Fireworks: A Bucky Barnes Romance

Chapter 3

Bucky drained a bottle of water in the parking lot of the FBI office in New Orleans as he waited for Sam. He could see him swooping back toward him from the direction of the airport, which was only a mile away, just next to Lake Ponchartrain.

It was already 10 am and they had no further leads on Sarah. Sam and his drones hadn't spotted anything between New Orleans and Houston, and nothing from his aerial searches around here, either.

They had a lot of other people looking too, and as far as anyone could tell, the helicopter with Sarah must have landed and gotten out of sight within forty-five minutes of taking off. That made a limited range in which they could be hiding, but it was still impossible to check everywhere.

As Sam touched down, his wings snapping shut behind him, he shook his head.

Bucky crushed the empty bottle in his hand, wishing it was the fools who dared to touch Sarah.

Agent Woo came over to them, looking cool and composed despite wearing his blue FBI jacket in the July heat. He'd been coordinating between the Houston and Louisiana FBI offices. "We're thinking it might be time to switch the bulk of our search to Houston," he said. "The President is still going to give his speech at three pm. Seems likely the kidnappers might be focused on that event. I can catch you up on possible threats involved on the way."

Sam shook his head. His lips thinned out like they did when he was frustrated. "I hate being behind the curve on this."

Agent Woo looked apologetic. "Yeah. Um. I'm afraid I've got some bad news about that. The President declined a call from a man named Basil Sandhurst last week. You heard of him?"

Bucky and Sam shook their heads.

"He used to work for Stark, then Justin Hammer. Did defense research for Shield for a while, though obviously... Well, nobody heard from him since the snap, but looks like he might've popped up again."

Sam groaned. "Should we be looking for an ironman suit then, or what?"

"Not exactly." Woo bit his lip. "Unfortunately, he was more interested in telepathy. Mind control." He looked uncomfortably at Bucky. "Seems like he was developing devices for Hydra that would be faster than brainwashing."

Bucky said a bad word.

Woo nodded. "On the, uh, upside, and I use that word loosely, he tends to be flashy, personal upgrades—a real freak show. Should be easy to spot. In fact, have both of you checked your phones or devices recently? If it's him, it's possible he'll send you more clues."

Sam pulled his out to check. "Why do these superpowered guys always gotta make a show of everything?"

Woo chuckled, a little brokenly. "You have no idea."

He sobered at once when Bucky glared at him.

"Sorry," Woo said. "It's just—uh—long story. Been a weird year. But yes, if he wants to make a show of things..."

Sam shook his head. "Nothing yet."

Bucky threw his crushed water bottle past Woo, into a trash can. He may have thrown it a little aggressively; Woo jumped back.

"Let's go," Bucky said.

Sam nodded. "I'll fly, watch the sky. You guys take the chopper but watch the highways. Maybe they're driving her there. They've already shown readiness to switch vehicles rapidly."

Sarah didn't appreciate having no psycho's voice in her head. It wasn't constant, and it wasn't painful (not after the first moment), but it was downright creepy.