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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐒𝐢𝐱: 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭

HYDRA Base, Austria

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A couple of weeks had passed since their last mission to Belgium and life couldn't have been better.

Allie's shoulder had healed up nicely and it had begun to feel like she had never even injured it in the first place. She was obviously back to her usual antics and her grueling training routine which she was even able to drag Steve into. They always tested each other, trying to show off their abilities and see who was actually the better soldier. But it would always end up with them collapsing on the floor, laughing at each other because one of them mucked up and embarrassed themselves.

She also went back and helped Howard with their self entitled 'completely bonkers chemical weapon that would make soldiers never tired' drug. And somehow, they were actually getting some profitable results. They had found a correlation between some of their research and reducing fatigue in soldiers which they were now trying to harness to complete the drug.

She even went back and trained some of the newer soldiers with Peggy again, which she technically didn't need to do but she wanted to catch up with Peggy again so she did. They chatted, gossiped and Allie teased Peggy about her crush on Steve. Peggy would then get defensive and say that Allie was no better and that she looked like a teenage girl fawning over Bucky.

Speaking of Bucky, everything felt right again with him. These past weeks have made her even happier than what she ever thought was possible, and it was all because of him.

They even went on a sweet date the other night where Bucky took her out dancing for the first time. She had begged and begged him not to take her because she knew that she would be absolutely atrocious at it but he dragged her out there anyway. He forced her to wear this beautiful dark dress and heels which made her even more annoyed because 'how could people dance wearing such uncomfortable clothes?'

But he thought that she looked like a goddess.

So he pulled her out into the middle of the dancefloor that was already flooding with people, making sure to hold her hand tightly so he wouldn't lose her in the rambunctious crowd, and held her against his chest.

The music drowned out all other sounds and carried her away to a place where it was just her and Bucky. They danced and spun around the room, laughter falling from their lips almost as if they were completely intoxicated with each other. She couldn't count how many times she had stepped on his foot but he still smiled down at her brightly as they swayed.

The lights twinkled and blurred out everything else around them as Bucky spun her circles, watching as he hair bounced and her dress billowed out, completely captivating him with awe. And then he pulled her back into his chest and she almost sighed at the touch of his warm hand on her back, guiding them around the floor.

She rested her head on his chest and let herself fall even more in love with the man in front of her. She fell in love with the moment. Being held in Bucky's arm and just being completely content.

But then like all moments, they have to come to an end.

It was only the next day when they had just been called out for another mission. But this time, they were heading into Austria, home to one of the biggest HYDRA bases known by the U.S.

Much like last time, they were barely given any warning to get ready and were all rushed onto the large jet. They all had no clue where they were going or what their game plan was. All except for Steve who was chatting about it with the Colonel in the other room while the rest of them loused about in the main cabin, trying to catch up on some very much needed sleep.

Which brings her to where she is now, sitting in an extremely uncomfortable chair on the plane as she mentally prepares herself for the upcoming mission.

Allie's head rests lightly on Bucky's shoulder as she closes her eyes and faintly listens in to the conversations being made around her. Her small hand is encased in his much larger one and she delights in the feeling of his thumb gently caressing the back of her palm.

She feels the small rise and fall of Bucky's chest which distracts her from the internal thoughts running through her head. Thoughts that should make her feel more anxious than what she currently is.

And she is just about to succumb to the darkness when she hears loud footsteps echoing down into the cabin. Her eyes flicker back open with a small groan and she watches as Steve waltzes back into the cabin with a large grin covering his face.

"Who's ready to kick some HYDRA butt?" He shouts enthusiastically.

With a sigh, Allie readjusts herself so that she is sitting straight up and has a clear view of the map that is placed on the table in front of them. Even though she just came back from a break, she is more tired than ever. This life is beginning to tire her out mentally and she knows that physical effects will become apparent soon.

She needs a proper break. A permanent one.

"So what's the plan Cap?" Dum Dum asks as he twists the ends of his pale mustache between his pale fingers.

