Chapter 2
Chapter 2
It was icy cold, and once more in his life Tony was seriously glad about the heating in his suit. He could barely see anything in the snow, except for the figure right before him making its way up the mountain. Barnes seemed unfazed by the cold. If it bothered him at all, he was doing an excellent job hiding it.
Luckily, the man was easily visible in his black gear against the white snow. Tony had joked about someone at HYDRA definitely having a leather kink. Barnes didn’t seem to find that very funny.
In fact, Barnes didn’t seem to find anything amusing. Or enjoyable. Or sad, or even infuriating. In all the time Tony had spent around the other since he had kidnapped him, he hadn’t shown many emotional outbreaks. Confusion, sometimes, but other than that, nothing.
Barnes also had a serious case of RBF, which made it difficult to determine whether he was thinking about breaking Tony’s back or cute little kittens. It unnerved Tony quite a lot.
After the initial shock of being kidnapped by the embodiment of a rainy birthday, Tony had taken Barnes back to the headquarters. He’d interviewed him all night and well into the morning about the mission and what else he knew of Steve and Sam’s last whereabouts, getting short, precise replies that sounded as if he’d learned them by heart. That was probably the soldier in him.
And then he’d gone to work. Dug out every piece of information he had on HYDRA - he had done his homework on that, trying desperately to find a guilty party to punish for the murder of his parents. Had FRIDAY monitor news websites and blogs all over the world for anything, the smallest hint that could lead them to the two men.
It took time, and Tony noticed Barnes getting more and more restless. He was walking around the lab like a tiger in a cage, touching and picking up stuff here and there with no apparent actual interest in them. It drove Tony insane, and he would have loved to send him away at that point, but his lab was the only place nobody could just walk into, and therefore the only safe place for Barnes to be in. So he let him stay, and did his best not to snap at him.
Tony was eternally grateful for FRIDAY when she finally got them the hint that they needed. He was still getting used to her, missed JARVIS awfully, but she was starting to grow on him. And of course she was especially useful in situation like this, where no monitoring program would have worked as precise as she did.
It was footage of a security camera in India, barely worth viewing really, nothing exciting was happening on it. Except FRIDAY had spotted a man in the video that at first appeared rather normal and much like a tourist. If you looked closely though, the backpack on his shoulders looked suspiciously technical, and very much like Sam’s Falcon wings. She even pointed out a very small, pixelated part of the video that could very likely be the Stark Industries logo.
Now leaving his post behind just like that wasn’t very easy. Nobody would believe him suddenly wanting to go on a vacation, even though Rhodey had nagged him about it for ages. Tony was a workaholic, and only left his work when he was forced to.
So he turned to Natasha for help. He didn’t tell her what it was about, she’d probably want to tag along and that would only make things even more complicated than they already were. Luckily, Natasha didn’t ask nearly as many questions as Rhodey or anybody else would have. Together they gave a very convincing show of Tony having a breakdown during a routine mission that endangered the team. It didn’t really, of course, Natasha had the situation under control, but it was real enough for the others to believe it. Worried about his mental state, Ross suspended Tony for the time being and put Vision in charge. He also sent him to a therapist, who prescribed Tony a long vacation away from the Avengers and from work. That had taken some research and coaching by Natasha as well, but Tony was rather proud how easily he managed to push the therapist in that direction while maintaining his image. His ‚protests‘ met deaf ears, and so he ‚agreed‘ to the change of scenery.
Since that maneuver had taken a while to play out, they really had no time left to spare. So he packed his newest suit and Barnes into his private jet, and off they were to India.
With an enhanced photo of the man from the footage, they asked their way around the town, concentrating on the area around the security camera. Or rather Tony asked his way around with some Hindi words and lots of gesturing while Barnes followed him like a shadow, his hat pulled down into his face.
Tony was getting pretty discouraged with all the negative replies they got, but then finally, they got lucky. It was an old lady that recognized the man, the owner of a super small, cute shop Tony almost would’ve passed if Barnes hadn’t grabbed his arm to stop him. She was telling them something neither of them really understood, and Tony made a mental note to develop an accurate translation device for occasions like this. She ended up giving them a map and marked a point up on the mountain a couple of miles from the town. Tony gave her a generous tip before they headed off.
