Bᴜᴄᴋʏ Bᴀʀɴᴇs ★ Wɪɴᴛᴇʀ Sᴏʟᴅɪᴇʀ (serzhant) wrote in themandalay, @ 2017-08-21 18:55:00 |
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Entry tags: | bucky barnes, wanda maximoff |
WHO: Bucky Barnes & Wanda Maximoff
WHAT: Setting up a safe house
WHEN: 30th July (Backdated)
WHERE: Stratosphere Hotel, Observation Deck
RATING | STATUS: Medium | In Progress (Started via gdocs)
WARNINGS: Talk of Assassination
He should have known Stark would show. Steve, Natasha, Wanda, Thor… all of them had shown up, either before or after or around the same time he had. The thought that Stark was not going to show was naive at best, life-threatening at worst. The moment he had seen that notification on the network, he’d leapt into action. It seemed like Wanda had done the same, because the two of them had decided to go dark together. The plan was simple -- grab what little belongings they had, get as far away from Stark as possible, find a place in another one of the hotels to lie low while they figured out their next movie. Meeting with Steve had changed their plans. None of the hotels, other than the one all of the arrivals were housed in, were accessible beyond the ground floors. But the Stratosphere had accessible space on its observation deck, and a lot of it was abandoned because of storage space and long-term construction. Bucky decided that was as good a place as any, and less obvious than his first suggestion of a warehouse -- which, as Wanda had pointed out, was a bit obvious since the chaos in Bucharest and afterwards. There were a few tourists around when Bucky stepped off the elevator onto the observation deck of the Stratosphere, but none of them paid him or Wanda any mind as they walked past the people and disappeared behind the barriers that indicated the sections of cordoned off space. He cast his eyes around the general area, taking note of everything that was there, then looked over at Wanda. “It’s better than nothing,” he remarked. Wanda had optimistically hoped that Tony Stark would never set foot in Las Vegas, but she should have known better. When he did finally arrive, she couldn’t help but warn him away. Even though they had worked together, she had spoken to him as little as possible, and had barely even looked at him generally speaking. Instead, she’d spent her time with the others, and since he had a company to run, it was easy to avoid him. Here, though, she had others to think about aside from herself - namely, Bucky. She didn’t know the full story of what had happened after the fight at the airport, and she hadn’t asked. But he was Steve’s friend, and Steve was hers, which meant Bucky was as well. She wanted to keep him safe, and since neither wanted anything to do with Tony Stark, it seemed to make sense for them to leave the Mandalay together. Once they reached the deck of the stratosphere, Wanda glanced around surreptitiously, the way Natasha had taught her, and was ready to use her powers to keep them from being noticed if necessary. Once they were far enough out of sight and couldn’t be overheard, she relaxed only a little, nodding slightly when Bucky spoke, and made her way over to the windows. “I did not know we would be so high here.” “People like a good view,” he replied, watching her walk over to the wall length windows and look outside at the city below. He was already figuring out what they could use to make that space a temporary safehouse. It wasn’t what he was used to, but he would make do. He had no idea how long he’d been in this situation but since no one had left yet, that he knew of at least, he was willing to bet it would be a long time. He walked over to join Wanda at the window, inspecting the city that he knew but had never visited before arriving here. HYDRA and the Soviets had never sent the Soldier here. There were other, better targets. No one had ever thought this city would be a good place to hide in from someone like him. They always had hidden in isolated places, where they thought they would be safe. But they hadn’t been. And he remembered them all. “At least you can fly,” he pointed out, tilting his head slightly to look at her and the corner of his mouth lifting ever so slightly. “I’d have to climb down. Or use the bungee jump this place has.” Who knew why a hotel would want something like that? But it would work to their advantage, if it was needed. “At least there’s some sort of escape route.” “They do. I think I prefer to be closer to the ground. I have never flown this high,” she replied, her focus shifting to meet his eyes, and she returned the smile, though hers was more obvious than his. “But if we had to leave, I may be able to help you come down as well. I have lifted heavier, after all.” She lifted one hand, palm up, and her power flickered in a red haze around her fingertips briefly, then faded again. Turning from the window, she examined their safehouse. “Where do we start?” He watched the power flicker in her hands, the red glowing off the muted colour of her skin, but didn’t comment on what she said was possible. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that, hoped that they would be safe enough here for the time being. Glancing over his shoulder towards the mess of construction and general clutter that came with it, he turned and headed in the direction of what appeared to be rooms. “We’ll each need something to sleep on. Floor’s fine enough in the beginning, but who knows how long we’ll be here.” She followed him towards the rooms, looking around as they walked and biting back a sneeze when it threatened from some plaster dust that was disturbed by their passing. Absently rubbing her nose, she stopped beside him in a doorway. “The clothes we brought, they can be used for sleeping on. And I can visit some stores to purchase other supplies, far from here.” She was confident that she could keep herself hidden from Stark - and even Natasha, if she needed to. “We will need food, too, and water.” He thought back to when he lived alone, never