CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR, frustration

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THEY REACHED RIGA, and after listening to Zemo's remarks about Sokovia, Bucky left. He didn't get too far before Ivanna was jogging after him. She grabbed Bucky's shoulder and he spun defensively, brows raised at the blonde.

"What the hell are you doing?" He snapped.

"Keeping you from getting killed," she snatched a piece of technology from his hands and inspected it. Her brows furrowed, "This is from Wakanda."

"Yes," Bucky relented and took it back, "get back to Sam and let me deal with her."

"Idiot," she mumbled and shook her head, hands crammed into her pockets as she marched back to the building Zemo had led them to. She found her way to Sam and Zemo, both eyeing her. Ivanna shook it off, removing her jacket and sitting beside Sam.

Zemo began helping himself to a drink and then disappeared into a bathroom. Sam and Ivanna were seated at the bar, Ivanna's hands folded over the top of it.

"You haven't called Steve into this," Sam pointed out the obvious, glancing at the blonde. She pulled her lips through her teeth and sighed shaking her head.

"I can't," she mumbled, "I refuse to. Steve...Steve needs to be able to know he doesn't have to be involved. And that he can work from the sidelines rather than be in the fight. Plus, I don't think he'd like to see what I did back in Madripoor."

"Man," Sam sighed and shook his head, reaching out and placing a hand over Ivanna's, "Steve's seen you do that, and a lot worse, we all have. He picked you as his partner for a reason, Vanna."

She smiled softly at Sam as Bucky walked in, just as Zemo was exiting the bathroom and dabbing his face off with a towel. Bucky shut the door and approached the duo at the bar, Zemo as well.

"Well, the Wakandans are here, they want Zemo. Bought us some more time,"

Sam was silent for a moment, processing the information before nodding, "Were you followed?"

"No,"

"How can you be so sure?" Zemo posed the question.

"Cause I know when I'm being followed,"

"It was sweet of you to defend me at least," Zemo said, turning to face Bucky with a small smirk.

"Hey, you shut it," Sam side-eyed Zemo from where he was sitting "No one's defending you. You killed Nagel."

"Do we have to litigate what may or may not have happened?"

"There's nothing to litigate," Sam countered while Zemo walked past both him and Ivanna. Bucky was distracted by his phone, Ivanna eyeing him, "You straight shot the man. And if you do it again I won't stop her-"

"Sam," Bucky's voice interrupted the threat and Sam glanced over at him.

"What?"

"Karli bombed a GRC supply depot,"

"What's the damage?" Ivanna questioned, straightening out and trying to peer at his phone.

"Eleven injured, three dead," Bucky continued reading his phone as she and Sam processed the information, "They have a list of demands and are promising more attacks if those demands aren't met in full."

"She's getting worse," Zemo returned to the bar and Sam sighed. The Baron helped himself to get another drink, "I have the will to complete this mission. Do the three of you?"

"She's just a kid," Sam spoke softly.

"You're seeing something in her that isn't there," Zemo countered, holding a hand out and looking directly at Sam, "you're clouded by it. She's a supremacist. The very concept of a Super Soldier will always trouble people. It's that warped aspiration that led to Nazis, to Ultron, to the Avengers."

Bucky leaned against the bar and Ivanna watched Zemo with an unimpressed look on her face. She understood what grudges he held against the Avengers, she reasoned why he had a hatred for the team she was once a part of. She'd held grudges of her own against people for what they did to her, or to the people she loved.

"You're talking about our friends," Sam countered Zemo's argument and Ivanna pushed herself to her feet. She rounded the bar, grabbing a bottle and a glass. She gestured to Bucky, seeing if he would be interested. He hesitated but then nodded his head.

"The Avengers, not the Nazis," Bucky muttered. Ivanna shook her head at his words but approached him with a glass and he took it.

"So Karli is radicalized," Sam began, ignoring Bucky completely while Ivanna sipped at her drink, "but there has to be a peaceful way to stop her."

"The desire to become a superhuman cannot be separated from supremacist ideals," Zemo further explained, dismissing what Sam had said, "Anyone with that serum is inherently on that path. She will not stop. She will escalate until you kill her. Or she kills you."

"Maybe you're wrong Zemo," Bucky spoke from beside Ivanna, "the serum never corrupted Steve."

