Eminent Silence

by Tristan Carey

  Below them, Bucky could see several of Crossbones' soldiers were lying on the ground, currently inactive while their systems rebooted.

  'We've got exactly five minutes before their systems reboot!' Vielka shouted, stepping forward. She turned to face the others the slightest of smirks on her face, before her shining golden-brown eyes met his. He saw that glint in her eyes, the one she got whenever they were about to take on battle. She slid her armoured face mask over her eyes, the eyes blackening almost instantly. 'Try to keep up.'

  She jumped from the back of the jet, Bucky stepping forward to watch as she flipped once, before she landed in a crouch on the ground below.

  Steve and Bucky exchanged glances, as Scott disappeared behind them. 'You first,' Bucky said, motioning to the open doors, a grin on his face.

  Steve shook his head. 'Age before beauty.'

  'You're older than me,' Bucky retorted, scoffing at his fellow super soldier.

  'You're both ancient, will you just go,' Sam demanded, pushing between them before he jumped, spreading his wings and soaring into the night. Natasha pushed past next, rolling her eyes at them both as Wanda lifted her and Clint into the air with her powers, carefully lowering them to the ground below, before using her powers on herself.

  Bucky leapt from the back, landing on the ground and rolling quickly, unslinging the rifle from his back as Steve rolled and stood next to him.

  T'Challa flew the jet away, he would join them once he had secured it.

  Vielka was waiting a little ahead of them, at the entrance to the tunnels that ran beneath the compound, with her own rifle drawn.

  She motioned for them to catch up, preparing to open the doors. He was quick to move, stacking up on the other door as they waited for the others.

  'Ready?' she asked, looking at him. He nodded, and she pulled open the door with one hand, the other resting on the trigger guard of her rifle, as he raised his rifle, checking the corners of the tunnel they entered.

  There were two soldiers that were currently inactive inside the door, and Wanda had been tasked with deactivating their control devices by way of a device created by Gaia.

  They entered the tunnel, Vielka and Bucky moving ahead, with Steve and Sam close behind. Natasha and Clint stayed back to offer protection for Wanda as she deactivated the soldiers.

  'Scott, anything interesting yet?' Steve asked as he followed up the rear as they passed through the tunnels.

  'Uh,' Scott's voice sounded anxious. 'Yeah, maybe, depends on your definition of interesting!'

  There was gun fire up ahead. Vielka rushed ahead of Bucky, pushing to one side of the tunnel as they approached a doorway. A soldier ran out, alarmed when he saw Vielka but she put two bullets in his knee and a shot into his hand before he could fire at her, causing him to collapse on the floor.

  'I think the EMP might have worn off!' Scott shouted as he grew to normal size, throwing another soldier out the doorway they were about to enter before shrinking again to avoid more gun fire.

  'Hang on!' Vielka shouted, before stepping through the door and engaging the soldiers inside the large bunker style room.

  Bucky and Steve were quick to follow, while Sam covered their backs from the corridor, until Wanda, Clint and Natasha could make their way to them.

  Bucky and Steve moved and fired, ducking behind cover every now and then. Bucky had lost sight of Vielka, but could hear her as she reached Scott.

  'You alright, Scott?'

  'Thanks!'

  'Military tactics aren't your strong point, huh?' he heard her ask him, and Bucky scoff in reply. 'Don't be mean, Bucky.'

  Steve grinned at Bucky, as he ducked his head to avoid bullets, before pulling his shield from his back and throwing it at a wall, it ricocheted off, catching the attention of every soldier in the room.

  Bucky, Steve, Sam and Vielka all stood and fired, taking out the last 4 soldiers in their location. Vielka caught the shield easily, as it flew past her.

  They moved through the room, checking the bodies, as Wanda, Natasha and Clint joined them, Sam staying at the door to keep watch.

  'Clear,' Vielka finally called from her corner, before bending down to check on Scott who had been thrown into a wall during his initial contact.

  'Clear,' Bucky agreed from a far corner.

  Steve looked around just as T'Challa dropped in from a skylight above them.

  'How is it out there?' Steve asked as Vielka strode over to him and handed him his Shield.

  'The soldiers are starting to move and are seeking to find the incursion,' T'Challa replied. Bucky looked to Vielka, she was scanning the faces on the floor around her as Wanda walked about them, deactivating their control devices, to be safe.

  'How long until the EMP is ready to go again?' Steve asked Natasha, who checked the devices remote that was strapped to her wrist.

  'Still at least another 10 minutes,' she replied ruefully, with a shake of her head.

  'More fun for us,' Vielka said, cocking her rifle, before turning back towards the door, holding her weapon up as she strode away.

  They cleared the tunnels, corridor by corridor, bunker by bunker and still they hadn't reached the control panel for the soldiers yet. According to the tracking device that she carried on her wrist, it was close.

  The amount of soldiers they came against slowly dwindled, until they only faced sporadic skirmishes here and there.

  'We've got to be close now,' Clint murmured, bringing up the rear.

