Radioactive | Bucky Barnes

THE FIRST AVENGER: CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Rhiley stepped up beside James on the high plateau, the wind tugging at the ends of her hair, sharp and cold like the drop beneath them.

"Don't like heights?" she asked, catching the nauseated look on his face from a mile away. He didn't even try to hide it, just scowled at the sheer cliff ahead before glancing sideways at her.

"Most people are usually afraid of heights."

"People are more afraid of falling," she corrected, arching a brow. "Than the height itself."

James let out a humorless snort. "Yeah, well — it's the falling that scares the living shit out of me."

Rhiley smirked, couldn't help herself. "Then why'd you fall for me?"

And there it was — that look.

Unmistakable.

Undeniable.

For a second — a heartbeat suspended in ice and wind — James Barnes looked at her like she was the only thing tethering him to this world.

"God, you're trouble," he breathed.

She almost said it.

I love you.

But then — the train.

Jones' voice cut through the wind. "The engineer just radioed ahead. Hydra dispatch permitted him to open the throttle. Whatever's on this train — they must need it bad."

"Well," Morita chimed in, cocky as ever, "They're not gonna get it."

James didn't look convinced. Neither did Rhiley.

"I wouldn't be so sure..." Falsworth murmured, raising his binoculars. In the distance, the Hydra train barreled toward them like a bullet from hell. "They're moving like the devil."

Rhiley caught James stealing another glance over the cliffside just as Steve approached, checking his rifle. James shook his head.

"Remember when I made you ride the Cyclone at Coney Island?" James asked, his voice lighter now, like he was trying to distract himself.

"And I threw up?" Steve deadpanned.

James grimaced. "This isn't payback, is it?"

Steve just grinned.

"Jerk."

"Punk."

Rhiley chuckled to herself. "I could ride the Cyclone a dozen times," she added, smiling at the memory. "Never gets old."

James glanced over at her, eyes narrowing playfully. "Was that a hint?"

She shrugged innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about."

A sharp whistle echoed through the mountains.

"All aboard, gentlemen," Falsworth called, glancing at Rhiley with a nod. "And ladies."

T-bars were already clipped to the cable line stretched over the canyon — their only way down.

Steve raised his voice over the wind. "Okay — this is a very short, very fast train. We've got a ten-second window, tops. Mistime it, and you're a bug on the windshield."

Dugan checked his watch. "Better move it, bugs."

Without hesitation, Rhiley clipped herself to the line.

"I'll see you gentlemen down there," she called over her shoulder — and then she jumped.

The world blurred. The wind howled in her ears as she sped down the line toward the train. Snow slapped against her face and sizzled where it hit the heat pulsing from her skin.