Blood Debt - The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Bucky x Zemo)

Chapter 4

Bucky turned, locking eyes with a tall Russian in a cheap suit.

The man laughed, a deep belly laugh, eyes dancing with mirth. "It is. Babayka himself. Except defanged and now they say, Belyy Volk . A lapdog for Captain America." He smiled in a completely unfriendly way. "So weak now that he consorts with a man as well. How the mighty have fallen."

The entire club was silent. The musicians disappeared from the stage, and the other revellers peeled back from the gangsters. It seemed they were known to the club's patrons - and were known for causing trouble given the shift in tone.

"Gentlemen. We aren't here to start trouble," said Zemo as he stepped around to the side to stand beside Bucky. "I am an old friend of Gita's. We are here to see her."

The Russians looked at one another and chuckled. The lead gangster hadn't taken his eyes off Bucky, and Bucky returned the gaze. He looked him over, then snapped his gaze over to Zemo. He moved to the Sokovian and something about the man's posture set off alarm bells in Bucky's head.

"Ahhh, Baron Zemo. I didn't recognize you with the..." the Russian scruffed his face to indicate the other man's beard. "Are you also a lapdog of the Americans now? Is this how you free yourself from prison yet again? Perhaps..." he sneered, and glanced over at Bucky, "As a plaything of this so-called Wolf?"

"My association with Mr. Barnes is of no concern of yours, Vasily." Zemo was incredibly calm, with an air of smugness that Bucky had become quite familiar with.

An odd sensation prickled through Bucky's body as Vasily loomed ever closer to Zemo. His sharp eyes assessed the man's threats. He watched his movements for likely weak spots or concealed weapons. The cheap suit had its purpose. It allowed for movement and its poor tailoring allowed many places to keep a blade or a gun. And he was far too close to the Sokovian for his liking.

There was a reason the Wakandans had labelled him a wolf. The protective instinct, long submerged by Winter Soldier programming, had been allowed to resurface as he broke free of his conditioning.

"You are in my place of business, Zemo. This makes it my concern. Gita no longer runs this establishment." Vasily leaned in towards the Sokovian.

Bucky saw a hand go towards a bulge in his jacket. Without fully thinking it through, he reached out to grab the Russian's wrist, to twist it up, his Wakandan arm whirring as the torque power kicked in.

Vasily cried out in pain. There was the distinct sound of several weapons losing their safeties from behind him as the Russian's men drew them.

"James," said Zemo firmly, with that steady calm still present in his voice. He nodded towards Vasily's hands.

Bucky took his eyes off the gangster long enough to look up and see the phone in the man's hand. It was in a rugged case, which made it bulge more under his jacket than it should have. He reluctantly released the man's arm and stepped back.

Vasily gripped his bruised fist and turned red in the face. For all his needling, it seemed he understood who he was dealing with, because he nodded at his men who reluctantly re-holstered their weapons. He straightened his tie and then looked to his phone. "As I was saying. Gita no longer owns this establishment. She traded it in an arrangement with my employer. If you are indeed her friend," he glanced at Zemo, "...then I have a number of her assistant who you can call."

"Well. That is uncharacteristically generous of you, Vasily," said Zemo.

"Not really," said the Russian. "If you are not friends, she will most certainly dispose of you. So it is a test of your honesty."