"This base it a lot larger then any other base we have attacked before, meaning, there will also be a lot more men. This mission will be very dangerous so we all have to be extremely vigilant and careful." Steve informs them as the smile that was once held on his lips, falls into a tight line.

Bucky rolls his eyes at Steve's speech and quickly butts in before Steve can continue. "You say that every mission Cap" He teases and Steve just gives him a heated look.

"And every mission I mean it." He quips before he turns back to the rest of the group. "So, the plane is going to drop us off 6 miles from the south face of the building. Morita and I will take the Eastern-most entrance on the south wall while Bucky, Falsworth and Dum Dum take the Western one. That leaves-"

"You're joking, right? You're leaving me with the Kraut." Jones immediately cuts in, absolutely enraged. Allie's eyes dart over to his and she narrows her gaze at him. She originally understood his inability to trust her considering she was the one that had previously locked him away at HYDRA but she feels that based on her current actions, she has made up for that in every way possible. She even tried to talk to him about it but he didn't want to hear it.

She knows that his anger is no longer based on her past allegiance. It is based on his own inability to accept her past.

Bucky's hand tense in her own and she knows that he is very annoyed. She can see his face from the corner of her eye and she can almost imagine the steam that would be coming out of his ears if he was a cartoon character.

"She's not a Kraut, Jones." Bucky spits and his once cobalt blue eyes darken considerably as he glares across the cabin at the insolent man.

Jones glares back at Bucky, his eyes equally alight with anger as he clenches his own hands into a fist. "Just 'cause you're fucking her doesn't mean she's not a Nazi." He says venomously and everyone's mouth drops wide open at his statement.

Allie is almost too stunned to speak. She just stares into his dark eyes that are burning with rage with her mouth wide open.

But Bucky was immediately out of his seat and clenching his hands tightly, ready to pound them into Jones' face. "You fucking son of a bitch-" He seethes as he stalks over to Jones, but he is quickly held back by Steve and Dum Dum who jump up and hold the completely livid man back. Bucky thrashes in their hold, trying to send his fist barreling towards Jones who watches on with a sick smirk plastered on his face.

But then Allie feels someone place their hand on her shoulder which swiftly prompts her to stand up and glare at Jones with an intensity that makes him slightly quiver in his seat. To say that she is mad is a huge understatement and she is going to make sure that he knows it.

"No, I think me saving your ass multiple times means that I'm not a Nazi." She starts, not bothering to tame the anger that swirls inside her body.

"I think all the work that I have done for your own country means that I'm not a Nazi. I think me resisting the urge to throw you off this motherfucking plane means that I'm not a Nazi even though I really want to. Now sit back down and shut the fuck up Jones. If I wanted to hear a little boy bitch about his problems, I would find one at a preschool to listen to." She growls, almost resembling a wild animal as she stares down at the now not so confident man.

A silence soon envelops the group as Allie and Jones both exchange heated glares, neither one willing to back down. The boys loosen their grip on Bucky as he looks down at his girl with a proud smile, glad that she told him where to shove his petty attitude. But he is still unbelievably mad at Jones, and he couldn't help but glare at the man too.

"Ok then..." Steve mumbles, slightly shocked at the outburst but he decides to continue on nonetheless."Even though I dread the outcome of putting you two together, I have been ordered by Colonel Phillips that you two and Dernier are to take the actual Western entrance in the hopes that you will two will get over this petty squabbling."

Thankfully, all she hears from Jones is a quiet grumble beneath his breath and he rolls his eyes at Steve's words. Allie resists the urge to roll her eyes at him too but instead, she focuses back in on Steve and his speech.

"Now we only have to plant bombs on the first floor of the base because Stark has calculated that the damage caused by the bombs will cause the whole tower to collapse. So we all need to be in and out as quickly as possible so that we can take down the whole building." He tells them, gesturing to the layout of the base which is placed on a small table in front of them all.

"So, on a scale of 1 to 10, how much more dangerous is this mission than past missions?" Falsworth pipes up, knitting his eyebrows together as he looks over to Steve.

