fiction | Part of the journey is the end

5. Truth

Walker ran to an abandoned warehouse with the bloodied shield. He ran inside and kept muttering to himself. "You didn't want me to go in. Why didn't I listen?"

Everyone was tense as all of them scowled at Walker.

Walker collapsed to his knees, and his hand touched the edge of the blood-stained shield.

All of them clenched their jaw at the sight, and Steve and Sam felt ill.

Sam and Bucky walked into the warehouse.

Sam and Bucky looked at each other with determination. They were going to get that shield away from Walker, whether he liked it or not.

"Time to go to work," said Walker as he got up and walked towards Sam and Bucky. He also told them to see a medic since they didn't look so good.

Everyone scoffed.

Sam firmly told Walker to stop as Walker kept pacing. "What? You saw what happened. You know what I had to do. I killed him because I had to! He killed Lemar!" Walker yelled, referring to Nico.

"It was Karli!" yelled Peter. "Nico didn't do anything."

"He didn't kill Lemar, John," said Bucky. "Don't go down that road. Believe me; it doesn't end well."

Bucky had difficulty swallowing. It was true.

Walker said he wasn't like Bucky.

"Yeah, you're not," Steve said, crossing his arms. "Bucky's a lot better than you."

"Listen, it was the heat of the battle. Okay? If you explain what happened, they may consider your record. We don't want anyone else to get hurt," said Sam.

"That man is a hazard," Scott grumbled.

Sam and Bucky looked at the blood-stained shield.

Everyone flinched.

"John... You gotta give me the shield, man," said Sam. Walker looked up. "Oh, so that's what this is. You almost got me."

"Of course, that's what this is about!" yelled Bucky. "He just killed a man with the shield!"

"You made a mistake," said Sam. Walker said they didn't want to do this, but Bucky said they did.

"We do," said Bucky.

The three of them jumped into action.

"This is going to be a mess," said Wanda.

Bucky hit Walker with his vibranium arm, and Walker kicked Sam, who flew backwards. Bucky tried to take the shield away from Walker, but he smacked Bucky in the face.

Everyone winced.

Walker began to hit Bucky with the shield, but Sam kicked his arm away. Bucky kept hitting the shield with his vibranium arm, and Walker fought him. Eventually, Bucky and Walker held onto the shield as Walker growled.

"Damn, this is brutal," said Peter.

Bucky crossed his arms. "I've been in worse fights and made it out alright."

Walker yelled and threw the shield towards Bucky, who flew back towards a pole.

Everyone sucked in a breath.

Steve knew Bucky and Sam together could handle Walker, but he was still worried. Walker wasn't the most stable at the moment.

They fought over the shield again as Sam got up. "Why are you making me do this?" Walker yelled.