Tony

The internet is already abuzz with the news of their arrival in San Diego. He silences his phone after texting Pepper a quick 'we made it safe and we have him'.

"So." Tony sighs, "anyone up for Thai? I know a great little place off of University Heights. Plumeria. We could—"

"Tony." Natasha says to him with an eye roll. "Now's not the time for a tour. We need to figure out the plan."

"The headmistress is here in San Diego." The Asset interjects softly, his eyes on the world outside the car window. "But we don't know exactly where."

"How much money does this hag have?" Clint asks in annoyance, "I swear if I find her in a fancy apartment in the GasLamp Quarter I'll have to burn it down on principle."

"Why?" The Asset asks.

"Because of what she did to you!" Clint hisses, "and Natasha. And everyone else."

The Asset stays silent, but Tony watches as Natasha playfully pushes her shoulder against Clint's and signs thanks.

"Probably plenty of money." Tony adds, "but that doesn't mean anything. We don't have a name or a contact to figure out where she is here."

Barnes opens his mouth to speak when Natasha's phone rings. She picks it up and answers, "hello?"

Tony can't hear the voice, but Steve must because he goes stiff as a board at the same time Natasha's face drains of color.

"How the hell did you get this number you bitch?" Natasha snarls at the person on the other line. The whole car waits, tense. Bucky's hand grips hers and the Asset's hands are gripped together so hard it's a wonder they're not snapping his fingers. "You can go to hell, that's what I say." Another moment of silence. "Never." Natasha's eyes close. "And what if we don't accept that deal?" She takes her phone away from her head and looks down at the screen. She grits her teeth at whatever she sees and slams the phone back up against her ear. "You're going to regret—." Tony swears he hears laughter. The Asset looks positively green. "Fine. We'll be there. But it will be the last party you ever have—-" Another laugh that has Natasha looking wildly at the Asset. Natasha's hand falls to her lap. Her eyes fall close and she swallows heavily before speaking. "Asset?"

"Yes?"

"You said you like fancy parties, right?"

"Aff—- yes. We do."

"Good. Because we're going to one."

"What?" Clint hisses, "where?"

Bucky shakes his head, "no. No way. I heard what she was saying. We're not—"

Natasha holds up her phone to Bucky's face, carefully angling it so the Asset can't see the screen. Bucky's eyes widen and he closes his eyes. "Shit."

"What?" Tony asks, "what is it?"

Natasha hands him her phone, where the limp and bloody form of Lydia is bound and gagged with two other widows standing beside her. Guns trained to her head.

"Oh shit." Tony says, handing the phone to Clint who also curses before starting to hand the phone to the Asset. But Barnes snatches it and shoves it into Natasha's hands.

"Nope." Barnes says quickly. "Trust me. Asset or no. Knowing that will not be helpful." Tony raises an eyebrow. But Barnes just sighs, "you don't show a self-sacrificial idiot another reason to be self-sacrificial."

Tony may not necessarily agree, but he understands. "Okay." He looks at Natasha, "what party are we talking about?"

"She's hosting a farewell party, apparently she's leaving San Diego soon. We're invited."

"What?" Clint huffs, "To a party full of murdering psychopaths?"

"She wants us to bring the Asset. For her to take."

"Over my dead body." Bucky grits out.

"I know." Natasha soothes, "and I told her we wouldn't give him up. That's when she threatened—-" she stops herself before saying the name. "So, I say we go, raise some hell and get her out of there."

"How do we know she has her at this party?" Clint asks, "wasn't she in DC last we knew?"

"She has a far reaching web." Natasha says, grimacing at her own choice of words. "Our best hope is that she's here in San Diego under the headmistresses watch. If not…" she trails off and her throat bobs. Her eyes trail to the Asset who still looks uncomfortable. "She may be collateral damage."

Tony watches the way Natasha's mouth turns down at the thought. But she knows they wouldn't give up the Asset. Not for Lydia. Probably not for anyone. So… if this party didn't go to plan, then Lydia may be the one to pay the price.

"I vote we kill her." Clint says easily, "slowly."

Tony shudders. Sometimes he forgets that he's in the company of three assassins and a super soldier.

"Well." Natasha says, squaring her shoulders and cracking her neck, "we've got one chance. And we have a lot of preparation to do." She pulls up her phone. "I'm going to start calling widows who I know will help. Tony, can Jarvis ship things here in time?"

"Did she say when the party from hell is happening?" Tony asks, pulling out his phone.

"The day after tomorrow."

"Yeah. What do you need?"

"Get the tux we ordered for the Asset. One of James', my black dress, Clint's tux with the purple lining— that's the one with all the secret pockets right?" CLint nods. "Okay yeah. And then you have the 'in case of emergency' weapon cache's for each of us, right? Where's the closest one?"

