4209/Uncle Sam Wants You!

Uncle Sam Wants You!
Date of Scene:	06 April 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Cap meets with Bucky and pulls him off the job he'd been put on.
Cast of Characters:	Winter Soldier, Captain America

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Winter Soldier has posed:
The Winter Soldier left SHIELD nearly two weeks ago, just after a meeting with James Rhodes in the medical lab. It was noticed right away: just a day after. All it takes is a day of lag, to lose that scent into the wind, though. The agent responsible for telling Steve Rogers if the soldier left knew that the Captain wouldn't like it, either, but brought the news all the same. No answers. Sorry Captain. His things are still here. The tracked motorcycle doesn't work if he doesn't use it.

That week rolled by in silence, and time slid into a second, without anything. But some information came up, finally, that brought a flashlight into an otherwise dark search. There's a War Dog informant that popped up, and an agent, Agent Gordon, is set to go meet with him, at a run down motel in a middle-class section of the city. With what clearly prompted the Soldier to leave, this is the best lead possible. And the Captain can certainly pull rank, to either substitute, or go along. Agent Gordon is a bit star-struck, which helps.

The motel isn't as bad as the surrounding area suggested it would be. There are long rows of rooms, tons of parking. The whole thing is poorly lit, the pool uncovered and freezing, visible through the long slats of black rail that makes the whole of the motel feel tense and tight, a little too tightly secured to be welcoming.

Captain America has posed:
    When the Agent had come to Captain Rogers with intel on the Winter Soldier's departure it didn't really have a good impact on the man. But it wasn't his fault. But then that loss of sight on the target is made up for when the man returns with the small tidbit about an informant and a location where an exchange of intel was to be made.
    "I'll make the meet, you can stay on ready standby in case things go pear-shaped. Sound good, Agent?" He tells the man, and perhaps it's the rank or just that it's Captain America asking... well Agent Gordon doesn't really object.
    So it's at the appointed hour when the man in the bomber jacket walks up on that coiled tight motel, the chill in the wind not helping to set the mood any better as the old veteran moves towards the room for the meet. He's wearing the traditional incognito garb chosen by SHIELD operatives on the go. Jacket, jeans, dodgers hat, tinted glasses. Subtle.
    His footsteps are quiet as he moves down the walk outside of the rooms, then pauses at the one with the right number. He'll tilt his head slightly, listening just a few moments as he stands there to the sounds of not just that room but the night, then his knuckles will rap on the door. Just a simple double tapping knock.

Winter Soldier has posed:
"It's open," barks a masculine voice from inside. There's no hiding exactly who it is inside, either, not from Steve. Steve probably will pick up instantly, just from that alone, that it's Bucky that called to him.

Bucky is laying on his back on the bed, one leg bent and up, the other loosely out: thick boots on, getting mud on the bedspread. He's obviously undercover: jeans, loud shirt, sports jacket. One hand, his right, is easily draped on the pistol resting on his lower abdomen. All the fingers on that hand are bandaged, bloody. Left hand is gloved, black leather. His hair is different, bleached and slicked back. He needs to shave.

The finger that gently stroked the trigger moves aside immediately, though, at first sight of the man at the door. The bored, narrow expression he was wearing cracks right away, with a few rapid blinks. He froze up.

Captain America has posed:
    Slipping into the room, Steve had one hand on the door knob and then the other rests on the jam as if to guide it back to the closed position with the minimal amount of noise. But once that's done he turns back around to face the Winter Soldier even as he stuffs his hands back into the pockets of his jacket.
    He'll see the way Cap gives the place the once over, noting the differences in decor and what, if any, gear that he's brought with him. But having taken the quick glance of a sweep, he looks back to the now blonde man and sort of cocks an eyebrow. "New look for you?" He says, eyeing the hair.
    Then he meets the other man's eyes and gives a faint half-smile. "Hey, Buck."

Winter Soldier has posed:
Bucky doesn't recover immediately, there's a little time needed for him to catch up on the change from what he expected. Were this a dangerous situation, the switch would flip instantly. This one, though? There's some raw silence and subtle movement of Bucky's jaw, as if grinding his teeth on nothing a few times. A flutter of stress. Or something else.

