6851/Killing can be Cathartic

Killing can be Cathartic
Date of Scene:	08 July 2021
Location:	Vermont Mountains.
Synopsis:	Another Red Shirt down, but the team successfully gathered information on Project RABID, now what do they do about it?
Cast of Characters:	James Barnes, Cael Becker, Meggan Puceanu, Sam Wilson, Steve Rogers

---

James Barnes has posed:
    If there's one way that Bucky is certainly an asset, it's all the information in that Swiss Cheese brain of his. That's *seventy years* of information. Some is pulled up as if it happened yesterday, some is disjointed fragments and some is buried completely until something brings it forward.

    This time, it was a nightmare that pulled the intel up to the surface. Not a horrible one that had him strangling his roomie in his sleep, just one that had him waking with a scream building in his chest and his heart pounding.

    Vermont.

    Steve, Sam, I gotta know if it's still there.

    Of course you do, Bucky!

    We should tag Cael, we need all the people we can trust that we can get!

    And here everyone is, on a Quinjet, about to land in Vermont. It's been established that Bucky is, in fact, an amazing artist and he's drawn out a map, the best as he can remember, of the area and a little 'blueprint' of the compound itself.

    He's more and more agitated the closer they get. Between that and the nightmare, it's not hard to decipher that this place might hold some bad memories, really bad memories for him.

    His right hand is actually a little shaky when he tries to point to the map, so he switches to the left. There's a sort of valley between two tall ass mountains that he's pointing too. "Here, there's only two ways in. One is here, on a cliff, the other is down here... it's where they bring in supplies." All of it, from the drawings, is inside the mountains.

Cael Becker has posed:
    After some obligatory snark about comms (and after making sure her comm is in place and working) Cael has switched over to Game Face, listening intently to Bucky's briefing about the facility. She flahes a few worried glances at his features; there's a part of her that wishes she had the authority to bench the guy. When you have this much history and trauma about a thing? You should be running headlong into it.
    Obviously that's not an option, though, so she keeps her reservations to herself. "I'd have a hard time getting in from up on the cliff - unless Wilson flies me in, but that would severely limit his manuverability. So what's our plan, here?" She looks at Cap and Sam, a questioning look on her features as they try to sort the best avenue of attack.

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
Though not quite a local boy, Agent Katz probably got this assignment on the basis of excellent piloting skills and a misspent youth on the icy Beast of the East and other lesser Vermont slopes. As it is, the congenial fellow -- Dominic -- maneuvers the Quinjet through the rough terrain sculpted from ancient granite and overlaid in green woods with relative ease. Terrain maps require both hands on the yoke and reflexive adjustments on the fly, which probably contributes to the minimal conversation from him at best.

Never mind that his passengers include a living legend and other assorted heroes of no little renown. With his headset on and eyes fixed on scanning the landscape unfolded in rumpled variation beneath them, Dominic has enough on his mind.

While they make their decision on whether or not to approach the cliff or go lower, he's dealing with staying low profile and working against the updrafts that would knock even a fine piece of equipment like a Quinjet off course in the right circumstances. Unfortunately that's an awful lot of circumstances.

Sam Wilson has posed:
    Any day where Sam is not the aforementioned roomie getting strangled in his sleep is a good one in his book. Actually, today does look like it's a good day for Sam. Maybe because he's finally caught up on a massive amount of sleep debt he's been carrying around lately. Maybe it's something else. Either way, his expression is focused and unharried as he stands near the back of the quinjet, running through his standard pre-flight checklist.

    The blueprint Bucky had drafted is already digitized and displayed on his HUD like a minimap in a video game, though he pushes his goggles up onto his forehead for a few more minutes without red-tinted vision before things kick off.

    "Not necessarily, but generally I only run those kinds of maneuvers with someone I've practiced them with," Sam says, and though that probably does mean most of the quinjet's occupants, sadly it does not include Cael.

    He crosses his arms over his chest. For a moment he looks like he's going to add something on to what he just said, his expression shifting into something tense, he looks over at Bucky and then his mouth snaps shut. Instead he heads up to the cockpit area to sneak a peek at the terrain scans coming through the main console, giving a quick nod of acknowledgment to their pilot of the evening.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve examines the artwork, then leans around to look out the Quinjet window. He squints, his fantastic vision able to pick up details that would be a blur to most others.

He gives Cael a nod of approval; she's thinking along the same lines he is. "I'm thinking the cliff approach is the toughest but probably the least defended," Steve agrees. "It's most likely their escape hatch. Probably lightly guarded, or just automated sentries. The approach from the northwest will let us use the mountain to blind any radar, and we'll have the sun at our backs."

