Fugitive starts to seek cover after breaking weapon (7)
I believe the answer is:
escapee
'fugitive' is the definition.
(I know that escapee is a type of fugitive)
'starts to seek cover after breaking weapon' is the wordplay.
'starts to' suggests taking the first letters.
'breaking' is an insertion indicator.
'weapon' becomes 'epee' (epee is a kind of weapon).
The initial letters of 'seek cover after' is 'sca'.
'sca' put into 'epee' is 'ESCAPEE'.
(Other definitions for escapee that I've seen before include "One who's broken out of confinement" , "Absconder, fugitive" , "One getting away" , "One that's broken free" , "One flying from" .)