Till The End Of The Line

Frankie had been knocked out for what seemed like days. After the man grabbed her off the side of the road, he threw her into the van and sped off. Her heart hurt knowing Bucky was alone again. Thoughts of what he was up to on the ship sailed around her head. She couldn't help but be a little bit happy. Happy they got her and not him. That he'd be able to get to England safely, safe in Uncle Pinky's little cottage. She smiled to herself, looking down and seeing her rough state. But it didn't bother her. He was safe.

Bucky paced back in forth in the room he was supposed to be sharing with Frankie. Hearing the thick German accent on the far end of the phone crushed whatever soul he had left. He was so eager and excited to get away with her, five days with no worry or looking over his shoulder. Five days she was able to relax and have a normal life again. But it was ruined, because of him. Again. The one person he now cared for was gone. He'd had trouble trying to leave her before, but this was the hardest. She wanted him to go. She wanted him to be safe.

Whoever had taken her was in a hurry. They hadn't checked her over very well. Still in her pocket was the old phone, battery still strong enough to make at most two calls. Before turning it off to save some battery, she looked down and saw the date. She had in fact been out for a few days. She didn't know where she was. Looking around all she saw was concrete walls and floor. Water puddling everywhere. No window. A large black door with the tiniest little space to see out. Her ankle had been chained to the bed, unable to really get up at all.

"are you well?" a fairly high pitched accent asked. She nodded, hearing the loud clicks of the locks and watching the door slowly swing open. Three men stood at the entrance, two armed. "I am the doctor, how are you feeling Francesca?"

"tired, hungry" she mumbled. He nodded, waving his hand and one guard disappeared. The doctor grabbed a chair, swinging it into the room across from her and sitting down. The guard appeared again, a silver tray in his hands, gun strapped to his back. "thank you"

He watched her as she slowly began eating the sandwich that was given to her. Ham and cheese. A glass of water and an orange.

"we can make this quick and easy, or drag this out" he told her, watching her carefully. "where is the asset going?"

Frankie's whole body stiffened. She stopped sipping from the glass. All that was left was the orange. She watched him watch her. Both sizing each other out.

"I don't know" she lied. He shook his head and clicked his tongue.

"I guess it'll be the long way" he waved over a guard, who got extremely close to her and stabbed her arm.

"what the hell was that?" Frankie screamed, rubbing the spot gently.

"it'll help you sleep. We gave it to you to get over here"

With a quick turn, they were all gone. Laying on her side, she couldn't help but imagine what Bucky was up too. Shuffling before she'd fall asleep, quickly turning the phone on she dialed his number.

"Frankie oh thank god you're alive" he breathed, she sensed the tension all in his voice.

"Bucky they gave me something to go to sleep. They gave it to me before. I'm going to be out for days. I'm trying to save some phone battery"

"Frankie, I'm so sorry. I should've rode with you. I could've stopped them"

"I'm glad you didn't" She was starting to loose focus. Her vision becoming blurred, she yawned.

"Frankie, say the words. I need you to say them. It's the only way I can find you"

"no, you're on the ship. You could hurt someone" yawning again. She was slipping away.

"Frank, I'm at the cottage. Its been over a week since we left. Just say them, please. I need to find you"

Finding out just how long she'd been knocked out gave her a little bit of jolt that she needed to get through those ten words. Silence fell on the other side of the phone. She was scared. He turned to the solider to find her, thinking it was his only way. He was now in full solider mode and all alone. The silence on the other end fell to beeps, he either smashed the phone or hung up. She fell into a deep sleep with worry all over her mind.

Frankie woke to a loud bang. Jolted awake, she saw the door was swung wide open. The doctor stood there, a smile on his face. Placing another silver tray in front of her, she began to eat.

"seems the asset is attached to you. He's taken down three of my best agents asking where his dear Francesca is"

He wouldn't say that. He didn't call her Francesca. Even when he was upset with her.

"how long was I out this time?" she asked. He looked at her, eyes scrunched.

"a week. but we've hooked you up to an I.V. you're getting plenty of nutrients and all the good things you need" his smile scared her. It was dark, evil. "where is he going?"

"I really don't know" she wasn't lying. This wasn't part of the plan. But she had to find a way to get him to stop. He was going to get himself killed.

The doctor rose from the chair, unlocked the chain around her ankle and walked out. Once the sound of the heavy locks clicked, she slowly started moving.

Before they could realize, she took her phone out. It was a long shot but she had to try. Texting Bucky, who couldn't argue since he didn't know how to answer a text, she told him to stop searching for her. Let the solider go and to head home. She was alright. After it sent, she shut it off again.

Knocking out a brick behind the bed, she hollowed it out, sticking the phone in there, and sealed it up again. She was weak. Over two weeks in total had she been knocked out. Her body was stiff and sore. She began walking in circles around the room. Each passing day starting something new to keep her occupied and in shape. Keeping track of her days by scratching them on the wall with a break, she kept herself sane. Two weeks became a month. A month became three.

They started bringing her out of the room. They left her in a lab all night due to some heavy rains that flooded the cell she was being kept in. Poking and prodding her repeatedly, continually asking where Bucky was. But she didn't know. It was bothering her that she had no idea where he was, if he was okay. If he was alive.

Bucky had made his way through England, Belgium and the Netherlands. He'd snapped out of the solider over a week ago, seeing the message Frankie had sent him. He was heading east, trying to find the best place for him to call home. Somewhere he could lay low. It didn't mean he was going to stop looking for her. He couldn't stop.

It'd been awhile now. Frankie earned the trust of the doctor enough for him to allow her to walk freely around the lab. She'd become his assistant in a way. He continued to poke and prod her, shoving foreign substances into her body, some having no effect, others making her feel as though her skin was on fire.

This one though, sent her entire body into a frenzy. She felt like her skin was melting off. Her insides molding into one giant formation. Her brain was going to make her head explode. Withering in pain, she lay on the cool, damp floor of her room. The bed broke the light that hung low from the ceiling. The cool touch of the concrete walls and floors reminding her how cold Bucky's hand used to be. Digging the brick from the wall, she opened the phone, happy to see the battery hadn't given out on her yet. The thing had been off for over six months now but she had just enough. Enough to send a little text message to one person she knew would find her. Memorizing his number, she dialed it in, forming a new message.

help me was all she wrote. Quickly adding what she thought her approximate location was. Just as she hit send, the phone died.