Rhodey shouldn't have left the problem that was Barnes behind. It had been a mistake on his part. Of course, Rogers had always been difficult to deal with, and the Winter Soldier's cell was designed to be impenetrable, but that wasn't an excuse. Both super soldiers were now out in the wind, and they would probably create even more problems. They couldn't be trusted to stay under the radar. Rhodey's team would need to find them and they could only hope that the damages created in the meantime would be minimal.
A psychiatrist had been hired by the UN to conduct an evaluation of Barnes. They needed to know how much of the man was left in there. Hydra wasn't known for doing things nicely. Seventy years in their clutches certainly had left more than scars. They could have locked him up somewhere and thrown away the key. It wasn't exactly like the man was not dangerous even before his years as a prisoner of war. During the war, Barnes had been an expert marksman. After that, the Winter Soldier had gained a reputation to be deadly with any kind of weapon. The man could kill you with a spoon and then just go about his business.
Hydra had managed to stay hidden for seventy years. The Winter Soldier existed only as a phantom in the matrix. If Barnes had fled on his own, authorities might not have been able to find him ever again. Fortunately, Rogers was as quiet as a bull in a china shop. Jarvis would track them down again.
Rhodey and members of the task force found the psychiatrist in his hotel room. The real one who had been hired in the first place. Someone had murdered him, replaced him during the assessment and that person knew the trigger words in the proper order. As a soldier, Rhodey knew a thing or two about brainwashing techniques. They had to learn about that in order to fight it. Key words had been used before. The difficulty had always been to find the particular series of words that had been used and also in what language they should be spoken into.
"I have found a file, Colonel." said Jarvis in his ears.
"Rhodey Bear. We're coming." intervened Tony before the AI had time to say more.
"Tones, you don't have to. We don't know where they are for now. We can deal with it."
"I know that. I don't doubt you guys. It's just... it's something I have to do."
Rhodey couldn't deny his best friend his chance to alleviate a bit of his guilt, and anyway Tony was coming whether they liked it or not. With a proper team around him, at least, Iron Man would be safe from harm. The genius didn't need to go through any more ordeals. Loki, Agatha and Hela looked very concerned too. Tony was their friend too. The trickster still used his magic to skywalk back to New York and bring the rest of his team back.
They needed a place for the night, so Tony found them a very nice hotel for all the team to stay. The genius didn't know how to do things without making sure that the people around him had the best of the best. This was yet another example of his generosity. He may not have been present at the start of that particular mission, but he was aware that the rest of his team, particularly the healers, would require some rest.
Money was more than helpful in those situations. Finding a hotel at the last minute would have been impossible if Tony Stark, his reputation and wealth wasn't among them. The restaurant's kitchen stayed open late for them. They ordered a great deal of food. The Asgardians had a large appetite on any given day but today they would eat even more, their energy completely depleted. Tony was very obviously subdued, but no one pointed out the obvious. It would make no difference now, only time would tell.
"I've gone through our guy file." Tony said at the end of their meals. "His name is Zemo. Former Colonel of the Sokovian Armed Forces and commander of their 'death squad'. He left not too long after Ultron. His family was part of the casualties during those events. As a result, he appears to have something against Shield and Rogers' Team. He is blinded by his revenge. I don't think he will make the difference between the Avengers and us."
