Chapter Text
Stay here!
Jefferson was still angry that he hadn’t put more effort into fighting Steve.
Well, he had tried, but the nice and affable and slightly awkward guy who’d stayed a night at his house had suddenly been replaced by the adamant soldier he’d claimed to be. And there was no arguing with that guy. He’d choked off all of Jefferson’s arguments with a stern shake of his head and a muttered ‘not this time’. And of course that glare.
That no-nonsense glare that tolerated no objection.
Jefferson hated it.
And that it had worked on him he hated even more.
He’d sworn never to be someone’s puppet again and never to be bullied into something he didn’t want to do.
Well, this was even worse!
This was about finding his brother, only he didn’t feel like a part of it. He felt patronized, as if he couldn’t look out for himself.
For goodness sake, he’d been travelling worlds Steve could never imagine. He knew how to keep out of trouble.
He could help!
Without warning he punched his left fist against the tree he’d been crouching behind. Stinging pain replaced his anger the instant the bark broke the skin of his knuckles.
Hissing, he shook his hand until the pain abated. With a tired sigh he lowered his head which got his right hand into his line of sight. And the gun in it.
Take this. Just in case. You know how to use it?
He knew, but he never had before.
And he hadn’t told Steve about his own gun in his backpack.
Looking at it, feeling its cool weight in his hand made him think.
He had no idea what to expect except for the rude explanation about S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra and secret organizations within secret organizations which was all rather confusing to be honest. A quick overview while drinking coffee out of paper cups at a gas station certainly wasn’t enough for that.
And he didn’t know the person his brother had become. Not even Steve knew what to expect at that end, but no matter if they found the brainwashed weapon or the childhood friend, it was Steve who shared a lifetime of memories with the man not him.
Swallowing against that bitter truth he took a calming breath.
Maybe it was for the best to lay low for the moment and just watch.
Kneeling here, south of Portage Lake and obviously a secret former S.H.I.E.L.D. base, he pressed himself closer against the tree, peeking carefully around it. The act itself held a strange familiarity after all the years he’d spent playing hide and seek with Grace. He banished the thoughts of his daughter out of his mind. This was not the right moment to reminisce and even less for missing her already.
Few meters away was a big clearing, covered mostly in mossy grass and tree stubs overgrown with mushrooms. It was pretty ironic if he thought about it.
But his eyes travelled to the other side of the clearing where part of the ground fell away. A few nearby trees had fallen down when the ground beneath it had sagged. Farther away smoke filled the air, wafting lazily between the trees without giving anything away about its origin.
Steve thought that part of the hidden Hydra base had collapsed due to some kind of explosion. An explosion that could have been caused by Bucky. Steve was right, it was a long shot, but he couldn’t help the nervous energy at even the slight possibility of finding his brother here.
Maybe he was still down there? Trapped?
Stop it! This isn’t helping at all!
Instead of running ‘what if’ scenarios through his head he concentrated on Steve who just jumped down into the depression. For someone of his size he really moved surprisingly noiseless. And absurdly graceful. His shield was strapped to his left arm as he looked around the forest, checking his surroundings before he started looking for something at the ground.
Not for the first time Jefferson realized that it was eerily quiet. No birds, no other animal noises at all, just the faint rustling of leaves in the soft breeze. The explosion must have scared everything away.
Steve leaned forward and pushed a large branch out of the way that must have broken off when the tree next to it had fallen. Jefferson stared, open-mouthed. He’d never been able to move that thing let alone make it seem easy. Beneath it appeared something dark and smooth. Was that metal? After a few powerful kicks the metal gave way with a strained groaning noise, revealing nothing but darkness – and some smoke.
So there really was an underground base here.
Steve checked his surroundings one last time, his gaze lingering on Jefferson for a moment before he crouched into the darkness and vanished into the opening.
Jefferson didn’t like it at all. At least until now he’d been able to watch, he knew what was happening, but now? Should he just sit here and do nothing? For how long?
“Dammit Steve! This really isn’t what I signed up for!” he muttered under his breath.
Something cracked softly.
He frowned, listening intently for a repetition, but there was none. Shrugging he focused back on the dark hole where Steve had vanished.
Weren’t they supposed to work like a team?
And wasn’t there supposed to be a plan?
Well, maybe there was, but obviously his partner in crime didn’t think it necessary to share more than ‘stay here, I’ll check out the base’.
With another annoyed sigh he started tapping out a restless rhythm with his left hand against the bark of the tree.
He wasn’t sure why he felt this uneasy.
This was about finding his brother. He’d left Grace behind again for this. And he’d never been outside of Storybrooke in this world. Not ever.
But that wasn’t it. Not really.
It wasn’t the patronizing either. He didn’t like it but it made him angry and annoyed, not uneasy.
