A/N: Thanks for all the great feedback, as always (especially gingerrogers12345, since I can't thank you via PM). Definitely makes my day! Language warning for this chapter, I guess. In case that kind of thing will distress you while reading a story involving frequent assassinations... ;)

6. Are You Even There?

After their talk, Sam went to the room he used in the Tower. Steve finished cleaning up the kitchen and returned to his room. He stopped himself from going to Bucky's room to check on him, figuring that, if he was asleep, he would appreciate not being interrupted, and, if he wasn't, he wouldn't like to be reminded of it. He was tired. It would be nice to get some rest, too. He lay down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling, watching the room grow lighter as time passed.

Sam was a good friend, and a good ally. When he'd been well enough, and probably before then, they'd begun the search for Bucky. Natasha and Nick were in the wind. He hadn't expected to be called back for any reason. SHIELD was gone, he'd thought. They'd barely planned where to go before Maria Hill had found him, and asked him to serve the new SHIELD. There was a new director, she'd told him. She'd smiled when she'd said it, but not told him who it was. Bucky was a ghost. They were chasing whispers. No one had seen him after the helicarriers were destroyed.

"Where do you think he'll go?" Sam asked him as they formulated a plan in a diner in Washington D.C. Steve had been out of the hospital less than a day.

"I don't know. It depends on what he's remembered," Steve replied, running his hand through his hair in frustration. The movement pulled at the wounds in his stomach and he winced.

Sam nodded, a look of concern briefly crossing his face. "Do you think he's remembering things?"

"Maybe. The first base where he was trained was in Germany, near Stuttgart. He was moved to one outside of Moscow in the fifties. They sent him to get rid of a Senator in New York during the seventies and he didn't come back. They had to hunt him down."

Sam's eyebrows rose. "Really? Maybe he went back to Brooklyn."

Steve shrugged. "It didn't say, only that he should not be allowed on American soil if avoidable."

"Why did Pierce bring him here, then?"

He sighed. "I have a feeling they were done with him. His last mission, keeping me busy," he muttered.

"Well, that's fucked up," Sam said.

Steve laughed grimly. "Yeah. We need to find him. Before what's left of HYDRA does."

"Let's start in New York. We can head to Stark's, and use it as a base. Maybe he'll head back home."

Before Steve could reply, relieved that Sam had made the call of what to do, his phone started to ring. He pulled it out, frowning. "Hello?"

"Steve?" the female voice on the line questioned.

"Yes," he said quietly.

"It's me, Sharon. Agent 13. Um, Katie, your neighbor. I need to talk to you."

"I, uh, don't know what for."

"Are you still in D.C.? It would be better in person," she said, voice resolute.

"I am, yeah."

"Can you meet me at the diner on 18th and U in twenty minutes?"

"Sure."

The line went dead. He looked up at Sam, frowning. "What was that about?" Sam asked.

"It was Sharon, the agent who used to live next to me. She wants to meet."

"You think you should go alone?"

"No," he said after a moment of thought.

"Then let's go."

Sam drove them to the diner she'd described. She was already sitting in a booth inside when they arrived. Sam checked the perimeter and sat down at the counter. Steve joined her in the booth. She was dressed in a suit, her long blond hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. Steve wondered if any of her cover had been true.

"Thanks for coming," she said to him, glancing briefly at Sam.

"What's this about?" Steve asked. "SHIELD's gone. I heard you went over to CIA."

"It's not about that." She cleared her throat. "I'm glad you're feeling better. What are you going to do now, if you can't work for SHIELD?" She looked at him almost sadly.

He shrugged. "Find my friend." She raised her eyebrows. "He was taken captive by HYDRA. He's free now," he explained.

She nodded. "You're a good man, Steve. We were hoping you would be able to help us, but I understand." Steve frowned at her, confused. "I don't know if she will, though," Sharon added, looking passed him.

He turned around to see Maria Hill walking up to them, sliding into the booth next to Sharon. "Hello, Steve," she said, picking up a menu.

"Maria," he replied, glancing between her and Sharon. Sharon looked almost apologetic, smiling self-effacingly at him. "What do you want?"

"I want the best soldier in history to help me track down and eradicate HYDRA threats," she said matter-of-factly.

"There's something I need to do first," he told her, just as he'd told Fury.

She looked up at him, her expression making it clear how she had risen so high in the ranks of SHIELD. "You don't have to track him down alone. We can help."

Steve glanced over at Sam, then back at Maria. It would be good to have some more resources. Bucky had been trained not to be found, after all. And SHIELD agents were trained to find what couldn't be found. He considered the unhealed wounds he carried that might adversely affect the mission, and tried not to let it feel like betrayal to consider putting off finding his friend a little longer.

"Okay," he said at last. "What do you need me to do?"

She smiled briefly. "D.C. isn't safe. We're too closely watched. Go to New York, to Avengers Tower. Stark will let you in, I'm sure. We'll contact you there." When he nodded, she got to her feet and left the diner as quietly as she'd come.

Steve looked at Sharon, who smiled faintly. "I look forward to working with you, Captain Rogers," she said formally.

He glanced at Sam again, who had watched the whole exchange silently. "How about some coffee before we go?" he asked.

"Sure," she replied, smile broadening.

In the end, Steve supposed, it had worked out that he'd gone to New York. Sam had suggested it, anyway, so the two of them had continued to search for Bucky as best they could between missions from Hill. Sam still lived and worked in D.C., though, so he went home when Steve was busy. It was great to have him back. Steve had a feeling that Bucky would need someone to talk to, and he didn't know if he was the best one for the job. He had a lot of hopes for his friend, and didn't want to pressure him.

Sighing, Steve got to his feet. Sleep wasn't going to come. He could get by on significantly less sleep than most people, but that wasn't his preference. He wandered around his floor of the Tower, thinking idly how nice it was for Tony to have set this whole thing aside for him. The others had their own floors, too. It was midafternoon. He was hungry again. Sam's door was open and he wasn't there. He knocked on Bucky's.

"James? You hungry?" he asked. There was no answer. Frowning, he tried the door. It was unlocked. The room was empty. He set his jaw, staring into the room as though it would make Bucky appear. "JARVIS?" he asked, tentatively. He'd never get used to this.

"Yes, sir?" the AI replied.

"Where's Bucky?"

"Mr. Barnes and Ms. Romanov went down to the motor pool eighty-three minutes ago. They left the premises."

Steve cursed quietly. What was she doing with him? He wasn't exactly comfortable being out in the world. He trusted Nat with his life, but not, apparently, with Bucky's. He'd better suit up.