Chapter 2
2.
The mission parameters are to make it slow. His handlers had been very adamant about this, even checked more than once that he knew every detail of the mission. They hadn’t given him the name of his mark, but that wasn’t unusual. He was the weapon for them to point and shoot, and a weapon didn’t need to know why it was being used. What was unusual was the fact that he wasn’t given his mask.
He’s on the rooftops, settled on his front and watching the front door through his scope. The mark will be home any moment, and the Asset has decided that he will get in through the window that had been left unlocked, and simply take out the mark’s legs with two clean shots. As soon as the mark is on the floor, the Asset will make it hurt while the mark bleeds out.
Movement on the streets - the mark is walking up to his front door.
The Asset is down from the roof in ten seconds and is in through the window in another silent fifteen. The mark is standing with his back to the Asset, looking through his fridge. The Asset has no need for hesitation - two bullets fly through the back of the mark’s knees less than a second after the Asset enters the apartment.
The Asset knows there is something wrong the moment the mark hits the floor with a scream of startled pain.
He goes over the mission parameters in his mind, but there is nothing about this man’s identity. He’s not sure why he feels sick. The Asset shakes the uneasy feeling off, and then stalks forwards, coming to hover over the man. He expects screaming, or the usual questions, but he gets nothing but the man spitting at him.
The Asset doesn’t look at the man’s face, simply draws back his boot and drives it into the mark’s side, sending him sprawling and flipping over onto his back. The second indication that something is wrong is the mark staring up at him with something other than fear.
The mark’s eyes - blue, but why is the Asset taking note of that? - shine with shock. It’s the kind of shock that comes with familiarity, like the mark recognises the Asset. The Asset snarls the moment the mark opens his mouth to say something, and stops him from speaking by slamming his boot into one of his injured knees.
All that comes out of the mark’s mouth is a howl of pain.
The Asset isn’t going to make this slow - fear is pounding in his chest, confusion flowing through his veins. He points the gun at the mark for a kill shot, but for the first time, he hesitates. The man is groaning through gritted teeth, and is bleeding out rapidly. The mark looks back up at the Asset and breathes out in a rush, eyes wet and pleading. And he speaks.
“Bucky?”
The Asset flinches. “Who the hell is Bucky?” he asks.
Why does he know the name? He searches the dying man’s face for answers, but all he finds is choking desperation. “I know you,” the man accuses, “you know me.” The Asset takes a step back, shaking his head. The gun his shaking in his right hand. He swaps it to his left, but he still can’t take the shot.
“No, I don’t,” the Asset insists, fear thrumming through his blood.
The man reaches out to the Asset like he’s a lifeline, not the weapon that was sent to kill him. “Years ago - I died. I came back for you. I have - “ he chokes off with a cry of pain, squeezing his eyes shut and breathing out heavily. The Asset can do nothing but watch in horror. “I have dreams. Memories. Your name is Bucky Barnes, and I’m Steve Rogers. We loved each other, you’ve known me your entire life” the man finishes, emotion clouding his eyes. He’s desperate.
Anger wells in the Asset, clouding his confusion. “Shut up,” he commands before leaning down and pulling the man from the ground. The Asset draws back his fist, ignoring the screams tearing their way from from the man. He drives a fist into his face. “You’re my mission,” he spits.
“Bucky - “ the man’s nose is dripping with blood, and his head’s dropped to the side. He must be seeing two - the hit was hard. “I’m not going to fight you,” he mumbles. “You’re my friend.”
The Asset wants to laugh in some strange way - how could this man ever possibly fight the Winter Soldier? The words ignite nothing but animalistic panic that causes the Asset to smash his fist into the man’s face again. “You’re my mission - you are my mission!” he howls, but then drops the man - his mark - back to the ground and falls to his knees, a sob ripping itself from his chest. Steve Rogers. He knows that name. “How?” he pleads.
“I don’t - I don’t know. Bucky, god, Bucky, please don’t go back to them - to Hydra. Run, Bucky.” The words are slurred and distorted. The man isn’t even pleading for his own life.
The Asset’s head is screaming - his brain feels like it’s on fire. “Steve.” The Asset has never known this pain. He has been through every form of torture imaginable, but this. He has never felt this. But - has he? It’s almost familiar.
“I’ll be back, Bucky, I won’t give up. I’ll come back.”
Blood is forming in a puddle around them, flowing steadily from Steve’s knees - the Asset must have hit an artery. The Asset shuffles forwards and his hands reach out, but he can’t bring himself to touch him. “I don’t understand.”
“I’m with you till the end of the line, Buck. I’ll be back.”
The Asset squeezes his eyes shut. He can hear his breathing - heavy and rasping, speeding up. The Asset can’t do this. He stands on shaky legs and steps back - back and back and back - until he’s standing at the window. He stares across the room at the man - his mark, his Steve - and sees nothing but the blood seeping from his body and into the Asset’s ledger. This is one stain he will never get out. This is the one stain that matters and he still doesn’t understand why.
The life bleeds out of Steve while his eyes are locked with the Asset’s. With - with Bucky’s. Bucky turns and runs.
They find him four days later, curled up in an abandoned warehouse, staring at the walls with a gun under his chin. His finger is twitching at the trigger, but conditioning is preventing him from pulling it. The tears have long since dried - he has nothing left. Nothing but hollowness. Everything has come back. Everything.
They put him under with special sedatives from a safe distance, and he wakes up in the chair. They never find out he hears them talking about how it didn’t work, how when they found him he was mumbling incoherently about how he knew him. They discuss different ways to handle Steve Roger’s next reincarnation, and what went wrong the last few times.
The Asset is thrown straight back on ice the moment they’re finished wiping him.
*