Frostbite |The Alternate Timeline

Whispers of a Dead Woman

We were able to track down one of the refugee camps where Donya Madani had been present at. Someone there might be able to give us information about where her funeral was being held. Ultimately, leading us to Karli and the others.

The courtyard had various people scattered throughout. Kids were laughing, playing with what little they had. I watched them with a small smile on my face.

Zemo glanced around and said, "Shame what's become of this place. When I was young, we used to come here for fabulous dinners and parties. I knew nothing of the politics of the time, of course, but I remember it being beautiful."

"I'm gonna take a look around upstairs. See what you can find out here. And keep an eye on him," Sam instructed us. He disappeared inside and both of us eyed Zemo.

"I'll stay out of your way," he smirked, moseying towards the children.

Bucky moved from person to person, saying Madani's name to try and get anything. My eyes were fixed on Zemo, curious about his intentions. He began singing a nursery rhyme, catching the children's attention. I moved closer, trying to hear what he was saying to them.

A little girl moved closer, eyeing the Turkish delights that he offered to them. She snatched one from his palm and hastily removed the wrapping to cram it into her mouth. Zemo spoke softly to her, saying who knew what.

A ball came rolling my way and I stopped it with my foot, bending over to pick it up. A small boy came chasing after it, but halted before getting too close to me. I smiled reassuringly and offered it out to him. He gingerly took it from my outstretched hands, a soft smile appearing as he did.

He darted back to the group of children and stared at all the treats Zemo had dumped out on the table, his eyes like saucers. My heart constricted as I gazed at all these innocent kids that had to go without. Why hadn't the governments of the world done better by them?

I backed away, still keeping an eye on Zemo as I stopped next to Bucky. Sam marched back outside, his expression instantly giving away how much of a fail this had been.

"It's starting to feel like a dead end. The hell is he doing?"

Bucky shrugged and Zemo finally stood, approaching us to leave the kids to demolish the pile of candy left behind.

He cocked his head to the side and smirked as he said, "Cute kids."

We quickly made our way back to the apartment, no one speaking the entire way. We were out of leads and had no idea how to proceed. I let out a breath of relief as we filed inside, instantly plopping on the couch.

"Well, I got nothin'. No one's talking about Donya," Bucky groaned, throwing his head back as he planted himself on the sofa as well.

"Yeah, it's because Karli is the only one fighting for them," Sam replied, sitting on the other side of me, "And she's not wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"For five years, people have been welcomed into countries that have kept them out using barbwire. There were houses and jobs. Folks were happy to have people around to help them rebuild. It wasn't just one community coming together, it was the entire world coming together. And then, boom. Just like that, it goes right back to the way it used to be. To them, at least Karli's doin' somethin',"; he explained, growing agitated as he spoke.

"You really think her ends justify her means? Then, she's no different than him or anybody else we've fought."

I leaned toward agreeing with Bucky on this one. Her cause was justifiable, but the way she was trying to get there wasn't right. She had killed people and it had only been to send a message.

"She's different. She's not motivated by the same things," Sam disagreed.

"That little girl- What'd she tell you?" I questioned Zemo, changing the subject.

Zemo set the tray he was carrying down and picked up one of the tea cups before answering, "The funeral is this afternoon."

"You know the Dora's coming for you any minute. In fact, they're probably lurking outside right now. Keep talking," Bucky ordered, not in the mood to play his game.

"Leaving you to turn on me once we get to Karli- hmm. I prefer to keep my leverage."

I rolled my eyes and groaned, scooting farther down into the couch. Bucky shot up from his seat and strolled over to him and snatched the cup from his hands, shattering it against the wall. Well, Zemo had successfully pissed him off in less than five minutes.

"You wanna see what someone can do with leverage?" Bucky practically growled at him. I stared in amusement as Sam jumped up to diffuse the situation. I was more than happy to watch Bucky take a go at Zemo.

"Take it easy. Don't engage him. He's just gonna extort you and do that stupid head tilt thing," Sam reasoned with Bucky while Zemo snapped his head back up, "Let me make a call."

Sam shut himself in the bathroom, not even bothering to tell us who he was calling. I was half tempted to go lock myself in one of the bedrooms so I could take a nap. Sleep had been a stranger these last few days; I had only gotten a few hours here and there.

"You want some cherry blossom tea?" Zemo offered Bucky, his mouth in a half scowl from fright.

"No, you go ahead," Bucky declined, tossing him a look of disdain.

My head perked up at that and I sat straighter in my seat. "I'll take a cup."

Zemo nodded, silently handing me a cup of tea. The smell was heavenly and reminded me of my mother. Cherry blossom tea had been her favorite when I was growing up. I took a sip as Zemo walked away and smiled to myself. Bucky glanced at me with an odd expression on his face.

"What?" I demanded, tempted to throw the cup at him just so that he'd stop.

He shook his head in amusement and said, "Nothing- it's just the few times I've actually seen you drink tea, it's only that kind."

I stared at him blankly, unsure what to even say to that. Instead of attempting to come up with something, I just shrugged, content to sip my drink in silence.

Sam came back out, but didn't tell us how his conversation went. Indicating that he didn't want Zemo to know whatever it was. I placed my cup on the table when I was finished and stood to face Zemo.

"Which one of these rooms can I use?" I inquired, needing to rest for a bit if we were going to go after Karli later.

He pointed at one of the doors, making sure to keep his distance from Bucky still. I gave a quick thumbs up and disappeared into the bedroom without another word. No way in hell did I want to stay out there with those broody men. Hopefully they wouldn't try to kill each other.