Bucky's eyes slide aside to the bedspread at the comment regarding his hair, unreadable and blank, nearly vacant, but he does set the gun down near him, instead of holding it.

When Steve catches his eyes again as he looks back, there's an automatic, brief move of lips to mirror that half-smile. If Bucky was 'in character' before, all of that is totally shredded. "Steve," Bucky answers. Just that. Somehow the word weighted a thousand pounds. But then Bucky starts to sit up, and drags his legs in to sit cross-legged on the bed, more responsive.

Captain America has posed:
    "Figured you'd drop me a line before you started working again." He looks around again as he closes the distance but stops a few feet from the man, standing before him with his hands still in the pockets of that old worn bomber jacket. For a small amount of time he seems to be looking Bucky over, tilting his head one way... then the other, as if hoping that some other angle might offer more insight than the other.
    He reaches behind him and pulls up a chair. Once their eyes meet again he sort of lifts his eyebrows and looks upwards, around, an old signal between them asking if the room's monitored and if he should be careful.
    But then the nod of affirmation is given that it's clear an so he says. "Fury got you out doing this? He told me he'd give you as much time as you needed." He seems wary, not sure if he should be angry or not. Then he adds, "Or is this something you took on on your own?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
A soft, mildly forced laugh comes out first. "This turned into more than it was supposed to be," Bucky answers, slowly stretching his forearms out, resting palms, loose, against his knees. The position is relaxed. The laugh leaves his tone. "It always does. ...But knocking around was not getting me somewhere new." He looks around the motel room, as if looking through it to other ghosts outside the walls. "I don't know that this has either. Probably the opposite. But it's helping someone." Bucky looks down.

"I started it. Fury... has kept it going," Bucky says, twisting his bandaged hand in a slow roll of fingers to depict ongoing time. Just kept going. Bucky settled into it.

Captain America has posed:
    "Alright," Steve responds almost instantly as Bucky tells him that the task that's before him is something he set into motion and has been dealing with. Then he adds, "So what do we have in front of us?" And as easy as that, the shouldered burden becomes shared between the two of them, that tone of voice and clear focus stating directly that if it's something that James is dealing with then it's something that he'll take on as well.
    "I'm here as your contact, so one way or the other you kinda have to tell me everything." At that his lip twitches lightly, even as he sets his stubborn sense of what needs to be done aimed squarely at whatever Bucky's taken on.
    "It's gotta be something huge for you to..." He sort of lifts a hand to point at the very bleached blonde hair even as he shakes his head and lets his smile shift into a smirk.

Winter Soldier has posed:
The hair comment gathers a snort, and a sudden little ray of real Bucky coming in. He rolls his eyes a little and flips his head, smile appearing. Naturally, the hair is so slicked it goes nowhere. But the response is there.

"It is. It's a puzzle." Bucky sobers up very fast. "And it involves some high powered weaponry and other tech." He pauses, gathering his thoughts. "It's a merc group, but there's red flags all over that it isn't JUST that. But starting with the basics. There's a few dozen 'war dogs' in the states. Their leader, the 'alpha', is missing. I was a recruit for the first week, but that much was clear. They're throwing tech at us, even the newest. Gave me a new arm -- I didn't bring it here. I'm certain it's bugged and remote controlled."

He tangented. He focuses back. "They mostly were having us behave like a gang. Wearing Bridges colors. Beating up certain targets. Breaking things. I heard about 'Triage'. He's missing. Supposedly he paid them to do something, and stiffed them on the payment. Yet they are still doing the jobs. Doesn't add up."

