She couldn't see him.

Panic started seeping into her chest like ice, freezing her throat and threatening to paralyze her. She stood on her tiptoes and searched above the sea of heads that surrounded her, desperate to see a glimpse of him. The faded ball cap that they had stolen (borrowed) a few hours earlier finally caught her eye and she threaded her way through the crowd to get to him.

His fists were clenched painfully tight as he stared, slack jawed at the memorial wall in front of him. A stenciled version of himself stared back. The prerecorded voice above him was telling a story – his story.

"Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes was the only member of the Howling Commandos to give his life to the service."

Of course. He had fallen, he remembered that much. He had been taken and turned into a weapon; HYDRA would have wanted to keep him a secret. His jaw closed and clenched, his mind churning. He wanted to destroy it, to destroy everything. HYDRA had taken his life from him, and he wanted it back.

A small presence appeared next to him. He knew it was her even before he glanced to the side to confirm his suspicion. Her lips were pressed into a thin line and he could feel her trembling as she read the plaque.

She had been there many times before. The grand opening, the one year anniversary special banquet, casual visits. Somehow it took on a different light now that she knew what she did. HYDRA was no longer the work of a dictator, an organization that could be left behind with the war. Bucky Barnes was not Steve's long lost friend or a face of the Howling Commandos, he was flesh and blood (and vibranium), standing next to her. She reached for his hand.

Her small fingers intertwined with his larger ones. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, turning away from his memorial. Her large, mossy eyes looked up at him expectantly.

"Let's get out of here," he said, his voice hoarser than usual.

Elle nodded in agreement, allowing him to lead her through the throng of visitors to the exhibit towards the exit. They stepped through the people pushing to get a closer look at the replica costumes of the Howling Commandos and she started towards the hall that they had entered through when her hand was tugged backwards sharply.

She turned back to James, confused at the dangerous glint in his eye. He maneuvered her closer to his side by their linked hands and started leading her the opposite way. She gripped his hand tightly as they wound through the crowd they had just escaped, increasing the length of her strides in an effort to keep up with his pace.

"James! Slow down!" she hissed, quickening her pace to almost a jog as his legs moved increasingly faster.

He did not respond, turning a corner to exit the exhibit and pulling her behind him as he entered a different room. James pulled her into his chest as he pressed himself against a wall.

"What's going on?" she asked, her annoyance turning into fear as she saw the caged expression he wore. James just shook his head, silencing her as he hesitantly glanced around the corner.

"There was a man in a blue rain jacket. He was consistently 10 feet behind us, never more or less. He never read the descriptions on the exhibits, just waited until you or I moved on. The security guard at the exit was missing a star on the shoulder that the rest had. When we turned around, there was another man in a red baseball hat at the entrance that was when we first came in. We're being watched."

Elle's heart was beating hard in her chest, and not just because of the running. She exhaled shakily, glancing around the exhibit at the sparkling stones on display. An elderly couple was perusing the various chunks of precious stones, sparing her and James an awkward glance every now and then. After a moment or two had dragged on, he gently tugged on her wrist to signal that they needed to move. He adjusted the baseball cap he had been wearing and Elle pulled the hood of her jacket over her braided curls. They had made it onto the first step of the stairs leading down into the lobby when a shout caused Elle to whip around. The man with the red baseball cap was speaking rapidly in a low tone as he started towards them. Elle started to move down the steps quickly, struggling to keep up with James while simultaneously not falling. They broke into a jog when they reached the bottom, though their pace quickened soon after seeing two men begin running towards them.

James vaulted over the exit kiosk before turning and lifting Elle over it by her waist. They had made it to the front door when the first bullet whizzed past her, shattering the glass of the automatic door. She ducked instinctively at the sound. There were several cries of fright from passerby, but the two continued running. Another bullet clanked off of a parking meter as they ran past and Elle willed her legs to pump faster.

James turned sharply down an alleyway, tugging Elle along with him. The side door to one of the buildings they were in between was open as well as the back of a delivery truck. The owner of the shop was speaking to the driver, going over a sheet of paper that he was holding. James helped Elle into the back before climbing in after her. She curled up behind a box that was taller than her and he flattened himself next to her.

"Take care and have a good one," a deep voice said before the door slammed close, engulfing them in darkness.

Elle let out a whimper at the sudden noise and felt her small hand be covered by a larger, rough one. She gave it a gentle squeeze before leaning her head back as the rumble of the truck engine fired up and there was a jolt as they began moving backwards. Her shoulder was throbbing from running and there was a sensation of something wet and warm trickling down her arm. A particularly rough bump caused her to cry out in pain, her hand going to clamp over her mouth a second too late.

"I'm going to get you help as soon as I can, I promise," James's voice said from somewhere beside her. She could only nod, though he couldn't see it in the darkness.

She was currently more concerned about them getting out alive than she was about her own shoulder.

Detective Raymond Tounse had had one hell of a morning. A stack of paperwork at least three inches tall had fallen into his lap this morning, the captain wanting the data from this month's arrests in as soon as possible. He'd already rounded up three suspects for his most recent case, questioned two other witnesses, and received two threats to call his supervisor, one to get his badge revoked, and some very choice words from a rather belligerent 80-something year old in return. And now there was this mess at the museum.

