Demilitarization

1. I Was Alone, Falling Free

“Remember when I made you ride the roller coaster at Coney Island?”

            “Yeah, and I threw up?” Steve replied, grimacing at the memory.

            “This isn’t payback for that, is it?”

            “Why would I do that?”

            Steve smiled at him, teasing.  He couldn’t bring himself to smile back.  He shifted his weight, and stared down at the train tracks far below.  His gaze followed the zip line up the distance to where it was attached above his head.  He took a deep breath.  He had told Steve he would follow him anywhere.  This wasn’t exactly what he had in mind, but there wasn’t anyone else he would rather follow.

            “We were right.  Dr. Zola’s on the train,” Jones said, reporting what he was hearing on the radio.  Steve and Bucky turned to face him.  “Hydra gave them permission to open up the throttle.  Wherever he’s going, they must need him bad.”

            Bucky looked at Steve.  His friend met his eye, resolute, determined to eradicate this threat.  He hadn’t told Steve about what had happened during his time as a prisoner of war.  He hadn’t told him that Zola had performed experiments on him.  He had no idea how much Steve guessed, but the look on his face convinced him that his friend knew more than he had let on.  The look on Steve’s face was questioning, and he nodded in response.  He was ready.  Steve put on his helmet, and turned back to face the train tracks.

            “Let’s get going because they’re moving like the devil,” Falsworth said, looking through his binoculars.

            Steve tossed the harness over the zip line and caught it in his other hand.  “We’ve only got about a ten second window,” he called to the men.  “You miss that window, we’re bugs on a windshield.”

            “Mind the gap,” Falsworth recommended.

            “Better get moving, bugs,” Dugan said dryly.

            Bucky took his place behind Steve, Jones following him.  He gripped the ropes tightly in both hands and stood ready.  When the train came into view, Steve jumped from the cliff, sliding down the long line.  He waited half a beat, then jumped after him.  The wind rushed by his ears deafeningly, and the cold shocked his face.  He kept his eyes on Steve, dropping moments after his friend onto the roof of the train.

            Jones dropped behind, and the three of them moved quickly and carefully forward, crouching close to the surface to reduce their wind resistance.  Steve found a ladder that reached the roof, and climbed quickly down it.  Bucky followed, leaving Jones behind to keep watch.  Steve yanked open the door next to the ladder and jumped inside, Bucky quick behind him.  He pulled the door shut as they took stock of their surroundings.

            The car was about twenty-five feet long, with railings along the sides and nothing else except by the doors, where a few crates were piled.  In the middle of the car was shelving containing cargo.  Most of the cargo was long metal boxes of varying size.  There was no one immediately evident, though the noise they had made must surely have been noticed.  He lifted his rifle to his shoulder and cleared both sides of the car.  Steve walked on into the next car and, before he could follow, a door slid shut between them.

            He paused only a moment, then whipped around and starting firing as three men entered the opposite end of the car.  One man was down.  He took cover behind a pile of cargo on the right side of the car, and took aim.  He fired repeatedly, not entirely certain where his assailants were hiding.  Out of ammo, he pulled out his pistol and fired that as well, crossing to the other side of the car.  Another man was down.