Chapter 6
There was a voice reaching out for her - through a haze of voices and a flurry of darkness, until it finally broke the dam.
“-re you hurt?” Sarah lifted her head from the kids who were still clutching onto her, and up to face the paramedic as he knelt down beside her. She squinted her eyes, the look alone asking him to repeat the question.
“M’am, are you hurt?” She blinked as the colours finally started to even out. “Ma’m, what’s your name?” His voice was gentle. Forgiving. A reminder of how Mamma used to speak to all her grandbabies. When she was a child snuggled up in bed, too sick to get up for school.
“Sarah.” She croaked. She tried to speak normally but couldn’t stop it from coming out hoarse and shaky. It was probably from all the crying. She could feel the shadow of tears on her cheeks, her eyes now too dry to send any more down.
“Sarah.” The man repeated back to her. He was young, probably not even 25. He looked directly back at her, a small smile across his lips. “My name is Jake. I’m here to help you.” His eyes left her own to scan downward. “Hi guys.” His voice was brighter now. “Is this your mom?”
Sarah’s eyes wouldn’t leave the young man’s face; his smile captivated her senses somehow. She didn’t hear AJ or Cass respond, but they must’ve.
“Are you guys feeling alright? Does anything hurt? Your head, your chest?”
His hair was short. Brown. His face was symmetrical with a strong jawline. If she could just keep focusing on the details of his face, then she wouldn’t have to think about the complicated surrounding world.
But Cass responded, his words coming out so fast they were barely coherent. She couldn’t help but listen to what he had to say.
“N-n-no. We weren’t here when the-the-when everything happened with that-that-” Cass cut himself short, breathes coming in and out fast. The medic quickly jumped in to comfort him. Wasn’t that her job? Wasn’t she already doing it?
“Okay, it’s okay. I understand.” He reached down to rest a gloved hand on the young kid’s shoulder. “I’m going to help your mom right now and I promise we will check in with you both really soon. Just to be safe.” Sarah looked down to her two boys and watched as Cass nodded back to him. “What’re your names?”
“Cass.” He pointed down to his little brother. “AJ.”
He’s so much like his uncle. So brave. She couldn’t help but feel proud.
“Cass and AJ. Alright, I’m gonna need you guys to take a little scooch back so I can look after of your mom, okay?”
“The rest was a rush.” Sarah tried to explain. “The paramedic wrapped my arm up onto my chest. Dot helped with the kids, they’re staying with her and George until I can… figure some things out.” Dorothy and George. Sarah’s neighbours.
An image of George coated in blood flashed into Sam’s mind, but he pushed it out. He can deal with that another time.
He listened silently as she continued. “I saw-” she choked up for a moment, “I saw Buck get loaded in an ambulance van across the yard. They asked if I wanted to go with you, so I did.”
Sarah fell silent, allowing Sam to chime in. “Mm, I remember being in the van. You were there.” His gaze moved back to Sarah, but her eyes didn’t meet his. They were glued to her hands, tears silently cascading down her cheeks and dripping onto her sweatshirt.
There was a weight hanging in the air, looming over them and Sam finally asked the question he’d been terrified of facing the answer to, “Sarah…” he waited until her eyes met his, only for a glimpse before dropping back to her hands. “Is Bucky… is he-”
Her voice was raw as she confessed, “I don’t know.”
Sam’s fear quickly merged with confusion. He pressed her, “The hell do you mean, you ‘don’t know’?” He watched his sister’s face twist with hurt.
“I don’t know Sam!” She yelled back at him, her hand extended in frustration before moving to hover over her eyes. She rubbed at her temples with her fingers and thumb. “I-I-I saw him. I swear. I saw them lift him into the back of that ambulance, but when I got here…” Sam could barely contain himself – his frustration. His head was pounding louder and louder, and he had to fight with all he had to keep his mouth shut. “The nurses, they-” Her hand dropped to fiddle with her sling. She closed her eyes and took in another shaky breath. “They said they have no record of him. Not at this hospital. Not at any hospital.”
Sam exhaled, breathes getting heavy as emotion built inside his chest.
“They tried to tell me they never picked him up!” Sarah cried out, palms pushed into her eyes.
He knew he couldn’t do this right now. He couldn’t handle it. Couldn’t handle being the bigger person. “Have you slept?” It came out deadpan, cold even.
She looked up to meet his eyes, her own were wide and confused. “Wha? I-”
“You should go do that.” It was dismissive. He had to get out of here. He couldn’t do this. He grabbed at the sheets.
Bucky is missing.
“No- Sam please, stop. You can’t leave like this. You’re not healed.” He didn’t care.
She was there.
She could’ve done something.
There’s nothing she could’ve done.
Then Sam should’ve done something! He was right there.
Bucky was right there.
Bucky is missing.
Sam was halfway out of the bed when a voice from the doorway stopped him in his tracks.
“You should listen to your sister, Sam.” Rhodey stood there, in his signature navy blue dress uniform. The medals glistened against the harsh hospital lighting. “I mean, she is older than you… now, anyway.” One more thing that changed during the blip.
Rhodey joked, but his small smile never reached his eyes. Sarah straightened out her shirt with a shaky hand, before wiping the fresh tears from her cheeks.
“I’m getting a coffee.” She muttered to the room, before making a swift exit. She and Rhodey exchanged nods as she passed by.
Sam readjusted, sitting upright against the back of the bed. The sheets were a mess, half hanging off the sides.
