âItâs not my faultâ, Ella growls in response to Buckyâs muttered words, because she has heard them, but lets him turn her around towards the exit. Her heart is hammering in her chest, but not from running. Being among normal humans has been a hard trial for her in the past months and she canât say that itâs always been fun, but the last thing Ella ever wants is to be taken back to her old life. She feels the urge to hold onto Buckyâs hand and beg him to save her, but that would be silly and uncalled for. Hydra has given her every tool to save herself, if need be, so there is really no sense in being scared of anything here. She still is, though.
Her arm lifts to wipe over her still dripping nose and she tries to hide it as they leave the exhibition, even though she steals a glance at the pictures as they head out. Sheâd have liked to see all of his, so maybe Bucky will take her back after they defeat the agents. Her hands slip into the sleeves of her hoodie, so that she can keep a firm grip on her knife without showing it and she quietly falls in step with Bucky, head lowered so that no one sees her bloody nose, because it still hasnât stopped. It will heal soon, the crushed bones are already mending themselves back together, but until then sheâll look a little worse for wear.
There is no uproar in the main hall, so she assumes that the agents have hidden the corpse of their comrade, so that no visitors spy the incident. Ella has never thought much about civilians in her life, but she tries her best to see things the way her foster father does, accepting that all of this should happen outdoors. The agents are undoubtedly armed with far worse than knives, so leaving the premises is a good idea.
They make it outside without anyone stopping them and stand in the middle of a busy sidewalk and she feels herself reaching for Bucky to cling to him. âPlease donât let them take meâ, she whispers, knowing his ears are almost as good as hers and will hear her, regardless of the city noise around them. Bucky has seen her angry, defiant, puzzled, upset and annoyed, but he has never seen her TERRIFIED. Fear was something the Pandora children were not supposed to feel and Ella remembers being beaten every time she was scared of something, until she could control it. Right now she feels incapable of swallowing it down. The same van they stopped on the highway is parked across from them on the other side of the street and the doors open almost lazily, as three more agents climb out, weapons barely hidden underneath their jackets. âDo we keep moving?â
           He doesn't have to do anything: The old Winter Soldier instincts come online automatically, and when they leave the museum to first go back to the main hall and then outside, Bucky casually looks around as if peering at all the signs and boards while in truth he's checking his surroundings for anyone that might be following them. Two men are looking suspicious. One is wearing a fucking Yankees baseball cap, the other aviator sunglasses. Bucky clenches his jaw and steers Ella to the main entrance and out to the busy sidewalk.Â
            There, he subtly fishes out his phone, hoping that Sam won't think he's an over-cautious idiot for requesting backup again so soon after calling for help because of nothing. He types out a quick message, using Ella to shield his phone because he fears those goons will attack the moment they realize he's calling for backup. Thus, he needs a second until he realizes that his foster daughter has spoken up, and even longer to understand she's sounding terrified.
            "I won't," he promises, squeezing her hand while his heart breaks. He feels sick to the stomach. He swore himself that she never needed to feel like this again. "Do you hear me? I won't. I'll keep you safe, Ella. We'll get through this, I promise." He knows he shouldn't make promises like that because it's far too easy to break them without wanting to. One perfect bullet and his body will hit the ground dead, and nobody will stand between her and Hydra anymore. Steve would do the right thing, Bucky knows that. He'd do everything in his power to free Ella. And that's the comfort he needs to guide her down the sidewalk again, eyes locked on the van and the men exiting it. "Yes. We need to find a place with fewer civilians. Preferably cramped, so it doesn't matter that we're outnumbered. Keep your eyes open for an alley, anything like that. You still got your knife? Good."