Steve hesitates, thinking.

"Sam," he says, looking to the aviator. "You think you can do a recon pass with Redwing, look for defenses? It's a bit tight in there for a fast flyby with wings," he points out with a professional detachment. "Some of these old mountain forests can be a lot denser than they look. It might be worth landing higher up the mountain and hiking on on foot; it'll make a lot of noise if we bring the Quinjet overhead, and parachuting into a treeline is a bad idea all around."

He looks at Bucky. "And Buck... what should we be expecting in terms of defenses and personnel?"

James Barnes has posed:
    "If you come down from here," Bucky points to the actual top of a damned mountain. "There are stairs carved going around and down. They're a little treacherous though."

    *BLIP* There's that thousand yard stare. A. B. or C. Is he gonna just blank out, blip out and go batshit and kill everyone or... is he just trying to *remember*

    Considering the nature of this place and his history with it? It's hard to say.

    Finally, a few dozen heartbeats later, he says, "24718297 up, right, down, 321..." It's soooo soft it might even go unheard by most but Steve, "Unless it's changed."

    Will he remember that in five minutes? Who knows! "Around two dozen armed at any given time, maybe? Doctors... most of them armed too, but not very skilled. I dunno, they always seemed to have... excess guards anywhere I was..." *BLIP* "... a lot, I... a lot. But it's been four years, maybe longer since I've been here."

    He moves his finger along the side of the mountain range to the other side and taps. "Hidden turrets here and here, we can't get close by air."

    He *keeps* doing that thing, that STARE... it's creepy. But so far... it seems to just be him looking into the shadows of his own mind for details. "If we land as close as we can and wait until nightfall, we can get in through the service door at the base, if we do it quiet."

    The fingers of his left hand start tapping rhythmically against his thumb, one at a time. Click, click... "We could just blow it all to hell, but there's... information in there."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Yeah, no aileron rolls while I'm hitching a ride on your wings," Cael mutters quietly under her breath. Look, she's got a dare devil streak in her - but some things are just crazy.
    Her gaze goes to Bucky next as the man seems to go blank, and she simply waits - flicking a few glances at Sam and Cap. Whenever Barnes acts strange, she starts taking cues from the other boys. Honestly, it seems the most sensible way to go. She spends the time silently studying the map - trying to commit every detail to memory that she can. "Going in at night is generally a better idea. They'll be less alert, and more vulnerable. And if we're lucky - there'll be fewer targets on base."

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
Sam's recognition gets a quick nod from Dominic. "Not liking the vertical ascent here," he points quietly. "That gives you a lot of exposure. A hundred feet of granite won't give much for handholds if it comes down to it. I'll keep a full spec sweep up in case they have any sort of recon going on," he says without bravado or need to be anything other than competent. "See there?" A magnification on the narrow, scrawled contour lines shows the thinnest of ledges among the scraggly forest at higher elevation. "Might be worth using. Gives you some cover."

Notches and gaps in the mountains are rare enough as it is, and lots of rough outcrops detailed in sharp falls are enough to give him concern. He adjusts course a little, holding the bird steady, the better to trace an arc through the valley that turns with a neater tune. No point in setting off any listening posts, even if those engines can be terribly quiet, especially in a mode not bent for speed and more for stealth.

Bucky's long stares are mercifully turned somewhere else. It somehow makes the ride that much easier, as if a separate gravity well pushes outward instead of forward and eats everything in its path. He nods to Steve's suggestions and makes a few course corrections, drawing up an alternate path for Cael to survey as it's overlaid in a softer blue shade.

Sam Wilson has posed:
    At mention of his metal bird son's name, Sam's mouth twitches into a grimace and then flattens again, just as fast. "I can try," he says, but his expression doesn't inspire confidence.

    One tap at the touch screen on his gauntlet has Redwing deploying from its dock in the Falcon wingpack, but unlike when it usually powers up outside of stealth mode, it doesn't come online with the customary chipper jingle it plays in greeting (to the tune of "You're my dad! Boogie woogie woogie!"). It does at least hover in midair, which... hey, that's something.

    Sam pulls his goggles down over his eyes and then he's silent for a long while, diagnostic results scrolling across his HUD.

    If Cael needs any reassurances about Bucky, there's a pointed lack of concerned looks being shot his way from Sam. Maybe Sam's just in game mode, but even then that usually doesn't impact his ability to maintain a general awarenss of where everyone on the team is at, mentally. Plus he's basically immune to Bucky's staring at this point.

