грузовой вагон – Freight car

As he walked along the street, Bucky barely acknowledged the caller on the other end. His half-hearted replies went on for a few blocks before the person had enough. Bucky stopped walking.

"I hear you," he said somewhat loudly and shook his head in frustration. He then disconnected the call and turned the device off before tucking it into a jacket pocket. Bucky looked around at his surroundings and began walking again. Although it definitely wasn't New York, he felt comfortable here. And, considering that his family was long gone, it had become a second home of sorts. He felt a slight twinge of sadness as he continued striding along knowing it might be some time before he could return.

Around the next corner, a black car waited under a street lamp. After tossing his bag in the back seat, Bucky took a last look around and got inside. It was a short ride to the airport and Bucky departed the car on the tarmac without uttering a word to the driver. He walked up the stairs and sat down in what had become a familiar seat on the plane.

Dawn was just breaking in the sky when the plane landed. Bucky grabbed his bag and tapped his foot as he waited for the stairs to be placed at the door. After what seemed like an eternity to him, the pilot opened the door and Bucky was able to depart. A few feet away, a large black SUV was waiting. Due to the tinted windows, Bucky couldn't see the driver or tell if anyone else was inside. As he looked back towards the plane, a back door of the car opened.

No one exited the vehicle and from where he stood, Bucky couldn't tell how many people might be inside. He cautiously walked closer, warily for some sign of life. As he neared the car, a voice called out from inside.

"Get in!"

Bucky hesitated and took a step backwards. He instinctively reached for the knife concealed in his jacket.

"Get in now, Sergeant Barnes," the voice ordered.

Bucky obeyed although his senses remained on high alert. As his eyes got accustomed to the interior of the vehicle, he saw Nick Fury sitting there.

"That is the smartest thing you've done in a while," Fury commented wryly. Bucky was in no mood for Fury's sarcasm and immediately moved to get out of the vehicle.

"You do that and you're on your own. Right now, I'm the only person who can help you out of this mess you've gotten yourself in," Fury declared as the SUV started pulled out.

"I knew I shouldn't have talked to Sam."

"Do you think that I didn't know you've been to see Zemo? The Raft is a prison… and visitors, especially ones like you… are noticed."

Bucky shook his head. "What else do you know?"

"I know that there is one very dead former Hydra commander," Fury stated matter-of-factly. "I get that you might be a little upset with them, but you couldn't let him be?"

"It wasn't me," Bucky tried to explain.

"Then who was it? 'Cause I'm pretty certain it was not Steve Rogers."

Bucky made a face and looked out the car window. "Zemo used the Hydra programming. He called and said those words and… the next thing I know, I'm not me."

"I thought they fixed you all up while you were in Wakanda."

"Yeah, me too," Bucky hung his head and rubbed his hands through his hair. "I tried to fight it."

"You might want to try a little harder next time."

Despite being inside a moving vehicle, Bucky reached for the handle of the car. Fury grabbed his arm and shook his head. "Sorry if I crossed a line. You are not to speak to Zemo again. Am I clear?"

"I haven't. He… or whoever he has helping him… has been calling," Bucky told him.

Fury asked to see Bucky's phone. He slowly scrolled through the numbers then moved on to quickly skim through the text messages. With a steely gaze in Bucky's direction and a grave expression, Fury tapped the screen to make a call. Bucky silently watched, mouth slightly agape. When someone answered and thinking it was Bucky, demanded to know what took him so long to respond, Fury solemnly explained that Bucky had been unable to respond due to being rendered obsolete.

"You can take that however you want," Fury said loudly into the phone and ended the call. He then calmly handed the device back to Bucky.

"Now what?" Bucky asked.

"Now you don't answer that number again," Fury said. "And, you do what I tell you."

Bucky sat silently with a slightly perturbed look on his face as Nick Fury spoke. Fury explained that since speaking with Sam, they had Bucky's call history traced and Maria Hill would soon be visiting the mysterious caller.

"I'll be paying Zemo a visit after dropping you off," Fury told Bucky.

"Dropping me off where exactly?"

"You'll be going to Budapest. Sam will meet you there and tell you what's next."

They rode along in silence. Bucky tried to figure out the reason behind Budapest and why he wasn't flown there directly. Fury monitored his own phone for messages while covertly watching Bucky. Although he had expected more questions, Fury received none.

The SUV pulled up to an old brick warehouse. Fury checked his watch and nodded at Bucky. "Right on time."

Fury gestured to Bucky to get out of the vehicle. He then stepped out of the car on the other side. "Where are we?" Bucky asked as he looked around.

"It's not fancy but it will get you to Budapest alive, if you don't do anything stupid," Fury replied.

"There's nothing here. Am I walking to Budapest?" Bucky said.

In the distance, the faint sound of a train could be heard. Fury tilted his head towards the echo. "Patience is a virtue," he said.

"You want me to ride on that?" Bucky asked as the outdated engine slowed in front of them.

"I said it wasn't fancy."

Fury ordered Bucky to hide in a freight car a few places behind the engine and again warned him to not do anything stupid. Bucky nodded, a bit exasperated since it looked like the train was mostly empty aside from the engineer. As the train pulled away, Fury nodded with satisfaction and pulled out his phone.

Sitting in a dimly lit corner of the freight car, Bucky pondered the odd symmetry of his situation. Riding in a freight car had started his journey as the Winter Soldier, and now, hopefully it would finally end. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, trying to force himself to relax. Bucky had just dozed off when a loud crash reverberated throughout the car. Startled awake, he jumped up and reached for his knife. The lone blub didn't provide much light and the only thing Bucky could see was a dark figure approaching.

"Желание (zhelaniye)," said a familiar voice.

"No," Bucky yelled as a searing pain shot through his head.

Bucky sat upright and looked around. The floor was hard beneath him and although it could barely be heard, the television was on. The light from it ebbed and flowed with the changing display. He was home and his head didn't hurt. Breathing heavily, Bucky slowly stood up and walked around wanting to be sure of his surroundings. It was definitely home and despite the late hour, he grabbed his phone and sent off a quickly typed text message. The nightmares started again.

Bucky sunk into a chair and tried to remember every detail of the dream. It had all seemed so real. He shook his head and muttered to himself that he needed to forget the past. As he swiped through screens on his phone, he noticed a few missed calls. They were all from the same number; it was one he didn't recognize, but yet it seemed vaguely familiar.