S I X

06. | mission gone wrong.
death is just another part of war

genevieve.

•

THE PAST few weeks have just been, well......... interesting, to say the least. I have started talking to Steve again after that whole shenanigan with Lorraine, who I personally despise. She is pretty much the definition of lust, always making out with whatever hot guy she can find. It wouldn't be the first time that I've caught her doing so, and to those times I just laughed and walked away with the thought of Colonel finding her one day.

Steve has gone out on missions to destroy every Hydra base on the map. We're taking a Nazi flag off that map to be what it seems every day. So far, no one in his little group has gotten themselves killed, including Steve, so that's good. Every time I see him he's covered head to toe in dirt and sweat all over his red, white, and blue uniform. He's told me that that vibranium shield that I shot at has done him well, and he hasn't gotten his brains blown out yet. I smile at that, glad that he's remembered that little scene in the laboratory.

A few days ago, I was finally called to go out with the boys. I almost broke into a jig in front of Colonel when he told me the news. I packed a bag in almost two minutes and was on my way. Howard made me a uniform before I head out, one very similar to the mens' (excluding Steve). It's just blue and protective; however, once I put it on I discovered a little white wing on the side of the arm, causing me to scoff. Bucky has one on his and there are two on Steve's cowl.

When I first got there, I was just disappointed with them.

"How can you live like this?" I asked them. They just sat quietly around a fire whilst they ate their rations. We soon came up with a few games to pass the time and ended up roaring with laughter.

While on missions, Steve did almost anything and everything to get me to the safest point possible. I retorted to him multiple times that I didn't need him to worry about me because he can barely take care of himself, but he still drags me away from explosions and away from any possible danger, even when I could probably decapitate one of those Hydra bastards with a spoon if I really wanted to.

For the majority of my time with the Howling Commandos, as they call themselves, I spend my time with Steve and Bucky, who are pretty much inseparable. We always laugh and smile when we're with each other, joking around or listening to each other's stories. When I told Bucky that Steve jumped on top of a false grenade though, he gave Steve a glare that could probably stab him and punched him in his face because the "reckless punk never knows when to stop being stupid." It was quite hysterical watching Steve trying to stop the blood oozing from his nose, especially since it was recorded along with me pushing him into a bush after he nudged my shoulder playfully. It only just recently occurred to me that Peggy and Colonel and everyone will see it, but I couldn't care less. I'm just having fun during times when it doesn't come in abundant quantities.

We all now stand towards the peak of a mountain covered in snow. All eight of us, including myself, look over the ledge at the snowy abyss below. We're supposed to use the zip line that stretches for what seems like miles, and everyone just stares over the edge instead of using it quite yet. Morita uses a Hydra radio, trying to tune in, while the rest of us stand idly.

"Remember when I made you ride the Cyclone at Coney Island?" Bucky asks Steve.

"Yeah, and I threw up?" Steve replies.

"This isn't payback, is it?"

"Now why would I do that?" Steve grins.

I smile the two dorks, shaking my head at them.

"We were right. Doctor Zola's on the train," Jones says after listening to the Hydra radio. "Hydra dispatcher gave him permission to open up the throttle. Wherever he's goin', they must need him bad."

Everyone stops what they're doing and gets ready. We all huddle around our end of the zip line. Steve throws on his cowl, hiding his rosy cheeks from the cold wind.

"Let's get going because they're moving like the devil," Monty informs us after looking through his binoculars.

"Ladies first?" Steve asks me politely with a smile.

"Oh God, yes," I reply. "I'm getting this done and over with."

He makes way for me to grab on to the bars that are attached to the thick line. I take in a deep breath, trying to ignore the drop below.

"We only got about a ten second window," Steve shouts as I tighten my grasp, "or we're bugs on a windshield."

"Mind the gap," Monty remarks with a grin.

"Better get moving, bugs!" Dum Dum shouts.

"Ladybug first!" I say. I position my feet so that they're halfway off the ledge. I count down in my head, waiting until it hits three. I release the bar with one hand, still holding it in a death grip in the other, blowing a kiss to those crazy boys that I'm stuck with dramatically. "Cheerio!" I shout with my best British accent.

"Maintenant!" I hear Frenchie yell, but I'm too busy pushing off the side of the mountain.

I hear a chuckling Steve get ready behind me, Bucky after him, and then Jones last. The cool wind blows in my face as I shoot down the zip line, causing tears to poke the corners of my eyes. I stifle out an entertained laugh, going through everything in my head — I technically just jumped off a cliff and everyone's following me.

