Battlefield ★ Bucky Barnes

XV. Shouldn't Be A Problem

The next morning, Steve, Connie, and Natasha found themselves back in Washington D.C. They were in the outskirts of the city, though, so for now they were safe from harm, or so they hoped.

They had just arrived at Steve's friend Sam's house, to which Connie and Natasha were slightly on edge about. Connie had only met him once before, and their meeting had been very brief, but she was very particular about trusting people, especially when every one of her coworkers were trying to murder her. Steve seemed to trust this man, though, and if Steve trusted him, Connie—and Natasha—would take the chance and do so as well.

Steve delivered a few knocks to Sam's back door. After several seconds of waiting, the door was pulled open, revealing a slightly shocked and unprepared Sam Wilson. He hadn't been counting on Steve Rogers showing up at his home any time soon, let alone with two of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most respected agents. The three of them were covered in soot and dust, however, which left Sam to believe that they were here for a rather specific purpose.

"Hey, man," Sam greeted Steve.

Steve let out a breath. "I'm sorry about this, but we need a place to lay low."

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us," Natasha added.

"Not everyone," Sam assured them as he moved aside to allow them inside.

Connie and Natasha went in first, followed by Steve. Sam closed and locked the door behind them, pulling down the shades as well to prevent anyone from seeing them inside. After doing so, he turned to face the trio, all of whom seemed to be at a loss of what to do next.

"If you guys wanna shower or something, you can," Sam told them. "I have two bathrooms."

"How about clothes?" Connie asked. "Is there any way you can get Natasha and I some clothes?"

"An ex-girlfriend of mine left a few outfits here and I never got around to getting them back to her. You can take what you need," Sam told them.

Connie nodded in thanks and moved to head for the bathroom, only she realized she didn't know where it was. "Um, where is the bathroom?"

"Down the hall to your right," Sam explained. "The towels are in the closet and the clothes are in the room across the hall in a bin."

Connie nodded again and took off down the hall, leaving Steve to follow after her. He was slightly worried about her and had been since their time in New Jersey. Of course, he couldn't see her face in the video footage or the images Zola had provided them with, but he knew it was her. She had explained to him some of the details regarding her time working what she believed to have been the Soviet Union, and now that he had learned the truth about the organization she was actually involved with, he wanted to make sure that she was okay after it.

"Hey," Steve said quietly as he entered into the guest bedroom across the hall from the bathroom.

Connie looked up at Steve from her spot on the floor in front of the bin, her eyebrows furrowed in question. "Yes?"

"You okay?"

Connie shrugged and dug through the box of clothes, removing a black leather jacket, a black shirt, a pair of black jeans, and black ankle boots. "I just found out I spent sixty-some years working and killing for Hydra—the organization that took Bucky captive in 1943, and the organization that put you in the ice. Why don't you tell me?"