too long in a single place in case he ended up being discovered. “Think you’ve got enough for sleeping bags?” he asked, referring to the funds that she’d said she had. “Then it won’t matter if and where we have to relocate.” There was no doubt in his mind that they wouldn’t be able to remain here permanently. Either some civilians would find them, or Stark would. “There’s a Walgreens three blocks south. Safe enough if we get in and out quickly. As for the food and water, there’s enough places around that we can figure it out one day at a time. We don’t want to stock up too much, in case we have to move suddenly.” He didn’t like the idea of settling too much, even if their capabilities of running were restricted by the bubble around part of the city. He’d make do with what they could do, not what was impossible. “Should be running water up here somewhere. A place like this won’t go to all this trouble and not make sure there are certain facilities up here.” He glanced around at all the building materials, figuring out what he wanted to do with stuff they wouldn’t miss. “A few barricades wouldn’t hurt either. Chances are, we’ll hear anyone coming, but any delay would be good in the long run.” “Da, I do,” she replied to the question about the sleeping bags and her money. As he continued, she listened closely, then nodded her understanding. “I can go some time without food if necessary, but you are right. There are many places around within the dome that we can reach if needed.” And hopefully avoid any sign of Tony Stark. When he mentioned barricades, Wanda followed his look, then glanced back over her shoulder at the way they had come. “If he does find us, what do you think will happen? He does not have the resources here to detain us, correct? And no...no collars,” she added a little more softly, one hand moving to her neck. The feeling of almost having her breathing restricted, of having that weight around her neck, had entered the nightmares she had nightly, and she was determined to never be forced into one of those things again - or the strange straight-jacket type suit they had put her in. That was perhaps what she was most afraid of. He nodded at her reply, his mind still going over things that they needed to consider. He was still concerned about Steve knowing where they were, even if he knew without hesitation that Steve wouldn’t tell Stark a thing. He hated putting Steve in the firing line, even if the younger man had a penchant for putting himself there often enough. Hazy memories of Steve picking fights with bullies formed in the back of his mind, but he pushed them away. Now wasn’t the time for things like that. He had to focus on him and Wanda. “There are 14 places that sell food, and all within 5 blocks of here,” he remarked, in reply to her comment about going without food for a time. He could too; as the Soldier, all he was given were liquid supplements, just enough for him to get through whatever mission he had been woken up for. “We can pick them at random and make sure not to go too often, so that we can’t be recognised.” He knew that most of those places would have CCTV, but it was a risk they would have to take. Her question was a valid one, but it still made his jaw clench briefly. His gaze didn’t miss her hand moving to her neck, but he didn’t say anything for a moment. “Depends if he still wants to kill me,” he said finally, picking up some debris and moving it to the side of the room. “And whether the SHIELD agents here will assist him. But Steve won’t let anything happen to us, he’s too damn stubborn for that.” He moved some wooden pallets and put them on the floor against the wall; it would be enough, combined with sleeping bags. “How long do you think we need to stay out of the Mandalay?” Not that Wanda was looking to be in a comfortable living situation, necessarily, but she did wonder how long they would be safe - or if they would be safe even at the hotel where their rooms were. Her eyes shifted to him when he started to move the debris, and after a moment she walked over to help him with moving the pallets. “Steve would not let them touch you,” she said firmly - and she didn’t think he’d let them touch her as well, though it wasn’t her safety she was worried about just now. If necessary, she’d stop Tony however she needed to. After a few minutes of silence, she asked more quietly, “...Why does Tony want to kill you, Bucky?” “I don’t know. Depends how long Stark sticks around,” he replied, as Wanda started helping him with moving stuff around the room. He wasn’t looking to make her stay in this situation; after all, it was him that Stark would want. It didn’t seem like he was particularly bothered by Wanda, although Bucky knew that was ill-advised. He’d seen what Wanda could do, and not even one of Stark’s suits would matter much in the end if she decided to retaliate. He nodded in response to her firm words, remembering how Steve had tried to stop all those police from arresting him in Romania. It hadn’t worked out like either of them had planned, of course, but that had felt familiar. Then she asked a question, and it made him stop what he’d been doing for a moment. Bucky hadn’t been sure how much Wanda knew, exactly, but that question confirmed everything. She didn’t know at all, and now she was asking. The silence had been filled by little more than their breathing and the sound of moving debris from their reorganisation of the small room. In that silence, he felt resigned to the fact that he would have tell to Wanda the truth. He wasn’t sure what the outcome of that choice would be but he didn’t have enough information to predict all the variables, so he had to go in blind -- it wasn’t exactly an unfamiliar situation, he’d done both in the war and as the Soldier, but there hadn’t been potential consequences staring him in the face. He couldn’t ignore it, though. So he exhaled steadily, before answering, “Because I killed his parents. I killed Howard and Maria Stark.” |