Bucky had to admit that he was apprehensive about being in Madripoor. The meeting with Selby had turned into a disaster. The woman had confirmed that the serum was in the city, but she had given them no more than a name: Nagel. Bucky wondered who this man was. Was he the same man who had helped Verity? He suspected that it perhaps could be, but he didn't have any certain notions. It was only once they had escaped Selby after Sam's identity being revealed did they find Sharon Carter.

Sam and Bucky had been shocked to see her initially, but she had told them that she could perhaps help them find Nagel, having a place where they could hide out until they had the information. She warned them that they would have to change as she was throwing a party later that evening for high profile clients and she could try and get the information them.

Bucky had opted for a simple black suit and was in the bathroom, stripping out of his clothes and changing as he had flashbacks to the bar. He had played along when Zemo had asked him to attack the people who were threatening them before they got to Selby. What scared him was how easily he had dealt with the threat. It was like he was his old self.

But as he held the final man pinned down on the bar, Sam moved a hand to his arm. He had asked him if he was fine and Bucky had nodded, saying that he was. But now that he was alone for a few moments, Bucky felt the need to regain his composure. Splashing cold water over his face before he shrugged into the top, he reached for the book that he had kept in his pocket alongside his phone and wallet. He deposited the phone and wallet before sitting on the edge of the bathtub.

He opened the booklet up and peered down onto the image of Evelyn again. His Evelyn. He was not that man. He was the man who made Evelyn happy. He was her Bucky. Closing his eyes, he remembered the moment he had taken the photo of her again.

"How do I work this thing?" Bucky asked her, picking her iPhone up as she sat across from him on the terrace of the restaurant, the hum of activity from the street beneath echoing around.

"Wish you had a newer phone now?" she teased him and unlocked it for him. "What do you want with it anyway?"

"I don't have a picture of you…nothing…seems only right I get one now and you look so happy."

"But I'm sunburnt," she responded. "And I'm red."

"You look perfect," Bucky said to her. "Besides, it's either this now or I wait until we head to the Vatican and you start an argument with the tour guide. That's your speciality, right?"

She laughed again and that was when he took the picture.

"Buck, hurry it up," Sam suddenly said, knocking on the bathroom door.

"Coming," Bucky said, placing the book into his pocket and leaving the bathroom. He saw Sam waiting for him, clearly making sure he was still okay. "I'm good."

Sam nodded and they headed back to the living area and Bucky had to admit that life on the wrong side of the law clearly hadn't treated Sharon badly. But it was not a life he would want again. She was wearing a black jumpsuit, her blonde hair curled down to her shoulders. Bucky went to the sofa and sat down, hands laced together with his gloves on his fingertips.

"What's going on, Sharon? So, don't you ever want to go back home?" Sam asked from her, shrugging into a jacket as she headed to her desk and reached for her phone.

"They'll lock me up as soon as I step foot in the States," she said to Sam, "Madripoor doesn't allow extradition."

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't call," Sam said to her. "But after the blip and the chaos…I just…" he trailed off.

Sharon put her phone in her pocket and left her hand there, turning back to Sam and looking at him. "Look, you know the whole hero thing is a joke, right, deep down? The way you gave up that shield, you know it's just hypocrisy?"

"He knows, and not so deep down," Zemo interrupted, still wearing his long coat with fur collar and nursing a glass of whiskey in his hands as he sat by the bar.

"Speaking of, how is the new Cap?" Sharon wondered.

"Don't get me started," Bucky finally piped up.

Sharon rolled her eyes and moved around to the sofa, sitting down on the other end of it. "Please," she said to him, "you buy into all of that stars and stripe stuff. Before you were his pet psychopath, you were Mr America, Cap's best friend."

"It seems his allegiance has shifted since then," Zemo said, unable to help himself. He found it fascinating. He had seen something inside of Bucky when he had come to the prison, something that resembled the old him. He wanted to see it some more for himself, but there was only one thing that seemed to get a rise out of him.

"So I've heard," Sharon agreed, folding one leg over the other.

Bucky turned his glare to her and she shrugged her shoulders. "We heard about Verity Mardox being in town last year," she said to Bucky. "Rumour had it that she was on the warpath after you…she was pretty obnoxious, as well. She was searching for Nagel."

"She found him then," Bucky said, looking to Sam. Who else would she have gotten the serum from?

"She had one of my clients do some digging for her on the request of the Flag Smashers," Sharon said to him. "I was intrigued when I saw that they were doing some digging into Bucky Barnes and so I asked for details. Found out that she wanted information on some woman…Evelyn Morris?"

"You knew she was looking into Evelyn?"

