Frostbite |The Alternate Timeline

The Baron Zemo

We left the building soon after Zemo had changed out of the drab guard uniform he had been wearing. He led us outside and across the private airfield. I kept my distance from him and from Bucky. Zemo went straight for a small jet.

"So all this time you've been rich?" Sam scoffed, as we grew closer.

Zemo chuckled saying, "I'm a Baron, Sam. My family was royalty until your friends destroyed my country."

I narrowed my eyes at that jab, grinding my teeth to keep from hitting him. My eyes darted to the elderly man waiting at the bottom of the ramp and my expression softened. He gazed at Zemo with such love and adoration, they had to have known one another for a long time.

Zemo greeted the man in Russian, "Hello, Oeznik"

"Welcome, gentlemen and lady."

"Old friend," Zemo smiled, embracing him and planting a kiss on each cheek, "Please."

He motioned for us to follow him, and the two guys followed him closely. I stopped at the bottom and turned to the old gentleman.

"Hello, nice to meet you," I smiled, speaking in Russian.

His face lit up and he said, "You speak the language! Lovely. The pleasure is all mine- Miss?"

"Stark."

He grinned and let me climb the stairs first. As Bucky turned the corner, he narrowed his eyes at me.

"What?" I snapped. He shook his head and kept going. Figures.

There were only a few seats on the small plane. Sam and Bucky sat across from each other, only a small table separating them. That left me to sit across from Zemo. Fine. I plopped down onto the leather and cast a glare at the man directly across the aisle from me. He tossed his hands up in defeat, rolling his eyes.

Zemo glanced between us curiously, but kept silent as we lifted into the air in no time. Oeznik shuffled from the front and handed only Zemo and I champagne glasses. I grinned at his kindness, and I murmured a quiet thank you. Zemo blinked at me, but chuckled when he noticed Sam eyeing the glasses with hostility.

"Apologies if that's a little warm, the fridge is out," Oeznik explained in English, "But I will see if there is some good food in the galley."

Zemo began speaking rapidly in Sokovian, waving his arms at the two across from us as he did. I didn't know what he said, but it made Oeznik laugh.

"It's good to have you back, sir."

A moment of silence passed, and I was content to sip my drink in peace. It didn't last long.

"You don't know what it's like to be locked in a cell," Zemo sighed, taking delicate sips from his glass, his eyes darting between Sam and I, "Oh. That's right. You do."

"Don't-" I warned, staring at him as my expression turned hard.

"Why don't you tell us about where we're going?" Sam said, changing the subject. Zemo had picked up a book, flipping it over to look inside. He gazed at it for a few moments, ignoring Sam.

"I'm sorry. I was just fascinated by this," he admitted, holding up a familiar small notebook, "I don't know what to call it, but this part seems to be important- Who is Nakajima?"

Before anyone could stop him, Bucky lunged out of his seat. His hand wrapped around Zemo's neck and he shoved him back into the seat. Part of me knew I should pull him away, but the irrational part of me won out.

"If you touch that again, I'll kill you," Bucky hissed in his face, snatching the book from him and returning to his seat. Zemo's gaze flicked to me and I grinned wickedly, shaking my head.