The drive back to Washington D.C. was much quicker than the drive to Brooklyn had originally been. Hallie had been in quite the hurry to get home. Marlena believed her haste had everything to do with finally being able to come home, so she didn't question it. On the other hand, Hallie was quiet majority of the ride back home, and that gave Marlena the chance to sleep as she had originally planned on doing during the journey to New York.

In reality, Hallie wanted to return home so she could separate herself from Bucky, as well as figure out what it was that Dylan had been bugging about over the phone. It had the normally calm girl rather stressed out, and she hated it. She wasn't sure how dangerously terrible this information could end up being, but as long as it was enough to remove him from Marlena's existence she was intent on finding out.

Hallie nearly let out a sigh of relief as she finally pulled up to the familiar, two-story house. She parked the car and shut off the ignition before turning around in her seat. Marlena was fast asleep against Bucky's shoulder, and Bucky was working on trying to wake her up. She knew it would do him no good, though. Once Marlena fell asleep it was hard to get her back up, so he would probably end up having to carry her inside the house.

"She won't wake up," Hallie said monotonously, attracting Bucky's attention. "When she does wake up, though, tell her that I said thank you for bringing me alone and that I love her."

She tossed the keys at him before hopping out of the car, leaving Bucky in a state of confusion.

"Where are you going?" Bucky asked as she pulled the trunk door open.

Hallie grabbed her suitcase and looked at him. "I have some important business that I need to attend to. Don't forget to tell her."

She slammed the trunk door shut, giving him no time at all to respond. She hurried over to her car and pulled the driver's side door open, tossing all of her luggage into the backseat. The moment she had the car started she took off down the street to her house.

It took about ten minutes to reach her house on the other side of the city. She almost scoffed at the sight of Dylan's car sitting in front of her house, and she shook her head before pulling into the driveway. Her parents weren't home, just as they normally weren't, but she didn't seem to care much. If they knew Dylan was at their home, let alone sitting in front of it, they would be sure to have a conniption fit about it, and Hallie definitely was not in the mood for it.

"Have you been waiting there for me?" Hallie asked as she grabbed her purse from the back. She would worry about the rest of her luggage later; she had more important measures to deal with at the moment.

"Yes, but I've only been here for about fifteen minutes," Dylan chuckled as he strolled up the driveway. "I didn't think you'd get back that fast."

"What can I say? I'm quite the lead foot," Hallie replied as she pushed her front door open.

She sighed in relief and practically ran into the living room. She was glad to finally be back in the comfort of her own home, despite how much she enjoyed staying in such a wonderful hotel and being in such a wonderful city.

"Well, I'm glad you're back," Dylan breathed as he sat down on the couch beside Hallie. "That means I can finally tell you what it is I needed to tell you."

He moved to grab her laptop off of the coffee table, but she was quick to reprimand him. "Excuse you, but that is a nine-hundred dollar laptop. I don't need you manhandling it," she countered as she pulled it out of his hands.

He rolled his eyes at her and took it back, not even bothering to pay attention to her protests. "If you want to know exactly what the hell is wrong with Marlena's little man friend, then I suggest you stop and leave me to it. It'll be much easier for me to show you rather than explain it to you."

Hallie just scoffed and sat back in her seat, waiting for him to do whatever it was that he needed to do. She spent about two minutes playing with her hands before a voice sounded from her computer. She averted her attention towards the screen, halting her actions when she noticed the woman on the screen. It was a news broadcast from yesterday, and just that small detail was enough to bring the nerves back. Hallie wondered what a newscast could possibly have to do with information regarding Bucky.

"What is this?" she questioned Dylan.

He sighed and pushed the computer onto her lap. "Just watch it."

Hallie gave him a look before focusing all of her attention on the woman on the screen.

"After weeks of searching, we finally have a lead regarding the identity of the Winter Soldier—the Hydra assassin who played a major part in ending the lives of hundreds of people in downtown Washington only a month ago," the news reporter spoke.

