Aftermath [winter soldier//Bucky Barnes AU]

Chapter Fourteen

SARAH'S POV

None of us had slept since Tony's experiment had escaped. It was now 7:43 the next morning, and we were running out of both ideas and steam. We had been trying to find Ultron for nearly ten hours, and we'd only come across a single lead, which Tony was looking into right now. There was an unspoken agreement in the air; if this lead didn't work out, we would call Fury and then go right to bed. My eyes stung with exhaustion and stress and I struggled to see clearly at this point.

I stood next to Bucky, who refused to admit he was tired. But I could tell that he was ready to crawl up into a ball and sleep forever by the bags under his eyes. I was clicking half-heartedly on the keyboard, exhausting every outlet I knew to try and find Ultron, but to no avail. Calypso snored from her baby carrier on the counter, momentarily stirring, and my heart froze until she laid still again. The last thing I needed right now was a crying baby on top of everything else.

Finally, about ten and a half hours since we started our search, Tony called, "Found him!"

Everyone shot up and joined him at his monitor, taking a gander at an abandoned ship yard on the screen in front of us. Huge battleships lay stuck in the sand, their hulls rusted and covered in dead barnacles from past adventures. Their frames were well into various states of decomposition, and they looked as though they hadn't seen the sea in years.

"There's a group of mercenaries hiding out in these ships. Three hours ago, they got a wireless transfer for an insane amount of money, but the cash came from thirty four fictitious accounts and didn't go through a single banking system. The money was transferred seemingly through an Internet hack, but I looked into it and there's no reason for this to have happened unless it was done to pay someone illegally. The mercenaries manufacture different types of metal and weapons, so it appears as though Ultron may have paid these guys using whatever backwards internet lot he felt like and is now using their supplies," Tony explained, pulling up different screens to show us the wireless money transfers as well as hidden footage of the mercenaries that worked in said place.

I couldn't believe that amount of money that had been transferred to the mercenaries' accounts. No one, not even some of the richest men on earth, could've transferred that much. It had to be Ultron.

I sighed and turned away from the computer, going to find my catsuit and guns. I hated plane rides and I hated to leave Calypso alone again. But whatever this was....it was not something to be messed with. And it needed our attention immediately.

I returned a few minutes later all suited up. Everyone else was still in the process of suiting up.

I walked past them and headed to Pepper's bedroom. Not wanting to wake her up but being given no alternative choice, I knocked on her door. She opened it a few seconds later, looking forcedly bright and happy to see me. The bags under her eyes did not match her happy demeanor but I was grateful for the effort.

"Hey Sarah. What can I do for you?" She asked. I smiled sheepishly.

"We found Ultron, and we need to go after him. I'm really sorry, but could you please watch Calypso again until we return? I have no idea how long it will be but she's asleep right now and should stay that way for a while," I said, leaning against the door frame tiredly. She smiled slightly and nodded.

"Of course I'll watch her."

I left her door to go get Calypso and bring her back to Pepper, but Pepper followed me into the living room, immediately finding Tony and giving him a hug. She talked with him in a hushed tone and his face relaxed immensely. It was good to see them together.

While I was watching Pepper and Tony, a pair of arms slid around my shoulders, making me jump before I realized who they belonged to.

"Bucky you scared the hell out of me. How can someone so big and muscly walk so quietly?" I asked, turning in his arms and facing him. Bucky chuckled.

"I'm an assassin, Sarah. Walking quietly is part of the job," he replied, nestling his face in my neck and sighing. My arms were around his neck and I played with his hair, which was now as long as it was when I first met him, all those months ago. It's amazing that we are still standing here, together, even after everything we've been through.

"You ok?" I whispered. Bucky tightened his grip around me.

"I don't want to leave her again. Especially when we have no idea what we're up against," he replied, referring to Calypso. I felt a pang in my heart. I didn't want to leave her either.

"Me either. Let's just go be superheroes and bash Ultron's face in real quick, yeah?" I joked, and he laughed again, pulling back and looking at me with those gorgeous blue eyes of his.

"Yeah. Let's go bash Ultron's face in."

I gave his arm one more squeeze before finding Pepper and giving Calypso to her. We boarded the plane right after I gave Calypso a kiss. She was still asleep when we left.

--

The plane landed half a mile from the shipyard just two hours later. All of us slept on the plane ride, but after a whole night of not sleeping followed by a two hour nap, we were more tired than before.

We drifted off of the plane and looked around.

The abandoned ship yard was even eerier in real life. The hulls were huge and the ground was bone dry, looking like it'd been without a drop of water for years. I could hear faint banging from inside the largest ship in the middle and immediately knew which one to head towards, but Steve grouped everyone together before we set out.

"This is not a search and destroy. Investigate first, and try to find Ultron without getting too mixed up with the other merchants on the ship. Split up into teams of two or three and each of us can take different entrances. Only engage if you have to," Steve ordered, pulling his helmet on and turning on his earpiece. Everyone drifted off into groups, and Bucky, Steve and I somehow fell together.

We reached the ship that held the merchants and crept along the side of it, scanning for any threats and any entrances. The banging sound was much louder now, and I could hear other metallic clangs coming from inside. Steve led, followed by me, and Bucky brought up the rear. I cocked my gun and focused on being as quiet as possible.

Steve stopped suddenly in front of me and held his hand up, silently telling us to pause. I listened for one second and realized why we'd stopped- voices were coming from just around the corner. They were hushed, as if whoever was talking was trying to avoid being caught.

"Pietro, Ultron is promising us something better than anything Hydra has ever given us. He's promising us revenge against the man that murdered our parents and a world in which we will no longer have to live in constant fear. We have no choice- we have to follow his lead," the first voice said, and I immediately knew it was Wanda. Her Russian accent was strong and her voice was full of concern. I didn't like what she was saying- what lies had Ultron been telling them?

"Wanda, I know what he promises. But what if he doesn't plan on following through with what he says? What if he's just trying to use us?" Pietro whispered. He sounded exasperated.

"If we stay with Hydra, we'll be used all the same," Wanda replied. Pietro stayed silent, and a few seconds later, I heard them walk away. They seemed to have reached a mutual agreement, and it wasn't one I liked.

Steve peeked slowly from around the corner after a few moments, then looked back at us.

"You ready?" He asked, and Bucky and I nodded. Steve faced forward and held up his hand where we could see it, holding up all five fingers then putting them down one at a time. When just one finger remained up, he bolted around the corner, and a slamming noise followed. Bucky and I followed and were met with an open door. Steve grinned.

"Let's get Ultron."

--

AN

so sorry updating takes so long, I have a million things going on all at once :( hope you enjoy this though!

-Jordan