"Touché," Zemo nodded, but then held his finger up with a cookie around it, "But there has never been another Steve Rogers, has there?"

Ivanna shook her head, lips pursed, "Steve told me something Erskine told him. The serum amplifies what is good inside a person. Steve was and is good at heart, so he became great. But, someone who is bad only becomes worse. There could be no stopping her peacefully Sam."

They fell into silence, Ivanna's words settling on everyone before Bucky sighed. He walked away from Ivanna, "Well. Maybe we should give him to the Wakandans right now."

"And you'll give up your guide?"

"Yes," Bucky countered.

"From my understanding," Sam interjected, "Donya is like a pillar of the community, right? So, when I was a kid, my TT passed away."

"Your..." Bucky cut off, confusion on his face, "Your TT?"

"Yeah, my TT, yeah," Sam said, nodding quickly.

"Who is your TT?" Bucky was flabbergasted, and a grin spread on Ivanna's face as she walked toward where Sam was and sat down next to him once again.

"Fine," Sam conceded, "When I was a kid my aunt passed away. And the entire neighborhood got together for a ceremony. It was like a week long. Maybe they're doing the same thing for Donya."

"Worth a shot," Bucky agreed.

Ivanna's attention then turned to Zemo, who was going through a metal jar. She raised a brow in confusion as he dug something out and looked at Sam with a proud face, "Your...TT would be proud of you. Turkish Delight."

Sam caught what was thrown at him and Ivanna scrunched her nose, eyeing it as Zemo dumped more out, "Irresistible."

"I'm sure," the blonde mumbled.

After a while, Zemo changed and led them out of the building. They began a walk down an alley, Zemo leading the way and the other three following. He looked around at the area around him, a grim look on his face as he sighed, "Shane what's come of this place. When I was young we used to come here for fabulous dinners and parties. I knew nothing of the politics of the time of course, but I remember it being beautiful."

"Ivanna and I are gonna take a look around upstairs," Sam ignored what Zemo had said and walked past him, Ivanna following, "You see what you can find down here. And keep an eye on him."

Bucky gave no reaction, and with that Sam and Ivanna walked away. They climbed up the stairs with one another, and Ivanna eyed the mirrors lining the walls. They walked toward the split halls, a couple walking away on one end and a kid in a room at the end of another.

"Hey kid," Sam led the way to the room with the kid, two women hastily grabbed their things and walked away as Sam questioned them about Donya. They denied knowing the woman and he glanced at Ivanna.

"They know," she whispered, "but we shouldn't press."

He reluctantly complied, looking instead at what was around them before they began adventuring to other rooms. He continued questioning and continued getting denied. People were quickly leaving the rooms until they reached one with a man helping some younger men and a few children.

"Excuse me," Sam interrupted them, "Do you know a name by the name of Donya Madani? She was a refugee here."

"And don't lie," Ivanna sighed from beside Sam and shook her head, arms folding at her chest, "I could easily find out for you Sam-"

"We're not refugees," the man rose to his feet and interrupted Ivanna, and she snapped her gaze toward him, "for we shave nothing to seek refuge from. We're internationally displaced persons, for what it's worth. And we don't trust outsiders."

The younger man left, and Sam approached the one he had been sitting with, "We understand. We're not from here, but we do have a pretty good track record of helping out."

"I know what happens when people say they're going to help out, nothing," the man eyed Sam and Ivanna, "The Global Repatriation Council promised to send more teachers. Supplies. That was six months ago."

"Well, what's your name? Maybe I can make a call-"

"I know who you are," the teacher countered. Eyes darting between the two, "both of you. But I can't trust you. I'm sorry."

His attention returned to the two children in the room, and he was gone only a few moments later.

"That was refreshing," Ivanna stared as the man retreated, then turned and walked out of the room before Sam could speak. She walked back down the stairs and joined Bucky, surprised at the sight in front of her. She glanced back to Sam to make sure she wasn't imagining it.

Zemo was seated with children around him, using them as his source of information.

"It's starting to feel like a dead-end," Sam muttered.

"The bell is he doing?" Bucky questioned.

"Bribing," Ivanna spoke while Zemo rose to his feet with the Turkish Delights. He spoke with them and she tilted her head, cocking a brow and smirking when he gestured back at them. Zemo made his way back as giggles filled the area the kids were playing.

