From Darkness

It was still raining when we left the building, so Bucky pulled out his umbrella, and I clutched at his arm to stay dry underneath it. Even though it was Sunday, the coffee shop we liked was usually open. It wasn't the same shop I'd taken Barton to. I hadn't wanted him to know all of our secret places.

Despite the rain, the walk was pleasant, but Bucky was always alert and vigilant when we weren't at home or distracted. I didn't even notice anything was wrong until we reached the coffee shop, and he kept walking. He pulled his hand out from mine and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. Then he leaned over to kiss the top of my head and glance behind us at the same time.

"We're being followed," he whispered. My spine went cold, and when he moved his hand back, I clutched it a little harder than I meant to.

"By who?" I asked.

"Don't know. They're trying to keep a distance."

"How'd you notice?"

"Reflection in the windows. They're paying too much attention to us."

"It could be nothing."

"Could be something."

"Should we double back?"

"We should separate."

"What? No."

"I'll stick close to you, but we need to know which one of us they're after. If they follow you, I'll double back and track you. If they follow me, you can get away."

"I don't want to leave you."

"I'll find you. Head toward the train station, weave through the streets, cut through alleys, try to throw them off, then double back toward the apartment. Stay with Elena until I get back."

"I don't want to draw anyone to Elena either."

"I won't be too far behind. I won't let anyone get to you."

"And if you don't come back?" He sighed quickly.

"Then just know it isn't because I don't want to. Take the money and the backpack under the floor. Go back to Belarus."

"Bucky…."

"Next street. I'll go right, cut across the intersection, you go left. Close the umbrella. Use it as a weapon if you have to. Don't stop moving."

"Buck…."

He didn't let me finish. We reached the intersection, and he transferred the umbrella into my hand. Then he was on the move and already out of my reach before I could argue. He didn't take off running, but he looked determined. I did as he instructed. I turned my back on him, closed the umbrella, and headed left.

My heart was beating quickly, and I started to pick up the pace. I made it halfway down the next street before I realized it was me they were following. They were braver with Bucky out of sight.

"Hey!" someone shouted in English. And I bolted.

I did what he said and weaved through the streets and cut through alleys. I zigzagged in the hopes that I could throw them off. I wasn't sure if it was Bucky's training or just how familiar I'd gotten with the city, but I was quicker than I'd ever been before. And for a brief moment, I thought I might actually outrun them.

Until I passed an alley and someone yanked me back. I went to swing the umbrella as a hand clamped down over my mouth to stop me from yelling, but it was metal and gloved. He yanked me against the wall and slid toward the shadows.

"Shh," he whispered. "It's me. I got you."

We were quiet as we moved toward the dumpster and tried to blend in. His hand slid off of my mouth and moved down my arm to the umbrella. I let him take it but stayed pressed up against him.

"How many knives do you have?" he whispered.

"Two," I replied.

"Do me a favor?"

"Yeah?"

"Run."

"Bucky, no…."

He moved out from behind me and swung the umbrella right as our follower turned the corner. They must have seen exactly where I'd gone. Bucky hit him once across the face with the umbrella before there was a strange-looking weapon at his chest. The next thing I knew, Bucky was flung across the alley. He smashed into the dumpster and lost the umbrella, making a god-awful racket. I slid the knives out of my sleeves and moved for the guy. I knew if he could get Bucky down, then he'd have no trouble with me. But I had to try. I wasn't going to leave Bucky behind again.

He deflected both of my swings and then slammed me to the ground by the front of my jacket. It provided enough of a distraction for Bucky to get back on his feet. He raced from the corner of my eye and slammed into the guy. The arm activated, and he threw a well-aimed punch right at the weapon, cracking it and disabling it.

"Goddamn it, Jo, go!" he snapped when he turned around. I was pulling myself up off the ground, trembling. My blood felt hot again. I was starting to panic.

"No!" I retorted. He gripped the front of the guy's shirt and threw a few punches at his face before turning back to me.

"He wants you. Not me. I think I was a surprise." He threw another punch. "Go back to the apartment, get our backpacks. I'll meet you at the train station."

"I'm not leaving you." He groaned in frustration and lifted the guy up.

"Why are you following her?" he growled.

