Sam was participating in an Avengers co-sponsored food distribution program at City College of New York when he got the text. These events were open to the public, and Sam learned quickly that folks were more likely to accept charity if they could mask their need with taking the opportunity to gawk at the new Captain America. People recognized him, even dressed in casual civilian clothes. He wasn't used to being called "Cap" yet, but it felt good. He had planned to stay longer, but if Maria interrupts when she knows Sam is busy, it must be important. After making his apologies to the student organizers, he texted Maria an ETA.
One positive thing about the Avengers operating out of Stark Industries' headquarters was living in New York City again. While the facility upstate was being rebuilt, the New York office allowed Sam to be near some of his family and near the many organizations helping to restore the world to what it had been before half its population vanished for five years. Improving upon that world, hopefully. But being in the city also meant being expected to respond to last minute meeting requests from Nick Fury.
Sam walked into the communications center right as Maria was tearing her headphones off and throwing them onto the desk.
"Things going that well?"
"That was Secretary Ross, wanting an update on our search for Barnes." Maria pointedly looked up at Sam. "Would you happen to have an update on his location?"
Sam thought about the Wakandan phone which had shown up on his doorstep a few days ago. He thought about the one contact programmed into it, nameless, and the one message containing the middle finger emoji from that contact. He was pretty sure Bucky was alive, but could honestly say, "I have no idea where he is."
"That's too bad. I'm worried about him." Bruce Banner had entered the room not long after Sam.
It was still a bit of a shock to see this new amalgam of Banner and the Hulk. Sam knew there must be a story there, and he hoped to hear it one day. Sam reached out to shake his hand. "Doctor Banner. Good to see you."
"You, too. Please call me Bruce." He smiled. "I almost have your new wings ready to go along with your Captain America uniform."
Maria stood up and patted Sam on the shoulder. "You're going to be the best Cap ever. Those wings will look great all star-spangled."
"I feel like I'm being mocked somehow."
"That's because Hill is an expert on keeping egos in check, Wilson." Nick appeared in the doorway of the adjacent conference room and gestured for them to join him.
Once they were seated at a long conference table, Nick looked at Sam and said, "Do you know where Barnes is?"
"No."
"Have you had contact with him?"
Nothing that isn't plausibly deniable. "No."
"Is he alive?"
Sam inwardly sighed. He didn't want to lie, so he didn't. "I have reason to believe so."
Nick was decidedly not pleased, but didn't pursue it. "Do you think he presents a danger to the public at large?"
"Absolutely not."
Nick looked to Maria and Bruce. Maria nodded her agreement with Sam, and Bruce said, "I barely knew him, but he seemed rational and in control, as well as very gentle and kind when we spoke on the day he left."
Nick treated Bruce to one of his most skeptical eyebrow raises. "And the trigger words?"
Sam responded, "They've been dealt with."
Nick quietly awaited an explanation that Sam would not give him, not wanting to implicate Wakanda without T'Challa's permission. After staring at everyone at the table in turn, Nick looked as though he were trying to rein in his frustration as he said, "So, it is truly Bucky Barnes out there, and not the Winter Soldier?"
With all the authority he could muster, Sam said, "Yes."
Nick slapped both hands on the table. "Okay then. We'll continue to search for Barnes, but our first priority must be bringing together a new team because you, quite frankly, are not enough."
"Gee, thank you, sir." Maria crossed her arms and glared.
"My apologies, that was an unfortunate way of stating our situation." Nick placed a sarcastic hand over his heart, and Maria smirked at him.
"We all know the situation. We have lost Earth's mightiest defenders. Stark and Romanov are dead. Barton cannot work for us after his actions during the lost years. Thor has left the Earth behind. And with the exception of Barnes and Pepper Potts, the only people who know what happened to Steve Rogers are in this room." Nick pointed at Bruce. "You are all that is left of the original Avengers."
"And I'm not that guy anymore."
"You see our problem."
"What do you suggest we do, sir?" Maria was always one to get straight to the point.
"We need to recruit new talent. Carol Danvers does not belong to the Earth, although she is willing to come to our aid. Peter Parker is young and eager, but we need to allow him to finish his schooling and also live some of his life as a normal kid. T'Challa has a kingdom to oversee. Colonel Rhodes must split his time between us and his duties in DC. Scott Lang is, well, himself. And he wants to spend time with his daughter. Hope Van Dyne is interested, but she and Lang would not want to relocate here. Who knows, perhaps we could have a group of West Coast Avengers?"
"What about Wanda Maximoff?"
Nick looked down at where his hands were folded on the table before answering Sam's question. "People have been scared of her ever since Lagos. And now that the world was almost destroyed by an alien invasion, I'm not sure the public will have confidence in someone enhanced they don't already trust."
His voice full of concern, Bruce asked, "Are we worried about New Asgard?"
Nick prevaricated. "They're keeping a low profile."
Bruce pushed the matter. "But some of their refugees are obviously alien to the Earth."
Nick leaned his elbows on the table in front of him. "Then they'll need to continue to keep a low profile."
Sam said, "How low of a profile can they keep when a whole people need a new home? There must still be Asgardians on their way here."
