The old Nokia buzzed. Ever since Tony started tracking us, the built-in communication in my left glove had been off-limits. I eyed the brick phone with a moment of suspicion before answering. There were a few seconds of silence before a familiar voice gave a shaky greeting.
"Steve?"
"Buck." Both relief and anger rushed over me in a torrent as I tried to keep my voice under control. "You said you were going to meet us at the arranged location. What happened?"
"Yeah, I hope you got some drive-thru!" interjected Sam. I had put the phone on speaker so he could hear any plans we made. "I mean, man, you've been gone long enough to pick us up some chow after we've been lyin' around all day, scared somethin' happened to you."
"Sam," I said, grinning, "I wouldn't count on it." I heard some static on the other end and listened in closer.
"I...ran into trouble."
"What kind of trouble?" I asked, gripping the arms of my chair.
"Just...a delay."
"Did you…?" my voice trailed off as I implied what I hoped wasn't close to the truth.
"Lose it? No. I just...forgot...what I was doing." He sighed. "By the time I remembered it was too late."
Sam grunted. "So, I take it you didn't get us any food? Dang, man, we're runnin' low."
I could almost hear Bucky's annoyed smile. "Sorry, but you guys didn't give me much cash either. What was I supposed to pay with, my arm?"
I laughed and shook my head. It was good to hear him joke around again. "Well, when do you think you can make it over? We can't stay in one location for much longer, and it's not safe to stay separated-"
"Steve, don't blame yourself for what happened yesterday. It was the SWAT team's fault, not yours."
"How do you always know what I'm-"
"Because you're the most predictable punk I've met." I could hear his quiet chuckle and a warm glow came over me.
"So…?"
"I'll try to get over there after dark. Don't do anything stupid while I'm away."
"How can he? You're taking all the stupid with you!" cried Sam in mock exasperation. "If you don't at least bring over some fries-"
There was a bit of scuffling on the other end and some muffled muttering about being ungrateful idiots before I said goodbye. I was about to hang up when his voice filtered through.
"Oh, and Steve?"
"Yeah?"
He paused, and then said quietly, "Don't win the war 'til I get there."
I smiled fondly at the memory. "I wouldn't win it for the world."