A week later Colonel Rhodes proved to be as good as his word when a small moving company arrived at the house with Bucky's possessions. Carefully the two men unloaded his motorcycle which was put in the garage. He had two bookcases which were put in the living room, along with his boxes of books, an armchair, and an ottoman. After bringing in several boxes of clothing, towels and bedding, Bucky signed off on the delivery. He looked at it all, realizing it didn't seem like a lot but he had lived in furnished apartments after his return to the States, not wanting to commit to any one place.

"It's not much, I know," he said, as he noticed Julia watching him.

"I didn't want to say anything," she replied, "in case it seemed judgmental. It seems like you didn't feel comfortable enough for a place to feel like a home. It was just a place to sleep."

"That's accurate," he said as he started to open his book boxes. "I spent more time on Sam's couch than I did in my apartment in New Orleans. But it's different with you. You're home, now."

Julia touched his hand and together they unpacked his books, placing them on the bookcases. As they did she noticed the different subject matter, science, history, self-help, fantasy and science fiction.

"You have some interesting titles," she said. "I'd like to read some of them."

"I'd like that, too," he said, flattered. "I've always been into science, fantasy and science fiction. The history ones were so I could figure out how my actions affected things. The self-help was for anxiety mostly. My therapist, Dr. Raynor, recommended them."

"Do you still see her?" asked Julia.

"I check in every few months," Bucky replied. "She'll be surprised I've found someone. Hopefully, she'll be happy for me."

After unpacking everything they went out for a drive on the motorcycle, having already purchased a helmet and leather jacket for Julia. Unsure how well she would take it Bucky told her to pat his stomach with one hand and yell if it became too much. By the time they got to South Lake Tahoe she indicated she wanted to stop. He pulled into a parking lot next to a viewing point and removed his helmet. He could feel her get off and looked at her as she took her helmet off. To his surprise she looked radiant.

"I loved it," she said enthusiastically. "I'll have to build up to an around the lake ride but this part was good."

Putting his arm around her he pulled her close to where he still sat on the motorcycle and kissed her fiercely on the lips then the neck. She giggled a little as his five o'clock shadow tickled her neck and throat. At that moment Bucky's phone chimed and he pulled it out from the inside pocket of his jacket. He looked apologetically at Julia.

"Well, duty calls," he said apologetically. "I have a mission. I have to report to Reno Airport by 6 pm. You won't have to drive me, I'll take my motorcycle."

She looked away for a moment then back at him. "I'll be alright," she replied. "I'll drive to San Francisco tomorrow and begin wrapping up my life there. I've already got a realtor interested in showing my place. A friend of John's is in the moving business and he said he would give me a deal on moving everything out and putting it into storage. You promise you're coming back?"

Bucky smiled and kissed her tenderly. "Sweetheart, I'm yours for as long as you want me," he said. "I'll always come back to you."

They embraced again and Bucky helped her put her helmet back on. Once Julia was secure behind him he started the motorcycle and they rode back to the house. Bucky's go bag had been in the items transported to the house and he went through it again to make sure he had everything he needed. When that was done he sat on the living room couch where Julia sat on his lap, burrowing her head into his shoulder.

"I'll call you when I can," he promised. "It all depends on what's available on site."

"I'll miss you," she whispered and they kissed again; long, soft kisses that in other circumstances would have led somewhere.

Bucky checked his watch and saw it was time for him to go. Standing up with Julia in his arms he gave her one last long kiss then put her down. She walked outside with him and watched as he tightened the strap of his go bag diagonally across his chest. With a wan smile she kissed him one more time before he put his helmet on and stepped back as he started his motorcycle up then pulled out of the driveway. Turning back to the house Julia picked up Jasper and sat on the couch with him, idly scratching behind his ears.

"Well, I haven't burst into tears yet," she said to the orange feline. "That's something I guess."

Out on the highway Bucky kept a steady speed and reached the airport well before his 6 pm time. The text had told him to report to the Nevada Air National Guard Terminal to the west of the airport. As he strode into the terminal he pulled out his ID and offered it to the corporal at the counter.

"Sergeant James Barnes, Reserves," he said. "I'm supposed to be on a flight to New York State."

"Yes, Sergeant," replied the corporal. "We'll be dropping you off at a base near the Avengers compound. We've been told this will be a regular occurrence in the future as you've moved into the area."

"Yes, Lake Tahoe," replied Bucky, "I have my motorcycle outside. Is there someplace you can store it?"

"We sure can," said the man. "Bring it inside and I'll show you where."

The corporal held the door open as Bucky wheeled his motorcycle inside. He followed the man through another set of doors where there were several sets of motorcycles and helmets.

"It will be completely safe here, Sarge," said the corporal. "As you can see we do this for everyone who travels with us. Now, if you'll just follow me I'll take you out to the aircraft and you can board. There is a coffee and snack station on it if you want to have something."

