Amends (Sambucky)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

"Last I checked, I did not ask you."

"Sam, wait," Bucky sighed, grabbing his shoulder, "Just hear me out for one second."

Sam crossed his arms, glancing at Corina in distaste. He spotted the warehouse from afar, though he knew they wouldn't be visiting it anytime soon, "Go on."

"The powerbroker is the one who made sure this serum was replicated and produced, most likely took it himself," Bucky stated, making Sam nod in agreement, "But he didn't want it only for himself, or else he would've only made one vial, right?"

"Sure."

"Okay so all of those test runs weren't just to see if the serum was safe, but also to see if it'd work on more than one person, a cohesive group-,"

"-an army," Sam pieced together what Bucky was saying.

"Exactly! Those people weren't being tested; they were being trained," Bucky explained.

Sam shook his head in disbelief, "Holy shit."

"I know. Back on the plane, every person knew each other by name— why?" Bucky questioned, "No one showed signs of severe malnourishment, no one had any conflicts with each other,"

"And Malik knew exactly who the powerbroker is," Sam realized, "But why wouldn't they fight us then though? Why would they wait?"

"That, I'm not sure about," Bucky conceded, shoving his hands in his pockets, "But I figure the stash of cures is a good place to start, yeah?"

Sam sighed, hating the slight grin on Corina's face, "Yeah, yeah it is."

"You..." Corina muttered, walking closer to Sam, "...you are not faint of heart."

"No, I'm not," Sam stood up a little straighter.

She smiled, "That's good. He'll need that."

"Woah, back up," Bucky stalked over to her, "You said you didn't see Sam in your vision."

"Well, not originally."

"Then he's not coming," Bucky stated firmly.

"Like hell I'm not."

"I agree with Sam," she added, "You'll need the help."

"Right. I'm going," Sam decided, flashing Bucky a warning glance.

Bucky's jaw clenched in response, his body going still as he thought his options through. Then, in one swift motion, he pulled his gun and aimed it towards Corina's temple.

"Careful, boy-,"

"We'll go on your mission," he confirmed, "But you ensure that Sam gets back safely."

"I can't do tha-,"

Bucky cocked his gun, daring her to disagree, "You give me your word. Do whatever the hell it is you do and make sure that we're not going on a suicide mission."

Corina closed her eyes as Bucky pressed the barrel of the gun against her glistening flesh. Up close, she looked much less whimsical. Her silver hair, grey; her tough skin, wrinkled.

Sam rested a hand on Bucky's shoulder, "James, cut her some-,"

"You have my word."

~~~~~

Sam pulled one of his knees into his chest, biting his nail as Bucky was sound asleep.

They left the field and decided to spend the rest of the day packing and preparing for the long trip ahead of them. First they had to find the maker of the cure, then go to the party, then hopefully to the powerbroker, and then as much as Sam hated to admit it, probably to his death. He would share this discomfort with Bucky, if he were conscious.