Complicated Love (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Chapter 25: Hostages

We are currently flying over the Indian Ocean in one of SHIELD's quinjets. Steve, Nat and I were standing in front of the screen with some of the STRIKE crew. Rumlow was giving us the rundown of the mission.

"The target is a mobile satellite launch platform: The Lemurian Star. They were sending up their last payload when pirates took them, 93 minutes ago," Rumlow says as the information is also displayed on the screen.

"Any demands?" Steve asks.

"A billion and a half," Rumlow answers.

"Why so steep?" I ask, since that is an insane number.

"Because it's SHIELD's."

"So it's not off-course, it's trespassing," I sigh. This isn't the first time Steve and I were sent doing something like this.

"I'm sure they have a good reason," Nat says.

"You know, I'm getting a little tired being Fury's janitor," Steve says.

"Relax, it's not that complicated," Nat says. Her composure is weird. Why is she so willing to do everything that Fury asks? Why do we never get information about missions until we are on our way to it?

"How many pirates?" Steve asks.

"25, top mercs, led by this guy, Georges Batroc," Rumlow says and brings up a picture of a guy on the monitor. "Ex-DGSE, Action Division. He's at the top of Interpol's Red Notice. Before the French demobilized him, he had 36 kill missions. This guy's got a rep for maximum casualties."

"How many hostages?" I ask, knowing that's most likely what Steve is going to put me in charge of.

"Uh..." Rumlow says, pulling up pictures of the hostages, and enlarged one familiar guy. "Mostly techs. One officer, Jasper Sitwell." How does a SHIELD officer become a hostage? "They're in the galley."

"What's Sitwell doing on a launch ship?" Steve questions but lets it go. "Alright, I'm gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc. Nat, you'll kill the engines and wait for instructions. Y/n, you lead Rumlow and the STRIKE team and sweep the aft, find the hostages, get them to the life-pods and get them out. Be ready for back-up. Let's move."

"STRIKE, you heard the Cap. Gear up," Rumlow says to his team, then faces me. "Looks like we'll be working together." I give him a tight smile, not looking forward to it. I walk over to the weaponry and start to gear up.

I was already in my SHIELD uniform, similar to Natasha's, so I didn't need to worry about that. I grab my comm earpiece as Steve walks by and he says, "Secure channel seven."

"Seven secure," Nat and I both say.

"Why did you put me with Rumlow? You know how much he irritates me," I say, whispering the last part.

"Because I know you can handle yourself. If I put Nat with him, she would break his jaw in two minutes," Steve says, and I look over to Nat who smirks.

"Did you guys do anything fun Saturday night?" she asks changing the subject.

"Well, all the guys from my barbershop quartet are dead, so... No, not really," Steve says, and I chuckle slightly.

"Coming up by the drop zone, Cap," I hear the pilot say through the comms.

"You know, if you ask Kristen out, from Statistics, she'd probably say yes," Nat says to Steve. What is up with her trying to set us up with people? I grabbed the hand gun that was filled with bullets and put it in my thigh holster.

"That's why I don't ask," Steve says, putting on his helmet. He hits the button on the quinjet to open up the back door and he walks up to the edge.

"Too shy or too scared?" Nat asks.