"Cute kids," he spoke and went to walk past Sam and Bucky. Ivanna stepped in front of him, holding a hand out in warning.

"Their mouths may keep secrets but their minds don't," she muttered, eyes drifting back and forth between Zemo's, "and neither does yours."

Zemo brushed past Ivanna, ignoring her warnings. Sam and Bucky glanced back at her in questioning, and she clenched her jaw before spinning and following Zemo.

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"Well I got nothing," Bucky announced as the group walked back in. Zemo made his way straight to the bar and Ivanna stopped, leaning against a pillar and watching him while listening to her friends, "No one's talking about Donya."

"Yeah, it's because Karli is the only one fighting for them," Sam spoke up, and Ivanna glanced at the two of them as they walked toward the couch. Bucky released a heavy sigh and sat on one side, Sam on the other, "and she's not wrong."

"What do you mean?" Bucky questioned.

"For five years, people have been welcomed into counties that have kept them out using barbwire," Ivanna pushed off the pillar as Sam spoke, approached the men on the sofa, and collapsed into a chair, "There were houses and jobs. Folks were happy to have people around to help them rebuild. It wasn't just one community coming together, it was the entire world coming together. And then, boom. Just like that, it goes right back to the way it used to be. To them...at least Karli's doin' somethin'."

"You think her ends justify her means?" Bucky questioned in disbelief. He eyed both Sam and Ivanna as she began nodding.

"When people have that one thing they can trust and hold on to," the blonde began, Sam glancing at her, "they won't rat it out for the life of them."

"Then she's no different than him," Bucky gestured to Zemo who was distracted by making himself a drink, "or anybody else we fought."

"She's different," Sam persisted, turning back to Bucky, "she's not motivated by the same things."

Zemo approached them with a tray, cups, and drinks resting on it. Bucky immediately turned his attention to him, "That little girl. What'd she tell you?"

There was silence as Zemo looked at the three surrounding him. They all watched him as he processed his ideas, and warily looked at Ivanna. He sighed and leaned down, setting the yeah on the ottoman, "The funeral is this afternoon."

"You know the Dora's coming for you any minute," Bucky spoke nonchalantly while Zemo straightened out with one of the drinks, "the fact they're probably lurking outside right now. Keep talking."

"Leaving you to turn on me once we get to Karli," Zemo hummed, shaking his head, "I prefer to keep my leverage."

Bucky stood up, rounding the ottoman and grabbing the glass from Zemo's hands. Before Ivanna or Sam could react, Bucky threw the glass at a wall. Zemo was caught off guard, shock replacing his smug look as Bucky stood toe to toe with him.

"You wanna see what someone can do with leverage?" Bucky threatened. Sam and Ivanna both stood, Sam, placing a hand in front of Bucky to shove him back if needed.

"Take it easy," Sam muttered, "Don't engage him. He's just gonna extort you and so that stupid head tilts thing. Let me make a call."

Sam glanced to Ivanna and she nodded, clenching her jaw as he walked away and slapped Bucky on the arm. Bucky began backing away, and Zemo gestured to the ottoman.

"Would you like some Cherry Blossom tea?"

"No," Bucky began backing away and Ivanna relaxed, stepping away as well, "you go ahead."

The two walked toward Sam. He was already on the phone with Sharon, and Ivanna sat on a bar stool. She groaned and folded her arms over the surface, dropping her head onto them.

"Sharon's going to do some looking," Sam walked up behind Ivanna, "Gonna call Steve in yet?"

"Nope," she mumbled into her arms, the word muffled by her jacket. She could feel both Bucky's and Sam's on her but ignored them.

"Vanna-" Bucky's voice was soft, trying to comfort her, but she didn't care.

"You have done enough," She spoke sharply, snapping up and sending an accusing glare toward Bucky, "Karli will likely be at the funeral. Which is today. Anyone who cared about that woman will be there. Including Karli."

"Ivanna-"

"If I have to deal with him any longer, I will not keep calm," she said and pointed at Zemo. Sam slowly nodded his head in understanding, and Ivanna turned back to the bar and laid her head and arms on the surface, clearing her mind before they made their next move.