Chapter Seven
If he got creative, Bucky counted four exits in the room as he ate with Steve. One of them was the balcony window, and considering they appeared to be on a high floor, that one was more of a death wish than an escape. At least, it was a death wish for a guy with one arm. Not for much longer, an unexpectedly delighted voice piped up in his head. He had a mental image of swinging from balcony to balcony like a boss metal armed war monkey, and the image caused him to grin around his fork.
"What?" Steve noticed.
"My brain is being weird." Bucky shrugged one shoulder, not sure if he could explain the image to Steve without sounding like a crazy fool. "How long have you had this place?"
"Okay, subject change, but about three years."
"What's the rent?" Bucky queried, looking around at all the space. "Can't be cheap."
"I haven't paid the owner a dollar for rent." Steve replied, a little too casually.
"Uh-huh." Bucky nodded, just as casual. He wondered if Steve would explain anyways or explode with his secret. Damn. This place was free? Being a demon didn't seem so bad if it had these perks.
"You're not curious?" Steve finally burst.
"You want me to be?" Bucky returned calmly, twirling a forkful of spaghetti, his attention seemingly focused on the plate. He was cackling inside. Needling Steve was fun after all the stunts the guy had pulled.
A loud knock came at the door, sharp three beats, pause, sharp two, pause one final rap, and Steve's face hardened. "Go to the master bathroom." Steve ordered. "Now, please, Buck."
Bucky stood, but he didn't like the look in Steve's eyes. It was part pain, part anger, part what could have been old fears. Bucky knew that look. He'd felt it on his own face during war. "Do you need backup?"
"No, pal, I need you to be safe; I can handle them if you're locked in the bathroom. Please, Buck." The knocks came again.
"Just don't answer if it's going to be that dangerous." Bucky suggested, then Steve was grabbing Bucky, and he found himself just outside the bathroom with no Steve a moment later. He glared at the wall but wandered into the bathroom, partially out of curiousity.
The tile was made of unusual looking rock, and it covered every part of the wall, floor, door and ceiling. Bucky frowned. He sat on the edge of the bath to feel at the tile, and he noticed one of the bathroom doors was cracked open; something was glowing in there.
He pulled it open to find a security camera monitor. Damn. He looked carefully across the screen and found a door with three people standing in front of it. Two men, one woman. On the black and white screen, it looked like an old movie, one where the good guy is about to get ambushed. Steve opened the door.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Maria glared at the door. SR1939 was being difficult. The door cracked open as she raised her fist to give a final warning.
"Hill." SR1939 greeted, his crimson eyes cautious. "What brings you here?" Odinsen shifted threateningly at her side, glowering. His introduction to SR1939 had been messy, if memory served her right. At her left, Barton was scanning the apartment.
"A check." Odinsen growled.
"Who's your guest?" Barton asked quietly.
SR1939 glanced back at the two plates in the table, then bristled at the three. "None of your business. He's not in need of your 'monitoring,' friends; sorry to disappoint."
"Do we have any need of reminding you of the Code?" Maria asked.
"I'm your cleanest customer, sweetheart." SR1939 sneered.
"Then you won't mind us doing a routine checkup?" Maria asked coolly. SR1939 gave her a look that said drop dead quite clearly, but he held the door open. "Thank you for your cooperation." She stepped forward, but SR1939 held up a hand.
"First, may I know why I am being subjected to this?"
"Because, SR1939, three other supernatural beings have been released into the city, and it is imperative to find and educate them before any ... problems arise. I'm sure you understand that." Maria explained icily. The being that called himself Steve smiled viciously and allowed them in.
"Do you swear that you have abided by the Code?" Maria inquired once they were situated in the living area. A brand glowed through SR1939's shirt.
"I have made a deal without Consulting." He gritted out, the glow lessening. The burning brand on his tongue probably contributed to his terse tone. His inborn resistance was likely the other contributor. "A benevolent deal to save someone's life." He added belligerently. The glow faded away, and he rubbed at it angrily.
"So you can gnaw at their soul like the rat you are?" Odinsen scoffed.
"Thor." Maria's tone was flat, but Odinsen silenced immediately. "Have you considered the Director's offer?"
"He'll use his own legs, severed, as crutches on the path to Hell before I join The Shield." SR1939's responses were inevitably gruesome and creative, and he did not disappoint. Maria nodded, unperturbed, before she uttered the standard security incantation, drawing on Odinsen's strength to do so. The apartment revealed no trace of other demonic beings, though the afterauras of three mutants and one warrior lingered strong. Visitors that meant something to 'Steve' most likely. The warrior's aura was strongest. Likely the visitor that SR1939 had stashed away before answering the summoning knock.
"Do you swear to abide by the Code? To keep your presence discrete? To Consult before a deal? To manage your affairs by the laws of the Code? To uphold the -" Maria began.
"I swear." SR1939 interrupted, his brands flaring white hot. Pain rushed over his face, but it passed quickly. Maria didn't waste her sympathy on the creature. She nodded to SR1939, gathered Barton and Odinsen, and left as abruptly as they had come.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Bucky watched the entire exchange on camera, maddened but the lack of audio and the screen glitches during several parts of the conversation, startled by the raw brutality of the blond giant's appearance and the cunning focus of the other guy. After locking the door, Steve sank to the floor with a shudder.
Bucky scrambled for the main room