In Your Eyes // Steve Rogers

45

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA

The content found inside Sharon's files brought Sam, Steve, and I to Romania. A beautiful country, filled with gorgeous people, and the one person we spent two years searching for: Bucky Barnes. He hid well, tucked in a remote corner of Bucharest, in a rundown apartment building.

An hour after Sharon allowed us in on the files, Sam, Steve, and I jumped through a portal to the roof of the apartment. Sam went through the plan: he and I would watch over the apartment from afar while Steve ventured into the building to find the specific hideout of Barnes.

"Say he's not in there, then what's the plan?" I interrupted.

Sam paused. "That's a good question."

"Clara, I don't know if you'll agree to it..." started Steve slowly.

"Uh-oh," I sighed.

"If we find the apartment, we can use Max to sniff him out," he finished.

"But Max doesn't know how to--" I stopped and shook my head. "Steve, we said he wasn't going to be anything but a lap dog."

Purposely using a playful tone to ease my irritation, he defended, "He was bored."

It didn't work. I opened a portal into our apartment. Max, entirely familiar with what the portal meant, rushed forward to greet us. I clapped my hands for him to jump through. I ran my fingers through his shaggy fur. Max was the only being I loved who I was able to protect. Steve throwing him into danger was the last thing I wanted.

"It hasn't been intense training," said Steve. "I only--"

"I don't want to hear it right now," I said.

"We should get going," said Sam awkwardly.

I kissed Max's head, then pointed to Steve. He trotted for him.

"Take care of him," I pleaded quietly, standing.
"He is our dog," said Steve. He adjusted the shield over his back. With a click of his tongue for Max, the two started to cascade down the staircase.

"And Steve?" I called.

He turned, brow raised, in a hopeful way. I don't know what he expected me to say.

"Don't expect him to be the Barnes you knew."

Steve's shoulders noticeably slouched. "He's still in there," he said.

"He's not the same as he used to be. We're just looking out for you, Steve. He's changed," said Sam.

"Yeah. So have I," said Steve, then ducked into the emergency staircase, Max at his heels.

I stared after Steve. Sam appeared behind me, hands on my shoulders.

"Breathe, kid," he reminded me.

"I shouldn't expect him to listen when it comes to Barnes," I said, wiggling his hands from my shoulders.

I opened a portal to a building nearby for him. He silenced his comforting and jumped through without another word. I fell through my own portal to a building kiddie corner to Barnes'. I crouched behind the high ledge. Sam disappeared from the building I sent him on.

"Sam?" I said into the earpiece.

"I'm scouting the area," he said. "Heads up, Cap. We've got German Special Forces approaching from the south."

"Understood," said Steve.

Special Forces hustled to the apartment building. Sam was nowhere to be found. I watched two dozen men pour out from a black van. They carried guns, which was not at all surprising, but the amount of extra padding they clearly wore was. Excessive padding and giant guns meant exactly what Sharon guessed: they planned on bringing Barnes in dead or alive.