"You are out of your mind, you want to break him out?" Sam yelled as we both just looked to Bucky.
He had given us this entire spiel about wanting to break him out. He was convinced that Zemo had something that could actually help us. I didn't even have the mentality to speak right now. I shook my head and turned away from them both. I didn't care if Zemo had the solution to world peace. I didn't trust him any farther than I can throw him.
"Where even the hell are we?" Sam asked as we walked into a dark warehouse that was on prison property. I had no idea why we were here or rather how we even got down here. It was a maximum security prison so this didn't even feel right. "We have one of the most dangerous men in the world behind bars and you want to get him out. He's just going to mess with our minds, especially yours Bucky."
"We've also got 8 super soldiers on the run." Bucky said defending himself. "And counting apparently."
I found a light switch and flipped the lights on and we were surrounded by a workshop. Cars were everywhere and covered in tarps. I even saw work benches and parts scattered everywhere. Reminded me of Tony's garage except instead of cars it was suits and machinery.
"Super soldiers go against everything he's ever done." Bucky said looking to Sam. "He's crazy, but he still has a code."
"What do you mean it goes against everything he's ever done?" I asked because as far as I was concerned he worked for HYDRA. "He literally created me."
"He hated HYDRA. He worked for them to try and take, them down from the inside. He was the reason why we all had a huge civil war amongst the Avengers while you were in Berlin the second time. He hates anyone with super human powers or abilities, he wants those super soldier gone as much as we do." Bucky said and I just turned away again.
I was so confused and lost. I didn't understand any of this and the fact that we were asking for help from a man who had hurt me now seemingly out of disgust made me sick. He wasn't just some evil man who worked for HYDRA. He was an undercover spy working against HYDRA. Though it sounded like that would mean he was on my side, this almost made him worse than HYDRA itself.
"I've been on the wrong side of that code and so have you Bucky!" Sam said raising his voice. "He blew up the UN, he killed king T'Chaka, not to mention he framed you for it!"
Bucky shot Sam a glare and I could see Bucky was getting angry.
"What about the Wakandan's? Do you think the Wakandan's forgot about that?" He asked angrily. "That was a rhetorical question. They didn't. I get why this matters to you, but it's pushing you off the deep end coming here."
"Sam we don't know how they're getting the serum. We don't even know how many of them there are!" Bucky said clearly trying to persuade him. "Let me just walk you through a hypothetical? Can I?"
"What did you do?" Sam asked almost in a growl as he turned back to Bucky.
"I didn't do anything." Bucky said in a weak voice.
My shoulders sank when I realized where Bucky's tone was going. I knew he was lying. It was rare he did, but he was lying right now. My hands balled into fists fearing what on earth he could have done.
"The weakest point in any system isn't the software, the hardware, it's the meatware. The human element. Now in this lock up it's nine to one prisoners to guards. And if two prisoners start fighting them the protocol says four guards have to respond." He said with his hands up in defense.
"James Buchanan Barnes." I said in a cold tone through my teeth.
"So why would two prisoners randomly start fighting at that moment?" Sam asked angrily.
"Who knows, there could be many reasons." Bucky said with his eyes flashing towards me. "The point is these things escalate. Lockdown procedures would have to be initiated. And with all those bodies flying left and right wouldn't be hard to slip down a hallway or two. Now if the fire alarm got tripped while the prisoners were being separated... someone could use the chaos to their advantage."
"I don't like how casual you're being about this. It's unnatural. And are you- I mean where are we man?" Sam asked.
I was furious but I heard a door open behind us. I saw the outline of a guard walking towards us and I just shook my head. Great, now we were being caught lurking around wherever this place was.
The guard came through a set of curtain and it wasn't long before Sam started to yell and I saw his face. My hands immediately went to the glock in my waist band and I whipped it out and aimed it right at his face. Before my finger could even touch the trigger Bucky ripped it from my hands.
"I didn't wanna tell you cause I knew you wouldn't let this happen." Bucky yelled. Sam had too been yelling so I had no idea who he was talking took
"What did you do!" I shouted.
"We need him." Bucky said desperately.
"You're going back to prison!" Sam yelled.
"If I may," Zemo said holding his hands up.
"No!" We all shouted.
"Apologies." He said and Sam and Bucky continued to argue, but my eyes were glued to him.
"Sam, when Steve refused to sign the Sokovia Accords, you backed him. You broke the law and you stuck your neck out for me. I'm asking you to do it again." Bucky said behind me.
"I really think I'm invaluable-"
"Shut up." I barked.
"Okay." Sam said reluctantly.
"Val." Bucky said coming into my view.
"Don't give me a spiel." I said shaking my head looking at him.
"We need him." Bucky said.
"He makes one move without permission and I blow his brains in." I said offering my deal.
"Fair." Zemo said shrugging.
"Valerie you can't just kill him, we need him." Bucky said adamantly.
"Well then you better hope he listens."
•
We had ended up stealing a car to drive us to whatever plane Zemo had. I didn't like this circumstance whatsoever, but I wasn't going to throw a fit the whole time. I was just going to wait for the moment he stepped out of line and bash his brains in. I know at the end of whatever this mission was he'd be dead meat if I had anything to do with it.
We boarded his jet and it was quite nice on the inside, but I hardly cared. The three of them sat facing each other near the front rows and I sat a couple rows back. I didn't want to talk right now. I had enough to process before I could simply look at Zemo and have to resist the urge to kill him. Though it was the last thing I wanted to do, I needed to put my own feelings aside if we wanted to move this mission forward.
The butler came by and gave me a glass of champagne. I took it with hesitation, but the man just gave me a warm smile. I took a sip and sat back in my seat. I had been in now 4 different planes in the last 2 days and I was over it.
