"A bomb hidden in a news van ripped through the UN building in Vienna." The anchor spoke over a few scenes of B-roll footage from the United Nations building. Or what was left of it. The blast was contained enough to only affect the building itself, but still it was a miracle the entire thing didn't collapse. Police and fire were already on the scene, trying to contain both the chaos and the fire that was extending out of the side of the building. After the news about the United Nations bombing first broke, Steve, Q, Sam and Sharon left the wake and returned back to their hotel. All of them were now crowded in Steve and Q's room, three watching the rest of the story unfold while Sharon was on the phone with the task force.
"More than seventy people have been injured. At least twelve are dead, including Wakanda's King T'Chaka." Q looked down at her phone, hoping that there would be a text or message of some sort from Dawson telling her he was okay. Ever since the news broke, she had been sending text after text to her best friend. And with each hour passing without a response, her anxiety grew. It would be just her luck that her friend was killed in a random bombing of the United Nations, the one time he tried to do something good.
"Officials have released a video of a suspect…" A grainy, black and white video took over the screen. Clearly from a security camera of some sort. The man turned to glance over his shoulder, allowing the camera to pick up the face. As the image was zoomed in on, the reporter continued to speak "who they have identified as James Buchanan Barnes…" At the name, Q's stomach dropped much like it did whenever she was on a roller coaster, "the Winter Soldier. The infamous HYDRA agent...linked to numerous acts of terrorism and political assassinations." As soon as the words were out of the anchor's mouth, it was like the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. Replaced by a thick cloud of tension. A quick glance over to Steve made it clear that he was feeling compromised by the sight of his former friend and knowledge that apparently he bombed the United Nations. His jaw clenched and his hands balled into fists at the enhanced, frozen image of Bucky's face.
But where Steve was emotionally compromised, Q was just confused. Her head filled with all sorts of explanations to understand Bucky being the one who bombed the United Nations. None of them really made sense to her. She had just seen Bucky a couple weeks before and he was fine. Had no intentions of doing anything evil or Winter Soldier-like. He had given up the hunt of past Hydra operatives. He was better. It didn't make sense.
Even the footage that authorities had found that placed Bucky at the building mere moments after the bombing didn't look right to her. Maybe it was just a shitty security camera, but the build of the figure wasn't as muscular as Q knew him to be. Nor was he tall enough. Something was off, but she just couldn't figure out what it was just yet.
Turning back to Steve, she placed a hand on his arm to get his attention. If anything, the footage was a reminder that she still needed to tell him about Bucky. About her connection to him and how she knew where she was. Prove to both him and herself that Bucky was not the one who did this - even if everyone else thought he was.
"Steve, I know where -" she was cut off by Sharon, who had just gotten off the phone with her colleague.
"Q," Glancing over at Sharon, she noticed the power pose and serious expression she was holding, "we have to go to work." Even if Q hadn't formally accepted the job yet, it was clear that this was the moment she either would or wouldn't. And she couldn't not.
"Okay." she agreed with a simple nod, "Let me get changed." she figured she could stall a second or two. Long enough to tell Steve a quick location of Bucky and promise more of an explanation later.
"There's no time." Sharon shook her head, "We wait any longer, we could lose a lot of good leads." she made it clear that the decision was final. They were leaving right then and there.
Luckily, by the time the group had gotten to Vienna, the chaos that had been reported on the news had calmed down a bit. Even though Steve and Sam tagged along, they stayed away from the scene - not wanting to draw attention to themselves, especially after everything that happened. Not signing the Accords was enough as it was, but for Steve to have the connection to Bucky made for complications if he were to be seen on the scene.
Even with the two hour flight, Q still didn't get the chance to tell Steve about Bucky. Mostly because Sharon had her attention the entire time. Going over info sheets about both the members and delegations of the task force so that she would generally know how the task force worked, and the situation itself. With the news already revealing the authorities' key suspect, it made it both easier and harder. Easy because they already had their suspect, but hard because tips had already started to pour in. Q's job was to go over the files of the suspect, Bucky, and learn as much as she could about his patterns and modus operandi - which was ironic considering all the time she spent learning about him both before and after she found him.
