TIME STAMP: SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE PAST & THE PRESENT
The line was unreachable for any other person, but Kai knew exactly how to do it. There was only one person in the world who could do that type of magic, and she was long gone.
"How may I help?" The voice on the line asked monotonously.
"It's Kai." A pause hit. "The usual dial, please."
"Hold for a moment."
Kai felt desperate. Her knees were pressing to the floor as an ancient book was hung open in front of her. If she ever encountered Bucky again, she knew her fate, and there was nothing good about it for any of them.
Sooner or later, she'd be running against time because Valentina would give her no rest, especially considering that somehow La Contessa knew that she shared a connection with Bucky – even if he didn't know.
"I've been waiting for your call."
"Things haven't been easy. Plus, you're the one who took almost 5 minutes to pick up the phone." Kai complained, pressing her fingertips against her forehead. "I didn't know there was a lot to do where you're at."
"Come on, Kai. You know the signal is not very good here." Her old friend joked, his voice becoming quieter after a while. "What's going on?"
"Valentina Allegra de Fontaine."
"The name's not ringing a bell, I'm sorry."
"She's the director of CIA. Unlike Fury, she isn't a very good one. La Contessa has spent many years trying to recruit me and other individuals to do her dirty work." Kai took a deep breath, unsure how to continue.
"If it's been many years, why is it consuming you now?" Her friend asked worried.
"It's not consuming me, it's..." Kai struggled to get the words out.
"You're using your magic to call someone who is currently in the past, which means going against all laws of sorcery because of the subject – I think it's safe to say that it is consuming you a bit."
"So far she has John Walker, who you don't know but is a waste of space; there's Yelena Belova who is an ex-assassin from the red room..." Kai trailed off, closing her eyes. "And she also has Bucky. That's all I know."
"Goddamn it. Have you seen him? I thought he would be fine when I-"
"Spare me the preoccupation now." Kai's voice got higher as she got upset with how everything turned out.
"Kai-"
"You left him, Steve. You're living your fantasy life after going back to the past, knowing that he would go through everything." With her voice breaking, Kai felt her heart rate start to increase.
"You know better than anyone that even I tried to stop it, it would still happen. It was destined to happen." Steve's voice came out sadly. "How many times have you tried to change the past, Kai? Look how that turned out for you."
"You didn't try. That's the difference between us, Steve. If I hadn't done it before with someone else, I would never stop trying to change things."
"You couldn't save your mother, Kai, and you ended up ruining your life by trying to go back and do so."
In a wave of rage, Kai broke the spell and everything around her as the tears kept running through her cheeks. In a way, she knew Steve was right – she did worse to her life by trying to save her mother, but if she could try and save Bucky, she would have tried to do so, even if it killed her.
YOU ARE READING
ineffable memories / / bucky barnes
Fanfictionkai has been around for many centuries, while james has only been around for one, yet their paths have constantly cross. when kai is recruited by valentina, she isn't aware that the whole universe will be at risk because of her secrets.
