Chapter 2

After a few days in the hospital with little to do other than watch trash TV, Bucky was clearly irritable and anxious to get back to his apartment, even if he was some what immobilized. Sam had offered to bring him down to Louisiana for his recovery period where Sarah and the boys would be all over themselves to try and help him where they could but neither a plane ride nor lengthy car ride would be even remotely tolerable, so it was his little apartment in Brooklyn for the time being.

Sam made sure Bucky was comfortable on the couch with a blanket, pillow, a drink, his phone and the remote before he went out to get some groceries together for Bucky's sparse cabinets.

Being mostly bedridden gave Bucky a lot of time to reply what happened to him over and over again in his mind. No wonder why Steve used to draw all the time, it kept him from going nuts while being sick all the time. Trucks don't just jump curbs on a regular basis in Manhattan and definitely not at that speed. He and Sam had been in the middle of the sidewalk with a small amount of space in between them and all the other pedestrians on the street. More and more things are adding up with this being a targeted attack – an attack to slow them down or stop them all together.

Bucky started absently scrolling through his phone, skimming through some of the things he missed while he was in the hospital when his text notification goes off. He thought it would be Sam at first but it wasn't Sam's number. It was a Russian number. Bucky clicked on the message and saw a photo of a bouquet of six roses – two white, two red and two black. He had left those by Natasha's memorial a few days before Sam had come up to New York with a very personal note attached to them. He had written it in Russian to limit how many could actually read it. He scrolled down further to the message attached.

"Beautiful words Soldat. I will remember you always. May you fly from Winter's snow on spider silk of silver and gold. But she can not help you now. Old blood makes hands unclean. Give it to us and you can be free. The Red Room calls you to where the Devil dwells. Do not make us wait, Soldat. If we get impatient – American wings will be clipped and the Devil's circle will fall."

Bucky reread the message again and he felt sick to his stomach. It wasn't just him that they were after. It just got a whole lot worse. Bucky started dialing. It started ringing and he hoped it didn't go to voicemail.

"Hey Bucky! How are you doing?" Matt said.

"I've been better. Kinda got hit by a truck a few days ago."

"Are you okay? Do you need anything?" Matt rattled out quickly after he got over the surprise of the casualness of Bucky's statement.

"I'm hanging in. Sam's here and I'm in for some quality time on my couch for a few days. How's things going for you? We haven't been able to hit the gym lately."

"Kind of dealing with a lot of stuff lately. My mom was assaulted a few days ago and I've been up at the hospital."

"Matt, is she alright? I'm so sorry that it happened to her."

"She's getting better every day. She's hoping to go back home in a few more days. The police want to be able to interview her more to see if they can get anything else."

"And what about you?" Bucky asked directly. "I know for a fact you don't piss off the Devil and get off without some sort of retribution."

Matt didn't answer right away. He was choosing the right words. "Eyes and ears are out there gathering bits when scum talks. Eventually, it all comes to the surface."

Bucky understood loud and clear. "I've seen the Hudson. Believe me, I know scum floats."

"Listen, Buck, I'd love to talk longer but a client I have a meeting with just walked in the door. Take care of yourself and I'll talk to you later."

"You take care too, Matt. Say hi to Foggy and Karen for me and give the little one a hug. My best to your mom as well. I'll talk to you later."

"Feel better, Bucky."

"Stay safe, Matt," Bucky said, hanging up the phone as his door was opening. "Hey Sam."

"I still can't get over the price differences between here and Delacroix. It's literally like three times more expensive," Same grumbled as he put the groceries away.

"It's like thirty times more than what it used to be in the forties," Bucky threw out there but there was no humor behind his usually jokes about his age.

Sam caught the shift in Bucky's voice and got concerned. "Buck, did something happen?"

Bucky offered Sam his phone and showed him the photo and text message, translated into English.

Same read the message and noticed the photo of Natasha's memorial. "You never told me that there was more to you and Natasha."

"That's what you get from that?" Bucky asked incredulously. "Natasha and I have a history that she did not share with you and Steve. It ended with me being wiped and put on ice and her dealing with some nasty repercussions. Look again, Sam. We're not just dealing with someone making a new super soldier serum. We're dealing with someone who has enough money and power to have Widows working for them. These vampires have been trying to recreate a serum from the blood of other super soldiers but there's one they want that they don't have."

Sam didn't have to think about that one. "Steve's. They want Steve's."

Bucky nodded. "From that message, they figure that I have access to it and they will not stop until they get it and that includes going after the people around me."

Sam reread the message again and nodded. "Well, I ain't going down without a fight and I doubt the Devil is either."

"They aren't going for him directly. They are going for those he cares about. Someone assaulted his mom a few days ago."

Sam remembered the blurb of a news story he heard while Bucky was in the hospital. "The nun from Hell's Kitchen? That was his mom?" Bucky nodded. "Oh shit. This isn't going to sit well."