The Soldat, The Captain and The Asset

1.5: The Captain

–January 1945–

STEVE STANDS WITH THE OTHER COMMANDOS, looking over across the crispy snow hills making up the Russian mountain range. Morita crouches over the transceiver and Jones listens to the transmission, keeping note of any important information. Meanwhile, Falsworth wields binoculars, looking out for anything that shouldn't be there, being ready to inform the others at a moment's notice. As this happens Dugan and Dernier adjust a winch at the cliff's edge so that they can get down to where they need to be.

Jones looks up at the others. "The engineer just radioed ahead." He informs them, his voice just making it over the sound of the wind. "Hydra dispatch gave him permission to open the throttle." He takes off his headphones, no longer needing to listen in. "Whatever's on this train, they must need it bad."

Mortia chuckles slightly. "Well, they're not going to get it." He retorts, sounding hopeful.

Falsworth lowers his binoculars, his face looking grim. "I wouldn't be so sure..." He admits coldly, pointing towards the distance where a far off train speeds alone like a cheetah. "Because they're moving like the devil."

Steve checks his rifle, getting ready to propel down to the train. As he does, Bucky looks over the drop, his face showing a slight look of fear. He looks back over at Steve. "Remember when I made you ride the Cyclone at Coney Island?" He asks softly, nervous.

"And I threw up?" Steve replies, smiling at the memory, not noticing Bucky's nervousness of the current situation.

Bucky looks over the edge again, leery. "This isn't payback, is it?" He asks but Steve doesn't reply, he just grins at him.

"Now why would I do a thing like that?" Steve chuckles, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Bucky glares at him. "Jerk." He replies playfully, punching him softly in the shoulder.

Steve smirks at him, laughing. "Punk." He says, a smile on his face. He hears a train whistle shriek and turns to look back over the edge. In the distance, he can see a futuristic looking Hydra train speeding quickly, cutting through the land like a hot knife through butter.

"All aboard, gentlemen!" Falsworth jokes, looking over at the others. "Mind the gap!"

Steve, Bucky and Jones attach T-bars to the cable, ready to slide down it. Steve looks over at the other two men. "Okay, this is a very short, very fast train." Steve warns them, his voice back to the stern and leadership persona. "We've got a ten-second window, tops. Mistime it and you're a bug on the windshield."

Dugan glances down at his watch, timing the speed of the train to make sure the jump off at the right moment. "Better move it, bugs." He tells them.

Steve, Bucky and Jones quickly hook themselves to the cable. Dernier smiles and looks at them, watching for a moment before quickly signalling for them to go. Steve jumps without a though, shooting away. Jones and Bucky follow after him. The train itself rockets away as Steve, Bucky and Jones drop hard onto the slick roof, sliding slightly before gripping on and unhooking themselves. They each glance at the other, their faces showing relief.

Steve swiftly kicks open the back door of the train and he and Bucky rush in, weapons ready, only that when they get inside they don't find anything at all. The carriage is empty. They look at each other, confused spread across their faces. Steve then heads for the next car, keeping an eye out. He opens the door of the next train car only to find that, just like the previous, it was completely empty.

Bucky looks at Steve, confused, his arms by his side. "I thought they were supposed to be hauling something." He tells him, his voice low.

Steve unhooks his shield, wary, his eyes darting around the place. "They were." He answers softly, walking towards the door of the next car. He yanks open the next connecting door, stepping into another darkened car, the room was barely illuminated by the small window, and the dark steel walls didn't do anything to brighten the area. Slowly, Steve and Bucky creep forward, worried and disorientated about everything, thinking to themselves about what is really going on.

Suddenly, a large steel plate drops over the door, sealing the two of them in the car. They glance at each other, their heart jumping out of their chest but unable, not willing to, show their fear to the other. The lights brighten, revealing a large, muscular hydra soldier. They were wearing dark tactical gear with black war paint over their eyes, making them seem more mysterious. Their hair was short and curly, their skin a dark brown, which, with their knowledge of Hydra, surprised them both. They lift up their arms, holding a cannon in each hand, their fingers clasped tightly near the trigger, the safeties off.

Steve stands there in shock before opening fire, all the bullets pinging off of the armour as Bucky looks at them, their eyes lightening up in regonision. He grabs Steve's arm tightly, forcing it down. "Don't shoot." He tells him. The trooper looks at them, their eyes cold and calculating as Bucky walks a little closer. He looks into their eyes and the trooper looks to the left ever so slightly before looking back at him. They hesitate, lifting up the cannon and pointing it at him. They go to shoot at him when Steve tackles Bucky to the floor.

"What are you doing?!" Steve hissed, concerned for him before dragging Bucky to his feet and hiding behind a large crate. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"No." Bucky replies. "She hesitated. I know her, but I don't think she can recognise me."

Steve looks at him confused. "Did you hit your head?" Steve asks. "She is Hydra, she is not your friend." He looks him in the eyes, getting down on the ground when another shot rings out and he blocks it with the shield. "Yawa is dead, Bucky. The person there is not her, I know you think it is, but you need to get over it, she's gone. It's not your fault."

Bucky stands up, shooting for the head of the trooper, only for them to bend down and dodge the shot. They look over at Bucky, shooting at him again. Upon getting out of the way of it, the blast hits the wall, ripping a large hole in the train, letting in the moonlight from outside as the temperature drops suddenly as the cold, winter air makes its way through. The others quickly ignore it, still trying to take down the trooper.

The trooper aims at Bucky but hesitates, instead they aim over at Steve and fire, knocking the shield out of Steve's hand and slamming the man into the back wall. Steve groans slightly as he hears the shield clanging to the floor. The trooper then takes the advantage to shoot at Steve again when he tries to get back on his feet. She aims at his chest and gets ready to fire. Seeing this, Bucky swiftly grabs Steve's shield from off the floor and leaps in front of him, getting ready to take the blow instead.

The cannon fires quickly, the trooper's eyes going wide in fear, as it hits the shield with enough force that it makes Bucky go flying through the hole in the wall. In a last ditch effort, Bucky grabs onto the jagged edge of the train, gripping on for dear life as his legs dangle underneath him. The trooper powers up their weapon and as it does so Steve lunges, trying to grab onto Bucky's slipping hand. His face is filled with fear as they try to reach each other. When Steve's hand is only centimetres off from grabbing Bucky's, the trooper fires their weapon at him, knocking Steve to the side.

The trooper walks over, grabbing Steve by the neck, throwing him to the side. Steve looks at them in fear as he looks her in the eyes. He glances over at Bucky, who is now barely holding on, his sweaty hands trying to hold onto the rail. He looks back over at the trooper. "Yawa?" He asks softly, trying to get through to them, trying to see if Bucky is right. The trooper stops in their tracks, standing there, their weapon lowering back down to their side as they look at Steve in confusion. They look down at his clothes and back at him, dropping their weapon.

Steve runs over to Bucky and looks down, trying to reach for Bucky's hand again, his arm straining as he tries to reach for him. Bucky looks up at Steve, his eyes filled with fear as his finger's finally slip. Bucky's body starts to fall into the vast abyss of white. "Bucky, no!" Steve screams, his eyes filled with rage. He watches, hopeless, as Bucky's body disappears before it is no longer possible to see him. His face falls, his hands gripping. Hydra weren't going to get away with this.