Destiny | Bucky Barnes [2]

05|My Dear Soldier

"You'll be provided with an office instead of a cell. Now, do me a favor, stay in it?" Ross said as he looked at T'Challa who nodded "I don't intend on going anywhere."

Natasha walked up to her friends "For the record, this is what making things worse looks like." She looked tired "He's alive." Was Steve's only response "Freya. Your position was already fragile..." Natasha trailed off looking at Freya sadly "They have always feared me too much Nat." The two shared a sad smile.

"No. Romania was not Accords-sanctioned. And, Colonel Rhodes is supervising cleanup." Tony spoke on the phone, attracting attention to him "Try not to break anything while we fix this." Natasha warned, before they were in earshot with Tony "Consequences? You bet there'll be consequences. Obviously you can quote me on that 'cause I just said it. Anything else? Thank you, sir." Tony ended his call and turned to face his friends and teammates.

"'Consequences'?" Steve asked, raising an eyebrow at Tony "Secretary Ross wants you three prosecuted. Had to give him something. You two are basically free." He gestured to Sam and Steve "You are still a question mark but it's tipping to a positive." He answered as he looked at Freya who nodded grateful for Tony's efforts.

"I'm not getting that shield back, am I?" Steve asked with a sight "Technically, it's the government's property. Wings, too." Natasha responded and looked at Sam for the latter part "That's cold." Sam reacted cooly "Warmer than jail." Tony retorted, sassing the Falcon.

Freya sat on a chair as she looked at Bucky through one of the many screens, her heart clenching as he would start his psychological evaluation, whatever that meant. The cuffs and collar annoyed Freya but she kept her mouth shut, all her attention focused on Bucky.

Her Bucky.

"I'm not here to judge you. I just want to ask you a few questions. Do you know where you are, James? I can't help you if you don't talk to me, James." Hemlut Zemo started, something felt off about the guy but Freya waved it off. People tended to feel off when they were wearing vibranium handcuffs and a shock-collas, while being in a maximum security compound, or at least Freya supposed that it was probably that "My name is Bucky." Bucky whispered, barley audible yet the tone of his voice so heartbreaking that Steve and Freya shared a quick glance at each other, seeing their Brooklyn boy through the Winter Soldier.

"Why would the Task Force release this photo to begin with?" Steve suddenly asked as Zemo read some files "Get the word out, involve as many eyes as we can?" Sharon offered "Right. It's a good way to flush a guy out of hiding. Set off a bomb, get your picture taken. Get seven billion people looking for the Winter Soldier." Steve sounded utterly pissed off and Freya agreed with him, she was there and she knew Bucky wasn't "You're saying someone framed him to find him." Sharon realised "Steve, we looked for the guy for two years and found nothing." Sam spoke up, not really clear if he was supporting Steve or not "We didn't bomb the UN. That turns a lot of heads."

"Yeah, but that doesn't guarantee that whoever framed him would get him. It guarantees that we would." Sharon trailed off and her gaze fell onto an elevator on a screen, her eyes narrowing "Yeah." Steve said in realisation as he looked around "It must have been someone who had a clear way of getting in here unnoticed." Freya spoke calmly, her eyes never leaving Bucky's figure.

"Tell me, Bucky. You've seen a great deal, haven't you?" Zemo looked up from his files, speaking with a heavy accent "I don't want to talk about it." Bucky grunted as he fluttered his eyes shut "You fear that... if you open your mouth, the horrors might never stop. Don't worry." Zemo glanced down at his notification before a ghost of a smirk rested on his features "We only have to talk about one."