Tony thinks, "what day is it? They shift every week."

"Thursday."

"They're in Arizona. I'll have Jarvis send them our way. Which… where are we staying?" He glances up at them, "since it's no secret we are here can we please stay somewhere cool. Like Coronado Island or something?"

Natasha looks about ready to protest, but Barnes surprises them by putting a hand on Natasha's knee. "Yeah. Let's stay somewhere public. If we seem like we have our guard down, maybe that will give us an edge."

Natasha sighs. "Fine. But then I want an ocean front room."

"Ohh, me too." Clint says with a grin, "none of that partial crap."

Tony laughs, "and you all call me pretentious."

—-

The Asset & The Voice

It didn't matter that the mission—

Bucky.

—that Bucky had snatched the phone out of the man's hands. He'd already seen the picture with his sharp eyes in the reflection of the glass window behind the spider's head.

Natasha. Her name is Natasha.

Right. Natasha.

The Asset had already seen Lydia bound and gagged and he was trying very hard to hold onto gravity.

We're going to get her. The voice kept saying, trying to calm him, even though the Asset could tell he was just as nervous and unhappy about her capture as the Asset was. We're going to get her.

He looked over at the missi—Bucky—- and listened as they spoke. Unaware that the Asset understood the context in their words. They may not be willing to trade him for Lydia. But that wasn't their choice.

The Asset would do whatever it takes to ensure her safety.

He waits for the voice to argue.

But the voice, still present, still listening, does not argue. And the Asset can tell that he doesn't even disagree. They both know Lydia must be saved. No matter what happens to them. They can take it.

—-

Bucky

They put a hat and sunglasses on the asset before exiting the car. Whether it's too late to hide his identity or not is still unknown. His hair and beard have grown in relatively quickly like they always did. So it's possible people won't put two and two together. But the longer Bucky stands out in public with him… it's only a matter of time.

He's almost grateful that that 40's version of Steve everyone knows would have had a clean shaven face and styled hair.

The large building is beautiful. Huge white walls, and a gorgeous red roof greet them.

"Welcome to the Hotel Del!" Tony says eagerly, waving his hands as they enter the large lobby, with thickly padded carpets and dark wooden walls.

Tony hands them keys and Bucky looks at the room numbers. Then at the Asset's. "Tony?" He asks, right as he hears Clint say, "roomies!" to the Asset with a grin on his face.

"Yeah, Barnes?"

"You didn't put him in my room?"

Tony looks a bit surprised, "I put Nat in your room… You wanted both?" There's a hint of him teasing in there but Bucky doens't have time for Tony's propensity for sex jokes.

"You think this is funny?" Bucky snaps, a bit of the tension he's feeling at the entirety of the situation slipping into his tone.

Tony blinks in surprise, "No, I—"

"What if it was Rhodey, huh? What if after all the times Rhodey has pulled your ass out of the fire, he was held hostage and tortured like you'd seen Steve be tortured for 70 years. Because you didn't go looking. Huh? What if it was your fault. You'd let him out of your sight? You'd—" Natasha puts a hand on his shoulder, quieting him. He turns to see people staring at them, phones out. "Shit." He growls.

"I'm sorry, Barnes." Tony says honestly, "I didn't think—"

"Clint. You and the Asset are staying in our room. Okay?" Natasha says easily, "it has two queen beds."

Clint grins, "fine by me." He turns to the Asset, "don't worry, I don't snore."

The Asset's eyes find him, and Bucky swears there's a hint of a smile on his face. "The voice says he doesn't snore either. Only Dugan and Monty snored."

Bucky reaches out, grasping the Asset's shoulder, holding onto him for gravity. The Asset turns towards him. "The voice says you used to snore. But you didn't after the rescue, after Azzano. It's how he knew something had changed."

That new piece of information has Bucky reeling. He and Steve had never really talked about what had happened to him under Zola's hands. He'd watched Steve watch him carefully when he accidentally ran too fast or heard something too far away. He had always been a good sniper, but now he was the best. He hadn't been sure how much Steve had really known. But apparently more than he'd let on.

"Tell the Voice he can shove his observations where the son don't shine."

The Asset nods as if it's a command, but then laughs, a full genuine laugh.

Bucky watches his friend's face, and he hopes against hope that one day the Asset will be able to relinquish control… He misses Steve so much it's like a knife to the gut. Having him here, and just out of reach is almost unbearable. Almost.

But like he's been telling himself since they found Steve. He'll take what he can get.

They walk quietly to the elevators. Ignoring the curious eyes and planning to gather for dinner in a few hours.

