Eminent Silence

by Tristan Carey

  T'Challa essentially paid her. He had tracked her down in the most remote part of the world, on an unreliable and barely believable rumour. And he had essentially left her no option but to accept his offer, although her curiosity had probably gotten the better of her more than anything else. What man, of royal stock, goes chasing after a mercenary based off a fantastic rumour at best?

  T'Challa didn't say anything, and she hated it. And she knew, he knew it. While she appreciated the silence of being alone, she knew when he was silent, he was analysing her. She was well aware of the brilliant intellect of the Wakandan King, and if he was silent, it only gave him more time to think.

  'You've visited me for a reason, T'Challa,' she said finally, sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of her bed before pushing herself back so she could lean against the wall.

  She forgot about her wrist for a moment until she put all her weight on it, wincing slightly. T'Challa raised his eyebrows, noticing the ice she had wrapped around her wrist.

  He immediately entered her room, moving to her bed and motioning for her to show it to him. She scowled and begrudgingly lifted it up for him to look at. He removed the ice, turning the wrist over and looking it over, running his finger along it here and there. She didn't look at him while he checked it over.

  'I see, the Winter Soldier was able to break through your guard as well,' he murmured, wrapping her wrist in ice again before releasing her. 'Perhaps it is time we talked.'

  She glanced sideways at him nervously. 'What about?'

  'I did not travel across the world to track you down without doing my research, Vielka,' he said, sitting at her desk and looking at her pointedly. Vielka, he never called her by her first name. She suddenly felt like she might scolded like she would by a parent.

  She gulped but looked straight at him. 'What is it you want to talk about?'

  'Your past.'

  She licked her lips slightly, feeling her mouth go dry suddenly. So he did know.

  'Yes?'

  'Is this where your resentment for Sgt Barnes comes from?'

  God, he was blunt sometimes. She was quiet for a moment. It wasn't so much resentment though, it was concern if anything. Distrust, maybe? She knew how dangerous someone not in control of their own mind could be, she knew very well. She was aware, that there was something else there that affected her emotions towards Bucky though, although she could not put a name to it. Perhaps it was sympathy, empathy? Perhaps she felt that by being harsh to him, she can make him stronger against that control.

  She thought carefully about her next words. 'I think you mistake my cautiousness for something else, T'Challa.' She was careful to keep her voice level and calm.

  'Perhaps,' he replied, leaning back in the chair. 'However, you are proof it is possible. Possible for renewed life, possible for the strength of one's convictions and mental strength to prevail.'

  'Stop preaching to me,' she hissed, silencing the king as she turned her head away. 'One is bad enough, but two...'

  'I trust you unreservedly. We will do everything in our power to protect you, as you protect us. Perhaps, does Sgt Barnes not deserve the same? He has already protected you once,' T'Challa said pointedly.

  He was right, Bucky had been quick to try and save her from the grenade and the ensuing carnage, not that she had really needed the help. She bit her lip, remembering how he had covered her body with his own. She sighed and rolled her eyes before looking to T'Challa, the bastard was smirking at her.

  'You are one of the finest warriors I have encountered, you're bravery and loyalty is of great value to me, and to the success of this team. However, your anger and, dare I say, guilt, perhaps, is going to affect your effectiveness. You need to move past this... issue... you're struggling with.'

  She sighed again but nodded. Once again, T'Challa showed great wisdom, one of the reasons why she respected the man greatly. 'Working on it.' She then looked at the Wakandan. 'Tell me, do you have a contingency plan?' She narrowed her eyes at him.

  T'Challa raised his eyebrows in surprise initially, but then he looked at her resolutely. 'You should rest.'It had been weeks since they had seen any action, but Vielka had noticed Sam and Natasha had both been coming and going from the compound. Something was up, especially since, from what she could tell, she had been called to the mission room specifically, as Wanda was still meandering in the kitchen when she had gone past.

  As she waited alone, her arms crossed in front of her, she yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. She hadn't been sleeping well, her sleep disrupted by her own thoughts and memories that refused to disappear, not to mention Bucky was occasionally having night terrors next door too.

  She still took the time to wake him, but usually she just pegged a football he had taken to keeping by the door, she guessed, specially for her well-being.

  She yawned again, contemplating whether she should ask Wanda if she could manipulate her mind just so she could get a decent nights rest and was considering the repercussions of such a request, when she heard the door slide open.

  'Sorry,' came a deep, surly voice. She looked back and saw Bucky, looking at her apologetically through his long, slightly messy hair. He looked like he had just come from his bed.

  'What for?' She asked in confusion, unsure as to whether he was apologising about being in the room or something else.

  'Keeping you up at night,' he answered simply, moving further into the room and leaning against one of the many tables. Vielka raised an eyebrow and gave a small smirk, before turning back around.

  'Oh boy, I have way more interesting things that keep me up at night,' she murmured, just loud enough for him to hear. She didn't need to turn around to know how confused he was by her answer, but she turned to look at him anyway. 'Why are you here?'

