Buzzkill [Winter Soldier]

Chapter 39

On the bus ride back, James' mind spun with all the new information that was trying to match with his patchy memories.

Just the relief of no one trying to kill them while they were out in the city made Ruth feel better about how she was going to be able to handle things and move on. It was hard to let go. It was hard to realize how she would never, no matter how hard she tried, go back to the way things were at the facility in Sweden. Even if Ryker didn't make it out of there alive, at least most of the kids did. Ruth thought about the kids at the orphanage frequently. Were they still there? Were they adopted? For even one of those kids to be stolen from the orphanage or killed there would be some sort of news broadcasting about it, right?

"You take the bed tonight," James said back at the motel as Ruth took off her boots and set them neatly by her bag.

"No, I'm fine."

"I'm not asking."

"James, if you feel bad about the bruise on my face, please don't. I know you didn't mean-"

"It's not that," James interrupted, even though deep down that was part of it. "You need sleep. We're leaving early tomorrow and you haven't slept in weeks."

Ruth couldn't talk her way out of it. She was exhausted, and she knew it. Looking in the mirror whenever she went to the bathroom she saw how horribly red and tired her eyes looked.

She sighed, "Ok."

Ruth took her things and set them at the foot of the bed, except her helmet. She grabbed her helmet and sat it right beside the bedside table within arm's reach. Checking again, Ruth went through her bag to make sure she had her passport (one that Hydra expertly put together after they took her old one from the facility in Sweden), multiple currencies from before she got to the Hydra facility, and a picture of Ryker that she grabbed off his file.

"Where are we going?" Ruth asked.

"Romania."

"Do you know people there or something?"

"No I don't, that's the point."

Ruth wished James would explain a little more on some things, but she took what she got. "But your contact will get us a ride over there, right? Have you talked to them?"

"I won't need to. We'll go to their airport in the morning and I'll explain everything to him. We'll be fine."

Ruth gave a nervous laugh, "An airport? I know we have passports but we have weapons on us. How will we get past customs?"

"We won't have to. It's not a major airport. It's a private airport at a private location for private planes."

"Wait, so is it private?" Ruth said with hinted sarcasm.

James stopped and just looked over at Ruth.

"Sorry."

"If everything goes right we'll use one of their planes and I'll fly us out of here. We'll land at one of their airports nearby and drive to Romania," James continued.

"You can fly that kind of a plane?"

"It's not a 747."

"I know, but still, it's impressive."

For the first time in longer than Ruth could remember, she actually tried to fall asleep. James insisted on keeping the lamp on through the night, and Ruth felt comforted by the light. Even though the bed was double the size of the beds Ruth had been used to her whole life, she still tucked herself into a ball at the edge and surrounded herself with the blankets. She stayed in the same position the whole night, her body too exhausted to move. The night terrors were incredibly mild compared to what they've been, and the blankets cradling her blocked her from looking for shadows.

An hour before the sun rose, James woke Ruth up and told her to get ready to leave.

They both packed everything they had into their individual bags and made sure the room was clean. James saw the brochures sitting on the bedside table under the lamp just before he turned the light off. He took a moment to debate with himself, then grabbed the ones with any mention of Captain America and stuffed them in his backpack.

The two of them ate whatever fruit and vegetables they had left, with James eating all the plums but one that was too soft that he let Ruth eat, and left the motel.

"How are we getting to the airport? A bus won't exactly go to that private location," Ruth asked.

"We're going to have to steal something."

The two of them made their way down the sidewalk trying as casually as possible to look around for a suitable ride.

"Not a car, that would draw too much attention," Ruth remarked, knowing that would lessen their options. "There's too much room for error in leaving clues."

"Motorcycle then?" James asked.

"Yeah, they're my specialty."

"Driving or stealing them?"

"Both."

"Good." James looked around every back alley for anything even remotely resembling a motorcycle.

Light began to flood the sky before the sun was even in sight. As the two of them walked, more and more cars began to drive down the roads making their way to work.

If either of them would spot a motorcycle, it was either parked at a gas station with someone standing right next to it filling the tank, or directly under a street light next to multiple businesses. As they passed more and more restaurants, finally, a motorcycle appeared in the perfect spot: In the alley behind an Italian Bistro with no one else around.

The two of them hurried to the bike as soon as they saw it. James inspected the bike to make sure it could go the fifteen miles they needed it to go, and Ruth began hot-wiring the bike to get it ready to run. After it was approved by James that it looked good to go, Ruth started it up. The roaring purr of the engine filled the silence in the alleyway, but there was no one around to react. Before climbing on, Ruth handed James the helmet that sat on the handlebars.

"I know you don't want it, or maybe even need it, but it helps conceal identities," Ruth explained.

James agreed and secured the helmet over his head.

Ruth strapped her bag tight to her body, put on her own helmet, and climbed on to sit behind James. She assumed James would be better at driving many different types of bikes so she just let him take the lead. Plus, she was used to one person, and she was still immensely tired.

Holding onto James the entire ride through and out of the city, Ruth admired the sunrise building in the sky around her.