"We should sleep." Natasha offers. "I doubt we'll do much good planning right now. Let's sleep, then eat, then make a game plan."

Neither Clint or Bucky disagrees with her and they look to the Asset, expecting an argument.

"The voice has promised not to take control while the Asset sleeps. So the Asset will sleep."

Unsure with whether that's a good thing or not, they nod and watch as the Asset quickly strips off his shirt, folding it precisely and setting it on top of the dresser. He then removes his shoes, unbuckles his belt, removes that and his jeans and folds those just as precisely. In just his boxers, he begins to crouch, as if to lay on the floor, but Clint calls out to him.

"Asset, do you mind sleeping on the bed? I can't watch you sleep on the floor."

"They're not large beds," Natasha says, removing her outer jacket, "but you should sleep on it. More restful."

Bucky watches as Clint removes his shirt as well, tossing it onto the chair in the corner. He's seen Clint shirtless, but it's never hit him the difference between the two until this moment. Steve's skin is perfect. Blemish and scar free, while Clint is riddled with jagged lines and marks and healed gunshot wounds.

Bucky's not the only one that notices. The Asset steps forward, causing Clint to look up at his approach in surprise.

"Who did this to you." The Asset asks, voice low and dangerous. He looks at Natasha, "was he a recluse too?" The fury in the Asset's eyes is clear, and Natasha shakes her head.

"No. He was trained somewhere else."

"The circus." Clint says with a laugh. "Funnily enough, it wasn't that much fun."

The Asset steps closer, pointing at a wound, "this is a burn." He points to another, "this was a knife." Another, "this was a .22." The Asset breathes out a huff, "the voice wants to know whether these happened on missions or not."

Clint winces, "some of them did."

"And the others?" Bucky is surprised at the anger in the Asset's tone. He sounds as protective of Clint as he is of Natasha and Bucky.

"Let's just say I grew up under a different version of the Red Room."

The Asset looks angry, "but you're free of them now?"

"Yes."

"Good." The Asset walks and lays on the bed, immediately closing his eyes.

Clint looks up at Bucky and his eyes are wide. He places a hand on his chest in disbelief before signing something to Natasha that Bucky doesn't catch. He watches as Natasha smiles and nods in response. Clint's shoulders sag and he huffs out a quiet laugh before pulling the covers up and slipping next to Steve in the bed. There is plenty of room between them, but it's still a comical sight to see two assassins just lying next to each other.

Bucky pulls out his phone and taps a message to Natasha, What did Clint sign?

Natasha smiles and texts back quickly, He asked if the Asset was being protective of him. I said yes.

Bucky nods. The Asset and Steve really aren't that different at all.

—

Steve

True to his word, he does not take control when the Asset falls asleep. He could, he can feel the release of control to his limbs and it would be simple enough to take that control. But he needs the Asset to trust him. So far it's already been better. The Asset has even willingly shared Steve's thoughts with the group and that's a huge step forward. So he won't do anything to hurt the small amount of trust built.

The Asset's eyes are closed, but Steve listens to the small talk that the others participate in before they also fall asleep. It's almost like listening to the Commandos chatter around the campfire and he relaxes, falling asleep to the sound.

—

Steve listens through the Asset as they lay the groundwork for a solid plan. The Asset says little, but Steve offers a few strategic suggestions that the Asset voices. The group nods appreciatively and accepts his suggestions easily.

"The Asset and Voice are right—" Clint says, fiddling with a knife between his fingers. "Until we know where this party is taking place, we have too many variables to be able to plan an escape route if needed."

"The headmistress said the invitation would be sent to my phone." Natasha adds, "so when I know, you'll know."

"She'll have the place wired." The Asset says, without prompting and with pinched eyes. Steve pauses, sifting through the myriad of memories he was conscious or "present" for with the woman. And he knows the Asset is right.

Four pairs of cautious eyes face him. "I'm sorry, what?" Tony asks.

"For events like this—" the Asset says calmly, "she likes to be in the ultimate control. If things go wrong, she likes to have the final say. Being able to threaten to explode the entire location is her preferred method."

Something or some memory must click in Natasha's mind, because her face goes green and she stands up, walking to the balcony and leaning over it, getting fresh air.

"Apologies." The Asset offers, "the Asset is not supposed to know or share that knowledge."

But you should. Steve says firmly, You're doing the right thing by telling them, they need to know. Offer to go alone. We could do it.

"The Voice and I are prepared to accomplish this as a solo mission. We're more than capable."

"Over. My. Dead. Body." Bucky growls at them. "Steve, you can just shut up in there."

The Asset blinks at the use of the name, but doesn't shy away from it like he would have a week or so ago.

