CHAPTER TWO
Sunday was like any other day in The Raven. Except there was no motorcycle gang and only regular customers were there, enjoying a cold beer. Well, “regular”. The music wasn’t playing at all – there was a fight on Saturday and two alcoholics broke the jukebox. Rick was, as usual, behind the bar cleaning it and occasionally talking to his friends who were sitting on the barstools next to the bar. One of the waitresses came there to help him with cleaning and serving. Fat Joe and his two friends were quietly sitting in the corner of the room. He had a black eye and one of the men had a swollen lip. Someone must have beaten them up. Today, they weren’t causing any problems, which was a surprise for the bartender. Most of the time, they would talk loudly or try to find someone to bully. Today was different.

Several long days had passed since the big fight happened in the pub with the biker gang. Izzy kicked their asses with a little unwanted help. The new guy, Bucky, hasn’t shown up from the day he almost choked the girl to death. Nobody knew what happened to that guy. Izzy somehow believed he would show up. And she was right. After some days, Bucky came back to The Raven. This time, he was wearing a dark blue jacket with a black cap on the head and black jeans. Some of the customers looked at him when his feet stepped on the old wooden floor. Even Rick had his eyes on him and smirked. He put a toothpick between his teeth and opened a bottle of beer. “What a lovely surprise,” he said with a little laugh. “The kid is back.”

Bucky came closer to the wooden slab of a bar and sat on a barstool. A beer was suddenly in front of him. “Thanks,” he mumbled under the nose and grabbed the bottle. “I came here to give you this,” the left hand was in his pocket, pulling out ten dollars. “I forgot to pay you for the drinks.”

Ricked surprisingly kinked a brow. “Well, kid, this is something unusual,” he took the money and put them into the register. “Other guys would rather never come back than pay their debt. Obviously, you are not like other guys.”

“Is, uh, Izzy here?” Bucky asked hesitantly. The brunet wasn’t sure about her name. He could barely remember it. “I need to talk to her.”

“And do you think she would like to talk to you after you started to choke her the other day?” his voice was enduring, eyes looking into the blue one, like he wanted to find in them something more about the young masculine man. Izzy told him about the brunet, but he needed to know more. They talked about him a lot, but was it enough? He moved the toothpick from one side to the other and continued talking. “In fact, I have no idea where she is or if she’s coming here today. However, I must ask – what do you want from her?”

“I think I know her from somewhere, and I- I want to apologize to your girlfriend,” Bucky replied carefully.

“You think you know Izzy? Believe me, you don’t. Another thing, she’s not my girlfriend, kid,” Rick laughed. “We fucked, true, but that’s it. You may try to apologize to her, but I don’t think she would like to hear something like that. Of course, you can wait for her here and…” his gray eyes were suddenly looking to the entrance stairs. A sound of clattering heels made him stop talking. “Well, would you look at that,” Rick was smiling. “Talk about the devil and she has arrived. Hi, Izzy!”

The girl took off her long black overcoat, exposing her outfit. Once again she was wearing black leather skinny pants, but this time, she wore a white tank top with a picture of a skull and a cross. There were some red stains resembling blood. The outfit wouldn’t be complete without a massive belt and high heels. “Did you know the police caught Magnus?” she asked the bartender and some of the people were suddenly listening.

“Magnus? When?” an older man asked, his eyes were full of shock.

“This morning when he wanted to buy some cigarettes,” Izzy answered, draping the overcoat over the chair. “I’ve seen the drama with my own eyes, gentlemen, while I was beating one fucker in an alley. I wish I hadn’t seen it. That poor guy was lying on the ground while they put him in the handcuffs. There were so many witnesses.”

“What are we going to do without him?” another man - he was older and his skin was like a dark chocolate - asked, when Izzy took the chair next to Bucky. She was trying to ignore him as much as possible. “He was one of the best thieves and he could get us so many things like pot for a cheap price. And the worst part is I’m running out of resources!”

