[Leipzig AU] a means to a necessary end

[nerves_of_ice]

It's a long flight from Berlin to Novosibirsk and the secret location far beyond it, even in a Quinjet. They spend the time planning and coordinating. Bucky describes the structure and security of the facility itself as best he remembers. Tony calls up plans and blueprints from god knows where and throws them into the middle of the plane for all to see. They're not the same as what Bucky remembers, they figure out fairly quickly, but they're better than nothing.

Tony also takes over the back of the plane and snaps at anyone who comes close, doing something that involves shifting screens and models of buildings and wave patterns and a human skull, and the eventually the low humming grind of a machine. Soon after, he stalks back up to the front of the plane and shoves a set of custom-fabricated earplugs at Bucky, who stares at them and then at Tony.

"Noise-cancelling all the way to total sound blackout. Tap the end of the earpiece to deafen yourself," Tony informs him. "Last thing we need's for you to be his puppet." Bucky starts to stammer a thanks, but Tony growls something under his breath and stalks back to the back of the plane again to work on something else. Steve catches Bucky's eye and shakes his head, and Bucky decides to leave well enough alone.

Sam advises everyone to rest in shifts; Bucky knows he's not wrong, but neither he nor Steve can do it, and after a while Sam stops trying to convince them. Natasha sits with him for a while, her eyes dark with concern. They don't say much, but there's no need to.

A Snowcat is parked outside the door of the facility when they land. Bucky's jaw sets in hard lines at the sight of it, and he trades a look with Steve.

They're already here.

Comments

[marvel_npc]

Ross shoots a sharp glance down the table at the sound before looking back at Carter. She's holding herself carefully straight and there's a little more color in her cheeks than there had been the day before, but he doesn't like the shadow in her eyes.

He clears his throat and taps his pen on the table. "For obvious reasons," he says, "we won't go into that now. But I'll want a full report from you, Carter. You and I will meet after this to discuss what was disclosed and what security measures will need to be taken."

She nods. "I understand, sir."

[nerves_of_ice]

"It wasn't her fault." It's low and tightly controlled, as Bucky looks Ross directly in the eye. Natasha stirs slightly, but doesn't speak or move to stop him.

"The drug Agent Carter was injected with-- Zemo had a great deal of information about the Winter Soldier program. Some years ago, a similar drug was tested on me. It wasn't Agent Carter's fault."

[marvel_npc]

"Thank you, Sergeant Barnes," Ross says, tightly.

Inside, he's fuming. God knows what kind of trouble the man's caused for Carter and her career. There's only so much Ross himself can do to mitigate it if someone decides to make an example out of her.

Hasn't Barnes done enough? The last thing Ross needs is for him to argue over this. "If I thought Agent Carter had made the conscious choice to betray the Task Force and her government, I'd have locked her up, too," he adds, snappishly. "No matter how long we've worked together. But intent or not, there was a security breach, and it's my responsibility to stop it back up again. Ideally, with Agent Carter's cooperation. Whatever recourse might or might not be called for after that is another matter."

He slants a look at her. "Carter?"

"Yes, sir," she says. "Of course I'll assist however I can."

[nerves_of_ice]

Steve touches his arm, and Bucky takes it as the concern it is - but also as a warning.

He lapses into a seething silence, determined not to say anything else, determined not to risk making things worse.

[marvel_npc]

When no challenge comes, Ross looks around the table.

"Anything else?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"Excellent question." It's Tony, who's turned away from examining the structure of the wall. "I'd say that depends on what you're thinking should happen next."

Bucky chances a quick look at Steve, and finds his best friend watching Tony with interest.

[marvel_npc]

"Really."

His eyebrows arch up in mild interest. "In what way, Mr. Stark?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"In the way where if I tell you that Barnes and I have some work to do, so he's coming back to New York with us after this," Tony says, bluntly, "are you going to have a problem with that?"

Bucky stops breathing, but other than that manages to not outwardly react. From the way Steve had talked this morning he hadn't thought it was anywhere near a done deal. What the hell did the two of them talk about last night?

[from_the_outside]

She can't let a flicker of anything she's thinking or feeling cross her face; so she stares fixedly at the wall while Ross grimaces.

"Hell yes, I'd have a problem with that," he snaps. "I'm pretty damn sure the damn border patrol would have a problem with that, not to mention INTERPOL, the CIA, the FBI, and just about every other security and intelligence force out there."

[nerves_of_ice]

"So is this an example of that 'detaining indefinitely without trial' provision of the Accords?" Sam asks. "Just want to be clear about what we're all looking at here."

Beside him, Steve tenses like spring steel, and it's Bucky's turn to place a hand on his arm, trying to reassure.

[from_the_outside]

Ross looks from one face to another, a dangerous glint snapping in his eyes.

"You all seem determined to think of me as the bad guy, is that it?" he asks. "What the hell do you think? Does this look like detention? Have I locked any of you in a cell? By the Accords, three of you shouldn't have gone on this mission at all. Who do you think that's gonna come down on, huh?"

She can hear the frustration in his voice as it lifts. "By God, give me a little credit. I'm doing my best, here. It would help if you'd work with me instead of taking every goddamn thing and looking for a reason to think I somehow don't give a shit about civil liberties."

[marvel_npc]

"We're trying to." Steve looks at Tony until he subsides, at least for the moment. Sam holds up both hands and leans back in his chair. Beside him Bucky is perfectly still, barely breathing, and Steve desperately wants to know what he's thinking, but he can't ask, not now.