"The Asset is—"

"Not. Going. Alone." Bucky hisses, "so stop trying."

The doorbell rings and Tony claps his hands. "That will be our gear."

—

Natasha

It isn't until the Asset says she likes to blow things up when things go wrong that Natasha realizes just how many times the headmistresses had done exactly that.

She has to step outside.

Her mind races, the implications burying her with anger. Before she'd been shipped off to Ohio, she'd been staying at a different location, a different section of the Red Room. Natasha had been one of the few girls collected, maybe 3 out of the 40 that were being held there, before the place had exploded in flames. She'd tried to ask what had happened, but she was barely 7 at the time and everyone had ignored her.

Now it clicks that someone must have been getting too close, causing the Headmistress to cut ties instead of attempting a full relocation. 37 little girls dead because she was too lazy to move them.

She grips the bars of the balcony hard, her nails digging into the metal.

A warm and a cool hand find her shoulders.

"You okay?" She hears James ask softly.

"No." She whispers, "everything he says just reminds me how awful my life has been. How awful his life has been."

James is silent behind her for a minute before wrapping his arms fully around her, tucking his head between where her neck meets her shoulder.

"Not any more though, right?" He asks with a bit of teasing, the kind of humor he's only let her see. A small bit of the charming, 40's war-hero that no one seems to be able to pull out of him but her. "Now you have me."

It's the first time he's made a real joke since they'd first realized Steve was alive.

She turns in his arms and smiles at him, "of course. You're a marked improvement over being abused and trained to kill."

He frowns at her and she laughs softly, going up on her tiptoes to kiss him. He responds, his hands firmly around her and gripping her tightly. She can feel the desperation and tension in the kiss, but she doesn't hold it against him. They are under a lot of pressure and the last month or two have been incredibly stressful.

She hears a whistle and peeks her head over James' shoulder. She finds three pairs of eyes on them, smirks on all their faces. Her eyes train to the Asset who has a very wide grin.

A grin that she's never seen before.

"Steve?" She says.

James stiffens and turns around.

"Um." Steve says slowly. "Kind of?"

Natasha doesn't relinquish James even though she can feel him step towards Steve. He could break her hold, but he doesn't. "Are you okay?" He asks, his voice a bit hoarse.

Steve tilts his head, "we're… we're okay."

The use of the collective pronoun makes James wince, but he nods, "that's good. He said you guys were going to share. That true?"

"We're trying it out."

—

Bucky

"You hear the plan?" Clint asks. Steve nods, and something about the way Steve's eyes meet the floor instead of theirs makes Bucky's neck prickle. Something he should know. Something he should remember about his Captain.

"Steve?" He asks, "what is it?"

Blue eyes that he's seen a million times meet his. "Nothin'"

And just that. The dropped 'g' and the smallest hints of a Brooklyn accent sends Bucky back to the days where Steve would promise to avoid trouble, and then immediately go out and find it.

Except instead of fond annoyance it brings a thrill of fear. He just can't put his finger on why.

"Okay, well—" Tony starts, "we've got a lot of work to do and making out with a 90 year old isn't on the docket, so let's go."

Bucky scowls at Tony and Natasha laughs. They walk over and Steve stares at his hands, "how old am I?" He looks up at Bucky, "like… not actual years but.. awake years, like how old do I look?"

Bucky swallows hard, "we look the same." He says quietly. "I can't tell a difference. What do I look like to you?"

Steve studies his face, the way he would study it if he was going to draw it. "You look exactly like when I threw you back into that train."

Clint leans in, "so it is true." He looks at Bucky, "not that I didn't believe you, but wow. I literally can't imagine how much force that took for you to stop a falling human being and change his direction, incredible."

Steve just chuckles softly, "didn't even think for one second. Just knew it was what I had to do."

And he says it so simply, as if it didn't end with him being tortured for the better part of a century. "Yeah well," Bucky bristles, "next time maybe think before you act, huh?"

Steve glares at him, face annoyed and eyes blazing with determination.

—

Steve

Steve frowns at Bucky, annoyed at the implication behind Bucky's statement. "You say that as if you think it would have made a difference."

He glares at his best friend, ready to argue and ensure he understands why Steve threw himself from that train, why he will argue that everything he went through was worth saving Bucky's life. And he'll mean it.

Because it's true.

But Bucky's face just gets sad, "I know it wouldn't have." He sighs, "I just—-" he looks back at him and frowns, "I just hate that you never take your own safety into consideration. You never have."

Steve keeps his face impassive. Because Bucky can't figure out that he and the Asset have a separate plan for the party. Something that would make Bucky really upset.

So he just smiles and rolls his eyes.

—