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2023
"Longing, rusted, seventeen, daybreak, furnace, nine, benign, homecoming, one, freight car." Said a voice from inside the dark cell.
Bucky Barnes stood in front of it, not even twitching at the sound of the words that used to make him the perfect soldier.
"Those days are over."
"I know, I just wanted to see how the new you reacts to the old words. Something is still in there. At least you were not conscious for most of your imprisonment. That time wasn't exactly a picnic. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. It was never personal. You were simply a means to a necessary end."
"Cut the act, Zemo. Someone recreated the super-soldier serum. I need to find out who." Bucky said. He and Sam had been on a search to stop a group of super soldiers called the Flag Smashers.
"You are assuming HYDRA has something to do with this, which is why you came to me, which means you are desperate. Luckily for you, I know where to begin."
---------------------------
"What are you talking about? You wanna break Zemo outta jail? Where the hell even are we, Buck? Have you lost your mind?" Sam Wilson's voice resonated through the walls.
"We have no leads, no moves, nothing. He can change that."
"No Buck, what we have is one of the most dangerous men in the world behind bars."
"And we also have eight Super Soldiers that are loose."
"Zemo's gonna mess with our minds. Especially yours. No offense. Offense. Super Soldiers go against everything he believes in. He is crazy, but he still has a code. I've been on the wrong side of that code, Buck and so have you. He blew up the UN, he killed King T'Chaka and framed you for it. Did you forget that? You think the Wakandans forgot about it? It's a rhetorical question. They didn't. I know why this matters to you, but it's pushing you off the deep end."
"Sam, we don't know how they're gettin' the serum. We don't even know how many of them there are. Look, let me just walk you through a hypothetical. Can I walk you through a hypothetical?"
"What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything."
"The weakest point in any system isn't the software, the hardware, it's the meatware. The human element. Now, in this lockup, it's nine to one, prisoners to guards. And if two prisoners start fighting, then the protocol says four guards have to respond. So why would two prisoners randomly start fighting at that moment? Who knows? There could be many reasons. But the point is, these things escalate. Lockdown procedures would have to be initiated, and with all those bodies flying around left and right, it wouldn't be hard to slip down a hallway or two. And if the fire alarm got tripped while the prisoners were being separated, someone could use the chaos to their advantage."
