A New York Secret

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Emily stared down at her phone, not even registering that Loki had spoken. Barnes? James Buchanan Barnes was alive? She swallowed thickly, feeling her hands begin to tremble with a new kind of anxiousness.

Emily: Are you sure?

Tony: Yes, he sent the footage to me to verify. He's sending the team to retrieve Barnes. We don't know how Steve is going to take this news though. Barnes... he isn't himself.

Loki watched Emily curiously, but sensing it was important, he didn't interrupt.

Emily: Not himself? What do you mean? Tony please don't be so cryptic.

Tony: We aren't sure yet, but we believe his memory has been suppressed to turn him into an obedient soldier. He might not recognize Steve.

Emily: Steve is asleep right now. Did you want to host a meeting? I'll look at the file.

She quickly put her phone in her lap and grabbed for her laptop, opening it and turning it on. "Holy shit..."

Tony: No not yet. I think he needs to hear this news in a more... delicate fashion. Once he knows and has processed it, then we will hold a briefing. I'm handing that part off to you. You need to pick who will tell him and get that person the info. This needs to happen quickly.

Emily: How quickly Tony? Mary and Steve are exhausted.

Tony: Exhausted? This is a bit more important than their sex life. Barnes is a top-level threat, and we only have one shot to bring him in alive.

Emily: I'll wake Steve. But Mary needs rest.

"I have to go wake up Steve," Emily said softly. "James is alive."

"What? Who is James?" Loki asked, feeling confused.

Tony: Just make sure he gets the info he needs.

Emily looked over at Loki as she sat her phone down. "The other super soldier I told you about, well suspected to be one, he's been found alive."

"Is this good or bad?" Loki asked curiously. "Can I see what you saw?" He asked, referring to the email.

"You can see the file," Emily nodded as she clicked on it again. "It's good news but... Steve has been thinking that he's dead for a long time."

Loki took the laptop and began looking over the file. With the little information available, it didn't take him long. "If his mind is tampered with, are they equipped to handle that?"

Emily sighed and shrugged. "I'm not so sure. It looks like they call him The Winter Soldier. Hydra has had him all this time."

"Alright, give me a few minutes to learn about Hydra." Loki said, already getting into Tony's records. He quickly read through a few reports that he found. "I don't know if they used it on him, but it seems like extreme behavioral modification was their main method. Without a good mental barrier, no one will get near him without a fight to the death."

"James and Steve have known each other since they were children. A connection like that could begin to break the hold. Spark a memory," Emily said, thinking aloud. "Couldn't it?"

"It depends on what extreme Hydra went to in their modifications. I will need to study a bit more, but from what I'm seeing, I would say no, it won't be enough." Loki answered. "These practices are common enough in other realms, so I'm fairly familiar with them."

Emily sighed and plopped against the headboard with a groan. "I have to tell Steve," she murmured. "I don't know how he's going to react."

"Why do you have to be the one to tell him?" Loki asked, not overly happy about that.