Traitor ~ Bucky Barnes

Voicemail

Katherine was making her way down to where Zemo was "evaluating" Bucky. Soldiers were passing her as she went. She could hear their screams from down the hall. Waiting for her father, she made sure to hide. The last thing she wanted was to get exposed or caught in the crossfire.

Hiding, she then saw Steve and Sam run into the room. Fuck, she thought. If anyone could see through the bullshit, it was Steve. All she hoped for was that Zemo had a convincing story. If he got caught, she would have no way to find the other Winter Soldiers.

All of a sudden, she saw Steve get slammed against an elevator door. The Winter Soldier was fully activated. Pushing against Steve, the elevator doors cracked, and he fell through. Katherine could hear his body bang against the metal and slam onto the ground.

She knew she was safe to find Zemo. Leaving her hiding space, she entered the hallway. Bucky caught sight of her and began walking toward her. Oh, God, she thought. He probably did not even recognize her. Katherine was sure he would attack her too.

Right as he reached her, Katherine froze. Looking up at him, she also held her breath. She was scared that if she breathed, he would kill her.

Bucky stopped in front of her. His eyes scanned her. As if he was deciding to kill her or not. But he did nothing. He just stood there, lifeless. Katherine could tell he had no recollection of her. Everything they experienced was gone, wiped away by the words of Hydra.

Turning away and continuing his mission, Katherine let out the breath she held in. Her heart raced at their interaction. Then, she saw Zemo standing at the elevator; he was looking down at Steve.

"Hey," said Sam; he was still lying in the other room.

Running toward Katherine, Zemo grabbed her hand. He dragged her with him as they now had to get out of Berlin. "Time to go," he said. Katherine picked up her pace as they ran to the stairwell. They both ran up to avoid being caught by Sam. He was following behind them. The only face he saw was Zemo's. Which was good; if Katherine's identity could be concealed, it would ensure their plan for success.

Sam never caught up to them. As they made their way out of the building, Zemo discarded his jacket. Katherine did the same. They now blended in with the mass people running. It was time to finish what they started. They were going to get rid of the last Winter Soldiers.

~

Katherine and Zemo waited for their flight to Moscow. They learned the location of the five remaining Winter Soldiers. The five of them were kept in a Hydra facility in Siberia. With the red book, they could get in smoothly. All they had left to do was kill them and hopefully have some of the Avengers show up.

The ones they really needed were Tony and Steve. If Bucky made it out alive, then his addition would be good. But, their plan was to use the death of Tony's parents against Steve. They knew Steve kept the killer of Tony's parents a secret, for Bucky's sake.

One thing Katherine could not understand was if there was a difference between Bucky and the Winter Soldier. On paper, they seemed like two different people. Bucky was human; he had morals. While the Winter Soldier was a weapon, there was no humanity in him.

But Katherine knew they were the same. The only difference was Bucky had his memories. The Winter Soldier just had ordered. Both of them were soldiers that had been trained, and they both killed. There really was no difference besides what they remembered. It was sick, but it made sense.

"Do you want to hear something?" asked Zemo. Hearing him speak took Katherine out of her thoughts.

"Sure. What is it?" she asked.

Holding up his phone in-between them, he played a voicemail. Katherine recognized the voice immediately. It was her mother. She had not heard her voice since even before the Battle of Sokovia.

"This was right before the battle happened," said Zemo. She could hear the hurt in his voice. But, she wondered why he never showed her this before. Why did he keep it to himself?

"Hi, Baron! I know you will probably not get this till later. But, I just wanted to let you know we are safe. Everything is going okay. Carl was very excited to see ironman from the car. He wont stop talking about it..." said her mother.

Katherine focused on the words. She could feel tears forming in her eyes. These words she was listening to were the last words of her mother. The last thoughts said. Her voice was happy and hopeful; there was no doubt that they were in harm's way.

"We need to plan something for Carl next week. I was thinking we get Katherine out here to spend the weekend. We haven't seen her in months and I know Carl wants to see her..."

At this point, Katherine was holding back tears. Hearing that Carl wanted to see her and that her mother thought of bringing Katherine back home for a few days. It was becoming too much.

"You should of seen his face, when I mentioned Katherine visiting. But, come home if you can. I want you to be here rather out there fighting a battle that does not concern you..."

Her mother wanted Zemo to go home. Katherine wondered when she knew that she would not make it. Could there have been a way to get them all to a safer place?

"Just try, okay? I'm going to bed. I love you."

Those were her mother's final words to her father. Tears were rolling down her face. Katherine was more upset that Zemo never showed her this. They never deserved this. Her mom and Carl deserved to live. Turning toward Zemo, she asked, "Why did you never show me this?"

Honestly, Zemo did not really know. Maybe a part of him wanted those words to himself. But, he kept her from it until the right time. When she needed it most. Zemo noticed Katherine was going through something. He hoped hearing her mother speak would bring focus to her and purpose.

"I only listened to it one other time. I wanted you to hear it, before we get to Siberia. Just incase you aren't able to hear it again." said Zemo. Pulling her into a hug, he rubbed her back. He felt her pain. Zemo may have lost his wife, but Katherine lost her mother.

"They didn't deserve this..." said Katherine. Tears were falling down her face. She hugged her father tighter. Katherine could never imagine losing him. All her power is going to be focused on ensuring she and Zemo make it out of this. If they could burn the Avengers down, then they were complete.