Hell Bound

I knew we were in trouble the moment Bucky got the door open. My pink knife was jabbed into the balcony railing right in front of the door. He paused for half a second before shoving me back behind him. They descended before I could even catch my balance. There were at least three of them in the door with guns raised and faces masked. Russell jumped out and yanked me back by my arm.

"Hayes, Weisberg, if you could just step outside, that would make this a lot easier," the one in the front instructed.

I couldn't see his face, but I recognized his voice. It was the suit from earlier—the one who threatened to blow Graham to pieces. I never did see what happened to him after Bucky crashed into us. I bet he was regretting not killing him when he had the chance.

"Stay behind me," Bucky growled. He kept his hand out as if he would have to stop me from trying to get past him. But his metal hand was twitching for the gun he had strapped under his jacket.

"If you let her go, no one has to get hurt." I took one step toward Bucky, and Graham and Russell both grabbed me from each side. I turned to the kid. I wondered if I could shove him away and get him to safety before shots were fired or Bucky snapped.

"I'm really sorry," I said to him. "For getting you involved in all this." He glanced at me. He was breathing fast and obviously scared, but he wouldn't admit it. He never did. I hated myself for getting him into this situation.

"Don't worry about it," he replied. But his voice was dry and flat.

The leader took a step back, allowing the other agents to fill his space in the doorway. I wasn't sure how many of them there were, but I was sure they'd send a lot. At least with Bucky being so close.

"Escort Hayes and Weisberg to the vans," the leader instructed. No one made a move. Bucky was still blocking the doorway. Russell still had his gun, but it wouldn't make much difference.

"You take one step into this house, and I'll kill each and every one of your men," Bucky warned.

The problem is that they were already in the house. I heard footsteps behind us, and Russell spun around to aim his gun. He froze from the corner of my eye, and I knew they had us surrounded. I didn't need to see them to know they were there.

"Drop the weapon," one of them said. He didn't move. The leader peeked over Bucky's shoulder.

"Drop it, or I'll order them to shoot your daughter in the back of the skull," he said.

"They won't. They need me," I reminded him.

"Fine, I'll order them to shoot her friend in the back of the skull. We don't need him." He still didn't look like he wanted to lower the gun.

"They're bluffing," he told me. I shook my head. They weren't. Graham was expendable. They'd done worse to more important people. I didn't want to risk it.

"Just do it, please?" I pleaded.

"I knew you'd say that." He dropped the gun and kicked it across the floor. "If she gets hurt, I'll wait for your nose to heal, and then I'll break it again."

"Fair enough," Graham agreed. He still had his hand around my wrist, waiting to try and wrestle me away from anyone who'd try to grab me. Russell turned back around, and his dark eyes caught mine.

"I'm so sorry for bringing this on you," I told him. There was a hitch in my voice, and he undoubtedly heard it. He shook his head once.

"It's not your fault. It's his fault," he said, motioning toward Bucky. I shook my head. "You heard what they said. 'Escort Hayes AND Weisberg.' They didn't come for you sooner because they needed both of us. It was a trap. They knew he'd bring you to me."

"But—why?"

"Because I'm the only one who knows how to release it."

"That's enough of the Q&A," the leader said from the doorway. "Just get in the van, and you guys can talk it out. If you don't get into the van, we'll shoot your friend and the Asset. Even better, we'll make the Asset kill your friend."

Bucky's hand twitched for the gun again. He flexed his metal fingers, calculating how many of them he could take down before one of us inevitably got shot. I didn't think it was worth the risk, and I didn't think he did either. I also knew he probably didn't care what happened to Graham or Russell, but he knew I did. And I could still get caught in the crossfire. I believed he cared enough about me to want to protect them too. If he meant what he said to Russell, that is.

I stepped forward and slid my wrist out of Graham's hand. He tightened his grip, but I turned back to him and tried to pry his fingers from my arm.

"Please?" I begged. He shook his head.

"Jo, you can't," he replied, matching my tone with the same level of desperation.

"I have to."

"No, you don't. They just want you to think that."

"They're going to get me whether I fight it or not. I'm trying to protect you."

"I'm not letting you go."

"I have a plan," I whispered. He studied me for a second. I didn't have a plan at all, and I hoped he couldn't tell I was lying. But he finally relented and released my arm. I stepped away and turned toward Russell, waiting for him to grab me next.

"Protect the kid for me, please?" I instructed.

"Goddamn it, Jo," he said with a shake of his head.

I slipped past Bucky, and he turned his stern blue eyes to mine. But then someone grabbed me from behind and yanked me out the door before he could say anything.

The metal arm made a distinctly digital sound as it came to life. He took a swing, and I heard the unmistakable sound of metal against bone. I was yanked downward onto the balcony and had a split second to figure out where the hell I was. There were two staircases at either end. I wouldn't be fast enough to get away, but I could draw them away if they were more interested in me than Bucky.

So while they were preoccupied with the swinging metal fist, I took that moment to bolt back to my feet. I took off toward the left, shoving another agent out of the way. A gun went off. There was shouting. I couldn't run very far or very fast, and I only made it a few yards before someone slammed into me. I hit the balcony, and both my arms were yanked back behind me.

"Get your hands off of her!" Russell shouted from the chaos.

The agent was ripped off of me. His body smashed into a car below, and the alarm began to wail. I tried to get back to my feet and made it to my knees when the leader appeared before me. He grabbed me by the arms and lifted me to my feet.

"Please, you have me. Just let them go," I said. His face was covered, but his eyes were visible, and he looked pissed.

"Should have just killed me when he had the chance," he said.

Then he jerked forward, and the plastic of his mask hit me in the face. It was enough to disorient me, and I stumbled backward into the railing. I grabbed ahold of it and tried to regain my focus. There was still a lot of fighting going on in front of Russell's apartment, but Bucky was distracted. The leader apparently decided he'd had enough. He marched toward me and grabbed me by the front of my jacket. He lifted me so that I was pressed against the railing and scrambling to hold on. I tried to kick, but there was no place for me to go except down.

"Please, don't?" I begged. "I'll go with you. Just let me go." I didn't have to see more than his eyes to know he was smiling.

"Fine," he said. "I'll let you go." Then he shoved me.