Saving Bucky (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Chapter 98 - A Choice

"Unbind her," Casey smirks. 

Something sharp bites against the skin of your wrist as the Spectre slips a blade between the zipties. With a loud snap, the plastic falls away.

"Take her to my office," Casey orders. 

Strong hands drag you from your room. You fight, twisting and pulling and kicking. "Let go!" you seethe through clenched teeth.

"Struggle, if you like," Casey sighs from behind as he follows. "You'll just tire yourself out."

You ignore him and continue to squirm as familiar conference rooms pass in a blur of smudged glass and empty black armchairs.

"Where are are you taking me?" you spit as you throw out a leg in an attempt to trip one of the Spectres, who simply steps over you. Casey doesn't answer. Instead he forges ahead, leading the group around a corner. At the end stands a single, wooden door. A door with a shiny, gold plaque in the middle. 

"You thought I was trying to deceive you, huh?" Casey smirks, spotting the look of disbelief across your face. "Surpriiiise," he sings, gesturing toward the door.

The Spectres at your sides give you a forceful push, but you dig your heels in, refusing to move even an inch closer. You know that once he gets you into that office, you'll be at an even greater disadvantage than you are now. You need to stall. You need to give Steve and the others a chance to figure out a way to escape.

"How?" you whisper, appealing to his vanity. "How did you do it?" 

Casey grins but he doesn't engage. You need him to engage. 

"Why is Kentay helping you?" you ask. 

Casey regards you skeptically. "You're stalling," he says, arching a brow pointedly.

"You couldn't have done this alone," you say, ignoring him. "That's why I believe you," you say. "Kentay's helping you. But why?"

"You don't need to stall, you know," Casey frowns, checking his watch. "It's still early. We've got time."

"Why is he helping you, Casey?" you ask again, ignoring the implication of being on a timeline.

Casey sighs and rolls his eyes. "Because it is his duty," Casey answers simply. "Agent King is now Spymaster King, and he has been tasked with restoring order at the Company."

"Bullshit," you spit. "The Spymaster is always a woman. He'd only be able to take over intermittently until the next Spymaster was ready."

"Normally, yes. But Vex...failed. She failed to leave behind an apprentice," Casey frowns. "There was no one to step into the role. And Spectres are taught to be anything but independent thinkers. None of them questioned King's claim to the position."

Casey nods to the Spectres, who drag you another unwilling step closer to the door. 

"So why haven't you killed him?!"  you exhale, resisting the hands on your arms. "Why haven't you killed him and taken Vex's place yourself? Isn't that what you want? The power? The influence?"

Casey's gaze darkens as he slowly turns to face you fully. "There are bigger prizes," he says. "And until I win them, this," he says, gesturing toward the Director's office door. "Is more useful. To truly rule from the shadows, sis, you can never step too far into the light."

"But Spectres don't appoint Company personnel," you quickly counter. "Only other Directors can choose a new one. Kentay couldn't have put you here."

Casey laughs - cold and cruel. "Is it really not clear to you?" he grins, his taunts growing nails and sliding beneath your skin, burrowing into your nerves. "After your defection, I killed two Directors."