Amelia looked at the runway once the plane had landed and came to a standstill. The engine turned off and she heard the noise dull. Looking to the front of the plane, she saw Oeznik stand up from his seat and she did the same. Reaching for her satchel, she flung it over her shoulder and looked onto the runway through the window. She felt safe in the plane. She felt untouchable when she had been up in the sky, but now things had changed. Everything had completely changed.

Oeznik had gone to her home in Norfolk and found everything she needed. The German prison still had her bag with her purse and passport in it, keeping it in storage. She had been too scared to go back to England in case Andrew was waiting for her, but he wasn't there. It looked like no one had been in her house in years, which she guessed might be the case. Oeznik had packed her a small case of clothes and a part of her felt bad asking Helmut's butler to go through her clothes. But he had been professional.

"You know that you don't need to run, Ms Baker," Oeznik said as he opened the door and Amelia felt the heat hit her through the cabin door. "You can come with me and I can take you to one of the Master's safe houses."

Amelia smiled sadly at him. "Thank you, Oeznik," she said, giving his arm a reassuring squeeze. "But you've done more than enough for me. I'll be fine, don't worry about me."

"Hard not to, miss," he replied. "I don't know what Master Zemo would do without you…knowing you were hurt..."

"I don't intend to get hurt, Oeznik," Amelia said. "And Helmut will be fine where he is. He's safe there, much safer than he would be out here."

"I told him that he had been a fool," Oeznik confessed and Amelia's eyes widened as the elderly man looked down to her and shook his head sadly. He was upset that he even had to tell her this. "I told him that he should never have done what he did, not when he had a good woman who loved him and he loved her."

Amelia smiled at that, but she shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know about that," she responded. "I don't even think he's ever told me that he loves me. I know he cares, but I don't know if it's love and he…I think he's never said it to spare me because he knows there's no chance for us. There's just no hope."

"Never say never, miss," Oeznik urged from her as a car pulled up and Amelia looked to it as Oeznik moved down the steps, carrying her small suitcase for her. She rolled up the sleeves on her long-sleeved jumpsuit, the red material crumpling at her elbows. She followed Oeznik down the steps until she was on the tarmac besides him.

"Are you certain I cannot persuade you to stay, Ms Baker?"

"Unfortunately not, Oeznik," she said and popped open the trunk of the car. He had even arranged for a car to take her to the hotel where she was staying. She was back staying in the same hotel that she had with Helmut when they had come to Madripoor. "And you've got to start calling me Amelia."

"Force of habit," Oeznik told her and he placed her suitcase in the trunk for her as she closed it and looked to the butler. She didn't entirely know what she should do. She'd only met him a handful of times, but he had been nothing but kind and courteous to her.

"Take care, Oeznik," Amelia said and she stood on her toes and pecked him on the cheek as he patted her shoulder.

"You too, Ms Baker," he said and Amelia didn't bother to argue with him, a knowing smile on her face. "And if you need me, call me."

"Of course," she said and slipped into the backseat of the car. She told the driver that she was ready, but she didn't know if that was entirely true. Either way, she was facing Madripoor on her own this time and so she had to be ready.

…

Amelia hoped that Selby wouldn't know she had betrayed her the last time they had been in Madripoor. Helmut had given her a list of arms dealers, but he had alerted one of his former EKO colleagues to warn him about her. He had put distance between them, hoping it would be enough for Selby not to get suspicious. Amelia only longed for that to be the case as she found herself walking back into Selby's bar.

She'd changed at the hotel into another jumpsuit, this one green with capped sleeves. She left her engagement ring in the safe there along with her passport and purse. She only had the phone that Oeznik had given her, claiming that it was untraceable. She tucked it into the pocket of her jumpsuit along with some cash. Walking through Lowtown, she tried to keep a low profile as she moved through the crowds, hoping that no one would recognise her. The main issue, of course, was the fact that her face had been plastered on the news before.

But that was before the Blip. Hopefully people had forgotten about her. Besides, Helmut was the one with the profile, not her. She moved through the bar, listening to the low thumping of the bass music. She came to the bar and ordered a shot of vodka from the bartender. He poured it in front of her and she spoke to him.

"I need to see Selby," she said to the man.

"What do you need with Selby?" he questioned from her.

"That's for her to know. Tell her it's Amelia Baker," she said and she took the shot of vodka as the man looked to her and eyed her suspicious. Clearly, her name rang a bell with him somewhere. He watched her as she drained the drink without flinching and left a note on the bar to pay for it.

