Till the End of the Line

Sarah's eyes darted between James and the gun he was pointing straight at her chest, her heart beating fast. The sky was a steely grey, clouds hung low over the lake, and the air was so cold that she could see her own breath in small wisps. James stared at her, his face expressionless. Sarah swallowed, clenching her hands into fists as she braced herself.
A second later she lunged forward and grasped James' outstretched arm by the wrist. Another second later she was on her knees on the wet grass, James' metal arm around her neck and the gun against her temple.
"You're too slow," she heard him say quietly from behind her.
"I know… Arm up first, then turn," Sarah sighed, "can I get up now? I'm soaked."
"Oh, right. Of course," he mumbled, quickly letting go of her.

It had taken her a while, but Sarah eventually managed to convince James to take her with him. He had started preparing for their venture the day after they first discussed it. This meant that he spent most of the evenings on Sarah's laptop to do research, and most of the days out by the lake to practice with her. Now, Sarah's practice sessions began with him teaching her a few self-defence moves, such as disarming someone holding you at gunpoint.

When Sarah had successfully taken the gun from him six times in a row James went back inside, handing her the gun before walking to the cabin. Sarah watched him until he closed the door behind him, then started loading the gun. It had been two days since she'd brought up the subject of their food-store running low, and she knew they'd be leaving very soon, although she didn't know exactly how soon. She was glad that there was still time for her to practice; knowing that she was prepared, this time, gave her a sense of confidence which kept her nerves from interfering with her aim.

"I found a place that seems alright," James said as he reached for the laptop, while Sarah started clearing the remains of their dinner from the table, "it's a little under an hour from here."
"That seems a little far for a grocery trip…" Sarah said, frowning at him before carrying the dishes to the sink.
"It's safer if we don't go anywhere too local, in case we get sighted."
"Ah, yes. Good one."
"I want to avoid another surprise ambush in an empty supermarket, so I checked when it's supposed to be busiest. We'll probably get the best chance of a big crowd if we go tomorrow, around five."
"Alright," Sarah said without looking up from the sink while she let it fill up with water. She heard James getting up and a moment later he appeared at her side, but she kept her eyes on the running tap.
"Are you sure you can handle it?"
Sarah briefly visualised the last log she'd used as a target that day: most of the bullets in (or very near) the centre, then nodded slowly.
"Yeah, I'm sure."
James turned off the tap, forcing Sarah to look up at him. He surveyed her, a small crease between his eyebrows.
"You don't have to come…" he said softly.
"We've been over this, James," Sarah tried to keep the rising sense of frustration out of her voice. She hadn't expected him to still try and get her to stay behind, and she wasn't going to let him start the argument all over again.
"All I'm saying-,"
"I can handle it." He looked slightly taken aback, his mouth hanging open as if he was thinking of what to say next. "You already agreed," Sarah continued, keeping her eyes fixed on his, "I've practiced. A lot. And I know I'll probably never be as good a shot as you are, but at least I can protect myself, if necessary. Besides, we're just going to get food, and I don't think Hydra's going to storm a crowded supermarket in broad daylight."
"I wouldn't put it past them…" he muttered darkly.
Sarah rolled her eyes with a little smile before turning the tap back on.
"Always so optimistic, aren't you…"

