Run (A Bucky Barnes Recovery Story)

14 Cowards

Bucky walked home on his aching feet, thinking about his conversation with Steve. It was late, dark and early in the morning, and half-asleep and exhausted, Bucky didn’t notice that it was too quiet and he was too alone.

The first attacker came from behind him and cupped a hand around his mouth and the second jumped out in front of him and kicked him hard in the gut. Bucky doubled over in shock as the person behind him grabbed his arms and held them behind his back tightly. Bucky screamed, but his mouth was covered and the sound was too muffled to do any good. The man kneed him in the chest and gut again and pulled him up by the hair, punching him repeatedly in the face until he felt blood drip and his cheekbone crack. Pain exploded in his face and his eyes grew unfocused. The person in front of him pulled a large, gleaming syringe out of some hidden pocket and Bucky’s eyes widened. He tried frantically to pull his arms from the attacker behind him, but two more men appeared out of the darkness and jumped on him, holding his shoulders tightly. Bucky squirmed and screamed as the Hydra agent in front of him stepped closer with his syringe. Bucky couldn’t even imagine what it could be. Some sort of poison? Or a sedative? Something worse? As the agent got closer, Bucky picked his feet up off the ground and used both legs to kick the person away with all of his strength. The three attackers behind him stumbled and one of them yelled in Russian. Bucky threw his head back and slammed the back of his skull right into someone’s nose. His head swam as the hand over his mouth let go and Bucky stumbled forward. He spat blood out of his mouth and his teeth felt loose where he had been hit.

“Leave me alone!” Bucky growled in Russian. None of his attackers responded. The one with the syringe leapt at him with a yell. The Winter Soldier stepped out of the way and grabbed him out of the air, using mostly his left hand to slam the man down onto the pavement. With one swift movement, he pounded his heel into the man’s shin and heard a loud crack. The man screamed and dropped the syringe, which the Winter Soldier scooped up and held above his head as a weapon, his left hand out in front of him like a shield. He noticed another one of the men was leaning against the wall, blood streaming out of his face, most presumably from Bucky’s previous attack, letting out a steady, agonized stream of Russian curses. The other two were starting to back up cautiously, but the Winter Soldier wasn’t ready to let them go just yet. He glared at them and took one step towards them, which sent both men fleeing. The Winter Soldier pursued them. He caught the first man easily and jammed the syringe into his neck. The man collapsed and Bucky left him there. The second man was almost more difficult, but the Winter Soldier caught up with him and pulled him behind a building. A swift jerk cracked his neck.

Bucky walked back to the original scene of the attack, where only the man with the broken shin remained. Bucky hoisted him up with both hands and held him just above the ground. He glanced at the man’s leg, which was twisted in the wrong direction and gushing blood. He lifted him a little higher. The man was struggling.

“I’ll drop you,” the Winter Soldier said quietly in Russian. “I’ll throw you down.”

“No, no, no,” the man protested, bawling.

“Then talk. Who is left of Hydra?” Bucky asked. He knew he didn’t have much time. The men had been yelling, people would be here soon.

“T-There’s not many of us left!” The man cried. “That’s why we need you so badly!”

“Give me names,” Bucky said. His right arm was beginning to feel weary. He’d have to wrap this up. The man began frantically throwing out names, most of which Bucky didn’t recognize.

“Where are they?” He asked.

“Everywhere!!” The man replied. “There is no one spot, cut off one head and t-” Bucky was done here. He slammed the man against the pavement and his mantra was cut off by his shrill screaming.

“Tell your leaders to stop looking for me,” the Winter Soldier said. “I’ll find them. And by then, they’ll wish they’d left me alone.” Bucky wasn’t sure if the man was listening, he was in too much pain. But it didn’t matter now, the city around him was beginning to stir and he had to get out. Bucky ran from the scene and made it back to his hotel before the sun was up. He stood outside of the building and wiped the blood from his face and knuckles, then he gathered his things and checked out immediately.