For you, I'll risk it all

II

The sky was darkening, casting a grey light on everything. The wind made the situation feel even more unbearable. Steve was standing outside the compound with Tony as they were waiting for the armoured vehicle to arrive.

It was clear that bringing that man in wasn't a good idea. Even a few questions would put Bucky in an awful spot, burdening him with his past more than he did to himself daily. Since his return, Steve had always been there for him. He noticed the pain in his eyes when he caught his reflection in the mirror, the disgust he felt whenever someone glanced at his metal arm, and he couldn't ignore the screams in the middle of the night. And Tony was well aware of all this.

Steve studied Tony's expression, the tension in his jaw, the rigidity of his shoulders. It was a side of Tony that was rarely seen, a side that only came to light when something deeply personal was at play. Despite the friction that had been between them, the silent battles and the loud ones, the disagreements, and the times when they stood as enemies, Steve knew, with an unwavering certainty, that Tony in the end cared about Bucky.

"Don't give me that look, Rogers,"

"I'm not giving you any look."

As they spoke, a blue van entered the gate. Four armed men, fully covered in military gear, stepped outside and positioned themselves at the back door of the car. The man they were waiting for was not so gently pushed out by a woman.

"One hour, two men with him," the woman said in a very firm and commanding tone.

"I wouldn't dream of spending more than that with him," Tony said as he let the men enter the compound.

As they opened the glass door of the meeting room, everyone snapped their heads in their direction. Steve's eyes immediately searched for Bucky, who was sitting in his usual chair.

Zemo was pushed onto a chair at the very end of the table, facing Stark who was standing in front of the monitor.

"Let's not waste time," Tony said as he lit up the screen. "Tell me what you know about this," he pointed to the same collage of footage of the woman.

Zemo grinned as he let out a small chuckle.

"And what do you offer me in return?"

"You are in no position to ask for anything. The fact that you are alive is everything you could ask for," Tony said, visibly trying to keep himself calm.

"I heard I will be transferred soon. Let's do it like this: I tell you everything I know and you don't send me to Alaska."

This time it was Bucky who chuckled.

The room fell silent for a moment. Zemo broke the quiet. "Hello, James."

Before Bucky could react, to avoid any escalation, as Steve saw the two armed militaries getting on edge, he intervened, "You should be grateful you had one day out of the cell you will be in for decades. Now, stop with the bullshit and speak."

The room fell silent again as everyone focused on Zemo.

"I know nothing," he said.

"Speak," Tony commanded, now annoyed.

"I was left out of it, but while I was working on my little project," Zemo started, eyeing Bucky, "I heard that they formed a group to search for a person who was apparently getting in their way. They called it 'Project Gold Fox', probably for her ability to sneak up under their nose and steal their prisoners."

"Go on," Natasha commanded.

"After a few months of coming home empty-handed, they asked me to lend them my little soldier to help the search," Zemo's eyes were back on Bucky, and his friend could feel him freezing at his side. He tried to whisper as quietly as he could, "Are you sure you want to stay here?" He didn't respond, just nodded.

"Eventually, the Winter Soldier found her and brought her in. They put her in the opposite wing where we were in the Siberian base, but a few times a week the two of them trained or fought together. I don't know if they experimented on her or if it was just to make her stronger. One day, we were waiting in the training room, and she never arrived. That's all I know."

Everyone was trying to gather the information he gave them. But was it true? How could he not know what happened to her?

To everyone's surprise, Bucky asked the question, "What happened to her?"

"I don't know. There were some rumours that she escaped, but they were obviously shut down."

Steve took a moment to study Bucky's expression. He knew what everyone was thinking. How could someone escape Hydra in a few months when it took years for the Winter Soldier to do so?

As his focus was still on his friend, he didn't realize that Zemo was taken out of the room and back to his cell.