Captain America has posed:
    Settling in to listen, Steve leans forwards, resting his forearms on his knees and interlacing his fingers. He looks to Bucky and gives a nod as the other man speaks, at times letting his gaze drift away and distance with reflection at occasional points in the description. But it's at the moment when James mentions them being a merc group with red flags that he lifts his voice, "Think they've got external support from a patron or the like? Mercenary unit that doesn't really need the money tends to just be recruitment for some cause."
    But then the description shifts and he's listening intently again. Once James finishes for the moment, Steve lifts his head a bit and pushes a rough hand through his own blonde hair and then shakes his head, "Destabilizing maybe?" He chews on his lower lip thoughtfully then says, "Maybe we run the prodigy play?"
    For a moment he seems to be expecting to leave it at that, but then again World War 2 was a lot longer time ago for Bucky than it was for Steve, so after just a second he elaborates. "Set up a situation where you can come off the hero for them and rise through the ranks a bit. Maybe I come in from another angle, and you get one over on me very visibly."

Winter Soldier has posed:
"Yeah. I think patron. They're pretending." He also points towards Steve as he suggests rising in the ranks. "Ahead of you. I needed to rise in ranks. So I dug in. Proved myself. I'm a proper War Dog now. Got my own code name and burned off fingerprints." He doesn't show off the hand, but the bandages on it are apparent.

"And a lot of information. There's a tech benefactor providing armor power suits. Just like your Stark friend wears. Most of the dogs, though, don't like them. Stories about if you wear one, sometimes you don't control what you do," Bucky says, his tone turning harsh, hateful. A thickness in his throat and voice, and an intensity to his eyes.

Bucky swallows and directs his gaze down, unwilling to show Steve a better window into that dark place. "I don't have one yet, but should be. I've just seen a few. Look like norse wolf men helmets on them. Best way to describe them."

Bucky sits back, which is a subtle, unconscious cue that he's uncomfortable, probably with what he's about to say. "I'll keep on if I need to."

Captain America has posed:
    Sitting up a little, Steve nods and hrms, sitting up a touch. "Then maybe save that for a time if you're in a position to take a leadership point or something, or get some insight into whatever the structure is behind the whole thing." He frowns, however, and straightens up fully, resting his hands on his thighs and looking across the way towards the man who was the Winter Soldier.
    "Buck, you've gotten some good intel. But you don't need to do it all on your own. You start to get some heat aimed your way, you bug out. Alright?" He asks that even as he tilts his head slightly to the side, perhaps gauging the reaction. "Or you call in the cavalry. There's nothing on my plate that can't wait." He lies, but he's not going to leave James out in the cold again after everything.
    But then he looks again at the room and then back. "Do you have anything you need me to get back to SHIELD or just what you've told me?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
"The only tech I have of theirs is the arm. If I'm headed back in, I need to keep it," Bucky clarifies. He has withdrawn, at some point along Steve's talking. That strange retreat that happens, when the Winter Soldier closes off the emotions to be more functional.

Bucky unfolds his legs and climbs off the bed fully. Not that he goes anywhere, it's just that he's now standing near the end of the motel bed, hands loose at his sides. "I'm not a SHIELD agent. My cavalry options are limited," Bucky reminds, in a flat manner.

Captain America has posed:
    Rising up to his feet as well, Steve stands up fully and looks James in the eyes. For a time there's a small pained look, a touch of a sour smile that is lifted upwards by the faint widening of his eyes as he slowly shakes his head. "C'mon, Buck." He leans forwards and rests a hand on the man's shoulder, fingers digging in to give a squeeze and to grip as if trying to /shake/ the old soldier slightly.
    Then he leans forwards, brow thumping into Bucky's forehead so they can look eye to eye so he can just /feel/ the truth in the man's words as he imparts them. "So long as I'm around that'll /never/ be the case."
    He draws back a little and then adds with now a warm smile as he says, "Til the bitter end."

Winter Soldier has posed:
Bucky only evades the eye lock at first, but not after Steve leans his head forwards against his. There's a flinch there, in the way a tightness passes around Bucky's eyes and in his cheeks, his eyebrows pulling together and slightly lower.

There may have been a flinch at the closeness and the intensity of it, but all of it was read. The truth and honesty of it.