"Only a few weeks after she'd gone," Sharon shrugged. "So is that the new allegiance then?"

"We're not discussing this,"

"James is very protective over her," Zemo declared and Bucky glowered over to him.

"Last I heard Verity had been arrested, so I assume she didn't get to execute her plan of revenge then?" Sharon checked. "Did she find Nagel? Our assumption would be that she wanted him for the serum, but the Power Broker is the one who runs things here. He is the one protecting Nagel. I imagine if he found out that she had gotten the serum then he wouldn't be happy."

"Well, she got it," Sam confirmed to her. "But she's not why we're here. We're here because we need to find Nagel. Can you help us find him or not?"

Sharon bit down on the inside of her cheek and shook her head a few times. "You really should stay out of this," she warned them. "For your own safety."

"We know it's a risk," Sam confirmed to her, "but it's a risk that we have to take."

She sighed and moved to her feet after a few moments. "I'll see what I can find out, but I can't make any promises."

"That's all we ask," Sam said. "And I'll do what I can to get that pardon for you so that you can come home."

"Yeah," Sharon said, her tone suggesting she didn't entirely believe that would be possible. "I need to go and get ready for the party. Try to enjoy yourselves and stay out of trouble."

She took off then and Zemo's lips arched as he looked between Bucky and Sam. "Trouble," he chuckled the word.

…

"This is a waste of my time," Evelyn huffed.

She was sat in the back of an army plane, Hoskins and Walker sat across from her. They had been there for almost eight hours and Evelyn was growing tired with waiting. They were in the plane that was cleared to take off as soon as they got the information on where Bucky and Sam were. But so far they had gotten nothing out of Evelyn and she had refused to call Bucky and speak. And so they were waiting for him to call her. Lemar had a laptop open next to him, ready to trace the call as soon as it came in.

"Well, if you just called him then we wouldn't be wasting our time, would we?" John responded to her and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Do you seriously think he'll tell you where he is?"

"I'm not that stupid," John said with a firm shake of his head. "We'll trace the call as soon as it comes in."

"And if he moves from that location?"

"Then I tell him that his girlfriend is going to be locked in a cell for the next ten years of her life for breaking that NDA she signed," John said and Evelyn's eyes widened. He shrugged his shoulders to her. "I wish that it hadn't come to this."

"What? Blackmail?" she checked with him. "Are you seriously blackmailing him?"

"I think by now it's obvious that he'd do anything for you and that includes telling us where he's gotten to."

"Then why do you need me here?"

"Because you're coming with us."

"John, are you sure that's the best decision?"

"Until we have those two in our sights she is staying with us," John said to his friend. "If we let her go then she could just run and hide. She's not having a chance to do that and we're on our own now, remember? We're doing things our own way."

"I seriously never thought that Captain America would turn to blackmail and kidnapping," Evelyn commented, folding one leg over the other, her skirt flowing around her calves as she leant back, arms around her waist and head leant back. "This is what I meant when I said that you shouldn't take that shield, John…living up to Steve's legacy…to that shield…do you seriously think that this is how to do it?"

"Stop trying to guilt trip me," he demanded from her.

"I'm just telling you what I think," she replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "So do what you have to do, but just know that, deep down, you know that this isn't the right way to go about your business. I know you know that."

John continued staring at her before the phone began to ring. Evelyn wanted to jump up and snap it from his hands, but she had no chance to do that. Instead, John was the one who answered, swiping to take the call and then placing it to his ear.

"Bucky, good to hear from you," John said and Lemar began typing ferociously on his laptop.

On the other end of the line, Bucky was doing his best to remain composed. They were on a flight out of Madripoor and heading to Riga after getting a lead from Nagel that Karli had been in touch, asking for some serum to save Donya Madani, a woman who had clearly meant a lot to her. Madani had died in Riga and they figured they could get more information by heading out there themesleves.

"Where is Evelyn?" Bucky demanded. "What are you doing with her phone?"

"Well, we figured this was the only way we could reach you," John said. "Turns out that you're pretty hard to find, what with breaking criminals out of jail."

"I'll ask again," Bucky said, his voice terse, "where is Evelyn?"

"She's fine," John said. "I wouldn't hurt her and you know that, but what happens to her next is now in your hands."

"God, you're a piece of work, Walker," Bucky complained down the phone to him.

"Tell me where you are."

"No chance."

Lemar motioned to the screen of the laptop and John looked down, seeing the dot of where Bucky's phone was. It was moving over the ocean and it was moving quickly. "Well, judging by how we're tracking this call you look like you're moving quite fast so I assume you're on a flight somewhere?"

"Nothing gets past you, Walker," Bucky drawled back.