It was well past midnight when Sarah suddenly woke up, gasping for breath as if all the air had been knocked out of her. James was crying out beside her, and as she turned on the light she felt a throbbing pain somewhere on her stomach. Once she was able to see, she quickly dodged another blow of his thrashing metal arm. With a little effort, she managed to get hold of his arms, but couldn't pin him down as he was struggling too hard.
"James…" her voice barely carried over his screams. His movements seemed to become a little less agitated and she quickly pushed his arms down. "Come on, wake up!" she yelled, trying to keep him down, although he was still writhing and kicking. "James!"
A moment later he had thrown her off of him as he sat bolt upright, staring around him in wild-eyed confusion. Then he spotted Sarah scrambling on the floor beside the bed and hastily bent over with his hand stretched out to pull her up. He looked horrified, worse than she'd ever seen him. He was still shaking and muttering apologies, but she waved them off, shaking her head.
"It's okay, I'm alright," she said as she sat down beside him again.
"Are you sure?" he asked, touching a hand to her cheek.
She nodded briefly. He lifted her face to his, his lips still trembling a little when he kissed her. When he pulled her closer to him by her waist Sarah broke off, wincing and placing her hand automatically over the bruise on her stomach. He stared at her hand.
"It's nothing," she said quickly, but he had already pulled her fingers away to reveal the red mark.
He shook his head, lifted his knees and rested his elbows on them, supporting his head with his hands.
"It's not nothing…" he muttered after a moment, "it's this… this thing," he gestured at his metal arm as he dropped it to his lap, looking down at it with something close to disgust on his face. "It's like a sick joke," he whispered twisting his silvery fingers before balling them into a fist, "Hydra's friendly reminder that I'm a weapon, not a person."
Sarah stretched out a hand, hesitated, then ran her fingers over his arm, slowly feeling the grooves and tracing the red star engraved on his shoulder.
"It's a reminder that they tried to turn you into a weapon," she said softly, glancing up at him again. "They tried, but it didn't work. And instead, they turned you into someone who might actually stop them…"
His lips twitched slightly, and he pulled her close to him again.

The following morning Sarah went out to get in some last-minute practice before they left, while James was on the other side of the cabin, working on the truck. The weather wasn't too bad that day: it was still very cold, but at least the sun was shining in an unclouded sky. Despite her rising nerves, Sarah managed to hit the centre of the target with almost every shot. A very comforting feeling.
After a while, James came walking down to Sarah's spot near the edge of the lake, wiping his hands on a piece of cloth, his hair pulled up in an untidy knot.
"How are you getting on?" he asked.
"See for yourself," she said, gesturing at the stack of logs. He followed her, untying his hair while they walked to the target to examine it.
"Pretty good," he said, tapping a finger on one of the bullets that was embedded in the wood.
"How's the truck?"
"Ready to go, so let's clear this up."

James had evidently been correct in his estimations; there was hardly room to walk at a normal pace inside the supermarket, as it was absolutely packed. As soon as they'd passed the sliding doors, Sarah tugged her hood a little lower over her face, glancing around nervously, then up at James, who was staring straight ahead of him. They made their way through the aisles, Sarah concentrating on the groceries while James remained close-by, keeping an eye out.
Once they'd gathered enough supplies they joined the back of one of the queues. The woman in front of them looked over her shoulder and, almost at the same time, Sarah felt James' arm around her shoulder, as he whispered: "Look down."
She hastily looked down, smiling as if he'd said something funny. Even when the woman had already turned her back to them again, they kept their heads down, pretending they were having a whispered conversation.
Sarah was strangely reminded of the first time she'd seen James, at the Smithsonian. Maybe because he was wearing the exact same clothes as he had on that day, or maybe because he'd been hiding in a crowd too, then. But Sarah had, somehow, recognised him, even though she didn't know at the time that it was the actual James Barnes, and not a relative of his. It seemed so long ago now, and yet the memory of their first encounter was as clear to her as if it had happened only a week ago.
She remembered how scared she'd been when he had suddenly shown up in her apartment in the middle of the night, aiming a gun at her. She had never even seen a real gun before that day. How times have changed… she thought, her fingers touching the handle of the gun in her front pocket.

"See, that wasn't so bad," Sarah said as they crossed the parking lot. James had parked the truck somewhere in the woods that surrounded the area. He didn't reply, but continued to look around cautiously until they were walking among the trees, the parking lot well out of sight. Sarah pulled down her hood, relaxing her grip on the gun as she glanced at James, who hitched the backpack a little higher over his shoulder.
"I'm sorry if it's heavy," she said. He smirked, and she added: "I think it's enough for a few weeks, at least…"
"Don't worry, you won't be needing it," a voice suddenly said from behind them.
Both Sarah and James wheeled around instantly and saw a tall man in a dark blue jacket who stood a short distance away from them, his hands in his pockets. "Not where you're going, anyway," the man added, his eyes fixed on James. He took a small step towards them while James quickly stepped in front of Sarah. "I never expected this day to take such an interesting turn!" The man continued. "There I was, on my way to work, and who just happens to walk by? Only the Winter Soldier! I mean, what are the chances?" The man laughed, his eye falling on Sarah. "Oh, and his little girlfriend, of course!" he added, bowing a little to the side to address her while waving a hand at her, "Hail Hydra."

