I glanced over, straining my eyes to see as far out as he was. It was a lone boat traveling straight for the compound, but as I watched it race towards the dock, I noticed the fleet of similar boats following behind it far in the distance.
We both locked eyes and within seconds started running back to the compound, ignoring the snagging branches and biting thorn bushes, Hap who had been sleeping soundly by the pond's edge began barking frantically as he ran ahead of us, sensing our panic.
"Bucky, who the fuck is that?" I yelled out, voice breaking from the intense running, chest heaving and legs straining to keep up with Bucky at his jog.
"If I had to guess, its gotta be one of the big three," he called out, ahead of me by a few feet. He met the concrete of the compound grounds and his eyes surveyed the scene.
"Big three? Please don't tell me that Sam's got you believe our next biggest threat is either aliens, androids or wizards," I cried out as I slid up beside him, nearly tripping over my own feet at the sudden stop. His metal arm caught me before I tipped over too far to the right.
"He's got a point," he shrugged, still canvassing the area.
"We gotta get inside," I grabbed hold of his wrist with both hands and started to tug him towards the entrance of the compound. He held his other hand up to stop me, his head turning slowly around as if he was hearing something I wasn't. Until I did.
The roar of engines, sounding like military vehicles, were roaring up the driveway. My heart thundered in my chest, sweat began to bead on my forehead. I'd never been in a situation like this, never in a firefight.
"Inside, now!" Bucky shouted, his hand pushing against mine that still held his wrist. I turned and began sprinting across the lawn, apparently not fast enough, because he scooped me up in his arms, beating Hap to the automatic doors. He ran to the clear covered emergency button behind the lobby's security desk, he sat me down and punched clear through the glass and activated the emergency protocol.
"Barn Door Protocol activated."
Naturally, everyone in the building flooded to the source of the emergency button being activated, everyone wore the same confused or anxious expressions on their face.
"We're about to be attacked, both exits blocked by vehicles and boats," Bucky rushed out, leading the crowd through the room to the operational control room.
"Of course," Tony scoffed, throwing his hands up in the air dramatically. "Banner's on vacation and Thor hasn't shown up for months."
"They are getting into position now," Steve called out from the control panel, his eyes flickering from one camera feed to another.
"We need to hit them first."
"It seems like they are scattering around the perimeter, we need to focus on the front and back entrance, try and round them up and push them back-" Steve was setting the game plan, he had turned around from the surveillance playing in real time behind him. He didn't notice the hesitations or the coordinated steps of the unknown soldiers.
"Controlled chaos," I called out, noticing the pattern of the groups of men in black tactical gear as they moved around. It looked like a complete clusterfuck but it was deliberate, they were aware of the Avengers watching them, they were purposely drawing them out to areas of danger. "They are moving in waves, no one has breached an entrance yet, if you hit them first in the courtyard, you'll have yourself pinned down."
I pointed to camera number 12 and then to camera number 5. "See how they are moving, like a bee colony. It's chaotic but choreographed. Like a shared link, like-"
"Mind control," Steve finished my sentence, leaning in closer with his brows furrowed. Bucky did the same on the other side of me.
"Is it me, or does everyone have that dazed, robot-like gait," Natasha had come up behind Steve and started studying it shortly after I mentioned the shared link comment. "Like Clint, after Loki turned him into a walking puppet with the tesseract staff."
Steve glanced over his shoulder down at Natasha, his jaw clenched as he thought of what she said and the possibility of it.
YOU ARE READING
Fragile - A Bucky Barnes Story
FanfictionI've never liked people, never had any use for them. Sure, I was a licensed psychiatrist but that's the main reason I began to dislike people. It's why I secluded myself on a lovely lavender farm in the northwest. Or I should say that why I did secl...
