Part One
Maggie's POV
Maggie
wasn't sure when they had started following her. She stopped in front of a
dress shop, and her reflection gleamed at her in the plate glass window. Just
beyond her - close enough to make her uncomfortable but far enough away to make
her wonder if she was just imagining things - two men stood deep in
conversation while glancing her way every so often. They were both blond,
blue-eyed "boy next door" types. It wasn't anything overt they did,
other than watching her. With a shake of her head, telling herself that it was just
her imagination, Maggie continued down the row of stores, stopping at a market.
She snatched up a basket and dropped various fruits into it, only half paying
attention to what she picked up.
Purchase made, she continued down the row. A glance over her shoulder found them closer than before. When they realized she'd spotted them, they hurried forward. Clutching her bag close, she turned and ran. Two wrong turns later, and she found herself alone in a back alley. Her two pursuers stopped at the mouth of the alley. They shared a moment's conversation - mutual congratulations, she expected - before sharing a grin and heading slowly into the alley toward her.
"S..stay back!" her voice shook, and she cursed herself. She could brave the streets of Baltimore but not some back alley in Bucharest? She stiffened her spine and slid her hand into the bag of fruit.
"What are you going to do," the shorter of the two asked in heavily accented English, "make us a fruit salad?"
"Well, you know what they say," she began, pulling an over-ripe apple from the bag, "an apple a day keeps the assholes away." She threw the apple at the taller of the two, catching him full in the face. The fruit exploded on impact, running messily down his face and neck. Hazel eyes glared at her from the muck."Well, that didn't go quite as expected," Maggie muttered.
The shorter of the two bit back a laugh as the tall one growled a curse and rushed forward. Maggie tried to dart around them, but they caught her, shoving her backward. She hit the brick wall hard, and darkness threatened as her back screamed in pain. Their hands were on her, pulling at her clothes. She could hear them laughing. The bag of fruit fell away, forgotten, as she tried to bat their hands away, struggling to stay conscious.
"Let. Her. Go."
Beyond her captors, Maggie saw the stranger at the mouth of the alley. He seemed to materialize from the shadows, his unshaven face only partially obscured by the ball cap he wore. He seemed tall, and long dark hair brushed his collar as he took another step into the alley.
The tall blond muttered something in Romanian to his buddy that Maggie didn't quite catch, and didn't really want to. A moment later, she could see the smaller blond ambling toward the dark stranger at the end of the alley. "He won't save you," the tall blond growled, regaining her attention. The apple had been mostly wiped away, but bits still smeared the front of his shirt. His hand tightened on her throat as he leaned close. "When Petre is done with your 'savior', we will have a party." He slid his tongue over her cheek to dip wetly into her ear.
"Not much in the partying mood, thanks," she muttered, knowing she should just shut up but couldn't seem to stop herself. He stank of apple, and she fought the urge to throw up. He smiled and shoved her hard against the wall again. Her head bounced on the brick, and her vision swam. She could hear punches and grunting from the mouth of the alley as the darkness closed in. I'm sorry, she wanted to say to her would be savior, but for what she wasn't entirely sure. The tall blond let her go, and she slumped down the brick wall, losing herself to the darkness.
Bucky's POV
He'd seen her at the stalls, picking out the fruit. He could see how skittish she was, glancing around almost in spite of herself. He had seen them watching her, heads bent together in conversation as they glanced over at her. She left the stalls, and he watched the pair follow after. He frowned, looking away. It wasn't his problem. He had his own problems. He didn't need to add this to them.
"Damnit," he growled and followed.
He lost sight of them once, but caught up as the two men rounded the corner of the alley. He stopped and shook his head, wondering who was more foolish: the woman trying to evade her pursuers or himself. Of all people, he had no business playing the hero.
"S..stay back!"
He could hear the fear in her voice. He'd heard it often
enough from his missions. He rounded the corner of the alley and stopped short,
watching the confrontation at the end of the alley.
"Well, you know what they say," he heard her
say with her hand in the bag, "an apple a day keeps the assholes
away."
Please have a gun in the bag, he thought.
She pulled out what looked like an apple, threw it, and
hit the tall blond square in the face. He smiled in spite of himself. She had
spunk, he'd give her that. His smile faded as he watched her pay for the throw,
being slammed against the wall.
He
stepped forward. "Let. Her. Go."
He saw her turn to look at him, her dark eyes meeting
his. He saw the fear in those eyes flicker to something else - hope? - before
she turned again to the man holding her. The two men shared a whispered
conversation, and the smaller of the two came at him a moment later. He had
time to see the taller of the two lean closer to her, swipe his tongue from her
jaw and up her cheek.
A low growl escaped him. Some long buried morality rose
up about defenseless women and bullies. The thought wasn't clear but one word
ran through the jumble of his mind: protect.
He made short work of the one man. He didn't kill him,
even though it would have been painfully easy to do so. A few quick body blows
from his right with one final uppercut that snapped the man's teeth together
with a crunch. He shoved the smaller man to the side as he fell, already
forgotten as he made his way to the pair at the end of the alley. He quickened
his pace, but didn't make it there in time to catch her before she slid down
the wall, a trail of blood marking her descent down the wall. He growled, the
sound rumbling from his chest as everything faded but the man in front of him. My mission.
Without thought, his left hand shot out, grabbing the
tall man at the throat as he'd rushed forward. The metal whirred as his hand
tightened as he lifted him off his feet. The tall blond's hands scrabbled
against the hand holding him in place while he tried to kick out. Hand still on
the man's throat, he rushed forward, slamming him hard against brick next to
where she slumped. There was an audible crack, and the blond's blue eyes rolled
back in his head as blood blossomed on the red brick.
The combination of colors seemed to snap him out of the
killing rage. Blood. Brick. He dropped the man, staggered back a step. That's
when he saw her and remembered. Protect.
That he could do. Already had done.
He bent, moving her slightly to examine the wound on the
back of her head. She moaned softly but didn't wake. He sighed. In for a penny, in for a pound. He
wasn't sure where the phrase came from, but it seemed to fit as he slid his
hands under her. He lifted her into his arms, cradled her gently against him as
he rose, and headed back down the alley.