“Do you know what are they going to do to him?” Rick leaned his arms against the counter and looked into her gorgeous dark eyes. “I just hope he won’t say anything about this place. We don’t need too much attention. Everyone knows this is a dark place. And yes, we had some raids here, but Magnus being caught – that’s not a good thing.”

“Ah-ah!” Izzy snapped her fingers in front Rick’s eyes. “Don’t you dare continue with whining, you know I hate that. Don’t be a little bitch, be a man! Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do now. Magnus is out. He should have been more careful.”

“Why don’t you kidnap him from prison?” the oldest man asked her.

“Hey, I’m not that stupid,” the dark eyes annoyingly rolled and went from the men to Bucky, who was listening to them the whole time while holding a bottle of beer in his right hand. She didn’t say anything to him. “Fat Joe?” the raven-haired girl turned to the big man who was quietly sitting in the corner of the room. “Can you do something for me?”

The man growled and scratched his beard. “Why would I do that?”

Izzy’s fingers took a one-hundred dollar bill from a pocket of the overcoat. “I’ll give you one-hundred dollars if you and your puppets,” she pointed at his friends, “would go out and check the situation. This job will take you thirty minutes tops,” and she winked at him.

“What are you doing?” Rick asked quietly, not sure if her actions were normal.

“We need more than that,” Fat Joe said strictly.

The girl with braided hair sighed and gritted her teeth. “Fine, I’ll add a bottle of rum on me – that’s all I can offer.”

There was a long silence before the fat man nodded. “Deal, but only thirty minutes,” and with that, the men stood up and so did Izzy. She went to the men and gave them the hundred dollar bill.

“And remember, if there’s something unusual, call the hotline – the pub.” When the men left the pub, Izzy gracefully turned on the heels and looked at the men at the bar. “You always need a quick but effective plan. First,” she showed the index finger, “you need to have some idiots around you, who would do anything for booze and money. Second,” the middle finger was up, “they will look around and warn us if the police are coming or not. And finally,” she winced a little, “I saw way too many cops on my way here. I’m predicting a stage of emergency.”

Before she could sit down on the barstool, Bucky was on his feet. It was now or never. “Hey, Izzy, I’m sorry about,“ he was stopped by a very hard punch right into his face. It was so strong he ended on the floor lying and grunting. She just angrily slapped his face with a clenched fist. Only a sighs of surprise were heard from behind her. Bucky wasn’t expecting that at all. He slowly rolled on his back, snarling and spitting out some blood. His lower lip was ripped and bloody. He took a deep breath and looked at her. This time, the girl kicked him in the stomach, pushing him back on the floor.

The raven-haired woman bent over a little and looked into his confused and sore face. “That should teach you a lesson, boy,” she hissed. “Don’t you ever try to choke me again, understand? Or this would be the last thing you’ll do in your life.”

“Ha, ha, I told you she wouldn’t like to talk to you about it,” Rick laughed and clapped his hands. “Stop lying on the floor and get up, boy. Or, would you like to become my new broom for cleaning?”

Bucky groggily stood up and stroked his chin. It hurt like hell and there was still blood coming out of his mouth. When the blue eyes met the dark one, he saw an amusement in them. Izzy suddenly gave him a napkin. “Now that you’ve learned my manners, sit down and finish your beer.”

“Fine, I deserved it,” he mumbled. The brunet once again opened his mouth, but before he could say anything else, he was interrupted by a sudden noise coming from the entrance stairs. One of Fat Joe’s puppets came rushing in, barely breathing. He was gone for about five minutes. “Cops, they are coming!”

“Fucking hell!” Rick purposely broke a shot glass and loudly groaned. “I’m going to personally kill Magnus even when he’s in that fucking prison! Fucker, causing only troubles!”

