#and i'm frantically utilizing every available step to not have that happen but like

[shu-of-the-wind]

i would like to be ✨sedated ✨

[unseededtoast]

Rectify | Bucky Barnes

Part 9/37 | Part Eight, Part Ten

Summary: I've lived every day for the past five years looking over my shoulder. I knew they'd come for me, it was inevitable. I was foolish to think I could outrun my past. It's followed me everywhere I go, lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Never would I have anticipated that the shadows would lead me to the light.

Bucky Barnes x OC

Series Warnings: Discussion of human trafficking, alcohol consumption, graphic depictions of violence, sexual content, discussion of suicidal thoughts.

a/n: Hi everyone, thank you for checking this out, I appreciate any and all support! This series is also posted on Ao3 and Wattpad if you prefer those formats/platforms! This is a completed series, and it's going to take some time for me to transfer it to Tumblr, so please bear with me!

"He tried to activate the Winter Soldier, he almost succeeded."

My mind is spinning as I frantically look for a familiar face, but to no avail. I make my way to the lab and see nobody there. I curse under my breath and turn around, continuing my search. They have to be somewhere. I constantly look around me in hopes I'll see someone who I trust and can help. I go for the conference room that I was in the first day I was here and see the lights are off. Where is everybody?

I feel like my entire body is shaking. This has to be a nightmare I'm trapped in, there is no possible way this is all happening right now. As I make my way down the next hall the lights turn off. The emergency lights flicker on and I stop in my tracks, watching them flash. Coincidences aren't coincidences. The red lights flash over and over again as an alarm begins to sound. I take a few steps back and start running for my room. I push past agents scrambling all over the place trying to get back to Bucky as quickly as I possibly can. 

I hastily turn into the dormitory hall and see that my door is still shut. Hopefully he stayed in here and didn't go looking for me or Steve. I fling the door open and feel as though time is moving in slow motion. The blonde haired man from earlier is standing in my room, crumpled paper in hand. There are two other men in the room, both dressed in Shield uniforms. I stand frozen in place as the familiar man pushes his glasses up on his nose. Bucky stands, looking between everyone in the room with a murderous gaze. The man clears his throat, 

"Miss Averina, I thought I'd never see you again. I never did get to thank you for your help back in the day." I feel as though I could throw up right now. I don't know what his plan or angle is but I know it's sinister. 

"Mr. Pierce, I can't say as though it's good to see you again." I say through gritted teeth. His eyebrows shoot up and he chuckles, 

"Now, I'm sure your father taught you to speak to your clients better than that. As I remember, you had exceptional, uh, customer service. And it's thanks to you two that I'm here in the first place." He says looking over my body before casting a glance to Bucky. Bucky stares at Pierce with a dark, baneful look in his eye. His jaw is set tight, his fists are clenched. 

I recall Mr. Pierce's contract he had back in the day and scrunch my eyebrows together, not seeing the connection. I hear Bucky's arm make noise and know something bad is about to happen in this room. Not liking the silence, Pierce speaks up again,

"You remember, it was 2005. The first contract ever made to utilize the Winter Soldier. I had an obstacle to remove. Once that obstacle was out of my way, I was able to make some friends in high places. And of course, me being in this position benefitted your father as well. I was practically handed this position and thanks to you, I was handed this as well." Mr. Pierce smiles sinisterly as he waves the piece of paper in the air. I feel as though a brick wall hit me as he explained how his contract led him to be a Hydra spy. Pierce looks at the crumpled paper in his hand and sighs,

"Well, time is of the essence and we've wasted enough. Let's get down to business shall we?" He asks and clears his throat. The two men rush Bucky and tackle him to the ground in the blink of an eye. In a quick motion, they attach some sort of electrical handcuffs to his arms and legs, making it impossible for him to move. 

"Longing." Mr. Pierce speaks in Russian. I hear Bucky struggle against the electrical cuffs. My eyes grow wide as I realize what's happening.

"Rusted." He continues the sequence. I have to do something quick or this situation can get out of hand very quickly. My eyes dart around the room looking for some sort of weapon. There are three men and only one of me. 

"Furnace." I feel adrenaline rush through my veins as Bucky begins screaming in agony. I don't care if it's three against one, I have to make sure that they don't hurt Bucky. Without thinking anything through, I grab the lamp that's plugged into the wall and swing it, hitting the two men restraining Bucky.

"Daybreak." The two men fall backwards and I hit them with the base of the lamp once more. I hit one in the face, the other in the stomach. Bucky screams out again and I rush over to Pierce, who gives me a dark grin.

"Seventeen." He says before grabbing the lamp out of my grasp as I try to land a hit. He attempts to hit me with it, but somehow I am able to dodge it. Acting out of pure instinct I kick the back of his knee, knocking him off balance. I hear Bucky's strained breathing. Pierce recovers quickly and punches me in the stomach, causing me to double over. As I'm crouched from the punch, Pierce spits on me,

"Benign." He says and I spring out of my crouching position and lock my arm around Pierce's throat. 

I have one arm around the front of his throat, my other arm pulling towards me, tightening the grip. I have him in a chokehold and I pull with all of my strength, trying to make him fall unconscious. I hear him sputter for air as I grit my teeth together and pull as hard as I possibly can. He claws at my arms in an attempt to get me off of him and in a few short moments his body hits the floor. I grab the paper from his hands and shove it in my pocket. 