  'Was told there was a mission.'

  Vielka furrowed her brows. She didn't like the sound of that. She was about to ask who had called him in, when the doors slid open and Steve, Natasha and Clint, of all people, strode in.

  'Well now, look who graces us with his presence,' Vielka sneered before smiling and standing up to greet Clint with a warm hug.

  'G'day,' Clint replied, putting on his best Australian accent, which had to be one of the worst she had ever heard.

  'What's going on?' Bucky asked, looking at Steve expectantly. She could tell he was as confused as she felt, as to why they would be the only two of the team to be called in.

  'We've got a mission for intel,' Natasha said, activating one of the screens with a tablet she held. Vielka turned to look at it, as a map appeared. It was Italy.

  'We've received word that Crossbones has some kind of 'business partner' in Italy, and that he may even be basing his operations there. There's a party being thrown by one of the most powerful businessmen in the country. A viscount Fiori,' Clint explained as information scrolled across the screen.

  Vielka took in all the information, dates, target information and locations. 'So this is just recon?' She asked as the viscount's face flashed up on the screen.

  'Right.'

  Vielka nodded but then looked around the room. 'Wait, why so many of us?'

  'We aren't all going,' Steve answered slowly, glancing anxiously at Natasha.

  'It's just you and Bucky,' she added, without hesitation and Vielka swore she saw a smirk.

  Vielka gaped and nearly slipped from the side of the table she was leaning against. She glanced back at Bucky, he had his eyebrows raised seemingly surprised, perhaps not as surprised as she was.

  She turned back to look at Natasha, Clint and Steve. 'Are you kidding me?' She cringed as soon as the words came from her mouth and quickly continued to explain her outburst. 'We've not done any training together for a mission of this nature, at all.'

  'That's true,' Steve said, looking sideways at Natasha, it seemed he was hesitant to let them do a mission together too.

  'Bucky has vast experience at staying under the radar
for long periods of time, and as for you Vielka, you're tech savvy as well as knowing how to gain useful information without gaining attention' Natasha rebuked pointedly, seeming to highlight the last fact the most.

  'In other words, you've got boobs,' Clint said matter-of-factly, making Steve balk. Vielka swore she heard Bucky chuckle behind her too. Natasha elbowed Clint and glared. 'What? It's true. We would have sent Nat, but you know, she's kind of recognisable these days. Needed a new face.'

  'Yeah, I'm pretty sure you'll both be able to manage a basic recon mission, plus it's a pretty straight forward mission,' Natasha explained, still shaking her head at Clint's comment, before motioning at the screens that were lit with a multitude of information. 'Besides, we're all highly recognisable, you two, not so much, well, you not so much, but most of the general population don't remember Bucky so much anymore either.'

  Vielka rolled her eyes. Of course, they were both talented at staying hidden in plain sight, having both done it for years at a time.

  'When do we leave?' Bucky finally spoke, taking the tablet from Natasha and seeming to scan over it all. She wasn't sure how much of it he was actually able to read, knowing that technology of his time wasn't quite this advanced, although they did manage to give him a highly advanced piece of weaponry for an arm.

  'Tomorrow night, so you'd both better get organised.'

  Bucky looked out the back of the aircraft as it soared high above Switzerland. To play it safe, they had both agreed they needed to enter undetected, so were being dropped into Switzerland and making their own way into Italy.

  They had spent the last day and a half discussing what they were going to do and how they were going to do it. He learned very quickly that Vielka knew her craft, and he actually found it fascinating to see how meticulous she was at planning every little detail.

  Apparently, Natasha and Vielka had planned a lot of the details for once they were in Italy, but everything else was down to Vielka and Bucky to decide.

  It was Vielka's idea to High Altitude Low Open jump into Switzerland, arguing that although Switzerland was considered a friendly country, that didn't mean that people weren't watching the airports from other countries. She still needed to keep Bucky unseen.

  It was night as the aircraft flew 30,000 feet above the ground. He had never done a HALO jump before, and the thin air was starting to make him feel a little light headed.

  He felt a nudge at his elbow and turned to find Vielka, holding out a breathing mask and an ear piece. She already had one over her own face. He took the ear piece and placed it inside his ear before putting the mask on. 'You'll need this if you don't want to pass out. You may be a super soldier but even some laws of physics will still apply to you,' she said, her voice coming through the ear piece loud and clear.

  He raised an eyebrow at her mention of his enhancement, it was an odd thing for her to bring it up in direct conversation with him. It had seemed she had avoided the subject whenever anywhere near him since their sparring match.

  She began putting her parachute pack on, he followed suit, checking himself over before moving to her. He began checking her pack over, but she quickly swatted his hands away and gave him a disapproving look. 'I can take care of myself,' she hissed, before grabbing her ponytail and wrapping it around itself and pinning it.

