For several minutes, everything seemed to happen in slow motion for Zemo. One minute, he was having his windpipe crushed. The next, he was on the ground, violently coughing and trying to force air back into his lungs. His heart was beating out of his chest, his eyes hurt from the pressure. And for a moment, all he could do was stay there in the grass, attempting to keep out of the way of the fight.
He had only been able to see the man's face briefly, but Zemo knew who he was. He had stared at those Winter Soldier files for a very long time. He'd recognize all of them, even if he had mostly only seen them through photos and blurry camera footage. And right now, Zemo was absolutely seething with rage.
He pulled himself to his feet. It took him a moment to get his bearings and figure out where they had gone. Zemo's vision swam and his head was thumping with pain, but he ignored it, making his way towards the pond.
It was about this time that Bucky was pulling himself out of the water, Josef's lifeless body floating behind him. Relieved as he was that Bucky was okay (well, okayish), Zemo remained beside himself with anger.
But certainly not at Bucky. Bucky had just saved his life. But Zemo knew he had killed those other soldiers in Siberia. So why the fuck was Josef running around Central Park? And if Josef was here, did that imply that the others were close by? Zemo knelt down, reaching out to try and help Bucky out of the water. "Still don't think I need a body guard?"
His voice was hoarse and crackly, and it hurt to speak. But Bucky had blood running down his face from his nose, and if they didn't want those injuries to multiply, they needed to leave. Now. "Come on, we should get back to the hotel."