"So where are you heading?"

"None of your business."

"Okay, let me put this in a way you understand," Walker responded, leaning forwards. "Tell us where you're going or I'll see to it that Evelyn gets locked away for breaching her NDA, which I know she did. It's your choice."

"Blackmailing me?" Bucky checked with him. "Seriously? How do I know you're not bluffing?"

"You willing to take a chance with your girlfriend's freedom?" he asked from him and Evelyn rolled her eyes once more. "So, tell us where you are…your exact location…and Evelyn will be fine."

"Riga," he said, knowing that Walker could turn up but he would see to it that he didn't get in the way. "Now put Evelyn on the phone."

"Pleasure," John said and he stood up, moving the short distance across the plane to hand Evelyn her phone.

Placing it to her ear, she kept her glare on John. "He stormed into my apartment and took my phone," she said to Bucky. "I didn't tell him shit, though."

Bucky almost let his lips quirk at hearing her say that, knowing that she would have held firm. He could picture it now, his Evelyn standing up to John Walker and defending him.

"I don't doubt it," Bucky told her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine," she promised him. "And you?"

"Fine," Bucky promised her.

"Listen, I don't want to say much because both of them are listening in, so I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Tell them to let you go home. They have what they need," Bucky said.

"Yeah…I'll try," she said to him. "Speak soon."

"Bye, Evie," Bucky said and she hung up the phone and held it in her lap, looking back over to John and Lemar.

"So he told you where he was? Do you really need me to come along on this ridiculous trip?"

"Good try," John said. "Lemar, tell the pilot to set coordinates for Riga."

…

"Walker will be here before we know it," Bucky said as they finished exploring and headed back from trying to find information on Donya Madani. Bucky had somehow managed to persuade Ayo to give him eight hours to use Zemo and get the information that they needed. Ayo had tracked them down to Riga and Bucky had gone to talk to her alone, telling her that Zemo was just a means to an end and nothing more. As soon as he had what he needed from him then they could come and take him. But then there was now Walker to contend with. He would be in Riga soon enough and that was another obstacle Bucky would have to deal with.

"And I got nothing on Donya Madani," Sam said, sinking down onto the plush sofa in Zemo's apartment, Bucky following suit as Zemo went and made tea in the kitchen. "And no one would talk because Karli is the only one who is fighting for them."

"What do you mean?" Bucky asked, sitting down next to him.

"For five years people have been welcomed into countries that kept them out using barbed wire…they had houses…they had jobs…and folks were happy to have people around to help them rebuild. The entire world came together and then it goes back to how it was. They lose everything."

"Do you really think that her ends justify her means?" Bucky questioned him. "That she's no different from him," he motioned with his head to Zemo, "or anyone else we fought?"

"She's different," Sam confirmed. "She's motivated by different things completely."

"What about you?" Bucky asked Zemo as he wandered to the living room, setting the tray of tea down on the coffee table in front of them. "What did that little girl tell you?" he asked.

He had been talking to her intently and Bucky wondered what she had said to him.

"Ah," Zemo said, "that the funeral is this afternoon."

"You know that the Dora are coming for you, right?" Bucky checked. "They're probably lurking around the corner as we speak, so keep talking."

"Leaving you with a way to get to Karli?" Zemo checked, holding his mug of tea. "And do you think that I would give up my leverage."

Bucky stood up then, anger taking hold of him after everything they had been through. Moving over to Zemo, he took hold of the cup, snatching it from his hands and throwing it against the wall behind him, head tilting to the side and his voice dropping down low as he spoke.

"Want to see what someone can do with leverage?" Bucky demanded from him.

Zemo tilted his own head then as Sam stood up, moving to stand next to Zemo and looking at Bucky.

"Take it easy," he warned Bucky, knowing that his emotions were running high ever since Walker had spoken to him on the phone. He had practically wanted to crush the device in his hands as he held it. "He's just going to try and get in your head and do that stupid head tilt thing….let me make a call."

Sam slapped Bucky on the arm once and moved into the kitchen.

"Sure you don't want some cherry blossom tea?" Zemo questioned.

"No, you go ahead," Bucky said and moved over to the kitchen, hearing Sam on the phone to, he suspected, Sharon. He settled down by the worktop and leant forwards, arms folded on top of it as Zemo watched him, observing him silently and seeing him tug a hand through his hair.

Half an hour went by before Zemo spoke, informing them that they should leave if they were to make good timing for the funeral. Leaving his apartment and wandering the streets, Bucky saw her in the distance, heading towards him. But she wasn't alone. She was walking besides John and Lemar, dressed only in a black skirt and top, her arms bare and she looked cold. Bucky could see that she had a stern expression on her face, but she hadn't noticed them yet. Instead it was Walker who spoke.