Hallie looked at Dylan with a horrified expression on her face, only for him to gesture her back to the screen. Her expression only intensified as she looked at the sketch flashing across the screen. The face of the man in the sketch was definitely the face of Bucky; there were several differences between him and the drawing, but there definitely wasn't enough to make any kind of difference. The sight of it only scared Hallie further; the thought of her best friend being involved with someone like him made her sick to her stomach.

"We haven't received any names yet, but authorities are warning civilians to be on the look out for this man, as well as anyone with a left, metal arm. If you do see him, contact police right away—do not engage, as he is considered to be extremely dangerous," the news reporter finished.

Hallie sucked in a shaky breath and slammed her laptop shut before sitting it back down on her coffee table. She rummaged through her purse for her phone and wasted no time in unlocking it after she had it within her grasp. The reporter's words played in her head over and over again, and she couldn't seem to shake them out. Her instinct had been right all along, or so she thought. Bucky was as dangerous as she believed him to be, and it was only now that she had valid proof to back up her accusation. She just needed to see one more thing before she was set to go.

She scrolled through her phone's videos and soon stopped when she came across the one she had been looking for. She pressed play straight away and practically glued her eyes to the screen.

"What is that, Hallie?" Dylan asked as he scooted closer to her.

She shushed him and focused her attention back on the screen. Both she and Dylan watched as a man with a metal arm dressed in semi-tight black clothing shot at a man and a redheaded woman with a grenade launcher on the D.C. Parkway. She remembered filming the video herself, and she also remembered the painstaking amount of fear that had shaken her body as she shot it. She was sure her reason for not running away had to do with her fear of being shot and killed by the men with the large machine guns, as well as the man with the metal arm. She never did tell Marlena about her involvement with the incident, though. The day after it had happened she went back to living life as she normally did, forgetting the incident, as well as the video.

Hallie's fearful screams could be heard as the picture on the screen violently shook. The last thing to be heard before the video went black was an explosion, followed by the sound of rapid gunfire.

Hallie let out a sigh before throwing her phone onto the couch beside her. She ran a hand through her hair and looked at Dylan. He seemed just as shook up as she was, but he wasn't the one that had to deal with the pain of knowing that his best friend was involved with quite possibly America's most dangerous fugitive.

"The Winter Soldier. . .no wonder the bastard seemed so familiar to me when I first met him at the Smithsonian," Hallie breathed. She was still having a fairly difficult time trying to process the information. "I can't believe I didn't see this sooner—I could have prevented it."

"Hey, it's not your fault, okay?" Dylan reassured her. "At least now we can get him out of her life for good. We'll call and then he'll be gone—it's as simple as that."

"Marlena's gonna be devastated," Hallie frowned, "She really cares about him, Dylan."

Dylan sighed and sat back against the couch. "That may be true, but with him gone she'll be safe again. He won't be able to hurt her anymore."

"I want to be the one to tell her though. She still doesn't know that I've been working with you to get rid of him, and I want it to stay that way. You can call the number," Hallie said to Dylan as she stood up.

"Should we get to work?"

Hallie chuckled and shook her head. "Let's wait until tomorrow. I'm too tired to think about doing anything."

"Really, Hallie?" Dylan scoffed.

"Yes, really. Help yourself to whatever's in the kitchen. I'm also almost positive my parents aren't going to be home tonight, so feel free to stay if you want; just don't spread your dickhead disease around my house," she laughed as she started up the stairs. "We'll get to work tomorrow, okay?"

Dylan only nodded and sat back down on the couch, while Hallie continued up the stairs to her bedroom. She was definitely prepared for a good night's rest, but what she wasn't prepared for were the events that were sure to take place tomorrow. She could barely handle the events that had happened today, so she could only hope she could stand to handle at least a sliver of what was bound to happen tomorrow.