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

Chapter 10

Zemo clearly knew better than to let his gaze linger on Bucky's limp left arm. The Sokovian in the photostatic veil disguise glanced at it only a moment, exchanged another look with him, then returned his attention to the front.

Not everyone else in the room was being so cool. A few of the people, absolutely appalled by the sudden deactivation of their Wakandan tech, stood up and left almost immediately.

"Well, now that we've cleared the room of less...serious bidders," said the woman with the topknot in a wry, condescending way. It produced chuckles from various corners of the room.

Bucky sat there uncomfortably, the full weight of his vibranium arm a dead weight in his socket. It had malfunctioned before - been destroyed before, been entirely removed on more than one occasion. But no matter how many times it happened, he never got used to it. Sure, the arm was a deadly weapon, but it was also a functional prosthesis. It was more than a little unnerving to have the use of part of his body stolen from him.

"As you can clearly see, the virus very effectively renders Wakandan tech inert. Any conventional technology adulterated with Wakandan technology, or based on Wakandan design, is also affected - though to a lesser extent. As there are many black market variations on that technology, we cannot guarantee to what extent these lesser Wakandan technologies will be affected by the virus. But as those of you in the weapons business know, a single jammed bullet can create a very keen advantage on the field of battle." The topknotted woman was poised and clearly had refined her sales pitch. Her gaze went to a few of the figures in the room who were presumably weapons dealers at her last words.

"You call it a virus, but it seems to be functioning like...like a nullification field," said a man from the far corner of the room who adjusted his glasses as he spoke. Something about him seemed familiar, but Bucky couldn't place him. "Viruses are things that get in the air, that replicate. How is this like a virus?"

"Ah, my apologies, Mister Hammer. It functions like a computer virus, not a respiratory one," said the woman. A ripple of laughter passed through the room.

Bucky glanced in the bespectacled man's direction, and then finally placed him. Justin Hammer. Former CEO of Hammer Industries. Self-styled rival to Tony Stark - though the man was no real threat. He had gone to prison, but had escaped during the Blip. He'd heard rumours of the man making a return on the criminal scene, but this was the first proof he'd seen.

"Of course, of course," said Hammer with a tight smile. "My point still stands, though. How can you turn off a computer virus once it's out there? And how can you localize it to affect..." he waved around himself, "...everything in this room that's Wakandan?"

The woman's smile was tight, but the looks from others in the room suggested this was a question they had as well. She tilted her chin upwards. "Proprietary software."

"You mean...alien software."

Bucky tensed up as he realized the man next to him was the one who spoke. He shot Zemo a hard look. He was no spy, but it seemed to him the last thing they needed was for people to pay attention to them.

A rippled murmur cascaded around the room. Some of the people nodded at one another, seeming to indicate they too had heard the rumours.

"Yes, Mister Azarov. I see you're quite well-informed," said the woman tightly. There was an edge of suspicion, or perhaps annoyance in her tone. Or perhaps both. "The virus requires a certain signal for it to remain active. In the absence of that signal, it becomes inert. Though the code of the virus does remain in the Wakandan technology."

That caused a murmur of worry to pass through the crowd. "Don't be concerned, ladies and gentlemen. The devices you passed through will purge the code from your technology as you exit."