"Is it okay I'm not okay?
I don't sleep too much these days
And I hate being awake when the sun's out
Lock my door and shut the blinds
They can't see my bloodshot eyes
I got habits I can't hide in the light"
Hell's Kitchen, NYC. April 2014.
Sawyer and Bucky rode the NJ Transit Train into Manhattan after dumping the car in the Newark Airport Parking Lot. Despite the convenience, a car with Maryland plates and a broken driver's side window was bound to draw attention at some point. They both agreed to leave it behind and use public transportation for the time being.
Sawyer had been to New York a fair amount of times over the years to visit Jessica and Trish ever since she had met them at a record label networking event in 2010 while she was still in college. So, she was familiar with the subway systems so she knew what trains to take to Hell's Kitchen.
"So who exactly are we meeting?" Bucky asked as they walked up to a grimy apartment building.
"Jessica Jones, she's a private investigator and one of my good friends," Sawyer said walking up with steps and into the building.
"And how can she help us?"
"She has lots of connections, especially with her line of work. She should be able to get us passports and IDs so we can travel unhindered. She won't be cheap though, but S.H.I.E.L.D. is footing the bill," Sawyer said referencing the massive stacks of money that lined the bottom of the go-bag
"Got it," Bucky said pressing the button to the elevator.
"Also, one thing I should mention, just in case" Sawyer advised as the elevator dinged and the doors opened, "She has powers."
Bucky cocked his head curiously, "Powers?"
She nodded as the doors closed. "Jess has super strength, and she can technically fly."
Bucky's eyes widened. "Shit, I'm out of it for a while and it seems like everyone's got powers of some kind." He shook his head in disbelief, "How?"
"No idea," Sawyer shrugged. "I don't think even she knows the full story."
The elevator doors opened revealing a dark hallway lined with flimsy doors. They made their way to the end of the hall to the only door with a frosted glass window. Sawyer knocked. A few moments passed with no answer. She knocked louder.
"Jess, it's me," she shouted.
A crash could be heard from inside the apartment followed by several expletives. She smiled slightly; Jessica had the mouth of a sailor. Her mouth put Sawyer's grandfather's to shame.
"The office is closed!" shouted a voice from inside.
"Jessica, it's Sawyer. Let me in." She heard rustling and then another small crash.
"Ah, fuck!" came the voice, closer this time. The door then swung open revealing a bleary-eyed Jessica Jones. "Sawyer?" she said blinking multiple times to clear her vision.
"Long time no see, Jewel," Sawyer answered.
"Fucking hell, don't call me that," she said taking a swig of whiskey from the bottle she held. Her eyes traveled from Sawyer to Bucky. "Who's the muscle?"
"We need your help, Jess."
Jessica stood in the doorway for a moment internally debating on whether or not to let them in before opening the door wider. "Come on in," she gestured them inside.
Her living room had been turned into an office complete with a large desk and two chairs which sat facing it. Her laptop sat open and hummed away quietly. Sawyer noticed some holes in the sheet rock and several empty whiskey bottles in the trash can by the desk. Sawyer and Bucky followed Jessica to the kitchen where she finished the rest of her whiskey before tossing the bottle in the trash. She grabbed another bottle, opened it, and took another swig.
"How did you find me?" Jessica asked sitting at the kitchen table, motioning for them joined her.
"I have my sources," Sawyer said vaguely.
"So Trish told you."
"How have you been?"
"Making it. Liquor helps." She took another sip, "You?"
"About the same," Sawyer replied. "Of course my tolerance for liquor is not on par with yours."
"Lucky you," she said with a tilt of her head. "So, you going to tell me why you brought the Winter Soldier to my house." She pointed to Bucky. "He's been all over the news."
Bucky stiffened. Sawyer gently placed her hand on his arm. He relaxed slightly. "This is Bucky Barnes. That's why we're here," she said, "Since you have been watching the news, I'm assuming you know who and what HYDRA is." Jessica shrugged and gestured for her to continue. "We need documents to travel, passports and IDs. I know you have connections."
Jessica was silent for the moment. She took another swig of the whiskey. "I can get you what you need, but it will take time."
"How much time?" Bucky asked leaning forward.
"He speaks," Jessica said raising her eyebrow.
"Jess," Sawyer warned, crossing her arms.
"What?" she said innocently. Sawyer gave her a stern look. She sighed, "Give me 24 hours. You're lucky I don't have a case right now."
"24 hours works," Sawyer said. "We have a few errands to run in the meantime."
Jessica nodded. "I'm going to need photos of you for passports and IDs. I'm assuming you will want an American passport and a passport for one of the countries in the European Union? Fake names too?"
Sawyer looked to Bucky, who nodded. "Whatever you can get us," he said.
"Excellent," Jessica stood up. "Let me grab my grab my camera." She moved into her office area.
Bucky caught Sawyer's eye. "A good friend?" he hissed.
"She's been through a lot," Sawyer answered. "I'll explain later."
Jessica returned, fiddling with the settings on her camera. "Okay, you're up, big guy." Bucky stood removing his cap. "Stand against that wall and keep a neutral expression." She snapped a few photos until she was satisfied with the clarity then turned to Sawyer. "Your turn." Sawyer moved to stand against the wall. Again Jessica took a few shots until she was satisfied with the outcome. She sat down and returned to her whiskey. "So you going to tell me the story of how you two teamed up or am I going to have to guess?" she asked.
