the tables have turned | steve/bucky

chapter twenty

5 hours earlier

Bucky's Story.

"...It was one of my more recent missions. This was back when HYDRA didn't give me an alias. They just sent me into the world not having a clue who the hell I was-a blank piece of paper floating in the wind, I suppose. Pretty fucked up, right? All they did was give me my mission and put me on a plane. When I touched down in the new world, I had to figure the rest out on my own. I was a one man wolf pack out in the world just doing what I was told. I ain't ask no questions, I ain't disobey no orders.

This may sound twisted-but those were the good days. HYDRA wasn't too anal about things back then. They didn't give me no wipings. Can you believe that? They figured just because I suffered from some memory loss that my amnesia would be the cap that kept my memories from resurfacing. But, of course, they were wrong.

Believe it or not, I used to take care of myself back then. My hair wasn't too long and my face wasn't too scruffy. I still looked like me. I mean, it wasn't like I had to make myself look like anyone else. No one would recognize me 'cause I didn't know nobody and nobody knew me. Well, at least that's what HYDRA figured. Boy were they wrong.

It was December of '91 when HYDRA needed me. I'll never forget that bitter winter. I was sent to the USA for the first time in my career... I think. Well, anyway, I remember touching down in this big city that had a name that sounded awfully familiar with streets that felt strangely comfortable. I rented out a cheap hotel room for a couple of weeks and from there I started my work.

My targets name was Howard Stark. All I knew from reading his file was that he was big business man that made a lot of big mistakes.

For a couple of weeks I did some surveillance on the guy. I got down his patterns from where he ate to the color ties he wore on which day of the week. He was smart-clearly-but something was off about him. It was almost like his creations meant more to him than anything else. I could tell by the way he treated his beautiful wife and his son...

So the day finally comes for me to execute Mr. Stark. I planned on making it a clean kill, nothing too gruesome. I decided that I'd leap onto the top of his car and shoot him through the roof. It usually worked for me.

I knew that he took the same shortcut everyday after work. I perched myself on the side of the twisty desolate road and waited for three fucking hours for him. But ain't no cars come that entire time. I figured that he got held up at his job or something, so I started to get ready to leave. That's when I heard the unmistakable purr of an engine coming.

Just as his car came rounding the corner, I took a deep breath, grabbed my gun, and stepped out into the middle of the road. I'll never forget what happened next.

Howard looked right at me. Right into my god damn eyes. I had my gun where he couldn't see it, so I knew that he wasn't making that face because he was scared. He was making that face because he recognized me. He fucking recognized me. Of course, at that point I thought he seemed familiar, but my mind wouldn't make the connection. I took my stance and waited for him to come closer.

When the hood of his car was about five feet away from me, I got ready to jump onto the roof. That's when Howard ripped the steering wheel to the side. The car made a violent detour, and slammed into a cement guardrail not ten feet away. He had to be going about 80 MPH. Dead on impact. I didn't realize that Maria was in the passengers seat until after it was all done.

So, no, Tony, I didn't kill your parents. They died in a car accident. Howard swerved so that he wouldn't hit me."

With tears in his eyes, Tony sat back in his seat at my bedside and stared at the floor.