"Karli Morgenthau is too dangerous for you to be pulling this shit on us!" John snapped, moving down the steps of the hill with Lemar by his side. Evelyn looked down then, seeing Bucky and her gaze softened slightly as he sent her a knowing nod.

Bucky held his arms out wide. "Well, you found us now."

"Easy enough when you find out that he has an apartment in the city," Lemar commented, motioning to Zemo.

"And you're going to stop keeping us in the dark," John snapped and they finally came face to face with each other. "And first of all you can start by telling us why you broke him out of jail because your girlfriend isn't saying shit."

"Technically he broke himself out and why did you bring her here?" Bucky demanded from John.

"She was not leaving my sight until you were in it," John responded to him. "And there better be an unbelievable explanation for this!" he snapped, unable to stop himself as people passing by spotted him and Evelyn noted them watching, some of them picking their phones out of their pockets.

"Look, take it easy before it gets weird," Sam demanded, also noticing that they were being watched too.

Walker managed to take a breath and calm himself down, closing his eyes for a few seconds, the six of them standing around. Zemo allowed his gaze to roam over the new additions to the group, his gaze finally finishing on the woman who he instantly recognized as the woman in James's notebook. This had to be Evelyn.

"I know where Karli is," Zemo said and began to walk forwards, but John put his hand on his chest.

"Well, where?" he asked, stopping him from advancing any further.

Evelyn looked to Zemo and felt her jaw clench at the sight of the man who had caused Bucky so much pain. Picking up on her dark expression, Bucky moved forwards, hand going to the small of her back as she turned to look up to him. He nodded once, promising silently that things were fine.

"All we know is that it's a memorial and we're going to intercept her there," Sam said and Zemo moved Walker's hand from him and began walking again, giving the rest no choice but to follow. Evelyn fell into step next to Bucky as Sam gave her shoulder a squeeze and she forced a smile up to him.

"There will be civilians there…there's a high risk of casualties," Hoskins added on for them too.

"We can take her by surprise," Walker said.

"No, I'm going to talk to her," Sam said to him. "The person she just lost was close to her. She is going to be vulnerable. If there is any time to reason with her then it is now."

"What? No, wait, stop," John demanded, moving to the front of the group and stopping them from going any further. "I think we're way past reasoning with her unless you're forgetting that she blew up a building with people in it?"

They had all seen that piece of news in the morning. She had bombed a building after stealing their supplies and she was now all over the news, the Flag Smashers only gaining in notoriety for what they had done.

"Sam, if you go in there blind then she could hurt you," Hoskins said to him, trying to reason with him.

"And if I go in hot then things could go wrong and more people could die," Sam said.

"You're going to let him do this?" Walker asked from Bucky. "You're going to let your partner walk into a room with a super soldier alone."

"He's dealt with worse," Bucky said to him, "and he's not my partner."

"I used to counsel soldiers who had to deal with trauma, okay?" Sam said to John. "This is right in my wheelhouse."

"Yeah, and I know those soldiers and that's why I know this is a bad idea."

"Wait, John," Hoskins said. "Perhaps he has a point. Maybe it would be better to try and calm her down."

John looked to Lemar then before sighing and shaking his head, unable to believe that he was about to agree with what they were saying.

"You can try," he said to Sam, "and then we'll deal with you later," he said, pointing to Zemo who nodded.

"I am sure it will all come to an agreeable conclusion," he spoke, "my associate is just ahead."

They began to leave, but before John could get any further, Bucky grabbed hold of his forearm, his grip tight and forcing him to turn around, Sam and Hoskins following Zemo and Evelyn staying by Bucky's side. John turned around then, his dark stare looking to Bucky who kept his own stare narrowed and focused on John, the anger evident in his features as he continued watching the man.

"You and me are going to have words," Bucky promised him. "And if you ever go after Evelyn again, I won't be as pleasant."

"Is that a threat?" John wondered from him.

But Bucky didn't respond. Instead he let his arm go and dropped his hands, his glare remaining on the man in front of him who turned around after a few seconds and went back to following Zemo. Bucky remained stood on the spot as Sam turned around and he nodded, indicating that he would follow them, but at his own pace.

"Hey," Evelyn said, noticing that Bucky's glare had returned and was focused directly on the back of John's head. She moved a hand to Bucky's arm and he looked down to her. "You okay?"

"No," Bucky responded. "You shouldn't even be here, Evie."

"And trust me, I'd rather be at home," she promised him. "But he…he came into my apartment and he took my phone…dragged me out with him too."

