The team wasn't surprised that Jade and Bucky were dating. Tony was a bit disappointed that Cap wasn't the super soldier Jade had fallen in love with, but he accepted her decision after a bit of pouting. They all decided to have dinner together before the mission tomorrow and go over the plan again. Jade sat half-listening with her hand in Bucky's. Her mind drifted back to the man in the file from earlier.
She still couldn't process that he was alive. He was supposed to be dead. Killed in a government building explosion twenty years ago. The police had confirmed that it was his body they had found. They matched his dental records to one of the badly burned corpses they pulled from the charred building. If he was back and working for Hydra again, it was only a matter of time until he got to her. And this time he'd make sure he was successful.
She looked over to Bucky who was locked in conversation with Steve and Sam about the mission. She could tell him. She could come clean about her past.
No. He'll never trust you again. None of them will.
Jade sighed knowing that she had no choice but to keep her past a secret. If Bucky or the team found out who she really was, they would never trust her again. Maybe if she had told them sooner, it wouldn't be an issue, but she let fear overcome her and now it was too late. She'd lose Bucky and Steve forever. As her thoughts continued to swirl, she felt Bucky squeeze her hand.
"Are you okay?" He whispered.
"Yeah." Jade gave him the best smile she could fake. "I'm just really tired. It's been a long day."
"You wanna go home?"
"Home." Jade said quietly.
She had never quite considered any place home. When she was younger, she moved around so often that no place ever seemed to fit the definition of a home. But with Bucky, anywhere felt like home as long as he was with her.
"Yeah, doll. Home." Bucky smiled at her, proud that he finally felt like he could call his apartment a home.
Jade's lips lifted at the corners and she nodded. Bucky stood as he told the team they were leaving and Jade followed his lead, giving the others a wave.
"Five AM sharp, Barnes." Tony yelled, as they walked out of the room.
~
Jade and Bucky arrived at the compound at four thirty the next morning. She was exhausted and anxious. Memories plagued her and kept her from sleeping, not to mention she had worried about Bucky and Steve going on the mission. What if it wasn't as easy as Tony said it would be? What if they were injured or worse, killed. What would she do if they didn't come back?
Jade walked to the hanger tucked under Bucky's arm. Her arm was wrapped around his back and her fist gripped tightly to his shirt. He could feel the nervousness radiating off of her, but just attributed it to being left alone while everyone left for the mission. When they reached the hanger, Bucky sat Jade down on some cargo crates and stood between her legs.
"We'll be back tonight, sugar. I know you're worried, but we'll be okay." He placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
Jade leaned her head against his chest and blew out a breath as she tried to quell her tears. When she looked up at Bucky, he held her cheek and brushed his lips against hers.
"I promise I'm coming back. Nothing in this universe could keep me away from you."
Jade smiled up at him and wrapped her arms around his waist. They stood like that until Steve approached them.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. I'm going to bring him back to you." Steve clapped his hand down on Bucky's shoulder.
"You better both come home to me." Jade said standing and pulling Steve into a hug.
"I promise. Love you, sweetheart."
"Love you too, Cap."
When they parted, Bucky pulled her against him once more and held her face between his hands.
"I love you, doll."
"I love you too, babe."
No more words were exchanged between the two. Bucky stared into her eyes before leaning down to kiss her once more. His body moved of its own accord. Pulling back from her and walking into the jet. He didn't want to leave her alone. Especially when they didn't know exactly what Hydra was up to, but in order to keep her safe, he needed to go. He needed to end this once and for all.
Bucky took one last look back at Jade and then walked on to the jet, disappearing as the door shut and the team took off. Jade remained in the hanger for another hour before making her way to her lab. Exhaustion was finally taking over her body, so she walked into Bucky's old room and laid on the bed letting sleep consume her.
~
When Jade awoke, something felt off. The late afternoon sun blinded her as she swung her feet over the bed and stood. She stretched and groaned, her body protesting at first. She looked at her watch and saw it was four in the afternoon. She had slept for ten hours but still she felt like it wasn't long enough. She tucked the blanket neatly into place in the bed and walked to the window to admire the view of the rippling lake in the distance.
She stood in the silence and stared out the window as the sun dipped lower in the sky. That's when she heard it. The sound of a door closing down the hall. Her head whipped around toward the door of the room. It couldn't be the team, it was too early for them to be back. Her heart raced as she stepped closer to the door. She lightly pressed her ear to it and forced her ragged breaths to slow.
As she strained to hear another sound, she finally heard the voice of two men coming down the hall. Are they speaking Russian? Jade listened closer before she connected the dots. Hydra. They had finally come for her. They were here to complete the mission they had failed twenty-six years ago.
Fuck! This isn't happening. Not now.
"FRIDAY!" Jade whispered. "FRIDAY?"
They must have disabled Stark's system somehow.
Jade silently stepped back from the door and looked around the room. She had to hide, but where? Under the bed was too obvious. There was the bathroom, but again it was too obvious. Her eyes landed on the window. The ledge should give her plenty of room to stand on until she heard the men leave. The room was eight stories up, if she were to fall...
Jade shuttered at the image of her body racing towards the ground. The men's voices were getting closer to the room, she didn't have time to think about it anymore. She crept to the window and pushed the panes outward until there was enough room for her to crawl out. As she stepped out, she shut the window behind her, making sure that she left it cracked just enough to where the men wouldn't notice, but she could still crawl back in.