He crouched down to look at the door from the second floor, hoping to get into the perp's head. He stood as his partner approached him.

"We've got the CCTV from when it happened. Want to take a look?"

Raymond nodded, running a hand down his tired face. "Yeah, have one of the officers take it back to the station. I'll check it out when we get this cleaned up. Any luck canvassing?" he asked, turning away from the door and following his partner downstairs.

"Just the same general story. There was a loud bang, the glass shattered, two people running away. Most are saying that they seemed like they were being chased, so I don't think they're our suspects. We have a few witnesses upstairs that say they though they saw a security guard fire the gun, but all the guards have turned in their firearms and none have been fired so we may have someone who likes to play dress up on our hands."

Raymond shared a smirk with his partner as they exited the building. "Right. So, we can just tell the public to be on the lookout for a cosplayer."

The truck came to a shuddering halt, waking Elle. A door slammed shut and there was the sound of gravel crunching underneath shoes before the back door slid up. The driver was whistling as he pulled out the ramp and stepped up into the back of the truck. He stacked a few boxes near the front onto a dolly and rolled it down the ramp. James looked over the edge of the boxes they were hiding behind. When the driver disappeared from view, he motioned for her to stand. They crept out of the door, quickly walking away from the shipping area.

The shipping area let out onto a busy street and Elle and James slipped into the crowd of passerby unnoticed. He knew they were still in D.C. The drive hadn't been long enough to be anywhere else. He also knew that if they had been found once, they would be found again. James spared a glance at Elle. She was walking with her head down, her injured shoulder tensed.

She couldn't keep going like this. It would be selfish of him to drag her along with him. Always on the run, never being able to let your guard down. No. As much as it would hurt him, he needed to let her go. There was nothing for her in a life with him. Elle looked up at him, gave a small smile and continued walking.

He sent a smile back, though it was more of a grimace. He'd get her somewhere safe first. Then he would have to move.

It was dark by the time Raymond was able to sit down at his desk. A small flash drive was on top of a stack of folders, a post-it note on top labeling it as the CCTV footage from the museum. He sighed and inserted into his computer, taking a sip of a steaming mug of coffee as he did so.

He fast forwarded through the beginning of the day until he arrived at the time of the incident. Everything appeared normal until two people (the ones witnesses must have identified, he mused) began running down the steps. He followed their movement down to the door, though there wasn't much to identify them off of. Based on build and height, he knew there was one male and one female but their faces were hidden. They hopped the exit kiosk just before the door shattered, letting him know the first bullet had struck. The girl ducked, causing her hood to fall away from her face. Raymond caught a glimpse of blonde hair before they disappeared from the view of the camera.

He exited and switched to a different camera angle that covered the entrance/exit of the museum. He saw the door shatter again and the two runners came out soon after. They turned down the street as a security guard followed after them, firing another shot. The witnesses had been right then, they had seen a security guard. Just not one that worked at the museum.

Shaking his head, he rewatched the footage, trying to get glimpse of the people who were running or the man that shot at them. He paused it right as they were coming out of the museum. The man's face was obscured by his baseball cap and the fact that he kept his head down. It was like he knew where the cameras were and avoided them. The girl, on the other hand, did not hide her face with the same skill. When her hood fell, she made no attempt to avoid the view of the camera, meaning that he was able to get a semi-clear shot of her face.

There was something so familiar about it, though Raymond was certain he had never met her. He frowned and replayed the footage several times, trying to put his finger on where he knew her from. Something in the back of his mind clicked and he furrowed his eyebrows.

"I wonder.." he mused, pulling his bottom drawer open and rummaging through it. He pulled out a file and opened it, poring over the details like he had done so many times before. His eyes grew a little wider as he looked at the small picture attached to the papers with a clip.

"Holy shit," he breathed, reaching for his cell phone as he stared at the screen and then back at the photo.

"Hey, Sam. It's Raymond. Remember that case you asked me to look into a week or two ago? Yeah, the Berkley girl, yeah. I think I found her."

A/N: Hello friends! How have you been? I've missed y'all! This chapter comes much later than I promised, which I apologize for, but life has gotten extremely busy. Have I mentioned I'm working three jobs this semester? Yeah. Not to make excuses, but I do want to let you know that I haven't been silent on purpose!

Something I want to clear up from last chapter – Elle and James did NOT sleep together, but they did sleep together if that makes sense. I'm trying to move it along kind of slowly, and that would make things wayyy fast. So yeah! I think our time in Short Circuit is coming to a close, and a new story will be beginning soon. I would love to hear your thoughts on ideas for a sequel, if y'all want a sequel, or what you think of this chapter! Please comment and fave/follow this story! Guest reviews now! : )

SunnySides: Guilty! I was posting the ones I had already written rather than working on new ones lol. I'm glad you liked the chapter (and the kissing) ; ) I had the same thought but ruled it out when it created too many plot holes lol. And as always, thank you for your encouragement!