EP 2:
"Vanessa," somebody said, "Wake up. We're almost to our destination." Vanessa opened her eyes to find Sam shaking her awake. "Where are we going?" She asked standing up and grabbing her travel bag. "Baltimore, Maryland," Sam said. "For what?" "Bucky says there's someone we should meet."
After quickly changing into some jeans and a hoodie, and put on some glasses to deal with the headache she had. Vanessa stepped out of the plane and began walking through the streets of Baltimore. "Hey, it's Black Falcon. What's up?" Said a kid. "It's just Falcon, kid" answered Sam. "No, no. My dad told me it's Black Falcon" he argued. "Is it because I'm Black and I'm the Falcon?" Sam asked. Vanessa continued to walk but still listened to the conversation between the two. "So are you, like, Black kid? I got him, right?" He said with a chuckle.
They all neared an old-looking house. Bucky walked up the steps and knocked on the door. As soon as a kid opened the door, Bucky said, "We're here to see Isaiah." "Nobody named Isaiah lives here," said the kid. "Look, we just want to talk to him," Bucky said calmly. "You must not hear what I just said. You ain't getting in this house. Y'all can leave now" the kid said, getting a bit irritated. Bucky sighed and told him, "Tell him the guy from the bar in Goyang is here. He's gonna know what that means." "All right wait here," he said and closed the door.
"Nice kid. How do you know this guy?" Asked Sam. "I used to. We had a skirmish during the Korean War" Bucky told them. The door suddenly opened once again and the kidlet them in, "Today's your lucky day. He said he wanna see for himself." "Isaiah?" "Look at you," said the older man. "This is, uh, Vanessa and Sam. Vanessa, Sam, this is Isaiah. He was a hero" Bucky introduced them.
Vanessa gave the man a small smile and placed her sunglasses on her head. "One of the ones that HYDRA feared the most. Like Steve. We met in '51" Bucky continued. "If by met, you mean I whupped your ass, then, yeah. We heard whispers he was on the peninsula but everyone they sent after him, never come back. So the U.S. military dropped me behind the line to go deal with him. I took half that metal arm in that fight in Goyang, but I see he's managed to grow it back. I just wanted to see if he got the arm back. Or if he'd come to kill me" Isaiah said. "I'm not a killer anymore," Bucky said in a slight whisper. Trying to convince Isaiah and himself.
"You think you can wake up one day and decide who you wanna be? It doesn't work like that. Well, maybe it does for folks like you" Isaiah said. "Isaiah, the reason we're here is that there's more of you and me out there," Bucky said. "You and me." "And we need to know how." "I'm not gonna talk about it anymore," said Isaiah, grabbing a small tin and throwing it at the wall. "You know what they did to me for being a hero?" Isaiah continued, "They put my ass in jail for 30 years. People running tests, taking my blood, coming into my cell. Even your people weren't done with me." "Isaiah..." Sam started. "Get out of my house!" He yelled. Vanessa turned towards the door and began walking out. "Let's go, man. Let's go" said the boy.
Sam angrily walked ahead of both Vanessa and Bucky. "Sam..." Bucky said, trying to calm him down. "Why didn't you tell me about Isaiah? How could nobody bring him up? I asked you a question, Bucky" Sam whispered yelled. "I know," Bucky said. "Steve didn't know about him?" "He didn't. I didn't tell him" Sam continued. "Sam," Vanessa said, looking over at the police car that was nearing them. Sam ignored her and continued lecturing Bucky, "So you're telling me that there was a black Super Soldier decades ago and nobody knew about it?"
The police car approaches them and whoops the siren. "What's up, man?" Sam says casually. "Is there a problem here?" The officer asks. "No, we're just talking," Sam says. "We're fine," Bucky tells him. "Can I see your ID? Both of you" the officer says to Sam and Vanessa. "What for?" She asks him. "Man seriously?" Bucky says. "Ma'am just calm down. Are you carrying illegal substances?" The officer asked Vanessa, his hand subconsciously or consciously reaching down for his gun.
"This is calm, no I don't have anything," she said exasperated, when she noticed his hand she says, "Hey I am not armed". "What do you want? We're just talking," Sam said pulling Vanessa behind him. "Give him your ID's so we can leave," Bucky said. "I ain't going to give him shit. We're not doing anything other than talking," Vanessa said. "Are they bothering you?" The officer asked Bucky. "No, they're not bothering me. Do you know who they are?" Bucky said. The second officer moves and whispers something in the man's ear and suddenly his whole demeanor changes, "Oh, God, I am so sorry, Mr. Wilson. I didn't recognize you without the goggles. I'm really, really sorry about this."
Then another police car arrives. "Guys, just wait here, okay? Just..." the officer says. "I didn't... I didn't tell anyone because he had already been through enough" Bucky takes the moment to tell Sam. "Mr. Barnes, there's a warrant out for your arrest" the officer suddenly says. "Look, the president pardoned him for all that" Sam argues. "Not for that. You missed your court-mandated therapy. It's like missing a check-in with your PO. I'm sorry, Mr. Barnes, you're under arrest" the officer said as he placed handcuffs on Bucky. Vanessa wondered just how stupid these officers were, did they not know that he could easily break out of those cuffs without any problem?
