Chapter Text
'I've got eyes on Lieutenant Garrote.’
Torres voice echoes clearly across the comms resting in Sam and Bucky’s ears. From his position two miles down the street, he watches the screen in front of him intently as a group of armed agents enter a tall building along with Lieutenant Garrote; one of Hydras more recent recruits.
They blend in perfectly in the surroundings of a crowded city.
Typical Hydra; always hidden in plain sight.
Joaquin was carefully monitoring the CCTV for one of Hydras undercover bases from a nearby unmarked van. The skyscraper was cleverly disguised to blend in amongst the other corporate offices that littered the streets of NYC; no one would look twice if they walked past the dull structure. The only reason they had known of its location in the first place was thanks to the tracker Red Wing had planted on the Lieutenants car three days earlier.
72 hours passed and not one member of his security team had thought to sweep the car for bugs.
Hydras sloppiness was almost embarrassing.
'They're heading for the elevator, ETA 2 minutes.' he confirms, tracking the groups movements on the screen in front of him.
'Copy that, I'm almost done here,' Wilson answers, cautiously seated in the mans office with the blinds closed; downloading the entire contents of his laptop.
It had been laughably easy for Sam to guess the password, he hadn't even needed to use the fancy spyware Torres had loaned him. One flick through the address book in the guys top desk draw and he found the four digit pin scrawled across one of the margins.
He watches the progress bar on the laptop screen tensely as the files copy onto a USB.
93%.
'Jesus Sam, hurry up and get out of there,' Bucky's voice hisses in his ear, the Sergeants gaze was currently glued to a set of elevator doors from his watchful position at the end of the hall.
With Torres help on the camera, the pair had managed to navigate through the building unseen; but it was only a matter of time until they were caught. The moment Sam plugged the USB into the laptop an alarm had been triggered, leaving them a narrow time frame to get the information they needed.
Bucky had strategically placed himself in the corridor so he could slow down security when they were inevitably made; giving Sam enough time to get all the files copied.
'What do you think I'm doing back here; checking my emails?' Sam bites back, 'there's a lot of stuff on here man, this shit takes time.'
Bucky taps his foot impatiently as he watches the numbers on the elevator count down the floors. His hand reaches instinctively for one of the knives tucked into his belt.
'Well time is something we don't have right now, take what you have and get your ass out of there now.'
'Just a few more minutes Buck, I've almost got it-'
'Incoming!,' Torres warns and Bucky watches with trepidation as the elevator doors slide open and Garrote along with his security entourage step out onto the floor.
Bucky swears loudly when he is spotted, preparing himself for the inevitable fight that is about to take place.
'I'm getting too old for this,' he complains as all hell breaks loose.
The first guard lifts his gun to take aim at Barnes but the super soldiers sharp reflexes kick in; instinctively he launches the knife in his hand; hitting the mans wrist with skilled precision.
The other men begin firing bullets rapidly in his direction and Bucky begins to dodge their shots as best as he can in the confined space of the hallway. He uses his Vibranium arm to deflect the bullets that stray a little close for comfort as he distances himself enough to pull out his own gun and fire a few warning shots to slow them down.
There are screams of pain as one shot hits a man in the knee and another in the shoulder.
A potted plant and some of the glass windows shatter from ricocheted bullets, the shards crunch beneath his boots as he moves swiftly from his position.
He ducks just in time to avoid a bullet to the head but he feels a burning heat as the round grazes the side of his cheek.
'Shit,' he growls irritably. 'Think you could hurry it up Sam?!'
'- I'm done! I'll distract them while you get out of there, meet me on the roof.' Sam answers, Bucky feels relieved.
'Don't do anything stupid,' he wheezes, running as fast as he can.
He hears the familiar whir of Sam's wings outside the building as his teammate jumps from the 30th floor office window and begins firing shots into the air to draw the attention away from his team mate.
'Torres, Redwing has the drive; I'm sending him your way.' Wilson informs before throwing a series of smoke grenades through the shattered windows.
'Copy that, see you in ten.'
Bucky sprints up an emergency stairwell, climbing the stairs four steps at a time.
His enhanced hearing warns him of the swarm of agents three floors above him before they begin firing rounds down the middle of the staircase
He stops climbing the steps and changes direction before launching himself through a set of double doors, narrowly avoiding a bullet to the thigh.
'Change of plan, I'm gonna need a little help here,' he yells over the sound of ammunition behind him, he uses his Vibranium arm to overturn desks and launch office equipment in an effort to slow down the chase but Bucky knows he is severely outnumbered.
'My exits been compromised,' he explains, launching another knife over his left shoulder the blade hits a man in the eye, he drops to the floor with a shriek of agony.
'I got your back; Redwing find Bucky!' Sam's commands his tech.
Despite the intense situation Barnes finds himself rolling his eyes.