    "I'll have to pilot him manually, but yeah, we can run a few recon sweeps. He's still a little glitchy from an EMP hit he took on a previous mission."

    He leans in to see where Agent Katz indicates. "Might be useful for the ground crew," Sam says, meaning literally everyone else on the quinjet right now, so he gestures at it to make sure Cap is aware of the ridge's location.

Steve Rogers has posed:
"Mission is elimination of hostile personnel, recovery of information," Steve recites. He nods at Bucky, articulating some of the chaos of thoughts flickering in Bucky's brain.

"All right. Let's do this. Hope everyone's got walking boots on."

The Quinjet sweeps along a path out of earshot of the listening posts, and under Dominic's deft touch it lands at an outcropping that's just big enough for the vehicle to park safely. Once Steve dismounts and ensures the outcropping won't collapse, he beckons the others to grab weapons, ammo, and gear, and move out as a unit. He's wearing his more subdued attire again; the blues a dark cyan and the whites a dusky grey. Even the red looks shaded, and he's applied some matte to his shield to dull the reflective shine.

Steve takes the vanguard position, ahead of Sam, Cael, and Dominic. Bucky's by far the faster and more stealthy in this kind of backcountry; if anyone spots the group, it'll be Steve they see first-- and that will mean Bucky will get them before any of them get got.

It's just passing twilight when they reach the last hundred yards towards the cliffside, and Steve turns to silently signal at the others to get into concealment. Handsigns pump at Sam-- asking for one last reconnaissance sweep of the cliff before they advance.

James Barnes has posed:
    "We just can't kill that thing," Bucky mutters under his breath when Sam pulls out Redwing. It's a good sign, it's a joke... Sam would know it's a joke, so would Steve. If Bucky is wisecracking, even a little bit, that's a good sign these days.

    "You okay?" it's asked quietly of Steve. It's his turn to do the side-eyeing that's generally shot in his direction from others. "Feelin' up to this?" Odd question to ask of Captain America.

    Of course, Bucky is armed to the teeth. Never it be said that he comes to the party empty handed. But it's the longer range rifle on his back he'll be using for the first part of this. Eye contact with Steve, a little nod toward a ridge about halfway to their destination and five fingers splayed. 'Gimmee Five... to get himself positioned so that he can cover the teams approach from the shadows, waiting to cut down anything that threatens them like a specter in the dark, the boogeyman that was, at least partially, created right there in that mountain compound. He starts off as soon as he's sure Steve's on board. He is fast and he is *silent*.

    The pass with Redwing will reveal a picnic table in front of the large, garage size access door at the foot of the compound. Three men sit around it playing cards, drinking, laughing, they have no clue, not yet anyway. The large door is open behind them.

    When he gets into position, Bucky whispers through the comms <<Got'm on your go.>> those men outside.

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael ensures she's well provisioned from SHIELD's supplies - helping herself to their body armor and weapons. Some of the items she turns over curiously in her hands, unfamiliar with the tech - only to have it plucked out of her fingers by Bucky. "Fine, fine," she mutters good humoredly, sticking to things she //can// identify.
    She has so many God damned questions, though.
    Once she's ready, she piles out of the quinjet with the others, breathing the clean air in deeply, and starting the long walk in silence. It's actually rather pleasant - if you don't think about the death and the screaming that would probably happen at the end of their little stroll.
    She remains quiet and attentive as they walk - using handsignals rather than speech whenever possible, wary that there might be some sort of listening posts out in the woods to try to prevent just such an incursion. As they get closer, she gives her weapons one more look-over - making sure she knows where all her ammo is stored for quick reloads. Alright. She was as ready as she could be.

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
Dominic has to keep his eyes on the HUD and plethora of different screens around him demanding attention. Windspeed and angle foremost, speed and altitude measured by various gauges digitized for ease of use? It's all incredibly absorbing.

Doesn't stop him from admiring Redwing. Aww, cool, gadget time! "Heh." Catching himself mid-comment, he turns back to watching where a valley turns into a blind box canyon eroded by time, the faint paths hacked out from the forest leaving a naked trail thin as a hair. Landing on the cliff is practically child's play compared to avoiding patches of turbulence found at low altitude.

He's well-trained at grabbing his gear and moving quietly, focused on a stealthy advance. Hand signs back confirm Steve's orders. A sharp eye kept on the treeline for any signs of movement beyond their own ensure, hopefully, they aren't overwhelmed by an unseen turret or unfriendly face behind a maple coming up behind them. Never know with this lot.

When it's time to hide, so he does, melting into the undergrowth and using the lee of a few gnarled pines to keep him out of line of sight. He thumbs up to Cael in passing, and has her back. Because that's what you do, in this role.