"He dragged you?" Bucky asked.

"Technically he threw me over his shoulder, but the principle still applies," she corrected herself and Bucky's glare returned.

"He did what?" he demanded from her and began to move forwards, but Evelyn grabbed hold of his hand, stopping him from chasing after Walker as they began the ascent up the hill again, following after the rest of the group. Evelyn's grip brought his attention back to her.

"Listen, you can yell at him later for that," she said to him. "Defending me can wait, okay? I think you have bigger fish to fry right now."

"He should never have laid a hand on you," Bucky growled lowly. "I mean it, Evie, he's not getting away with that."

"And again, deal with it later," she said. "Just focus on finding Karli right now, okay?"

"Yeah," Bucky managed to agree and then noticed the goosebumps on her arm. "Jeez, Evie, you must be freezing, come here," he said and he tugged off the coat he had been wearing, leaving him in just a thin black jacket and his top. He shrugged it over her shoulders, helping her push her arms into the sleeves. She tugged it around her body and instantly felt his warmth from it and the smell of him. She pulled her phone out from her bra where she had been keeping it and pressed it into the pocket of the coat.

"Thanks," Evie said to him. "So what's going on? You think that Karli is going to a funeral?"

"The woman who died was close to her. We assume that she will be there. Sam thinks that he can talk to her," Bucky said to her.

"And what do you think? I heard about the bombing on the flight here," Evelyn said to Bucky. "Do you think she can be reasoned with?"

"I don't know," Bucky replied honestly to her. "But if anyone can talk her down then it's going to be Sam. It would be nice if it worked."

"Yeah," Evelyn could agree with that point.

She saw the gang in front enter into a building and Bucky and Evelyn followed them in. Zemo said that the funeral was taking place further on, but John already had his arm behind his back and was cuffing him to what looked like a pipe.

"You're not going anywhere," John said to Zemo.

"Harsh," Zemo commented, "but fair."

"And you have ten minutes," John snapped at Sam who was already heading further into the building.

Bucky took to standing on the door near the wall, his leg kicked up and his foot resting behind him, arms folded as Hoskins stood by the wall next to door and John took to pacing. Evelyn felt slightly lost, looking around for a few moments before her gaze landed on Zemo and she found that he was staring back at her.

"And you must be Evelyn," Zemo commented.

"I've warned you," Bucky said, looking over to Zemo with a narrowed expression.

"Just being polite," Zemo defended himself. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Likewise," Evelyn said and she folded her arms over her chest, standing on the other side of the door and glowering across to him. Zemo chuckled at that.

"She's defensive over you," Zemo said, looking to Bucky once more who just continued to glare at him. Zemo turned back to Evelyn. "And for what it's worth, he's very protective over you too…"

Neither of them responded to Zemo. Instead, they remained where they were, silence engulfing them once more. Walker continued his pacing and his gaze became even more manic as he kept on going. Evelyn did her best not to chew down on her lip, knowing that she would just draw blood as she began to worry for Sam.

"Something's not right," John said, hands on hips and continuing to pace.

"It's been ten minutes, John, just sit tight," Bucky was the one to speak and Hoskins nodded, agreeing with that.

"Don't you do that," John snapped at him. "Don't you patronize me."

"I'm not patronizing you," Bucky retorted to him.

"Barnes, you might not like me for what I've done," Walker said, coming to stand face to face with him as Evelyn remained out the way. "But your partner needs back up in there. Do you really want his blood on your hands?"

Bucky looked down for a brief second and then glanced back up again. But Walker was already pushing by him, Hoskins following him. Bucky cursed under his breath and looked at Evelyn. "Stay here," he said and she nodded. She had no intention of getting in the way.

Bucky followed after Walker and Hoskins, leaving Evelyn with Zemo.

"Well, that was tense," Zemo said and Evelyn saw the handcuff around his wrist give way, freeing him. He rubbed at his wrist and then looked to Evelyn. "Tell me, who do you trust more…me or Karli?"

"You…how did you get free?" she asked, confused as to how he had done that.

"I have ways," he said, "now answer the question."

"Neither," she responded to him.

"Wise answer," he agreed on that point. "I would do as James said and just wait here."

"And where are you going?"

"To find Karli," Zemo said to her, drawing a gun from his coat pocket and stalking off. Evelyn cursed under her breath at that, not knowing what to do for the best. But she couldn't just stay put. There was a reason why Zemo was out of jail. Bucky freed him for a purpose and so she was going to keep him in her sights.

She followed after him and caught up with him after a few moments, matching his pace. "Bucky helped you escape that prison cell for a reason, so I'm not just letting you go," Evelyn said and Zemo's lips quirked.