I listened as the three spoke up front but stayed in my own bubble. Zemo had come from a family of wealth. Before Sokovia was destroyed apparently his family lived there. I didn't want to ask, but I'm assuming after the city fell all those years ago they weren't around anymore.
I could hear the three of them talking, mostly Zemo. I could hear his smart ass comments and that only made me angrier. We had just gotten him out of prison and this is how he acts. The next thing I knew Bucky was jumping up grabbing Zemo by the throat. I could see the fury in his eyes and I just watched curiously. The only reason I'd ever step in to stop someone from killing him was because I wanted to do it myself.
"If you touch that again I'll kill you." Bucky warned.
He let go of Zemo and backed away to his seat. I made eye contact with him for a short second. Zemo relaxed as well, but things didn't seem any less tense. Clearly for the few minutes I had zoned out he had said or done something stupid.
"I'm sorry. I understand that list of names, people that you've wronged as the Winter Soldier." Zemo said watching him sit back down.
"Don't push it." Bucky said coldly.
"I've seen that book, it was Steve's when he came out of the ice." Sam said firmly.
"You must've really looked up to Steve... I realized something when I met him, the danger with people like him. America's super soldiers, is that we put them on pedestals." Zemo said getting passionate as he spoke.
"What your step Zemo." Sam said acknowledging that I was now sat forward with eyes locked onto him.
"They become symbols, icons. That's when we start to forget about their flaws. From there cities fly, innocent people die. Moments are formed and wars are fought." He said softly. Zemo glanced at me over his shoulder before turning back to Bucky. "You remember that right? As a younger soldier sent to Germany to stop a mad icon. Do we want to live in a world full of people like the Red Skull? That is why we're going to Madripoor."
"What is up with Madripoor? You guys talk about it like it's skull island." Sam said and I had had remembered hearing of Madripoor a long time ago. My memory was foggy, but I had remembered that island from some other missions.
"It's an island nation in the Indonesian archipelago. It was a pirate sanctuary back in the 1980's." Bucky said explaining it to Sam.
"It's kept it's lawless ways." Zemo added. "But we cannot exactly walk in as ourselves. James you have to become someone you claim is gone."
I saw Bucky get upset and he refused to look at me. I already didn't like Zemo, but now he was going to make Bucky turn into the winter solider. The very thing he had been fighting he was going to have to do.
"Yeah and why should we help you?" I asked getting to my feet and standing over him.
"Valerie, don't do this." He said grabbing the gun I had in my hand that I hadn't even remembered pulling out. "You can't shoot a gun 10,000 feet in the air inside of a pressurized cabin."
"Old tendencies die hard." Zemo teased and I went for him again, but Bucky grabbed the back of my neck and made me look at him.
"He's toying with you, don't let it get to you." He whispered looking at me trying to calm me down.
"She was the feistiest of all of HYDRA's experiments." Zemo said and I just looked to him. "If it counts for anything, it's served you well"
Bucky grabbed my face and he could instantly see my eyes watering. I however, held it back because I refused to show how much this bothered me.
"One step out of line." I said turning back to face Zemo. "I won't hesitate."
"Yes ma'am." He said and I just shook my head.
I walked towards the back of the plane away from them, but Bucky had followed me. I sat down and he was knelt in front of me. He looked up to me and I could see he was wary. We was worried about me and I was worried about him. My hand rose and brushed his cheek.
"Bucky, you've worked so hard. You can't let him make you turn back into that." I said shaking my head.
"I'll be okay. I can control it." He said consoling me.
"Can you Bucky? Honestly?" I asked.
"I don't know but I'll figure it out. We need to know where this serum is coming from and put a stop to it." He said trying to assure me.
"And if you lose control?" I asked.
"Then get away from me." He said firmly.
"I'm not going to abandon you in the middle of Madripoor." I said adamantly.
"Yes, you will. I'll wake up eventually. I just can't hurt you." He said shaking his head.
"You're asking too much Bucky." I said shaking my own head.
"I always do don't I?" He asked with a silly grin on his face and I just shook my head laughing softly.
It really wasn't a laughing matter, but I couldn't help it I leaned forward and pressed my forehead to his. He pressed upwards and kissed me slowly. His lips were soft against my own and I lingered longer than I usually did. Something just didn't feel right in this moment. I had assumed it was only the nervousness I felt. Madripoor was no vacation spot and we could get seriously hurt if we made any mistakes.
"I love you." He said softly and I smiled down at him.
"I love you too." I said sweetly.
"You know we still have unfinished business when we get home." He said playing with my hands and specifically my left one. "Some very overdue business, Tony already wanted to kill me for taking so long."
"All the more reason for you to be careful." I said softly but smiling down at him.
It was something that we didn't speak about. It didn't exactly bother me, but I had turned down his proposal quite sometime ago. Things had been absolutely crazy when he had asked and I didn't want it to feel forced. I loved Bucky and being married would change absolutely nothing but I didn't want to think back to those times when I thought about my proposal.
Our lives had constantly been driven by chaos. Everything that normal people got to do was never the same for me. When he had taken me by surprise and asked me to marry him moments before we went back in time to retrieve the stones I didn't want it. I wanted him of course, but I wanted us to at least have something normal.
It had meant the world that he had gone to Nat to help pick the ring. He had gone to Tony to ask for permission. I'm sure Steve had given him many pep talks and encouragement to actually do it. It was everything I never thought that I would have and that was exactly why it should happen for the right reasons, not when we were both scared.
"I'm always careful." He said with a wink and we both knew damn well that he was lying, but I knew what we had to do.