𝔹𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕋𝕠 𝔹𝕣𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕝𝕪𝕟 | Bucky Barnes⁽¹⁾

14 | Rescue Mission

February 1943 - Austria: Nazi Territory 

Steve Rogers had been given a very strict order from Colonel Chester Phillips - the officer in charge of the army base in Italy - to not try and save the lost soldiers. The man was regretful and genuinely sorry, having spent most of his time the past few days signing telegrams to send to the families of the men he had lost.

He was very stern though, making his point to Steve very clear that no one, not even Captain America, was going into enemy territory.

Steve respected the Colonel at the best of times, but he couldn't listen to this demand. On hearing that over 150 men from the 107th unit had been taken hostage by the Nazi group Hydra - the same group that killed Dr Erskine- he knew he couldn't just leave it.

Then, on discovering that his childhood friend, Bucky Barnes, was amongst the lost soldiers, Steve had to do something.

He'd been shown the telegram - the note informing that Sergeant Barnes had died in the line of duty. The name and address on the paper was Steve's other best friend, Elenora Madison. One look at that page, and he knew he had no choice. He couldn't bear the thought of losing Bucky, couldn't bear the thought of what losing Bucky, never seeing him again, would do to Ella.

After all, what would be the point of him being Captain America if he couldn't even save his two best friends?

He enlisted the help of Agent Peggy Carter, and Mr Howard Stark, the pair agreeing to help Steve with his mission. Even though they knew the Colonel would be unhappy with them if it went wrong, they both knew that if there was a chance to save those men, they had to try.

So, that's how he ended up here. Jumping out of a jet in the middle of the night to sneak into a Hydra base, hellbent on bringing home the kidnapped men, and his best friend.

It was dark, the middle of the night when Steve had managed to knock out two of Hydra's guards and hide their bodies in the back of one of their trucks. Soldiers and guards were bustling around all over the area, and Steve's knees were bent as he snuck around to find a door to the inside. He wore his bright Captain America uniform underneath proper army attire, a helmet, a dark khaki jacket, and pants. He also held the shield he used for his shows. It was hardly bulletproof, but he'd grown oddly attached to it, feeling it was better than nothing.

Once he made his way inside, he followed the sound of footsteps, counting two sets. He followed the noises, watching his back as he hastily made his way along the hallway. There was a door at the end of the hall, and Steve saw bars, like cages, and men in army uniforms locked up like animals in a zoo. At least he knew he was going the right way.

When he got to the door of the room, one of the guards was just leaving. Steve was fast, hitting the guy around the head to knock him out, catching the body before it could make any noise as it collapsed. He dragged the body away from the door, sitting the person against the wall, then taking any weapons, finding a truncheon. He peeked his head through the door, then carefully made his way inside.

The other guard had gone up a flight of steps and was now walking along the top of the cages. Steve wasted no time in sneaking up behind him. Using the truncheon he'd taken from this man's colleague, Steve whacked him around the head, knocking him out cold. The body thudded on top of the metal cage, and the prisoners inside all jumped and looked up, seeing Steve standing over them.

"Hi," the blonde greeted calmly, dragging the body away.

The imprisoned soldiers all watched him, stunned into silence. Steve searched the guard's body, feeling for the keys, which he eventually found on the man's belt. Hopping down off the top of the cage, he headed around to find the lock.