Soul Stealer ~ (A Bucky Barnes Love Story)

Welcome Home

We made it over the wall and inside the fortress without incident. Bucky and I were currently searching the endless winding corridors, looking for any clues as to HYDRA's nefarious plans.

We'd been at it for over an hour and I still hadn't embraced myself. Judging by Bucky's rigid posture and clipped breathing he wasn't even close to being like water. Hopefully those ingredients weren't the keys to success or we were screwed. Right now, the only thing we had going for us was my ass.

"Report." Steve's commanding voice boomed in my earpiece.

"Negative contact," Clint responded immediately. "We're almost to the control room."

"All clear," Bucky reported as we turned down another deserted hallway.

This felt wrong. A few days ago this place was crawling with evil people, but now, there was nothing and no one.

Why did it feel like they'd lured us here?

Even better question, why bother?

We rounded the corner, making our way to a single door at the end of an ominous hall. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and my mouth went dry as the lights overhead flickered. It smelled like mold and neglect, the air stagnant and old. A shudder raced up my spin as a graphic, long buried memory surged to the forefront of my mind so quickly it stole the air from my lungs.

Two men drug me down the hall with a third directly behind, a gun pressed firmly against my head. I screamed until my throat was raw, struggling against their hold, against what they had planned for me. I doubted I could kill them before the man behind me squeezed the trigger. Even if I could there were cameras everywhere. HYDRA was always watching. If Bucky was still alive he would pay for my disobedience, and that was a price I would never pay.

"Where is Bucky?!"

They ignored my plea, opening a thick metal door and tossing me inside. The rough concrete cut the palms of my hands, leaving a streak of blood smeared on the dingy floor behind me. When I lifted my aching head, my eyes widened at the sight of a cryopod being prepped.

"No," I mumbled, backing away and climbing to my feet. My body swayed and I blinked, trying to clear my blurry vision.

"I'm afraid it is too late for that."

A man dressed in an expensive looking three-piece suit stepped out of the shadows, observing me shrewdly. He was handsome, if you liked your men with a touch of psychopath.

"Who the hell are you?"

He smiled like we were having a polite conversation. "Alexander Pierce." He slid into a chair, waving his hand at one opposite him. "Care to sit?"

"Go to hell."

Again, he smiled. "Have it your way."

"Where is he?" I snarled, body and power coiled to strike.

"I wouldn't do that."

He held up a single finger, pointing to a screen behind him. An image flashed onto it, and it was all I could do to stay standing. Bucky was strapped in a seat on what looked like a plane, blood gushing from the still untreated gunshot wound in his stomach. Three men stood in front of him, all armed.

"As you can see the Asset is no longer here." Instinctively I reached for the bond. It was there, but weak and getting weaker with every mile he traveled away from me. I could feel his pain, his disorientation, and my heart crumbled. "Those men have orders to kill him if you decide to disobey."