Once they arrived on the scene, Q was given a basic CIA uniform: a button up shirt, jeans, a dark blue windbreaker with the CIA emblem stamped on the back and ankle combat boots to change into. She pulled her hair back into a low ponytail and stuffed her funeral clothes into the bag she was given. She kept her phone and passport on her. The new personalized CIA badge she was given once she was on the scene was snug in the back pocket of her jeans.
Knowing she was supposed to meet with Sharon to go over the new tips that came in about where Bucky had been spotted, she took a second to go over to the triage that was set up for injured politicians and innocent bystanders. Since leaving London, she had yet to hear from Dawson, which was making her more than a little on edge. The news had only released the king of Wakanda's name on the list of the dead, but she wasn't sure Dawson's name would even be on the list. Even Sharon wasn't yet privy to the list of names, which meant Q had to figure out what happened herself.
There were plenty of people being tended to by various paramedics. Politicians with blood stained suits or aids with cuts all across their faces. Flashes of Dawson in similar or even worse conditions went through her head. Once she thought his bloodied hand was bad enough, now it was more than that. Worse than that. God, she hoped he was okay.
"Wanna know what I don't understand?" she heard him before she saw him, "Why you're keeping me here!" Weaving through the cots and pairs of people in the triage area, she made her way over to the opposite end of the blockade where Dawson was angrily yelling at a paramedic, wanting to be let go. Her entire being relaxed at the sight of him sassing someone who was trying to take care of him.
"Hey, hey!" she called out to him with a wave of her hand. His eyes shifted over to her and he took in a deep breath before gesturing to the paramedic.
"Oh, thank god, please make yourself useful and tell him that I'm fine." he stressed and then looked back at the paramedic, pinching his fingers together and repeating himself, "Fine." except this time he said it in a German accent, thinking that would help. Quickly, Q relayed the message in German, adding on an apology and a thank you. The paramedic nodded, then went to check out another injured person.
"Thank you." Dawson grumbled out and then sighed. His shoulders slumped as he went to rub his eye with a free hand, "God, I don't know why they're so…" he gestured with his hands to show how overbearing the paramedics were apparently being.
"It's like you almost got blown up or something." she raised her eyebrows at him. He rolled his eyes and pushed off the cot he had been sitting on.
"Almost being the operative word there, Q." he pointed out, "What are you even doing here?" he moved on, not noticing how she did a quick once over to make sure there weren't any injuries she should be concerned about.
Other than his face being spotted with soot and dust, his hair was matted down and dusted white with little pieces of paper or other sorts of ash. His blazer hung over his arm - a bit singed and burned a bit. The tie was nowhere to be seen and his shirt was misbuttoned from after he had to take it off so the paramedics could check out his chest area. There was a slight limp to his walk, but nothing that made her too concerned - probably just bruising of some sort. Overall, he seemed much better off than some of the others who were caught in the blast zone.
"The closest CIA task force was Berlin's." she told him, indirectly also telling him that she accepted the position, "I've been trying to get ahold of you all morning." she followed him through the maze of people being attended to by other paramedics.
"Uh, did you miss the part where I was in a building that was bombed?" he glanced over his shoulder at her with an incredulous look - as if she was the bad guy in this situation for actually caring about her. "I might have made it, but my phone didn't." he scoffed with a shake of his head. Q caught up with him once they were outside the triage area, falling into step beside him.
"The news announced that the authorities know who did it." she glanced around herself, hoping not to be caught by Sharon or anyone else before she could tell Dawson what she wanted to tell him, "Apparently, they think it's Bucky." At the name, his eyebrows shot up in surprise, then knitted in confusion.
"That doesn't make any sense.." he trailed off, thinking to himself, "I thought grandaddy Bucky stopped with the evil Hydra-like tendencies?"
"He did. Which is why I need to get to Romania before anyone here does." she glanced around at the various CIA tents that were set up around them - all filled with people on the hunt for Bucky.
"No, hey, no." Dawson stopped her with a hand on her arm, "No, if he's turned back to the dark side…" he trailed off before taking in a deep breath, "It's not safe for you to go there alone."
"Come with me then." she urged, knowing it was a long shot. He hesitated, but then shook his head. Both of them knew why he wasn't going; it would prove to Natasha that once again he was choosing Q over her, "I have to go, Dawson." she fell back on one foot, "I have to make sure he's okay."
