Rise Above

14

The group made their way to the funeral and heard a voice say, "Karli Morgenthau is too dangerous for you guys to be pulling this shit."

John and Lemar walked down a flight of stairs and Žofia rolled her eyes.

Bucky walked closer to John and Lemar before saying, "Ah! How'd you find us now?"

"Come on, man," Lemar replied as he shook his head while he and John continued down the staircase. "You really think two Avengers can walk around Latvia without drawing attention?"

John quickly spoke before anyone else could. "No more keeping us in the dark. You could start by telling us why you broke him out of prison."

Bucky said as the four slowly walked up to the bottom of the staircase, "He did that himself, technically."

"This better be an unbelievable explana..."

Rosie cut him off. "No it isn't. Back up."

Sam put a hand in front of her and nodded before saying, "Hey, take it easy before it gets weird."

Zemo smirked. "My daughter and I know where Karli is." The four walked around John and Lemar.

John placed a hand on Zemo's chest and demanded, "Well, where?"

Sam sighed. "All we know is, it's a memorial. So we're gonna intercept her there."

"That means civilians," Lemar clarified, looking around the group. "High risk of casualties."

Žofia tilted her head slightly to the left. "Karli's a leader. She's not going to put her people in the line of fire unless she absolutely has to."

They continued down the street and John said, "All right, good, we'll move in fast. Take her by surprise."

"No, I wanna talk to her alone," Sam told him.

"I'm not losing her again."

Žofia nodded. "The person closest to her died, she will be vulnerable. If there's any time to reason with her, it's now."

"What? No. Wait, no," John said as he grabbed her wrist. "No! Stop. Hold on. Stop, okay?"

Žofia, without a second's thought, used her left fist to punch John in the jaw. "Don't touch me."

John, rubbing his jaw, and Žofia glared at each other and he let her go before saying, "I think we're way past reasoning with her, unless you forgot the fact that she blew up a building with people still in it."

"Sam, you walk in there cold, she could kill you," Lemar warned.

"If I go in hot and the op goes wrong, more people die," Sam reasoned.

John looked at Bucky before asking, "You're gonna let him do this? Are you gonna let your partner walk into a room with a Super Soldier alone?"

"Sam can do it. He's dealt with worse. And he's not my partner."

"I used to counsel soldiers dealing with trauma, okay?" Sam said. "This is right in my wheelhouse."

"Yeah, I know," John stated. "And I know those soldiers, which is why I know this is a bad idea."

"Wait, John," Lemar called. "If he can talk her down, it might be worth a try."

John scoffed and pointed to Zemo. "We'll deal with you later." He pointed to Žofia. "You too."

Zemo lifted his hands slightly. "I'm sure it will all come to an agreeable conclusion." He lowered his hands, gesturing to a path with one hand in front of him. "My associate is just up ahead." They walked up the path, Zemo and Žofia leading the way.