Part 52: News Flash

                                    

                                          
Author's Note: Dialogue from the show is not mine!
                          


                          
His night is entirely sleepless. He spends most of it on the balcony on his laptop looking up the architecture of the prison, its weak points, security details, everything he can possibly find. Shannon and Sam are out cold, both of them exhausted from the day.
                          
If they're going to get ahead of the Flag Smashers, they need Zemo. It kills him to keep his idea a secret from Sam, but he'd never go for it, so... Bucky has to be strategic. Secretive. He sighs, scrolling through floor plans and security detail. This prison is completely locked down. There's no way to break him out through any kind of tactical invasion. Even with his vibranium arm and all of his strength, he couldn't take on that many guards without risking his life. A year ago, that wouldn't have mattered to him, but as he turns his head and sees Shannon sleeping soundly on the bed, he realizes just how much he wants to stick around.
                          
He'll have to be much quieter about this. He closes the laptop and stares out over the city, a cigarette dangling from his lips. Normally, he only shares these with Shannon, but desperate times call for unhealthy coping mechanisms.
                          
He's expecting Sam to punch him in the face when he finds out about Zemo. He can't even tell Shannon.
                          
Bucky smokes the cigarette right down to the filter before crushing it and flicking it onto the street below. Immediately, he lights another one. He used to chain smoke during the war to calm his nerves. It didn't work, but he's convinced it made him a better sniper.
                          
He's going to have to start a riot to get Zemo out of jail.
                          
But how...
                          
Bucky spends the whole night going over the plan in his head until it's bulletproof. Convincing Zemo to go along with it won't be the difficult part. If they can pull this off, they can get to work.
                          
Gently, he wakes Shannon up at 5am again to train. She guzzles a bottle of water before they leave and pulls on a sports bra and a pair of leggings, leaving nothing to the imagination. Sam sleeps soundly and they creep out of the hotel room toward the gym.
                          
"You're wearing that on purpose, aren't you?" Bucky asks.
                          
She turns around, her ponytail whipping through the air and shrugs.
                          
"You wake me up at a godawful hour to run, I get you back with this little number," she quips.
                          
He growls and pinches her ass. Shannon claps her hand over her mouth and giggles.
                          
Ten miles on the treadmill in the gym followed by push-ups and sit-ups. He runs with her. Again, she complains, but her push-ups are much better this time around. As she's working through her sit-ups, she stops mid-rep.
                          
"Keep going," he encourages.
                          
"You're miles away, Buck. I can't possibly look that good in this outfit," she teases.
                          
Bucky grins.
                          
"I'm just thinking about Zemo. I'm not exactly looking forward to seeing him again."
                          
"Who is this guy? You and Sam talk about him like he's a supervillain."
                          
"He kind of is," Bucky replies. "He killed King T'Chaka and framed me for it."
                          
Shannon's jaw drops.
                          
"I remember that. It was all over the news." She laughs in disbelief. "I can't believe I never made the connection when I saw you on that app."
                          
Bucky steals a kiss.
                          
"Don't think this story is getting you out of doing sit-ups."
                          
She sneers at him and continues. Bucky laughs.