Maya Stark

Chapter 58: Isaiah Bradley

Bucky led us through the streets of this rundown-type of neighborhood. I gripped the strap of my bag, wanting the option to put on Nat's sweater. Sam and I still didn't even know where we were going. I walked behind Sam who was behind Bucky.

'Hey, it's Black Falcon,' a kid said. 'What's up?'

'It's just Falcon, kid,' Sam said, stopping to talk to the two kids.

'My daddy told me it's Black Falcon.'

'Is it because I'm Black and I'm the Falcon?'

'Well, technically, I mean, yes.'

'So, are you, like, Black kid?' Sam asked. The kid sighs and rolls his eyes as Sam laughs.

I shake my head and follow Bucky up the steps of an old house, Sam behind me. Bucky looks at Sam before knocking. My nerves spike and send a chill through my body. I think it was the no trespassing sign on the door or the fact I had no clue what I was walking into. I look down the street and the door soon opens. It was a guy maybe around my age.

'We're here to see Isaiah,' Bucky said.

'Nobody named Isaiah lives here,' the kid said.

Bucky sighed. 'Look, we just want to talk to him.'

'You must not hear what I just said,' the kid said. 'You aren't getting in this house. Y'all can leave now.' His gaze shifted to me as I lean against a pillar and crossed my arms. 'Now you, can stay.'

I roll my eyes. 'Yeah, nice try.'

'Tell him the guy from the bar in Goyang is here,' Bucky intervened before the kid could say something else. 'He's gonna know what that means.'

The kid hesitated. 'Alright, wait here.' He closes the door.

'Nice kid,' I said. 'How do you know this guy?'

'I used to,' Bucky said, quietly. 'We had a skirmish during the Korean War.'

'Well, this is going to be a fun reunion, then,' I muttered.

Bucky looks at me, sincerity in his eyes. 'Sorry about the kid.'

I shrug. 'Trust me, if that were the worst thing a guy has said to me, I'd be happy.'

Bucky and Sam both grimaced but couldn't say anything as the door opened again. The same kid from before was there.

'Today's your lucky day,' he said. 'He said he wanna see for himself.'

Bucky walked in first, a quick glance back at us. Sam motioned for me to go in front of him as he slightly glared at the kid. I shake my head but walk in behind Bucky, not looking at the kid. I stand on Bucky's right, Sam on his left.

'Isaiah,' Bucky said, nodding his head slightly.

'Look at you,' Isaiah said.

'This is Maya, and uh, Sam,' said Bucky. 'Sam, Maya, this is Isaiah. He was a hero. One of the ones that HYDRA feared the most. Like Steve. We met, uh, met in '51.'

'If by met, you mean I whupped your ass, then, yeah,' Isaiah said. 'We heard whispers he won on the peninsula, bit everyone they sent after him, never came back. So, the U.S. military dropped me behind the line to go deal with him. I took half that metal arm in the fight in Goyang, but I see he's managed to grow it back. I just wanted to see if he got the arm back. Or if he'd come to kill me.'

'I'm not a killer anymore,' Bucky said.

'You think you can wake up one day and decide who you wanna be?' I kept my eyes trained to the floor. 'It doesn't work like that. Well, maybe it does for folks like you.'

'Isaiah, the reason we're here is because there's more of you and me out there.'

'You and me.'

'And we need to know how.'

'I'm not going to talk about it anymore!' Isaiah grabbed a container from the table and flew it at the wall, where it cracked the wall and stuck. I jumped at the noise and closed my eyes for a second. Isaiah walked up to Bucky. 'You know what they did to me for being a hero? They put my ass in jail for years. People running tests, taking my blood, coming into my cell. Even you people weren't done with me.'

The air seemed like it was getting thinner the longer I stayed there, and the room was way too small. It was getting harder to breathe.

'Isaiah-' Sam tried.

'Get out of my house!'