Sarah felt James pushing her back while his other hand reached for his gun, but before he could get to it, the man was already aiming his own gun at him.
"Don't even think about it," the man said, "Hands where I can see them! And if you so much as move your little finger anywhere near your pocket I will shoot. Hydra only prefers you alive, but I still think I'll get a promotion even if I bring you in as a corpse."
While the man spoke, James whispered just loud enough for Sarah to hear: "When I say go, take the bag and run to the truck." He dropped the backpack on the ground and raised his hands just as the man finished speaking.
"Put the gun down," James said, slowly taking a step towards the man, "you know you're just wasting your time."
"Stay where you are!" The man barked, sounding nervous for the first time.
Sarah could feel her heart pounding against her chest as she watched the man, who seemed to have eyes only for James. Neither of them had noticed that she had stayed closely behind James when he advanced on the man, or that she was not holding up her hands. She knew she was supposed to get back to the truck when James said the word, but what if the man really didn't notice her? What if...
"I'm not kidding around," the man called, "I will shoot if you come any clo-" the man suddenly shrieked in pain, and dropped to the ground, moaning loudly.

Sarah's heart felt like it was about to explode. She let out a deep, shuddering breath, feeling dizzy with adrenaline. Her hands trembled as she lowered the gun and turned to look at James, who was trying to regain his balance as she had pushed him aside just before she fired the shot. He stared at her in utter bewilderment, his mouth hanging open.
"What the hell?" She heard him shout at her while she ran over to the man, who was still wailing on the ground, clutching his bleeding thigh. She quickly grabbed the gun on the ground and held it out to James, while keeping her own gun aimed at the man. James seemed rooted to the spot, still looking thoroughly perplexed, but after a few seconds he made his way over to her, took the gun and aimed it at the man as well without taking his eyes off her.
"That was ridiculously dangerous, Sarah! You know that, right?" James told her as he stooped over the man to turn him on his stomach, frowning up at her.
"Seriously? You're going to lecture me on safety? I just took down a threat! I kind of expected you to be pleased!"
While she spoke, James tucked the gun in his pocket and twisted the man's arms around on his back.
"Alright, it was a good call," he admitted, "just… don't ever do it again!"
"A simple thank you wouldn't hurt…" Sarah muttered.
James looked up at her, his jaw clenched. Then, quietly, he said: "Thank you," before turning his attention on the man again. He grabbed him by his hair, slightly lifting his head so it was no longer pressed into the dirt.
"Where do you report?" The man only whimpered. James tugged his hair a little harder and repeated the question.
"You'll see for yourself soon enough," Sarah heard the man splutter.
Just as James opened his mouth to say something else, a noise came from behind them, and both he and Sarah looked over their shoulder.
Sarah felt as if her heart had just plummeted into her stomach when she saw that they were surrounded by fifteen men, maybe more; all of them dressed in black and aiming their rifles straight at them. James jumped to his feet almost instantly, taking the gun out of his pocket.
"You were actually right, you know," the man groaned, although he sounded a little more pleased, "I was wasting time. I called for reinforcement as soon as I saw you entering the shop. I'm not stupid enough to take you on by myself!" James shot a disgusted glance at the man, before looking around again at the other men. The man on the ground raised his voice, addressing the others: "You're late, you idiots! You were supposed to be here ten minutes ago!"
Sarah gripped the gun a little tighter in her hand, breathing fast and turning her head to see Bucky looking back at her. His blue eyes lingered on hers for a moment, then he pressed his lips together, determined, before fixing his gaze on the surrounding men once more.