  Bucky held his hands in the air, before putting on his balaclava and helmet and walking back towards the open door. 'Ready?' he said as the red light came on by the door. She moved next to him, looking out the door.

  'There's good cloud cover, it will help us out.' He saw her turn to face him, and looked at her. Even with her breathing mask and balaclava on, he could see she bore a look of concern in her golden-brown eyes, her usually harsh eyes for him, somewhat softened. 'I know you've never done a HALO jump before, just remember what I said and make sure you keep me in your sights. Once we hit 4000 feet, we'll pull,' she said, adjusting her gloves.

  Bucky nodded, he had to admit he was a little nervous about the jump, but he had no time to think about it, as the jump light went green.

  Vielka immediately ran and dove, without hesitation. He was quick to follow her, diving from the plane and immediately feeling the cold blast of air battering his body. He pinned his arms to his sides, increasing his speed to keep up with Vielka, who was flying towards the ground below him, barrelling towards the cloud bank below. His heart raced as she disappeared into the clouds, now losing sight of her.

  Within seconds, he was within the clouds, surrounded by nothing but white. It was an unreal feeling, but he had no time to dwell on it as he flew out the other side. He looked around and saw Vielka still below him, she had turned her body around and seemed to halt her fall slightly, her arms held out from her sides. She slowed herself enough so she was nearly at his side, before she seemed satisfied with his progress and turned herself back around, continuing her fall.

  He smirked to himself, she may have been a hard ass but she wasn't completely uncaring. He checked his watch to see how long until they were releasing their parachutes. The ground was approaching quickly and he was certain they had to be falling at a rate close to 200km/h.

  His heart rate increased more, although he didn't think it were possible, as the ground rushed towards him. As he soared towards the ground, he wondered what would happen to him if he hit the ground. Would he die? Could his time finally come? Perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad way to finally go. He was, technically, nearly a hundred years old. He was so mesmerised and lost in his own thoughts, he didn't notice Vielka had pulled her parachute.

  'Bucky! Pull!' he heard her scream through his ear piece, bringing him out of his own thoughts. He quickly pulled, feeling the sudden force of his body being yanked back up. It winded him for a brief second, and if it weren't for the fact that he knew better, he might have thought all the bones in his back had been shattered.

  He looked around and saw Vielka glaring at him and shaking her head.

  Vielka landed lithely on the ground, quickly removing her parachute pack, pulling her chute down and wrapping it up within itself. Bucky ran to join her, carrying his own and looking apologetic.

  'What the hell happened, Bucky?' she hissed in annoyance. Her heart had been in her throat, watching as he kept flying at full speed towards the ground. It was like he wasn't even there.

  'Sorry, won't happen again,' he murmured, looking shameful, pursing his lips together and not meeting her eyes. She could tell he was, indeed, apologetic, but that didn't ease her anger any. It surprised her, how angry she actually was, but then again, the whole mission was compromised if something happened to him. And she hated not completing missions.

  They tucked their packs away under a couple of large boulders, before hurrying towards a barn in the field they hand landed in. She pulled the rifle she had slung to her shoulder, Bucky doing the same, and they carefully entered the barn.

  They both quickly checked every corner of the barn, before both declared it clear of anyone or anything. Vielka hurried to the back right corner of the top floor, kicking some hay bales aside to reveal two back packs. She opened one, pulling out a zip lock bag with a passport, wads of cash and some credit and ID cards. Each featured her face with a different name.

  She shoved the zip lock bag back into the back pack she had pulled it from, before grabbing both back packs and jumping back down to the ground, where Bucky was keeping watch outside the slightly open, barn door.

  'Here,' she said, throwing one of the bags to him. 'Change of clothes, ID, passport, money and plastic.' He caught it easily and she moved to one of the empty stalls to the side of the barn, beginning to strip off her jumpsuit. They were going to travel into Italy as backpackers and pick up new identities once inside.

  She quickly changed, being careful to make sure the turtle neck she wore sat high on her neck, before picking her rifle back up and swinging her pack onto her back, walking out to take over from Bucky. He disappeared to change while Vielka chec
ked her wrist device. They were about a day's march from the border. They could only cross the border during the day due to current Swiss law.

  She could hear Bucky in one of the stalls and glanced over her shoulder impatiently. She caught sight of him without his shirt on, his hair draping across his face as he began to put his arms into the sleeve of his shirt, hoisting it above his head.

  She could see he was in great shape, not that she expected anything less from an enhanced man with a titanium arm that was trained to be a killing machine. She pursed her lips slightly as she saw his normal arm tense as he brought the shirt down over his well worked chest, noticing scars here and there. She could imagine how he got those scars and she couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

  She quickly turned back to face the darkness, rifle raised and began to plot their next move.

  Bucky followed Vielka as they approached the border checkpoint. They had ditched their rifles in a forest they had decided to short cut through, and now lined up side by side like everyday people.