Death Where is Your Sting? - B. Barnes

Chapter 2

"Admit it, Buck. The burgers were good."

"Yes, the burgers were good, but wouldn't breakfast have been more appropriate for this hour?"

"It's the middle of the night in New York City. Burgers are binge food. Out for the night, hanging with your friends, what are you going to get when you're hungry after a round of drinks? It's not eggs, bacon and waffles. It's greasy, hot burgers and fries. Maybe a milkshake-"

"Okay, alright, I get the picture. Next time, we get breakfast."

"You're such an old man."

Sam and Bucky were hiking the stairs to Bucky's apartment in Brooklyn, tired and hungry. They had stopped for some burgers at a shady 24-hour diner to take some food home after their long night, but both were too hungry to wait. They had each scarfed down a burger on the walk, and Sam had the fries and the rest of the burgers in hand to finish after they got cleaned up and settled in.

"So? You gonna tell me about this dame you found at the warehouse?"

"Sam," Bucky scoffed at Sam. He always had to find a way to get under Bucky's skin.

"What? I'm just saying." No response. Sam knew he was laying it on thick, so he cleared his throat and tried again. "Seriously, though. Who was she? You know her?"

"I don't know."

"Well, how did you find her? Did you fight her? Did you save her life?...Did she save your life?"

Bucky stared at Sam blankly, unamused, then he sighed and responded, "She...I was up on the shipping box, I heard shots and a struggle. Given you were the only other person I knew of in the building fighting against these guys, I figured it was you-"

"-come to save you, like you asked." Bucky stopped on the stairs and shot Sam a look. "Okay, sorry. Go on."

"I figured it was you, so I jumped down to join the fight but found her. She was fighting the gunmen I'd spotted. Long story short, she caught me off guard but didn't take her shot. She called me Soldat and backed off instead." Bucky stopped as they reached his apartment door, fumbling with his keys and opening the door as they went inside.

"Think she was scared of you?" Sam set the bag of food down on the counter as Bucky closed the door behind him and put his keys on the table.

"No, it was like she didn't want to hurt me. I wasn't her target. She seemed...surprised to see me."

Sam turned, leaning on the counter and facing Bucky as he asked, "You know who she was?"

Bucky took a deep breath, sighed, and looked at Sam. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Cute girl like that, and you can't remember if you knew her?"

"If she's who I think she is, I'm surprised she got out."

"Got out? So she's Hydra? And you don't think she's with them anymore."

"If she was with them, she would have tried to kill me like last time."

"Whoa. Hold up. Like last time? She's tried to kill you before?"

"It was a long time ago. After DC. Before Bucharest."

"So she has tried to kill you. And she failed?"

Bucky paused, unsure how to respond. The scene flashed in his mind - the sea breeze, confusion and surprise mixed in her brown eyes, the fog lifting from her memory...She looked different now - new suit, no hood - but she felt familiar. But - no, no one else knew about Crete. "No. She let me go."