Sam Wilson has posed:
    It's not difficult to slip Redwing out of the cargo bay doors and start in on those sweeps Cap wanted, though the requirement for manual operation means Sam's not really able to do much else beyond stare down at the touch screen on his gauntlet.

    "One day you're gonna be glad Redwing has our backs," Sam tells Bucky, without looking up. "And then I'm gonna make you grovel in front of him for forgiveness."

    Okay, not able to do much else except snark.

    When they've got boots on the ground, Sam stays with the team. He could fly and navigate Redwing around at the same time but one of those two things would be a bare bones effort at most, and right now keeping Redwing hidden as it runs recon is a high priority. Sam guides the drone up towards the cliff entrance for the final sweep.

    Redwing does its thing, running silent as Sam steers it over the terrain and through the brush. <<Three targets 5 meters outside the ground entrance,>> he reports over comms.

    He takes his usual position watching Cap's six, falling into what has become standard operating procedure on these sorts of missions.

Steve Rogers has posed:
"I'm always good, Bucky," Steve says with an insincere scoff. "I'm Captain America." The toss of his head and tone makes it clear that the living legend is making fun of his own legend.

Down the twisting trails they go; as they close up the last distance, Steve waves Cael and Dominic down to hold position.

There's a soft *thud* and a groan that ends in a gurgle. Steve reacts with incredible reflexes; he turns and catches the man falling from the treetops before he makes a loud impact on the ground and gives away their position. Steve immediately twists the man's gunarm up and kneels on his neck until he stops twitching.

"Nice shot, Buck," Steve whispers over the comm 'net. He looks back at Sam to get the Falcon's view on things; Steve nods once when he understands what the enemy threat looks like. Steve angles himself around so he's atop the cliff entrance, and peeps over the edge. He does the math in his head, gauging how far Bucky is and how long a shot from his position would be in flight.

"Buck, take the guy with the red hat when I drop."

Steve gets himself set and drops the ten meters down, shield in hand. He lands hard atop the first goon with a driving knee that crushes the man under him. Confident in Bucky's ability to cover his back, Steve turns his back on the hat-wearing mercenary and drives the third one back with two fast punches, then a sharp blow to the neck with his shield to silence him permanently.

Steve turns towards the cave entrance, shield ready as a defense, and peers into the tunnel beyond. Spotting no more enemies, he gives a low two-tone whistle and beckons the others to rally on his position.

James Barnes has posed:
    <<Whatchata got against red, Cap?>> Bucky whispers over the comm right before... that red cap gains an extra hole ...and some brain matter, but hey... the blood doesn't show up too badly. This is HYDRA, he's obviously shooting to kill. It might be noted that calling Steve 'Cap', it doesn't roll so easily off Buck's tongue, but he's trying.

    Entrance clear, Bucky leaves his nest and... a near impossibly short amount of time later...

    He's walking up behind Sam. Still in stealth mode, his footsteps are nothing, really, even Steve would be hard pressed to hear them. How in the hell does a man with a *metal* arm move that silently when he wants to. "Am I late?" he pipes up, almost right in Sam's ear. He's not being overly quiet. Because well...


    "C'mon, there won't be anyone else down here," rifle tucked back over his shoulder, SMG at the ready, and he's moving on inside through a large room that houses two transport vehicles and a bunch of supply pallets. There's an elevator in the back corner. That's where he's heading.

    The thing about elevators in these kinds of places? They generally don't offer the whole 'look the elevator is on its way down' lights at the top. So, well, no one is really overly prepared when...

    *DING*

Cael Becker has posed:
    This is not Cael's first exposure to violence - whether it was the shit-show during the pit fight, or the many horrible things she's seen while part of organized crime, or trying to stop organized crime. This may, however, be the most overt and merciless use of violence by the 'good guys' she's ever been privy to, and it sets her teeth on edge as she watches Cap stand on a man twitching out his last moments of life, or casually breaking necks with super strength.
    We're the good guys. ...right?
    She keeps her concerns to herself, however. This is not the moment for it. Discord during an op gets you and your team dead. So she follows in silence, entering the vehicle bay, and approaching the elevator. The sound of the 'ding' has her moving on instinct - drawing a bead on the doors and moving towards the side so that they're not all clumped up right in front of the doors. Not that she has much time to move.

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
This is why you let the super soldiers go first under sniper cover. They take care of problems that would make a run-of-the-mill SHIELD agent fall back on the rigorous training of a professional career, and still worry.

