Steve, Bucky and four other members of the Very Special Forces are riding in the back of an armored truck when the explosions go off. They can’t see it, but they can hear one thunderous roar after another, as the shockwaves from the blasts vibrate the metal walls against their backs. The truck swerves without warning and their bodies are thrown against their three point safety belts — which catch their torsos like a net.
A huge piece of debris is scraping, digging against the ceiling of their truck, filling it with the unbearable screeching of metal against metal, and leaves a deep and terrifying dent in its wake.
But the truck keeps moving.
All of their earpieces activate at once, as new orders are transmitted. R&D’s bot processing division has just been bombed. As the unit closet to the sector and already en route, on arrival, immediately begin search and rescue. Medical teams are being deployed from Technical Services and should arrive shortly.
There’s a flicker of fear in Steve’s expression as he locks eyes with Bucky. He knows that Tony works in bot processing.
But there isn’t time to waste, so the Captain pushes the thought aside and begins to call it. Eight of them were in the vehicle — six in back, two in front. On arrival, they would split into teams of two (“Bucky, with me.”) and pan out in search of survivors. Bot processing had been the target, but Steve assigns each team its own subdivision to search — if at this distance, a piece of debris can hit their vehicle, then the entire R&D sector must be suffering. They hadn’t left Armed Forces as a search and rescue unit, so the only additional gear they had for this mission was two extra AF-issued first aid kits per soldier, and duct tape. Use both generously.
Their boots hit the ground seven minutes later, everyone running behind Steve until they hit the main lobby of R&D. Smoke was coming from at least half the corridors. “Get the gauze masks out of your first aid kits,” he shouts, as he pulls a canteen of water out from his belt and unscrews the top, pouring it onto the gauze as fast as possible. When their masks are secure, he gives the command to fan out to their assigned subdivisions. Steve’s eyes meet Bucky’s and they immediately move as a unit, heading straight towards bot processing. The Cap knows exactly where to go — he’s was here to see Tony just last week.
Steve can hear Clint’s voice before he and Bucky get to the door. In here! Two wounded - burns and bleeding from shrapnel fragments! But those words do nothing to prepare them for what they see. Steve’s eyes follow Clint’s hands to Tony’s chest before he sees Natasha putting a wet cloth over a young man’s face. His skin was severely burned and her hands were red with blood.
Just like Clint’s. Bloody hands pushing against Tony’s bloody chest.
But they were soldiers. Their default reaction to trauma was action, so Steve eyes dart across the room, looking for any type of sheet that would be strong enough to hold a person’s weight. Nothing. Except too metal poles that had fallen out of the ceiling and were now leaning against the far wall.
His hand gravitates to the roll of duct tape in his pocket and Steve eyes narrow before he looks back at Bucky. “We’ll make one out of duct tape.” And they get to work. Retrieving the poles. Using each other to pull and cut the tape into an emergency duct tape field stretcher.
no subject
A huge piece of debris is scraping, digging against the ceiling of their truck, filling it with the unbearable screeching of metal against metal, and leaves a deep and terrifying dent in its wake.
But the truck keeps moving.
All of their earpieces activate at once, as new orders are transmitted. R&D’s bot processing division has just been bombed. As the unit closet to the sector and already en route, on arrival, immediately begin search and rescue. Medical teams are being deployed from Technical Services and should arrive shortly.
There’s a flicker of fear in Steve’s expression as he locks eyes with Bucky. He knows that Tony works in bot processing.
But there isn’t time to waste, so the Captain pushes the thought aside and begins to call it. Eight of them were in the vehicle — six in back, two in front. On arrival, they would split into teams of two (“Bucky, with me.”) and pan out in search of survivors. Bot processing had been the target, but Steve assigns each team its own subdivision to search — if at this distance, a piece of debris can hit their vehicle, then the entire R&D sector must be suffering. They hadn’t left Armed Forces as a search and rescue unit, so the only additional gear they had for this mission was two extra AF-issued first aid kits per soldier, and duct tape. Use both generously.
Their boots hit the ground seven minutes later, everyone running behind Steve until they hit the main lobby of R&D. Smoke was coming from at least half the corridors. “Get the gauze masks out of your first aid kits,” he shouts, as he pulls a canteen of water out from his belt and unscrews the top, pouring it onto the gauze as fast as possible. When their masks are secure, he gives the command to fan out to their assigned subdivisions. Steve’s eyes meet Bucky’s and they immediately move as a unit, heading straight towards bot processing. The Cap knows exactly where to go — he’s was here to see Tony just last week.
Steve can hear Clint’s voice before he and Bucky get to the door. In here! Two wounded - burns and bleeding from shrapnel fragments! But those words do nothing to prepare them for what they see. Steve’s eyes follow Clint’s hands to Tony’s chest before he sees Natasha putting a wet cloth over a young man’s face. His skin was severely burned and her hands were red with blood.
Just like Clint’s. Bloody hands pushing against Tony’s bloody chest.
But they were soldiers. Their default reaction to trauma was action, so Steve eyes dart across the room, looking for any type of sheet that would be strong enough to hold a person’s weight. Nothing. Except too metal poles that had fallen out of the ceiling and were now leaning against the far wall.
His hand gravitates to the roll of duct tape in his pocket and Steve eyes narrow before he looks back at Bucky. “We’ll make one out of duct tape.” And they get to work. Retrieving the poles. Using each other to pull and cut the tape into an emergency duct tape field stretcher.