Saving Bucky (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Chapter 107 - Delirium

"I don't care, Kentay," you huff, phone tucked tight under your chin as you peer through the dusty slats of the window blinds.

"Steven has called you at least fifteen times in the past two days," Kentay grumbles through the receiver. "He would not do so lightly."

You laugh coldly. "Oh, so now you two are on a first-name basis? That's nice."

 "He said it is urgent," Kentay says.

You scoff, bitter at the thought. "Where was urgent when the world fell apart, Kentay? Urgent came and went that day in Wakanda. And that day, Steve did nothing."

"I do not know what happened during the fight. I was not there," he sighs. "But I do know that today, right now, he says there is a lead."

"He said that when Scott finally showed up," you frown, peering out into the quiet neighborhood street, scanning the tops of the trash bins, neatly lined up at the end of each driveway. "And nothing came of it."

"You gave them very little time to work, Y/n," Kentay scolds.  "Regardless, he has told me to tell you that this is different," Kentay scolds. "He urges you to call him back."

"Forget it, King, I'm not calling him back," you snap. Kentay mumbles something beneath his breath, but you can't quite make it out. You're not sure you want to. So you decide to change the subject. "Let's just focus on what we're trying to do here. How sure are you this is the place?"

Kentay hesitates, clearly still frustrated by your refusal to speak to Steve. But you won't budge and he knows it. "It is...doubtful," Kentay says, finally relenting. "Yet it is the only realistic location on the drive. The others have been mapped to known agents or informants."

"Great," you frown. "So I get to just sit here and wait."

"Do you want me to join you?" he asks. "Give you full watch coverage?"

"No," you say quickly, not interested in having him show up in person to pressure you into reconciling with Steve - someone with whom he has struck up an unusually warm relationship for a secret agent with no friends. "I'll be fine. I've cracked the front windows. Even if I'm asleep I'll hear if something happens. I'm more concerned about how long it'll take me to sit on them. Am I okay to stay here?" you ask, glancing around the house - clearly occupied by the state of the fully decorated living room.

"You'll be fine for a while," Kentay reassures. "The owners are out of state. They have return flights booked for next month."

"Next month?" you grimace. "I'm not waiting a month to find out if he's even here, Kentay. What if he's not? I mean, this is such a weird place to hide an operative. Could there have been a change in protocol?" you ask. "Could they have kept him off the drive for some reason?"

"Yes," Kentay says. "If they did not consider him an agent, or an informant."

"Ha ha," you say sarcastically. 

"I don't kid," Kentay says.

"Then what the hell would he be?" you question. 

"A liability," Kentay answers.

You scoff. "So what? They're actually holding him prisoner somewhere?"

"Would that be so unlikely?" Kentay questions.

You glance up and down the street once more, watching a jogger go past with a skeptical eye. "Well we'd better hope they're not. Because otherwise we've wasted the only time I have left." Kentay is silent, and your stomach drops. "Okay...well, thanks for the reassurance," you grumble.