Guns and Ammunition [] TFATWS

Twenty

Chapter Twenty:

"I thought you were rotting away in a German prison?"

They were led into the back, through makeshift walls made of empty animal cages and decorated with bones. Josephine remained behind Sam, trying not to gawk at anything.

Selby, the woman Zemo had taken them to see was sat lounging on a sofa in front of them, her wrinkled face looking between each of them.

"How did you escape?"

Zemo lowered himself down into a chair across from the woman, shrugging his shoulders. "People like us always find a way, don't we? I'm sure you've already figured out what I'm here for."

"You're taller than I heard, Smiling Tiger." Her arm went up, a finger pointing at Sam. She made a face and whispered a purr before smiling back at Zemo. "What's the offer?"

"Tell us what you know about the Super Solider serum." Zemo stood up, wandering over to where Bucky was standing a few steps away. He was staring straight ahead, awaiting Zemo's next command. "And I'll give you him. Along with the code words to control him, of course."

Another thing she never fully understood, how could someone be brainwashed? It was a thing you saw on tv, or read in books about villains among other things, how they were brainwashed to do bad. It wasn't something that happened in real life, expect for cults, she supposed, yet here Bucky was, reliving the life he had nightmares about. With this, she knew he wouldn't be able to sleep for a least a week.

"You were right to come to me. Arrogant, but right." She spoke slowly, trailing after Zemo as he wandered to a seat closer to the woman. She smiled, "The super solider serum is here in Madripoor. Dr Wilfred Nagel is the man you want to thank... or condemn, depending what side of this you're on. The Power Broker had him working on the serum, but things didn't go as planned."

"Is Nagel still in Madripoor?"

"Oh," The woman leaned forward, amusement in her eyes as she stared at Zemo. She stood up, the smile on her face turned to a hard line. "The bread crumbs you can have for free, but the bakery is gonna cost you, Baron. And before you get all cute, don't think you can find Nagel without me."

A buzzing sound went off, they all turned to Sam who reached for his cell phone in his blazer. It was in his hand before he could process their stares, Selby's stare. The woman titled her head, "Answer it." She said, pointing a finger over his shoulder. Another large man stepped forward, the gun gripped in front of him almost the same size. Josephine stepped away from the group, even Bucky was making his way towards the woman. "On speaker."

Sam glanced around, clicking answer. He tapped the speaker phone, taking a shallow breath. "Hello." He said gruffly.

"Hey, we need to talk about this situation." A female voice replied, "It's been driving me nuts."

"What situation exactly are you talkin' about?"

"Are you high? You know what situation, it's the only situation me and you have."

"What situation, Sarah? Say it."

She couldn't help but notice Selby as she slowly circled Bucky, studying up and down. It annoyed her, the feeling that sparked in her chest at the sight.

Now is not the time, she scolded herself, adverting her gaze as the other woman noticed her stare. 

"The damn boat. And watch your tone. Okay? I let you slide at the bank."

Sam scoffed, trying to hold the image of the Smiling Tiger as it crumbled away. "Oh yeah, the bank. Laundered so much... they'll come around."

"If that was the case, why'd they dog you out, Big Time?"

It was hard to watch, knowing that they'd probably be shot before he could hang up the phone. The look on Zemo's face said it all, he was most likely cursing them all in German. 

"Yeah, you damn right I'm Big Time. You'll see when I have that banker killed."

The woman on the line, Sarah, shouted out a string of words, "Sam, I'll have to call you back."

The line went dead as Selby straightened up, eyeing each of them. "Sam? Who's Sam. Kill them-"

Josephine gasped as the woman's eyes bulged, her chest seeping with red as she collapsed onto the ground. There was a moment of silence, as everyone tried to decipher what had happened. Within seconds Sam was holding off one of her guards while Bucky took out another, stealing the man's gun. Zemo was behind her, ushering her to the corner of the room. Sam pushed against the wall, he had managed to swipe a gun as well. 

"They're gonna pin this on us." Sam said.

Zemo shook his head, "We have a real problem now, so leave your weapons and follow my lead."

They took off, slipping out the back door Sam had been leaning on. Outside the air seemed muggier as cell phones beeped from countless phones. The street was still crowded as they marched their way down a set of train tracks, keeping their attention ahead of them. Bucky's arm reached out and pulled her closer, his grip remaining on her wrist as they went. 

A bang echoed, following by a wave of gunfire. She yelped, taking off with the rest of them in a run. She was dragged in front of Bucky, him holding her in front of him, away from the direction of angry folks with guns. 

"I can't run in these heels!" Sam yelled.

Join the club, she wanted to yell back, but now certainly wasn't the time. Zemo rounded a corner, throwing himself behind a dumpster as a man followed. Their preseruer fell to the ground with a shriek, blood coating their skin as they landed. Josephine pressed herself against Bucky, as if that would make her disappear. 

Zemo peaked out from his spot, wandering towards them with alarm. "You seem to have a guardian angel."

She took a deep breath, eyes still wide. She could've gone her whole life without seeing multiple people be shot to death, and she never wanted to see blood dripping from a wound again. 

"You alright?" Bucky whispered, she could feel his breath on the side of her face. She nodded, unable to bring herself to say anything.

"Well, this is too perfect." A woman's voice rang out, a figure appearing from the darkness. She peeled back a hood, a gun outstretched in front of her, pointed at Zemo. "Drop it, Zemo."

"Sharon?" Bucky questioned.

She stepped forward, eyes set in a glare at their companion. "You took everything from me."

"Sharon, wait!" Sam joined, walking in front fo him. Bucky only stepped back, shuffling her behind him. "Someone recreated the super solider serum and Zemo had a lead."

"That explains why you guys are here. And Selby's dead."

"So what are you doing here?" Bucky asked.

The woman huffed, "I stole Steve's shield, remember? I also took the wings off your ass, so that I could save him from him. I didn't have the Avengers to back me up so I'm off the grid in Madripoor."

"Don't blow the smoke, I was on the run too." Sam said.

How did people live their lives like this? On the run, an enemy of state, a criminal-- it was all still too crazy to even think about. 

Sharon glared, hands dropping to her sides. "Was is a big difference. I don't talk to my family anymore, I can't. My father doesn't know where I am."

"Listen." Bucky stepped forward, "Sharon, we need your help."

She chuckled, heaving out a sigh. "This isn't over. I have a place in High Town. You'll be safe there."

And with that the woman turned, taking off down the alley in long strides. Josephine didn't budge until Bucky's hand landed on the small of her back and nudged her forward. She took a deep breath, picking up the pace to catch up with the group in front of her.