02

103 4 0
                                    

A man laughed as the door was opened by an employee, and said, "I mean... Thank you." Three people walked through the door. "Oh... Well, that's done."

"Yeah," the woman agreed, glancing at her watch. "Half hour before last call?"

The man turned. "I can't, guys. I have to prep for tomorrow's session."

"Really?"

"You..." the other man began. "Ooh!" He chuckled.

A man grunted as he was yanked through a wall of art from behind.

The Winter Soldier burst through the hole in the wall and the man grunted.

Men grunted, groaned and spoke in Russian as the Winter Soldier killed them with a knife and gunshots rang out as they were shot.

The Winter Soldier grabbed a man by the throat and walked forward.

"Hail HYDRA," the Winter Soldier said as the man slumped to the ground.

The man who had tried to leave earlier glanced back to see the Winter Soldier. He tried unlocking the door as he muttered, "Shit."

The man's hand was shaking, and he couldn't get the key into the keyhole.

The Winter Soldier sauntered toward the man.

His breath trembled before he said, "Please." He panted and stuttered, "I didn't see anything. I didn't see anything. I didn't see anything."

The Winter Soldier shot him point blank.

---

Bucky's eyes shot open and he breathed heavily as he sat up. Rori stirred, feeling the shifting and called softly, "Bucky?"

Bucky looked away. "I'm okay, Rori."

She yawned as she sat up. "No you aren't. You keep waking in the middle of the night. I just... I wish you'd talk to me."

"It's too much."

"Then let me bear the load with you."

He sighed. "It's an awful load."

She cupped his cheeks. "Bucky, whenever you're ready to talk, I'll be here to listen, okay?"

He nodded and kissed her forehead. "I love you, Rori."

"I love you too, Bucky." She took his hands, giving them a light squeeze.

---

"So, Mr. Barnes, are you still having nightmares?" Dr. Raynor asked. Bucky stared at her blankly. "James, I asked you a question. Are you still having nightmares?"

"No," Bucky replied in a deadpan tone.

"We've been doing this long enough that I can tell when you're lying. Well, you seem a little off today. Did something happen recently?"

"No." Bucky shook his head slightly.

She looked at Bucky. "You're a civilian now. With your history, the government needs to know that you're not gonna..." She balled a fist and shook it slowly. Bucky nodded, understanding. "It's a condition of your pardon. So, tell me about your most recent nightmare."

"I didn't have a nightmare."

Dr. Raynor breathed deeply, pulled out her pen and clicked it.

"Oh, come on," Bucky said. "Really? You're gonna do the notebook thing? Why? It's passive aggressive."

Dr. Raynor looked at him again. "You don't talk, I write."

Bucky let out a sigh and said, "Okay. Okay. I crossed a name off the list of amends yesterday. Don't worry. I used all your three rules. Rori was proud. Senator Atwood."

Everything // TFATWSWhere stories live. Discover now