The Winter Warrior // Captain America

«Chapter 36»

"The futurist, ladies and gentlemen!" Clint Barton mockingly exclaimed as Tony Stark stepped into the Raft's holding area. Clint, Sam, Wanda, Scott, Bucky, and America had been arrested after the fiasco at the airport in Leipzig and had been taken straight to the Raft, which was a giant underwater cell block. Wanda was kept in a straight-jacket to keep her from using her powers to escape and America was chained to the floor. "The futurist is here! He sees all. He knows what's best for you, whether you like it or not." 

Tony walked up to his cell. "Give me a break, Barton," he said. "I had no idea they'd put you here." 

Clint spat on the floor. "Yeah, well, you knew they'd put us somewhere, Tony," he grumbled.

"Yeah, but not some super-max floating ocean pokey," said Tony. "This place is for maniacs, it's a place for-" 

"Criminals," Clint finished his sentence. Rising up from the floor, he continued, "Criminals, Tony. I think that's the word you're looking for. Right? It ain't used to be me. Or Sam, or Wanda, or Bucky. But here we are." 

"Because you broke the law," Tony stated. "I didn't make you." 

Clint started mocking Tony, "Law, law, law, law."

"You read it, you broke it," Tony said. "Alright? You're all grown up, you got a wife and kids. I don't understand, why didn't you think about them before you chose the wrong side?" 

"Don't you get it? This is all about family. Anna is Steve's sister. Not some casual friend he used to know, not some girl he met on the streets years ago. His sister," Clint said, but Tony already walked away. "Better watch your back with this guy. There's a chance he's gonna break it!" 

As Tony passed Scott's cell, Scott said, "Hank Pymm always said, you never can trust a Stark." 

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Come on, man..." Scott sighed before sitting down on his bed again. 

Tony passed America's cell and he sent her a look that was filled with mixed emotions. He didn't know what to say, so he kept quiet. America's eyes were void of emotion. All she could think about was her husband and his sister rushing to prevent something catastrophic from happening. 

"How's Rhodes?" Sam asked when Tony stopped in front of his cell. 

"They're flying him to Columbia Medical tomorrow so finger's crossed," Tony answered. "What do you need? Did they feed you yet?" 

Sam turned around, revealing the large bruise on his cheekbone. His expression was ice-cold. "You're the good cop now?" he asked. 

"I'm just a guy that needs to know where Steve went," Tony said. 

"Oh, then you gotta get a bad cop because you're gonna have to go Mark Fuhrman on my ass to get information out of me," Sam sneered. 

Tony tapped his watch a few times. "Well, I just knocked the A out of their AV. We got about thirty seconds before they realise it's not their equipment," he said and Sam raised his brows. "Just look," Tony said, a hologram appearing from his watch of a middle-aged man who lay dead in a bathtub. "Because that is the guy who was supposed to interrogate Anna. Clearly, I made a mistake. Sam, I was wrong." 

In the cell next to Sam's, Bucky Barnes was intently listening to their conversation, growing more and more worried about Anna and Steve by the second. 

"That's a first," Sam commented. 

"Cap is definitely off the reservation but he's about to need all the help he can get. We don't know each other very well so you don't have to..." Tony started.

"Hey, it's... it's all right," said Sam. Tony leaned closer and Sam released a breath. He shot a glance at the wall to his right where America sat in the cell next to him. "Look, I'll tell you, but you have to go alone and as a friend." 

"Easy," Tony agreed. 

*** 

A N N A ' S   P O V 

I twirled my fingers around each other as my hands lay in my lap. "What's gonna happen to Bucky, America, and your friends?" I asked my brother as he flew the jet through the mountains.

Steve hesitated, sighing and shaking his head lightly. "Whatever it is," he said. "We'll deal with it."

I blinked as I felt my eyes water. "I don't know if I'm worth all this, Steve," I whispered, looking down. I felt his eyes on me but I refused to look up. Guilt nagged at my heart and I bit on the inside of my cheek to stay calm.

"What you did all those years, it wasn't you. You didn't have a choice," he told me.

"I know," I muttered. "But I did it. I killed those people without a second thought and that will haunt me for the rest of my life."

"Anna, no one blames you for that," Steve tried, but I just scoffed.

"Tony does, and the king of Wakanda wants me dead. And what about all those families that were left with the gaping hole I caused? Do I need to go on?" I asked, raising my voice.

"We'll figure things out. Let's just get this guy first," Steve said as we approached the icy plains of Siberia. The hairs in my neck stood upright and I shivered. "It's gonna be okay, just stick with me," Steve said softly, landing the jet and getting up from his seat. "Gear up." 

I unbuckled myself before walking over to a storage compartment that read 'Romanoff'. I opened it and took out one of the largest guns. Whatever we were about to face, the other Winter Warriors I once knew were all bigger than I was, so I had to have something to protect myself other than my arm and my swiftness.

I stood beside Steve as we waited for the back hatch to open. "You remember that time we broke into that fair after dark and Mom was waiting for us when we got home?" Steve spoke up. 

"Was that the time we wasted all our pocket money in the arcade hall?" I asked. 

"Yeah, and Bucky blew three bucks trying to win you that stuffed bear you wanted so bad." He chuckled, making me laugh. 

My smile fell lightly when I realised I hadn't told Steve about my involvement with Bucky yet. "Steve, look-" I started, but he cut me off. 

"Anna, whatever it is that's going on between you and Bucky, I'm happy for you. Really," he said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "We're all adults, and he's good for you." 

I smiled softly. "Thank you," I muttered. 

"As long as I'm invited to the wedding," he joked and I laughed.

"Yeah, like you invited me to yours?" I shot back playfully, pushing his arm lightly.

The hatch touched the ground and we got out. I felt how all my senses were heightened and I was on edge the whole walk to the concrete structure that stood in the middle of the snow plains. 

Steve stopped and I stood next to him, seeing the steel doors were already opened. "He can't have been here for more than a few hours," Steve told me and I knew he was trying to make me feel better, but that had never been his strong suit. 

"Long enough to wake them up," I said, tightening my grip on the gun as we entered.