Turning around, he picked up a telephone that was in the middle of rows of spirits and Amelia glanced at the whiskey on the top shelf, recalling how it was Helmut's drink of choice. She felt a familiar pang in her chest before looking away from it. He wasn't here. He wasn't going to appear suddenly and help her. She was on her own and there was no chance for her and Helmut.

"Selby will see you."

Amelia nodded to the bartender and turned on her heel, recalling the way to the back room where she conducted her business. Moving through the crowd, she knew that there were some people staring at her but she paid them no heed. She couldn't. She had one job to do and that was it. She walked through the corridors to the back, hands in her pockets as she finally reached the familiar, dark back room.

Selby was sat on the garish leather couch, dressed in an outlandish leopard print coat with a scarf draped around her neck and a white shirt underneath. Her fingers were covered with rings and her white hair was still cropped, sticking up on top. Her eyes lingered on Amelia as the other woman moved to sit on the armchair across from her, showing no sign of fear.

"Well, well, well," Selby drawled, "look who it is? The little English spitfire."

"Long time no see," Amelia simply said to her.

"You can say that again," Selby responded. "Last I heard, you were trying to avoid the press in England."

"They soon moved on when they got a better story," Amelia said, trying to shrug it off.

But Selby was persistant and Amelia had no intention of annoying her considering she had three armed guards loitering in the room. Amelia knew better than to piss her off.

"The rumours were wild though, weren't they? They painted you two as some Bonnie and Clyde lovers," Selby continued. "But I take it there was no truth to some of them? I don't see a baby so you can't have been pregnant with his child."

"No, they were all a load of shit," Amelia agreed.

"Were they?" Selby asked, head tilting to the side in intrigue. She continued to study Amelia, but the woman in green was refusing to flinch under the pressure. "Because when you two came here, I saw the way he was around you…constantly watching you…protecting you…I think there's some truth to the rumours."

"It doesn't matter," Amelia retorted, her voice firm. She didn't want to discuss it with her. In fact, she didn't really want to discuss it with anyone. There would only be one person she opened up to and he was locked in a German prison cell. "I'm here because I need your help."

Selby chuckled. "And why do you think I would help you?"

"Because I can pay you," Amelia said. "I know that you don't do anything for free, I'm not an idiot."

Selby nodded again. She knew that she wasn't an idiot. She was an astute woman with a temper on her when she needed it. Selby had seen that before. "You're not wrong," she agreed with Amelia. "But I will need to know what this favour is before I work out how much it will cost you."

"There's a man after me," Amelia said. "Andrew Edgington."

Selby shrugged. "Never heard of him."

"His brother was a HYDRA scientist," Amelia said. "I had a run in with him before the Blip and what happened at the UN."

"A run in?" Selby asked. "I suspect you are downplaying things."

Amelia sighed, but nodded. "I bashed his head in with a statue as he tried to rape me," Amelia said and looked Selby straight in the eye. The woman looked at Amelia and tried to see if she was lying, but she knew she wasn't. She was telling her the truth and there was no remorse in her eyes. Why should there be? She did what she had to do.

"And now his brother is after revenge?"

"Got it in one," Amelia said.

Selby nodded thoughtfully, folding one leg over the other and watching Amelia intently still. She didn't shift. She simply remained sat still, acting braver than she felt.

"And what do you want from me?" Selby questioned.

"Is it not obvious?"

"I would like you to state the obvious."

"Fine," Amelia agreed. "I need him taken care of. I need him gone so that I can go back home and not look over my shoulder…worry about what he's going to do or if he's going to appear."

"A job like that isn't cheap," Selby said, whistling lowly. "It's going to cost you."

"How much?"

"How much do you have?"

"Enough," Amelia said.

Selby was about to question how, but then she chuckled darkly. She sat forwards, clasping her hands together and setting them on her thigh. "He'll pay whatever it costs, won't he? Your Baron?"

"He's not my Baron," Amelia said.

"Tell me I'm wrong," Selby demanded, ignoring her previous comment. "He's willing to cover the cost to keep you safe. It's quite sweet."

"How much?" Amelia asked, not biting the bait. She wasn't going to be goaded to talk about Helmut in this way. And Selby, to her credit, didn't bother pushing anymore. She went straight back to business.

"Ten million," she said.

Amelia cursed in her head. She didn't have that money, but she knew Helmut did. She didn't want to go to him, but he had told her that he would help her. He said that Oeznik would be able to help her with anything she needed. But why should she take more of his money? She nodded once.

"I'll need a few days to get that together," she told her.

"Well, come back to me when you can wire it across," Selby urged from her. "In the meantime, I hope that Edgington doesn't find you."

"That's why I need a gun."

"That's going to cost you extra."

