Rose Sinclair Barnes in Winter Soldier | A Bucky Love Story

Chapter Seven: Ulterior

          I zipped up my suit and braided my hair back in the Quinjet with our other team. Black Widow, Captain America, and I worked with the STRIKE unit. Although my uniform was similar to Black Widow's, it had the same pattern as Captain America's. Across my belt were vials of blood from the unit members and Avengers. We were flying over the Indian Ocean to rescue hostages from one of SHIELD's ships, the Lemurian Star. It was night and I pulled my mask over my mouth and nose so only my eyes could be seen when my bangs weren't in the way.

          "So when are you two making it official?" Black Widow asked.

          I rolled my eyes and tucked away my dog tags into my top. She playfully messed with my vest.

          "Seriously, are you still growing?" she asked, hoping to get Captain America's attention.

          "Can we please focus?" he asked, annoyed.

          "I don't mind," Brock Rumlow said under his breath before clearing his throat.

          He briefed us that pirates took the ship with a demand of a billion and a half dollars. There were 25 pirates and they were led by Georges Batroc, Ex-DGSE, Action Division. The hostages were mostly tech and one officer, Jasper Sitwell. They're in the galley but Steve and I exchanged glances. We knew something wasn't right because there's no reason for him to be on this type of ship.

          "Schnee, you're with me," Captain America instructed, "we're gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc. Black Widow, you kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you sweep the aft, find the hostages, get them to the life-pods, get them out. Let's move."

          The Quinjet doors opened and I pressed my forehead against Captain America's. It's something we did to share the same breath and it got us in the right mindset to protect each other.

          "Did you guys do anything fun Saturday night?" Black Widow asked sneakily.

          "Um, no? Six secure," I answered and put in my communications to secure my channel.

          "Not really," Captain America said and turned on his channel, "seven secure."

          I glanced at him and thought about what we did Saturday night. We made pasta for dinner and snuggled while watching some movies. Eventually, we ended up kissing. That naturally led to a steamy night. He looked at me and there was a glint in his eyes. He was definitely thinking about it, too.

          "You know, if you ask anyone out," Black Widow teased, "they'd probably say yes."

          "That's why I don't ask," I smirked and winked at Steve before jumping out.

          "Too shy or too scared?" Black Widow asked.

          Over the comms, I heard Captain America answer, "Too busy!"

          I looked up to see him jumping after me. We both loved the rush and went feet first into the dark cold waters beside the launch ship. Captain America and I swam to the chain where the anchor was dropped at the rear of the massive ship. I climbed up the large chains first and boarded the boat. Pulling out my Colt, my personal weapon of choice, I made sure it was clear before Cap came up behind me. I ran behind a pirate and put him in a sleeper hold as Cap climbed over the rail. He ran ahead of me and took two more pirates out by throwing his shield at them. While he was busy playing deadly frisbee, I ran to the next group of pirates. I kicked one hard and he fell backwards overboard. I dropped to the ground and swept out the pirate running at me and got up to throw the third pirate over and onto the ground. When he hit the ground, I knocked him out with a right hook and kicked up my leg to kick the second pirate that recovered from my sweep. He got knocked out and Cap caught up to me and we continued running forward. He ran ahead to take care of one of the pirates and I ran past him. As he threw that pirate overboard, I took care of the next two. Doing a tuck and roll over the rail, I swept out the first pirate and kicked down the second pirate on my right in the stairwell. The first drew a knife on me but I caught his arm and broke it before knocking him out. The second pirate tried to pull the fire alarm on the wall but I threw my knife in the center of his hand. I jumped over the rail and kneed him in the face to knock him about after taking back my knife. Cap ran past me and jumped the rail to the floor below. I licked the blade of my knife and shifted into the pirate from the stairwell. Thanks to Iron Man, my suit was made with my DNA so it can now shift into the clothes of whoever I become and melt off without needing to change my clothes or strip constantly. I looked over the rail and saw him taking on five pirates at once but a sixth was coming up on his six and I jumped down the rail to stop him.

          The sixth pirate pointed his rifle at Cap's head and spoke French, "Don't move."

          "Wait," I/pirate said in French behind him.

          When he looked at me, I shot him in the back and started to shift into myself.

          "Thanks," Cap said.

          "You seemed pretty helpless without me. Either way, I always have your back," I snorted.

          The STRIKE unit and Black Widow landed by us from their parachutes.

          "What about that nurse that lives across from you?" Black Widow asked Cap as we continued our mission.

          "Secure the engine room, then find me a date," he said, annoyed.

          "I'm multitasking. What about you, Schnee? I know some guys," she teased and jumped the rail before Cap could interrupt.

          Captain America gave me a boost to jump up onto the stair rails and I leapt to get higher off of the walls. Once I was in position, I shot a spy device to the glass where Bartoc was. It was to help us listen in on their conversation. We were in position now but we were waiting for Black Widow to confirm her status.

          "On our mark," Captain America said and put his hand on my cheek.

          I nodded to him, "One-"

          "Two-" he counted.

          "Three," I finished and drew my second Colt.

          Captain America ran out and threw his shield straight through the glass where Bartoc was. He gave me a boost and I jumped through the broken window. Bartoc was on the ground and kicked me in the stomach, sending me back. Captain America ran after Bartoc while I took care of the other pirate in here. Rumlow has the hostages en-route to extraction and I ran after Captain America. Black Widow wasn't at the rendezvous point so Captain told her to circle to Rumlow and to protect the hostages but she wasn't responding. Bartoc jumped us and went after Cap first. I put away my guns and jumped in on the fun. He was a great fighter and I kept some notes on his style. I jumped off Cap's shield and delivered a straight kick down and across Bartoc's chest. The force made him skid back on his boots but his arms guarded it.

          "You fight beautifully," he complimented.

          "You, too," I winked back.

          He growled, smiled, and charged at me. I jumped up and wrapped my legs around his back while bringing both fists down on his head. He rammed me into the steel wall behind me and I saw stars when my head whipped back to meet it. Cap pulled him away by the shoulder and I slid to the ground. My head was pounding but Bartoc was holding his own against Cap. I got up and shook my head and waited for an opening.

          Bartoc stopped and spoke French, "I thought you were more than just a shield."

          Cap took off his helmet and put his shield on his back but I stepped forward instead and addressed him in French, "He is. But I'm still hungry."

          He smiled at me and brought up both hands to gesture to him, "Come get some then."

          We fought hand to hand and he was a great opponent that knew how to counter. However, after studying him, I caught on to his pattern. I kicked down his knee when he brought it up and followed through with a kick to the chest. He stumbled back but charged at me again. This time, I also ran to him and I was the one to ram him through the door behind him. When we both fell down, I gripped his tactical vest and knocked him out with a violent headbutt. I got up and saw Black Widow hacking into the system in the room we crashed into. Captain ran in after me and saw her, too.

          "Well, this is awkward," she said.

          She was backing up the hard drive of SHIELD intel into a complicated looking USB drive. Apparently, she has a second separate mission from Director Fury. My attention was going back and forth between Black Widow and Cap as they bickered. None of us realized Bartoc recovering and throwing a gift our way. I saw it and immediately ran before looking over my shoulder. 

          "Grenade!" I yelled and saw Bartoc getting away.

          Captain America grabbed Black Widow while I jumped into an office window for cover with them jumping in behind me. The grenade went off and our mission was over with his escape.