Saving Bucky (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Chapter 2 - Operation Daybreak

"Incredible," you mumble, flipping through page after page of assassination reports, debriefs and archival photos. "The man's a legend. He's not just an assassin, Gabe. He's...he's a ghost! King of the spooks," you mutter, glancing up at the director as he stands in the window of the conference room, looking out across the vast rolling plains that span far as the eye can see.

"Now isn't the time for admiration, Y/n," he responds dutifully.

"A shame, really," you say absent-mindedly, reading through the file.

Flipping again, you spot a page of hand-written notes submitted all the way back in 1991. You peer at the ink, spotting a messy, hastily scrawled signature at the bottom of the page. You try to make out the name but quickly realize there aren't any true legible letters in the mess of lines, which starkly contrast against the rest of the report written in razor-sharp script - precise and all capital letters.

"Still," you say, pulling out the page and folding it twice, shoving it in your blazer pocket for further analysis later on. "I can't help but wonder if there's anything the guy can't do. I mean, look at this," you say, gesturing towards the thick file on the table. "He gathered field intel, ran covert ops in South America, infiltrated the Chechen secret forces, I mean...he's incredible. A one-man black ops team! I'd love to get a peek into his bag of tricks."

"His bag of tricks is irrelevant. Right now, he's a potential asset," the director says sternly. "We need him on our side."

You furrow your brow, reading through the Operation Daybreak intel file once more and glowering at all the missing pieces. Something is off about this brief. Despite its size there are too many unanswered questions.

"It would help to know more about why we want him on our side," you grumble, thumbing over the blacked-out text.

"He's precise and effective in the field," the director answers stiffly. "And after HYDRA's fall, he became public knowledge. We were-"

"There's that 'we' again," you mutter.

"I was content to let him operate in the shadows," the director snaps. "To keep an eye on him and let him be so long as he remained unknown to the world. But now there will be others after him. He's an asset we can't afford to have working against us, so he may as well join us."

"Bullshit," you spit back. "There's got to be a better reason that we're yanking skeletons out of closets here. You know as well as I do the last time anyone got mixed up in this...it didn't go well."

"It is not your place to question this operation," the director answers with a shake of his head, moving back to the conference room table.

"Nor seemingly yours," you challenge, giving him a suspicious look. "More orders from 'above', Gabe?"

Director Allen gives you a cold glare and an unsatisfied hum as he crosses his arms and looks down at his feet. You take in his posture for a moment, realizing that he has all the answers you want. He's fortifying himself. Taking a physically defensive posture to try and protect the secrets he holds from slipping carelessly from his tongue.

"You know, sir," you say, adjusting in your seat and leaning forward as you allow your tone to soften and take on a caring, feminine air. "You carry the weight of this place on your shoulders. You have for decades. But you've never mentioned a higher power. Before today I didn't know you reported to anyone."

"Like you said, I am the higher power," he says staunchly. "To you and everyone else that works here."

"Yes, you are," you say gently. "But, Gabe, if there's something else going on here, knowing what it is could help me to do my job better. To get the answers you need for your bosses."