"And if he's not?" The question was full of worry, both of them knowing exactly what Bucky was capable of whether he was under Hydra influence or not.
"He didn't kill me on the riverbank." she hoped her answer made enough sense without her having to explain it to him. The only reason why she was still standing after her face off with the Soldier was because something - someone, inside of him recognized her as Bucky's sister. His family.
"You think you're that lucky?" he doubted her hope, but she shrugged, knowing there was no other option. Either she had to get to him first or let the CIA handle it. And somehow she knew it would end badly.
"I think there's only one way to find out." he went to argue, but was cut off by Sharon calling for her. The friends exchanged looks before he sighed and gestured to where Sharon was standing.
"Guess you gotta go to work." he shoved his hands into his pockets. She reached out to rub his arm, giving him a relieved smile. Grateful he was alive and able to argue with her again - not knowing what she would do if she were to ever lose him.
Meeting up with Sharon, she let her hands slip into her windbreaker pockets. The two of them wove through the white and blue tents, all filled with different sections of the task force. Forensics, evidence, witness interviews, etc. etc. Though she had never been on the scene before or gone on any sort of op during her time at SHIELD, there was something comforting about the organized chaos happening around her. Despite the situation she was in and what she needed to do, she felt like her old self again. Analyzing the scene, going through what she knew about the suspect's patterns to determine what their course of action was, and then figuring out what their next step would be based on past actions. This time, it was just a little more personal.
"You good here?" Sharon stepped over to where Q was stationed with a CIA laptop and a bunch of file folders of tips from people all thinking they had seen Bucky.
"Yeah, yeah…" she trailed off for a second, glancing over the files she had organized into respective piles. She let her eyes linger on one of the folders. Though most of the tips that came in were utter bullshit, there was one from Bucharest, Romania that matched Bucky's description down to the shoes on his feet. Something about seeing him at a local gym, using a fake swipe id every Sunday morning. Something she knew he did a few times when she visiting, "Listen, Shar…" she slid the file folder underneath another one, pretending to straighten up her mess, "You know as well as I do that this…" she glanced around herself to make sure no one else was paying attention, "Bucky means something to Steve."
"I know." she agreed with a heavy sigh, placing her hands on her hips, "Why do you think I brought you on? We can give him a head start. Before the CIA gets there." It was good to know they were at least on the same page. The CIA, not unlike SHIELD, was much of an organization that was a shoot first, ask questions later type. Especially after a terrorist attack with a suspect who had a kill list decades long. Q carefully got to her feet, trying to figure out the best way to explain that she needed a head start before Steve's head start.
"Let me go first." she slipped her hands into her back pockets, "If I find something worthwhile, let me go make sure that it holds up. And that it's safe for Steve."
"You want me to let you track down someone who just blew up the UN with no backup?" the doubt and concern shone through in her tone, "Q, that's not only unsafe, it's stupid."
"I'm not saying I'll make contact with him." she argued with her friend and co-worker, "Just like...recon." she pulled down the corners of her lips and shrugged before becoming serious again, "This is something that needs to be handled delicately." she started to make her case without giving away her own personal motives, "Not only because of his relationship to Steve but also because of his relationship with Steve." she pointed out before bringing it back, "Bucky is the last person who Steve has left from his old life. And if it turns out that he actually did do this…" she glanced around the setting they were in before looking back at Sharon, "I can't see him hurt again. I just...I need to make sure that this is going to be okay. Please." she knew it was lame but hopefully it would be enough of a sympathy play to work. Especially because Sharon had just put her aunt in her grave. Playing on her emotions wasn't right, but it was enough to get her out of Vienna and to Romania without anyone asking questions - and with an airplane ticket paid for.
Sharon considered her plea for a moment, giving Q time to come up for new points that she should've made that might have worked better. But it didn't matter, "Okay, fine. But only if you tell me where you're going first. I'll give you three hours before I tell Steve." she bargained, letting Q calculate the distance between Vienna and Bucharest.
"Deal." she agreed, knowing it was her best bet. If anything, it would give her enough time for a flight to Bucharest, a quick pop in at Bucky's - which, depending on which Bucky she would find, would allow for Steve to be by her side or be her backup.