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Sam and Vanessa made their way over to the police precinct to see what they could do about Bucky's situation. "Sam. I've heard. Lot about you. I'm Dr. Raynor. I'm James's therapist" said a woman. Sam quickly stood up and shook her hands "So nice to meet you. Thank you for getting him out." "That was not me," she told him. "Christina," yelled someone, "It's great to see you again." Vanessa turned and saw John Walker shaking hands with people, still in his suit. Did he never take that thing off?
"You gotta be kidding me. You know him?" Sam asked. "Yeah, we did some field ops back in the day," said Dr. Raynor. "I heard you are working with Bucky, so I thought I'd step in. Bucky's not gonna be following a strict schedule any longer" Walker told her. "We haven't finished our work. Who authorized this?" Dr. Reynor asked. Walker only smiled and pointed to himself. Walker turned and saw Vanessa still sitting in one of the chairs, "Vanessa, was it? Lovely to see you again." Vanessa gave him a very forced smile.
Bucky then walked out escorted by two police officers. "He's too valuable of an asset to have tied up. Just do whatever you got to do with him, then send him off to me" Walker told Dr. Reynor, "Got some unfinished business, him and I. You too, Vanessa, Wilson. I'll be outside." "James, condition of your release, session now. You too, Sam. And you as well" she said pointing at Vanessa. "Nah I'm good Doc. I already got my therapist and having a session with somebody else would be a bit like betraying her. I can't do that, I'll wait right here" Vanessa said. "Now" ordered Dr. Reynor, "that wasn't a request."
Vanessa begrudgingly stood up and followed after Sam. Dr. Reynor lead them into an empty holding cell with two chairs, "It's cool, I'll just stand I guess" Vanessa said. "So... who would like to start?" Dr. Raynor said. "Alright, look, Dr. Raynor?" Sam asked clarifying, "I get it, why you want me to talk to Freaky Magoo over here. But I'm 100% fine." "It is my job to make sure that you're okay. And so, yeah, this may be slightly unprofessional, but it's the only way that I can see if you're getting over whatever's eating at you" Dr. Reynor said.
"This is ridiculous," Sam said. "Yeah. I agree" Bucky said. "See? Making progress already. So who wants to go first?" She asked and when no one answered she continued, "No volunteers. Wow. How surprising. Okay. We're going to do an exercise it's something I use with couples when they are trying to figure out what kind of life they wanna build together. Are you familiar with the miracle question?"
Vanessa quietly laughed and nodded her head and Sam answered, "Absolutely not" at the same time that Bucky said, "Of course not." Vanessa had spent years in therapy talking about her drug abuse problem, the stupid miracle question had come up a couple of times.
Vanessa slid down to the floor and crossed her legs. "Okay, it goes like this. Suppose that while you're sleeping, a miracle occurs. When you wake up, what is something that you would like to see that would make your life better?" Dr. Reynor asked. "In my miracle, he would... he would talk less," Bucky said. "Exactly what I was gonna say. Isn't that ironic?" Sam answered sarcastically. "You guys are leaving me with no choice. It's time for the soul-gazing exercise."
From her seat on the floor, Vanessa was laughing. She'd done the should-gazing exercise once in therapy, but she'd done it by herself in front of a mirror. "I like this better" Bucky said. "Oh, God. He's gonna love this" Sam said. "Yeah, I'm ready." "You too Vanessa," said Dr. Reynor. "Who am I supposed to soul 'gaze with? The wall? I'm good, I get along just fine with both of them" she said with a smile. "Turn around. Face each other" Dr. Reynor ordered. "You should really enjoy this" Sam told Bucky. "I'm going to." "I know you are." "Sam. Face each other" ordered Dr. Reynor. "Let's do it. Let's stare" Bucky said. "Get close" she ordered them. "This is a good exercise. Thanks, Doc" Bucky told her.
Both of them only moved a few centimeters closer. "All right, good. All right, get close. Come on, a little closer" said Dr. Reynor. "Which way do you want to go? Right or left?" Asked Bucky. "Why're your legs open? You know what? Fine. Here. You happy now?" Sam said as he pulled in closer to Bucky. "All right," Dr. Reynor said, "Good. Fine." "We're locked in," Sam said. "That's a little close" Bucky responded. "Very. What you wanted, right?" "Guys. Good. Now, look at each other. You need to look at each other in the eyes. There, you see? That wasn't so hard. Wait, what are you doing? Are you having a staring contest? Just blink."
