Not Quite a Soldat

15

The dog, Jennie, joined Chanel once again on the porch. Her head in the woman's lap wasn't making her job any easier but Chanel wasn't about to push the puppy away. After she whined a little, Chanel put down the laptop and scratched her head. Jennie couldn't get enough of the pets and she was happy to oblige. Chanel switched hands when the phone rang so she could pick it up but still pet the dog.

"Hel—"

"Chanel! Get the hell out!"

"Steve?"

"He knew we were coming, he knows someone has the list. We're on our way but get the hell out!"

"Okay, okay, I'll—"

"Chanel?"

"Printesa," Bucky's voice came on the line.

"There's a car in the forest." Chanel's voice faltered off.

The phone was irrelevant as she stared at the two bright circles peeking through the trees. Chanel watched the headlights come a bit closer before stopping. The car was still a distance away, the lights the only thing that she could see.

"Chanel? Talk to us, what's happening?"

"He found Penny."

She heard Steve yell over the line asking Clint if the quinjet could go any faster. Chanel couldn't move as she watched the lights. Until suddenly the car lights cut off.

"There's nowhere to go. She lives nowhere."

"Hide, printe—"

Bucky yelled as the phone cut off. The team tried to push the quinjet as fast as possible. They weren't too far away but it was far enough that if Sabretooth was there, they might not have time.

Chanel ushered the dog back inside and grabbed Penny. She didn't have any secret rooms or safehouses and while Chanel knew it, she was hoping to be wrong. All Penny had was a back door. According to the records, Victor didn't have super hearing. There was a slight chance that the two could sneak out the back. It was the only chance, considering if they hid in the house he would definitely find them.

Chanel removed the knife from her thigh strap and handed it to Penny. Just like Chanel before Bucky's mini training session, Penny had no clue what to do with it and Chanel had no time to teach her. She clutched onto the knife as the two ran— neither having time to grab shoes. They heard the loud crash of the backdoor being busted open.

"Stay here, don't make a sound." Chanel pushed Penny down into a ditch and kept running.

The Avengers landed the quinjet and raced out without even bothering to check that they turned it off. The front door was swung wide open. But as they checked, there was no semblance of life in the house. Nat was the first to the area where the back door was and just like the front, they could tell it had been busted. The team split quickly, some staying at the house while most ran into the woods.

Chanel heard the footsteps get closer. Her stamina was wearing down and she wasn't sure how much longer the adrenaline could beat out Sabretooth's speed. The loose branches and rocks in the path were cutting at her feet. She screamed in pain as the claw marks hit her arm. Victor was on her. Running was going to fail but Chanel couldn't turn and fight either, she was trained to defend herself from a nightmared Bucky not be in an actual fight. She tried to push but it was too late. The shock of getting scratched in the first place had slowed Chanel down. Victor pulled her to the ground, his claws cutting marks into her leg as she was dragged along the forest floor.