6938/I trust him.

I trust him.
Date of Scene:	15 July 2021
Location:	Coney Island
Synopsis:	Sam and Steve aren't so quick to trust Zemo is Bucky might be, but plans are made and, maybe, one of Bucky's biggest personal demons might finally be exorcised, at least partially.
Cast of Characters:	James Barnes, Helmut Zemo, Sam Wilson, Steve Rogers

---

James Barnes has posed:
    The Ural is nowhere to be seen, probably from air or street. Bucky's parked it back under the pier.

    In the time since he dragged poor Zemo here, Buck's been displaying all sorts of paranoid behavior. He's been pacing from one post the next, eyes darting this way and that, the occasional 'shhhh, did you hear that?' when Zemo wasn't even talking. It's been... bizarre. He's been firing off texts on his phone the entire time too.

    About five minutes or so ago, the pacing started to subside, along with the rest of the super paranoid, bordering on neurotic and psychotic behavior.

    Now, he's just sitting in the sand, legs bent, arms on his knees.

    "What's your father's name?" He asks Zemo after a long stretch of silence. His voice is even and steady, none of that chaos and panic left. ...and it seems, maybe, he remembers what the Baron said and... what he saw. "About those files..."

Helmut Zemo has posed:
     Zemo hasn't tried to stop Bucky from his compulsions. But he has waited and sat down in their clearing.

  "Heinrich. Heinrich Zemo. Twelfth Baron Zemo of Sokovia, he fancied himself a HYDRA supporter. He was a bastard." Zemo admits, turning to Bucky before continuing. "What about them?" He asks, figuring he already knows what he is going to say, but he wants to hear it from Bucky.

  "Who's extracting is anyway?" He asks, fearing the worst.

Sam Wilson has posed:
    It would have been easy for Sam to find Bucky and Zemo under this particular pier even if he wasn't aware of it beforehand. He can spot two figures when he swaps over to thermal imaging, and the temperature difference in one of their left arm's basically a dead giveaway.

    Look up.

    He lands just off the boardwalk, kicking up sand behind him as he runs out the last of his dive's momentum as the wings fold back into the EXO pack. There's no getting around that this is the Falcon suddenly appearing on a beach in Coney Island, despite the fact he's just in jeans and a t-shirt underneath the gear.

    And a Dodgers cap, which is maybe just Sam being an ass, but he's never stopped thinking it was funny. It's the joke that keeps on giving.

    Besides, everyone can give him shit about Louisiana not having a baseball team. Reciprocation!

    He pulls the hat off long enough to get his goggles off, and then he's replacing it as he walks, though he's pointedly keeping his distance. "Buck, it's me," he calls out. "It's Sam."

Steve Rogers has posed:
The bike would have been preferable; nothing like a motorcycle on a nice day. But you can't exactly fit four guys in one.

Instead it's an old truck, an extended-cab Toyota in sandstone tan. It's nothing at all remarkable. Nothing anyone would look twice at or even suspect have an Avenger behind the wheel. Which is exactly why Steve has it, and keeps it stashed in a storage lot, and makes sure it's ready to go with a full tank of gas and some supplies in the campershell to boot.

Just in case.

He rumbles past the pier first, a quick look around for any visible threats or agents closing in on his friends. Seeing none, Steve finds a good parking spot and pulls into it. When he steps out of the vehicle he's dressed in his usual 'casual' clothing, a loose-fitting button down shirt and rugged carpenter jeans with construction boots. Add in sunglasses and a hat and he blends just like everyone else.

He slips under the boardwalk and crosses the lower section of the wharf towards the pier. When he gets close enough to Bucky and Zemo, he removes his sunglasses and his expression grows cold and flinty.

"Truck's gassed and ready to go," he tells Bucky. The Winter Soldier gets A Look: Steve's not wild about getting help from Zemo, but it's not like they have a lot of options, either.

"It's clear, Sam," he says, raising his voice slightly for the Falcon.

James Barnes has posed:
    "Steve doesn't have to know *everything*." Because *everything* is something he tries to protect people from. He's already failed miserably at that with Sam, mostly through no fault of his own.