Improvisation had always been his strong suit, but nonetheless he had always started out with a plan. Not knowing what the plan was, that must be it.
That’s when something to the right caught his eye. There was movement between the trees on the far side of the clearing. On instinct he crouched down a bit lower and his fingers tightened around the gun in his hand.
Three men in black clothes were sneaking towards the spot where Steve had entered the base. They were armed, all of them. And their movement spoke of training for this kind of thing.
Dammit! What am I supposed to do now?
He couldn’t warn Steve. Should he shoot them?
No, even if he actually hit one of them he would never be able to take them all out before they killed him for notifying them of his location. And he didn’t think that he could actually kill someone like that. Or at all.
But there had to be something he could do!
The men closed in on the depression at the side of the clearing. Two more men joined them from the other side. Three stayed up, securing the area, while the other two jumped down. He could only see them from the waist up but it was enough. They found the dark opening and one of them got in, weapon at the ready.
Dammit!!!
Jefferson shoved his hand against the tree in agitation, scraping his palm in the process.
These men must be Hydra, looking for the one who destroyed their base, right?
Or were they S.H.I.E.L.D.? A backup group trying to help Steve?
No, Steve had said, S.H.I.E.L.D. was destroyed.
He needed more information. How was he supposed to react if he couldn’t get the situation into context?
God, he must’ve gotten rusty. He’d been good at this stuff once. He’d jumped from one strange world to another, adjusting easily, operating the different circumstances, the different laws and factions to his advantage. But now…
A shot rang through the silence.
Jefferson startled, the gun almost fell out of his hand.
There was no time to be ashamed by his reaction, not when Steve was obviously in danger.
Without thinking he pushed himself up, bristling with nervous energy, ready to charge in.
His heart was pounding, flooding his body with adrenaline, when suddenly a cry resounded over the clearing. Unsure of its origin he frowned. That’s when something shot out of the dark opening, flying back until it crashed against a fallen tree with a thud.
Jefferson froze.
Next thing Steve appeared again and Jefferson sighed in relief, only now realizing that he’d held his breath before.
But his relief wasn’t long lived. The other guys in black opened fire immediately.
And with a sudden clarity Jefferson knew that this was way out of his league.
This had nothing to do with running from guards or outsmarting nobles.
Steve pulled up his shield and used the ricocheting bullets against his opponents by actually directing their flight pattern with his shield. At least that’s what he thought happened because Steve was nudging his shield a bit this way or that and out of nowhere one of the other men just fell down with a cry. He moved closer to the nearest guy in black, knocked his weapon out of his hands with his shield and yanked the guy around, effectively positioning him between himself and the other ones. They ceased fire, obviously hesitating with their own man in the line of fire.
And Steve took full advantage of that. With a powerful swing he threw his shield away – was the idiot trying to get himself killed? Why was he throwing his only defense away? – as if it were a boomerang while he punched the guy in front of him right in the face. Meanwhile his shield knocked one guy’s weapon out of his hand and hit the other one against the head, leaving him crumbling to the ground, unconscious.
Jefferson couldn’t believe his eyes when the shield actually flew right back into Steve’s hands – or onto his left arm to be precise.
This was absolutely impossible!
There had to be magic at play!
Jefferson struggled to follow the events unfolding on the clearing. Steve moved so damn fast and with a precision he’d never witnessed before. If not for his grey shirt and shield he wouldn’t know how to keep his eyes trained on him. He started running, dodged a flying fist and knocked the assailant prone with an elbow to the back of his neck before he jumped out of the hollow to attack the last guy standing.
Jefferson could only shake his head as if in trance. Obviously the term super-soldier wasn’t exaggerated.
“Look what we have here,” a voice snarled way to close for his liking.
But before he had a chance to react an arm wound itself around his neck. A hand with a gun came into view, crashing down on his right hand. Pain exploded in his wrist as the butt of the gun connected with it, running along his nerves. He felt his own pistol slipping his fingers just as the arm around him pulled him back abruptly.
Stumbling he fell against the man behind him before he found his footing, a sharp jerk against his neck and increasing pressure his only reward for his clumsiness. His hands shot up and gripped the arm, trying to alleviate the pressure, as something cold and hard was pressed against his head behind his ear: the barrel of a gun.
On instinct he stopped struggling. He tried to calm down enough from the shock to think straight again, which wasn’t easy considering the constriction of his windpipe that made breathing a struggle.
Shit! I really fucked this up!
He’d been so goddamn absorbed in his own frustration and later in watching Steve fight that he had paid no mind at all to his surroundings. Instead of having Steve’s back – no matter if it was the plan or not, if he liked it or not, it would’ve been the right thing to do! – he’d let his emotions get the better of him. And it had made him a liability.
