Steve walked out of the Quinjet with Tony, Bruce, and Clint. Sam used Redwing to scout out the base in Siberia. No activity in years.
"Who wants to start planting the explosives?" Steve asked, looking past all the snow that was falling at the bunker.
"We need to check if the other soldiers are even in there," Bruce noted. "What do we do if they aren't?"
"Then we talk to Buck," Steve replied, looking over at Bruce. "Stay here, we'll call if we need you."
Bruce nodded in reply.
Steve walked over to the front door, breaking the lock with his shield. They stepped down a long flight of stairs. There entered a large room, with 6 cryogenic chambers. One of them was empty. Buckys. Steve sighed, looking around the room. He noticed there were bullet holes in the other 5 chambers. All of the soldiers were still inside.
"Don't worry. They went in their sleep." They heard a voice echo around the room. He sounded foreign.
Tony looked around, seeing a barrier with a small window. Tony shot at it, but nothing happened.
"Stark, this chamber was used to keep HYDRA safe from the deadliest of bombs. You aren't getting past this." He chuckled.
"Who are you?" Tony asked, flipping the face shield up on his suit.
"Baron Zemo," Steve answered him. Steve was glaring through the glass.
"You know him?" Tony looked at Steve, a little offended he'd never mentioned him.
"I work with HYDRA, but I didn't like the Winter Soldier Project," Zemo answered. He paused. "If I come out, will you promise not to hurt me too much?"
Steve looked over at Tony. His jaw clenched and nodded gently.
Zemo opened the chamber, stepping out. He fixed his jacket as he cleared his throat. "Super Soldier's shouldn't exist. They were an American Project to just make it seem like they were more protected. No offense, Captain." Zemo chuckled, looking at Steve. "Where's the original Soldier?" He pointed to the 6th empty chamber in the room.
"Nowhere you need to know about," Clint interjected.
"Sure." Zemo smiled at him. "I do have some information for you before you decide to kill me or whatever you wanted to do with this base." Zemo sighed, waiting for a reply so he could continue.
"What is it?" Steve asked.
"HYDRA is obviously still looking for Sergeant Barnes, even though the Avengers have been taking them down rather quickly." Zemo paused. "I want you to watch your back. Take off one head, two more take its place." He repeated HYDRA's motto to them.
Tony rolled his eyes. "Yeah, we're aware."
"I'm surprised you and Barnes are so close, Stark." Zemo held his wrists behind his back. "Him killing your parents and all."
"Yeah, well. We talked about it." Tony joked, causing Steve to toll his eyes.
"Right." Zemo smiled. "Explains the new arm."
"Get on with what you have for us," Clint groaned.
"Very well." Zemo pulled a chair from one of the abandoned desks and sat on it. "You all can sit."
"No thanks. Talk." Tony spat, spinning his finger in a circle to signal Zemo to continue.
"Fine." He took a deep breath. "I know that Melany Banner is involved with him. I'm sure you want to know how HYDRA got that information." Steve nodded, feeling nervous at the mention of Melany. "HYDRA keeps tabs on anybody that can be a threat to them. So, Melany being the daughter of the infamous Hulk, they needed to keep their information straight." Zemo began before getting asked questions.
"If HYDRA knew about Melany this whole time, why don't they have very much?" Steve pushed.
"Because Bruce didn't experiment with gamma radiation until after Melany was born, and the fact that Banner only started working with SHIELD about ten years ago. HYDRA only extended their search when they found out about her and Barnes. They needed to find another way to get to him if it wasn't through you." Zemo sighed, weakly pointing at Steve. "They knew about that because of his early release from The Raft earlier this year. He was sent to the Avengers Compound in New York, where Melany Banner is." Zemo finished.
"If they knew about Bucky being at the compound, why didn't they just come to get him?" Tony asked.
"HYDRA didn't know where he was sent. I was able to pay some people to get me more information. They know about Melany due to her father, and Steve's relationship with her." Zemo spoke as Steve cleared his throat at his comment. "They just kept closer tabs on her."
Tony nodded. "How do we know we can trust you?"
"You haven't tried to kill me yet." Zemo pointed out, standing up from the chair.
"We could." Clint grabbed an arrow from his quiver, loading it into his bow.
"You won't." He chuckled. "I will have the information you need in order to keep your friends safe. The only other contact you have is Sharon Carter, and she's not your biggest fan right now, is she, Rogers?" Zemo asked, raising an eyebrow.
Steve sighed, running a hand over his face. "That's right."
"So, unfortunately, the Avengers need me." He chuckled. "You should feel lucky that I'm willing to help you after Sokovia."
"We had no choice, Zemo," Steve spoke up, watching as Zemo put the chair up.
"Sure." He scoffed. "Saving the world and all that."
Tony rolled his eyes. "We didn't ask for your help—"
"But we're glad we have it. Thank you." Steve finished Tony's harsh comment.
Zemo nodded. "Of course."
"Is there anything else you have for us?" Clint asked, getting a little irritated.
"Actually, yes." Zemo pulled a book from his jacket. It was red with a star. "This holds the words to activate the Winter Soldier." He handed it to Steve. "Don't let it fall into the wrong hands."
Steve nodded, knowing that if HYDRA managed to get Bucky again, they would have no purpose with him without the words.
"Thank you."
Zemo nodded in response, starting to walk to the exit.
"Where are you going?" Tony asked, putting his face shield back over his face.
"Home." That was all Zemo replied before disappearing behind a door.