    He picks up a small piece of driftwood and starts drawing doodles in the sand with it. "No one. I mean Sam's coming here, maybe Steve, but... the rest of it..." Was just all in his damned head. "They're just coming. They're gonna make me take you back, y'know? To SHIELD custody at least." Odd that it doesn't actually sound like Bucky wants that to happen now maybe? "Go." He fishes the keys to the Ural from his pocket and holds them out. He LOVES that bike too. "I was going through it. You didn't have to stick with me and you did. So, go. Last chance."

    Then, here comes the Calvary and Bucky pushes himself to his feet to plant himself between Sam and Steve and Zemo. He's still holding the keys in the Baron's direction.

    The bandaid repair job on his cybernetic arm is starting to fail, likely due to the confrontation on the stairs at the apartment and even just the wild drive on the Ural to get here. A little *ZAP* of electrical charge causes his hand to clench and relax on its own. He visibly winces. That hurt. He'd be really hard pressed to stop both Steve and Sam from stopping Zemo on a *good* day, without full use of that arm, he doesn't stand a chance. Doesn't mean he won't try.

    "Go," he repeats again. "We have what we needed from you already." Last chance Zemo.

Helmut Zemo has posed:
     "Sam." He says, not that he's expecting a warm reception. Hopefully now that Bucky is down from his mania, he'll remember he fixed his arm.

  And then he did. The keys to the Ural held out were so tempting. He stared at them for a while, really thinking about it. "I have no country, no family to return to. It made being in prison easy. But...I can't let what they did pass without retribution."

  Then there was the other two. Coming at him like the villain he made himself out to be. It was deserved. His husky voice starts talking again. This was the first time that he'd spoken to Steve since that day, the day he pitted Bucky and him against one another. "You wanted me to get the cure. Is he cured yet?" He asks Bucky, looking right at the man, trying to ignore the patch job he did earlier. "I may be a villain. But I have my honor." He holds his hands up, speaking loud and clear. "There is a pistol on my back."

Sam Wilson has posed:
    Sam takes up his position there on the sand, and for a moment it's all eyes on Bucky. Only for that moment, though, and then he turns to look over his shoulder at Steve. He nods once, grim determination in the set of his mouth and the look in his eyes.

    "Hey Buck," he greets. His eyes definitely make the visual trek between the keys in Bucky's outstretched hands and Zemo, but at that Sam says nothing. It makes his left hand clench at his side, though, the strap of his goggles creaking in a suddenly too-tight grip.

    Whatever's going on here, between Bucky and Zemo, Sam doesn't have a good read on it. His eyes narrow, and he makes one step to close the distance between himself and the Baron, but then he stops.

    Deep breath. Not measured, just getting a bunch of oxygen into his lungs. "He isn't," Sam answers before Bucky can, and again he looks over his shoulder.

    Sure, it's well-established that Bucky will throw himself into danger because of Steve--has, if you count breaking Zemo out of prison--but Sam has to acknowledge that he's dumb enough to do the same. It'll just involve maybe a bit more sarcasm.

    "Look, I don't really care about what we do with Zemo right now. He's a small fish and we're barely treading water in a really big pond."

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve's eyes fix on that set of keys, too, but he doesn't acknowledge them. Not yet. Instead he listens to Zemo's calm words, then gives Bucky a level look.

"Thanks for the heads up," Steve tells Zemo. He grabs the European by the collar and pushes him into one of the pier supports, putting his hands behind his head. "Hands there. You move a limb, I break it," he tells Zemo. Steve searches him, none to gently and very thoroughly. Sleeves, wrists, beltline, jacket pockets, ankles. The sweep of Zemo's inner thigh is done with the blade of Steve's hand and it's not quite enough to be called a nut-tap, but anyone with dangly bits wouldn't enjoy it. The pistol's retrieved and unloaded, and Steve tosses the gun in one direction and the magazine in the other.

"I'm done," he declares, and folds his arms across his chest. He doesn't even spare Helmut the dignity of leaving his personal space, glowering down at the man. "I wasn't in on the plan to get you out of prison, and the only thing keep you from there is that Bucky thinks you could be useful. The second that I decide his math is off, you're going back into the darkest hole we can find." A fingertip pushes on Helmut's sternum. "Is any part of that unclear?"