Steve ponders over the question for a second before he responds."If everything goes according to plan, maybe an 8."

"An 8!" Morita cries out."I'm sorry mama. Please pray for me." He whispers to himself and Allie gives him a comforting smile. Even she feels nervous about this mission but she isn't going to show it. She needs to be strong, not only for herself but for the whole team.

But Bucky wasn't having it. "This is what we signed up for guys. We aren't given easy missions because we aren't just any regular soldiers in the army. We are the bloody Howling Commandos." He says firmly to which a few of the men around Allie nod in agreement.

Allie smiles at Bucky brightly before she adds to his inspirational speech. "That's right. And don't forget that it's those fuckers who would gladly put a bullet through your own skull given the chance. They want complete global domination, and we are the only people who are capable to stand in their way and stop them." She declares adamantly. She can't help but let a small grin pull at her lips when she notices how Steve immediately tenses up at her profanity. He is too pure for this world.

"She's right guys," Steve says, wiping the grimace off his face at her use of language. "We are the only people who can stop HYDRA from killing thousands of people and completely dooming the world. We need to be the ones to bring the fight to them."

Even though he is right, Allie shakes her head at his last few words. "No." She mutters, and even though she spoke at a low volume, everyone in the cabin heard it. "If it's a fight that they want, It's a war that we will bring. We are going to rain holy hellfire down on these bastards and show them that we aren't going to roll over and let them overtake our country." She proclaims.

The rest of the team all seem to agree with her, nodding along to her words and shouting out at the end. "Yeah!" They call out, inciting some optimism into Allie as she looks at them proudly.

This is the team that would be able to bring down HYDRA. This group of exceptional people who have slowly but surely become her only family.

Well, all except for Gabe Jones.

As Allie gets up to go and grab her groups pack from the small pile that is situated in the corner of the cabin, she feels a familiar hand enclose around her wrist. She turns around and sees Bucky who has a worried look plastered on his face

"Allie, be careful yeah?" He reminds her as his blue eyes search hers, looking for any hint of hesitation or uneasiness in them.

Allie shakes her head lightly at him with a small smile pulling at her lips. "When am I not?" She jokes, hiding her own nervousness.

She would have to be stupid if she wasn't nervous about going into a HYDRA base. Every mission scared her because nobody can ever predict how they are going to end. But something that she has learned as she has grown up is that being scared is good. It stops you from being overconfident and underestimating the situation.

Being scared means staying alive.

But Bucky doesn't look pleased with her answer. "Seriously, be careful please." He almost begs her and in response, she takes his hand in her own and gives it a gentle squeeze.

"I will, because who else will save Jones' sorry ass." She says, trying to lighten up his mood. The tips of his lips twitch upwards but then he lets out a depleted sigh, obviously not quite that impressed with her response.

"Allie, you always save everyone else, but who saves you?" He asks and she furrows her eyebrows slightly at his comment.

"No one, because I can save myself." She tells him and before he has the chance to respond, the plane shudders and dips, ready to touch down on the ground.

"Prepare for landing" They hear over the comms on the plane but Allie disregards it and keeps her gaze steadily trained on Bucky.

"You've already saved me Bucky, and in more ways than one. I think it is my turn to save you now." She says with a small smile and she squeezes his hand once more before she lets go. She quickly throws her pack over her shoulder and gives Bucky a small kiss.

As they pull away from each other, he rests his forehead gently against hers. "I love you." He whispers, looking down at the beautiful girl that is in his arms and into her dark chocolate eyes.

"I love you too." She whispers back and with a final kiss on his lips, she pulls away and heads over to where Dernier and Jones are standing.

"Time to go, boys." She says with a smirk. Then when the plane finally touches the ground, the three descend into the forest, making their way into a nightmare that is just waiting to terrify them.

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Something was very, very wrong.

Making their way into the base proved easy. It worried Allie how that there was not a single person was outside guarding the perimeter. It put her on edge because she knows first hand that HYDRA never leaves a base undefended.

The place almost seemed deserted and Allie began to question if they had dropped off at the wrong destination. But they weren't.