Dominic stills when a body drops, but training overcomes reflex to step out with a gun drawn to offer cover from the threats a corpse might give.

God, he hates HYDRA. Then again, who doesn't?

Hastening his way to catch up with the group comes still with the cautious movements of a man expecting to be hunted, and in turn, hunting. Heading into the rocky heart of their enemies' lair again brings trained attention looking around him, forever searching. Even if that's inside a self-contained box. Being in the corner with a gun trained on the doors or the ceiling is a mirror of Cael's actions; apparently they share the same doubt about what happens when those doors open.

Sam Wilson has posed:
    There's not much more Redwing can do, given it--like the Falcon wings--loses a lot of its usefulness in closed spaces. Its exterior sweeps done, Sam brings the drone back in to their position. Within a few seconds, Redwing is unobtrusively aligning itself with its docking port on the wingpack, clicking into place almost silently.

    He looks up to see something tumbling down from a branch above them, though he's half a dozen steps away. Steve's there, though, and Sam spares a glance towards the body as they pass by.

    The wings deploy for the short flight down to the entrance, and then tuck back into the pack right after so that Sam can take up a defensive position as Cael and Dominic make their own descents.

    Sam's gun is still raised when a presence suddenly appears at his shoulder, and it's a good thing his training suppresses the natural instinct to jump. Though his muscles do go rigid for a second. "Man, we gotta put a bell on you," he mutters, shooting a glare that is mostly lacking in heat towards Bucky before they proceed forward.

    His goggles shows an icon tracking their current location on the map; without Redwing fully operational, it's just Sam's own movements superimposed, not the full team's, but he's the only one running a HUD anyway. So Sam knows they're headed for an elevator, and he's braced somewhat for its arrival. When it dings, one of the EXO wings deploys in shield formation over his arm, and he moves to cover whichever of Cael or Dominic is closest.

James Barnes has posed:
    "Or we can get you hearing aids," was quipped back toward Sam before Bucky went inside.


    He stands right there, right in front of those doors. Because this is when, normally, he'd jerk whoever's in front out, snap their neck post haste and duck the fuck out of the way so Cap and Sam and everyone else could take the rest of anyone in there.

    The doors open, a man steps out, two more behind him - one a woman - all in lab coats. Doctors or techs or something.

    ...and Bucky fucking FREEZES. His eyes widen. Was that fear? Does he look *afraid*?

    The man in front looks up and... fucking FREEZES. His eyes widen. Is that fear? Does he look *afraid*. "Zimniy Soldat..." he whispers.

    Sam, he knows this guy, or at least he knows someone that *looks* like this guy but older. The dream, the man that stands in front of Bucky looks like the man from *the dream*, younger, but the same eyes, same hair, same nose, same jawline and the same name on his tag: Volkov.

Steve Rogers has posed:
A gunshot cracks, deafeningly loud in the enclosed space. Volkov screeches in pain and falls back, clutching red pouring from where his left ear was.

Smoke curls from the barrel of Steve's pistol. One handed, a shot of a good ten yards, in under a second, and accurate to within less than an inch.

"Whoops. Was aiming for his face," Steve remarks. The other scientists start to shift, some of them reaching for pockets. "Don't move! Hands! Hands on your head!" he barks-- and when Cap speaks, people /obey/. Especially with such an instantaneous and explicit demonstration of violence at hand. It's a voice that could convince a half-frozen Army Private to charge enemy lines armed with only a rusty bayonet and a half-pack of cigarettes.

The reaction from Bucky earns a glance of concern from Steve-- and when he hears a strangled note of rage from Sam, the Captain infers some things and uplifts his chin at the Falcon to do his thing.

"If I hear any of you so much as -whisper- something that starts with a 'Z', you'll be dead before you hit the ground."

The pistol jerks minutely, pointing to a corner of the room. "Everyone except Volkov. Out of the elevator. Dominic, secure the elevator. Don't let it lock us out. Beck-- the prisoners. Zipties. I'll cover you."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Zipties," Cael repeats immediately - she had angled herself around so her gun was aimed at the three scientists, just over Sam's shoulder as he provided her with cover. She lowers it now, though, slipping it into a holster so she can retrieve the zipties instead. Her expression remains a grim and serious mask - but honestly, she's relieved they hadn't blown the brains out of all three them immediately. "Wilson - you covering Barnes?" she asks simply. She doubts that confirmation is even needed - but it was clear the man needed some sort of back up in this moment - as she approaches the three scientists.
    "Hands behind your backs," she commands cooly, as she gets to work.

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
Volkov is. Was.