"What? You're not even going to throw one in as a sweetener?" Amelia asked and Selby laughed loudly at that, seemingly entertained by Amelia's dry comment. Nodding, she stood up and moved to a cabinet at the back of the room. Unlocking it with a key on a chain around her neck, she opened the doors and Amelia looked at the rows of guns on the wall in it.

Picking out a small handgun, Selby checked it was loaded and the safety lock on before placing it on the coffee table in front of Amelia.

"You're lucky I like you," she said with a nod of her head. "Take that and try not to get yourself killed."

"Do my best," Amelia mumbled and picked the gun up and stood on her feet. She managed, just about, to fit in the pocket of her green jumpsuit, not wanting anyone to see it as she left. "See you around, Selby," Amelia said, indicating that she was finished. She wanted to get out as soon as possible.

"I do hope so," Selby retorted and Amelia left, wanting to do nothing more than get back to the safety of her hotel room to figure out her next move.

…

Oeznik had informed Helmut that Amelia was in Madripoor. He had left her there and was flying back to Munich as soon as he could. But he assured Helmut that he would be at her beck and call should she need him. Helmut had ended the phone call with a sense of despair, namely that he wasn't there with her to keep her safe.

But that despair soon turned to anger when he saw who was being escorted into his cell. He felt his lip curl in distaste and his jaw clenched. Andrew Edgington, dressed in a smart navy three-piece suite, was sauntering into the room, thanking the guard for letting him in.

"I hadn't thought to be back here," Andrew drawled, looking around the cell. "It's just as depressing as I remember it. What's it been now? Eight years locked in here? You must be fed up."

"I get by," Helmut said.

Andrew chuckled. "You know why I'm here."

"And you know that I'm going to tell you nothing."

"I thought you might say that," Andrew agreed with Helmut. "But I come here to offer you a proposal. You're a smart man. You're not an idiot, are you?"

"I don't need your affirmation that I'm not," Helmut said and Andrew chuckled once more.

"Obviously not, but here's my proposal. Tell me where she is and I'll take her life instead of yours," Andrew said, pacing up and down along the line outside of Helmut's cell. The Baron kept his eyes on him, not once looking away from him as Andrew glanced around, seemingly fascinated by how depressing Helmut's life was. "I know that this is a miserable existence and you might welcome death, but I don't know if that's true…either way…if you think you're safe in here then you're mistaken. I know people who can easily get to you…whether it's while you're outside…showering…or even in your food."

"It might improve the taste of it," Helmut drawled and Andrew looked to him, meeting his eye as the two men refused to back down. "If you think for one second that I will tell you where she is for my own life to be spared then you're mistaken. You think I'm scared of death? On the contrary, I welcome it. I am prepared for it because I know that I have the rest of my life behind bars…without anyone…without her."

Andrew shook his head and Helmut stood right in front of the glass, his breath causing mist to form on it as he spoke, his voice heated and anger coursing through him. "Because she is the only thing that matters to me on this whole earth and I would willingly die for her."

"For her? For that dumb slut?" Andrew demanded from him.

"For the most courageous, intelligent and loyal woman I know, yes," Helmut confirmed, not rising to his taunts. "So poison me…have me stabbed by a fellow inmate…do what you want, but I will never help you find her."

Andrew looked angry for a few moments, but that anger soon turned into amusement. He was amused at what he was hearing from him. But it was only because he intended on taunting him some more.

"She's really done a number on you, hasn't she? She must be one good fuck to make you so weak for her," Andrew said and approached the glass, stepping over the line to talk to him. "I'll get her eventually and trust me that when I do, I'm going to take great pleasure in using her…torturing her…listening to her beg for death…plead with me to end her pain…and I'm going to come back here and I'm going to tell you all about it."

Helmut shook his head. He couldn't let his anger show. He had to remain composed. He wouldn't let Andrew get the better of him. "You'll get nowhere near her."

Laughing, Andrew turned on his heel and began to walk away. "I wouldn't bet against me. It usually doesn't end well."

…

Amelia returned to the hotel three days later after going shopping in Hightown for more clothes. Holding the bags in her hands, she took the elevator up to the twelfth floor. She was staying in a one-bedroom suite, but it was still luxurious and far too big for her. She moved down the corridor and towards her room. Reaching for the key card inside of her pocket, she pulled it out of her trench coat and unlocked the door. Stepping into the room, Amelia dropped the bags onto the floor before she heard the noise.

There was a creak from inside the suite. She moved her satchel from over her shoulders and dipped into it. Pulling out the gun Selby had given her, she took it off safety lock and moved further into the suite, peering around the corner of the living room.