"Loyal to a fault," Zemo commented. "But tag along if you must, just stay out of the way."

He came to another room, gun still held in his grip. Entering it, he looked around as Evelyn did the same, a set of red curls entering her vision. The girl looked like she was hiding from someone. She was hidden around a corner, but Zemo had already spotted her. Was that Karli? It had to be. She had a bag around her waist and almost looked scared. As Zemo advanced on her, Evelyn realised that he was going to shoot at her.

"Get down!" she shouted loudly at the girl as Zemo fired before Evelyn could knock the gun down. The girl whirled around as the bullet flew through the air and hit her stomach, looking like it only gazed her sides as she collapsed over a table.

"You got in the way," Zemo said to Evelyn as they neared the girl behind the table and Evelyn stood in front of Zemo, not letting him get near her. But then he saw it on the floor. He saw the blue vials and he arched a brow. He peered around Evelyn to Karli and looked down to her as she grabbed onto her side.

"Are these what I think they are?" he demanded from her.

She didn't nod or make a sound. But that told him all he had to know. He began stamping on the vials, smashing the glass as Karli winced at the sight of him making the motion. Evelyn let him do whatever he was doing, heading around the table to the girl and kneeling down. She looked to her. "Are you okay?" she asked her.

"You…" the girl stammered for a moment. "Evelyn." She spoke her name.

Evelyn's brow furrowed. "How do you know who I am?"

But she had no chance to answer. Walker stormed into the room, his shield hitting Zemo in the face and knocking him out cold as the girl stood up and ran off before Evelyn could stop her, a man coming to help her up. Evelyn turned to look to John as he stood over Zemo and she looked down at his body.

"What did you do to him?" Evelyn asked, knowing that being hit in the face with a vibranium shield would be enough to cause some serious damage.

"He'll be fine," John said to her as she knelt by his side and checked his pulse, making sure that he was fine and would wake up. Evelyn kept checking on Zemo as John walked around behind her. She had no idea what he was doing before she heard footsteps above and she saw Bucky and Sam at the top of the stairs as Zemo slowly groaned and regained consciousness.

"You okay?" Bucky asked, looking down to Evelyn and she nodded.

She moved to her feet as Zemo groggily got up as well.

"She got away," John commented. "Where's Lemar?"

"Haven't seen him," Sam responded.

"Shit," Walker said and rushed off to find his partner.

"Come on," Sam said as soon as Walker had gone. "Let's get out of here before Walker comes back."

They agreed on that point, Zemo uneasy on his feet as they all left the building. Once they were a few streets away from the building, Evelyn looked to Bucky. "I need to talk to you," she said to him.

"Yeah," he said and then looked to Sam. "You okay to take him back? I'll be there in a bit."

"Do what you need to do," Sam said with a nod, Zemo grabbing his aching face and moving off.

Bucky walked by Evelyn's side in the other direction, branching off as she began talking to him, ambling down the cobbled street with her hands in Bucky's pockets as she went.

"That girl…the red head," Evelyn said. "Was that Karli?"

"Yeah, why?" Bucky wondered from her.

Evelyn gulped and nodded her head, her eyes narrowing in concentration before she spoke again. "She knew who I was," Evelyn said to Bucky and he let his brows knit together on his forehead at hearing that. "Zemo shot her. I tried to stop him, but I was too slow. Anyway, I went to stand in front of him between her-"

"-You stood in front of him?" Bucky interrupted her. "You stood in front of him when he had a gun?"

"Yeah, because I didn't want him to shoot her," Evelyn said as if it was the most nonchalant thing for him to understand.

Bucky pinched the bridge of his nose at hearing that piece of information and he did his best not to feel sick, his stomach churning at what he had just heard from her. "Evelyn, sweetheart, I told you to stay put for a reason," he said to her. "So that you didn't get hurt and then I find out you put yourself in the crossfire."

"He wouldn't shoot me," Evelyn shook her head.

"I don't even want to take that risk," Bucky said with a firm shake of his head.

"Hey, just listen to me," she demanded from him. "That's not the point I am making. The point is that while Zemo was destroying the serum she had dropped, I went to make sure she was okay and she said my name. She recognised who I was."

"How?" Bucky asked from her, shrugging his shoulders. "How could she possibly know who you are?"

"I don't know," Evelyn said to him. "I've never seen her before."

"And you're sure she said your name?"

Evelyn pursed her lips. "I recognise my own name, Bucky," she said to him.

"I was just checking," Bucky defended, hands going to his jacket pocket then as well. "So if she recognised who you were…I guess there's only one way she knew."

"What's that?"