Again!
“Are you with him? With the Captain?” the man behind him hissed in his ear.
His eyes shot out across the clearing, searching for Steve. He just fought another one of his attackers who’d recovered enough to try assaulting him again.
Jefferson wanted to say something, but he only managed a croak through his squashed throat. The arm around his neck jolted in answer, squeezing even harder.
“No talking. Just nod!”
He did, desperately, as much as he could, hoping for a release of pressure against his neck. The arm was pushing the knot of his cravat directly against his Adam’s apple. But the release never came.
“Good. You’re coming with me.”
The man started pulling him backwards, not giving an inch as he squeezed him against his chest.
Gasping for air Jefferson’s fingers tightened around the man’s arm, pulling at the appendage with all his might as he stumbled along, but it wasn’t enough. His pulse echoed through his head, frantic and heavy. And thinking straight was the last thing on his mind all of a sudden, as panic took a hold of him.
His fingers clawed at the arm, he kicked his leg back, but missing, only unbalancing himself further. He knocked his head back, hitting something, the grip around him loosened for a second. Greedily he gulped in a mouthful of air before the pressure against his throat was back.
Something connected with his head. Hard.
His vision blacked out for a moment. The pain forced a gasp out of his body, making him expel that bit of air again he’d so arduously fought for.
A hiss in his ear, but he couldn’t make out the words.
His lungs were burning. His eyes watering.
Another step.
His legs were trembling. Faltering.
His eyes were open, but he saw nothing.
Everything was blurred and dimming.
The pounding in his head got worse by the second.
And suddenly the arm was gone.
He crumpled to the floor, barely feeling it when his knee and shoulder connected with the forest floor. Gasping for breath sweet air was streaming down his sore throat, sending him into a fierce coughing fit immediately. He pressed a trembling hand against his aching chest, the other planted firmly on the floor, grounding him.
Tears were running down his face as his body struggled to breathe. The whooshing sound of his blood rushing in his ears the only thing he could hear.
A hand grabbed his upper arm out of nowhere.
No, not again!
Get away from me!
Startled, his breath hitched, starting another coughing fit as he tried to make his body move, away from the touch. But his legs felt too wobbly for any coordinated movements.
The hand vanished again, leaving him be.
Relief flooded every cell of his body. He sank further back, eyes closed, concentration only on his next breath.
He should have known that it wasn’t that easy. It never was.
The hand came back, grabbing his cravat right beneath his chin.
And his panic spiked to a new level.
With force he wouldn’t have thought himself capable of he lashed out. His arms flailed wildly, connecting hard with something, shoving it away, while his legs kicked out and pushed himself back a bit.
“GET OFF ME!”
His voice was hoarse and broke completely over the last word and it hurt, but it was the first thing he heard again.
There was something else. Another sound. Something… someone… talking?
“…me! Jefferson, it’s me. Steve. Calm down, I’m not gonna hurt you. You hear me? Jefferson?”
Steve?
Steve!
As his mind finally caught up with what was happening he just went slack, blinking sluggishly after a while. His rasping breaths the only sound in the forest. Tears still clouded his vision but he recognized the grey shape with the blond head next to him anyway.
“I’ll help you up now, alright?”
He nodded weakly. Steve’s grip was firm but gentle. His strength was compensating for his own weakness and with his help he found himself sitting against a tree trunk in no time. It made breathing a lot easier.
“Better?”
Again he nodded slightly.
“You should open that cravat.”
So that’s what he’d tried to do before.
“Can I leave you for a moment? I need to make sure that none of these Hydra agents gets away.”
Not trusting his voice just yet he nodded, following the blurry shape as it got away quickly.
He leaned his head back, his eyes closed and just concentrated on the rapid beating of his heart as it slowed down steadily. His fingers felt cold and shaky against his neck as he loosened the cravat a bit.
That had been way too close for his liking!
His hands were still trembling when he wiped his eyes clean with his sleeves. He blamed it on coming down from his adrenaline rush. He also started noticing all the different aches in his body. His right wrist hurt a bit and he tentatively felt along the area behind his right ear where he’d been hit. It felt tender but there was no swelling and more importantly no blood.
His throat on the other hand was more than sore and even the faintest touch against the front of his neck hurt like hell. This experience would certainly leave a bruise.
Approaching footsteps alerted him to Steve’s arrival. Looking towards him he spotted the six Hydra agents behind him at the edge of the clearing, bound by zip ties with one another and around a tree.
Where did he get the zip ties?
Steve knelt down beside him, worry clear on his face. “Police will be here soon. Better we make ourselves scarce. Think you can walk?”
Jefferson wasn’t sure but he felt better already so he nodded. And grabbed Steve’s offered arm.
(TBC)