“You know the plan, people,” Izzy looked at the customers. “You have two minutes to leave this place and hide. Cosby and Washington,” she quickly nicknamed the two men who were talking to her earlier. “You go into the safe room in the warehouse. I’ll be right behind you,” she took the overcoat from the chair and quickly put it on. The two men disappeared in the back door and Izzy quickly took some small documents from a pocket. “Sweetheart, you are the official owner of my motorcycle for now,” she handed it to Rick.

There was chaos in the pub. Some of the people already left, some of them remained sitting. Bucky’s eyes widened. He was the most wanted man. They can’t find him and there was no time left. “Can you hide me, too?” Bucky was fully aware of the situation and his breathing was heavy. No one can know where he is. “I really need it.”

Rick and Izzy quickly look at each other and then the woman undesirably nodded. “Come with me and take everything with you. Hurry!” she clapped her hands, quickly opening the back door to the warehouse where the two men were already hidden. The brunet took the bloody napkin and ran to Izzy. They quickly closed the door. “Come on,” she said with a normal voice and went through a corridor into another room. This one was bigger, full of boxes with supplies, an old sofa and there were also two freezers.

“Where are those two guys?” Bucky asked, looking around. “I thought…”

“They are in a secret room. It’s too small for four people,” she was walking to a dark corner and he followed her. “This is the best place for us,” Izzy smiled and without warning, she pushed Bucky against the cold wall in a dark corner of the room. She looked him in the eyes, scanning his facial features. “So tell me, why are you hiding?”

“I have my reasons. Why are you hiding?” he kinked a brow and smirked. She glared at him. “Come on, you were the one who just slapped my face and kick me in the stomach.”

“But you were the one who almost choked me. Why?” Izzy asked, looking into his blue eyes. “What changed? Why did you suddenly turn against me?” She had to bit her lower lip to stay calm. Looking into his eyes only reminded her the old days. Some of the memories hurt, but even in the darkness she found the light.

He chose to answer her first question. “I did some terrible things in my life. That’s why I’m hiding – in general. Now it’s your turn,” and he smirked. His lips almost made a smile and she saw it. Izzy took a deep breath and winced a little. Bucky was looking at her and waiting for an answer.

“I did some terrible things in my life too,” she winked at him. “That’s why I’m hiding here, with you. They don’t have to know where I am.” She wanted to play with him and so she did. “Why did you end in the Raven?” she pursed her lips and put hands on her sides. “Why Charleston? You don’t look like someone from this city.”

“Neither do you,” he breathed. “I must admit, you are very strong. What’s your secret?”

“And what’s your secret, soldier?” There was a triumphant smile on her face. “I’ve seen you in the television soldier and I found some information about you,” her hand was suddenly on his chest, strongly pushing him to the wall. Bucky’s amused smirk was gone and he dryly gulped. “The Winter Soldier, standing right in front of me,” she devilishly giggled. “No wonder you are so strong.” She could read his face – the fear in the pretty blue eyes, the shock mixed with indecisiveness. She had him where she wanted. “You might think that a girl like me would be scared of you. As you can see, I am not.”

Bucky was speechless for a moment, but when he wanted to reply, they both heard voices coming to the warehouse. His mouth was opening to say something, but the girl pressed her index finger to his lips. “Shhh.” Her body was very close to his. He could feel the not so fragile figure on his body. Now, he had the perfect opportunity to check the scar on the right side of her neck. When her head turned, his eyes found the beginning of it – the scar went from the top of her ear, right behind it and down to the right collar-bone. The door swiftly opened and three cops stepped in, holding guns in hands. One of them went to the freezers, the second one checked other doors and the third was coming right to them. Every step he made, Bucky’s heartbeat slowed down. He held his breath for a moment. The man with the gun was now standing in front of them, eyes locked at the dark corner. He didn’t say anything. With another step, the policeman was moving away. How was this possible? He was looking right at them! The soldier didn’t understand.