Dr. Reynor said and snaps her finger in front of them, "Sweet Jesus. All right, James, why does Sam aggravate you? And don't say something childish." "Why did you give up that shield?" Bucky asked. "Why are you making such a big deal out of something that has nothing to do with you?" Sam asked back, avoiding the question. "Steve believed in you. He trusted you. He gave you that shield for a reason. That shield, that is... that is everything he stood for. That is his legacy. He gave you that shield, and you threw it away like it was nothing" Bucky continued. "Shut up," Sam told him. "So maybe he was wrong about you. And if he was wrong about you, then he was wrong about me" Bucky said, his voice cracking a little at the end.
Vanessa could hear the pain in Bucky's voice. She understood what that shield meant to him, what it meant to both of them. Bucky wanted Sam to have that shield because he wanted the reminder that someone believed that he could be good. That he wasn't HYRDA's weapon anymore. Sam gave up the shield because he believed that he was not worthy of it. That he was never going to be the right person to carry that mantle. Vanessa who had an outsider's perspective understood this, but to both of them, it was much more complicated than that.
"You finished?" Sam asked. "Yeah." "All right, good. Maybe this is something you or Steve will never understand. But can you accept that I did what I thought was right? You know what, Doc? I don't have time for this. We have some real serious shit going on. So how about this? I will squash it right now. We go deal with that, and when we're done, we both can go on separate, long vacations and never see each other again" Sam said. "I like that," Bucky told Sam. "Great. Well, let's get to work. Thanks, Doc, for making it weird. I feel much better. I'll see you outside" Sam told Dr. Reynor. Vanessa stood up and began walking towards the door, when Dr. Reynor spoke again, "Just one second Vanessa, I would like to speak with you. Alone." Vanessa audibly groaned and sat down in the chair that Sam had previously been on.
Bucky stood up and walked towards the door, Dr. Reynor once again speaking before he could leave, "I know that look. What's wrong?" "What was rule number two again?" Bucky asked. "Don't hurt anyone" Dr. Reynor reminded him. "Goodbye, Doc." They sat in silence for a couple of seconds before Vanessa spoke up, "If we could hurry this alone Doc, I got places to be." "How are you feeling Vanessa?" She asked. "Me? Oh, I'm feeling great. Yeah, I'm having the time of my life traveling and trying not to get killed. You know?" "How long have you been working with Sam and Bucky?" She asked. "Well it's more of a recent thing, but I met them both a couple of years ago. Before the" Vanessa snapped her fingers. "And how are you handling their dynamic?" "Just fine," Vanessa said, "Now if that's all I'm going to go."
"You don't like sharing your feelings. You use sarcasm as a defense mechanism. And let me guess you put on a tough exterior so that people stay away from you because you're scared that they'll eventually leave. Did I get that right? Abandonment issues?" Dr. Reynor asked. "You've read my file. Good to know HIPPA is no longer a thing" Vanessa waited a couple of seconds before speaking again, "Why'd you want to talk to me?"
"Wanted to meet you and form an opinion of you for myself. James mentioned you a couple of times during our therapy session" she said. "Did he now?" Vanessa asked with a slight smirk and a raised eyebrow. "Yes, he mentioned you were... odd." "Most people just go straight to crazy" Vanessa says, "You formed an opinion yet?" "I have. And I think you are good for him" she stated. "Good for him? For what?" Vanessa asked confused. "That'll be all Vanessa, you may go." "Right? It was nice meeting you, but uh let's never do this again" Vanessa said as she stood up and walked out of the room.
Vanessa walked towards where Sam and Bucky were standing talking to Walker and Lemar. She leans against one of the parked cop cars and listens to their conversation. "Where is she now, Walker? Do you know?" Bucky asked. "No, we don't know, Bucky. It's only a matter of time before we find out" Walker said raising his voice. "Take it easy," Lemar says. "Look, Walker's right. It is imperative that we find them and stop them. But you guys have rules of engagement and all kinds of authorizations you have to get. We're free agents. We're more flexible. So it wouldn't make sense for us to work with you" Sam tells him as he and Bucky begin to walk away. Vanessa pushed herself off the car as she hears, "A word of advice, then. Stay the hell out of my way."
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Vanessa walks with Sam and Bucky along the streets. "So what are you thinking?" Sam asks. "Well, I know what we have to do. When Isaiah said "my people"..." Bucky says. "I'm sure he didn't mean that. Don't take it to heart" Vanessa says. "No, he meant HYDRA. HYDRA used to be my people" he says. Sam scoffs and answers, "Not a chance." "Walker doesn't have any leads" argued Bucky.
Vanessa stood next to Bucky more confused than ever. "I know where you're going with this, no" Sam shuts him down. "He knows all of HYDRA's secrets. Don't you remember Siberia?" Bucky says. Vanessa suddenly recalls what happened in Siberia and the person who was at the center of everything. "So you're just gonna go sit in a room with this guy?" Asked Sam. "Yes." "Okay, then. We're gonna go see Zemo" Sam says as he walks ahead of both Vanessa and Bucky. "You hesitated," Vanessa tells Bucky, "It was for a second, but there was hesitation. What are you planning?" "Nothing."