James Barnes has posed:
    Bucky looks back at Zemo and studies the man for a moment, trying to judge the truth of his words maybe? Or silently trying to ask if he's *sure*. Then he slips the keys back into his pocket and says, "Keep the gun, might need it with those soldi -" ers still out there, but he's cut off by Steve taking the gun. "That's mine," he grouses. And now it's all sandy!

    When his attention shifts to Sam, he offers a simple, "He didn't leave." Not that Sam or Steve ever have either, mind. But Zemo had so many reasons to leave and didn't. He quietly and ... stupidly... just followed along with all of Bucky's bizarro shit. The why doesn't matter right this second, he might think to ask later.

    That *ZAP* happens again, more intense and Bucky actually has to struggle to stifle a little yelp of surprise and pain. His hand clenches into a fist and, for a long few moments he can't get it to uncurl.

    He inserts himself as much between Zemo and Steve as he can and levels his pale blues on his friend's. His voice is pitched low. "Steve, he was useful, today. I don't know how far off I'd have gone if he hadn't..." Just been there, keeping Bucky at least somewhat grounded, just by... being there.

    "But you and me? We need to talk. I promised I'd try to tell you what I need, when I need something. This is me, telling you, that I need something. It's been three fucking years, Steve. I still live every damned day looking over my shoulder, waiting for it to happen. I can't live that way anymore. We *need* to find some sort of solution before I go down the crazy rabbit hole and can't find my way back, okay?"

    Certainly Steve and Sam will both know what he's talking about. Hell, Zemo probably knows.

    He looks to Sam and asks, "Okay?" Bros, we need to get off our asses and finally *fix* this shit instead of just talking about it, a'ight?

Helmut Zemo has posed:
     Zemo doesn't fight the search, none at all. He turns his head and says something to him while Steve is on the top part of his body.

  Other than that, Zemo remains quiet, suffering the indignity he forced himself into, before Steve turns and plants that finger in his sternum. "No, all clear." He says, even looking down to the ground for a moment, showing no opposition at the moment.

  "If I may..." He attempts to interject.

Sam Wilson has posed:
    Right now, Sam's not making any moves. When Steve passes him, Sam just watches, arms crossed over his chest. The TSA-worthy search makes him blow out a breath and stare up at the sky, eyebrows raised. Eventually he gives a little shake of his head.

    Yeah, sure. This is happening. Okay.

    "I wish we could trust him," Sam tells Bucky, resignation in his voice. Because it would be nice, after all the people they no longer can. "Way I see it is, either he's legitimately driven by his desire to take out," and he takes a brief pause to scan their surroundings, "HYDRA, or he's playing us all in an attempt to get close to you two and pull the same shit as last time."

    Sam cuts himself off again and takes a step forward, because he saw that, whatever the hell *that* was. The sudden look on Bucky's face and the curl of his hand. Maybe it's just that Sam himself has been dealing with similar issues--though his are all in his head, certifiably--that he picks up on it at all.

    But he doesn't say anything about it yet. Just watches, and waits, though he's obviously unhappy about it.

    "The thing is, both of those are fully within his wheelhouse, so I don't know if I'll ever be able to believe one over the other."

    Whatever they're doing now, though, Sam's just going to deal with Zemo's presence here, it seems. He nods at Bucky. "Yeah. There's no quick and easy method for removing HYDRA's influence from you but there's gotta be some kind of workaround, at least temporarily. We should..." He looks at Steve. "Maybe Tony?"

    And then Zemo speaks up. Sam doesn't even look at the Baron, just lifts a hand to point at him as he says "No!"

Steve Rogers has posed:
"With Zemo?" Steve balks at Bucky. His eyes are more deeply shaded, red-rimmed, and splotches of discoloration can be seen on his face. "Zemo's going to help with that?" He looks at Sam, nodding emphatically in agreement with his decision to cut Zemo off.

"See here's what I think, Bucky," Steve says. "I think this guy knows how to get in your head. I think he's promising you things he can't deliver on, and when you find out, he's going to tell you all the ways it's not his fault. And the first chance he gets to walk away, to get clear, he'll do it, and if he thinks he can stab us in the back without consequences, he'll do that, too."

All the while he stares daggers into Zemo's face, with a complete contempt for his person or what former station in life Zemo held in Sokovia.

