2024
The sounds of the city were rather dull from the inside of the car. Zemo had promised them to bring them to one of the best informed people in Madripoor, but only under the condition that they were disguised as someone else or rather a past self.
„Who are we meeting again?“ Sam asked, slightly annoyed as he adjusted the suit once more.
„We are meeting the Widow. She is one of the most influential people in Madripoor, her influence carries over into America and Europe. Without her, most of the Secret Service operations as well as CIA and FBI would not be running.“ Zemo explained again, his eyes fixed on the street ahead of them.
„If she is so influential how come we have never heard of her?“ Sam continued.
„She disappeared from the spotlight in the sixties, no one knows why or how she did that, but her name is never mentioned or even talked about in any organization. She works from the shadows and that is what she excels at.“ Zemo sighed and stared out of the window.
The lights of the city were dancing around and making the night sky look like it was alight with a form of the northern lights. It was a bizarre beauty that Bucky still had not quite gotten used to.
Finally the car came to a halt, the doors on all sides were ripped open by people wearing masks. They dragged the three men out of the car and one of the masked men looked at Zemo.
„Wen wollen Sie treffen?“ (Who do you want to meet?), his voice was muffled by the mask, however Zemo still understood what he was saying. Sam looked over at Bucky, who was just staring at the man speaking to Zemo, it was his mind, he had slipped back into the role of the Winter Soldier, there was no doubt about it.
„Die Witwe.“ (The widow), Zemo looked around, checking out if the men were armed, they were and that heavily. It was almost like they were waiting for someone to snap, to make one wrong move and they could open fire.
The coat Zemo was wearing was billowing in the wind, it was a heavy fur coat, this made Zemo realize that the wind was strong, stronger than it was supposed to be. He looked around, but did not see anything that would point towards causing these stronger gusts of wind coming down on them.
The man grunted and nodded, his eyes fixed on the two men standing behind Zemo.
„Wer sind die Beiden?“ (Who are these two?) , the man gestured towards Sam and Bucky, his eyes burning with caution.
„Er“ Zemo nodded his head backwards towards Sam, then continued „ist bekannt als der Smiling Tiger.“ he paused for a moment. Then he nodded towards Bucky: „Er ist der Winter Soldat.“ The man flinched as that name fell, „Machen Sie sich keine Sorgen, er wird von mir kontrolliert.“(Don‘t worry about it, he is under my control) Zemo waved his hand through the air and gave the man a charming smile.
He just nodded and moved away from Zemo, reaching for the radio attached to his vest. Softly he spoke in it, but even though he was standing rather close to Zemo, he was unable to hear what he was saying.
After a few moments passed the man waved his hand, showing them that they should follow. Suddenly, another strong gust of wind came crashing down on them and a black SUV pulled up beside them.
„Get in.“ the man said to all of them, switching to English, making sure that both Bucky and Sam understood what he wanted from them.
After a short drive they arrived at a large house, it almost looked like a villa. The SUV pulled into an underground garage, parking amongst other SUVs, as well as sports cars and motorcycles. The two men that had been sitting in the back opened the door letting the three men exit the back of the car. As they got out of the car the smell of the garage hit them like a rock, it smelled like gasoline and rubber. Sam frowned as he sniffed the air, the mixture of smells was not pleasant and he felt watched the moment he stepped out of the car.
„Follow us. Don‘t stray and don‘t touch anything.“ the man that had been speaking to them the whole time instructed them.
They all just nodded and followed the man as he walked towards a heavy looking metal door, which had been embedded into the wall. As he unlocked it with a key card and pressed it open, letting the three men walk through while leading the way, another man followed behind them, closing the door. A large flight of stairs stretched out in front of them.
The flight of stairs went on and on for what felt like ages. No one was speaking and the sound of their steps echoed in the hall. After reaching the top of the stairs the man pressed open one of the metal doors, letting them enter the hallway. The walls were partially paneled with dark wood, the same as the floor, the rest of the walls were covered in soft beige paint. It reminded Bucky of a simple farmhouse and not the high tech facility that it appeared to be from the outside. In silence they were led down the hallway, their steps swallowed by the thick carpet, it was almost like there was no one in the hallway. As they walked they passed many doors, coming to a halt when the man that led the group knocked on the door at the end of the hallway. He opened it and stepped inside, leaving them with the three other heavily armed men. Only shortly after the man stepped out of the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.
