the last since he hadn’t chosen his own yet. He snorted and adjusted his grip on the rifle. “Darlin’, you’re really pushin’ it today.” Anwyn bumped him with her hip as they fell in stride together. “Ya can push me back later. Against everything in the house.”
He shook his head, glad the mask hid the stupid smile on his face. Here they were, burning a HYDRA base to the ground…and she was making innuendos. Some things, thankfully, never changed.
It didn’t take long for the two of them to find the vault; the building had been scanned for hidden crevasses before they ever entered. Bucky had punched clear through the wall that hid the small safe, jerking it out and throwing it to the floor with a loud clang. He watched as she knelt and placed her hand on the dingy metal. It glowed white hot before melting away, allowing her to reach inside. She passed him handfuls of small gold bars and several pouches of gemstones. A few well-worn files were also passed his way before she stood. “Let’s get it together an’ get outta here.”
Bucky flipped through the files as they waited for Eira to finish clearing the computers and wiping their hard-drives. She’d booted up the computer system with a touch. He’d looked at her in consternation, surprised that the same energy she used to open jump points was so versatile.
Most information in the files in his hands was coded and a jumble of nonsense to him. Some of it he knew, from his own missives being written in the same code and all of the information was in Russian, which he understood. They had found some valuable intel, if he had to guess. Enough to keep them busy for awhile. Grim satisfaction settled in his chest; getting revenge and making the world a safer place? It just didn't get any better than that.
Soft clicks echoed in the silent room as Shadow downloaded all the information in their databases. "Find any good loot?" She asked without turning around. "Enough ta make this worthwhile, even if we hadn't got some leads for other jobs." Anwyn replied. "Good, I wanna get some new knives and Gunner is fuckin' gougin' me for 'em." Bucky silently wondered if Gunner was one of theirs or a contact like Vinnie. Probably didn't matter either way, the guy produced quality gear all the same.
Nightingale paced around the door, keeping watch out of habit. Eira jerked the thumb drive loose and laid her hand on the main tower, sending a wave of energy through it and frying it. “Got everything I need. Light the place up. We needta get gone before reinforcements show up.”