Ascendancy

Chapter 19

0001 hrs

        Wanda hums softly under her breath. It sounds eerily haunting in the black night. The headlights shine like a lighthouse before them, the only things guiding them.

        Bucky is rigid, frozen in his seat. His face is like a cadaver, his body seems to be slowly molting from stillness. "We have nothing. We have no idea where she is."

        "No, we just need to break down the facts." Wanda taps the wheel in front of her. "Kurt is working in secret for Ross. And Ross wouldn't want it known that he is working with an old Hydra agent."

        "So it couldn't be somewhere obvious," Bucky says, catching on. "No old government facility, no Hydra grounds-"

        "Unless he decided to pick somewhere obvious to trick us." Wanda's brows draw together.

        Bucky smacks his hand on the dashboard in exasperation. "Why Ella?!" He exclaims, his face pale and splotchy.

        Wanda keeps her eyes on the road. "Because he wants to get to you. Ross probably resents you the most, whether he knows it or not. You are what separated the Avengers."

         Bucky pales even more, if possible. The light in front of them casts haunting shadows on his face, making him look thinner and sleep deprived.

         "The Goose base."

         "What?" Wanda turns in her seat to look at him, her face clothed in confusion.

        "It's an old Hydra base in the south. Its called Goose base because one day a year all the geese fly over it when they are migrating. Ella is there."

        "How do you know?" Wanda is looking at him fiercely.

        "Because, they are doing this to hurt me."

0003 hrs

        "Yeah?"

        "Tony, it's Bucky."

        "Barnes," Tony hisses. Bucky hears scrambling on the other end; papers being shuffled, a chair pushed back. "Why are you calling me at work?"

         Bucky looks at Wanda quickly. She's carrying several food items and necessities. They hadn't gotten to stop at a hotel to restock, since they had left immediately after Ella was taken. The gas station seems out of place, alien with its bright lights piercing the black night. The only employee is watching German television on a small screen.

        "It was the only number I could remember." Bucky inhales deeply. "Ella was kidnapped."

        "The therapist?" Stark asks, surprised. "How? Did someone find the base?" Hysteria punctures Tony's voice.

        "No, no. But they want us; the Avengers."

        "Who? Who wants us?"

        "Ross."

        Bucky can hear through the phone Tony's quick inhalation of breath. "ROSS did this?!" There's a rustle. "Ross did this?" He says quieter.

        "Not himself. He sent an old Hydra operative."

        "What would Ross want with Ella?"

         Bucky gives him a moment. "Ohhhh," Tony breaths. "D*mn. He's using Ella as leverage against us."

        "Yeah, but I know where he is holding her. It's on an old Hydra base called the Goose."

        "Have you called Steve?"