Guns and Ammunition [] TFATWS

Twenty Nine

Chapter Twenty Eight:

The deeper into the city they got, the worse their surroundings appeared. Downtown was filled with crumbling buildings and cracked pathways, following Zemo up to a large, once beautiful building. Josephine shuffled through the doorway, watching as Bucky closed the arched door behind them. A few more steps forward led to a courtyard, Zemo coming to a slow stop as he surveyed the grounds.

"Shame what's become of this place." He sighed, "When I was young, we used to come here for fabulous dinners and parties."

The cobblestoned path was patched with weeds, scrap tables and chairs were scattered amongst the yard. A water tank was set up to the side, a few other carts and huts were barely standing up.

"I knew nothing of the politics of the time, of course, but I remember it being beautiful."

Sam gave the man a sad look, "I'll check upstairs. See what you can find out here. And keep an eye on him."

"I'm coming with you." Josephine spoke up, taking step back after Sam.

He didn't object, though Bucky flashed her a confused look before following Zemo as he strode forward. Josephine broke off with Sam, trailing behind as he took off up a staircase. They remained quiet as Sam lead the way, pausing briefly at the crossroad. He took a right, ignoring the hallway filled with lingering children and opted to take the one that was empty. She heard him call for a kid as he entered a large room, Josephine pursed her lips before stepping down the opposite hall. Sam appeared already too distracted to drag her along with him, and she was inclined to be curious to venture on her own. Bucky always told her the old saying, "curiosity killed the cat," but it was worse not knowing what you could have missed, it leads to overthinking and many more thing she already had on her plate. This building was filled with school children, the more tiny kids she passed, the more ease she felt. All the walls were a dull, stained white, turning a pale yellow from the sun catching through the window and dust. This building at its prime would have been beautiful, the high ceilings and the decorative trim along the walls. Her shoes scuffed against the old hardwood, faded and rotten with water damage. 

A giggle echoed from one of the many rooms lining the hall, Josephine's eyes followed the noise to the last room, slowly making her way over as not to scare the child. The damage in this particular room seemed the worse, paint clung onto the ceiling above them in clumps, the smell of mildew filled her nose, she coughed quietly, watching as another giggled echoed. This certainly couldn't be healthy, and to be teaching children-- it's all they can do here, she chided herself, shaking her head, these kids are lucky enough to have any education at all.

"Hello?" Josephine paused in the doorway, trying not to breath too deeply. Four desks filled the large room, every one cleaned of debris expect for where a little girl sat crossed legged on the table. She held a crayon in her hand, doodling with a smile on her round face. She looked up at her, her smile fading into a harsh line. The girl slowly slid off the table, inching her way to the far back corner. "Wait-- I'm not here to hurt you, okay?"

"I know that." She must've been about 7, maybe 8. Josephine was terrible at telling ages, especially small children. Her voice was soft, yet stern, she had already been through enough here and she could see the walls slowly forming behind the girls eyes. 

"How long have you been here?" 

"A couple years." 

Josephine inched into the room, "How old are you?"

"Ten."

Oh, she thought, the girl was tiny for her age. 

"Don't worry about me." She spoke softly, halting her decent into the corner. "My mom said she'd come back for me when she could."

Her lips pursed, listening to the little girl, knowing full well if she was here, her parents were more than likely dead. 

"I'm Josephine." She smiled, leaning on the first round table. Sun poured in through the large arched windows, the coverings torn to shreds, half hanging from the rods. "What's your name?"

"Bodana" She tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear, nimble fingers tapping her cheek as she pondered what to do next. 

"Given by God." Josephine muttered, "What a beautiful name you have, your mother sounds lovely."

The girl wandered slowly towards her, pulling herself up onto the table next to her. She crossed her legs again, smiling up, "It's not so bad here."

A lie, she assumed, considering the shape of the place. As well as lack of teachers and funding, she wondering if these kids were being fed enough, in between the fighting the country was enduring. 

"You're very strong, Bodana." She smiled back, "Can I call you Bo?"

"That's a boys name."

She snorted, "Not if you don't want it to be. See, my name is Josephine but I let a few people call Jo. Not so boyish now, right?"

The girl shifted, fingers tapping the chipped table surface, "It's still for boys."

She laughed this time, "Maybe, but we're better than boys, right? We can do even more things than they can. Take your name and shape it, that's if you'd like to have a super cool nickname. We almost match."

"Bo." Bodana smiled, accent thick, "I like it--"

Footsteps sounded in the doorway, Bodana's eyes widened as she jumped off the table, rushing towards the back of the room again. Sam appeared, eyes filled with worry and annoyance. "What the hell? You were supposed to follow me? What happened to the plan?"

Josephine rolled her eyes, pointing to the girl who had finally made it to her corner. "That's Bodana."

"What?"

She sighed, walking to meet her. Her expression softened as Josephine kneeled in front of her, grabbing her hands gently. "It was nice meeting you, Bo."

"I like you." She whispered, "You're nice to me."

Josephine frowned, staring at her. The girl's blue eyes stared right back, she couldn't seem to read them. "What's your last name?"

"I can't remember."

She took a breath, glancing back at Sam who looked very done with this situation. They couldn't just leave her there, but they had no choice. She felt horrible, saying goodbye to this little girl who was clutching onto the idea that were parents would return for her. "When all this over, and everything is safe and taken care of, what if I come back?"

"To visit?"

"What if I take you back to America with me, would you like that, Bodana?" Josephine pursed her lips, "If your parents don't return by the time I come back, why don't you stay with me until they find you. We can look for them together, somewhere safe and warm. How does that sound?"

"Josephine." Sam warned.

She snorted, "And we can make fun of that guy over there whenever want."

Bodana nodded hesitantly, "If my mom doesn't come back soon. Maybe."

She stood up, dropping the girls hand. "I'll come find you."

No other words were exchanged. Josephine ignored Sam's annoyed looks as she followed him out of the building in silence. It wasn't until they slowly approached a lone Bucky did he say anything. "We're supposed to be saving the world, not adopting children."

She shrugged, "Yes, but after this I will never join you two idiots again. All those kids in there don't stand a chance, not when they all believe their parents are coming back when in reality they're probably dead, Sam. And with the violence here, what happens when that building is bombed--"

"Hey," Bucky smiled as they stopped next to him, that smile faded as he moved his attention to Sam, "Find anything useful?"

Josephine glanced behind him, spotting Zemo's hooded figure surrounded by a group of kids. "What the hell is he doing?"

"Giving candy to kids, apparently." Bucky retorted.

Zemo handed the lot of treats over to one of the many children and quickly turned, strutting towards them with all the confidence a fugitive could muster. "Cute kids," was all the man said as he brushed by them. Josephine couldn't help but laugh.