The Other Stark

CHAPTER FOUR

Jennifer sat down at her island unit in her kitchen across from 'Bucky Barnes'. She had been staring at him warily since he had pulled the knife from her grip and told her his name. Bucky sat on one of the barstools gently petting Walter who had taken an immediate shine to the man, much to Jennifer's annoyance. 

She cleared her throat loudly getting the man's attention. He looked up at her without saying anything or giving away any of the emotions he could possibly feeling. His face was a blank canvas, very much unlike Jennifer's whose rapid confusion, fear and general anxiety had been present on her face since the man had first collapsed in her doorway. 

"Who exactly are you?" Jennifer asked. She had still been searching for a way to get a hold of a knife without alerting Bucky to her movements but had so far been unsuccessful. 

"I told you, Bucky-" 

Jennifer cut him off, "I know you told me your name, but why are you actually here? I refuse to believe that you just turned up randomly at my door. You must have known I was a doctor." 

"I didn't actually... " He looked at her, "Know you were a doctor." He added. 

A silence settled between them and Jenn got the feeling that she would be hard pressed to get any information out of Bucky at the moment. She would just have to live with the fact that there was nothing that she was going to learn about the man sat in front of her stroking her cat Walter as if it was the most natural thing in the world. 

"Look," she started, "I don't mean to be rude but is there any chance you could let me know at what point you might be leaving us." 

"Us?" Bucky questioned as he looked back up at Jenn.

Jennifer scoffed, "Me and Walt-" 

She was cut off as Bucky abruptly stood up, unsettling Walter who leapt off of his lap with a shriek. Jennifer tutted loudly at his rudeness and began to speak. 

Bucky held up his hand to silence her. 

"Excuse me!?" she exclaimed. 

"Be quiet." He ordered. The command came out with such authority that Jennifer couldn't help but do as he said. He stood motionless for a moment, his hand still in the air to prevent her from speaking listening intently for something that Jenn could not quite hear. A small creak of a floor board sounded from just outside her front door.

"Get down." He said quickly.

"What?"

"Get down!" 

Just as he said this three shots were fired through the door splitting the wood. Bucky had thrown himself over where Jenn was sitting and had pushed her to the ground. Her back slammed against the hard wood floor knocking the wind out of her chest. She gasped for air as Bucky looked around towards the door. 

The gun shots had stopped, but anticipation still clung to the air. Bucky sensing something more was coming knelt up still holding Jenn's body to the floor with one arm as he undid a knife that had been strapped to his leg. Jenn gasped in shock at the glint of the large knife. Bucky turned towards her bringing his finger to his mouth to signal for silence. 

He began to crawl towards the door and Jenn grabbed his arm wanting him to stay with her. Although he was a stranger who had brought gun-men to her door she somehow felt safer in his presence then without. Bucky turned to look at the frightened woman. His eyes softened seeing the terror spread across her face. 

He leant towards her and whispered to her in a low, gravely voice, "Don't move. I won't let anything happen to you." 

She released her hard grip on his arm and allowed him to crouch behind the door. Just as he had anticipated the door was flung open and two armed men entered the apartment. They were dressed head-to-toe in black combat gear and were holding heavy duty rifles using the scope to search around the room. 

Bucky leapt up from his position behind the door and slashed the knife in a downwards motion cutting the side of the first man's face and neck. He fell to the floor with a loud thud, dead. The second mercenary, who had come in behind the first, swung his gun towards Bucky and fired a single shot. Bucky dove towards the man, narrowly missing the bullet as it whizzed past his face. 

"Зимний солдат!" The man ordered in a thick Russian accent as he held the gun up directly at Bucky. At the sound of the word Bucky faltered. Jenn watched in terror as the man held the gun towards Bucky who was frozen in a crouched position.  

The man's attention was drawn to Jenn's movement from the other side of the counter top. Although his gun was still trained on Bucky, he cocked his head at Jenn, "Not completed your mission yet Зимний солдат?" He asked his accent thick. 

Mission? What mission? Jenn as she looked between the man and Bucky. Bucky's face was staring at the man, his eyes dark with hatred. 

"It's different killing a woman don't you think?", A wicked grin appeared on the man's face showing off a gold tooth. "You have to pull the trigger a different way." 

Bucky positively growled in response his anger and loathing etched clearly onto his face. Jenn's blood ran cold. Bucky had been sent to kill her. She had been his target. She had let an assassin into her house and even patched him up so that he would be fit to try again! How stupid could she be! 

"Maybe I should let you off this time Зимний солдат? Maybe I should let you try again?" his smile twisted further, stretching a scar that had been cut from the side of his lip to the corner of his eye. 

Jenn jumped as the sound of the man's loud voice echoed through the apartment.

"Желание"

"No!" Bucky yelled diving forwards and tackling the man. At the sudden movement the man lost grip of his gun which skidded across the wooden floor. The two men fell on the floor and Bucky leapt onto the man's body pinning him between his legs and pushing him down with his arms. Bucky knelt on top of him holding the knife close to the man's face as his metal hand wrapped around his throat. His hands shook with the anger and adrenalin that was now coursing through his body. 

"Ржавый" The man choked, struggling to breath against the tight grip.

Bucky let out an almost feral yell as he held the knife against the man's mouth desperate for him to stop speaking. Jenn watched, frozen in horror as blood erupted from the man's mouth as his lips cut against the sharp blade. 

Dark hair that was damp with sweat fell across Bucky's eyes as he concentrated on getting the man to stop speaking. The muscles in his arms flexed under the strain of holding the man down as he jerked under the weight of Bucky. 

"Печь" he spluttered. Deep red blood trickled down the side of his mouth. He coughed as choked on the thick, red liquid that was running down the back of his throat. Bucky clamped his hand down tighter on the man's throat. 

Jenn watched, locked into place, unable to move or take her eyes away. The man's body continued to thrash as Bucky applied more pressure. His metal hand flexed and Jenn heard a sickening crunch. The man stopped moving. 

Bucky had broken his neck. 

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