Till the End of the Line Vol. 5

Chapter 21 - Waiting

Bucky finds Sofia waiting for him in the car. He asks her, "Just out of curiosity, did you hear any of that?"

She replies, "No, but I knew what you could be talking about, so I figured just to let you guys talk."

"Ah." They stare at each other. Bucky then wraps his arms around her. "So ready to go then?"

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to go on a little vacation. Maybe go see Niagara Falls."

"Ah, I like that."

"Uh-huh. After that go back home. After all, we still got a lot of planning to do."

"You're right. Because we're going to have to plan doctor visits, our wedding, the gender reveal party."

His pupils are big, excited, and eager to know if they are going to have a boy or a girl. "Oh, now I can't wait."

"Neither can I." Sofia kisses his cheek and then gets in the car. Bucky follows as he gets in the driver's seat. Bucky and Sofia smile as they leave.

Bucky is driving Sofia across the States, making memories. As they move, Sofia will sometimes have her arms up in the air to feel the breeze. Occasionally they stop to take pictures at landmarks. At one gas stop, Bucky is filling gas; Sofia walks out but decides to go back in as she urges to use it one more time. Bucky smiles as she amuses him. While driving along the road, Sofia lies on his lap and watches him. Then one night, Bucky has them staying at a hotel making love which then transitions to Sofia asleep. Bucky smiles and kisses her and the stomach as he is pleased with this new life he will have.

A week later, Bucky is searching on the computer for houses. Sofia comes up behind him and wraps her arms around him. He kisses her neck. He gestures with his hand about what he's found. She makes a particular gesture. They then kiss as Bucky begs her to sit on his lap.

Sometime later, Bucky and Sofia are at their doctor's appointment, looking at the ultrasound and they get teary-eyed as they see their baby on the screen. They then kiss as they are excited to see their bundle of joy on the net.

One afternoon, Natasha, Yelena, Becca, and Sofia are talking and laughing in a restaurant. Sofia shows them her sonogram pictures. They get excited. Then Becca shows them a picture of her sonogram and explains she's pregnant too. They're all excited.

Another week passes, and Bucky is leaving a relator's location and makes a call. He says, "Hey Steve, I have a favor to ask."

Later that night, Bucky enters their bedroom and finds Sofia on the bed, passed out asleep, with the laptop by her side. He smiles with an exhale. Bucky then takes the computer away and joins his fiancé in bed. He kisses her cheek and then kisses her baby bump before he snuggles next to her. Without waking up, Sofia smiles.

One day, Karli and her gang are hanging out in the park in New York. Her partner, Dovich asks, "What are we doin' here?"

"I got some help to even out the odds," Karli replied. "Sam screwed him out of a small fortune not long ago. He's been dying to get payback ever since."

They turn and see a French man named Batroc approaching them with a briefcase. He says, "Bonjour." Batroc places his merchandise on the bench. "I have what you want." Karli smiles as she sees him opening up the case. It's filled with small weapons. "Viola!" Police sirens are close by.

Dovich closes the case and turns to Karli. He asks, "Come on. So we're working with criminals now?"

"Haven't you heard?" says Karli. "We are criminals. Georges gets his payback, and we get a killer. It's a bargain on both sides." Dovich is uncertain about it.

Batroc smiles. "You invite me here for a picnic or what?"

In French, Karli replies, "A test, of sorts. We're everywhere and nowhere. That's why we'll win." Karli pushes a button on the app. At that moment, the followers look at their phones. Karli, Batroc, and Dovich look around them as they see the followers looking at their phones. She puts her phone away and says in English, "We're gonna make sure the GRC vote never happens."

"Hey." They look at him. Batroc says in French, "I'm not here to be part of your movement." Then in English he says, "I'm only here to kill the Falcon."

"You'll get your chance." Karli blows a whistle to signal her followers. They surround them. "Tonight we go to battle. All of us."

GEORGIA

That night, reporters are covering the GRC in New York. One reporter says, "In New York, where the GRC is voting on the controversial patch act, which would move upwards of twenty million refugees back home to their countries of origin. It's coming during these difficult times of international politics."

As he is watching TV, Sam knows something is going to happen. At that moment, Sam's phone rings and he picks it up. Sam then looks at his computer monitor. Torres informs him, "Sorry, this took so long. Spare you the technical details, but I finally got results for the scans you asked for, and I think we're onto something. When we look back, all these pings, they're from places just before the Flag Smashers hit, clearly, they're all over Europe. Earlier today, we got one from New York. Now, I can't promise you they're not using a VPN or masking their location, but..."

Sam interrupts him, "Great work, Joaquin. I'll take it from here."

GRC - NEW YORK CITY

Delegates are arguing around the table, interrupting each other. The Senator says, "Look, the right people will go along with this, they always do..."

Lamont, a woman diplomat for the GRC, interrupts, "You have to consider the optics."  

"No, the optics are whatever we show them."

Ayla, another woman and diplomat says, "People have to believe in what we're doing to support us."

The Senator stands up and asks, "Do we really need to bother with a vote? There are troops in place. I can make a call and have the refugees move now."

"We're not rounding them up like cattle."

The Senator sits down. Lamont adds, "And we still do not have sufficient resources in the resettlement camps."

The Senator says, "What's sufficient? They can't stay where they are forever."

From one side of the room a man, one of the Flagsmashers in disguise, approaches a guard. He uses a card to signal something as he leans into someone's ear and whispers, "One world. One people."

The guard nods, pushes a button and the lights turn red. The alarm buzzes, the T.V.s mess up, and people panic.

Meanwhile, in Bucky's apartment, Bucky, Loki, Becca, and Sofia continue to watch the news when suddenly Bucky gets a phone call. He stands up and answers, "Hey Sam, what is it?" He pauses then turns to Sofia, Loki, and Becca. "Okay. Be there soon." Bucky sighs as he hangs up the phone. Sofia's eyes widen as she knows this is the big fight.