“The warehouse is clear,” said one of the cops. “We should get back and leave. There is no one here. Today’s mission was a failure. Magnus was lying to us. Fucking bastard.”

After few seconds, they were gone. Izzy stepped away from Bucky and scanned the surroundings. “He was looking at us,” the man frowned. “How is it possible? He didn’t see us!”

The girl gave him a puzzled look. “I have no idea what are you talking about, soldier,” and her face turned into a grimace. “So, let’s continue, shall we, Bucky?” she quickly changed the topic. Her eyes were provoking him. “What is the greatest Winter Soldier doing here in Charleston?” She wanted to tease him, to know new information about him.

He growled and gritted his teeth. She was lying and that frustrated him a little. “I don’t have to tell you anything,” he snapped, suddenly standing in front of her, faces only centimeters away. “I can kill you with my bare hands right here, right now if you keep lying to me. I want to know why the cop couldn’t see us.”

“Ah, you are moody, aren’t ya? Come on soldier,” she smiled and came closer to him. “Get it out of your system. This is what you need. I know what you need,” she leaned even closer to him, their lips almost touching. “Do you want to kill me? Kill me. At least you can try, but then who’s going help you survive?” With a wink of an eye, she was stepping back, leaving the man alone in the corner.

The brunet wouldn’t let her leave without any explanation. He reached for her wrist, harshly grabbed her by it and threw the woman against the nearest cold wall. A painful groan escaped her throat. She wasn’t expecting that at all. Both of her wrists were pinned above her head and Bucky was scanning her pale face. “Stop messing with me, woman!” he was being obnoxious. “Tell me this, girl, why do I have a fucking feeling I know you from somewhere?”

Izzy was laughing with an annoying voice. “Maybe I remind you of a girl you used to fuck back in the day or maybe I look like your mother.” After those words, his body was pressed against hers. “Well, would you look at that? Mhm, that body of yours pressed against mine – it feels so good,” and she licked her lower lip. Before he could say anything, the black-haired girl with a quick move of her hands sneaked out from his grip and she roughly pushed him away. In a second, she was holding a gun in her hand, aiming right at him. She had it hidden in a leather case on the right thigh. “Don’t play with me, soldier,” she warned him. “You have no idea what I am capable of.”

“You think your gun can stop me?” he raised his eyebrows, eyes never leaving her face. “Because you know who I am, I have to kill you now. What if you tell it to someone?”

Izzy started to laugh a little and put down the gun. “Do you think I would tell it to someone? Oh please, wake up, boy,” she hid the gun back into the case. “I’m not five and I’m not that kind of a bitch. We are both criminals.”

His body relaxed a little and he took a deep breath. “Okay, then tell me who the fuck you are? You are familiar, you are surprisingly strong and a minute ago, the cops didn’t saw us even when one of them was looking directly at us! What are you? Who are you?”

“Do you want to know who I am?!” she threw her hands in the air. “Fine, I’ll tell ya. I’m the only person who can help you at the moment.” Bucky was confused. How could she, I girl that probably didn’t even know him, help him? “You may not know this rule but here in the Raven we help each other.” She dryly gulped and bit her lower lip. “And especially criminals like us help each other.”

“And why would you want to help me?” he asked, curiosity was behind his question.

Once again, she devilishly smiled. “Well, you are the Winter Soldier, aren’t ya? There’s nothing better than having you here. Besides, you are pretty much same as I am.”

“I don’t think…”

“Look, take it or leave it. It’s up to you.” A phone started to ring in a pocket of her coat. The raven-haired woman sighed and took out the device. She ended the call. “If you accept, you’ll have a roof over your head, money, and mostly peace. I believe that is what you want, what your heart desires the most. Yes, you will live in the underworld, but it’s better than running away from everyone. Think about it. If you accept this offer, just tell Rick.” Those were her last words for him. The girl dialed the number, put the phone to her ear and left the warehouse with a smile on the lips, leaving Bucky alone.

