A few days later, Bucky was discussing his meeting with Becca with Sam. They were sitting in the corner of a coffee shop, all artisan-styled, but most importantly, it was the quietest place to talk on the street: only a gently mumbling from a couple of other customers and the clinking of coffee cups.
"I'm glad the two of you got along." Sam was saying.
Bucky smiled, "I still almost can't believe it. All this time, I thought..." Bucky looked at Sam and leaned forward slightly. "It's gonna take some getting used to, let me tell you."
"Did you mention me to her?"
"Of course. She'd like to meet you, actually."
"I would love to meet her. But there is something I need to deal with first before I can."
"What's that?"
"Remember the Swift?"
"Oh yeah. They've been spotted again?"
"No, but new evidence has been discovered that has been connected to the Swift's involvement in police cases. It seems she's had help from certain individuals. I need to track down one of these individuals. Name's Oscar Perez, he's an arms dealer, and a mercenary, used to be in alliance with Shield, but he fell off their radar, after what happened, happened."
"I see. Can I come with you?"
"Of course you can, if you want. I'll send you the details later." Sam looked at Bucky's half-finished coffee. "Are you gonna finish that?"
Bucky shrugged. "I'm not really a coffee drinker, makes me agitated if anything."
"Let's get out of here then."
Next Scene
"Look, Becca, I'm going to be honest with you here, I'm worried about you." Becca's supervisor, a woman with coloured dark red hair and pointed glasses, said. They were sitting in her neatly decorated office, and Becca was wearing her blue work blouse, her eyebrows knitted.
"I know that my performance hasn't been the best lately. But I'm a good worker when I get it right, you know that!" Becca responded, exasperated.
"Your track record with other employers hasn't exactly been the best." She replied, narrowing her eyes at Becca.
"I know, but those jobs were just not right for me. And I can do better, I promise!"
Her supervisor hesitated. "Perhaps you'd like to finally give me a reason for your repeated lateness in submitting work?"
Becca shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry, I can't."
"Why not? Is it a family issue? I know you lost your father in the Blip, are you on good terms with him?"
"No, it's not that. It's complicated, I'm just very busy outside of work. Look, there must be something I can do to make it up to you." Becca said desperately.
Her supervisor sighed. "Alright, but this is going to be your last chance, okay?"
Becca nodded.
She rifled through some papers. "I'd like you to write up an opinion piece on the Swift."
"The Swift?"
"You've heard of her, no?"
"Yes." Becca said quietly.
"Well, it seems the police are hot on her trail, from the info we've been provided. Bit of an anti-hero, that one."
"Uh-huh."
"We should be receiving more news on another report soon enough. When I get it, I'll send it to you. Here's some files to start you off." She handed Becca some paper work, which she quickly scanned. "Happy with that?"
"Happy's not the word I would use, but yes, this is fine."
"Great. Take care now, Becca. I'm expecting big things from you from now on."
Becca smiled and left the room. As much as she loved this job, she got the feeling that she wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer. Excuses would fall on deaf ears, and then that would be it. Luckily for her, opinion pieces were her strong suit, so for now, she had nothing to worry about. Well, almost nothing to worry about.
Next Scene
"Here are Perez's last known coordinates..." A Shield agent was debriefing Bucky and Sam on their mission. People who knew Perez, his involvement in arms dealing, as well as suspected reports from the local authorities of the areas Perez was known to frequent, among other things. They would attempt to set up a meeting with Perez and to discuss with him the identity of the Swift, or otherwise obtain details that might lead to the Swift's capture. A jet would take them to a drop-off point first.
Bucky and Sam were once again sat facing each other. "This should be a simple job, right?" Bucky said.
"Should be. Perez was allied with Shield, but we don't know what he's been up to in the last five years, so we should be careful."
"As long as he's not built a giant death ray or something, we'll be good." Bucky said sarcastically.
"That's the least we can hope for." Sam replied.
They sat in silence for a while. "So, about Becca," Sam started.
"Yeah?"
"She really doesn't keep anything on the ranch? It's just empty, save for a few old things of your sister's?"
"Apparently so." Bucky said, "Why do you ask?"
"I just thought maybe she might have added something to it, after five years. It sounds pretty big, the way you described it."
"And what would you have done if it was yours?"
Sam furrowed his brows. "Maybe, uh, a pool?" Bucky shook his head, smiling. "Ok, and what would you have? A goat farm?"