They walked out onto the tarmac where a Hercules cargo aircraft was waiting. Bucky thanked the corporal and went up the boarding ramp at the front of the aircraft. They had set up several rows of airline seating which he was glad for, instead of the usual basic seating around the perimeter of airplane. Looking to the back he could see quite a bit of cargo had already been loaded. Stuffing his bag under the seat in front of him he picked a seat in the back row. Two others were already there, in fatigues. They all nodded at each other. Several others boarded after Bucky. A staff sergeant came out of the cockpit area with a box of headphones and began handing them out. Before people put them on he gave a safety briefing, pointed out where the head, coffee and snack station were then told everyone to buckle up. He went to the hatch and after the boarding ramp was pulled aside closed and locked it. Then he disappeared into the cockpit. As the engines were being fired up the sound level began to rise considerably. The man next to Bucky turned to him.

"Lieutenant Bill Housman," he said loudly, offering his hand.

"Sergeant James Barnes, reserves," replied Bucky, shaking his hand.

The lieutenant noticed Bucky's gloves and a flicker of recognition passed over his face. "Bucky Barnes?" he asked. "One of the Avengers." Bucky nodded. "You live in the area?"

"Lake Tahoe," said Bucky. "Met the right girl. Didn't want to leave her so I moved."

"Well, shit," said the man. "You guys are alright. Was that you that helped rescue those three women in the highway accident?"

"I just made sure the emergency vehicles knew where to go," said Bucky. "Cap did all the hard work. Listen, I don't want any fuss. I'm just a normal guy."

Housman put his hands up in mock horror. "I won't blow your cover but I'm guessing most of these guys already know who you are. We all live in the Reno area and that story hit the news big time. I expect we'll be seeing you on this flight several times in the future. They'll make a stop in Denver to drop off about half of us. The rest will go on to New York."

At that point the fourth engine had started and the noise level was deafening. With a smile Bucky pulled his headphones on and settled back into the chair. Housman did the same. By the time the Hercules aircraft took off Bucky was asleep, waking only when Housman gently touched his shoulder to say they were approaching Denver. After they landed and half the passengers, including Housman disembarked Bucky poured himself a coffee and grabbed a donut. Several others did the same and they stood in a loose group looking at each other.

"You're Bucky Barnes?" said another sergeant. "The real guy? World War II vet ...?"

"Might as well say the rest," said Bucky, smirking. "Former Winter Soldier and friend of Steve Rogers. I'm that guy."

"You living in Reno?" asked another man, a private.

"Lake Tahoe," replied Bucky. "Met the right girl and she lives there."

"You have a picture?" asked the private. "I'll show you my girlfriend if you show me yours."

Bucky smiled and pulled out his phone, showing the picture of them dancing. Nodding appreciatively the private showed him his girlfriend and soon they all had pulled out their phones flipping through the photo gallery to find the most attractive picture. It reminded Bucky of when he first went overseas with the 107th and the sharing of pictures of wives and sweethearts whenever mail call brought new photos. Someone brought up the Howling Commandos and Bucky soon found himself telling a story about one of the HYDRA raids they completed. There were nods and smiles at his narrative and when he finished several of them looked at each other unsure of what to say next.

"What they did to you was evil," said the first sergeant finally. "How you kept any memory of your true self is beyond me but you did because you're here in front of us today. I know the powers that be wanted to throw the book at you for the Winter Soldier stuff so I'm glad you were able to get you the help you needed. I hope you put in a claim for back pay for 70 years of being a POW. You're alright Barnes."

There were murmurs of agreement and Bucky felt a bit of emotion at it, that these enlisted men were supportive of him. He coloured a bit and cleared his throat.

"I have put in a claim and it's wending its way through army bureaucracy," he said. "I'm not banking on it but the Avengers work keeps me going and I'm officially in the Reserves so if the shit goes down I'll be there one way or another."

There were more appreciative smiles and murmurs. Several extended their hands, wanting to shake his. The staff sergeant came out of the cockpit again and told them to hit the head then be seated as they would be taking off right away. Bucky drained his coffee then relieved himself in the tiny onboard bathroom. A few minutes after strapping himself back into his seat and putting his headphones on the hatch was closed and the pilots began taxiing to the runway. Like before Bucky was able to relax enough to fall asleep quickly, awakening only when he felt the Hercules touch down onto the tarmac at the Air National Guard base in New York. Quickly he sat up and pulled his bag out from the seat in front of him. Checking his watch he could see it was after 2am California time, making it after 5 am New York time. As soon as the aircraft stopped he undid his seatbelt and stood up. The staff sergeant came out of the cockpit and opened the hatch, as the boarding ramp was brought in. At the back of the aircraft the tailgate had been lowered and the cargo was already being unloaded. Bucky waited in line to disembark with the others. Slowly they shuffled forward.

