Runaway

Chapter 22

Three days passed and there had been no further run-ins with any of my team members. Bucky and I were in the market, both of us with ball caps and hoodies on. We approach the produce stand and Bucky grabs a handful of plums, exchanging a few words with the shopkeeper, as I silently grab some apples. We pay for the fruit and walk around, glancing around our surroundings as we go.

I notice a street vender at a news stand watching us and nudge Bucky. He looks down at me and I nod towards the vender, making him follow my line of sight. The vender realizes we're watching him and stands up before running from his stand.

"That can't be good." I mutter before we cross the street.

Bucky picks up a paper and my eyes widen when I see the picture and headline. The picture is blurry but I can I tell it's of a man who looks similar to Bucky. The headline reads Winter Soldier cautat pentru Bombardmentul din Viena, which I mentally translate to Winter Soldier wanted for the Vienna bombing. Bucky glances around tensely and I grab his metal arm, dragging him back to the apartment.

We walk in and see the silhouette of a familiar man standing in front of the refrigerator. He takes Bucky's notebook from on top of the fridge and looks through it. I look up at Bucky but he's staring straight ahead at the man.

"Understood." Steve says to someone, presumably Sam, in his earpiece. Steve seems to notice our presence as he slowly turns around to face the two of us. "Do you know me?" He asks Bucky, who stares at him for a moment.

"You're Steve." He finally says. "I read about you in a museum. Rebekah talks about you a lot." Steve glances to me and it takes everything in me not to look away from his disappointed gaze.

"I know you're nervous." He says to Bucky. "And you have plenty of reason to be. But you're lying."

"I wasn't in Vienna. I don't do that anymore." Bucky tells him. I nod, taking a step forward.

"He's telling the truth, Steve. We haven't been anywhere near Austria in months." I tell him.

"Well, the people who think he did this are coming here now. And they're not planning on taking him alive." He says. "And I'm not letting you get caught in the crossfire."

"I can take care of myself, thanks." I say with a sarcastic smile.

"That's smart. Good strategy." Bucky mumbles as he starts removing the glove from his metal hand, opening and closing his fist.

"This doesn't have to end in a fight, Buck." Steve tries to reason with him as all of our super-soldier hearing picks up on the sound of heavy footsteps coming up the stairs and to the door.

"It always ends in a fight." Bucky says.

"You pulled me from the river. You let Rebekah stay with you. Why?"

"I don't know." Bucky tells him.

"Yeah, you do." Steve insists just before a grenade crashes through the window. Bucky kicks it to Steve, who slams his shield over it, containing the blast.

There's a loud bang against the door, making me think they're using a battering ram to get in. Bucky pulls me behind him before picking up one of the mattresses, shielding us with it as bullets rain into the window. Still staying behind Bucky, I grab the table and throw it at the door to buy us a little bit more time. Cops swing into the windows on cables and Steve pulls the rug out from one, sending him flying to me. I kick him the face, knocking him out as Bucky slams another one into the wall.

"Buck, stop! You're gonna kill someone." Steve tells him. Bucky slams Steve onto the floor before punching a hole in it.

"I'm not gonna kill anyone." He says before pulling our backpacks out from under the floorboards and throwing them out the window and onto the roof of a neighboring building.