"That's funny, Sam." Bucky said sarcastically again. "But you know what, maybe I will. Becca's giving me dual ownership of the place, so I can have as many goats as I want."
"Good luck with that." Sam replied jokingly.
Next Scene
"We're here." The pilot announced.
"Looks like this is our stop." Sam said.
The left the plane and headed out onto the street. They were in a semi-urban area, not well-off, but not particularly poor either. The buildings here were a mixture of high-rise flats and squat privately owned shops. The architecture was unimaginative, yet not entirely drab, often encompassing balconies jutting from the flats' windows. It was a cloudy day.
"Where should we start?" Bucky asked.
"Let's start off by giving one of his associates a visit. The nearest one would be Emily Dailey, age 24. His ex-girlfriend. This way."
Next Scene
They were standing in Emily's small and cluttered apartment.
"When's the last time you saw him?" Sam asked.
"A long time. In person, maybe 2 and a half years ago. Occasionally he texts me, asks how I'm doing. I try to get information out of him about what he's doing, but he's always so secretive about it. Which sounds about right for Oscar. He was always one to keep secrets from me." She paused, deep in thought. "I'm sorry I can't be of more use."
"Where was he living, last time you were together?" Bucky asked.
Emily gave them an address, 5 or so miles away. "I doubt you'll find anything there. All the times I've checked, there's no-one there. He tended to move around a lot. Good luck anyway."
"There's nothing else?" Bucky prodded. She hesitated, thinking about it.
"I don't think so."
"Right, then let's get moving." Bucky said, turning to Sam.
They left the apartment and headed to the location she'd given them. They both went by car. The address took them to a small warehouse, tucked away. Although they couldn't hear anyone inside, they still had to be careful going in. Bucky made short work of the padlock to the front door, and he entered first with gun ready, Sam entering behind him. It soon became apparent that no-one was home, but clearly someone had been there right before them; containers lay open on the ground in a disorganised fashion, and hurried footsteps could clearly be seen in the dust. Bucky muttered under his breath. "That girl must've told him we were coming."
Sam acted quickly. "Whoever was just here can't have gotten far. Let's see if we can find them." Bucky nodded in response. They both ran outside, Sam firing up his suit.
Bucky ran around the building and saw a suspicious black vehicle hastily pulling away in the distance. "You see that black car, Sam?"
"I see it. Going in now."
Bucky made headway on the car, as Sam flew towards it; soon he was flying side by side. The passenger rolled down their window, and aimed what looked like a gun at Sam, who swiftly moved away. "Do you see who's in there?" Bucky asked, nearly running directly behind the car now.
"Looks like two guys, both in the front. One's armed, but he didn't fire yet."
"Alright. Let me handle this."
At once, Bucky jumped on top of the car, manoeuvred to the front, reached down, and ripped the passenger side door from its hinges. The car immediately skidded to a halt as the driver panicked. Bucky was thrown off, but he easily got back on his feet, using his metal arm to slow his momentum, while it sparked against the road surface.
Sam landed next to him. The two men inside the car gingerly got out. One was indeed Oscar Perez, the other Sam didn't recognise. "Well, if it isn't Mr Perez." Sam said.
Oscar swallowed nervously, and held his hands up. "Looks like you got me." He smiled grimly. The other man, who was tall, dark-skinned and had cropped brown hair, put his hands up too, and watched Oscar closely, an unsure look on his face. "What do you want me to say?" Oscar continued.
"Perhaps you could tell us what exactly you're doing." Bucky said. Oscar looked over at him a little differently than at Sam: there was something on his face, but he was evidently trying to hide it. Then he looked at his friend. "It's a little complicated. Perhaps we should go somewhere else to discuss it?" he countered.
"I think right here's just fine." Sam replied.
Oscar's face slowly hardened. "There are some things that you don't understand yet. I'm not the bad guy here, believe me."
"I would, if you gave us evidence to the contrary. You do know the Swift, right?"
"I'm not telling you a thing."
"We'll see about that." Bucky said, his voice low. He turned to Sam. "We should call him in."
A few minutes later, a police van pulled up. "That's your ride." Sam said mockingly.
Oscar looked like he was going to say a snide remark, but ultimately kept his mouth shut. He and his friend, who had still not spoken a word, were then taken into custody. With the job done, Bucky and Sam went back to the jet.