Karma // Bucky Barnes

11. Hips

The music was blasting the bass beating through the room as people browsed the art and danced the room. The club may be far less glitz and glamor than Zemo was used to, but inside, it has the same energy. Connection. The heave and throb of dozens of strangers is linked by a pulsing, frantic beat. Alcohol flows from a bar off to the side, and that's where Karma immediately goes, she gets them all a shot as Sharon works the room.

The music blares around them, the darkness interspersed with flashes of neon lights that cut a rainbow of colors through the fog. Karma wanted that fog, so she found the very center of the floor and closed her eyes, letting her hands lift as the music builds. The song breaks, and she flew.

The song bleeds into the next one and the crowd lets up a cheer, recognizing it, but she just moved into it without breaking stride. Sweat starts to bead down her skin already, her heart throbbing in time to the music— A hand snakes around her waist. Bucky.

Heart racing already—the music is excellent here, really, all tight, fast beats and throbbing bases. She leaned closer to Bucky, brushing her lips over the shell of his ear.

'I missed you,' she whispered before her hips moved against his, his hands snaking around her, her back flesh to his chest.

And the way Karma looked back at over her shoulder as they hit the middle of the dance floor had him wishing he could steal her away and never look back, forget everything else, just her, go back to telling jokes and dance competitions and long nights in each others arms. He wasn't sure what to do with this unexpected swell of possessiveness, but he took her hips in his hands and pressed their bodies together spinning her around to face him, letting everyone around them know that she's dancing with him. No one else. The beat rises.

'Come on guys I found him,' Sharon said, Karma kissed Bucky's cheek pulling him out of the haze of people, begrudgingly he left.

'Here we go,' Sam remarked

+

They changed and made their way to a shipyard. Thousands of containers if sharons contact was wrong they were never going to find him in this maze, if he even was here at all.

'Nagel works for the power broker.' Karma said as they maneuvered through the shipping containers. 'maybe we will get lucky and they will be having a secret meeting as we speak?' she teased.

'Mandripoor could give New York a run for its money,' Sam remarked

'They sure can throw good parties.' Sharon told him.

'Plenty of time for more fun,' Karma said hopefully glancing back at bucky.

'That bounty on your head it's likely you're never leaving,' Sharon told them

'Sharon,' Karma hissed.

'Just being honest.' Sharon reminded her. 'All right he's in their container 4261.'

'Are you sure you should be here Karma?" Bucky questioned.

"I learned a thing or two since you last saw me Bucky.' Karma said sweetly but he didn't like it, if something went down, she had never been one to know of this world, but I suppose she knew now.

'We will keep an eye out while you talk to Nagel but hurry I can't give you a lot of time.' Sharon said handing them all ear pieces and heading off. They opened it up to find an empty storage container.

'Sharon you sure this is the one? it's completely empty.' Sam remarked

'I'm positive it has to be.' Sharon told them Zemo turned on a flashlight looking around grazing his hands along the container walls he examined the seams meticulously pushing on the back wall it opened into a door music could be heard from above. Sam lead the way up the stairs to a hidden lab. Guns raised they entered cautiously.

Sam moved the pin from the record pick player and Nagel turned around startled.

'Dr. Wilford Nagel?'

'Who are you? What do you want?' He question nervously

'We know you created the super soldier serum.' Sam said

'Get out of my lab!' he demanded

'You know who he is right?' Sam asked when Wilfred halted seeing Bucky. Sam grabbed his arm, 'and this is baron Zemo, I know you've heard of him too right?' Wilfred nodded nervously. 'You seem like a pretty smart guy so you better have a conversation real quick.'

'How about a counter proposal?' Wilfred offered 'make me a better offer and I will talk.'

'Guys we have company.' Sharon hissed through the comms. They forced Nagel down to a chair Bucky pointed a gun at his head.

'Fucking hell,' Karma muttered sending an elbow back breaking the mans nose before grabbing his arm and sending him flying into a shipping container.

'Guys I don't know how many there are we gotta go,' Sharon told them. She was a skilled warrior and assassin though, Karma had been trained well as well. Sharon knew that she was putting Karma at risk but she trained Karma personally and Karma not ignorant to this life, she was in the thick of it with Sharon, helping her, sharons right hand woman. Bucky shot his gun his a bullet blasting beside Nagels head.

'OK,' he agreed 'I was brought into hydras Winter soldier program to pick up their work after the five field test subjects from the base were killed.' He looked to Zemo. A proud look was on Zemo's face as he walked the room. 'Hydra fell I was recruited by the CIA I was given blood samples and test subjects with semi stable traces of serum. After much labor I was able to isolate the necessary compound in his blood. I was a god,' he told them. 'I did with no other scientist was able to do in years but mine was going to be different no clunky machines or jacked up bodies. Mine was going to be subtle optimized perfect.' he told them

'How come we never heard about it?' Sam asked him.

'Because before I was able to complete my work I was dusted and then when I returned it was five years later the program had been abandoned so I came here. The power broker was more than happy to fund the re-creation of my work.' Nagel told him.

'How many vials did you make?' Sam asked

'20,' he answered 'Karly Morgenthau stole them so I can only imagine what the power broker has for that poor girl.'

'Where is she now?' Sam asked

'I don't know but a couple days ago,' Wilford went on while Zemo continued to search the room walking around examining everything before finding a hidden gun. He pulled it free from under the desk.

'She called and asked if I could help someone named donya madani. The poor woman has tuberculosis typical of overpopulation and camps like that.'

'What happened to her?'

'Not my pig not my farm.' Nagel told them simply. More men were appearing outside and Sharon and Karma kept taking them down one at a time but she was getting tired her body aching from being tossed around.

'HURRY THE FUCK UP!" Karma shouted and she sounded a lot like Sharon when she was angry bucky remarked.

'Is there any serum in this lab?' Bucky asked and he pointed the gun to his temple

'No' he answered as Karma and Sharon opened the containment door running in

'Guys were seriously out of time here,' Sharon remarked and Zema shot Nagel in the head he dropped dead. Sharon took his gun and Sam pushed him against the wall, Karma stared down at Nagel, there goes the serum, she glanced back at Sharon and she was thinking the exact same thing.

'What did you do?' but not even a moment later a bazooka came blazing in to the containment cell setting everything on fire. Zemo ran as Sam struggled to get up they heard a fizz and a pop as the containment cell, it was going to break it any minute. Bucky pulled them out. The air was black around them as the chemicals caused an explosion. Karma coughed for breath as she pulled out her gun, bucky kept her behind him as he assessed the situation.