"Alright. Let me know if you find anything." she nodded once and then moved over to talk to MI6's forensics team.
In order to kill some time, she pretended to go through other tips that had been filed. The only one that made any sense was still the one from Bucharest. The rest were all nonsense. It was funny, seeing what people came up with. She knew they were trying to be helpful, but some were just outright ridiculous: seeing him going into a library in Manhattan, or with a blonde woman at the beach in some small coastal town, or even with an angry teenager in D.C. As if any of those places would be where he'd go. It was almost...too domestic for him.
Always aware of her surroundings, she caught sight of Nat and Dawson talking closely to one another - one of his hands was on her arm and she had her body turned toward him instead of outward. They weren't arguing or tense at all, but were still having a serious looking conversation. Before she could wonder about what, a siren cut through the air, startling her and reminding her of her task at hand. It was time to go.
"At least let me have someone escort you." Sharon made one final last ditch attempt to keep her friend safe. "Just for peace of mind."
"No, no." Q shook her head, "Trust me, I know this guy like the back of my hand. It's better if I go alone." she shrugged out of her CIA windbreaker - no need to draw attention to herself, and shoved it into a backpack Sharon had given her that had a comm device and long range locator. Just in case something like what happened at the Hydra facility happened again. At Q's words, Sharon's eyes squinted a bit, not understanding what she meant. Q paused, realizing she might have given away too much, "From my talks with Steve and the files from the SHIELD leak...there's a lot out there about him both as Bucky and the Winter Soldier."
"And yet, somehow, not enough." Sharon sighed, taking Q's explanation. Q could agree with that, even after spending two years going looking for him, "Just promise me you'll be safe? I don't need Steve freaking out."
"I will, promise." A grateful smile crossed her features, "Thank you, Sharon. Seriously." she zipped up her bag and slung it over her shoulder.
After passing off the file to Sharon, she made her way to the airport to catch the first flight out to Romania. Even with a head start, she knew Steve wouldn't waste a second once he found out about Bucky's location. Though she felt a bit bad about lying to her friend, it was necessary. That, and Steve had to be the first one to learn about her connection to Bucky from Q herself. It was only fair.
Still, something seemed off about the whole situation. The bombing, the news releasing Bucky's image to the public...it didn't sit right with Q, but she wasn't sure why quite yet. Not only that, she had to warn Bucky about what was coming his way so he could have time to figure out his next steps.
Letting herself into his apartment, she knew he wasn't home. It was an early Friday afternoon - the farmer's market was in the main square. He had to get his fruits and veggies for the weekend. From what she remembered from her last visit, he was on a plum kick. Something that came after Q had found research about plums being good for memory loss. Yet another thing to prove that he was much more focused on mending and healing rather than causing more pain and destruction.
A quick check of her watch told her that he'd be out for at least another half an hour. She knew how he liked to balance his time in public. Though he was much more comfortable being out and about those days, there were still a few self-preservation techniques drilled into his head. No lollygagging, but also no speeding through his shopping. Both would cause attention. A thing he still didn't want - but something he'd unknowingly be getting in a few short hours.
With several minutes to go, Q started to straighten up the already immaculate apartment. Not that anyone would see it like that upon first glance, but there was a method to Bucky's madness. A strategic set up in case of an emergency or an attack of some sort. Really, she just needed something to do with her hands while she waited for him to get back - to keep herself from panicking when more time passed and Bucky still hadn't shown up. Because what if she was wrong? What if he really had been in Vienna? She didn't want to doubt him but...
"Q," Her heart dropped to her stomach. Instead of Bucky's low voice, she heard Steve's. And in his Captain Tone no less. She turned around to see Steve, in his uniform, in the open doorway. His shield was drawn and ready as if expecting a threat, but even his helmet couldn't hide the surprise behind his eyes, "What the hell are you doing here?"
A/N: Dun dun DUN! TBH I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter so please let me know your thoughts! Also I am SO CLOSE TO 1K REVIEWS! Guys, I am begging you, please help me get there. It would be such an accomplishment for me and I have something in the works already planned haha so please tell me all your thoughts and feels!