Because as Jones, Dernier and her all huddle together at the entrance of the base, holding their weapons up at a seemingly empty hallway, they realize they just walked blindly into a trap.

It looks like nearly 50 soldiers that storm into the room with their guns aiming at the three of them. All that separates the soldiers and Allie is a good 30 feet of concrete flooring and a row of bookshelves that line the walls of the bleak hallway. And just as the men begin to pull down on their triggers, the three of them all dive behind the wooden shelves and pray to God that they will make it out of there alive.

As Allie peaks around the corner, she struggles to take down the many HYDRA soldiers that are closing the gap between them quickly. Luckily for them, the HYDRA soldiers all seem to be terrible shots which gives them the advantage, because they know that they are not.

But as Allie sends bullet after bullet at these men, she realizes that maybe she was right to be scared. Maybe they had been anticipating their assault on the base.

Maybe they all won't be making it out of here alive.

But she knows that she can't be afraid or else they will all die. So as her senses sharpen from the flow of adrenaline through her body, she pushes the doubt from her mind and sends more bullets heading their way.

Quickly their numbers dwindle down to only a handful of men who soon end up like the others, dead on the floor. But as Allie comes out from behind the shelf, the sight of all the bodies nearly makes her want to throw up.

She is very much used to sights like these because of her time at HYDRA but that doesn't mean that she isn't appalled by her actions. Actions that this war has forced her to take.

Those 50 men that only minutes ago were running down towards them, ready to kill them, are now bleeding, empty bodies that cover the floor as if it were some horrid gothic painting. Their dark blood stains the once clean floor and the picture of this gruesome massacre is already seared into her brain.

But now is not the time to stop for the dead. She needs to fight to keep on living.

But just as the three of them are about to start running down their designated hallway to plant their bomb, they hear the desperate plea of one of their teammates over their comms.

"We need help! We are getting hammered over in the Eastern corridor!" Morita shouts into his earpiece, barely audible over the sound of the bloodshed that reigns terror in the background.

Without a flicker of hesitation, Allie looks over to Dernier, knowing that he would be the best person to send over to help the boys. "Dernier, you go! All we need to do is plant the bomb and get out." She orders, not bothering to look into Jones' eyes because they all know that he would much rather be the one that is leaving.

"Are you sure Allie?" Dernier asks her, uncertainty immediately filling his eyes. However, he knows that it is his duty to help his comrades, so if it is what she deems the best course of action, he will do it. Because if anyone knows how to get them out of here alive, it is either Steve or Allie.

"Yes, now Go!" She shouts to him and that's all he needs to hear before he takes off down the opposite hallway.

With a quick nod to each other, Allie and Jones begin to sprint down the other hallway. Their feet pounding against the grey concrete floors with all the grace of a lumbering teenage boy. They don't need to worry about being as inconspicuous as possible because all they need to worry about is getting out of here alive.

Thankfully, the pair only come into contact with one soldier who they are quick to send a bullet hurtling towards. And it isn't long before they reach their desired location.

"Here's the spot!" She hears Jones tell her as he points towards the intersecting wall at the end of the hallway. Knowing that they are nearly finished, Allie pushes her legs harder in the hope of making it out of here sooner. This mission has been much too dangerous for her liking and she just wants to get the hell out of here with the rest of her team.

She doesn't even bother to check if there is anybody else in the hallway, she just runs up and slams the bomb against the wall. She quickly pushes down on the red button on the side and then presses the small button on her earpiece to communicate with the others.

"Bomb's in position, are the rest of you guys done?" She questions hastily, ready to get the hell out of here.

"We're done." She hears Bucky's voice yell back.

"We are done too," Steve tells them, panting in between words. "You all have three minutes to get out." He orders and Allie turns to Jones, giving him a small nod.

"Time to go." She says to him before turning back towards the hallway that they came from. But right before she takes off, she sees Jones mouth part and he goes to grab her shoulder. And before he has the chance to yell out, a loud bang goes off behind her.