Bucky pulls something together, a little thread caught, and something unravels, just a little bit. Some honesty, for honesty. But it seems to catch just in his mouth, as if he almost said it, but waited too long. "I... know," Bucky says, but that wasn't what was in his heart to say. It lacks.

Captain America has posed:
    At that Steve gives a single firm nod, as that was enough for him. He thumps Bucky's shoulder again and then steps back to give the man his space and replaces his hands back into the pockets of his jacket. "Is there anything you need? Any tech I can get to you that might make things easier?" He looks again over the room as if somehow something might jump out at him again, something he might notice.
    He looks back, "I have a phone and a communicator. If either one will help..." Steve lets those last few words hang there as he knows that the offer is perhaps somewhat lacking. "But you know how to get a hold of me or at least get word to me, right?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
Whatever was coming out froze up in there somewhere. Bucky takes the clap to his shoulder like a zombie, and shakes his head to the tech question. He leans over the bed a little to pick up the pistol, moving it to rest in front of the TV instead. There's two others there. He's robotically just collecting his things.

Bucky is still chewing on his unraveled thread, though. It reads like some time from their youth when Bucky had some bad news to give over, but didn't want to say it. And there's no cheerful banter here to ease into it. "I have the way I set this up, that's all."

Captain America has posed:
    Steve folds his arms over his broad chest and shifts his weight to the other foot as Bucky moves about the room tending to what matters draw his thoughts. He frowns faintly and says, "You don't have to do this, Buck." He looks down, then back up. "After everything we went through, after all the people that did what they could to help get /you/ back. You don't have to rush back out into the world and..." He lifts a hand upwards slightly to the side, as if trying to point out everything.
    Then he shakes his head and chews on the inside of his cheek as he adds, "But I know how it is to feel like there's a job that needs doing and feel like you're the only one that can do it." He takes a deep breath and steadies it.
    "But here," He reaches into his jacket and withdraws a small black circular object that has what might metal contacts on one side. "This is what we use in the Avengers just in case one of us gets taken or rendered combat ineffective. Hit the contacts once in sequence it keys it to you and then if something happens..." He flares a hand again.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Bucky listens. He's looking at Steve's folded arms for most of it, though he ends up looking at the circular object, and accepting it, to look at it.

"I don't ... want to lose me, either. Again." A thick pause. "One of the dogs said wearing the suit-- that it made him do things he didn't want to. Shoot someone. He just watched it happen." Bucky's tone nearly vibrates with the sudden exposed nerve.

"I ... staying in this could be really bad for me, Steve," Bucky finally drags it out of himself. He's caught between having to do a mission and making his own choice. The fight of the Soldier and Bucky. "But I can.... be numb. And do it. If it's worth it." He looks more closely at the Avengers object. And then at Steve's eyes directly. Bucky's there. "Is it?"

Captain America has posed:
    "C'mon." Steve says as he moves to the side and starts to take up some of the firearms and extends one towards Bucky even as he moves to get the others squared away on his own person if needs be. He then steps away and moves towards the back of the motel room, looking over the bathroom, the closet, making sure that whatever is needed to pack is packed even as he turns back and moves towards Barnes.
    "We're going to go, get you situated somewhere else. You're off the job for now. You can come back the Avengers' place with me and we'll figure out our next move."
    He moves back towards the door and gets ready to pull it open as he looks to James again, giving him the once over then he says. "We'll get to the bottom of this, but we don't have to do it this way. Alright?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
There isn't anything else, this was a meeting spot. The trio of guns are all that is in the room; Bucky has some other smaller things on him, but that's it for items around. Bucky has no problem putting the guns away on himself, but also doesn't seem to care if Steve keeps a few.

Bucky hasn't drifted away, he's still there, with a furrowed brow and press of his lips in dismay, but there's also a relief in how he shuts his eyes as Steve gives him that once-over look. Bucky didn't see it. He nods once, silent.

Captain America has posed:
    "Let's get the hell out of here," Steve says with feeling as he opens the door and then checks the exterior of the motel. As far as he can see it's an all clear situation, but he'll keep his guard up even as he starts to the SUV that he'd arrived in, only this time with a passenger.