Dominic keeps pointing his gun in the event that Volkov or anyone else decides to disobey the man with the plan. It's a little too hectic in their vicinity to trust everyone does exactly what might be in their best interests.

He stays back, nodding slightly to Steve -- just enough for Cap to know he was heard. The elevator duty requires him taking a low stance, ensuring no sudden movements or doors threatening to swing shut on all of them and head down to unknown levels.

Sam Wilson has posed:
    Sam snorts out a breath through his nose. "Nah, I'm good. Maybe some earplugs for your snoring, though."

    They're just roommates. Don't read into it.

    His gun is leveled at the elevator as they approach, over the top edge of his wing. The doors part to reveal the face of the man leading the group of HYDRA scientists, and Sam's brain only has a split second to register why it looks so familiar. Then he's moved on to Bucky, who ahead of him has gone still.

    Now, Cael? Now Sam's concerned.

    She's suddenly without cover as Sam snarls out a "Oh hell no" and then he darts forward. The wing-shield drops so that Sam can swipe it at Bucky, moving him out of the way in what would be a concussing knock-back for most people but probably is just a rough nudge for the super soldier, and then totally disregarding the pistol he's holding, Sam slams his fist into the lead scientist's mouth.

    Down he goes, nearly to his knees before Sam follows up with a kick to the chest that sends him flying backwards into one of the other scientists behind him.

    At his side, Sam flexes his hand. His knuckles hurt, and it's not an insignificant amount of pain. But at least that's one HYDRA operative unable to spit out any Russian words. Hard to talk with a broken jaw.

    He steps aside, out of Cael's way so that she can restrain their captives, out of Dominic's way so he can secure the elevator. It's only then that Sam notices the subtle differences in facial structure (the parts Sam's fist hasn't just shattered, at least). He blinks once, hard, and then looks away, over at Bucky.

    "Yeah," he tells Cael. "I got him." He backs up, putting himself in-between Bucky and the elevator.

James Barnes has posed:
    Cael is just walking toward one of the 'prisoners' when... she just falls to the ground and starts to turn all red in the face. A few seconds later, she's foaming at the mouth, flopping like a fish. The other one, the man that isn't Volkov, he does the same.

    Bucky gets knocked for a loop and it's enough to bang some sense back into him at least. He staggers and steadies himself just in time to see the two scientists fall.

    Volkov, however, can't even snap his teeth together now with enough force to break that little pill, all he can do is whimper on the ground and try to work his broken jaw enough to succeed.

    Flat affect, dead... but that might not be a bad thing here as long as he can snap back later? "It's HYDRA, Steve, there won't be any prisoners." Because HYDRA will make sure there isn't, because they're fucked up, crazy, probably the largest CULT in the world. "His grandfather, his father... him too," he murmurs to Sam. ... Sam got it right, just the wrong generation. But the whole *damned family* had a go at Buck through they years.

    "Lab's one floor up, so's the computer room. I dunno what they might be working on now, but we might as well find out. Computer room, we can probably get locations of other facilities."

    Someone, one of those lab coated sorts, they must have pressed a button? In their pockets, something? Or is there a freakin' cyanide detector in the building? Whatever reason, the alarms start blaring loud enough to split eardrums.

Steve Rogers has posed:
"Damn," Steve exhales. He shakes his head in regret as the scientists off themselves. Sometimes you can scare a cultist into forgetting their obsession... but HYDRA has always been a cut above.

The whooping alarms get his attention. Steve looks up and around, trying to visualize the layout of the facility as Bucky had described it.

"Right. Bucky, you lead. Sam--.... SAM!" Steve raises his voice to get Falcon's attention, and points at Volkor. "Tag him and bag him. We'll take him out of here when we pop smoke. I'm not hauling an enemy asset through contested territory."

"Dominic, hold this position. Cael!" Steve jerks his head at the elevator and marches into it, waiting for everyone to load up. He hits the 'Up' button and settles himself in front of the door, eyes bright with focus and his shield shouldered in readiness for taking whatever hits reveal themselves.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "What- what the fuck?" Cael says eloquently. Is this the first time she's cursed this whole mission? She must be off her game. She stares at the two dying figures for a moment until they go still. What the fuck?
    She takes a deep breath, and lets it out slowly, then moves to restrain Volkov at least. "I have more questions," she says flatly. But she's not asking them now.
    Cap going into the elevator while the sirens blare makes her visibly anxious as she steps in behind him.
    "We got no other options?" she asks. They could stop the elevator - possibly even pump it full of gas. Send it wherever they want... This is a bad, bad, idea.

