Torn Between Lies

Chapter Nine~Temporary Team Up

Steve flies the Quinjet towards mountains, Bucky sat behind him, I sat on the other side of Steve looking out the window. I had never seen so much snow before, but that couldn't out way the guilt I had in my heart.

Rhodey...

What had happened? And not just him, Wanda, Clint, Scott, Sam.....Tony.

"What's gonna happen to your friends?" asked Bucky.

"Whatever it is...we'll deal with it," answers Steve.

"I don't know if I'm worth all this, Steve."

"What you did all those years . . . it wasn't you. You didn't have a choice."

"I know. But I did it."

Steve brings the Quinjet into land besides Zemo's caterpillar truck on the remote icy mountain top. The jet's wings fold up beside the fuselage. "Sometimes we do things without thinking or knowing.....You're good with a gun, racks over there." I say pointing. Bucky pulls out a rack of guns labeled 'Romanoff'. He takes a light machine gun.

We all stand together, waiting for the exit ramp to descend. "You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?" ask Steve to Bucky.

"Was that the time we used our train money to buy hot dogs?" asked Bucky.

"You blew three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for a redhead."

"What was her name again?"

"Dolores. You called her Dot."

"She's gotta be a hundred years old right now."

I crack a smile "So are you guys." I state, the two smile at me as the ramp opens, we walk up to the entrance set in the rock. The door is open. "He can't have been here more than a few hours," says Steve.

"Long enough to wake them up," says Bucky as Steve leads us into the cast bunker. We travel down into the depths inside a caged elevator. it stops in the bowls of the bunker, doors slide open. Steve nods to Bucky and heaves up the cage door. Bucky readies his heavy-duty machine gun and we walk along a corridor, keeping close to a wall. 

I look into an alcove full of junk then we move on up some stairs. At the sound of a loud thud, we spin around, aiming down the corridor. "You ready?" asked Steve, I nod making shields around my fist "Yeah," says Bucky.

Double doors part, forced open by.....Tony?! I stare in surprise. Tony walks towards us and retracts the suit's helmet "You seem a little defensive." he says, Bucky keeps his gun up while Steve walks to meet Tony with his shield covering his body. "It's been a long day."

"At ease, Soldier. I'm not currently after you."

"Then why are you here?" I ask, Tony looks at me and pauses for a second before continuing "Could be your story's not so crazy. Maybe. Ross has no idea I'm here. I'd like to keep it that way. Otherwise, I gotta arrest myself."

"Well, that sounds like a lot of paperwork," says Steve lowering his shield. "It's good to see you, Tony."

"You too, Cap...Hey, Manchurian Candidate, you're killing me. There's a truce here. You can drop . . . "

Steve signs Bucky to lower his weapon and he does. I drop my shields as well and the four of us cautiously walk along a corridor. Tony puts his helmet on again and leads us towards the enormous chamber with the capsules standing in it. "I got heat signatures," I say looking at the glowing spots through my mask.

"How many?" asked Steve.

"Uh, one," I say confused.

As we enter the vast chamber the lights come on. Hazy, yellow mist descends within the capsules. Each one contained an enhanced soldier from the 1991 experiment. I turn in place looking around, bewildered.

"If it's any comfort, they died in their sleep.," says Zemo through the speakers. I look closer to see all of the enhanced soldiers have been shot in the head. "Did you really think I wanted more of you?" he finishes.

"What the hell?" I start "I'm grateful to them, though. They brought you here." says Zemo as he appears in a control room. Steve hurls his shield but it flies back. "Please, Captain. The Soviets built this chamber to withstand the launch blast of UR-100 rockets."

"I'm betting I could beat that." says Tony "Oh, I'm sure you could, Mr. Stark. Given time. But then you'd never know why you came." says Zemo "You killed innocent people in Vienna just to bring us here?" asked Steve walking closer.

"I thought about nothing else for over a year. I studied you. I followed you. But now that you're standing here, I just realized . . . there's a bit of green in the blue of your eyes. How nice to find a flaw." 

And then it hits me "You're Sokovian. Is that what this is about?" I ask.

"Sokovia was a failed state long before you blew it to hell. No. I'm here because I made a promise."

"You lost someone?"

"I lost everyone. And so will you." there a click and a screen turn on, we all step over to it "An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one which crumbles from within? That's dead . . . forever." finishes Zemo.

It was just a video of a dirt road, I look over to see Tony slightly panicked "I know that road. What is this?"

The video plays. A forced off the road crashes into a tree. We watch intently as a Winter Soldier rides up and gets off his motorbike. The driver lies on the ground beside the car...I recognize him, it's Tony's father, Howard. 

The Winter Soldier walks over and hoists him up by his hair. He stares at Howard's bloody face. Howard stares back pleadingly. In the video, the Winter Soldier pounds Howard hard in the face with his metal fist. My hands cover my mouth in shock.

Howard slumps dead. The Winter Soldier puts him in the driver's seat with his face against the steering wheel. Tony's mom in the passenger seat with blood streaked down her face. The Winter Soldier walks around and grips her throat. Expressionless he strangles her. 

I watch the screen stunned as the Winter Soldier walks up and aims a gun at the surveillance camera. Did I say Winter Soldier, I meant Bucky.