Sam knows how much he hates it when he uses Redwing 2.0.
There's something about the way he talks to the technology like a pet that makes his skin crawl with unease.
Hell, he'll probably make him thank the damn thing when this is over.
'I see you, head for the south window.'
He glances across the large maze of desks and cubicles and sure enough he sees Redwing hovering outside one of the windows.
Jumping onto a desk, he drop kicks a man to the head before launching himself across the room, his combat boots slide hazardously across the table tops as he climbs over furniture, using his height advantage he fires his gun, each bullet hitting its target.
He hurls a monitor with his free hand, the strong force knocking out a man instantly before his body hits the floor.
The super soldier has almost reached the south side and Sam is still nowhere to be seen.
James can hear the sound of pounding footsteps approaching and machine gun artillery being loaded, it makes his adrenaline spike as he begins to feel like a cornered animal.
'Damn it Sam, where are you? '
'Just jump, I'll catch you!'
Wilsons words make his gut clench with discomfort.
'Are you crazy?' he splutters, using a chair to deflect a grenade, the whole room shakes as it explodes in mid air, sending remnants of splintered wood and dust in all directions.
'Trust me!'
Trust me.
The words play over in his head like a broken record, stuck on repeat.
Sure he trusts Sam, more than anyone else in the entire world at this point.
But its still one hell of a drop from the thirty fifth floor. Super soldier or not, if Sam misses his catch he'll hit the floor like a messy human pancake.
No amount of knock off serum running through his veins could fix that.
The footsteps are getting closer and he knows he is all out of options.
Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves he barrels towards the window with speed, his metal shoulder crashing through the fragile glass as he takes a leap of faith.
He free falls through the air for a short moment, eyes fixated on the approaching ground with dread when suddenly there is a whir from above him and a strong pair of hands grasp him from beneath his arms with a sharp tug, pulling him higher into the air.
'You sure took your time Sam!' he complains, heart still pounding with adrenaline.
'Don't be such a drama queen,' Sam grins, Bucky is almost blinded by the sunlight reflecting from his goggles.
'God, why are you so heavy,' he complains, grunting from the strain of carrying his friends body weight.
'Look out!'
Bucky yells a warning but there is little time for Sam to react to the small missile suddenly soaring through the air in their direction.
Garrote had fired a rocket launcher at them, that son of a bitch.
They both know there isn't enough time to completely dodge the hit with the extra weight Sam is carrying. The pair both brace themselves when the explosion catches one of his wings and they are launched backwards through a hot backdraft of air.
'Motherfucker!' Sam swears in profanity as he sees a broken wing in his peripheral vision. He struggles to keep Bucky in his grip as they are both shaken around like rag dolls.
'Hold onto your butt!'
Sam's remaining functioning wing spins them in hazardous circles as the tech struggles to keep them both airborne.
Bucky keeps a deathly tight grip on Wilsons arm, eyes glancing around frantically for a solution to their impending doom.
He knows that his extra weight is probably only making them fall faster, but even if he forces Sam to let go of him, Wilson will still eventually fall and there's no telling what injuries he would sustain.
If they lived through this he was going to convince Shuri to upgrade Sam's tech to include a damn parachute.
Sam's wings finally loose all function, and they begin to fall rapidly towards the roof of a building below.
As soon as Bucky sees their inevitable landing he does the only thing he can think of; he pulls Sam into a tight grip, tucking him firmly against his body to shield him from the impending blow of gravity.
When they hit the rooftop, the impact knocks the air from Bucky's lungs. Thankfully Sam remains tucked into his body, cushioned from the worst of the blow. Barnes hits the gravel shoulder first as they skid and bounce dizzyingly at high speed. He can feel the exact agonizing moment his collar bone shatters beneath his skin.
His Vibranium arm drags across the top of the building in an effort to slow them down but his artificial finger tips slide uselessly across the gravelled roof, his stomach lurches in panic as they both roll off the side of the building.
Despite the pain he somehow manages to keep hold of Sam's wrist in a bruising grip as they both topple over the edge.
The soldier is vaguely aware of Sam yelling panicked profanities, but all he can hear clearly is the sound of his own heart thumping rapidly in his ears as he tries to supress the terror threatening to consume him.
Thankfully his survival instincts quickly take over.
The metal fingers on his left hand grasp clumsily against the ledge of the rooftop, the pair swing dangerously against the reinforced concrete wall as Bucky uses every ounce of strength he has to keep his tight grip on the roof.
An excruciating ache radiates from his busted shoulder as Sam's weight tugs mercilessly at his broken bones, leaving him dizzy and breathless.
He lets out a pained yell.
'Bucky!' Sam yells in concern from beneath him.
He tries to lift Sam a little higher, just enough for him to pull himself up but his arms are shaking from strain and exhaustion.