"She knew Verity," Bucky said.

Evelyn slapped a hand to her forehead. "Of course," she said. "Why did I not think of that?"

"I imagine standing in front of a gun might hinder your ability to think straight," Bucky said to her and she rolled her eyes at hearing him again.

"So if she was working with Verity…you don't think that she was the one who warned us, do you? The woman on the phone at the hotel?"

"Possibly," Bucky said, agreeing on that point.

"Then she…what she's doing…she's just a kid, Bucky," Evelyn continued. "All I saw in that room was a scared kid and that was all."

"A scared kid who has killed people," Bucky continued. "Listen, we're going to find her, but I need you to stay out of the way, okay? That means no more getting in the way of Zemo or getting in the way of Karli because I don't like the idea of you being anywhere near either of them."

"You're not the only one," she promised him. "But you know that John will be back at Zemo's apartment soon, right?"

"Yeah," Bucky said. "We should head back there because there's something not right with him, Evie."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I know crazy," Bucky said, "considering that I am crazy."

"You're not crazy," Evelyn shook her head at Bucky. "But I think that you might be right about John. I thought that he was a good man…I thought that he really was…but I think what he has taken on, the legacy he has taken…he's willing to do anything to get his own way. I mean, storming into my apartment? Blackmailing me? Kidnapping me? That's not even what a good person would do, is it? Never mind Captain America."

"I agree," Bucky said to her. "And are you sure you're okay?"

"Fine," Evelyn promised him.

"It's just…I know your apartment…someone storming into it…the memories that might bring back," he promised her. She nodded her head at that and folded her arms over herself.

"I thought about it," Evelyn admitted to him. "And I tried to rationalise it in my mind, what John did, and I can do if I try really hard."

Bucky sighed. "I really wish you would stop trying to rationalise things in your mind," he said to Evelyn. "You don't need to rationalise it. The fact is that he had a fight with me and Sam. He had no right to drag you into any of this and get you involved. You're not a part of this. What is it you said? You keep your private and work life separate?"

"Yeah, but we always end up getting tangled up together," Evelyn responded to him.

"Luckily we're strong enough to cope with it, huh?" Bucky said to her.

"Hey," Evelyn said, taking hold of his hand and stopping him from walking off any further. She looked up to him, searching his gaze as he felt his own eyes soften, his lips quirking as he realised this was the first time he had really looked at her. "Is it the wrong time to tell you how much I missed you?"

"On the contrary," Bucky responded, "there's never a wrong time to tell me that."

Bending down, Bucky kissed her chastely for a few seconds. She pulled back after a moment and Bucky kissed her forehead. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he kept her close to his side and they began walking again as he told her about how Ayo had turned up to take Zemo back to where he belonged. Heading back to the apartment, Evelyn almost marvelled at the décor. It was striking, she could not deny that.

"You two okay?" Sam asked, closing the lid to his laptop.

"Yeah," Bucky nodded his head.

"Evie, do you mind if I borrow him for a moment?" Sam checked with her.

"Go for it," she said and Bucky removed his grip from her arm and headed off to another room to talk to Sam about something else. Evelyn looked around the apartment before she saw Zemo appear out of the bathroom, a cloth held to his forehead. He looked to her and Evelyn motioned to the cloth.

"Sore head?" she asked from him.

"Could say that," he said, heading to the sofa and collapsing down onto it. "And you…you stood in front of me to stop me from shooting Karli."

"Because she's a kid," Evelyn replied. "She's done wrong and that can't be questioned, but she doesn't deserve to die. You can't take the law into your own hands. Although you certainly have a track record of doing that."

Zemo's lips quirked and Evelyn went to sit down on the other end of the sofa, not making herself comfortable and perching on the edge. She watched him for a few moments and contemplated what was going on in his mind.

"You know," Zemo said, "that is slightly hypocritical considering who you are dating, you know that, right?"

"He was brainwashed."

"He was a killing machine," Zemo said. "He was created to kill. It is inside of him."

"I don't believe that," Evelyn said firmly. "And you don't know him, not really. You used him for your own purposes."

"It was never personal."

"Perhaps not, but you still used him," Evelyn said with a shake of her head. "And what is it with your disdain of super soldiers?"

"They're a danger to us," Zemo said to her. "The power that they have and the willingness that they show to enhance themselves is dangerous. The fact that people choose to become more powerful…well…it often leads them down a dangerous and tyrannical path. You should know that. You studied history." He remembered that from the book he had taken from Bucky.

"And Steve Rogers?"

"As I told Sam earlier," Zemo said, adjusting the cloth on his face, "there has never been another Steve Rogers, has there?"