"Because she's the Vessel," the man replied, through a bloody and busted lip. His blood was already starting to darken. I couldn't control it.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"She's not the weapon. She's just the container. It's going to get bigger. And when it's ready, it's going to tear her apart. Along with this whole city."

"You work for Hydra?"

"There is no Hydra."

"Who sent you?"

"No one sent me. I've dedicated my entire life to understanding the Chaos. If I take out the Avengers, I can regrow. Cut off one head; two more will take its place. We'll be bigger and stronger than ever before. And no one will be able to stop us. I gave her time to do what she needed to do. I let her believe she was safe. Now I need her to go." Bucky dropped him and watched him slide down to the wet cement. He turned toward me.

"What does he mean you did what you needed to do?" he asked. I shook my head.

"I know as much as you do, Bucky," I replied.

"She doesn't know," the man on the ground said, reaching up to touch his gushing nose. "We never told her what her true purpose was. If we did, she'd have done everything she could to prevent it." Bucky reached down and picked him up again, slamming him back onto the cement and making him choke from the force of it. He groaned through the pain, but Bucky tightened his hold.

"Prevent what?" he asked, his voice dropping to that cold and emotionless tone.

"You think—that we really let her go so easily? You think we didn't know exactly where she was?"

"She killed her caravan. You had scouts. I shot them." The man laughed through the dark blood pooling in his mouth.

"That's what we wanted you to believe, Soldier. She got out because she was ready. We wanted her with you."

"To kill me? You failed."

"No, you idiot. We had to make both of you believe that's what we wanted, so you wouldn't question it. Played with her head a bit. Made her think we wanted her to fear you. We never wanted her afraid of you. You never questioned why she got over that fear so quickly?"

"What did you want?"

"Hydra always thinks in the long term. We wanted her to love you." Bucky was silent for a moment as his mind tried to work through this.

"Why?" he asked, but his voice was no longer cold and detached.

"So we could use you."

"For what?" The man coughed a few more times, spitting out blood that had gone black. I knew what it was. I could feel it coursing through my veins. He knew he didn't have much time left. If he had any at all.

“Zhelaniye,” he said. Bucky winced.

"What does that mean?" I asked. He didn't answer.

"Rzhavyy." Now Bucky looked like he'd been punched.

"Bucky, what does that mean?" I took a step toward him.

"Semnadtsat." He groaned and then spun on me.

"Go! Now!" he shouted.

"I'm not leaving you."

"Rassvet," the man said. Bucky looked stricken again but spun back around swinging. The metal cracked against the man's jaw, hard enough to break it, making more black blood ooze out of his face.

"Go, Jo!" he yelled as if he was the one being punched.

"No! Not until you tell me what's going on!"

"Pech," the word slipped out of the man's broken mouth. Bucky jumped up, grabbed me by the shoulders, and shoved me toward the street.

"Get out of here!" he yelled. He'd never yelled at me before, and I didn't understand why he was trying to make me leave or what was happening to him.

"I don't want to leave you," I whined.

"Devyat," the man said from behind him, a little louder now that he'd worked up momentum.

"What is he saying?" Bucky gripped my shoulders again. His eyes were red. He looked strained.

"He's going to make me kill you," he told me. Then he shoved me again, hard enough to make me lose my footing and fall.

"Dobroserdechnyy," the man said. This made Bucky drop and grab his own head like it was pounding.

"He can't use me if I'm dead!" I tried.

"He doesn't really want me to kill you, Jo. He wants to make you kill me. So go!" Then he managed to get himself back up and turned back to the man. "Now, Jo!"

He wasn't trying to protect me from seeing something bloody and violent. He was trying to save me from himself. So that I wouldn't be forced to kill him in self-defense. The man managed to get another word in before Bucky could stop him.

"Vozyrashcheniye na rodinu," he said. Bucky let out a growl and launched him through the alley.

"No!" he shouted, swinging forward.

I didn't understand what was happening, but I knew he was right to want me to leave. I had to get to safety. Get to the apartment to get our bags. I'd meet him at the station like he said.

So I turned and ran for the street. I didn't think the man had anyone else with him, so I made for our apartment building and ran as fast as I could. I could hear the man screaming even through the heavy rain and the sound of cars. I just hoped that whatever I'd set loose in his blood was strong enough to kill him before he finished what he'd started.