"Sergeant Barnes, there is a quinjet on the tarmac waiting to take you to the Avengers compound," said the staff sergeant with a smile. "Have a good mission."

Bucky nodded and smiled back. He went down the boarding ramp and saw the quinjet nearby. Quickly striding over he entered through its rear hatch and was surprised to see Clint Barton in the pilot's seat.

"I thought you retired," he said, dropping his bag off and sitting on the nearest seat to Clint.

"So did I," he replied. "Kate is on another mission so they called me in for this. So, you found the right girl? It's all over the compound."

Bucky smirked. "Yeah, she is the right one for me," he said. "It happened fast but she's something."

"Good," replied Barton. "Laura was the making of me. Ready to go?"

The two men made small talk on the quick flight to the Avengers compound. When they arrived the sun was just rising. Bucky had time to drop his things off in his quarters before coming to food service and picking up his breakfast. Several Avengers were already there and asked to see a picture of Julia. To a person they all thought Bucky was a lucky man. Colonel Rhodes stopped by to make sure Bucky's possessions had arrived in good condition. He patted him on the back after Bucky showed him Julia's picture, saying she seemed lovely.

"She is," agreed Sam, who had just arrived with his food. "How was the red-eye?"

"Not bad, actually," said Bucky, moving over to make room for his friend. "I slept to Denver then to New York so I can't complain. They had airline seating for us so we could recline. In Reno, they even had an indoor storage area for all the motorcycles."

Before Rhodes left food services he called for a briefing at 8 am and suggested they do a weapons check right after breakfast. He wanted this mission to start as soon as possible. Once Bucky finished eating he went to the armoury and picked out his favourite firearms, two different models of a SIG-Sauer handgun, a Glock 19 handgun and an M249 SAW Paratrooper machine gun. He pulled out various holsters for them and the ammunition putting it all in a box. Then he went to the knives display and picked out two Gerber Mark II Combat Knives, two leg holsters and two Gerber Yari II Tanto knives designed to be worn in a back holster. He noticed Torres, who was now the Falcon, watching him.

"One can never have too much firepower," he said nonchalantly. "I like to have as many tools as necessary for me to use."

Quickly he tested the firearms on the range and once he was satisfied, unloaded them, put them into his weapons locker and locked it until they were ready to leave. Making his way to the conference room he poured himself a black coffee and sat down waiting for the others to come in. Quickly it filled up and Colonel Rhodes finally entered the room. He stood at the front and looked over everyone before speaking.

"This is a classified mission," he said to several groans. "You can call your loved ones before you leave but we have to maintain radio silence once we are in the air. No one, and I mean no one, is to know where we are and what we are doing."

He pressed a link on his iPad and brought up an image from the news. It was from the recent attack on a resort in Indonesia. There were several swears but he waited for everyone to settle down.

"The UN has asked us to do this under the strictest security conditions possible," he said grimly. "There are a significant number of international civilians trapped in this resort and being used as hostages. The group responsible for the attack are known as the Golden Fist and they have threatened to begin executing hostages if there is any sign of a rescue attempt. They are a tech savvy group and are monitoring the news media as well as social media. In the meantime they have asked for a $10 million payment for each hostage to release them. Including the resort staff that comes to almost two billion dollars ransom."

Friday put up an overview of the resort showing access points by land and sea. The plan was to land on a military base, go to a staging area closer to the resort then advance on the area by sea, monitoring all communications to and from the remote resort. They would land some distance away and walk the rest of the distance using the jungle as camouflage as they rendezvoused with a special unit of the Indonesian armed forces. Deadly force was authorized but only if absolutely necessary. The Indonesian government wanted prisoners to prosecute. Because of the heat and humidity special wicking uniforms were being provided that Rhodes advised they take advantage of using. All further planning would be done en route or at the location to reflect any changes in the situation. Wheels up would be in 2 hours. Hopefully that would be enough time to speak to their loved ones. Bucky picked up the special uniform and ran back to his quarters, wanting to catch Julia before she left for San Francisco. He did a video call and she picked up on the third ring, smiling broadly when she saw his face.

"I was just getting ready to leave," she said. "This is quick. You're not done already, are you?"

"No such luck," replied Bucky. "It's a classified mission, meaning once we're on the way we can't phone home. This is the only call I can make until I'm on the way back." Her face dropped slightly. "Hey, it happens. The insurgents are tech savvy so we're just making sure none of them gets wind of us coming. How were you after I left last night?"

"Alright, actually," she admitted. "I surprised myself. I can stay with my parents once my apartment gets staged so I won't be alone. You promise me you'll be careful?"

He smiled. "I promise," he replied. "Even though I can't call I will be thinking of you often, waiting for the time when I have my arms around you again. I have a picture of you in your bikini to get me through the nights. That picture of us dancing at the bar got a lot of good comments. Everyone here thinks you're lovely."