Sam Wilson has posed:
    Volkov gets a stun shot to the chest for good measure, once Sam notices the tiny muscle twitches in the scientist's jaw.

    It does actually take Steve's voice going up to nearly a yell for Sam to look up. "Yeah," he mutters, and with Cael's help gets Volkov prepped and ready for extraction once they're done with a sweep of the facility.

    He leaves Dominic with instructions to dump some more ICER rounds into Volkov if he so much as breathes funny, and then Sam's in the elevator, wedged into a corner and wincing at the sirens.

    "Redwing can cut through the doors if we need him to," Sam says after a brief toggle into x-ray mode on his goggles. He'd have to control the laser manually, but that just means it won't be a neat opening with perfectly square corners. More like a kid scribbling with crayons, because Sam's got no artistic talent himself.

    Bucky can probably feel the weight of Sam's stare boring into the side of his head. His expression is set into something grim, and he looks again like he's about to say something, but just like before he changes his mind at the last second.

James Barnes has posed:
    Once inside the elevator, Bucky takes up position immediately behind and to Steve's left. "You're in my way Sasquatch, Janet needs to put you on a diet," he quips at his friend... He's mostly joking, but it is a hint to Steve to lower that left shoulder just a little bit so Bucky can line up a shot at anything there over it when the doors open. Hey, he's wisecracking again, so there's that.

    "Computers to the right, end of the hall. Left, lab, second door on the right. Left, end, guard bunker."

    Which, Steve, and probably Sam, would know means that Bucky intends to pop out left when they're clear after the door opens, so he can take out any advancement from the guard bunker.

    When the doors slide open on the first floor, the gunshots are immediate and heavy, bursts from not one, but three SMGs.

    Almost... bored? Bucky returns fire. *PewPew* Two shots, two hits, two DEAD.

    He swings left.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve goes forward, shield up; it doesn't matter how many times they do this dance, everyone *always* shoots right at the shield charging at them. It must be psychological. Between Bucky and Sam, there's enough return fire to take down the guards with little effort.

Steve peeks over his shield, gun up and ready near his temple. "Okay. Bucky, Sam-- go right. Pull the computer files you need." As they pass, he underhands a block of plastique in Sam's direction.

"Becker, you're with me. Let's clear the lab. Meet back at the elevator." Steve checks his watch. "Scream loudly if you get shot."

Cael Becker has posed:
    Oi! Cael returns fire too! She stays behind Cap - letting that vibranium shield of his (and his body) provide her cover as her pistol shoots from over his shoulder. She's just glad that the doors opened, and they didn't get gassed or killed.
    She watches the plastique change hands - ejecting the cartridge from her gun and allowing it to clatter to the floor as she loads a fresh one. "After you, Cap," she confirms. "Got your six." Her gaze scans the hall as they move towards the door to the lab - a grim, determined expression on her features.

Sam Wilson has posed:
    This time around, it's just Sam covering himself with his wing, but between Cap's shield and Bucky's metal arm they're pretty well covered, since Sam goes right. He puts several bullets into center masses even as returning gunfire pings off the metal of his wing, and then the hallway clears.

    Now, Sam isn't the type that takes active joy in things like explosions. It's a little too close to home for him, but his face is set with grim determination when he turns to catch the plastique out of the air, easy as you please. "C'mon," he says to Bucky with a quick jerk of his head thataway, and then he's off, wing-shield up and in play once again.

    <<If it's just a flesh wound, scream quietly,>> he says over comms.

James Barnes has posed:
    Bucky is already spinning left when Steve tells him to go right. He'll correct after... he's helped deal with the dozen or so guards that have come through the door to the bunker at the end of the left hallway.

    The lab - it's unpleasant? In the middle is a table set to be adjusted from laying flat to a ninety degree straight up and down angle. The straps, steel? Maybe something stronger? Cold likely hold Steve tight. The equipment around it looks like it came out of an futuristic torture dungeon. It doesn't take much imagination to imagine someone strapped to that thing and the pain they could be caused. It doesn't take much to imagine that person being Bucky.

    Every doctor, tech, scientist - every single white coat in the room is already dead. But that won't entirely protect their secrets. Files, both paper and computerized, will eventually reveal what they were working on. But only to someone that speaks and reads Russian.