'Fuck!' he screams in frustration, chest heaving rapidly.
'I can't pull us up Sam-' he pants, hissing at the unforgiving sensation of his bones shifting beneath the skin. '- my shoulders broken.'
'Shit,' Sam swears loudly, Bucky risks a glance downwards and he can see the panic in Sam's eyes as he holds on for his life.
'Hey Torres, I don't suppose you have a giant trampoline in that van of yours?' Sam yelps as his legs dangle uselessly beneath him.
Its only when Sam says Torres name he realises that his own comm is missing from his ear; not that it would have been any use. At this rate they would both fall long before Torres even managed to track their location.
As much as he tries to fight his tiring body, Bucky can feel the grip in his fingers weakening with every passing second.
'I don't think I can hold on for much longer Sam,' he warns, gasping for air.
The muscles in his shoulder felt like they were on fire.
'There's an emergency escape ladder to our left, swing me over there as hard as you can and let go of my hand.' Sam barks, a determined look in his eyes.
'Are you crazy?!' he exclaims, noting the considerable distance between them and the emergency stairwell.
'Do you have any better ideas?!'
Frustratingly no; he didn't. His grasp was slackening and they were both running out of time and options.
'Shit,' he hissed.
It was do or die.
'You can do this Buck, I believe in you!' Sam yells up to him from below and Bucky draws in a deep steadying breath and prepares himself for a tsunami of pain.
He would have to lift his arm as high as he could, If he didn't build up enough momentum in his swing, Sam would miss the ledge and fall to his death.
No pressure then, he thinks to himself miserably.
'Ready?' he asks Sam.
'As ready as I'll ever be,' Wilson answers, Bucky can detect the waver of nerves in his voice.
James slowly begins to swing Sam's body weight on his arm with as much force as he can muster, back and forth like a steady pendulum.
Each swing is agony and sends sharp stabbing pains through the muscles in his neck and shoulders. Barnes grits his teeth through the discomfort and forces himself to push on, choking back a pained howl.
After what feels like a lifetime Sam finally hollers.
'Now!'
Bucky screams at the top of his lungs as he launches Sam towards the ladder with every ounce of energy he has left. He releases his grip on Sam's wrist, the instant his weight is lifted his vision blacks out for a moment as he is consumed with fatigue.
There is a gut wrenching second of silence, until he hears a string of profanity followed by a loud thud.
Its only minutes later when his eyes flicker open that he sees a familiar outstretched hand reaching for him that he realises the sound he'd heard was Sam landing on the ladder.
'Son of a bitch,' he mutters in disbelief.
The bastard had actually made it.
He is flooded with relief.
Dazed from pain and exhaustion, he allows Sam to pull him up, cursing profusely at the cramp in his muscles.
The pair both collapse into a messy heap on the roof top, limbs sprawled, panting and gasping as they try to catch their breath.
Bucky's flesh arm spasms and shakes violently as the adrenaline dissipates. Despite the pain he welcomes the cold feeling of sturdy concrete under his back.
'I told you not to do anything stupid,' he whines breathlessly at his team mate.
'Well, its a good thing I had a light breakfast,' Wilson quips, Bucky manages to snort in amusement despite his discomfort.
'Seriously, you saved my life Buck; I don’t know how to thank you.'
'Shut up,' Bucky wheezes weakly. 'You can thank me by asking Torres to bring me a bag of ice,’ he winces at the sensation of pins and needles slowly creeping through his arm.
Thank god for his accelerated healing.
Despite the limb growing numb, his collar bone still throbs viciously with every inhale of breath he takes.
'Hey Torres, think you could send Redwing up here with some medical supplies?’ Sam asks the Air Force pilot
'You know what? I suddenly feel so much better,' Barnes lies, 'No need for Redwing at all, I'll walk it off.'
'Don't be ridiculous,' Sam snorts, 'you literally fell out of the sky, I'm surprised you didn't break more than just your damn collar bone,'
'Whoa, is that concern I hear in your voice Samuel? Wow I'm flattered, I didn't know you cared about me.' he grins through the throbbing discomfort.
'We should really stabilise your arm until we can get to the hospital.'
'I'm not going to a hospital.'
'You need an x-ray Buck! That is not up for negotiation, Captains orders.'
'I hate hospitals,' Bucky argues.
'Don't be such a baby. Maybe the doctor will even give you a sucker if you’re good.’
'You know, I still have enough energy to push you off this ledge,’ Barnes scowls weakly.
Wilson snorts at his disheveled state.
They both know it’s a weak lie.
‘I’ve seen road kill with more fight in it than you have right now.’ Sam insists, grinning like a fool.
Bucky didn’t doubt it.
‘Rude,’ he grumbles.
His body felt like it had been through a blender, but it was worth it.
Bucky’s partner was safe, and to him that was all that mattered.