A/N: Thanks for reviewing! (Tajin Princess - thanks so much! That's great to hear!)
(Cliche Melancholy - I am delighted to have reminded you how cool Clint is :P Yes, Bucky is smitten. And you are quite right on his progression to sleepy Bucky. Sleeping doesn't solve anything, man! Lol, thank you!)
I Scream, Rev the Tramp's Engine
Sharon wasn't usually the type of person to rethink her decisions, but being in Steve's safehouse, seeing the other fugitive Avengers seemed unreal. So many people were looking for this place and the people in it, and here they all were. It did not escape her notice that revealing the location to her superiors would certainly grant her a promotion and restore their trust in her. But she would never do that. Even if things were still strained at work, it would never be worth it to turn these people in. After all, what had they really done?
Gone after the Winter Soldier on their own? Well, yes, of course. Because he was a mythical killing machine who was unlikely to take being cornered nicely, and Steve was probably the only person who could either bring him in or bring him down relatively unscathed. Wilson had just been helping him there.
Escaped with the Winter Soldier after he attacked them all? Well, he might warrant arresting for the attack, but keeping Steve out of it continued to be an idiotic approach. Steve remained the only person capable of managing him. So it was no wonder that Steve had chosen not to return to the people who had already handled the situation poorly.
Attacked the Accords-sanctioned Avengers sent to capture them? Yes, but only because they, the former, were unwilling to discuss the intel Steve had found. Maybe there was a way things could have been deescalated before they all started punching each other, but neither side were really interested in calming down. Steve had his mission and Stark had his guilt. Natasha had done her best, but was perhaps compromised by the fear of losing these people.
However the media and the officials were choosing to spin it, Sharon didn't think there was any reason to lock these people up. All of them, both sides, wanted to protect and help as many people as possible. They just didn't see eye to eye, and without any current authority figure like Fury to guide their egos in the same direction, they had fallen apart. Ross was a poor substitute for the former leader of SHIELD. Whatever intention he had with all of this, it hadn't come off properly.
Sharon could admit to a little bitterness, and was often relieved that Ross wasn't her direct supervisor. Even if she felt like he should be watched a little more closely than he was. In any case, she had no intention of betraying Steve and his friends. Now was obviously not the time for them to come forward, and waiting for the right opportunity would only make people more sympathetic to their side of the story. Especially if they continued to do some good while they were fugitives.
When Steve returned downstairs, she offered him a smile. "You like the place?" he asked.
She was leaning against the wall near the stairwell, secretly hoping for just such a chance to talk to him alone, before the other three roped him into their banter. Well, Sam and Natasha's banter – Bucky was pretty quiet again. "It's much bigger than I was expecting."
"Yeah, it's not too shabby." He folded his arms over his chest as he leaned next to her. "Anything else?"
"This was one of Fury's secret bases, wasn't it?"
His smile broadened. "That's what I figure. Barton's keeping that kind of thing to himself."
"You can't get him to answer you, Captain America?" she asked with a wink.
He laughed, a sound she would never get tired of hearing. "I think it's best not to antagonize the only person who knows what he's doing out here."
That brought a slight frown to her face as she looked him over. "You seem like you're doing pretty well."
"It's alright," he replied quietly, looking at her very seriously for a long moment. Whatever he was going to say, he seemed to think better of, because he straightened and looked straight ahead again. "So, what's the plan, boss?"
A snort escaped her at the epithet. "If we knew who Barabal wanted to impress, we might get a better sense of where she might be located. Especially if she's already being funded to do this."
"You don't think Nat's insight was very helpful?"
"What? That's she's Russian? We can't very well wander across all of Russia in search of where she might be hiding out, Steve."
He chuckled. "That's true. But maybe she can get us more historical stuff. Like where the Red Room was and what happened to its agents when it fell."
"I suppose we might as well ask," she replied with a shrug. "Sounds like we might be in for a road trip."
"As long as you're in my car, I think that would be fun," he told her earnestly, and she felt a blush spread across her cheeks.
"Alright. Let's go ask her."
Bucky was relieved when Steve came back. At least that would get things moving and he wouldn't have to watch Sam and Natalia, trying to determine if there was more going on than old friends who hadn't seen each other in a while. He would curtail his hopes if that were the case, which maybe was something he should do anyway. Who the hell was he to be thinking of seeing a girl right now? He was too much of a mess for that. Having Natalia back in his life in any capacity was blessing enough – asking for more was foolish.
"Hey, Steve, settle something for us," Sam called.
"If it can't wait," was Steve's sarcastic reply, then he and Sharon walked over together to share the nearby couch.
"Nat here says that you want to go to the moon."
Steve laughed while everyone else looked at him appraisingly. "I didn't say that. I just said that I was made to do things no ordinary human could. Like go into space. If I hadn't gone into the ice, I would have volunteered."
"That's what I said," Natalia defended herself.
"I don't think so," Sam told her, shaking his head. "You said Cap loves space."
"It's fine," Steve interceded. "Maybe I'll get to go someday. But now we have work to do. Nat, how do you think we should track down this woman – Barabal?"
Bucky watched as Natalia's smile faded and she considered. He had little enough memory of the lady in question, and doubted any of it would be particularly useful in this situation. But Natalia had known her much longer, and might have some insight into what happened after he'd been put to sleep again.
"After the Red Room fell, everyone scattered. I'd already defected and wasn't really in contact with anyone from there. I have a few contacts now I could reach out to, but I don't know how useful that will be. Most folks tried to find other jobs in the Russian government, or bargained their way into intelligence agencies from other countries."
"What do you think Barabal did?" Sharon asked.
Natalia pressed her pretty lips together briefly. "She was high in the ranks and likely wouldn't have wanted to start over again in Russia. It seems likely that she left."
With a nod, Sharon turned to Steve. "How did she get access to Zemo?"
"I have no idea. T'Challa left his own surveillance on him, but otherwise let Everett Ross take over the case."
"She was cleared," Sam offered. "I mean, she was wearing a security clearance," he amended when they looked at him in confusion.
"You think she was authorized to be there?" Steve wanted to know, jaw clenched.
Sam shrugged. "She could have stolen it."
"She said she'd taken precautions against being heard. So she had to know quite a bit about security there," Natalia put in, earning her a pleased smile from Sam.
"Could she have joined the UN after leaving Russia?" Sharon asked sharply.
"I don't know," Natalia admitted.
"It seems like she might have," was Steve's discouraged response.
They all stared at the floor in silence for a few moments. Bucky didn't know how the UN worked, or how one went from one country to another. His experiences were generally confined to being in the field or boots on the ground. So he had little to offer the discussion at the moment. He shifted his weight, impatient to have something tangible to do. A woman who had hurt Natalia was now using his own worst experiences in a bid to prove what her people could do? It was hard to imagine a way this whole thing could get any worse.
