"he looked at her
the way she needed to be looked at
like the whole world could crumble
and he wouldn't blink."
-atticus
In which a mercenary and a super soldier meet through extraordinary circumstances.
Marvel | Bucky Barnes
Cover by @blis...
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"i will either find a way, or i will make one."
NADINE
The Hand's quarters in Frankfurt were taller than their average locations. Though a lot of their properties were hidden in plain sight, this one in particular stood out, because unlike most of Europe's architecture -which was mostly composed of it's quaint, historical villages with little room for new structures- it was like the model of what the region could become depending on the interests of those in power: urbanized and box-like.
"Are you all ready?"
When Nadine contacted Selene for the building's schematics, she expected the woman to tell her that she was tired of her shit, that she was bothering her a little too much for her liking. Selene, however, was quick to send and explain the building's infrastructure to them and was now on comms, helping them from a distance.
"To hell we go," Kaia whispered, fidgeting with the brass rings on her fingers. She tended to stay out of the fights whenever she could, but when it came down to it she was always ready to deliver a hard punch. Her hair was braided out of her face and her suit was a stealth version of her old SHIELD suit, with grey and pink detailing to contrast the black. All in all, she looked lethal and prepared.
Selene hummed once, and Nadine knew that she was anxious. Though this had all the semblance of a normal stealth mission, they all knew that The Hand had to be aware at this point of their past ventures into their other locations. It was a bigger risk, but they needed to get that sphere by any means necessary. "On my signal, Bucky."
Bucky's pulled down the safety of his gun. It wasn't loaded with bullets, but with a hook and a rope to form a zip-line to get across safely once Selene gave the okay. He nodded once, pulling the black mask on to cover the lower half of his face before settling near their window to get a clear shot. "Ready."
"Remember, once you're in there, get to the twelfth floor. That's where the sphere will be. You only have one shot to get in and get out."
Nadine breathed out once before pulling her own mask up, her eyes meeting Bucky's. The darkness of the night made it difficult to discern what he was probably feeling, but it didn't take much for her to guess. A few seconds later he put his hand up to his heart, and Nadine mimicked the notion. After the fight club, it had become a gesture that they seemed to do whenever one was about to enter the lion's den and the other would either stay behind as backup, or go in after a while. A gentle reminder that once meant that whatever happened they would always be with the other, but now meant so much more.
"One more minute."
The lights slowly started turning off. Below, Nadine could see people walking out of the building. Though The Hand specialized in organized crime, they also had resources for other things, such as research. It made sense that the sphere was being kept with the ones who could probably crack its code instead of the fighters. Once it was completely dark, Bucky aimed at the building.
