Steve's eyes snap open.
The cave he camped in is vibrating with the bone rattling wail of an air raid siren. He flings himself out of bed and gropes in the dark for his shield.
"Gabe! Morita! Get on the horn, find out where this is coming from! "
He is crawling, hands sweeping the floor, panic fluttering in his chest.
"Monty, I can't find my shield!"
His hands find the edges of his wool blanket. There is a little blue star embroidered in one corner. Bucky had a French woman from a nearby village do it as a joke.
"Now your blanket is upgraded too. Making all the other blankets feel like sissies."
When they made camp, Steve always hid the star under the edge of Bucky's blanket, so the other commandos didn't think he was putting on airs.
His hands scrambled across the cold stone. Nothing. No other soft pile of wool.
"DUMDUM! Where is Sergeant Barnes? I can't find him!"
His frantic hand hits something small and rectangular.
"Satellite phone" his brain supplies.
"I know there are things that you need to do, Rodgers, but please keep this with you. I need to know that we can reach you in case anything happens." Natasha shoved the black rectangle in his hand, along with a handwritten note explaining how to use it.
"I told Tony if the Avengers ever need me, I'll be there- but I just need to go off the grid for a while. You understand right, Nat?" Steve tried to turn away but Natasha pressed the phone into his hand harder. "What about Bucky?" She demanded.
His shaking hands open up the phone. The cave goes silent.
"H-hello? Steve Rogers speaking."
"Hiya Steve, this is Bruce. How's it going?"
In the past 24 hours, Steve had killed two men with his bare hands. He had gotten the third to give up the information by threatening to kill the man's dog and eat it in front of him.
"I've been better. You know how it is. "
The line goes quiet for a moment.
"Yeah, man. I do, I do. So listen, Steve, we-ah- we need your help with something, buddy."
Steve's whole body fills with dread. "Is this about Bucky? Are you in Wakanda? I can be there in 10 hours-"
Bruce cuts him off with a heavy sigh. "No. No, you don't need to come. Everything is under control, okay? We just, we noticed a dip in his neurotransmitter levels. We thawed him out and placed him in an artificial coma, okay? So- uh, what we need from you is a… um recording. Of you, talking about Bucky. We think some familiar stimulus will help stabilize his brain activity- especially the serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin levels. We can record you right now over the phone. There isn't any reason for you to interrupt your… schedule. You cool with that Steve?"
Steve debates for a moment.
He should insist on being there if Bucky isn't in that man-sized icebox anymore. But if they were keeping him unconscious, maybe Steve's time would be better spent tearing apart the last remnants of the KGB and HYDRA networks that had made Bucky like this in the first place.
"You're sure you don't need me there? None of my errands are more important than being there for Bucky. "
Bruce hums low in his throat. A female voice hisses something Steve can't quite catch. Another male voice rumbles something, and there is a clatter like a dropped mess tray.
Bruce talks a little louder over the sound of clanging metal and breaking glass.
"We're sure. Sorry about the noise-uh, Tasha just… she's fighting with an orderly. Not sure why- Okay so let's get to that recording. Gimme one second."
There is some more racket, and then Bruce's voice saying clearly "You two are starting to piss me off."
The silence is immediate.
"Okay, sorry about that Steve. I have the equipment all set up on my end, so you can go ahead and start recording whenever you are ready."
Steve's throat feels tight. His face is hot and his hands are sweating.
"What do you need me to say?"
"Just tell us what you remember most about Bucky. What was he like?"
Steve clears his throat a few times, and then starts to speak.