So now here they were, up on the icy mountain, surrounded by nothing but snow. Barnes hadn’t been happy about being carried up by Tony, but it had been the quickest way of reaching the place they needed to go to. He had landed when he couldn’t see anything anymore, and now he was following the other, the map open inside his helmet. He didn’t need it, though, Barnes was walking in the right direction without even using it. That had to be some secret superpower, Tony thought to himself as Barnes made a slight turn and climbed past a large rock covered by snow.
Finally something appeared between all that snow, a large, wooden hut right by the top of the mountain. The windows were dark, it seemed nobody was home. Tony joined Barnes by the entrance, typing something into the control panel on his arm. „Hold on, I’m gonna pick the lock“, he told the other, only to wince slightly at a sudden, very loud noise. He looked up in confusion, only to realize Barnes wasn’t standing next to him anymore. The guy had actually just kicked the door in as Tony had been distracted. „Well, that’s one way to do it“, Tony murmured and followed him inside, shutting the door behind him - as far as it was possible.
He had expected to find some sort of living area, a comfy room with a fireplace or something like that. He hadn’t expected to find a laboratory on top of this mountain. There were machines and work spaces that were far more advanced than the average lab equipment, more of Tony’s league than anything, and he didn’t like that at all. „What the hell is this?“, he murmured with a frown, getting out of the suit and joining Barnes at some odd machine. The man was staring at it, unmoved, and sort of tensed, as Tony realized. „Barnes? You alright?“, Tony asked when he got no reply.
„This is the chair“, the other replied. His voice was as deep and cold as ever, but Tony detected a slight shiver in it. It took him a moment to understand what Barnes was talking about.
„Wait - you mean, this is the thing they used to, you know - fry your brain?“ As Barnes nodded, Tony looked around the place again. „So, they brought you here to do that?“
At that, Barnes shook his head, his eyes still not leaving the machine. „I have never been here.“
Tony didn’t like the sound of that. If this thing was still in use, who knew what was happening up here. How many mindless soldiers HYDRA still had. It was unlikely they had any other super soldiers, Zemo had made short work of those, but it definitely could come in handy for a dark organization like them to have certain people in their hands.
An then an even worse thought came to his mind. If HYDRA had somehow gotten to Steve and Sam, and they had used this thing on them… He turned away now, alarmed, and started to search the hut for any hints that would help them find their friends. He was rummaging through some drawers when he heard Barnes voice again. „Stark“, the man called, standing by the window. Tony rushed over to him and followed his eyes. At first, he could see nothing in the snow, but then, a bit above them, a black spot was coming nearer, getting bigger. A second later, a man with wings had landed just outside the hut. Tony immediately recognized those wings, but that definitely wasn’t Sam wearing them. „Better get back in your suit“, Barnes warned, and Tony agreed. He headed over to the corner where he’d left it, and just as the helmet closed, the broken door was pushed open.
Barnes had drawn the gun from his belt and aimed for the man’s head, his eyes flaring with cold anger. „You.“
„Ah… The lost boy returns.“ The man at the door grinned as he shut the door, his eyes fixed on Barnes. Tony stayed in the shadows for now, waiting for the right moment to attack. „Don’t worry, soldier. We will have you up and running again in no time.“ The man took a few steps closer, and now as the light hit his face, Tony could see him properly. He was rather old, white hair thin on his head and wearing thick glasses. On his back were Sam’s wings, and he was carrying a bag with what looked like groceries. Then he spoke again, changing to Russian for some reason. „Желание“, he said, taking another step forward. „Ржавый. Семнадцать.“
Tony had some trouble understanding the words. He had taken up Russian a while ago, but he had let it slide. Yet when he saw the look of panic in Barnes’ eyes, he put two and two together, and charged. He grabbed the man by his neck and crashed him right to the ground, his gauntlet pressed to his mouth. „No, you fucking don’t“, he huffed, quite enjoying the shock and fear in the stranger’s eyes. Keeping him pinned to the ground, Tony lifted the face plate and turned back to Barnes, who seemed to have a mix of emotions between panic and burning fury. He had his gun still aimed at them, which worried Tony a bit. „Hey, come on, buddy, relax? I got him under control.“
Barnes stepped over, past Tony, until he could crouch right by his head. He pressed the gun to the man’s temple. „Barnes“, Tony said warningly, tense as well now. „Don’t.“
The other ignored him as he looked down at the man. When he spoke, his voice was no longer shivering, but the fury was evident. „Where is Steve?“
Tony was rather relieved that Barnes had not forgotten what they were here for, and pulled his hand off the guy’s mouth. He didn’t let him move even an inch, though. Not that he was trying, really, he seemed terrified, now that he no longer had any power here. Judging from this place anyway, he was probably just a scientist, not a soldier. „I d-don’t know what you’re talking about“, he stammered, whimpering as Barnes pushed the gun harder against his temple.
