THIEF | BUCKY BARNES

FORTY FOUR

KING
❝You tried to tell me that, and for that, I am sorry.❞

Tony attempted to lunge for Bucky, making him raise his gun and Odessa jump in front of him almost instantly.

"I don't care if he's guilty." Odessa stepped towards Tony, speaking softly as she did so. "Don't care if he's not." She reached her hand out for the man. She could feel Bucky's anxious eyes on her. "Tony, he's all that I've got. Please, he's all I have left."

Tony took a moment, he barely knew the girl but still felt as if he should protect her. She had been through so much at a young age and some of it he could have help prevent. He just didn't. The man shook his head and went to lunge at Bucky again.

"Tony. Tony." Steve wrapped his arm around Tony's bicep, pulling him back slightly.

Tony turned to face Steve with furrowed brows and eyes that glistened with tears before asking a question that he had been dreading,

"Did you know?"

"I didn't know it was him." Steve responded, attempting to cover for his best friend.

Odessa felt as Bucky wrapped his hand around the girls wrist, pulling her back towards him.

"Get back to the quinjet if this goes south do you understand?" Bucky whispered in her ear. She went to disagree with the man, but he cut her off. "Do you understand?" Odessa merely nodded.

"Don't bullshit me, Rogers! Did you know?" Tony snapped, gripping onto Steve's bicep.

Steve's eyes filled with unshed tears before whispering,

"Yes."

At the word Tony released Steve from his grip and stepped back. Tony raised his hand and threw Steve back. Bucky raised his gun, only for Tony to disarm him.

"Get to the quinjet." Bucky shouted towards Odessa. The girl looked hesitant as she watched Tony fly Bucky across the room and stand on Bucky's arm.

"Go." Steve ran up to the girl. "I'll get him out alive, I promise." Odessa nodded, she made an agreement with Bucky that if anything went south she would get out of there.

Odessa made her way outside and saw Zemo sat on a rock with his phone held to his ear.

"I still do that too." Odessa announced, making her presence known. "I paid my parents phone bills just to hear their voices on their voice mails. It was always the same two sentences 'Sorry I can't take your call right now I'll call you back' or 'I probably ignored you, text me if it's important.'" Odessa chuckled despite her eyes filling with tears. "I understand your pain."

The brunettes eyes flickered over to T'Challa who walked up to the pair, the first thing he said was,

"I almost kill the wrong man." He looked towards Odessa. "You tried to tell me that, and for that, I am sorry." Odessa smiled thankfully for his apology.

"Hardly an innocent one." Zemo muttered in response.

"This is all you wanted? To see them rip each other apart." T'Challa questioned. "To make this girl wonder if she will see the man she loves again, does she deserve that?"

Odessa lowered her head. She hated that she left, but she didn't want to put Bucky in more danger if she was there, he would try to protect her, regardless of whether she was in danger or not.

She watched as Zemo clicked delete in the voice message. That was something she couldn't do. She paid her parents bills monthly to hear their voices. She still wasn't over their deaths. She didn't know if she ever would be.

"My father lived outside the city. I thought we would be safe there. My son was excited. He could see the Iron Man from the car window. I told my wife, 'Don't worry. They are fighting in the city. We're miles from harm.'" Zemo sighed, remembering the events vividly. "When the dust cleared and the screaming stopped. It took me two days until I found their bodies. My father still holding my wife and son in his arms."

Odessa couldn't have imagined what that could have been like. To find the two people who mean the most to you in the world, dead.

"And the Avengers? They went home. I knew I couldn't kill them. More powerful men than me have tried. But, if I could get them to kill each other. I'm sorry about your father. He seemed a good man. With a dutiful son."

Odessa looked over to T'Challa. He was clearly heart broken and despite him hunting her and Bucky down to kill Bucky, she still felt sorry for him.

"Vengeance has consumed you. It's consuming them." T'Challa teared up. "I am done letting it consume me. Justice will come soon enough."

"Tell that to the dead." Zemo announced as he placed the gun under his chin. Odessa jumped and grabbed the gun, throwing it away before he could pull the trigger.

No matter how much she disliked him for what he did. Nobody deserved to die like that.

"The living are not done with you yet." T'Challa whispered to the man. His eyes flickered up to Odessa, who was now occupied by the fact that Bucky and Steve were making their way to the quinjet. T'Challa nodded and she instantly ran off towards the pair.

Bucky's eyes landed on the girl, completely relieved as he noticed that she was okay. His eyes flickered over her and offered her a small smile.

Odessa covered her mouth in shock as she saw that Bucky's metal arm was gone. She didn't know what happened. But both boys looked battered and bruised.

"Get on the quinjet. We're going somewhere safe." Steve instructed and waited on the jet for T'Challa to join them.