The Captains Granddaughter (Bucky Barnes FanFic)

Never Lie

~~~James~~~

I looked at her and saw that she had the picture of me and Steve in her hands. I nodded. How do you explain that the guy that looks maybe 40 is actually 107 is actually her grandpa's childhood best friend? She smiled and put the picture down before walking into the bathroom to change.

While she changed, I turned my phone back on. There were messages and voicemails from Sam. Scanning through them, oh yeah. He's pissed. He didn't send any intel in those messages. But there was one message in the middle from Steve. "Keep my best girl safe." I didn't respond. I should have responded. He knows I will.

I heard the sink running so I message Sam. "Laying low at my place. Watch the roof? Meet at the spot for breakfast. Bring her something to wear." I didn't turn off the phone, but I set it down on the top of the couch. After a few minutes she came out with all the pins out of her hair and her face clean of makeup. She looks like a totally different person in an undershirt and the Avengers branded sweatpants Tony gave us. No longer Peggy but this was Maggie. Her face transformed into something mild and comforting. Her eyes were the only thing that looked the same. She had the type of face that could get lost in a crowd and disappear forever, but it was her blue eyes that would haunt your memory and keep you searching.

"Sorry for the washcloth. I didn't realize the makeup would leave so much on it." She looked honestly concerned about that, so I just laughed to tell her it was only a washcloth. Nat had stocked them under my sink because I might need to impress someone someday. She started looking around the apartment flickering her fingers through the vinyl next to a record player. That pile had Al Dexter and the Mills Brothers and some Blue Eyes, but it was the Anderson Sisters album that she picked up and looked at. The apartment was sparse. The record player was here when I moved in and the albums came from a guy on the street. "When this is done, there's a place or two in Jersey you would love. They have all sorts of vinyl records in different genres and years." She looked like she was debating putting the record on. "I knew a guy who only wanted warped albums because he compared a vinyl to a soul, everyone is the same at the start, but as they're worn and left around, they really take shape." She put it down and sat back down on the couch starting to get comfortable. "I didn't realize how tired I was till we got here." 

"You take the bedroom. I'll take the couch. There's a futon in there, it's not the best, but it's better than the couch." This wasn't an offer or a suggestion. There was no way I was letting her sleep on the couch. I reinforced the windows in that room when I moved in. Not to mention, Steve would never let me hear the end of this.

"I don't want to be a bother. I can take the couch." She started pulling the blanket over her legs.

"I don't want to play a game if 'no I insist' with you," I confessed. "If you fall asleep on that couch, you will wake up in that futon." That was not what I meant to say, I am not trying to hit on my best friend's granddaughter. She looked at me slightly confused but tired. "I would feel better if you were in the bedroom. I know those windows don't open from the outside." She nodded. I think she figured out that when I said this place was safe, I meant it. "Tomorrow morning, we'll meet up with Sam, he'll bring you a change of clothes. And let us know what he finds out. If there are 6 agencies after you, we need to narrow it down and figure out why now and how they found you."

"Are there any restarting the Super Soldier program?" She asked.

"Everyone wants their own super soldier to do their bidding. Hydra and Shield are the only two that I know that had any long-term success. There have been other attempts, but the mind goes, and they become uncontrollable." I heard creeks outside the door followed by rattling on the fire escape. I motioned for her to be silent and get down. She slowly moved from the couch to a crouched position, keeping low. There was a knock on the door. I motioned her into the bedroom. The knock grew louder, and the fire escape screamed under the pressure. I looked at her and she motioned to the door and held up 3 fingers before she closed the bedroom door, and I opened the front door.

There were three men outside the door. "Good Evening, Mr. Barnes. I'm sorry to disturb you so late." It was one of the suits from earlier who asked to cut in with two new henchmen. He was flashing a CIA badge.

"How can I help you, Agent," I squinted at the badge to read the name. "Gonzales?" The fire escape creaked again.

He held up a picture of Maggie. "We're looking for a Missing Person. Elizabeth Margaret Carter. She was last seen dancing with you at the Sapphire Swing Club tonight. Her grandfather reported she didn't return home with the other girls she went out with." 

What does Steve do? Never lie. "I did dance with her a few times," I said taking the picture. The picture of her was of her walking down the street smiling. This wasn't the type of picture Steve would take. "I dropped her and her girlfriends off at their apartment building. But then I drove around for a while and decided to take a long walk home after striking out."

"You realize you're still on conditional probation with your pardon and you have to tell us the truth." I handed the picture back to him.

"I am. I can't help you. I dropped her off at the apartment door and watched her close it. The lights went off and I drove away." Still telling the truth. His eyes were looking around the apartment and landed on her shoes by the door. "I didn't think the CIA was that interested in my failed attempt of a love life."

"Why don't we come in and take a look around." He forced himself into the apartment. The window shook as someone tried to get into the bedroom from the fire escape. His two goons followed him in the door as Agent Gonzales kept my back to the wall.

I saw the one agent go into the bedroom. One of the suits checked the bathroom and stepped out with her dress. "Boss."

"Mr. Barnes, that doesn't quite look like it's your style." Agent Goon snarked. "Where is she?"

Suddenly, there was a crash in the bedroom as the goon dragged Maggie out. The pressure in the room shifted as she was fighting his grip trying to angle her hips to get free. He held her in a chokehold and she was kicking at his feet and the ground trying to get leverage. Her nails dug into the guy's arm and face and she took a bite out of his arm as he shoved her through the doorway her foot caught the door frame and she climbed and pushed herself around him breaking free pushing him into the room. The goon from the bathroom tried to catch her but she slid out of his grip with ease and took a few quick steps across the room away from the agents, stopping by the windows. I pushed Gonzalez back and headed towards her.

But as soon as she stopped moving about 8 feet from me, the window broke behind her and someone grabbed her, pulling her from behind. They weren't dressed in suits, just straight black, with ski masks. I chased after them leaving the goons in my apartment. She was being pulled down the stairs fighting the entire way. She was also screaming trying to get the attention of the neighbors. Maggie doesn't fight like Steve or I do, she fights wild, how did Steve not teach her hand to hand? Not even a light flickered on in the apartments she screamed. She was able to hook her arms around the banister on the fifth floor and was trying to get a hold of something while she was being pulled from two goons while trying to gain her own ground to stand and fight.

This group had more people with them, about eight in total. To hell with the fire escape. I jumped down to the street to cut them off and get her. As the goons began to fight me, I felt something come over me, it was a wave of energy that focused every punch and kick to amplify everything that I was trying to do. At the same time, the men I fought became clumsy and disoriented. Every hit landed in its target. Shockwaves erupted when they landed, knocking over trash cans and other goons. Maggie was still on the fire escape, no longer holding on but fighting dirty. "JAMES!" I looked up to see the goon kick her off the escape and she started falling off grabbing for the banister. She didn't call for Bucky. She called for James.

As she fell backward, she slashed at his face with a pocketknife. Her knife struck just under his eye. I fought my way towards her, trying to get to her before she landed. She was able to catch the fire escape around the second floor and she hung like a limp doll before landing hard on the pavement. She pushed herself up and started running.