There was no one there. There was only a bedroom leading off the living area with the bathroom in there. Amelia kept her steps quiet, moving towards the room as she heard the creaking once more. But before she had the opportunity to move further into the room, she froze. It was another moment before she realised who was in her hotel suite, his own gun in his hands as he moved to the door. But he held his hands up, showing that he meant no harm.

"Nice place you've got here," he commented, his Brooklyn accent shining through and Amelia also lowered her own gun, jutting her chin out and remaining cautious.

"How the hell did you get in here?" she demanded to know from him.

"You think breaking into a hotel room is difficult for me?" he asked, slightly offended she would even suggest such a thing. She guessed that he had a point on that one. Placing her own gun on the coffee table in the living room, she suspected he wasn't a threat to her.

"In that case, how did you find me here?"

"I pulled in a few favours," he shrugged nonchalantly. "Tracked your passport movements and it led me here…from there on and I just had to narrow down the hotel."

Amelia nodded and reached for the bottle of whiskey on the mini bar. She opened it, unscrewing the cap and setting it down on the tray. Pouring two glasses, she held one in her left hand and offered the one in her right hand to the man who was now moving into the living room.

He was dressed in a grey top with a black jacket over it and dark jeans. His hair was neatly coiffed on top of his head and his face was serious. Amelia watched him take the glass and then motioned to his hair. "New haircut?" she asked.

"Figured I'd go for something new," he told her and she took a sip of the whiskey.

"Looks good," she commented. That was the truth. He did look quite good. She took another moment to compose herself before sitting down on the armchair. "So, if you've found me this easily then he'll be able to," she mused to herself, thinking about Andrew. She wasn't going to risk it. She couldn't risk it. "Unless I get the money to Selby quickly."

He frowned. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You don't need to worry yourself," she informed him with a shake of her head. "Anyway, what are you doing here? I read that you'd been pardoned by the President. I figured that you'd be living a normal life in the States."

He took a seat on the couch across from her, nursing the glass of whiskey in both his hands. "Hard to live a normal life when you've been the Winter Soldier. Anyway, I've not been doing much resting. I've been trying to make amends for what I did as him."

Amelia scoffed. "And how's that going so far?"

"Slowly," he confessed to her.

She nodded thoughtfully and sat back, folding one leg over the other. "And that's why you're here? You're here to make amends? Because I didn't think we had anything to make amends over. It wasn't me who activated you in Berlin."

"I know who it was," he said. He doubted he would ever forget. "But you were with him in Siberia and you knew things about HYDRA…things that only people who worked for HYDRA would know, like how to wake the Winter Soldier up. How? How did you know?"

Amelia shrugged. "We just really like doing research."

He shot her a glare and she rolled her eyes.

"What does it matter, Barnes?" she wondered and he was surprised to hear her use his last name.

"It matters because I need to know. I need to know if there's anyone out there still who knows what you do…who could use it to do something bad," Bucky said to her and she shook her head. She reached for the heel of her boot and pulled it from one foot. She did the same on the other and then tucked her legs underneath her body.

"You don't need to worry," she promised him. "The information we found has been destroyed. It took us months to decrypt it…and I'm not working for HYDRA so you don't need to worry about that. We weren't fans of them. We didn't agree with what they did."

He eyed her for a few moments, trying to work out if she was telling him the truth. But there was an honesty in her expression as she told him what she knew. He remained quiet and she sighed. "Do you always just stare?" she wondered from him.

"Usually helps me get the information I need," he confessed.

"Because people break down under the intensity of it?" she questioned him. "Well, you can try and do that, but I have bigger things to worry about other than you rehashing the past."

"The man you think will find you?" he wondered from her.

"Very same one," she commented back and sipped on her whiskey again. "But that's not your concern. So, I think we're done here, right? You're content I'm not part of HYDRA and I'm not hiding any of their secrets, so you can move on."

"Who is he?"

"Did you not hear what I said?" Amelia retorted.

"You're carrying a gun," Bucky pushed her, ignoring her completely and causing her to roll her eyes once more. "You're hiding in Madripoor when you have a perfectly nice house in England. And there's fear in your eyes. You're trying to hide it, but whoever this man is…you're scared of him…of what he can do."

"I'd be an idiot not to be," Amelia scoffed. "But I've got it under control, thanks."

"Do you?"

"Well…I will have," she said. Oeznik was currently wiring the money she needed to her account, but it was taking quite some time. She had to lay low until the day after when she had it. Then she could go to Selby and sort this out. In the meantime, she'd move hotels. If Barnes had found her then who was to say Andrew couldn't?

"Listen, if you're in trouble then I can help," Bucky said to her.