She peaked around the edge of the window and saw the door to the room open. She quickly pulled back and pressed her back to the wall. The ledge was at least two feet wide giving Jade ample room to walk along the wall until she was several feet from the window.
The wind swirled around her as she glanced down to the ground. She was at least a hundred feet up. Her head swam as she leaned back against the wall. Her eyes shut tight and her finger tips dug into the concrete until they ached.
Deep breaths, Jade.
The days were growing shorter as winter approached. The sun was already sinking below the horizon. It would be dark soon and she was stuck in the compound alone with Hydra agents.
Goddamn it, Bucky. Where are you?
~
The mission was oddly easy. Too easy. Bucky and the team had quickly infiltrated the supposed Hydra base with little resistance. There were only a few agents outside the building which were quickly dealt with. Inside they were met with even less resistance.
Bucky, Steve, and Sam were clearing the remaining rooms when they came to a door at the end of the hallway. Steve grabbed the handle and swung the door open as Bucky stepped in sweeping his gun around the room.
"Clear." Bucky said. Steve and Sam entered behind him.
The room was completely empty. There was no furniture, no computers, just bare walls. One wall had a large two-way mirror built into it. The other side of the glass was shrouded in darkness. Bucky walked up to the glass and cupped his hands around his eyes trying to see through to the other side.
"Steve, we need to check out this room." Bucky called out.
"How do we even get in? There's no door and that wasn't on the schematics Stark gave us." Sam said walking up beside Bucky.
"Don't know, but we need to know what's in there."
"Stand back." Steve said, readying himself to throw his shield.
The shield bounced off the glass and went flying back at Steve. He caught the shield and launched it at the glass again. He repeated throwing the shield and catching it a few times before giving up. It hadn't even made a crack in the glass.
"Come on. I'm sure we can find another way in." Bucky told the men.
As they turned to leave, a light flicked on and the glass lit up. Behind it stood a man with graying hair and blue-green eyes. He was at least mid-fifties and stood a little shorter than Bucky. A smile graced his lips and his hands rested behind his back.
"Hello, soldier." The man greeted Bucky. "Welcome home."
Bucky's jaw clenched and his hand flexed on his gun that was now pointed towards the glass.
"Who are you?" Steve asked.
"You don't know who I am? I thought Jade would have mentioned me by now considering you two are such good friends."
Steve and Bucky tensed at the mention of Jade.
"How do you know Jade?" Sam questioned.
The man laughed and lightly shook his head. Bucky's resolve was slipping away by the moment. His eyes narrowed at the man. How the hell did he know Jade? And why the fuck hadn't she told him about her apparent ties to Hydra?
"Of course she wouldn't mention me. Not to her precious Avengers. Not when she thought she was finally safe."
Finally safe? Bucky's head was beginning to spin. Since the explosion, whenever anyone mentioned Hydra, Jade would have a brief moment where she looked completely terrified. Bucky noticed, but he never mentioned it. Was this why she got that look? Because she knew exactly what they were capable of?
The man chuckled again as he watched the expression on the others men's faces contort with anger.
"No need to fret boys, she's safe...for now." The man paused. "You see, I always meant for Jade to join me in the Hydra ranks. Ever since she was a little girl, that was my goal."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Bucky growled out, quickly losing his patience.
"Jade was always meant to follow in my footsteps. To become an asset to Hydra and unlock her full potential. She could have been great...if it wasn't for her weak, pathetic mother and grandmother." Spittal flew from the man's mouth as his anger rose, twisting his features into a look of pure evil.
"They held her back! Robbed her of her chance at greatness. Hydra was going to be her home..her family. But just when I was ready to bring her into the fold, her mother and grandmother took her from me. Hiding her from me for years. Whenever I got close to her, they would rip her away from me again.
I rid myself of her mother pretty easily, but getting to her grandmother was harder than we imagined. Luckily for me, they got sloppy and finally settled down in one place after they assumed I had died. That was when I was able to finally rid myself of the old bitch that stole Jade from me. A quick hit and run and she was out of the picture. I finally had my beautiful girl back in my sights.
Hard as it was, I made a choice to let her finish her schooling before bringing her home. A doctor would be a great asset to Hydra. Everything was going according to plan...until she met you and you wormed your way into her life." The man sneered as he looked at Steve.
"And then came the supposed downfall of Hydra. As much as I wanted my Jade back, we had other priorities to focus on, but I was never far from her no matter how safe she believed she was. Now that we're stronger, I plan on finishing what I started." He smirked at the three men standing on the other side of the glass.
"It seems this little distraction has paid off just as I hoped it would. It should have given my men plenty of time to find her in your compound. I'll make sure to tell my daughter that you boys said hello."
The glass went dark again as Bucky rushed across the room and began pounding relentlessly on it. Screams escaped his body as he pounded repeatedly, willing it to break. He suddenly stopped and turned to Steve and Sam. They all shared a horrified look as the man's words sunk into their heads. Bucky yelled into his comm as he sprinted out of the room.
"Abort mission! They're going after Jade!"
A/N: If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider giving it a vote. Thank you for reading!