"This is different," Steve echoed. He didn't know if the differences would end up working in their favor or against them, but either way, he was grateful to have Sharon on his side. He had a feeling he was going to need all of the back-up he could get, particularly out of people who understood what was going on and how important it was to Steve. He knew that it was selfish, and that it might not be what Bucky even wanted, but leaving him in the hands of HYDRA or anyone else was not an option. If they had to cause Bucky pain to keep him safe from the people who wanted to use him like a puppet, then that was what they had to do. After that, it would be Bucky's choice. Steve owed Bucky that, after everything. He owed him a choice.
He was quiet for a moment. Talking about this was causing him to rapidly lose his appetite. Every time he thought about all of the years they'd lost, all of the time Bucky'd lost in the hands of their enemies, a fist tightened around his heart. "HYDRA scrubbed everything. What we know is old - out of the Soviet Union, old. We know he was in DC recently, though. There was a bank associated with HYDRA. He blew it up. There was too much damage to get much out of that." Flying blind was a struggle for Steve. He wanted to work with certainties. This was a wild goose chase. "I was hoping some of the HYDRA goonies we run into over here will be able to lead us to someone who knows - or somewhere that's not blown to pieces. But it's a long shot. I --" Steve frowned. "I don't know how you find a ghost unless he wants to be found. So maybe we give HYDRA another reason to try to kill me. He didn't complete his mission in DC. He tried, but he didn't finish it. I don't mind giving him another chance."