When she got back to the bar, a person picked up the call and they started a conversation. Izzy quickly looked at Rick, winking at him, taking the documents to the motorcycle and leaving the pub with a grin on her face. She needed money and that meant she had to go to her work – beating someone’s soul until the person couldn’t stand any longer.

Bucky came back from the warehouse. His mind was deep in thoughts; the blue eyes were scanning the floors and looking at any dirt that was there. He went to his seat, finally lifting his eyes up. The two men who were also hidden were already back, drinking a beer. Bucky was so focused on the girl, he even forgot those men were probably passing by.

“What’s the matter, boy?” Rick asked him after some minutes. “You look like you saw a ghost back there.”

“I talked to Izzy,” he said monotonously.

“That is surprising,” Rick laughed and started to clean dirty glasses. “And what did she tell you?”

The man leaned against the low backrest and sighed. “She gave me an offer and now I have to decide whether to take it or not. And it is strange because she acts like the meanest bitch on the planet and she would kill me at the first opportunity.”

Rick smirked. “Ah, that’s our Izzy. Well, it’s up to you. I can’t decide for you, boy.”

The offer was good, but he knew it had some catches. Why would someone offer him a place for lay low, when they don’t even know him? He’s dangerous; he was trained to kill. They had no idea who he really was. The Winter Soldier was just a name. The person behind that name was a mass-murderer. What if he takes the deal just for a few days? That was an option too. “I think I’ve made my decision,” Bucky said after some time. “She said; if I accept the offer I have to tell you. And I do accept it.”

The older man stopped cleaning the glasses and nodded. “Wise choice, boy,” he said. His gray eyes were scanning the surroundings, checking how many people were there. “Here’s what you are going to do,” he took a key from under the register. “You have to stay here until the next day. There is a very old sofa in the warehouse. You might have noticed it. You can sleep there this night. Tomorrow morning, I’ll be back with Izzy and she’ll tell you what to do next.” Rick handed him the key. “This is for the bathroom.”

“Thank you,” the brunet smiled a little, taking the key from the bartender.

“While you are here, you can help me with some boxes. Go back to the warehouse and grab three boxes with tagged Russian. There’s alcohol hidden in them.”

…

It was three in the morning and Rick was waiting near the beach, sitting on his motorcycle. He left Bucky alone in the locked bar, where he could rest for a while. He knew who his was – the famous Winter Soldier. He saw him in the news not long ago, when there was the attack in Washington D.C. Also, Izzy told him about this guy.

Rick took a cigarette from a new package and lit it up. He was waiting for Izzy for ten minutes and she still hasn’t shown up. He had to do something. He was tired and needed some sleep after fourteen hours working in the pub. While smoking the cigarette, he saw a police car going down the road. They were passing by very slowly, checking Rick from behind the windows. When they were away, a sound of a strong vehicle was coming right to him. Izzy arrived on a black cruiser motorcycle. She stole it two years ago when she was in California. She stopped right next to him, giving the man a shiny smile. The girl didn’t wear a helmet. She hated them and found the unnecessary.

“You are late, young lady,” Rick smirked and put the cigarette to his mouth, smoking it. “What took you so long – job, manicure, a new guy for sex?” he teased her a little. She didn’t even have to ask for a cigarette; the Raven immediately offered her one and also gave her a lighter. “What was it this time? A man cheating on his wife or was it rich girl having problems with her step dad?”

“No,” she said when the cigarette was lit up and she returned the lighter. “This time it was way traumatic for my customer and I even did it for less money. Okay, I’m lying I did it for free.”

“Now it sounds interesting. Tell me what happened.”

Izzy sighed and bit her lower lip. “A girl asked for my help two days ago, when I randomly bumped into her after finished my previous job. She was shaking and crying. When I asked her if she’s fine, she was suddenly sitting on the ground, crying hard and panicking.”

“Eh, hysterical girl,” Rick rolled his eyes.

