Tangled Paths | Bucky Barnes

Chapter 24: The Winter Soldier

24
The Winter Soldier

Darla walked back into the security surveillance room with Natasha. She brought Steve and Sam their coffee while Nat brought Tony his.
"Thank you. Are you okay?" Steve asked looking at her as he cupped his coffee while sitting at the table across from Sam. Darla looked through the glass at the monitors. Every single angle of the room Bucky was being held in was plastered on the screen.
"Not in the slightest," Darla replied honestly as she continued to fake her smile and her eyes landed back on Steve.
"I think you're allowed to sit in here with us. You wanna take a load off for a few?" Sam asked before taking a sip of his coffee. Darla glanced around the room and noticed T'Challa looking at the three.
"Can't, the Panthers stalking its prey," she muttered through her teeth before giving the pair a small nod and leaving the office closing the door behind them.

Steve waited a few seconds then looked around the room and noticed T'challa looking at her.
Darla eyed Steve from the opposite side of the glass and the pair shared a look as she moved to stand in front of him between Tony and Nat.

"Did we miss anything?" Darla asked as she crossed her arms looking at the close-up camera of Bucky's face. She'd put her poker face back on the second they entered the secure room. She had to pretend it didn't kill her to see him restrained the way he was.
"Nope, just in time for the show." Tony replied to her as he stared at the screen through his 'Sunglasses'. Darla looked to her right as Nat also crossed her arms.
"That the interrogator?" Nat asked as a man entered the room with a briefcase.
"Interrogator? I thought he was a psychologist." Darla replied to Nat.
"Same difference," Tony said honestly as the man began to speak.

"Hello, Mr. Barnes. I've been sent by the United Nations to evaluate you. Do you mind if I sit?" The man's voice rang through the speakers. Bucky tilted his head back toward the ceiling and didn't reply to the man. So the man sat down and placed his briefcase on the table. "Your first name is James?" He asked as he unpacked his briefcase. Tablet, paper pad and pens. Darla feigned a room sweep to look back at Sam and Steve. Sharon was now in the room with them, she gave Darla a small nod after making sure no one was looking and Darla turned back around.
"James I am not here to judge you, I just want to ask you a few questions." The man began to pry. "Do you know where you are James?" The man asked. Bucky brought his head forward and hung it keeping his lips sealed. Darla once again shared a look with Nat then looked back at the screen. "I can't help you if you don't talk to me, James." The man insisted.
"My name is Bucky." He finally spoke. Darla deadpanned her expression, she honestly thought he was going to drag this out painfully so she was shocked when he actually spoke.
The room fell silent momentarily and the man began writing on a piece of paper.
"Tell me, Bucky... you've seen a great deal haven't you?" He asked. Bucky sat with a sour face as he stared almost through the man. Darla looked around again to see Steve Sam and Sharon talking.
"I don't wanna talk about it," Bucky replied, pain dripping from his voice as he replied.
"You fear that if you open your mouth the horrors might never stop." The man lead as he tapped some things on his tablet screen. "Don't worry, we only have to talk about one." Darla's eyebrows furrowed. What incident was the man talking about? Suddenly the building went dark. The emergency backup lights kicked on and Darla's spine began to tingle. Something was wrong.
"Someone get me eyes on Barnes!" Thaddeus yelled as Tony stepped away from Darla.
"Friday, get me a source on the outage." He said tapping his sunglasses. Darla turned to look at Steve who was looking at Sharon. She said something to him she couldn't hear through the glass and then Steve and Sam bolted out of the room. Darla's Adrenalin started to race. Natasha shook her head at Darla and gave her a stern look. Everett looked around the room to see the glass office in the Center empty.
"Where the hell are Rogers and Wilson!?" He yelled. Among the commotion. Tony turned around and looked at the glass then at Darla and Nat and approached them with a frustrated sigh.
"Grant tell me what's going on." He said to her.
"How the hell am I supposed to know, Stark?" Darla bit back. She didn't know if she hated him calling her by her last name or 'kid' more.
"Okay fine. Let's move." Tony said to the girls. Darla and Natasha looked around to make sure no eyes were on them and quickly the three moved to exit the room.
"Evac all civilians. Get me a perimeter around the building and a gunship in the air!" Everett instructed over the radio as Tony Darla and Natasha snuck past him.