A bloodcurdling scream falls from her lips as she feels the bullet tear through the skin of her stomach. Immediately, she feels the intense pain surround her wound and she hastily presses both hands over the crater in her abdomen.

She flicks her gaze down and sees a pool of crimson coating her fingers. She doesn't even notice Jones quickly sending his own bullet towards the soldier as she is almost paralyzed in pain.

Jones knows that the sounds of the two bullets had just alerted every other soldier in this building to their location and within seconds, they will have another fight on their hands. But with Allie in a condition like that, he knows that their chances are slim to none.

With a guttural cry, she looks back up and sees Jones staring at her wound. Even he knows that there is no way of surviving that. But with every second that he wastes standing here, is a second that endangers his life. And as much as she hates the man, she isn't going to sentence him to death either.

"Go, Jones!" She shrieks as she picks up her fallen gun, still holding one hand against the aching wound on her stomach. She leans against the wall as she tries to save some of her strength that she feels quickly dissipating from her body.

The scarlet blood that coats her hands leaves her to struggle to hold onto the weapon. She flicks her gaze over to Jones and she sees the hesitation in his movements. He knows the consequences of his actions if he leaves her here. And despite all the words that he said about her earlier, he isn't truly sure if she really deserves to die either.

"Run!" She shouts and without looking back at Jones, she hobbles down the hallway, using the wall to keep her from falling down to her feet. She can hear the thundering sound of footsteps coming her way and she knows that they are close. She only needs to stall the soldiers for a few moments before the bombs go off.

She only makes it a few feet before she sees what looks like almost 20 men stream down the hallway towards her, the space between them quickly diminishing as they all reach behind them to pull out their own firearms.

So Allie holds the gun up and pulls down on the trigger.

Bodies fall to the ground and the noise of the bullets releasing from the gun drowns out all other sounds. So she presses down on the trigger, again, again and again until she slowly begins to feel her own body give up on her. Her eyelids begin to droop and she finds it harder and harder to keep her arm up and steady.

She nearly lets a faint smile pull at her lips when shee sees that the soldiers are indeed slowing down and that there are only a few more remaining. Because even though they are reaching for their own weapons that hang on their back, she is doing her part of the mission.

She's stalling them.

And then a second bullet hits home.

She staggers back as she feels the new wound open on her shoulder. The white-hot pain courses throughout her body but this time she doesn't scream. Instead, the pain is so intense that she almost becomes catatonic.

And then a third finds its way into her abdomen.

And she falls to the floor, barely able to process the fact that she is dying. The floor rumbles as the stampede of soldiers come closer and closer to her bleeding body. Black fills the edge of her vision but as she looks back at the end of the hallway, she notices one absent figure.

Jones left.

Her breathes come in ragged, shallow gasps and as the seconds pass, she knows that no one is coming back to save her. And that thought comforts her as she feels her own heartbeat slows.

It is much too late for her to be saved now.

So she closes her eyes, ready to join the pile of bodies that she had once sentenced to death. Ready to leave the pain of living behind. And as her eyes close for the last time, she sees Bucky's smiling face. His cerulean blue eyes giving her a sense of comfort as she slips into a place of unfamiliarity.

She knows what is coming, and now she is ready for it.

And finally, she succumbs to the darkness.

And then the bombs go off.

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A/N - IM SORRY GUYS!!!!

Once again I'm sooooo sorry about the long wait but this time I do have a reasonable excuse!!!! So quick life update; the other day was my birthday which meant that I was eligible to finally get my Driver's license. So I took the test yesterday and...... I PASSED!!!

KEEP OFF THE ROADS DUDES CAUSE I GOT MY LICENSE!!!!

I've also been struggling with MAJOR writer's block but fingers crossed it'll stop soon.

Anyway! There are only a couple more chapters left of 'Tricks' so get ready guys!

Now onto the questions,

1. What did you think of the chapter?

2. Who else was upset about Allie dying? (bc I highkey was)

3. How do you think Bucky will react?

4. Do you guys like the new covers?

- Grace xx