  'You're telling me,' Vielka murmured. Bucky was ahead of her, she felt assured having him close by. They worked well, clearing room after room together, along with Steve and Sam. They had made the job fairly easy and she almost felt like she was back in Australia, running operational drills through the urban training centre.

  She quickly snapped her attention back to the job at hand, as Bucky halted in front of her. He glanced back as she moved closer, waiting for him to give her an instruction.

  'There's a lot waiting for us in here. We might need to split up,' he murmured, looking from her across the corridor to Steve.

  Vielka pressed her lips together, considering their options, but Steve spoke up before she could offer one. 'Sam, Vielka and T'Challa, head back and take that last corridor, it should lead to the door on the far side. You've got five minutes and then we breech.' She could see why he was given the rank of Captain now.

  They all nodded beginning to move. Vielka, T'Challa and Sam all ran down the corridor, only facing a small amount of resistance and made it to the second door just in time.

  Sam stood at the door, ready to breech, while Vielka stood to his left, ready to enter firing, with T'Challa close behind to follow.

  Sam checked his watch, all of them waiting anxiously. He motioned with his fingers counting down. '3, 2, 1, BREECH! BREECH!' He flung open the door, Vielka striding through with her weapon raised, watching her rifle fire as Steve and Bucky entered from the other door, followed by Clint and Natasha. Wanda and Scott followed closely behind, Scott providing protection for Wanda.

  'I see Crossbones!' came Scott's shout, catching Vielka's attention, looking to see him disappearing out a door with Red close behind.

  'He's going to get away,' Clint shouted, aiming his bow and arrow at a soldier who was currently impeding Natasha's progress. He fired and the arrow struck the soldier, exploding.

  'Natasha! That EMP would be pretty amazing right now!' Scott shouted, although no one could currently see him.

  'It's active! Triggering in 3, 2, 1!'

  Within seconds, the soldiers in the room but a select few dropped to the ground.

  'Crap, we've got some live ones!' came Scott's shout, before he was flung across the room to land on Vielka's right.

  'Hold on, Tic Tac!' Sam shouted, taking flight. Vielka pushed forward, looking for the soldier responsible, finding one of Crossbones' men waiting for her. He jumped in front her, discharging his weapon, she ducked, moving beh
ind cover and waiting for him to reload.

  When she heard him stop firing, she stepped out, firing twice and hitting her target twice, dropping him to the floor, before another stepped out from behind shelving. She turned to fire at him, but her weapon suffered a stoppage.

  'Piece of shit,' she growled as she dove for cover, shrapnel from the bullets flying everywhere. She rolled to a crouch, trying to clear the stoppage on her rifle.

  'You alright, Vielka?' Bucky called through the gun fire from somewhere over the other side of the room.

  She heard the soldier's rifle fire stop and she guessed he was reloading, she charged out from behind her cover, throwing her rifle at the man, much to his surprise, although he was able to deflect it easily. Her flying kick, he wasn't able to deflect so easily, being sent flying backwards into a row of shelves, landing heavily and laying still.

  'Just dandy, thanks.'

  Bucky moved to the door he had seen Crossbones disappear through, not waiting for anyone else to catch up. He was not letting him get away now, they were so close.

  He hurried through, entering a dark room. He heard a crunching underneath his feet. Glass, someone had shot out the lights.

  'Bucky, where are you?' came Steve's voice through his earpiece.

  'I'm in pursuit of Crossbones,' he whispered, keeping low, hoping to see either Red or Crossbones shadow across the floor from the light streaming through the high windows of the room he was in. It appeared to be an old workshop of some sort, old machinery in desparate need of repair formed orderly lines across the vast expanse of the room.

  He crept forward, keeping close to the wall, away from any light, in the hopes of avoiding detection.

  His hopes were higher than his skill apparently. He heard the sound of a sword being drawn from a sheath, like he had heard on many an occasion when Vielka trained, turning just in time to block the blow with his rifle.

  Red brought his sword down again, as Bucky tried to roll out of the way. It glanced off his titanium arm, striking into the concrete and leaving a deep slice in the ground as Bucky rolled to his feet.

  'So you're the one they call the Winter Soldier,' Red sneered, hoisting his long sword onto his shoulder, eyeing Bucky's arm. 'I don't see it.'

  'It's not so much about what you see, but what you don't see,' Bucky said, discarding his rifle, Red had penetrated the barrel with his sword, it was now compromised, thus useless.

  'I see my next victim,' Red sneered, swinging his sword again. Bucky ducked it, before trying to throw a punch with his titanium arm. Red blocked it easily, kicking back at him and swinging his sword back around to try and collect him as he dodged his leg. Bucky was able to bring his arm up, but the power behind the sword was more than he bargained for.

  He stumbled back slightly, and Red capitalised, moving forward and attacking him ceaselessly. Unlike with Vielka, where her strikes were fast and agile but lacked a lot of strength, his were strong and fast. His long sword was wide, which meant his impacts carried more force.