I make my way over and grab the red book from my nightstand, tucking it in my waistband before turning to help Bucky. I frantically look at the electric handcuffs and try to undo them. I see they need a key to unlock them, and go to check the bodies of the unconscious men I hit with the lamp. Luckily, one kept the keys in their front pocket. With shaking hands I undo the handcuffs and help Bucky to his feet. He's disoriented and I know his mind is starting to scramble.

"Come on we have to get out of here." I say, throwing his right arm over my shoulders so I can help support him as we escape. I hear footsteps coming down the hallway and a strike of fear hits me. Expecting more Hydra agents I brace myself for the fight of my life. I see someone stop in the doorway, it's Steve. He's carrying his signature shield and looks between the two of us and the three bodies on the floor. Quickly, he takes Bucky's left side and helps me escort him out of here. 

I blindly follow Steve through the halls, trusting he's going to take us somewhere safe. As we make our way through the halls, some people rush at us causing Steve to break away and hit them down with his shield. How many Hydra spies are there? I watch as the bodies hit the floor. Bucky's feet are dragging as the two of us make our way to safety, his bodyweight becoming almost too much for me to support. 

We reach a metal door which Steve opens with ease. There is a small airplane sitting in the middle of the hangar and we make our way to it, putting Bucky in first. I hear footsteps behind us and see at least fifteen people running, guns pointed towards us. 

"There they are, shoot them down!" Someone shouts as gunfire begins. I dodge and duck down, getting in the plane as Steve maneuvers towards the runway. The plane picks up speed as bullets hit it and before I know it, we're in the air. I sit still in the seat, shock taking over my body.

I'm not sure how long we were in the air as Steve starts the descent. I feel the plane hit the ground and come to a stop. 

"Adalyn." Steve shakes my shoulders and I shake my head, coming to my senses. My eyes grow wide as I turn to look at Bucky. He has the thousand yard stare on his face, this isn't good. I climb out of the plane and help him out. Steve helps support his weight as he leads us to the door of wherever he took us. We sit Bucky on the run-down couch that's in the middle of the room. The silence is eerie.

"What happened?" Steve asks and I shake my head.

"The blonde haired man, Mr. Pierce, I recognized him this morning in Fury's office. I tried to say something earlier, but the focus was getting Bucky out of the room. He was an associate of Hydra when I met him. He created a contract with the Winter Soldier, his contract led him to being offered a spot within Shield.  Then at the park I noticed someone taking pictures of us after you left. We went back to the compound and I told Bucky to stay while I went to find you or Fury. The alarm started going off and when I got to my room, Pierce was there with two other men. Pierce got ahold of this." I say, pulling the crumpled paper out of my pocket and looked it over. It was a photocopy of a page from the red leather book. I take the book out of my waistband as well. He must've gotten this when my assets were seized the first day I got here. 

"He tried to activate the Winter Soldier, he almost succeeded." I said and looked at Bucky who was still in a fog. I set the paper and book down on the couch and walk behind Bucky. I know that it's going to take time for him to come out of the fog and that it has to be done naturally. I fear if I interfere with the process and try to break him out of his trance that he'll become too shocked and act out. 

I gather his hair in my hands and begin raking my fingers through, hoping the gentle stimulation helps him out of his current state. Steve watches in silence, a concerned look on his face. I take a deep breath and get my bearings about me.

"Where are we?" I ask not knowing where in the world we're at right now. 

"We're at a Shield safehouse. This is temporary, when I get word from Fury we'll all convene at one location. For now, you two are going to stay here. It's completely off the radar." Steve says and I scrunch my eyebrows.

"Why are you leaving? You can't leave us here alone, we're both on Hydra's most wanted list." I say fear rising within me. 

"I want to stay, believe me, I do. But I have to go clean up the rest of this mess. The more Hydra operatives we can eliminate the safer you two are going to be in the long run." Steve says.

"What if they find us here?" I ask, fearful of another ambush.

"Adalyn, I promise you this is one of the safest places on the planet. It's a bunker. Come here." He says and leads me to the kitchen area of the house. He slides one of the counters to the left and reveals a trap door. He opens the door which leads to a fully furnished and functional survival bunker. 

"When you go down there, press the button and it'll close the door and slide the counter back to position. There are monitors down there that will show you a live feed of the perimeter. If it comes to it, there's a distress button to press. Once that's pressed it will summon a few of Tony's automated suits to come and eliminate whoever is here and he will be alerted. This is temporary and I'll be back for the two of you in a few days." Steve says and begins walking out of the door. I'm speechless as I watch him get back into the plane and take off.

After a few stunned moments I slide the counter away just like Steve did and open the trap door. I put the crumpled paper inside the front cover of the red book and put it in my waistband. I go to Bucky and support him, which is easier said than done. Steve could have at least helped me with this part.

Slowly, I get the two of us down the stairs and sit Bucky down on a chair. I press the red button that's labeled "door" and watch as the trap door closes and I hear a mechanical lock engage. I sigh and look around the bunker. 

There is a collection of monitors showing a live feed of the property just like Steve said there would be. There are buttons below the monitors and I see the distress button. There's a couch and armchair in the main area of the bunker along with a bookshelf, a small television, a rundown stove, and a dated refrigerator with cabinets lining the wall. 

I go to open the two doors that are closed. One leads to a small bedroom, the other is a bathroom. As far as bunkers go, it could be a lot worse. I quietly close the doors and walk over to Bucky, once again brushing his hair with my fingers as I hum a quiet lullaby. It's going to be a rough few days.