BOOK 3 of the ORPHIC Series
CHURLISH
/ˈCHərliSH/
marked by a lack of civility.
~~~~~
Lucille 'Lucy' Opal Baker finds herself in the 21 century sporting the title of Aunt while lugging along h...
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"The fear of confronting emotions is like the fear of reading road signs."
Berlin, Germany April, 2016
THERE WAS SOMETHING DISTINCTLY STRANGE about the impending feeling Lucy had as Steve parked their blue escape vehicle at the airport lot. It had taken her some time to acknowledge her thoughts, but, well, she and James were going to Siberia. And although that didn't sound very alarming in her mind, memories sprung up like the hands of the dead, determined to keep her away.
They were going to Siberia.
The place that Karpov–Karpov who was dead, dead like the corpses littering the ground during the Great War–had trained them, had taken care of them, had provided for them, had tortured them.
Karpov, who she had no time to mourn.
She shoved the bundle of emotions into her stomach. They were going to kill the other Winter Soldiers. They were going to arrest Helmut Zemo. They were going to save the goddamn world from another HYDRA induced apocalypse. She turned her head to face James as he grabbed the handle of the door, Alpine hanging onto his shoulders.
She exhaled softly, pushing her own door open and stepping onto the road. She stood to her feet, leaning against the car door alongside James as he stood with Alpine holding onto his shoulders.
There was a van parked two spaces to their left, as discreet as a broad white van could be. She released a long breath as her eyes flicked to the passengers inside.
Wanda pushed open the door to the passenger's seat as Clint stepped around the van. He smiled at them and Lucy felt something like relief settle in her chest. Clint was good–she trusted Clint indescribably so, and she didn't feel as tensed around him.
"Hey Cap." Clint greeted as he waved a hand.
"You know I wouldn't have called if I had any other choice." Steve said as he shook his hand firmly.
"Hey man, you're doing me a favor." Clint shook his head. "Besides, I owe a debt."
He nodded at Wanda.
She gave a soft smile as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her eyes shifted to Lucy and she dropped her gaze, finding the airport cement far more interesting. She could feel Wanda's gaze wander away, lips pursing. She didn't know how to break the awkward rift between them, since she'd tried to literally tear her throat in half.
