Life's Greatest Lie (#2 in the BA Series)

Chapter 4~ On Your Left

♤Steve's POV♤

"So," Callie drops the heavy file and briefcase onto the kitchen table in our apartment in DC. "I have a little over a week to figure out how to make a lightsaber." She rakes her hand through her curled hair.

"How long does it usually take to make one?" I wonder. Her face scrunches in thought.

"It probably says in the file, but I have no idea," Callie sighs, flipping the file open. "Seems like we'll be here for a while."

"Well," I place my hands on the table, leaning on it slightly. "You don't have to leave for DC; you're already here."
That gets her to smile. It disappears quick though and is replaced with worry.

"What if they see me?" She stresses. I keep my breathing even. Ever since we got in the car back at the Trisklion, she's been nonstop questioning herself and her motives. It's a bit annoying, since I know she can accomplish anything she puts her mind to.

"Callie, listen to me," I say, making her look up at me. "You don't have to leave the apartment if you don't want to. Just stay here and work out what you can. One step at a time."

She nods, sitting down in a chair. The sounds of the busy city ring outside, filling the small silence. Callie looks outside for a moment, then back at her paper.

"How about you save this for later, and go for a run or something?" I ask her, walking over to her side. She shakes her head.

"Sorry Steve. It's beautiful out, but I need to start this as soon as I can," she looks up apologetically. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize," I ruffle her hair, and she smiles, going back to flipping through pages. I go upstairs to get in my running clothes. I change and descend the stairs to tie my shoes, grabbing my phone and going over to Callie again.

"I'll be running about, so call me if you need me," I say, giving her a hug. "Work hard."

"Will do, Captain," she says with a smile, and I return it, walking outside and shutting the door, taking the stairs to the lobby and out the door.

The mid afternoon sun is bright, and the temperature is a spring warm. I begin jogging away from the hotel, passing the White House and heading towards the Washington Memorial. Why not take a few laps around the lake?

For the next few minutes, I run laps around the monument, picking up speed. I see a man jogging ahead of me, and he is moving slow. Then again, not everyone is a super soldier. Not wanting to startle him, I prepare to alert him.

"On your left," I huff, shooting past him. He nods a thanks. I probably pass him several more times before deciding to stop. The sun wasn't bothering me, but I have been out for almost 30 minutes. The man I kept passing sits under a tree, clutching his side.

"Need a medic?" I ask him genuinely. The man looks up, sweat soaking through his shirt.

"More like a new set of lungs," the man laughs, catching his breath. "Dude, you just ran thirteen miles in thirty minutes."

"I guess I got a late start," I tease.

"Oh really?" He looks up at me. "You should be ashamed of yourself, go take another lap. Did you take it? I assume you just took it," he says sarcastically. I smile at his joking nature. Then, I see a familier symbol on his shirt.

"What unit are you with?" I wonder.

"Fifty-eighth, Para-rescue, but now I'm working down at the VA." He extends his hand. "Sam Wilson."

"Steve Rogers," I help him to his feet.

"I kind of put that together," Sam sighs breathing in. "It must've freaked you out coming home after the whole defrosting thing."

I'm always told how great it is to have me back, but nobody ever asks me how I feel about it.

"It takes some getting used to," I finally say as a breeze kicks up. "It's good to meet you, Sam." He points a finger at me, like he is trying to remember something.

"Marvin Gaye, 1972, "Trouble-Man" soundtrack. Everything you've missed jammed into one album," he says. I pull out my small notepad and scribble it down, along with everything else Cal and Tony made me remember to look into. The whole notebook idea is Cal's, and I wasn't too keen on it at first, but I knew I have to move with the times. Then, I think about Cal back in the apartment.

"Alright Sam, I'd better be going. Thanks for the run, if that's what you call running," I joke with him. He raises an eyebrow as we shake hands.

"That's how it is?"

"Oh, that's how it is."

"Okay. Any time you wanna stop by the VA, make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know," Sam says.

"I'll keep it in mind; maybe I'll bring my girl down to meet you," I nod.

"A girl?" Sam seems confused.

"My daughter; just adopted her last year. She's...gifted," I decide not to tell Sam too much about Callie. Sam shrugs his shoulders.

"Okay. I'll see you around, soldier," Sam salutes, and I return it and walk away. Maybe there are still some good people out there.

~♤~

When I walk in the room, Callie is in the same spot, papers strewn around her. Floating in the air next to her is a small ball, going up, down, around, and sideways. Her hand is controlling it, and I see her fingers dancing in the air as she moves the ball. She turns her head at the sound of me coming inside, and jumps up, the ball bouncing to the floor.

"Steve! I'm glad your back, I found some interesting facts," she sits back down, gesturing for me to sit across from her, and I do.

"I found a diagram of the hilt, and info on how it should be built," she begins, the ball dropping to the floor. She hands me a delicate diagram of the inside of the hilt, hand drawn, with arrows and numbers everywhere on the page.

"And here," she shows me another piece of paper, also hand written. "This gives me directions on how to find the crystals!"

I can feel Callie getting excited, and I smile at her enthusiasm.

"Let's start writing down what we need," I offer, grabbing a piece of paper and pen. This is going to be a while, but I know we can figure this out.

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A.N- Another chapter! Hope you guys are still enjoying this. Just wanted to shout out a birthday wish to Mr. Perfection (aka Chris Evans)! It's his birthday today!! Happy Reading!