“Tell me you’re here because you found him.” Sam pleaded.
“We’re working on it.”
He’s… ‘working on it’. Wow. Sam moved to push off the bed again, but Rhodey was quick to put his hand on his shoulder to keep him in place.
“You need my help.” He needed to do something. “He needs my help.”
Slowly and calmly, Rhodey repeated himself. “We are working on it.” Sam diverted his eyes, not able to tolerate the child treatment. “You’re staying here until a doctor lets you leave.” Sam let out a huff from the bed, fatigue and the pounding in his head eating away at his already thin composure.
“Look, Sam,” Rhodey pulled his hand back and stood tall beside the bed. “What we do know is the ambulance that picked Barnes up never made it to a hospital. Not a certified one at least. The tracker inside the van was already deactivated by the time we tried to locate it.”
“Do you have any good news for me right now?” Sam muttered. Rhodey hesitated, before relaxing from his stiff stance. He shot over a solemn look. “So that’s a no.”
“You and Sarah and your nephews are all okay. You’re all alive. That is the good news.”
“Who’s behind this?” Rhodey opened his mouth, but Sam cut him off before he got the chance to get anything out. “I-I know he has enemies. Someone with his history…” It was difficult to find the right word, “I know there’s people all over the world wanting a piece of him.” Sam’s voice was shaky with emotion. “People he’s hurt. People who’ve hurt him.” He stared at Rhodey, knowing his rage was on full display. “Who took him?” He bit out.
“We’re working on it.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit, Rhodes. What do you know?”
Rhodey shifted on his feet, uncomfortable. Nervous. Sam didn’t think Rhodey got nervous. He watched as the Colonel turned on his heels and peered out the door. He looked both ways before closing it and pulling down the small blind by his head. The fancy dress shoes clicked as he strolled over to the large window covering most of the wall between their room and the hallway, and proceeded to pull those blinds down too.
Seemingly satisfied with their privacy, Rhodey looked back over his shoulder at his friend in the bed. He dragged the chair Sarah had been sitting in earlier over toward him.
“I don’t have much to tell you about the search.” Rhodey began. “The scene’s been locked down.”
The ‘scene’. The ‘scene’. Sarah’s house- his parent’s house was a crime scene.
“Haven’t heard anything of interest from forensics yet.” Rhodey paused but didn’t look away, “The M.E confirmed what your sister told officials; the bomber was Daniel Moretti, formerly Daniel Rumlow – ex SHIELD agent Brock Rumlow’s younger brother.”
“HYDRA, not SHIELD.” Sam spat out under his breath.
“Yeah.” Rhodey pursed his lips. “Look… as well as the M.E and forensics, there’s search teams still scouring through the surrounding neighbourhoods and techs searching all the traffic and security cameras in the area. If there’s a trail to follow, we’ll find it.”
“And what if there’s not? What if they covered their tracks?” Rhodey was silent. “You must have a theory.” Sam pressed. “There has to be something you’re looking into- someone at the top of your list.”
Rhodey’s shoulders fell forward with a surrendering groan. He glanced over his shoulder before turning back to face the bed.
“We have reason to believe HYDRA could be involved.” His voice was quiet and controlled.
“What? Because of Rumlow? He was only in our house because he was sure his brother wasn’t HYDRA.”
Rhodey let silence fill the room.
“There’s more.” Sam put together.
“Word of underground HYDRA cells resurfacing has been spreading through some back channels.”
Sam shook his head. No way. “So you knew HYDRA was strengthening and you didn’t tell Bucky? The man that was their prisoner- their puppet!?”
The rage breaking out of him was halted by Rhodey’s next words, “We did. We told him.” Sam couldn’t have hidden the shear shock he felt even if he tried. “If he didn’t tell you, then he didn’t want you to know.”
Sam was still trying to process.
HYDRA.
HYDRA.
HYDRA.
“If HYDRA’s back, and they have him… god.” Sam felt the tears welling in his eyes, blurring his vision suddenly. They went wide as he rushed out, “Sarah doesn’t know?”
“No. Technically nobody knows. And we need to keep it that way. Without SHIELD…” Rhodey trailed off like he didn’t want to finish the sentence. “Clearance on this is tight. The higher ups are shitting their pants, and it’s only gotten worse since Barnes went off the grid.”
Sam turned his head slowly, eyes narrowing. “You mean was taken.” Rhodey shifted. Again. Nervous. “You think he ran.” Sam couldn’t believe this. Of all people.
“It’s not my opinion, it’s the government’s.”
“Holy shit.” Sam grumbled out to himself.
Rhodey spoke over him. “They see him as a former HYDRA agent; a high-level Russian spy, a POW turned traitor, a super soldier assassin with over 2 dozen kills to his-”
“ENOUGH.” Sam yelled, silencing the room.
His head. His head. His head.
His voice went small, “That’s not who he is. And-and he was hurt.”
“It’s not my opinion, Sam.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Don’t do that. Don’t act like I’m not in your corner.”
Sam gave a sad chuckle. “Oh sure, you’re in my corner. You’re just not in his.”
Rhodey stood from his seat and headed for the door. As his hand landed on the doorknob, Sam chimed softly from the bed. His voice tired and sad.
“That’s his nightmare, you know. Being back there. With them.”
After a beat, Rhodey spoke without looking back. “Get well soon, Sam.” And with that, he left the small room, letting the door click shut behind him.