Her face coloured, visible even on the phone screen. "I love you, Bucky," she said softly. "Come back to me soon."

"I will my love," he answered. "Having someone to come home to is a good feeling. You have a safe drive. I love you back."

She blew him a kiss and he caught it in his hand, putting it over his heart. Then they broke the connection and he sat on his chair for a few moments thinking of her. He packed the special uniform in his go bag and brought lightweight clothing out to wear on the quinjet. When Friday announced the assembly of the team he slung his go bag and went to his weapons locker stashing his weapons in a reinforced carry bag, putting the ammunition in a separate pouch inside. As co-pilot with Barton, Bucky arrived early, stashing his gear and standing next to Barton while they both performed the pre-flight check. Sam and Torres boarded next carrying the travelling cases of their flight suits. Scott Lang boarded next with a new Avenger.

"Hey everyone this is Shang-Chi," said Scott, pointing to the man next to him. "He's based out of San Francisco and this is his first mission."

"Just call me Shaun," said the handsome man. "I hope I can help."

The last to board were Thor and Colonel Rhodes who came on just to give them all a final update. He looked at the seven men and chuckled.

"I just had a vision of the Magnificent Seven movie," he said. "Most of you have worked together before with the exception of Shaun here. Don't underestimate him. Bucky, you might want to have a chat with him. You two have more in common than you think." Shaun nodded his head in Bucky's direction who returned it. "Nothing else has been reported by the special forces unit on scene. It's going to be a long flight so sleep when you can. Good luck."

Rhodes left back down the ramp, Barton raised it then started the engines. Everyone strapped in for the takeoff then the atmosphere relaxed considerably once the aircraft began flying. Shaun sat next to Bucky and looked at him.

"I hear you just moved to Lake Tahoe," he said. "Haven't been there myself but it's supposed to be nice."

"It is," replied Bucky. "Pretty calm and peaceful. I met my girlfriend there and I didn't want to leave her so I moved. You're out of San Francisco? What's your story?"

"Yeah," said Shaun. "I was born in China, trained as a martial artist by my mother then by my father's people after she died. He made me promise to avenge her death and I agreed in order to please him. I did my duty at the age of 14 but I didn't like being an assassin so I ran away to San Francisco and supported myself there after I finished high school by being a parking valet. Thought I had escaped his influence but he sent his men to get me. Everything I trained in, all the different martial arts ... came back so easily." He thought for a moment then looked at Bucky. "You were the Winter Soldier."

It was said as a statement with no judgement attached and Bucky understood why Rhodes had suggested they talk. He had already walked a similar path to Shaun.

"Yeah," said Bucky. "My training before I was captured by HYDRA was my choice but everything after wasn't," he said. "Once I began to get my memories back for good I ran as well. Lived in Romania for two years and made the decision not to kill anymore. Then I was caught and the Avengers split up over the Accords and when several chose to help me. It wasn't until after we defeated Thanos the second time that I was finally free to live my own life. Of course, all my skills suited the Avengers so I became one. I still don't kill."

Shaun smiled softly. "I respect that," he said. "I've heard your martial arts skills are very high so if you ever want a sparring partner I'm your guy. Sorry, that rhymed."

Bucky chuckled. "I appreciate the offer," he said. "I can't really spar with someone who isn't enhanced without pulling back. As long as you don't pull back too much I'd like to spar with you. Seeing as how we're a few hours away from each other we could always meet in Sacramento and have a few sessions there. Or at the Avengers compound when we're both there. What's with the ten rings thing?"

It was Shaun's turn to chuckle. "Still figuring that out," he said. "They connect me to greater powers but apparently they communicate with something unknown. Mr. Wong, one of the sorcerers, is trying to find out more about them. It's been nice talking to you, Bucky. I hope we work together again."

Bucky nodded. "Likewise," he replied, offering Shaun his hand. "We all work pretty well together and get the job done."

Shaun switched seats and stretched out, closing his eyes as several others had done. Bucky looked up and saw Sam observing him. He shrugged and his friend smiled an understanding smile then laid back and closed his eyes. Bucky looked at Shaun for a few minutes and thought about the decision he made not to be an assassin, then separating himself from his father's influence. Fourteen was awfully young to wilfully turn his back on his father's aspirations. But the young man exuded a calm presence which showed a great internal discipline. He could be a great asset to the team. A yawn interrupted his thoughts and Bucky realized he could easily sleep. Stepping up to the cockpit he looked at Barton.

"You okay for the first leg?" he asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "I'll wake you up in seven hours. Is that enough for you?"

Bucky nodded then patted Barton on the back and returned to his seat, stretching out. He took his phone out and flipped through pictures of Julia. He said goodnight to her then closed his eyes and fell asleep quickly.