“Dude, this is serious,” she raised her voice. “I was with her for two hours and she told me her step-father raped her several times. She didn't want to go to the police because she was afraid,” Izzy dryly gulped. “That girl was only seventeen! Can you believe it?” she sighed. “I - as a very good and protective person - offered her my help. I explained the rules, told her important things and the girl agreed. I beat the shit out of him today. I hate these motherfuckers. Next time, if a girl comes to me and asks for my help because she was raped, I’m going to kill that asshole,” she was growling. “That girl has my work number and if something goes wrong, she’ll call me. The only problem is she lives in Summerville.”

“What did you do to him?” Rick was curious.

Izzy was suddenly smiling like a Lucifer. “Well, at first, there was my typical very intimidating speech. He was laughing at me first but stopped when his face suddenly met the ground. Then he realized it’s not a fucking joke. He ended with a torn lip and eyebrow, twisted ankle and many many bruises.” When she finished her speech, she extinguished the cigarette with her boot. “I made him cry. That was worth everything. I promised him, if he ever does that again, I’ll chop his dick off.”

Rick took another cigarette, lit it up and started to smoke. This time, he didn’t give one to her. “Let’s just hope he won’t alarm the police.”

“Oh please, honey. I always know what I’m doing.”

“Do you realize you just did a good thing? You helped a random girl,” he gave her a proud smile. “But still, this world is fucking crazy,” Rick relaxed on his motorcycle and rolled his gray eyes. “I’m against three things – raping, racism, and mostly religion. There is no fucking God,” he made a grimace.

“Wow,” she giggled. “After all these years, I can’t believe you are against any kind of religion.” Izzy shook her head. “I don’t care about the religion. People can believe in Gods and other weird things. Just don’t force me to be a part of this nonsense. I believe in something, unfortunately, it’s not a God.”

“Anyway, let’s talk about the puppy locked in my pub,” he changed the subject quickly. “I gave him food, water and he should survive until morning,” he said with a chuckle. “What are you going to do with him? No, wait, better question,” he extinguished the second cigarette when he was done. “When will you tell him?”

“I won’t tell him,” she was dead serious. “He has to find out on his own, because when he does, then it’s going to be interesting.”

“Why?”

“I can’t predict his reaction, Rick. This is something very complicated,” she rubbed her nape and her fingers gently caressed the long braided hair. “It’s been years. He said, he probably knows me, but he wasn’t sure. And when he finds out who I am, I think it might end with a huge fight. Also, there is a huge possibility he would leave, maybe without explanation.”

“Hey!” he stopped her. “Are you saying he might kill you?”

“There is a chance,” she nodded.

“No! If he kills you, I’ll be the one who kills him as revenge,” he smirked. “Come on, it can’t be that bad, can it?”

“Aw, you are the greatest grandpa I’ve ever had,” Izzy started to laugh. “You are worried about me!”

“Okay, if you think of me as your grandfather, then we are talking about incest, young lady” he kinked a brow, making a funny grimace. “And P.S.: this is offensive, my dear,” he frowned at her on purpose. “Just admit I’m the best, even when I’m sixty.” Both of them were laughing for a few seconds. Rick stopped first and looked at the young girl. “What are you going to do tomorrow?” he went back to the previous topic.

Izzy started the motorcycle and smiled. “I don’t know,” she said loudly, so he could hear her. “I’ll go get him and take him to my place. He needs a place where he can stay and I really need a roommate. Oh, yeah, by the way, give me your keys,” she stretched an arm towards him and waited for the keys. “I need to be with him alone and show him no mercy, so don’t come.”

The older man gave her what she wanted. “Just be a good girl, okay?”

“I always am, baby,” she winked at him. “Ugh, I’m starting to feel like a nice person. I should stop doing charity and help other people. I just hope he is worthy of my help. If not, he’s dead,” she said with a sweet voice.

Notes