Touching Base
Once Bucky was left alone in his apartment, he sent Steve a message. "How's the weird stuff going?"
It took about twenty minutes for Bucky to get a message back from Steve. "Weird. Actually, I think we're on our way back to Europe. The energy isn't the same, but there's some kind of disturbance going on there too. It might be related, or it might just be someone else taking an opportunity."
"Where in Europe? Do you guys have a line on who's responsible yet?" Bucky's memories were still scattered, but he knew Hydra had bases and lairs all over Europe, it was where Hydra was born. Even though the main head of Hydra was cut off, as they liked to repeat, cut off one head, two more grow back. He knew Hydra wasn't dead, only crippled.
"Not sure yet on the who. But the where is looking like Sokovia." Bucky sighed as he read the reply.
"Sokovia? Keep your eyes open there. I don't remember the details, but I remember a job in Sokovia some years ago for Hydra. I think they have an installation there. I killed someone in the government so Hydra could get a foothold there when Eastern Europe was all a mess in the wake of the Cold War." He didn't recall everything, but the who seemed to be carved into his memory.
"Thanks, Buck, that could be useful. I wouldn't count the remnants of Hydra out for possible involvement in whatever is going on, or at least some of what's going on. There have been pockets that we've been taking out ever since DC." Bucky couldn't recall exactly where all the bases were, but he knew somehow that Hydra had contingency plans for everything, and had plans for if they were ever exposed in one place and who was the next in the chain of command. He also had aversions to certain places as he started traveling through Europe and suspected it likely had to do with proximity to Hydra sites.
"I know, I've been trying to keep clear of them all since DC, at least the ones that I could remember." It was why he'd hidden out in Switzerland for a while, not a strong Hydra presence there. Same with Romania. Sokovia though, he knew Hydra had infiltrated that country's government back in the 1990s and had a fairly large base there. Often recruiting disillusioned or angry citizens scarred by wars and unrest, most of which Hydra had created in the first place. And Bucky would have wagered to guess that none of those people had any idea Hydra was behind whatever they were signing up to do.
"I've got a few minutes to spare, how's the remembering going? How are you doing?" Bucky smiled and sighed. He knew Steve cared, but it was nice to have that knowledge reinforced.
"It's alright. I've been reading up on everything I can on the internet. Had a neighbor show me what the best grocery store in the neighborhood was. Been reading the stuff you sent me. Thank Bruce for me too, if you get a chance. I sometimes feel like I should be doing something else. Something more. Helping you or something. But I've also been feeling relaxed just settling in." Bucky thought about telling Steve more, but he sounded in a hurry, and perhaps Bucky wasn't quite ready to share the details yet of getting to know his neighbor. One, in case it all kind of faded away once Darcy's boss returned and she no longer had heaps of free time to spend with his battered self. And two, for the moment, having it be something he didn't have to explain or question was very nice. He didn't know if the Avengers would need to background check anyone he spent too much time with. He didn't want that mucking up something simple. She hadn't asked him too many personal questions, so he didn't ask her either. They were just hanging out watching movies and eating together, talking about other things like the neighborhood and the movies they watched and music. He was quickly learning about entertainment he'd missed simply by listening to her talk about music and shows and then looking those things up online after she left.
"That's good. Try to stay relaxed. Take in whatever you can that has nothing to do with whatever madness is going on here. Just find yourself again, whoever that is now. I can tell you, there is still a lot of the Bucky I remember there. You just have to sort all the pieces however works for you." Steve didn't always express himself well in words, but it was plenty well enough for Bucky to know exactly what he meant. And the words felt almost as good as actually getting a hug from his best friend. And in the past couple weeks, even if Bucky didn't recall all the times and places and things that composed he and Steve's history and friendship, he definitely recalled what Steve meant to him.
"Thanks. Let me know how things go in Europe." He still worried about Steve not recalling half a day, and the things he'd overheard about this thing they were tracking. He wanted to know how things were going without stepping on any toes either. They'd already done so much for him.
"Will do." Bucky left it there, not sure how else to reply that wouldn't likely slow Steve down, and he knew the Avengers had a lot on their plates right now. If they were on the move again, he wanted to let them get it done.