Chapter 28 - Zemo

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After Bucky saw Zemo, he started talking about breaking him out as he takes us to some weird place. "What are you talking about? You wanna break Zemo outta jail?" I ask.

"Where the hell are we, Buck? Have you lost your mind?" Sam asks.

"We have no leads, no moves, nothing." Bucky nods.

"What we have is one of the most dangerous men in the world behind bars." I nod.

"And we also have eight Super Soldiers that are loose." Bucky sighs.

"Zemo's gonna mess with our minds. Especially yours. No offense." Sam points.

"Offense. Super Soldiers go against everything he believes in.
He is crazy, but he still has a code."

"Sam and I have been on the wrong side of that code, Buck and so have you." I point.

"He blew up the UN, he killed King T'Chaka and framed you for it. Did you forget that? You think the Wakandans forgot about it?
It's a rhetorical question. They didn't. I know why this matters to you, but it's pushing you off the deep end." Sam says.

"Guys, we don't know how they're gettin' the serum. We don't even know how many of them there are. Look, let me just walk you through a hypothetical. Can I walk you through a hypothetical?" He asks us.

"What did you do?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.

"I didn't do anything." He smiles. "The weakest point in any system isn't the software, the hardware, it's the meatware.
The human element. Now, in this lockup, it's nine to one, prisoners to guards. And if two prisoners start fighting, then the protocol says four guards have to respond. So why would two prisoners randomly start fighting at that moment? Who knows? There could be many reasons...But the point is, these things escalate. Lockdown procedures would have to be initiated, and with all those bodies flying around left and right, wouldn't be hard to slip down a hallway or two. And if the fire alarm got tripped while the prisoners were being separated.....someone could use the chaos to their advantage." Bucky nods.

"I don't like how casual you're bein' about this." Sam says.
"This is unnatural. Are you...And where are we, man?"
Suddenly a door open and Zemo walks in. "Whoa. Whoa, whoa." Sam points.

"No, listen."

"What are you doin' here?" I yell, lunging for him, Bucky grabs me.

"I didn't wanna tell you 'cause I knew you wouldn't let this happen." Bucky nods.

"What did you do?" Sam asks angrily.

"We need him, guys." Bucky nods.

"You're going back to prison!" I yell.

Zemo nods, "If I may..."

"No!" The three of us yell at him.

"Apologies."

"When Steve refused to sign the Sokovia Accords, you both backed him. You broke the law, and you stuck your neck out for me. I'm asking you to do it again." Bucky nods.

"I really think I'm invaluable..." Zemo says.

"Shut up." Sam points.

"Okay."

"If we do this, you don't make a move without our permission." Sam nods.

"Fair."

"Okay, Zemo, where do we start?" Sam asks as Zemo smiles, he waves us to follow. We walk into another room full of cars. "So our first move is grand theft auto?"

"These are mine. Collected by family over the generations.
I spent years hunting people Hydra recruited to recreate the serum." He searches through a car. "Because once it's out there, someone can create an army of people... like the Avengers. I ended the Winter Soldier program once before. I have no intention to leave my work unfinished. To do this, we'll have to scale a ladder of lowlifes."

"Well, join the party. We've already started." Sam nods.

"First stop is a woman named Selby. Mid-level fence I still have a line on. From there, we climb." Zemo walks off.



We drive to a private plane..."Woah." I whisper.

"So all this time you've been rich?" Sam asks.

"I'm a Baron, Sam. My family was royalty until your friends destroyed my country."



"Crazy." I whisper as we take off.

Zemo drinks champagne and smiles, "You don't know what it's like to be locked in a cell. Oh....That's right. You do." Zemo smiles at us.

"Why don't you tell us about where we're going?" Sam asks.

"I'm sorry. I was just fascinated by this. I don't know what to call it, but this part seems to be important. Who is Nakajima?" Zemo asks.

Bucky suddenly jumps up and grabs his neck, I stare in shock as he squeezes Zemo's neck with his metal hand. "If you touch that again, I'll kill you."

"I'm sorry." Zemo nods as Bucky sits. He looks over at me and slightly smirks as I squeeze my legs together.

"I understand that list of names. People you've wronged as the Winter Soldier." Zemo nods.

"Don't push it." Bucky points.

"I've seen that book." I point.

"It was Steve's when he came out of the ice. I told him about Trouble Man. He wrote it in that book. Did you hear it? What'd you think?" Sam asks.

"I like '40s music, so..."

"You didn't like it?" I ask. "Steve and I listened to it all the time." I smile.

"I liked it."

"It is a masterpiece, James. Complete. Comprehensive. It captures the African-American experience." Zemo nods.

"He's out of line, but he's right. It's great. Everybody loves Marvin Gaye." Sam points.

"I like Marvin Gaye." Bucky nods.

"Steve adored Marvin Gaye." Sam nods.

"You guys must have really looked up to Steve." Zemo nods. "But I realized something when I met him. The danger with people like him, America's Super Soldiers, is that we put them on pedestals."

"Watch your step, Zemo." I hiss.

"They become symbols. Icons. And then we start to forget about their flaws."

"Steve didn't have any flaws." I whisper to myself, taking out the photo he gave me.

"From there, cities fly, innocent people die. Movements are formed, wars are fought. You remember that, right? As a young soldier sent to Germany to stop a mad icon. Do we want to live in a world full of people like the Red Skull? That is why we're going to Madripoor." Zemo nods.

"What's up with Madripoor?" Sam asks. "You guys talk about it like it's Skull Island."

"It's an island nation in the Indonesian archipelago. It was a pirate sanctuary back in the 1800s." Bucky nods.



"It's kept its lawless ways. But we cannot exactly walk in as ourselves. James, you will have to become someone you claim is gone." Zemo smiles.

Angel - (Fem reader X Bucky Barnes)Where stories live. Discover now