Wings, Metal, and Frost

New Plans

It was already nightfall by the time Torres had picked them up. The three changed out of their gear and did their best to rest in the plane. Resting or thinking. Sam lounged across the seats while Ellie did the same on the other side of the cabin. She lay on her back with her left hand slightly raised, allowing a flurry to circle around her hand and weave between her fingers. Bucky sat in his natural sniper habitat on a high point. That high point was a large crate in the middle of the cabin.

Different things were on their minds. Sam had just about accepted defeat. If the government apparently "owned" Redwing and could track them, what other ways might they try to stop their efforts? At least he knew they wouldn't be able to track Redwing anymore... 'Cause he was broke in half. Sam let out an irritated breath through his nose. Ellie chewed on her inner lip. Her mind was scrambled. She was angry, confused, and tired. Her mind kept jumping from the Shield to the Flag Smashers, back to the Shield, and the Flag Smashers again. She could not believe that some arrogant soldier was holding the Shield, a symbol of everything that John Walker is not. She also could not believe that a group of super soldiers was running loose- how could they be Super Soldiers? Sam glanced at her and took note of her nervous habit. He then glanced at Bucky, who had not moved since he had sat down. Sam decided against talking to him for the moment and looked at Ellie again. 

"Snowbird, you alright?" He asked. 

"No." Ellie didn't hesitate. "Are you?" 

Sam paused, then sighed. "No... How about you, Buck?" 

Bucky's eye twitched, and he wrung his hands. 

"Let's take the Shield, Sam," he said almost as if he was testing out the idea. "Let's take the shield and do this ourselves." 

"Woah," Ellie said quietly and sat up. "That's a loud proposal." 

Sam shook his head. "We can't just run up on the man, beat him up, and take it." He sat up as well and turned to face Bucky. "Do you remember what happened the last time we stole it?" 

"Maybe," Bucky responded flatly. He did remember. 

Sam had no problem recounting the events. "I'll help you in case you forgot. Sharon was branded enemy of the state, and Steve and I were on the run for two years, while Ellie was stuck on house arrest with a hole in her abdomen." 

Ellie sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth. "I got better."

Despite getting better, it was partially the worst few years of her life following those events. Bucky blinked at the memory of Ellie laying on the bunker floor in a pool of her own blood. 

"Now I don't know about you," Sam continued, "but I don't wanna live the rest of my life la vida loca. We just got our ass handed to us by Super Soldiers, and we got nothing." 

Bucky tilted his head. "Not entirely true." 

"How do you mean?" Ellie narrowed her eyes. 

She didn't like when he offered a rebuttal because it was usually right and involved something out-of-the-blue dangerous, at least in the forties when he and Steve had the same ideas. Sam also gave Bucky a curious, but wary, look. Bucky hopped down from his perch and sat down next to Sam. He pursed his lips before speaking. 

"There is someone that... you should meet." Bucky looked at Sam with a serious gaze. 

It took Ellie a few moments to piece together what he could be getting at. Bucky was trying to convince Sam to be who Steve wanted him to be, something that seemed impossible in Sam's eyes. Ellie nodded to Bucky, assuring him that she knew what he was talking about, and she stood up to walk to the door of the cockpit.