Cruel Fate | Bucky Barnes

LADY DEATH

"I'm the only one who looks like a pimp."

Zemo rolled his eyes, "Only an American would assume a fashion-forward black man looks like a pimp. Besides, you look exactly like the man you're supposed to be playing: the sophisticated, charming, African rake named Conrad Mack, aka the Smiling Tiger."

"He even has a bad nickname."

Anna scoffed and readjusted her tight sleeves. Bucky glanced at her briefly as Sam and Zemo kept bickering.

"Everyone has bad nicknames," the latter claimed, "Except for her."

He gestured to Anna.

"Her's is cool."

Sam tried to pry but she quickly shut them both down with a curt glare. They got the hint and moved on.

"No matter what happens, we must stay in character. Our lives depend on it. There's no margin for error."

Anna huffed and moved to stand in front of them. She held her hand out to prevent them from moving any further.

"This is ridiculous and you're wasting my time," she stated, "Give me the name of your contact and I'll be in and out within an hour."

Zemo shook his head, "We must be covert and you are famous here. Everyone knows who you are."

"Good. That way they'll know to stay the hell out of my way."

The man looked to his companions for help in stopping her. But as he did, a sleek black car pulled up behind them.

"Time to meet our friends in Low Town."

Zemo was the first to get in the car. Sam and Bucky followed him soon after. The two men scooted over as far as possible to make room for Anna in the back. She squeezed in beside Bucky, who was stuck in the middle.

She internally complained the whole time about being that close to him, but she didn't actually say anything. The gun she clutched tightly in her hand was a pretty good indicator of how she was feeling.

They spent a majority of the drive in silence until they came across a tunnel. As soon as they entered, an escort of motorcycles surrounded the car.

All of them instantly tensed up and scanned the new danger. Anna reacted quicker and brought up her gun, pointing it at the driver.

"Tell your buddies to back off," she ordered.

The man simply shrugged, "I'm just here to provide transportation. The security is due to my employer."

Anna looked out the window and saw more motorcycles join them. She noticed that each bike had heavy weaponry on them for easy access.

"Your plan sucks," she stated, directing it towards Zemo.

"It would be better if you followed it," he snapped.

Bucky knew fighting with her only led to violence so he shut Zemo up while pushing her gun down at the same time. She tried to pull away from him but he used his metal arm to keep a firm grip on the gun.

"Stick to the plan," Sam repeated.

The car came to a stop as she huffed in stubborn agreement. She got out of the car first, slamming the door shut just as Bucky tried to get out. He sighed and scooted over to Sam's open side.

As soon as they were all out, the car and the armed motorcycle riders drove off and disappeared into the smoke of the rattling streets.

Zemo began to lead them across a short walkway that led to a club farther down the street. As they walked, many deals and weaponry exchanges occurred between people. They saw money switch hands and partners broker deals for tech.