Begrudging Friends // TFATWS

14

As the group began making their way to the funeral, they heard a voice say, "Karli Morgenthau is too dangerous for you guys to be pulling this shit."

John and Lemar walked down a flight of stairs and Delia muttered, "Oh great."

Bucky walked closer to John and Lemar before saying, "Ah! How'd you find us now?"

"Come on, man," Lemar replied as he shook his head while he and John continued down the staircase. "You really think three Avengers can walk around Latvia without drawing attention?"

John quickly spoke before anyone else could. "No more keeping us in the dark. You could start by telling us why you broke him out of prison."

Bucky said as the three slowly walked up to the bottom of the staircase, "He did that himself, technically."

"This better be an unbelievable explana..."

Nia cut him off. "Nope. It isn't. Back up."

Sam put a hand in front of her and nodded before saying, "Hey, take it easy before it gets weird."

Zemo smirked. "I know where Karli is." The six walked around John and Lemar.

John placed a hand on Zemo's chest and demanded, "Well, where?"

Sam sighed. "All we know is, it's a memorial. So we're gonna intercept her there."

"That means civilians," Lemar clarified, looking around the group. "High risk of casualties."

Jamie frowned. "Karli's a leader. She's not going to put her people in the line of fire unless she absolutely has to."

They continued down the street and John said, "All right, good, we'll move in fast. Take her by surprise."

"No, I wanna talk to her alone," Sam told him.

"I'm not losing her again."

Nia glanced at Sam. "He's right. The person closest to her died, she's vulnerable. If there's as good a time as any time to reason with her, it's now."

"What? No. Wait, no." John grabbed her wrist, causing her eyes to narrow. "No! Stop. Hold on. Stop, okay?"

Nia yanked her hand away and said in a low tone, "Touch me again and I'll burn your fucking face off."

John and Nia glared at each other and he let her go before saying, "I think we're way past reasoning with her, unless you forgot the fact that she blew up a building with people still in it."

"Sam, you walk in there cold, she could kill you," Lemar warned.

"If I go in hot and the op goes wrong, more people die," Sam reasoned.

John looked between Bucky, Jamie and Delia before asking, "You're all gonna let him do this? Are you three gonna let your partner walk into a room with a Super Soldier alone?"

Delia pursed her lips. "Sam can do it."

"He's dealt with worse," Bucky added. "And he's not our partner."

"I used to counsel soldiers dealing with trauma, okay?" Sam said. "This is right in my wheelhouse."

"Yeah, I know," John stated. "And I know those soldiers, which is why I know this is a bad idea."

"Wait, John," Lemar called. "If he can talk her down, it might be worth a try."

John scoffed and pointed to Zemo. "We'll deal with you later."

Zemo lifted his hands slightly. "I'm sure it will all come to an agreeable conclusion." He lowered his hands, gesturing to a path with one hand in front of him. "My associate is just up ahead." They walked up the path, Zemo leading the way. Zemo stopped when they got to a little girl and greeted, "Hello, my friend." He handed her some money. "This is for your family." The little girl pocketed the money. "Can you show us the way?" The little girl nodded, motioning for the group to follow.