28. Confronting Barnes
After hanging up with the twins, I shut down Skype so there won't be any distractions. The last thing I need is an incoming call at the worst time imaginable. I set my phone down on the table next to my laptop and blink a few times in an attempt to regain my previous focus. It's going to be a very very long day.
I pull up my running program in the process of locating Barnes in Romania that was previously minimized. Heaving a quiet sigh, I roll my shoulders and look at the far wall as I try to get myself together for the task at hand. It may be a flagged image, but I refuse to get my hopes up too high. I mean, I've had three false alarms so far, and that's what I'm expecting this to be as well. However, this image seems different. It's clearer and crisper than the images I've seen previously, which will help me identify this person quicker, Barnes or not. Then I'll know whether chasing down this Romania lead is any good. Letting out a soft breath of air, I zoom in on the image. "Alright sneaky assassin man is this you...?" I question myself quietly as my eyes dart across the face on the image. My breath hitches in my throat as my eyes widen considerably.
Well, this is unexpected...
I hurriedly stand to my feet, the backs of my knees pushing the chair away so sharply it falls over. I quickly walk over to Steve's room, finding him sleeping face down on one of his pillows. I sharply knock on his door as I stand under the door frame, my face eager. I wait a moment for a response. "Steve!" I exclaim when he doesn't stir. Still, he doesn't make any indication that he's heard me. I grumble and stalk over to his bed. I blink a few times and stare down at the man behind the spangly suit. His breathing is slow, deep. He looks relaxed for once.
Not for long...
"Bucky's in trouble." I state in an even tone, my lips curled into a mischievous smirk as I stare down at him. Before I even have time to react, Steve jumps up in a flash. He somehow manages to grab his shield, which is leaning against the other side of the bed, before he swings it around and hits me with it. "WHAT THE-" I shout as the shield comes in contact with my side, throwing me into the wall with a rough force. Cap is on his feet now. I have one of my own pulsing energy shields thrown up in front of me as I cradle my arm. Sam comes rushing in suddenly, his face startled before he bursts out in laughter at the scene. Steve's hair is a bedhead mess and he looks like a frantic baby deer that just so happened to be 6'0 tall man with the shoulder-to-waist ratio of a Dorito. "Rude, Steve." I grumble before dropping my shield when the threat of getting hit by a star-spangled shield diminishes.
"Sorry, Iris." Steve apologizes as he takes a more calm stance. We collectively turn our attention to where Sam is leaning against the door frame, still laughing like an idiot.
"It's not that funny, Sam." I huff to myself as I rub my hand up and down my arm tentatively. Meanwhile, Wilson holds out a hand in my direction as he shakes his head before retreating back to his room after finding he isn't able to stop laughing. "I don't see what's so funny." I say, shifting my gaze to Steve.
"I guess I did the same thing to Sam at one point. Now he just finds it funny when it happens to others." He shrugs, placing his shield back on the floor.
"So what then? How does he wake you up without getting his butt kicked?" I ask while motioning for Steve to follow me out of the room. From Sam's room, I hear a muffled shout of 'Nerf guns!' This causes me to turn my head in the direction of his room as I walk into the open living area of the hotel room. "Sam! You're a grown adult and you wake up Captain America by shooting him with Nerf guns?" I shout back but keep my feet headed toward my computer. I only receive more laughter from Falcon. I turn my head to look at Steve and he smiles awkwardly before rubbing the back of his neck. "I feel like a frickin' babysitter, I swear." I mutter to myself as I bend down and pick up the chair that fell to the floor earlier. Once it's up, I lower myself onto it. Steve sits next to me and I move the laptop enough so we can both look at the screen. "Looks like Bucky hasn't left Romania." I comment, pointing to the stamp in the corner of the picture that lists the time, date, and location. Steve looks at me eagerly. "The photo was taken as he was leaving an apartment building....about ten minutes go. He doesn't look like he's aware of the catastrophe 'he' created." I say. "Otherwise I highly doubt he'd be going out right now. If anything, he'd be laying low." I comment and sit back in my chair, lifting a brow at Cap. "So, I hope you're ready for an adventure." Steve smiles at me before standing to his feet.
"Time to suit up." He declares.
"Sam, you hear that? Get your suit on you wacky pigeon!"
