Chapter Text
At least Stark picked nice hotels for his events.
He’d been in this room for twenty-eight hours now. The event still wouldn’t officially start for another full hour, but he’d wanted to be here early. Conveniently, this entire hotel has been designed around the large atrium in the center of the building. Instead of looking out at the street below, the rooms were designed so that the windows had a view of the atrium.
Particularly convenient for a sniper.
Bucky shifted uncomfortably. He was lying on top of the desk that he’d pushed against the window hours before, staring through the scope of his rifle. His eyes felt itchy and tired, and all of his muscles were twitchy. Admittedly, that was probably the result of the combination of the cocaine and energy drinks he’d been consuming for the last fourteen hours. He’d run out of both by now, which was a mistake on his part. He’d underestimated how quickly he’d burn through both the drugs and the caffeine, but the more he took, the more he needed.
Either way, it was too late to get more now. The only reason he’d made it into this hotel room undetected was because he’d shown up more than a day before. The catering and decorating trucks had already been ferrying things into the kitchens and the main atrium, and it had been easy for Bucky to walk right in with his bag thrown over his shoulder. He’d ducked away from the chaos of the main floor and headed for the stairs, picking a hotel room that he’d assumed would have the best view. The new flimsy electronic locks that hotels used were easy enough to open. Even the deadbolts were no match for the casual strength of his left arm, and he’d long since learned how to break the locks while making sure they looked fine from the outside.
He’d been in the room since then. The actual occupant of the room had shown up ten hours ago, but Bucky had heard him struggling with the broken door lock and knocked him out the moment he’d stepped into the room. The man was now tied up in the bathroom, bound and gagged so tightly that even Bucky could barely hear the sound of him trying to yell. The man was a low-level guest, but he could still be useful later. The minor annoyance of the man’s whines were insignificant compared to that. The man’s laptop was also nicer than the one that Bucky currently had, and Bucky had spent a few hours scouring the internet for the information he needed.
If he’d done it all correctly, and he was pretty sure he had, Tony Stark should be here in less than an hour. According to the press release, the only other Avengers in attendance would be Clint Barton and Natasha Romanov. They were potentially a problem, but Bucky knew this hotel’s layout well. He’d have time to take Stark out and still make it out of the hotel in time. They were good, there was no doubt about that, but he was better. He also had the advantage of being the one doing the killing, rather than trying to prevent it.
The atrium down below was starting to become more crowded. Waiters bearing plates of tiny appetizers were starting to move around the room, darting around the beautifully dressed guests and their entourages. Stark wasn’t here yet, but Bucky could be patient.
Photographers were already snapping photos of the guests as they mingled. The flashes of light were irritating to Bucky’s too-sensitive eyes, but he shrugged it off. Again, a minor annoyance. He’d had worse.
The security stationed around the room was good, but not great. Bucky had chosen this event specifically for this reason. Stark was merely one of the many contributors to this particular charity, meaning he was not allowed to bring his entire security force with him. Bucky had staked out a few events at Stark tower before, and there was no way he’d be able to operate as efficiently as he needed to at an event held there. The security for this event was enough to keep the guests from getting too rowdy or from fans becoming a little too enthusiastic. Maybe even for an amateur assassination attempt.
Bucky was not an amateur, and this was not an attempt.
He didn’t seen Barton and Romanov arrive, but that didn’t surprise him. They were suddenly just… there, blending in with the crowd. They were dressed just as nicely as the other guests, although it didn’t fool Bucky. They’d be almost as armed as he was.
The sudden swell of noise from outside let Bucky know that Stark had arrived. Sure enough, he came through the entrance a moment later. Between the cameras flashing and the dramatic light show he’d set up, it would have been hard to miss his entrance. He had the CEO of Stark Industries on his arm, and she waved and smiled politely.
Bucky frowned. She was standing between him and Stark. Bucky had no doubt that he could hit Stark from this distance, but his hands were shaking from a combination of the drugs, the caffeine, and the lack of sleep. He was confident in his abilities, but he also knew his limits. He wasn’t as good as he normally was, and there were innocent people at stake.
He could wait.
Stark was moving around the room, greeting guests as he went and waving his arms around excessively. He finally found Barton and Romanov, and both he and Potts spoke to them for several minutes. Bucky continued to wait. Stark needed to be –
Bucky scowled, his hands tightening on his rifle. Steve Rogers was suddenly standing next to Barton and Romanov, smiling and talking. His friend Sam Wilson was with him, and they all looked like they were having a nice time.
God fucking damnit.
Rogers was not supposed to be at this event. Bucky had checked, he had specifically made sure that Rogers would not be attending.
Bucky forced himself to take a deep breath and relax his muscles again. Rogers wouldn’t be by Stark’s side the whole night. He’d move on. Bucky would have his chance.
Sure enough, Romanov took Rogers’ hand and pulled him over to the bar. Bucky forced himself to stay forced on Stark, and not to follow Rogers with his scope (just to keep an eye on him, of course).
Stark was on the move again, easily making his way through the crowd with Potts by his side. Bucky followed him as he moved.
They were with another group of guests now, smiling and shaking hands. It looked like more charity benefactors, nothing he –
Bucky’s breath caught in his chest. The man that Tony Stark was currently shaking hands with was Royce Linwood. Linwood was older than he’d been the last time Bucky had seen him, but it was unmistakably him. He’d know him anywhere.
He clearly remembered Linwood watching him with mild interest from the corner of the room as they’d held Bucky down. Linwood had only come to see him because he “wanted to see what he was buying before he paid full price.”
They’d already demonstrated Bucky’s skills with a gun, a rifle, a crossbow. Hand-to-hand combat. Murder, assassination. Everything a potential employer could want.
Apparently, that hadn’t been enough. Linwood had wanted to see how the infamous Winter Soldier would respond to pain.
The technicians working that day had politely informed Linwood that they were not authorized to cause any physical harm to the Asset that would permanently affect his functioning, but they had many other methods at their disposal.
Bucky didn’t know why Linwood wanted him, back then. Didn’t know where he was, or when it was. But he knew enough to know that Linwood wanted him to scream, and so scream he did. Some people wanted him to stay silent while they tortured him, and Bucky could do that too. He held out just long enough to see the interest in Linwood’s eyes start to dim, and then he’d screamed until Linwood had nodded.
He didn’t know what Linwood’s mission had ended up being. He remembered walking back into base covered in blood, blood that wasn’t his own. Linwood had been pleased with the task, and he’d used Bucky twice since then.
He never would again.
Bucky forced himself to take another deep breath. Linwood was not the target. Linwood was on the list, but much further down than Stark. Taking out Linwood would compromise the plan, and the chances of getting Stark as well as Linwood dropped significantly. Bucky couldn’t risk that.
But still.
He hated Linwood.
He remembered meeting Linwood’s eyes, even as the electricity raced across his body and his muscles contracted and spasmed. He’d memorized every inch of Linwood’s face, the cruel lines of his mouth and eyes.
Bucky blinked. Stark was waving someone over as Potts and Linwood chatted happily. Bucky forced himself to keep Stark in his sights, not Linwood.
Rogers was making his way through the crowd now. Stark placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him over to stand next to Potts. He was clearly introducing him to Linwood.
Bucky’s muscles tensed again, and he could feel his heart rate starting to spike. His thoughts grew louder, and his vision became tinged with red.
Rogers smiled politely and held out his hand. Linwood took it, smiling. He didn’t deserve to shake Rogers’ hand, he didn’t deserve to be in his presence, he didn’t deserve anything –
Bucky pulled the trigger.