We'll Meet Again...I Know When || Bucky Barnes x Reader

3 || Eyes Everywhere

You run a hand through your hair with a sigh and twirl your phone in annoyance. No answer...again. Not that you really expected one, but a part of you keeps hoping that if you call just once more, someone will finally pick up and explain this whole damn situation to you better than your 'superiors' have.

You're beginning to regret not having said anything during today's emergency meeting. Instead, you had dumbly remained silent while standing at the edge of the room with crossed arms, almost unnoticeable within the sea of agents. Then again, perhaps that was actually a smart move. You managed to keep your concerns and disgust well hidden, but it still burns at your core nonetheless.

It was embarrassing to see how quickly fellow agents had turned their heads at the slightest command without any input of their own ration. Pierce says 'jump', they ask how high. Only Sharon Carter- bless her for having a strong head upon her shoulders- voiced her own concerns yet nothing came of it. Instead, everyone was just given a vague elaboration justifying SHIELD's sudden launch of a manhunt for Captain America who's supposedly a serious criminal now.

You refuse to believe it for a second. Sure, Steve's gotten into fights in pretty much every ally within Brooklyn and tried to illegally enlist into the military a billion times, but there's always some sort of moral leash to his rule breaking endeavors. If he truly has important information regarding Nick Fury's murder and is keeping it from everyone else, he must have a good reason for it.

Your worry that something is terribly wrong is only solidified by the behaviors you've observed. While you remained quiet during the meeting, you were careful to note your superiors' handling of this 'mishap'. Some sounded afraid and in a panic while others were strangely calm, speaking with certainty as if Rogers has always been a nuisance they never trusted...as if they've always been at odds.

As a wise man once said, the universe is rarely so lazy for coincidence to occur. Maybe that's the reason Steve hasn't handed valuable information over to SHIELD; he doesn't trust them and if that's the case, you're going to look at them twice yourself. There's no way in Hell you're just going to sit around in the dark until it all comes tumbling down on top of you. You're Hollie Stark, damnit! You're one of the founders of SHIELD!...Well, you were anyways. Either way, no one's pulling the wool over your eyes!

Giving up on the phone, you search your drawer for an empty flash drive. You know you always keep one somewhere. Once you locate it, you plug it in and get to work.

You've always prided yourself on being clever and you can't be clever without being prepared for anything. With this in mind, Hollie decided it would be a good idea to keep insurance over SHIELD in the case that something ever went wrong or that someone (Howard) decided to keep more secrets from you like that whole 'Steve's blood' fiasco. Thus, without anyone else's knowledge, you created a series of secret passwords and codes allowing you access into any file within SHIELD's database. Nifty, right?

You've honestly never planned on using it as (Y/n). Having been around since the organization's creation and being trusted enough to be bubby-bubby with the Avengers, you've never been tempted by the possibility that something big might be hidden beyond the range of your knowledge. Plus, there is a little downfall to your system that's made you chose to avoid it until a time of need like now.

Times have changed since good o' Hollie. Systems have changed, to be exact. While it seems your password still works to download data without raising any alarm, the organization still keeps tabs on all employee computers meaning someone will eventually see you looking through classified information, hints use of a flash drive. While SHIELD will eventually be able to see a download's been made on your computer, it'll take them a hot second. In the meantime, you have several devices at home which have been designed by yourself to block tracking. They'll be none the wiser to the true extent of data you've borrowed.