I glide above the train tracks, which are soon covered by an actual train chugging through the snow. I slowly let go of the bar, my fingers sliding off it as I fall to the top of the train. I lie flat on my stomach, and the train keeps moving along at top speed. The other three do the same, falling on to the train and slowly getting to their feet to walk along it. Steve finds his way ahead of me, leading us through like a true Captain should. He finds a ladder and goes down it, and Bucky and I follow. Jones stays on the top, cocking his gun to prepare himself for an attack.

Steve, Bucky, and I step inside the train after hopping in through the open door at the end of the ladder. Bucky slides it shut behind him, both of us taking out our guns. This section of the train is just a long corridor of storage. Steve and I go on one side of the middle panel of shelves while Bucky goes on the opposite, and we stealthily step through towards the open door at the other end of the corridor. Before I follow Steve into the new section of the train, he looks back at Bucky and me, shrugging. Right as I about to step towards him, the doors leading into that section close, blocking Steve on the other side by himself while Bucky and I are on this side.

I whip around to face an oncoming Hydra soldier, and I shoot towards him. Bucky takes out his gun and shoots as well. We both hide behind opposite crates as more soldiers come into our section. My heartbeats quicken, and I pray to God that Steve's doing okay on his side. I shoot at the other soldiers, who seem to be replaced by two more every time that I shoot one down. Guess they aren't called Hydra for nothing. Just as I hear Bucky's gun start clicking instead of shooting bullets, mine starts doing the same. We've both run out. I curse under my breath, huddling in the corner so I don't get shot just yet as I reload my gun.

I stare across at Bucky. His forehead is slick with sweat, and his face has drained of color. He glances back at me, his eyes wide. He's entirely run out, and I don't have any to give him.

Just as I'm about to toss him the only ammunition I have left, the door beside us opens, and Bucky sighs of relief. Steve tosses him something, but all I know is that Bucky's shooting again along with me. My jaw drops as Steve puts his shield in front of him and slams into a horizontal pillar of metal, poking out to the opposite side and hitting a soldier in the head.

"We had him on the ropes," Bucky insists.

"I know you did," Steve says.

Something whines from behind us, and I just see a flash of blue before I duck out of the way of a bright blue beam. Bucky doesn't have enough time though, so Steve covers himself and Bucky with his shield. I feel someone's body slam against mine, and I look up to see Steve's worried blue eyes shifting from me to Bucky and to the gaping hole in the side of the train that leads straight to the abyss below. I catch a glimpse of Steve's shield lying on the floor, just waiting for someone to use it.

I dive towards it, taking out my gun as I hold the shield up to cover me and shoot at the mechanical robot-like thing on the opposite end of the train car. It shoots a beam of blue light at me just as Bucky joins me behind the shield. I feel myself catapulted out of the train based on the cold air whizzing through my hair, and I instinctively grab on to a bar on the side of the train. Bucky is within arm's length of me, and he's closer to the hole in the train whereas I am hanging towards the end of the train car.

"Gen! Bucky!" I hear Steve call out. Through my hazy vision, I see Steve beginning to climb towards us, using the other rails on the side. "Hang on!"

"Gen, grab my hand!" Bucky commands me.

I quickly take his outstretched hand in my own trembling one. He pulls me close to him, waiting for Steve to get close enough to take me from him. I'm blinded by fear, reaching out to Steve before Bucky can drop me. Just as Steve's fingers graze mine, I hear the rail that Bucky still holds on to start creaking. My eyes shift down to the snowy valley below, one that seems like miles away from the ground.

I'm going to fall.

I feel Steve's hand enclose around mine and he jerks me towards him just as half of the railing gives out. I yelp, feeling my body start to fall before Steve catches me. A sharp pain shoots up my arm, and blood begins to seep through my ripped jacket. The edge of the metal must have cut me. Steve struggles to hold on to my hand for a moment, forcing him to leave me hanging off the side of the train with just his firm grasp keeping me from plummeting down. I stare down at the valley, then look back up at Steve, wincing. He pulls me up and holds me close to him, my small body trembling up against his large one.

"It's okay," he comforts me soothingly. "I've got you."

The half fallen railing still holds on from the other side, but forces Bucky to slide down. He still grips on though, reaching out towards Steve.

I hold on to Steve's secure railing, shaking profusely. I could've just died and fallen off the side of the mountain. I squint my eyes shut, trying to block out the scene in front of me. Steve holds his arm out just enough for Bucky to reach it. Just as Bucky brings his arm up, the other side of the railing snaps. I pull my eyes away as Bucky's scream echoes through my ears. I hear nothing but that. I don't hear Steve's struggled cries, I don't hear the train moving along or the wind ripping through my ears. Only a ringing fills my head, and it won't go away. Entirely forgetting about the pain in my arm, I bury my face into it, wiping my tears on my jacket's sleeve.

Sergeant James Barnes, Bucky, has fallen.