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
14
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"Comfort zones are comfortable not because they're healthy but because they're familiar."
Madripoor, Indonesia July, 2024
LUCY WAS UNPLEASANTLY SURPRISED by the tactical uniforms dropped into her and James's laps. Her eyes flicked to James, who looked a little more defeated than usual. He caught her gaze, and she found something else there too. Excitement, maybe? She looked down at her lap, gripping the black vest that matched James, a button up white sleeve sitting atop it.
Just like HYDRA.
She stared at Zemo's back with a hard glare as he turned, handing Sam his own stack of clothes, one which resembled a suit. He must've felt her stare as he glanced back at her. Lucy's distaste for him was quite obvious. Zemo gave her a smile that had a sharp edge to it, something threatening behind it. Alarm bells rang in her head–don't piss off the primary handler.
She clenched her jaw.
"Hurry and get changed." He said flippantly, letting his eyes flick to all three of them. "We don't have much time."
He turned around and stepped towards the plane exit. The door shut behind him.
Sam looked between them, then the stacks of clothes in their laps. They remained unmoving, sitting there with clenched hands. Maybe this wasn't a bad idea–maybe it was the worst idea. And maybe they shouldn't be going along with this.
Sam cleared his throat.
"You sure about this?" He asked, his voice low. "We don't have to do this. We can go with a different plan, go to Madripoor by ourselves–"
James shifted in his seat, before standing to his feet.
"It's fine, Sam." He countered.
Lucy gave a nod of agreement.
"It's just another mission." She added. "It's fine."
Sam narrowed his eyes, looking between them.
"No, see, this is what you're not gonna do," Sam huffed, pointing between them, "you're not gonna give me the 'it's fine' when we both know this ain't fine."
There wasn't any anger in his voice, even if he was trying to push it. The amount of concern in his gaze was something both of them couldn't miss. Lucy's expression softened as she looked at Sam, eyes gentle–understanding.
