Lost + Found [Bucky Barnes] ✓

Chapter 27

For my first trip to Athens, I've got to say...I'm not liking it very much. I wish I could let myself get lost in the history of the city - the ruins of such a beautiful ancient civilization evident all around me - but all I can think about is the clock ticking down to 1PM on Thursday.

It's just past noon now, and we're in the car headed toward Monastiraki Square. T'Challa has been monitoring the vicinity for the past few hours, while Steve and Bucky walk me through the plan again.

T'Challa's going to be our eyes in the sky, as Steve put it, watching the two exits he's been assigned from the roof of a building surrounding the square. Steve assigned himself the largest exit - where the road runs alongside a wide opening into the square and splits into multiple exits - while Bucky will be on foot near the Monastiraki Metro Station. I'm going to wait for Artemis in the middle of the Square until 1PM, at which point - I'm assuming - they'll try to take me.

It's pretty straightforward, really, so I tune out Steve as he repeats it to me for the seventh time. Get Artemis, avoid capture and/or death, get out. What's left to understand?

What I'm worried about is the holes in the plan. What if they don't bring Artemis? What if it's an ambush? What if...

"Chloe," Bucky's voice draws me out of my thoughts. "It's time."

I stare at him, forgetting to breathe for a moment, until he squeezes my shoulder reassuringly.

His face softens, "It's going to be fine. Trust me."

"Okay," I nod and take a deep breath. "Okay."

Steve tells me good luck as I open the door to exit the car, and Bucky's eyes are locked onto my face until I shut the door between us. Exhaling slowly, I start walking down the street. They dropped me off at the corner of Ερμού across the street from an Indian restaurant, and I glance over my shoulder to see Steve park the car behind me. Bucky's eyes meet mine briefly before he turns away, disappearing quickly down the street while Steve trails behind me. I've got a quarter of a mile to walk, five minutes, before I arrive in Monastiraki Square, and they want to make sure I'm not ambushed on the way to the meeting place.

Soon enough, I turn into the square and my breathing catches in my chest. It's absolutely beautiful here. The sun is shining brightly, not a cloud in the sky, and I can see the Acropolis overlooking the city in the near distance. There are people everywhere, talking and laughing, and it's almost easy to forget why I'm here in the first place.

I walk by a gelato shop followed immediately by Yiaourtaki, a brightly colored shop selling fresh and frozen yogurt along with heaps of fruit, and I force myself to smile. Artemis would love it here. Gelato and frozen yogurt practically side-by-side. There's a break in traffic ahead of me, so I jog across the street and cut between the waiting taxi cabs to step into the Square.

I don't see her anywhere. Not yet. Pulling out my phone, I glance at the screen - 12.50PM. Ten minutes to go. There's a large structure jutting out of the square to my right, some kind of modern art display, and I pass it on my way to a low, flat step covered in glass panels and graffiti that marks a skylight into the Metro below. A woman is sitting on it a few feet away from me, chatting happily on her cell phone, and all around me people are bustling about the day. Across the square, a man is trying on sunglasses from a street vendor while his friend laughs at him.

They certainly picked the perfect time for this exchange. It's busy enough in the Square that it's difficult for me to keep tabs on everything that's going on around me, which means it's going to be that much harder for Bucky, Steve, and T'Challa to keep an eye on me. They didn't give me an earpiece given the fact that I've never worn one before, and they were afraid it would tip Artemis' captors off that I'm not alone.

So here I am, in the middle of Athens, feeling very alone.

A fresh wave of people step out of the Metro station, some of them rushing to lunches and meetings while others dawdle - probably tourists - throughout the Square. My hands are tightly clenched by my sides, and I force myself to exhale slowly as I remind myself that - even though I can't see them - Bucky, Steve, and T'Challa are watching me. Bucky is watching me. He won't let anything happen to me.

"Hello, Chloe," a man's voice draws my attention to the right, and I snap my head in that direction to see a tall, blonde man standing next to me.

He's impeccably dressed in a designer suit, the quality evident by the fact that it's perfectly tailored to his muscular frame, and he smiles at me. My heart leaps in my throat at the sight of his dark brown eyes, eyes that watch my every move with expert precision. I don't recognize this man, and he certainly doesn't look like Hydra, but I know that it's him. Artemis, however, is nowhere to be found.

"Where's my sister?" I croak, willing myself to stay calm.

The man laughs, "You know, I've been looking forward to meeting you, Chloe. We've been watching you for a long time."

"Where is Artemis?" I repeat, praying that Bucky and the rest of the team is watching this man closely.

A shiver runs down my spine as he smiles again, "She'll be here soon."

"Who are you?" I ask him. "What do you want with me?"

He looks down at his watch, lifting the sleeve of his jacket ever so slightly to peer down at the glimmering face of the pristine Omega watch, before looking back up at me. Tucking his hands in his pockets, he smiles again.

"My name is Magnus," he tells me. "And I'm not here for you."