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"Can you get a read, Iris?" I hear Sam ask through the coms. I roll my eyes and move my hands behind me so I can recline slightly. As of right now, I'm sitting on a metal air conditioning unit on top of a building playing watchdog. The trip here to Bucharest was fairly uneventful, seeing as it didn't take us long to leave Vienna. It was mainly due to the fact that we're "ex-Avengers" and honestly, the police and CIA didn't want us poking around the UN crime scene so they were incredibly glad we were leaving the country. However, they didn't know we were leaving to kidnap Barnes. And by kidnap, I mean get our butts kicked as we try to help him get out of Romania before the CIA get to him first. So, yes. Here we are, about to get our butts kicked. Fun, right?
"Yes, Sam, as I said five minutes ago, the police are still making their way to the building, although incredibly slowly because of the traffic." My tone is bland as I speak.
"He means Barnes, Iris." Steve cuts in. Thanks to my thermodynamic ability, I can see Steve's just entered the apartment I managed to identify as Barnes' hiding place. He moves in slowly, taking his time to look around carefully.
"Oh, yeah. He's climbing the last two flights of stairs." I say casually as I squint my eyes suspiciously. I don't like the fact Steve's in there alone and both Sam and I are on two different rooftops, just here to watch on. But I also understand and respect his wishes. If anybody is able to get through to Barnes, it'd be Steve. I mean, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't go well if one of us were in there with him. Afterall, Sam and I are completely unfamiliar faces. Well, less so than Steve at least. I mean, if I were in Bucky's shoes, I wouldn't trust us either. So, yes. It's better if Steve goes in alone. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. "Now the police are closing in, Sam." I say as I sit up and lean forward, my eyes never leaving the building as I grow more concerned. It was fine when the cops were moving slowly, but now I can see them moving down the streets further up the blocks a little too quickly for my liking. It gives Steve less time to convince Bucky to come with us, which is going to be stressful considering he's dealing with someone possibly going through PTSD and whatever side-effects come with being brainwashed for so long. Yeah, this probably won't end without a fight.
My eyes shift as I detect Steve move to pick something up off of the top of a fridge, but I'm not sure what it is because it's not giving me a clear reading. But, if I were to make a guess, I'd say he's picked some sort of paper-based item. "Heads up Cap, German Special Forces approaching from the South." Sam says, alerting Steve about what I already know.
"Understood." Steve replies.
"Steve...behind you." I say after Sam's finished. I can tell Bucky's entered the room. I wouldn't have said anything, but Barnes is standing in the middle of the room now and Steve hasn't turned around yet, which leads me to believe Barnes entered silently. After I speak, I can see Steve turning to face James. It's a lot more amusing for me because all I can see are their heat signatures, so I have to picture their facial expressions...and their clothes...
"You know me?" I hear Cap ask, sounding almost like he's speaking to a young, frightened child. Which, essentially, he is.
"You're Steve." I hear Bucky respond through Steve's com after a brief moment of silence. "I read about you in a museum." He continues quietly.
"They've set the perimeter." Sam informs the both of us, and I begin to feel anxious.
"I know you're nervous. And you have plenty of reason to be." Steve begins, setting the item he picked up seconds ago back down as he takes a step in Bucky's direction. "But you're lying." I immediately facepalm, heaving out a quiet groan.
That was not smooth, Steve. The one thing I ask you to be, smooth, and you blow it.
"I wasn't in Vienna, I don't do that anymore." Bucky says defensively.
"They're entering the building, Cap." I say upon noticing the cops have entered the building and are now quickly climbing the stairs. I'm half tempted to have them all drop unconscious, but Steve specifically asked me not to interfere as it may cause more friction with both the cops and with Bucky. Afterall, Barnes is new to this age. I'm sure the weirdest thing he knows right now is superhumans, let alone enhanced superhumans. So I curb my desire to interfere and watch on silently.
"Well, the people who think you did are coming here now. And they aren't planning on taking you alive." Cap informs Bucky, hopefully trying to convince him to come along with us.
"That's smart." Bucky says. I feel terrible. "A good strategy."
He must have gone through so much to believe that...
"They're on the roof. I'm compromised." Sam informs us and I briefly look up to see that indeed they are there.
"This doesn't have to end in a fight, Buck." Steve says quickly, though it sounds more like a plea.
"Cap, they're right outside the door." I warn, my nerves becoming increasingly worse.
"It always ends in a fight." Barnes says.
"Five seconds!" Sam and I say at the exact same time.
"You pulled me from the river. Why?" Steve asks, getting desperate.
"I don't know." Bucky says, but I can hear the slight waver of uncertainty.
"Three seconds!" Sam declares.
"Yes, you do." Steve says calmly and I can see him nodding his head.
"Breach! Breach!" I shout the moment I see one of the men scaling down the building throw something through one of the windows. I watch as Steve smacks it away with his shield before it explodes.
Flash grenades.
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