„Try again“, the soldier snarled.
„I - “ He trailed off, looking up at Barnes in terror. „Alright“, he said after a moment, swallowing hard. „They brought them here. I wiped them.“
Tony exchanged a brief look with Barnes, and he could see his repulsion mirrored in his expression. „Where are they now?“
„I don’t know“, the man replied, whimpering again as Barnes increased the pressure of the gun against his head once more. „I don’t know, I swear!“
„Guess, then“, Tony suggested. „Since you seem to know so much about Barnes, I’m sure you know where they’d take their brainwashed soldiers.“
„I - I guess - Siberia - “
„Destroyed“, Barnes grumbled right away. „Not there.“
„Then - maybe - N-Namibia?“
Tony looked at Barnes questioningly, the other shrugged. „It’s possible.“
„P-Please, don’t kill me“, the man whimpered.
„We’re not killing you“, Tony huffed. He got up and pulled the man along. With his free hand, he pulled off Sam’s wings from the man’s back and handed them to Barnes, who put one strap over his shoulder. „Let’s go.“
The silence on the jet was deafening. Tony tried his best not to think about what had happened to Steve and Sam, but it was difficult. He glanced at Barnes across him, who was sitting straight in his seat, staring out the window. He hadn’t said a word since they’d left the hut on the mountain, and Tony couldn’t blame him. „You alright, Barnes?“, he asked, watching him carefully.
The other didn’t turn or even showed any sign that he’d heard him. Tony was about to turn away, not expecting an answer anymore, when he spoke. „He used my trigger words.“
„That stuff in Russian?“, Tony inquired, but he didn’t need to hear the reply. „It’s odd that he knew them.“
„Hardly“, Barnes said quietly. „He worked with Pierce.“
Tony remembered that story, the whole SHIELD is HYDRA mess, although all he knew was what Steve and Natasha had told them. „I see“, he hummed, then fell silent again for while. „I thought you’d kill him“, he admitted then. It had looked like he wanted to, at least.
Barnes finally turned at that and Tony met those piercing blue eyes, and the view made Tony’s heart break. There was sadness, guilt, and pain in them, they looked much too old for a guy so young. „I don’t do that anymore“, he said softly, though with some kind of emphasis to it. As if he hoped, desperately, that Tony would believe him. The genius felt a sudden wave of affection that he couldn’t quite explain and swallowed hard, unable to tear his eyes away. Barnes did it for him, eventually, looking back out the window.
Tony followed his example, watching the dark clouds passing by them, lost in thoughts. James Buchanan Barnes, the man that still spooked his dreams. That human block of ice that barely spoke to him, that he really barely even knew, if he was honest. Tony was still tense in his presence, in a way, and he doubted that would change very soon.
And yet, at this moment, he wanted nothing more than to hug the man. Tell him it was alright. That he was doing fine. That Tony had forgiven him, or rather, that there really wasn’t anything to forgive.
As their destination was drawing nearer, Tony got up to ready the suit. Without really thinking about it, he put a hand on Barnes shoulder and squeezed it gently as he walked past.
Tony couldn’t see it as he vanished in the back of the plane, but this small gesture, this hint of a peace offering, brought a small smile to Bucky’s lips.