Necessary Good, Unnecessary Evil | No rest For Wounded Souls [Bucky Barnes]

Hero, After All

"To die is poignantly bitter, but the idea of having to die without having lived is unbearable." 
-Erich Fromm

****

Nova's POV

When we get to the spot, we realize the area is already full of cops.
People turn as we head down the street, pulling out their phones, and a buzz rises from the crowd.
I put on my mask, deciding to follow Tony's instructions.
Nat and Steve seem unbothered by it. Even Bucky seems more relaxed than me.
"Is that a school?" I mutter, and Nat nods.
"It's a high school, and whoever is inside there is using the school as a shelter," Steve states, studying the place.
"Did they evacuate some of the kids?" Nat asks, her voice showing her concern.
The more people inside the building, the lower the chance of saving everyone.
"Only the first floor. There are still a lot of kids inside." He informs, walking to the police chief.
"Do we know how many people are inside?" Bucky asks, and I start searching the building with infrared.
This suit is so handy.
"On this wing, about four armed men," I hesitate. I can't see much more, not from here.
"They are armed? Jarvis said they had non-human abilities." Nat points out, and I see Bucky walking towards Steve.
"What is this about?" Bucky asks while Natasha and I get closer to listen.
"This morning, an armored truck was hijacked by three men. The driver said they had inhuman strength." The cop quotes and Steve gives Bucky a once-over.
"Do you know how many of them are inside?" Bucky asks.
"The kids saw about five men. The electricity is out. We have no visual on the inside. Snipers are on the roofs."
"We are going to get to higher ground and try to get inside. If these people see the police trying to break in, they could start hurting people." Steve instructs the police and turns to us.
"Nat and I are going to roam the place and try the back. You and Bucky will get from above." He orders, and we get immediately to work.

I rush to a building on the side of the school, followed by Bucky.
We get on the top and stay crouched down behind the ledge. The visual of the school from the roof is decent, it's also empty.
"It's a green light for the roof. We can proceed," I speak, opening the communication.
"The back is off-limits. Proceed." Steve's voice sounds in my left ear, and I look over to Bucky, nodding.
I stand up and take a few steps back.
C'mon Nova, it's just a thirty feet fall. You can do this.
I take a deep breath and run towards the ledge, jumping off and landing on the gravel. I roll on my shoulder, dissolving the impact.
I look up, watching Bucky doing the same and landing a few feet from me.
He gets up quickly and retrieves his gun, aiming it in front of him.
"You gotta work on that landing, man." I snicker, getting back a really pissed look from Bucky.
"You gotta work on keeping that mouth shut." He retorts as I pull out my gun.
He presses flat against the wall as I stand in front of the metal door.
"Amy, run an ambiance test," I mutter before opening it.
"No dispositive detected," Amy informs, and I proceed to hold up my hand, focusing on the knob.

The door opens with a click, and Bucky pushes it open, getting in and checking around.
He holds up his closed fist, and I freeze.
This reminds me of our missions with Hydra. When we had to use visual signals to communicate.
His hand opens and goes to his ear, telling me to listen.
I hear muffled voices rise from downstairs, but it's impossible to tell what they're saying.
Bucky slowly walks to the rail, sticking out his head and looking down.
His hand goes up with two fingers lifted. Two men close.
Everything goes silent again.
Bucky swings his arm over his head, pointing forward, a sign that he wants me to follow him.
We get on the second floor and hide in the bathroom.
"I can use infrared to know where they are, but we won't make it in time if someone spots us. We should split and try to clear an exit for the hostages." I suggest, taking off my mask.
"We can't move them if we don't know where they are. It's easier to watch out for five armed men than protecting a bunch of hostages." Bucky disagrees, pacing around, trying to figure out how to move.
"There were four of them in the west wing, probably holding the majority of the hostages.
There's still one of them left at least, and I think he could be the leader." I hint, and Bucky's eyes widen.