It's been a few hours since their encounter with Zemo. He has since left, giving them more coordinates for HYDRA bases. Tony was a little skeptical that a current insider of HYDRA was helping them. The Winter Soldier project hasn't been active for years, but Zemo didn't believe in Super Soldiers at all, even Captain America.
It was a miracle that nobody tried to kill Zemo, even after all his snide comments. The four of them were setting up explosives around the space, and the top of the bunker, ready to blow up the base. They made sure to put them around the cryogenic chambers, to make sure there would be no evidence other than Bucky of the Winter Soldier Project.
"So, how did you know Zemo?" Tony asked.
"Ran into him a few times on other missions last year from Fury. He was never a big problem, but he seems like he can be an asset." Steve replied, placing an explosive under one of the cryogenic chambers.
"Do you think we can trust him?" Bruce asked.
"I don't know." Steve sighed, standing back up. "I hope so. I'll talk about it with Bucky."
"How is he?" Bruce asked.
"He's better." Steve smiled. "We're all better. Everything's started to calm down after the Halloween party."
"If you ever grab my daughter like I heard you did again, I will hurt you, Rogers." Bruce chuckled, crossing his arms.
"I know, I know. It was stupid. I apologized as soon as she'd talk to me." Steve chuckled.
"I'm glad everyone's okay." Bruce smiled.
"Has Bucky talked to you since we got to the cabin, by the way?" Steve wanted to know if Bruce knew about the ring.
"A little at the Halloween Party, why?" Bruce asked.
"Anything exciting?" Steve asked.
"Uhh, not really. We just talked about how he's been, and how things have been with Mel." Bruce was starting to get confused. "What do you know, Rogers?"
"Nothing." Steve threw his hands up in defense.
"Hey, girl scouts, let's go. They're all set up." Tony walked past them and outside to the jet.
Steve rolled his eyes, as did Bruce. "I'm sure Bucky will talk to you when he needs to." Steve smiled at Bruce.
"Okay." Bruce squinted his eyes at Steve, crossing his arms as they walked out.
They all walked back to the Quinjet, the cold getting to all of them but Tony due to his suit. They started flying off, making sure to get a good distance away before detonating the explosives. A loud explosion was heard behind them as they flew off.
Steve walked through the doors of the cabin. Nat greeted him with a smile and kiss on the cheek. "How'd it go?" She asked.
"Where's Bucky?" He asked, looking around.
"He's outback with Mel." She replied, walked past him and into the kitchen.
Steve quickly walked outback; the book tucked into his jacket.
Bucky turned when he heard the door open. He smiled at Steve, giving him a small smile. "Hey."
Melany turned as well. "Welcome back!" She ran to him, giving him a hug.
He chuckled. "Hey." He looked at Bucky. "Can we talk?"
Bucky nodded, kissing Melany's temple. "I'll meet you inside in a little bit, doll." He spoke.
"Okay." She smiled at him, giving him a quick kiss before holding her jacket tighter against her as the wind picked up and she walked inside.
"What's up?" Bucky asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.
Steve made sure Melany wasn't lurking around as he pulled out the book. "Ran into Baron Zemo in Siberia." Steve looked back at Bucky.
Bucky took a deep breath, staring at the book. "Why'd you bring it here?"
"I thought you'd want to see it for yourself."
Bucky nodded, taking it from him. "What was Zemo doing in Siberia?" He started flipping through the pages.
"He'd already taken care of the other Soldiers. It seemed like he was waiting for us. He gave us some information on HYDRA regarding you and Mel." Bucky looked over at Steve when he mentioned Mel.
"What about her?"
"Just that they knew about her because of Bruce, and Bruce is a threat to them. They keep tabs on anyone who's a threat to their organization." Steve sighed, not wanting to add in the next bit. "They're still looking for you, Buck."
"I know." Bucky sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Do you think we should trust him?" Steve asked, crossing his arms.
"Fuck no." Bucky chuckled. "I don't see why he would lie to you though. That'd give him no leverage."
"Right." Steve agreed.
"Give this to Tony the next time you see him. Keep it safe, and don't let Melany see. I don't want her knowing everything about the Program." Bucky handed the book back to him.
Steve tucked it in his jacket again, nodding. "Of course." He paused. "Are you ever going to tell her?"
"My file can only give her so much. I'm afraid I'm going to scare her off by telling her there used to be more like me." Bucky sighed.
"That wasn't you, Buck." Steve placed his hand on Bucky's shoulder, giving a small squeeze.
"I know, and I'm better now." He turned back to the house, seeing Melany and Nat sitting on the couch talking through one of the windows. "So much better."
"I know." Steve turned to the house as well, looking at Nat.
Bucky chuckled as they stood in silence for a moment. "So, you and Nat huh?"
"She told you?" Steve laughed a little, nodding. "Yeah, I mean, Mel told me to take a shot, so I did."
"I kind of figured it out." Bucky chuckled, causing Steve to widen his eyes, needing more of an explanation. "Nat made a comment the other day about not needing condoms when she gave me a box."
Steve laughed. "That's a horrible joke, oh my god." Steve smiled, biting his lip as he stared at Nat through the window.
"She's the one that made the joke." Bucky chuckled.
Steve turned to Bucky. "How are you and Mel? You two got into it pretty rough the other day when the girls got back so late."
"We're perfect." Bucky smiled. "Just miscommunication." Bucky ended the conversation by starting to walk away.
Steve chuckled, rolling his eyes, and followed him inside.