BOOK 4 of the ORPHIC Series
DISENTHRALL
/ˌdisənˈTHrôl/
set free.
~~~~~
When Lucille 'Lucy' Opal Baker starts adjusting to a world without Captain America and more government therapy sessions...
T H E F A L C O N A N D T H E W I N T E R S O L D I E R
31
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"You are my light and my shield."
Riga, Latvia July, 2024
SAM HAD DEALT WITH a lot of things after joining the Avengers. The conditioning of Bucky and Lucy were one of few things he'd seen. It was one of few things he was able to help them with. The thing was. . .Sam had taken the time to learn extensively about Verfall and Winter. But Sam didn't know enough about the Weapon and the Asset. Because he hadn't ever seen it after the fight with the helicarriers.
So Sam. . .Sam was at a loss.
He kept glancing back in the rearview mirror of their stolen–borrowed–vehicle. Bucky and Lucy were sitting on opposite sides, refusing to look or touch each other. Sam knew Alexander fucking Pierce didn't like it when the pair touched each other, even if it was just a hug or a handshake. It was ridiculous and made something fiery brew in Sam's stomach.
But Pierce was dead and Sam was driving through Riga in order to find a safehouse Bucky–the Asset– was guiding him to. An old HYDRA base that Bucky, when he was actually Bucky, used after removing the agents from the vicinity back in the day.
The Asset was eerily quiet, and so was the Weapon. If he didn't keep looking back in the rearview mirror, he wouldn't think they were still alive.
"Right turn here, Sam." The Asset directed.
Sam hid the way he wanted to cringe inside.
If it had been Bucky who'd said that, Sam would have rolled his eyes, told him to look up the location so he didn't need to be an annoying GPS. But it wasn't. No, the Asset would be afraid of him if he tried to joke like that. Or he would get angry.
He didn't know which one was worse.
And it broke his heart.
"Closest building to the left." The Asset said.
Sam slowed the car down, parking against the street as he turned the car off. He glanced back at the pair– a habit, now, really– and let out a sigh. He immediately regretted it when the Asset and the Weapon both stiffened.
He cleared his throat then, feeling guilty.
"We're gonna go in there, and I want you to clear the area out to make sure no one hostile is around." Sam started, trying to sound as kind and gentle as possible. "Can you do that?"
The Asset inclined his head, staring at the mission handler– Sam– like he didn't understand how good the Asset was.