"And so you believe they all need to be wiped out?" she checked with him.

"I shut down the Winter Soldier programme for that exact reason," he nodded his head at her. "I intend to see my work finished."

"And Bucky?" Evelyn wondered from him, clasping her hands together. "You know that Bucky is a super soldier, right? You know that he has the same powers as the rest of the Flag Smashers."

"James is…proving to be particularly complicated to me," Zemo admitted to her.

"Because he doesn't fit your stereotype?"

"He never chose the serum, did he?" Zemo asked from her.

"No."

"So the question is…what does he choose to do with the powers he now has and the freedom that he has? I wondered about him for quite a while when I was locked up. I admit that I wouldn't have been shocked if he had gone back to being the Winter Soldier…because I have seen parts of him still there…I have seen him fight in Madripoor and it was amazing how quickly he slipped back into that routine."

"He's not the Winter Soldier," Evelyn said. "Are there still parts of him in there? I don't know. Only he can answer that, but I know that he isn't the monster you seem to want him to be. You have no idea, not really, about the man that he is."

"Let me ask you one final thing," Zemo said to her. "It is a simple question."

"I can't believe I'm going to agree to this."

"Is he capable of love? Do you truly believe that he is a good man?"

"Yes," she answered in an instant.

"No hesitation," Zemo said.

"Because there's no need for me to hesitate," she responded firmly.

It was then when Sam and Bucky came back into the room and Bucky saw Evelyn on the sofa, Zemo sat near her. He looked between the two of them and wondered what he had said to her. Heading to the sofa, he glanced to Evelyn. "I didn't know you'd be out here with him," Bucky said and Evelyn shrugged as he held his hand out to her and she took hold of it, standing up from the sofa.

"I can handle him," she responded, shooting him a glance.

"She's a charming young lady, James," Zemo commented. "You've clearly found someone who cares for you."

"Yeah," Bucky said to him, leading Evelyn back over to the kitchen where he reached for the bottle of whiskey and poured himself a glass.

"Evie, do you have any other information that might be useful?" Sam wondered, leaning back against the dining table. "You were on a flight with them for the past day or so."

"Just what I told Bucky," Evelyn shrugged her shoulders. "Walker's crumbling under the pressure of being Captain America, I think. I mean, I saw the look in his eye when he knocked him out," she said and looked over to Zemo for a moment. "And I've spent a lot of time analysing Steve…you know, when he was Captain America…I've never seen him look like that when he had to hurt anyone."

"You think he's dangerous?"

"I think that he's struggling," Evelyn responded to Sam. "I don't know what else I can say about him, but I do think that Hoskins is more rational. He seemed like that to me. Every decision John has made he's questioned it."

"I got that from him," Sam agreed with her on that point.

"So what do you do now?" Evelyn wondered as Bucky took another glass of whiskey.

"Try and find Karli again," Sam said. "I have no idea where she could have gone."

"We'll have a bigger issue soon enough," Zemo said and moved to his feet, heading to the kitchen get himself a glass of whiskey. "I suspect that your Captain America and the Dora Milaje will be here before we know it. And they will be here for me."

"Yeah," Sam agreed on that point.

"So what? Do we run?"

"I think we're beyond running," Zemo responded to Evelyn's question.

"He's right," Sam said. "We'll deal with them when they come."

"Evie, sweetheart," Bucky called over to her and held his hand out. She looked confused, wondering what was going on in his mind before she moved over to him, taking his hand as they walked to the other end of the room. "I need you to get out of here, okay? If they come, it could get nasty. Just head somewhere else for a while until we've dealt with this."

"Trying to get rid of me?" she asked him.

"I usually would never try to get rid of you," Bucky shook his head, thumb running along her chin and keeping her gaze on him. "But for now? Yeah. I just want you somewhere away from here."

"Okay."

Bucky arched his brows at hearing her. "No arguments?" he checked.

"I get it," she promised him, squeezing his hand. "I can't fight…I'm more of a hindrance than a help…so I'll go for a walk…find a café or something…and just let me know when you have dealt with them. But I do need some money."

Bucky's lips quirked. "I can sort that," he promised her. "Come on, I'll walk you out."

But before they could turn for the door, it had already slammed open. Bucky groaned under his breath as he saw Walker and Evelyn felt his grip on her hand increase at the sight of him.

"Think we left it too late," Evelyn muttered.

"Just stay back," Bucky said to her. "And no jumping in front of guns."

"Promise," she said.

He gave her hand one final squeeze before he realised that he had to deal with Walker, standing next to Sam and preparing to do something he thought he would never do: defend Zemo.

...

A/N: Thanks so much to everyone reading - do let me know what you think!