"Shit."

She tripped and stumbled through the woods, heart and mind both racing.
She clutched the briefcase, holding on to it for dear life.

He glanced back at the body of the man he had left lying on the shore. His memories were still hazy and unclear, out of his reach.

..but he knew this man. He wasn't quite sure how. But the man's last words before falling had hit him hard. That was why he dove into the water after him.

He wasn't ready to face the man yet, though. He needed to figure out who he was, first. The man had insisted on calling him Bucky.

Who the hell is Bucky? Do I have a name?

His head throbbed as he tried to process everything that had just happened. He trudged through the woods, not quite sure where he was headed. Strange and confusing pieces of memories were buzzing around in his head. Painful recent images also began to appear. Images where he was strapped down in a lab chair, biting down as pain coursed through his mind and body.

Frustration overwhelmed him as he tried to understand what he was seeing and what had happened to him. The most he could decipher was that he could trust no one at this point.

"Shoot her. We just need the briefcase."

His pace slowed down as he heard voices up ahead. He gripped the gun holstered at his waist as he slowly inched forward. Five figures came into view.

Four men were standing in a circle around a young woman who was lying on the ground, hands wrapped around a briefcase.

"I will pull the pin from the grenade that's inside of this briefcase and kill all of us before giving you S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files."

"If you so much as move a muscle to reach for the grenade, you're dead. Hand over the briefcase, doll, so we can get this over with and your death can be quick."

Bucky listened quietly as the scene played out before him. The men were members of HYDRA that had escaped the destruction at the S.H.I.E.L.D. base. The woman on the ground must have been real member of S.H.I.E.L.D., a member that had escaped the blasts with very precious cargo.

As Bucky stepped forward, one of the men turned to look at him. They locked eyes and a sick smile spread across the man's face.

"Winter Soldier, I am glad to see you are still in one piece. HYDRA is retreating in order to regroup. This woman here holds very precious information that a few rebellious S.H.I.E.L.D. members stole from HYDRA's encrypted files within the database before the building collapsed. She must be eliminated."

Bucky looked down at the woman. Despite the confidence that he had heard in her voice, terror was hidden in her eyes. Her knuckles were white and her hands shook slightly.

"I'm sorry to say that helping HYDRA is no longer in my agenda."

The men exchanged confused, nervous glances. One of them reached for a gun, but Bucky swiftly knocked the man out with the strength from his cybernetic arm. Another man dove for the woman. Bucky tore the man away from her and slammed him against a large tree trunk. The other two took off running in opposite directions. Bucky drew both the guns he was carrying and shot them in the directions of the men, hitting both targets.

All of the color drained from her face as she watched the scene play out before her.

She didn't have to worry about the HYDRA agents any longer, but the Winter Soldier was even more of a threat. She had glanced over his files as her and a few other co-workers stole HYDRA's hidden secrets from the database.

He was dangerous. He was skilled.

He was brainwashed and unstable.

The Winter Soldier was a man, turned into a mindless weapon.

He was kept in a lab with doctors that sedated him and wiped his mind clean after every assassination mission.

He turned to face her. Her stomach twisted into knots of fear. He had killed HYDRA members. Members of the agency that owned and controlled him. He must have truly snapped, and she was his next victim.

He reached down and she closed her eyes tightly, waiting to feel his hand around her throat.

But instead, he grabbed her arm tightly and roughly pulled her to her feet.

"Who are you?"

He demanded. She stuttered, too surprised that he hadn't immediately killed her.

"A-a-agent Fortona."

"Well, Agent Fortona, you're coming with me. You're going to take me to a safe location, and you're going to show me what's in that briefcase. Because I have a feeling there's information about me."

She stared at him with wide eyes. He impatiently grabbed her arm again and began to drag her down a path.

Seconds later, he collapsed to his knees, holding his head and groaning.

Bucky clutched his head as more pieces of memories flooded his mind. He felt pain and confusion.

The world around him began to spin and dim.

He was vaguely aware of the woman kneeling down beside him.

Everything went black . . .

2016 update: I still check this regularly, so even though this story has been complete for a while, I still REALLY appreciate reviews :) They inspire my future work.