He looks at Ross. "We're trying to work with you. We want to work with you, Accords or not. We're just trying to get all the cards on the table, Deputy Commander. I think you'll agree that all of this ... well, it's a mess. And what you said before was right - the Secretary of State's already involved--"

Tony grimaces and holds up his phone, showing the missed call log. The last fifteen calls are from Thaddeus Ross.

"-- and it's not like things are going to get simpler from here," Steve concludes.

[marvel_npc]

"Then you should know it won't be my call," Ross snaps. "Am I grateful for everything you've done? Of course. But when it comes to where the man previously known as the Winter Soldier goes, there's not a hell of a lot I can do, unless he decides to come work for me. Officially."

Just thinking about it makes his head hurt. "I'm not your enemy, Captain. Or any of you. I'm doing what I can within the bounds of the Accords, same as you. And my power is far from limitless."

[marvel_npc]

"Is that a job offer? I think that's a job offer. It sure sounded like a job offer," Tony declares, irrepressible. Steve stifles a sigh, even as Bucky shifts in his chair.

"Deputy Commander Ross." His best friend's voice is low and rough, and he's carefully not looking at Steve, which sets off all kinds of warning bells. Before he can do anything to stop him, Bucky asks, "If the decision were yours to make, what would you do? I don't ..." He swallows, hard. "I'm tired of causing trouble for everyone."

[marvel_npc]

"That's a pointless exercise," Ross says, terse. "I could say anything and it wouldn't make a difference."

He breathes out sharply through his nose, tapping his finger on the table and refusing to look at Carter. Bad enough to tie her professional life up in all this; adding her personal life just makes it an even bigger mess.

Abruptly, he turns to Stark, annoyed that he's playing into Barnes's request even after brushing it off. "What work? Why is it so important he be in New York with you?"

[marvel_npc]

"So I can get the goddamn controls out of his head," Tony snaps at him. He's vibrating like a plucked string and can't seem to do anything about it, or about the shrill ringing in his ears, or the way his heart clutches in his chest.

"He's not going to be a ticking time bomb all his life, okay? Nothing like what -- it doesn't get to happen again. No more HYDRA. No more Zemos. No one's going to wind him up like a clockwork killer and set him loose on any more innocent people, you got me? It's not gonna happen."

[marvel_npc]

Ross frowns at him. "Is that even possible?"

He hates talking around Barnes like the man's not even here, but they don't have a lot of time for niceties.

[marvel_npc]

"It's going to be possible." He can't stand still. Tony starts pacing back and forth again, ignoring the heartbreaking hope on Steve's face, the way Nat and Sam look at each other, the way Barnes has turned into a frozen statue with an expression he can't read. He stabs a finger at Ross.

"Someone put them there in the first place, right? I will by god rip them out. I just have to figure out how first. And I can't do that if he's in some gulag somewhere."

"Probably not a gulag," Nat murmurs. "They aren't called that anymore, you know."

[marvel_npc]

Ross looks thoughtfully at Stark, at Barnes.

"Obviously that would be a big improvement for everybody," he says. "But why not work with him here? It's not like you don't have the resources to ship anything to might need over the Atlantic."

[marvel_npc]

Tony stops in his tracks to stare at him. "Do you have any idea how long it would take to recreate the computer science and engineering infrastructure I have back at the compound here, from scratch?"

He shakes his head in disbelief, before seizing on another argument. "Besides, the Avengers compound is a secure location, too. Wa--" He hastily rethinks that approach as Steve's eyes narrow, and shifts to, "--why, we've got all kinds of resources there. And U.N. authority."

If he's going to have to deal with the nightmare the Accords have turned out to be for them, he might as well get something useful out of it.

[marvel_npc]

"Please," Ross says, exasperated. "The Avengers compound is currently home to at least three enhanced individuals who haven't signed the Accords. You really think that's gonna fly? Not a chance."

He mulls the problem over a moment. "Task Force oversight," he says, finally. "An unbiased – "

He doesn't glance at Carter, but he can feel her wince anyway. "Agent or pair of agents to keep an eye on things. That's the best I can offer."

[nerves_of_ice]

"I really do," Tony says, and there's an odd note of certainty in his voice that causes Bucky to give him a sharp look, even as the other man adds, "but I'll take it. Done. Barnes comes with us, and you pick someone to send along for the ride."

He doesn't dare look at Sharon now. He can't. He also doesn't bother to point out that no one's asked him - except for Steve, and they'd gotten distracted before Bucky ever answered him. It wouldn't matter anyway, he's sure.

[marvel_npc]

"Is it," Ross says, desert-dry, and looks at Barnes.

"You're awfully quiet, considering this is your life we're discussing. Any thoughts you'd like to share, Sergeant?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"Only that I told you I'd do whatever you needed when the time came," he says, quietly. His glance flicks to Sharon and back to Ross.

"I meant it. I still do. I - "

Please help, he doesn't say. He's not sure it would do any good.

" - you have to know I don't - I'm not interested in causing trouble. Any more trouble. Whatever's best, whatever's needed... I'll do it."

[marvel_npc]

Next to him, Carter is thrumming with tension. He's not a monster; he feels for her in this, obviously. Barnes, too. Hell, if everything they've learned over the last few days is correct, the guy's as much of a victim as anyone the Winter Soldier attacked.

But none of that means Ross can wave a wand and make all these complications magically disappear. "I'll be sure to hold you to that," he says, terse, and looks back at Stark.

"I'm not making any call right now, and neither are you. Not while there's an ongoing investigation that all of you, one way or another, are involved with. Now."

He glances around the table. "I'm scheduled to interview Zemo in thirty minutes. One of you is welcome to join me. Who will it be?"