Touch Me I'm Going to Scream // [Stucky]

Chapter 2

Cloaked by the moonless night, Captain America and his team trek through high snow, wind howling through naked trees and green pines, masking every noise they could make; communication is out of the question, right now. It's not enough to break their resolve.

"If it goes down one more degree I'm blasting out of here," Stark notifies them through the comms. Barton snorts a quiet laugh that crackles in their ears. Steve doesn't pay any mind to the comment.

According to Natasha's info, they should be nearing the safe house. He takes one more look at the screen of his phone: the blue arrow that represents their position is getting closer to the red dot that represents the HYDRA property. Steve's heart pumps with anticipation, blood rushing in his ears.

Less than two days ago, Natasha's intelligence supplied her with information about an incident that had taken place in an Indiana town. A woman, Amanda Clarke, had arrived at one of the town's diners, out of breath and visibly distressed. She had asked for someone to call the police; her mother, Maggie Clarke, had just been killed. Natasha's "guy" had said that Amanda had needed to be stopped from fleeing the diner after realizing she had left her mother in the woods. The cops had arrived quickly and, led by Amanda, the authorities along with an ambulance had arrived at the place where Maggie's body was supposed to be laying. They only found a dead deer and Amanda's own hunting rifle.

Nat's informant had got an opportunity to talk with Amanda, and the woman had described how she hadn't heard any shots or seen anyone else in the clearing. It wasn't much information, Steve will admit that, but after two weeks of scheming and planning without getting any clues of where the Winter Soldier could be hiding, Steve was eager enough to follow any clue.

"There," Natasha says with an even voice. Steve believes his voice would have faltered if he had tried to say anything at the moment.

His heart beats with violence against his chest. Steve takes a deep breath and steps forward, not even aware that he had stopped walking. His blood is boiling and he's ready to face the Soldier-Sam's bloody face jumps at the front of his mind and Steve feels his control falter, fists clenching at his sides. His march becomes more urgent, his three teammates having to jog through the snow to catch up with him.

The booby traps they encounter are easy to deactivate or just avoid. The cabin has been built in such a secluded and hard-to-reach place that HYDRA probably felt too confident and thought it would be enough for the place to stay unsurveyed. Maybe when it was built they weren't counting on Tony Stark using his technology to locate them.

Steve lets slip a vicious smirk.

When they're close enough to discern a figure through a window, Steve raises a hand. Once everyone has stopped, he crouches and waits for the rest to follow suit. Stark opens his faceplate to let Steve see his unimpressed expression; all the same, he makes an effort and crouches with them, planting a metal hand on the snow in front of him so as not to topple over.

"Stark," Steve addresses, "I need you to scan the cabin and tell me how many people you detect."

Stark does just that, turning his head in the direction of the cabin, probably asking J.A.R.V.I.S. to localize all the occupants. "Two," Stark announces after a few seconds. Steve nods.

"Okay, then this is probably going to be easier than we thought."

"I think you just jinxed us, Captain," Natasha teases him. Even in the dark, Steve can see her playful smirk; he answers with one of his own.

"Stark, you blast the door open. Hawkeye, you use your Taser arrows on the HYDRA agents; Nat and I will take over after that."

"It's actually called electro-arrow," Barton clarifies after the three have nodded their agreement. Steve stares at him in silence. "But Taser-arrow is better." Pause. "Though I'm not sure if it would be legal to use a registered trademark."