James Barnes has posed:
    "No, he's not going to help with that," Bucky replies with a frustrated growl coloring the words. Unless. He actually looks over at Zemo and asks, "Can you?" Help with that? Seriously Bucky?

    He nods in Sam's direction, "Yeah, maybe Stark? I just know something has to give, man. I know you guys can't understand, don't get it, there's no way. But... I'm afraid to move forward when I know at any second they can drag me back by saying a few fucking words. That *has* to change somehow."

    A long look back at Zemo and then a look leveled at Sam and his gaze finally rests on Steve. "You weren't there. You didn't hear him, when he talked about how he was sorry for what they put me through. I did. ...and I think he meant it."

    Pale blues shift to Sam now when he adds, "He's seen the R.A.B.I.D. file, Sam. He's a fruitcake and a zealot and purple's a stupid color." No offense Zemo. "...but I believe he's really..." He really feels sorry for Bucky? Nah, he's not going to say that. "...hes got nothing left, his family's gone, his country's fucked. ...and us and him? We have a common fucking enemy. Sometimes that's all it takes to turn a new leaf."

Helmut Zemo has posed:
     Sam's outburst makes Zemo just close his mouth, and nods. "Apologies." He whispers.

  Helmut stands there and takes it on the chin at least. Not saying a word as the others talk about him. The moment Steve had said at the first chance to leave, he started to raise his index finger...but lowers it. Not worth it. The Sokovian Royal really thinks that he should have taken those keys. "I..." an exhale. "There were many files on you I cracked. I did not look for anything to reverse..." He gestures to the arm.

  Purple being a stupid color...is something he brushes off. Though he does think of Sokovia's flag with that same shade of purple that he still wore, even right now. "It goes with my skin."

  The fruitcake bit though...that doesn't translate in his brain, translating back to Sokovian.

Sam Wilson has posed:
    "Look, I'm willing to accept that right now--and for as long as HYDRA is in a position of power--Zemo's goals align with ours. We're short on allies," and Sam has some kind of physical reaction to saying that word in reference to the Baron, going abruptly tense and actually grimacing, before he continues, "And he probably has valuable intel about HYDRA that we could use.'

    He doesn't put himself in-between Steve and Bucky, though. That's their business to sort out, much as Sam looks between the two of them with his shoulders squared as if he *wants* to say something.

    But he keeps quiet.

    Except to say, "Man, the only reason you hate fruitcake is because you've never had my TT's. Wasn't everything baked with sawdust back at the turn of the century, anyway?"

    Sam sighs. Well, let the super soldiers have their moment. He side-steps around to angle himself closer to the Baron. "Do you still have those files, somewhere?" he asks.

Steve Rogers has posed:
"Tony's indisposed," Steve says with a tight-lipped expression. "But I might know someone."

He looks at Bucky and Sam, then glares at Zemo. "Don't move from this spot," he says. The big soldier moves towards his friends, partially turning his back on the Sokovian.

"This is a big ask, Buck," Steve tells his friend, bluntly. "This goes beyond pulling favors. This is jail time. It's the kind of thing I can't help you with." He rubs a palm across his face, wiping away fatigue.

"Even if I can -somehow- get him remanded to my custody, you're bringing a pit viper into the nest. Yeah, I'm sure he hates HYDRA, but he doesn't hate us much less. So what insurance do you have that he won't take off running? Or put a bullet in your skull?"

He gives Bucky an expression of supreme frustration, practically pleading with him. "Give me -something-, man. Anything."

James Barnes has posed:
    "I believe him." That's typically enough for Steve, but maybe this time it won't be so he adds, "Tomorrow, I'll take him to Pennsylvania to see Ruby..." Which might mean squat to Steve too, but... "She'll know if he's telling the truth or not."

    He looks back at Zemo again, gaze lingering there before, "I don't think he hates us. I don't think he ever did. I think he needed *something* to hate, to blame for his suffering and it fell on us."

    Bucky's expression is a little mix of lopsided grin and seriousness, it works on him though. "And if I'm wrong, we kick his pansy ass like we always do, yeah?"

Helmut Zemo has posed:
     "If it still is there. I had backups. But this was before they raided my home in Sokovia." Zemo offers, before he got stopped by Steve again. He raised his hands again, held them there for a moment before lowering them.

