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Y/N was fucked and not in the fun way.
Well, ‘fucked’ may be a little dramatic. More like incredibly inconvenienced. This wasn’t their first time getting kidnapped and it probably wouldn’t be the last. Y/N had a pretty honed set of skills that ranged from counterfeit currency to computer viruses. It paid to be well-rounded.
Unfortunately, people would rather keep them under duress and person-nap them straight out of their home rather than pay. Which, by the by, is super shitty. You have to make a living somehow.
But, altogether, Y/N supposes that you take the experiences you can and if you’re gonna be kidnapped you may as well learn something. So here’s lesson one: if you flex your muscles and strain on the rope when you’re being tied up you can gain a few centimeters of wiggle room when you relax.
Of course, this doesn’t help much when you’re cuffed but you’d be surprised how many people just forgo cuffing for tying you up with whatever is on hand.
Second rule: Always act like you know close to nothing. Make someone up that’s your boss. Downplay your role in everything. Make them second-guess taking you in the first place. But, you also want to make sure you don’t completely make yourself useless. A useless person is a dead person.
Finally: Pay attention and lie. Find out when your changes in guard are. Lie your ass off to whoever will listen. Talk constantly. Drop as many names as you can that aren’t who you’re actually affiliated with. For instance, Y/N’s using the Avengers.
“Captain America and his sidekick, that Winter Soldier? They’re pretty cool guys. Steve Rogers is actually super cool – great at drawing – and I’ve never seen someone take out a guy like Barnes can. It’s downright terrifying.”
See, Y/N isn’t exactly lying here. They’ve seen tabloids of Steve Rogers in an art store and she’s seen Bucky Barnes up-close-and-personal while he took a guy out with a knife. Stretching the truth is what gets you out of tight situations.
The guard, already tired of them and their incessant talking, takes a quick smoke break leaving Y/N alone and smiling. They get out of the rope with ease, the rough fibers scratching a burn into their wrists but otherwise coming off with minimal effort.
Y/N hears a commotion outside of their room and down a ways and figures now is their chance, if any, and opens the door for a look. The moment the door opens the room is filled with smoke and they cover their face with a bit of their shirt and move through the dense fog, trying to remember passageways.
“They’re not here.” A voice calls out.
“Keep looking. They couldn’t have gotten far.”
Y/N takes a moment to stop in a bathroom and scan for windows. They luck out, seeing one at the top of the wall near the ceiling, and they wet their shirt before covering their face again and climb the stall to get to the window.
The window does not open but doesn’t look reinforced so they kick, hard and thorough, until the pane shatters and buckles in. They clear as much glass as possible and climb out to what has to be the back field. They make it through about twenty feet of freedom before a gruff voice behind them catches their attention.
“Freeze.”
Y/N turns slowly, hands up, and gets down on their knees, “I was taken. I’m not affiliated.”
“Yes, I know. You meet our description.” The man, who Y/N can only guess is Barnes, lowers his gun and then speaks into his radio, “I found Y/N Y/LN. South field.”
“Does this mean I get to stand up again?”
Barnes shrugs and pulls his hand off the gun and that’s all Y/N needs as an answer. They stand slowly and rock back on their heels once, twice, and a third time before they realize that they have glass stuck in their legs.
“You don’t happen to have a first aid kit or something?”
Bucky looks down at Y/N’s legs and nods, “I’ll take you to medivac.”
They start the walk and it’s a little tense, so Y/N starts in with the small talk.
“So what brings you to this neck of the woods?”
Bucky side-eyes them, “How does someone like you escape bonds and evade trained personnel?”
“Luck?”
“Not buying it.”
Y/N sighs, “This isn’t my first kidnapping, buddy.”
Barnes raises an eyebrow and says nothing. Y/N grits their teeth and tries to work through the pain that’s starting to make itself known. The shock and adrenaline is wearing off.
“How many does that make, then?”
Y/N is glad for the distraction, “Uh, about five? I think? Not counting attempted kidnapping.”
“So you’ve thwarted people in the past.”
“Wow, I haven’t heard ‘thwarted’ in forever but yeah, I guess you could say that.”
“How’d they get you this time?”
Y/N smiles, “My weakness.”
“Which is?”
“The dog story. ‘Help me, my dog got off its leash or my dog ran off or my dog got lost in the park’. Any of those and I’m a gonner.”
Barnes laughs a little and Y/N counts it as a win, “Do you know why we were sent to get you?”
“I assume jail.” Y/N sighs and then shoots Barnes a smirk, “I’m willing to go if you’ll take me.”
Barnes actually blushes a little and clears his throat, “No, actually. You have a job offer.”
That throws Y/N a bit and they stop walking, feet stuttering in the dusty dirt, “Come again?”
“A job offer. You’ve gathered quite a bit of attention.”
Y/N sighs, rubbing their eyes, “Really? Because that’s the kind of shit I try to avoid.”
“SHIELD is good at finding people anyway.” Bucky laughs, “You probably have a whole file.”
“That both upsets and intrigues me.”
Bucky laughs again and Y/N loves the sound, “Maybe when you’re done with your debrief we could get something to eat.”
“I’m game.”