"We'll have to keep them confined to their current location."
Bruce sighed and shook his head. "I'm not sure that's feasible. In any case, that's not fair to them."
"Well, then help me assemble a team to defend them against the bigots who will hate having them here."
Maria, as always, was ready to act. "Any plans, boss?"
Nick nodded. "The public already knows we've lost Stark and Romanov. I've talked to Barton, and we've agreed to declare him dead, lost in the final battle with Thanos. He'll be confined to his farm with his family for the rest of his life as punishment for his actions."
"What about Rogers?"
Sam observed the silence after Maria's question. He knew everyone was sitting with their own feelings about what had happened with Steve.
Eventually Nick answered. "People saw him at Stark's funeral, so they know he survived the final battle, but we cannot let what he did become common knowledge. It would require too many explanations. I think we're best off claiming he succumbed to injuries a few days later. We could say the serum finally stopped working, maybe say the Stones neutralized it or something. We'll ease Wilson's way into the Captain America role by making it a wish in Rogers' last will and testament. And, maybe, a state funeral will lure Barnes in."
Sam shook his head in disgust.
"Do you have something to add, Wilson?"
"It's just cruel to make Barnes think Steve is dead, after all they've been through together."
"Well, if he turns himself into us, we'll let him in on the plan."
When Sam failed to respond, Maria said, "Yes, sir."
Bruce looked thoughtful. "Couldn't we declare Barnes dead? Let him just live his own life?"
Maria shut that thought down quickly. "I would not advise that. If he is legally dead, it would be too easy to 'disappear him' without a public trial if he were apprehended. Remember, we aren't the only ones looking for him."
"Is that a real possibility? That he'd be summarily executed?"
As always, Sam was amazed at how Bruce always saw more compassion in the people around them than they deserved. That he could be so positive after all he'd been through would never fail to impress Sam. But he also knew Barnes had not been the recipient of much compassion in his life. "Steve always worried about that. It's why he was so desperate for us to find Barnes first back when we discovered he was alive." Well, one of the reasons.
"And that's why we need to find Barnes first again." Nick pushed back in his chair and signed. "Wilson, did you know what Rogers planned to do when he returned the Stones?"
"No, I most certainly did not."
Bruce added, "I think Barnes did, though. He told Steve he was going to miss him, which was odd to me, because Steve was only going to be gone a few seconds."
"You're right." Sam thought back to the last time he'd seen Steve and Bucky speak to each other. "And Steve just looked at him, so coldly."
Bruce added, "I was worried I had messed things up, and Barnes took the time to assure me it wasn't my fault before he left."
"We really need to keep what Rogers did a secret. He abused unspeakable power for his own personal gain." Nick sighed. "If word of that gets out, we'll have an impossible time keeping any superheroes or enhanced people safe from public outrage."
Sam was surprised, not that Nick sounded so disappointed about Steve's actions, but that he was allowing his disappointment to be displayed so plainly in his words
Nick sat back in his chair and looked directly at Sam. "As it is, we are running into some obstacles about you, Wilson."
"Me? What did I do?"
Nick glared at him. "Some people still consider you a criminal because you escaped with Rogers after the Sokovia Accords became law, which I have some sympathy for. Some of our government officials don't think Rogers had the right to pick his own successor. There is also some merit to that argument. Some fear you have received a new version of the super-serum which was kept secret from them." Nick softened his tone before he continued. "Others just plain don't like you because you're Black."
Sam knew that was going to happen, but it still hurt like a kick to his gut. "Well, fuck 'em."
Maria squeezed Sam's arm in support, but turned her response to Nick. "This would have been a great time to have Steve available to smooth the transition."
"I'm giving that serious consideration."
Bruce said, "But I thought we just all agreed it was better to have him declared dead?"
"Oh, we'll still go through with that. We can make it so knowledge of his existence requires the highest possible security clearance." Nick stood up to end the meeting. "But to most people, Steve Rogers is now dead. Understood?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Nick clapped his hands together. "Alright, here is our current plan. I'll continue to reach out to contacts about bringing in new members of the team. Banner, coordinate with Stark Industries to see how we can best assist in mitigating the impact of the fact the world's population doubled in a literal snap. Hill and Wilson, bring Barnes in."
Maria pushed off the arms of her chair and stood up. "Yes, boss."
Nick left the room, with Bruce following soon after. Maria stayed to talk strategy with Sam for a few moments. "Where do you think we should check for Barnes next?"
"Let me deal with it."
"You sure?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you know where he is?"
"Like I said earlier, I do not." Sam tilted his head towards the door, and Maria followed him, filling the air with small talk, until they were outside the building. They walked over to the nearest food cart, and soon they both were leaning up against a building while nibbling on falafel dipped in tzatziki.
Mumbling through a mouthful of food, Sam said, "I have a lead."
Maria wiped sauce from her mouth with the back of her hand as she said, "Want backup?"
"I won't need it." Sam smiled at her. "My call."
"I trust you." Maria winked. "Thanks for lunch."
"Any time."
The two shook hands, then Maria went back to headquarters. As Sam walked towards the nearest train station, his phone pinged. It was a message from Shuri. Project Resurrection is a go. One week. Be here.