    It's the same in the computer lab, white coats, three, dead. Bucky steps over their dead bodies as if they're nothing more than rubbish and approaches a terminal.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "What the hell even?" Cael breathes at the sight of so many bodies littering the floor of the room. She keeps her gun up and ready in her right hand while she crouches feeling for a pulse on first one, and then a second throat. Still warm, the flesh not yet even pale - in fact, each face is a bright, cherry red. "Why do they do this?" she asks in disbelief. "It's like- fucking Jonestown in here." She stands, turning slowly, her gun lowering little by little, a sick feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. What the fuck.
    Head in the game, Becker.
    "Okay. We gather the files, then?" she asks. "I'll... I'll get them, you cover me," she remarks, and sets to work gathering everything that she can find - her gaze not looking too closely at the faces. One of them is still breathing rapidly and convulsing. The dose in his tooth must have been off somehow, poor bastard.

Sam Wilson has posed:
    Even after all the death Sam has seen, mostly during his time in the military--but not exclusively then--it's still not something he can just ignore.

    But this is HYDRA.

    So yeah, Sam doesn't ignore the corpses in the computer lab; he stares down at them, none of his natural empathy on show here. They're not worth the mental energy.

    "So, right now I can't do much more than ask where the bathroom is in Russian," he's saying as he establishes a connection between the nearest terminal and a partitioned hard drive inside Redwing, and then sets it to start ripping files en masse. It's quarantined from all of Redwing's processing cores and memory, so as long as Sam doesn't try to check any files once the download is complete, any viruses or traps HYDRA may have laid shouldn't affect anything.

    Which is tempting, given that Sam's just said he can't really read Russian, and he's watching as one file after another pops up on the terminal screen as they're transferred over.

James Barnes has posed:
    Bucky? The terminal he stepped up to? Well, he pushes a single button, a screen blinks to life. He has no idea when presses another button and begins to speak if it'll still work or not. "Korzina, troyka, orden, fontan, lampa, zerkalo, semerka. Chetvertyy uroven' dopuska, Zimniy soldat. Zapustite chistuyu ochistku protokola."

    Immediately a voice booms over loudspeakers through the entire building, "Nachata chistka po protokolu, nachalo evakuatsii, desyat' minut do otkaza sistemy."

    <<We got ten minutes! Before this place is toast>>, Bucky issues over the comms. ... a little surprised it worked, to be honest. Hell, even HYDRA can't remember EVERYTHING.

    One everyone has what they want gathered and they go back down, they'll find both Dominic and Volkov dead, one shot to the head. So, they weren't alone? That'll make for a tense trip back, but whoever executed their fellow agent and the HYDRA asset doesn't show themselves.

    The only thing left to do now? Go home, regroup, figure out the files and plan their next move.

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael does the work quickly and methodically. Her expression falls as they find Dominic and arrange for his transport back to the Quinjet. She remains silent on the walk - and even on the ride home, falling into one of the seats and and planting her arms on her legs, her head tilted forward and her gaze directed down at the floor, a deep frown on her features. What the fuck was any of that? //This// is the shit they deal with on a regular basis?
    Fuck.

Sam Wilson has posed:
    Sam's still watching the progress bar climb on his download. His chin jerks up when he hears Bucky speak, and once again levels a stare at the side of his friend's head. Out of all of that the only thing he understands are a couple of numbers and, of course, Winter Soldier.

    The response over the loudspeakers gives him a brief flash of anxiety, but it seems to just be an acknowledgment of whatever code or command Bucky's just given, as far as Sam can puzzle it out. It only takes a minute or two more before he's done, and even with the countdown that Sam has queued up to one side of his HUD, he still plants the explosives where he calculates it'll do the most damage to the computer mainframe. Let it be said that Sam can appreciate a little bit of overkill when he deems it appropriate.

    When they discover Dominic's body, he lets the rest of the team cover him as he goes in to check for vitals. Mostly because it's protocol, even though Sam could have reliably made the call while they were still in the elevator.

    He takes up vigil by the agent's corpse for the flight back and runs through a few more Russian lessons on his phone because it's mostly a thing to do, rather than stare down at the body.

James Barnes has posed:
    There won't be any *walking* back, not at first anyway. It'll be Bucky that takes Dominic's body, or Steve, they're the only ones with enough strength to carry the man and...

    "Run!" Bucky barks once they're outside.

    They'll barely make it out of the 'danger zone' when the entire compound just falls in on itself. There's not really so much an explosion as there is a collapse.

    When the dust settles, then they can walk.

    Without Dominic? Looks like the flying falls to Bucky. Steve crashes, he doesn't fly, Sam - despite his ability to fly his own self - is not a pilot and Cael is still cluless.

    Somewhere along the way home, Bucky starts to say, "Sor..." ry guys. But he cuts himself off and restarts, "That sucked." No punches from Steve tonight for apologizing for HYDRA. It's just a short, hopskip, flight back really. ...but he's quiet the rest of the way.