"She found me in a trash pile behind her work," Bucky said looking to Sawyer. "Woke me up from a nightmare and offered to help."
"How romantic," Jessica deadpanned.
"Jesus Christ," Sawyer mumbled rubbing her brow trying to hide the heat in her cheeks. Bucky put his hand on her knee sending a slight jolt of electricity up her spine. He gave Sawyer a soft smile, but let his hand rest there.
"Sawyer was always the altruistic one," Jessica said leaning back in her chair.
"I don't know, Jess, sometimes you had me beat," Sawyer reflected.
Jessica snorted, "Me? That's hilarious." Taking another swig of her whiskey before capping the bottle and moved to put it back in a kitchen cabinet. "Meet me outside Luke's this time tomorrow, you know the bar in East Village?"
"I remember," Sawyer said standing up. Bucky followed suit. "How much do we owe you?"
Jessica waved her hand as if batting Sawyer's question away. "Don't worry about it. The guy I know owes me a favor anyway."
"And you say you're not altruistic," Sawyer teased walking toward the door.
"Fuck off," she breathed a laugh, opening the door.
Sawyer smiled. "Use my encrypted email to update me if anything changes."
"Will do," Jessica said closing the door.
Brooklyn Bridge. NYC. April 2014.
Sawyer and Bucky picked up sandwiches from a bodega and made their way to the Brooklyn Bridge in an attempt to trigger some of Bucky's memories.
"So Jessica is…interesting," Bucky said carefully.
"She's a bit of bitch; it's okay to say it," Sawyer laughed, picking a pickle out of her sandwich which Bucky plucked from between her fingers and popped it in his mouth. "Her heart's in the right place though."
"You said she's been through a lot; what happened?"
"After the Battle of New York in 2012, Jessica toyed with the idea of using her powers to help others and become a superhero. That's why I called her, Jewel." Bucky nodded. She continued, "About a year ago, she caught the attention of a man named Kilgrave. Like her, he had powers. But instead of them manifesting physically, he could make people do anything he wanted. Instant mind control. Just had to give an order, like "Stand on one leg" or "Jump off the building." He was intrigued by her powers and kept her under his control for months. According to Trish, he took advantage of her in almost every possible way..." Sawyer paused trying not to imagine the ways Kilgrave could have possibly exerted his control over her friend. "Anyway, she somehow managed to break free from his control. No idea how. And if you can believe it, the fucker got hit by a bus and died," she said with a slight chuckle.
Bucky watched the ferries traverse the Hudson River. "Seems we have something in common," he murmured.
Sawyer nodded, "Yeah...I guess so."
Bucky took a bite of his sandwich. "What happened in 2012? You've mentioned the Battle of New York a couple of times."
Sawyer hesitated a moment, biting into her sandwich to give her a moment to think. She was wary of bringing up anything to do with Steve Rogers, not wanting to trigger any bad memories or flashbacks. He didn't exactly react well to the Captain America exhibit at the Smithsonian. But, he deserved to know exactly what type of world he had woken up in. "It's going to sound crazy," she said.
Bucky snorted. "We've been chased by a super-secret Nazi organization for the past two days and we were just talking about people with powers of flight and mind control."
"Fair point," she chuckled. "Long story short, the demigod Loki opened an inter-dimensional portal to unleash aliens called the Chitauri upon the Earth in an effort to take over the world and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Avengers Initiative stopped him. When it was all over there was lots of damage and lots of people died."
Bucky was silent for a moment before bursting out into laughter. He laughed long, hard and genuinely. At first, Sawyer sat there slightly shocked, but his laugh was infectious and soon she was laughing too. It was nice to hear his laugh.
"Dear God," Bucky said, his laughter dying down. "You weren't kidding, doll."
Sawyer nodded. "The world's a different place, Sarge."
"When I thought about the future, I thought I would get flying cars and Smell-O-Vision," Bucky said. "Looks like the Stark Expo was wrong about a few things."
"Stark Expo?" she asked.
"I remember taking a couple of girls to The Stark Expo in '43. Not as dates, they were actually more into each other." He chuckled. Sawyer nodded knowingly with a low hum. "I would take them out so they could be together without getting harassed. That sort of thing was frowned upon back then..." He shook his head. "Anyway, flying cars and Smell-O-Vision were among the exhibits there. We went out dancing afterward...after I caught...trying to..." His voice trailed off as he looked off into the distance; the smile faded from his face replaced by a haunted look.
Noticing his distress and without thinking, Sawyer placed her hand on his cheek turning his face to hers. "Hey," she said softly, gently stroking his cheekbone with her thumb, "You remembered something. That's great. Coming to New York was the right call." He closed his eyes for a moment before he leaned into her touch. They sat this way for a few moments, Sawyer offering whatever comfort she could give just by her presence and her touch. Being this close felt natural, easy. His hand moved to cover hers, squeezing it.
"Thank you," he whispered, opening his eyes.
She held his gaze, taking a deep breath. His vulnerability apparent behind his eyes, but something else too. Hope? Tenderness? Wonder? She couldn't name it, and at that moment she didn't care. She smiled, "Anytime."
He cleared his throat. She reluctantly let her hand fall away from his face, disheartened by the distance it created. "We should find somewhere to be for the night," Bucky suggested. He stood up and tossed his sandwich wrapper in nearby trashcan. "We can go to Brooklyn tomorrow after we meet with Jessica." He offered his hand to help her up.
Sawyer nodded, taking it. "Sounds like a plan, Sarge."