"No, you can't," she said. "But thanks for the offer."

"I think you'll find that I can be useful-"

"-Why?" Amelia interrupted him, voice harsh and tone full of distaste. "Because you're an Avenger? Because you're used to helping those in trouble? The main issue there is that I know that's not the case. You're more likely to get me killed if you stick around because that's what the Avengers do. I should know. They took everything from me."

"I know you lost your fiancé and parents," Bucky said to her. "But that doesn't mean you don't need help now."

"And why would you be so keen to help me?" Amelia questioned him. "I'm the woman who was sleeping with the man who almost ruined your life. I was the one who would have ruined it too…shown Stark that video…"

"You told me what he was going to do. You told me to leave, but I didn't because I faced up to what I had done," Bucky responded. "You're different to him. There's still some sense of decency inside of you."

"He's not an entirely bad man," Amelia said, unable to stop herself from defending him, even after everything. "He's just…he let vengeance consume him and that drove him to do what he did. I'm not justifying it, but I am telling you that he's not completely bad."

Bucky's brows knitted together. "You still love him."

"Hard to stop loving someone, no matter what they've done," Amelia said. "Besides, I'm not exactly a good person either. Trust me on that one."

"What have you done?" Bucky asked her. But she shook her head. She didn't entirely want to tell him what it was she had done. "Whatever it is, it's led you here, hasn't it? Hiding here from some mysterious man who clearly is looking for you."

"I can't do this right now," Amelia said to Bucky and moved to stand up, finishing her drink off and placing her glass down on the coffee table. "I need to pack and move on to another hotel. You need to go."

"Really?" he questioned her. "You really think I can't help?"

"I can fight my own battles," Amelia assured him. "And I'm not a threat to you so you don't need to worry about that. I just need you to go."

"And I need more answers because I know you know more about HYDRA than you're letting on."

Amelia groaned and dropped her hands to her hips. "If I tell you what happened and what I know then will you leave me alone?" she demanded to know and he gave her a solemn nod. "Fine," she relented. "But I can't talk to you right now. Tonight…meet me by the bridge to Lowtown."

"How do I know that I can trust you to show up?" Bucky questioned her.

And then she did something she figured she might regret. Pulling her engagement ring from her finger, she slid it across the coffee table and towards him. Flattening out the a-line black skirt against her legs, she watched as Bucky looked to it.

"Lukas gave that to me," she said. "It is…or was…my engagement ring. I never take it off. Take it and give me it back tonight. I'm going nowhere without it."

Bucky was amazed she would trust him with such a thing, but he saw it as an act of bargaining. Picking the ring up, he placed it in his pocket and Amelia pointed to him.

"And I swear I will kill you if you lose it," she told him and he nodded.

"Got it," he said, adjusting his leather gloves on his fingers. Standing up, he moved towards the door and Amelia followed him, making sure that he was going. "What time tonight?" he asked from her.

"Seven," she said.

"Right," he nodded and opened the door. Looking back to her as he stood in the corridor, he watched her hold onto the wooden frame and their gaze met once more. "I'll see you tonight."

"See you then," she said and closed the door.

He watched her go and wondered just what mess she had gotten herself into. He supposed he would find out soon enough.

…

It was seven o'clock and she hadn't shown up. Checking the watch on his wrist, he looked along the bridge, but it was deserted. Pulling out her engagement ring, he looked down at the rock that sparkled under the streetlight. It looked like it cost a fortune, but she had told him it was sentimental. Had she lied to him? Had she fed him a pack of lies? He didn't know, but a part of him knew when someone was lying. She hadn't been lying when she had given him the ring.

That was why he found himself going back to the hotel and to her room. She had intended on leaving, but there was a chance she might still be there. It was the only lead he had on her anyway. He took the elevator back up to her floor, feeling the gun poking into the small of his back from where he had it tucked into the waistband of his jeans. Moving down the corridor, he came to her room.

The door was ajar. Sighing, Bucky knew that wasn't a good sign. Pushing it open, the curtains were shut and the room was dark. Moving into the room, he pulled his gun out and kept it by his side. The room was a mess. The coffee table had been tipped onto its side. The bottle of whiskey was on the floor, smashed glasses around it. Cushions were strewn around and Amelia's suitcase sat by the door.

Something had happened. He knew that much.

"What have you gotten yourself into?" Bucky whispered into the room when it became clear no one was there. Shaking his head as he felt her engagement ring in his pocket one more time, he sighed and grunted: "I swear you'll get me killed one of these days, Baker."

…

A/N: And we're back in the drama! Would love to know what you think might happen and read your thoughts!