  He found he was being pushed further and further back, and although he tried to counter attack, openings were few and far between.

  Red lunged forward, looking to strike Bucky across his chest, but when he moved to block his sword, Red swung a leg low, taking Bucky's feet from beneath him.

  He fell back, and Red stepped forward, pushing his sword to Bucky's neck. 'Heh, you could never have been suitable for Vielka. A weakling like you.'

  Bucky narrowed his eyes, before grabbing the sword with his titanium hand, shoving it sideways and aiming a well placed foot into Red's chest. He was thrown back several metres, although he was quick to recover, not quick enough, however, to stop Bucky from attacking him with a punch that sent him into a large piece of machinery.

  'It's not about suitability,' Bucky sneered, as he walked towards the now destroyed machinery, flexing his neck slightly. 'It's about her being free to make the choice.'

  He went to grab Red and drag him from the machinery, but Red managed to swipe at him with his sword, leaving a shallow gash across his right shoulder, before jumping up and kicking him backwards. Bucky was able to regain his balance, just in time, as Red leapt from the machinery, bringing his sword down to strike Bucky. The sound of metal on metal rang out throughout the room.

  The vibration up his arm smarted in his shoulder somewhat, it was an odd sensation and not one that he was used to at all, but he grit his teeth, dodging swing after swing, before aiming a punch that connected with Red's jaw.

  Red stumbled back before running forward again, thrusting his sword towards Bucky's torso, but he batted it away with his titanium hand, only to have Red thrust an elbow to his throat.

  Bucky choked for air, as Red thrust his sword toward him again, this time aiming for his chest. Although he was struggling to breath, Bucky grabbed at the sword with his titanium hand, holding it at bay.

  Red's face contorted as he tried to overpower Bucky, but he refused to give in.

  'Vielka could never be yours! She's one of us! She's mine!' Red shouted furiously, before pinning Bucky's titanium arm at the shoulder with his foot.

  He reefed his sword from Bucky's hand, before moving to strike it down again, Bucky unable to fend it off with his titanium arm pinned at the shoulder by Red's foot. He struggled to pull his shoulder free, but to no avail, expecting to feel the pain of the sword driving through his armour at any second.

  There was the sound of metal meeting metal, it reverberated throughout the large workshop and rang loudly in Bucky's ears, as he squeezed his eyes shut.

  Vielka strained against Red's sword, holding its sharp blade centimetres from Bucky's face with her own swords.

  'Vielka,' Red snarled, trying to force his sword down again. She used all her strength to force him backwards, flinging his blade upwards and away from Bucky.

  She stepped over Bucky, her swords at her side and not taking her eyes off her old commander, as she crouched down next to Bucky. 'You alright?' She glanced sideways down at him as he began to sit up.

  'Yeah,' he replied, wiping blood from his nose as Steve, T'Challa and Sam ran into the room, followed closely behind by Natasha, Clint, Scott and Wanda.

  Steve helped Bucky to his feet, before turning to face Red as well. 'Whatever Crossbones is paying you, isn't worth it,' Steve tried to reason.

  Vielka interjected, 'He's not being paid anything. He's doing this because he wants to,' she sneered, looking upon him in disgust.

  'Clever girl, my partnership with Crossbones is mutually beneficial. He gets rich, we get the perfect world.'

  Vielka shook her head, before glancing behind her at the others. 'Go after Crossbones. I'll deal with him.'

  'Are you sure?' Bucky asked, eyeing off Red as Steve helped him to his feet. Vielka could see it in his eyes as he sidled closer to her, he wasn't happy with the idea.

  'It would be my absolute pleasure,' she said, turning back to face Red, raising her swords in front of her, and swinging them playfully.

  'Good luck,' Steve said, before motioning for the others to follow him.

  Vielka listened to the footsteps that ran towards the door at the other end of the workshop, noting that one set hadn't moved. 'Go Bucky, Steve needs your help.'

  'Be safe.'

  She listened to his fading footsteps, making sure he was gone before she charged at Red.

  Their swords clashed loudly, Vielka being careful to keep moving. She knew Red's fighting style was founded on a solid base and dashed left and right, dancing around him with fierce strikes while dodging his swinging blade.

  'Argh!' he shouted, kicking out at her. He connected, causing her to crash back into a conveyor belt. She got to her knees, wincing as she felt pain shoot through her side.

  'I see you've been training, Corporal,' Red sneered, walking forward and grabbing her by the hair. He dragged her back to the middle of the floor, throwing her roughly to the ground. 'Stop with these games, come ba
ck to where you belong.'

  'I never belonged with you and the doctor, and that crazy ideology that he brainwashed you into believing. It's ridiculous!' she retorted, moving to stand again.

  'The doctor's ideology?' Red smirked. 'Whoever said it was his ideology?' Vielka stared at Red, unsure of what it was he was saying, or more so, not believing it. 'It was my idea to create the perfect world, the perfect army, and you, you were going to help me. You were going to stand beside me as my lady of beauty and fierceness, you were perfect!'