Zemo entered the room, Sam and Bucky followed him. The room was only dimly lit, shelves stacked with books towered against the walls, the desk was however the thing that drew the attention: it was massive and dark, stacked with what looked like files and pens. The chair was not facing them, but rather the lights of the city that were coming in from the window. that was when Bucky realized that the room was not actually just dimly lit, there was no light lit in the entire room, but the lights from the city were enough to illuminate the office.
“Baron Zemo,” the voice of a woman carried through the room. Bucky froze, the voice sounded familiar, like a voice he had heard once long ago in a distant dream. “Ich dachte, dass ich das letzte Mal als sprachen eindeutig in meinen Forderungen war. Eine dieser war, Sie nie wieder sehen zu müssen und nie wieder mit Ihnen handeln zu müssen.” (I thought that the last time we spoke I was clear in my demands. One of them being that I would never have to see you and never bargain with you again.)
Zemo chuckled softly, his amusement was just a cover, that was obvious to both Sam and Bucky. He was actually afraid of the woman, afraid of what she might do to him because he broke their bargain. Maybe it was also because the entire feeling of the office was intimidating and made even Bucky feel uneasy.
“Was wollen Sie?” (What do you want?), she asked, still not turning around.
“Ich glaube, es wäre etwas höflicher auf Englisch zu sprechen, meine Begleiter sprechen kein Deutsch.” (I think it would be more polite to speak English, my companions don’t speak German.), Zemo said calmly. Suddenly the chair started to spin and it almost looked like the woman would launch over the desk, jumping at Zemo, but she stayed behind the desk, now standing, leaning on the desk. Her eyes wide open and almost looking feral as she tilted her head in Zemo’s direction.
“Mich interessiert es nicht, ob Ihre Begleiter kein Deutsch sprechen. Mich interessiert es, warum Sie es wagen, in mein Haus zu kommen, mit einem gebrochenen Abkommen und so wie ich Sie kenne, mit neuen Forderungen!” (I don’t care if your companions speak German. I want to know how dare you come into my home, with a broken bargain and from how I know you, new demands!) she spat at him, her eyes never leaving the man with the fur coat.
“Ich habe etwas für Sie,” (I have something for you) he stepped to the side, revealing Bucky, who had been standing behind him the entire time. Suddenly her face dropped and her gaze softened, it looked like a switch had been flicked inside of her. Bucky felt almost the same as he realized that it was truly her.
“James,” she whispered.
They all sat on the sofa in the living room, Zemo still getting suspicious looks from her from time to time, but her attention was elsewhere.
“So you never stopped looking?” Bucky asked after she had explained to him that she was glad that she got to see him again.
“I stopped looking.” she lowered her head slightly, “In 2016 when it became publicly known that you were still alive. I stopped looking because I knew you would be okay.”
She smiled sadly as she leaned forward, taking her glass from the table.
“And how are you still around?” Sam asked, seemingly the only one confused about the circumstance that a woman old enough to be a nurse in world war two still looked to be in her mid twenties. She snorted softly at the question, not in disapproval, it sounded like she just remembered something that she had been fond of many years ago, but forgot about it.
“Well, it all began with the presumed death of Steve Rogers. America had lost its biggest asset, its biggest protector. And then there was Howard Stark trying so desperately to restore it. To restore it somehow in some way.” she shook her head, then continued, “In his attempt to recreate the serum given to Steve he tested many different formulas. One of them he gave to me, at first we thought that it had not worked since nothing had changed about me.” she paused again, looking like she was telling a fantasy of the past to someone who would never understand it, “As time went on we realized that something had changed. I never got sick after having been given the serum and as more time passed we realized I did not age. It was an experiment, it had gone half right, half wrong in some way. Now I am still here while most of my friends are dead.” she smiled, looking at Sam. He saw how tired she looked, how drained her face was. It was like she had lived a thousand lifetimes, which she probably had in some way.
They continued to speak, first Zemo left to go to bed, then Zemo and now they sat there, together in silence. She placed her hand on the sofa, her palm facing the ceiling. Bucky looked at her and then at her hand, gently placing his hand in hers, intervening their fingers.
They had met again. Maybe they would need to get to know each other again, but they had met each other again in another time.