Moments in Time

Til Death Do Us Part

Bucky bit off a moan as the sound of boots thudding against concrete passed by his hiding place. Everything had gone to crap the moment they set off for the mission.

Somehow Hydra had gotten wind of their plan and blown it to smithereens. Sam, Steve, and Nat were somewhere on the upper levels, but Bucky's comm was useless. Hydra was jamming all the signals so they couldn't communicate.

Bucky had managed to play his part in the plan - planting the bombs in the structural beams on the lower levels of the base - but not without sacrifice. It had been a lucky shot, a flip of the dice really...there was no way to know where the bullets were going to ricochet. Bucky had been as careful as he could be, he'd promised Steve after all.

Black dots were making his vision swim, but his training hadn't been for nothing. He'd found a bit of duc-tape and had placed it over the wound, but he knew it wouldn't last much longer. He needed to find the others so they could get to the extraction point.

Clint was standing by with a Quinjet, ready to cover their retreat when they were ready. And all that hinged on Bucky's timing - if he didn't hurry, Steve was going to do something ridiculous and probably get blown up.

Bucky made his move once the last Hydra agent passed by the utility closet he was in. He couldn't afford the time to fight with anyone, especially with the condition he was in.

After what seemed like an eternity, he made it to level four, and found the rally point for his team. They were to meet in the electrical room, and then get to the roof using a maintenance shaft.

"Bucky! God, I thought something happened!" Steve blurted as Bucky slipped through the door.

"Yeah, I'm here. Everything is set - are we ready?" Bucky responded, doing a quick head count.

"Yep. Let's get outta here," Sam agreed.

Evidence of a fight was clear as day on Sam's face. His left goggle was cracked, and his lip was split and bleeding. He was also slightly favouring his left knee, but nothing too major seemed to have happened.

Nat had a single scratch across her hand, but it was already scabbed over. She had no more Widow's Bites though, and she looked to be low on ammo. Bucky tossed her a clip from his belt, which she caught without looking and thanked him for with a single nod.

Steve had a shallow cut on his forearm, and a bullet graze on his cheek, but Bucky knew they would be completely healed by the time they got back to the Tower. They wouldn't scar like his wounds did. They would turn back to baby soft skin without a trace of trauma.

The four set off for the roof, not wasting a second once the shaft opened. The climb was easy, and they met with no resistance which was a welcome change from the chaos that usually reigned in those situations.

They made it to the middle of the roof before everything went to hell.

Sam and Nat were slightly ahead of the Super Soldiers when bright spot lights caught them dead to rights. Hydra Agents surrounded them, high powered weapons at the ready.

For a moment, everything was frozen. The night air seemed too heavy to breathe, the sound of crickets was the only thing to be heard for miles.

For that moment, the rooftop was a stage, the world a spectator. The players were in position, waiting for that silver note to start the deadly dance of war, each person poised in perfect place, awaiting to start the performance.

The stillness was fragile, and easily broken.

A Hydra Agent coughed.

Chaos ensued.