  He really had to think about it, if they managed to find his backup. But he'd have to see what exactly was left.

Sam Wilson has posed:
    The word indisposed raises some alarm bells in Sam's mind, but he cuts a quick look towards Zemo and decides to ask later.

    Seriously, though. Indisposed? Is he always going to be out of the loop on things?

    This conversation is still mostly happening between Steve and Bucky, though Sam is involved now by deign of standing where he is. His left hand clenches and unclenches at his side as he looks between the two super soldiers that are somehow also his best friends, and he huffs out a humorless bit of laughter. "I'll take him," he says, just about immediately after he's come to this decision in his head judging by the surprise showing on his own face as the words leave him.

    But a second later, he nods. Sure. Yeah, this was Sam's idea all along. He commits to it like it was, at least.

    "Separating him from the two of you is the best option here no matter how you swing it. He and I can work on comparing intel and I can route everything through Redwing for analysis and encryption before sending it off to you." Sam isn't sparing a glance back at Zemo here, though he can see the Baron in his peripheral vision.

    To Sam's credit, when he catches movement--Zemo lifting his hands--he doesn't tense. Though it could be he's already so worked up that there's really no more tensing he can do.

    "You both can look into some sort of... stopgap measure for the trigger words. If Zemo scrounges up any relevant info I'll make sure it gets to you."

James Barnes has posed:
    This time, the shock his arm gives him almost staggers him. It would if Bucky didn't reach out and steady himself by grabbing at Steve. It sort of shoves everything else aside, THAT at least needs to be taken care of now. "Fuck..." hissed out between clenched teeth and a lock jaw. The thing completely seizes up on him for a few seconds.

    If it keeps getting worse, could those shocks actually cause damage? What if one of them really travels through that metal reinforced rib cage? Unlikely to happen, but do any of them really *know*? Dude's heart is kinda close there. It's hard to think about that thing being a liability when it's stopping bullets. Yeah, they need to move on that and in a more official capacity than Zemo and a hammer and screwdriver. That Steve and Sam will never know about.

    Once he recovers though, his new found trust in an old enemy is reinforced when he readily agrees, "Yeah, you two go." He would never agree to it if he thought, for a second, Sam would be in danger with the Baron.

Helmut Zemo has posed:
     Zemo continues to stand by, not moving from where he stands. Though, he does rest against the column he stood next to. It's been a long day, getting shot at, getting his life threatened multiple times. It's great!

Sam Wilson has posed:
    Well, that's all the confirmation Sam needs. He excuses himself and then makes his way up onto the boardwalk so that he can have an awkward, semi-private conversation regarding transport that involves words like 'Zemo' and 'trunk' and 'please'.

    Because like hell Sam's going to carry Zemo bridal-style through the skies of NYC.

James Barnes has posed:
    Once again, Bucky fishes the keys to the Ural from his pocket. He whistles to get Zemo's attention and tosses the keys WAY through the air to him. Nobody puts Zemo in a corn... trunk. "Wreck you buy it!"

    Then he's asking Steve, "So, if Stark's not available, who you got that can make this arm stop attacking me at irregular intervals at least?"

Sam Wilson has posed:
    Sam comes back in time to do exactly that, after he pulls a "sike, never mind, we got it" on whoever he called. It's an address in Harlem that Sam gives over, after a moment of deliberation.

    And then, "I will pick you off the back of that bike if you so much as think about taking a wrong turn. Try not to get your face caught on every street-facing camera between here and there."

    He doesn't deploy the wings until Zemo's on the move.

Helmut Zemo has posed:
     "I could..." Nevermind. It's clear Steve's gonna steamroll that idea from the get go. Has anyone actually told Zemo where he's supposed to go?

  The keys are caught, and he raises a brow to the thought. "Sounds good." He comments, before heading back to where they stashed the motorcycle.

James Barnes has posed:
    If there was ever a loaded question in the history of loaded questions, 'Has anyone told Zemo where to go' is one.

    Bucky trusts Sam to get Zemo where they need to be and he trusts Zemo to do what needs doing once they get there. Maybe the trust is misplaced, but right now it is what it is.

    He watches the two leave and then makes his way to the truck with Steve.

    Here's to hoping the universe gives them all five minutes piece to get what needs doing done.