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
45
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"Best play long while death forgets us."
Brooklyn, New York August, 2024
LUCY GRASPED JAMES'S HAND tightly as they stood in front of a broad apartment door. She'd never seen it before– was unfamiliar with the outside. But she knew who dwelled inside, and she knew this would be painful for both of them. She squeezed his hand reassuringly as he stood, reluctant.
He glanced at her and she gave him one soft nod. This reminded her of the time she'd told Tony about the death of Howard and Maria. He had received it. . .better. . .than normal people would. She knew Yori was too old to hurt them physically, but words could slice deeper than swords. And they would deserve it, especially when their words would hurt him just as much.
That didn't mean they were at fault for everything that happened. That didn't mean they weren't being tortured while committing the atrocities they were forced to do– it was more evident now, that that was how they were supposed to think– that she and James. . .that they didn't deserve what the Commander did to them, that they didn't deserve what had happened to them.
So– so it wasn't all their fault.
But, but that didn't mean this wouldn't hurt.
James knocked on the door with his gloved hand. They were afraid Yori would turn them away after seeing his metal arm, not that James hid it as often as he used to. So the glove was the only rational choice.
Lucy couldn't do much to hide her hair, but she could do something about her eyes. So they were blue, azure in color. It took energy and time to do so, but none of them would be attacked in Yori's quaint apartment. So she let herself have the luxury of looking normal.
The door unlocked, creaking open.
Yori poked his head out, looking between them with wide eyes.
They'd come later than both of them expected, since it took lots of time for Henry to coax Angeliko out from behind the couch and tell him he was sorry. Henry had looked awful when he saw Angeliko's face, all red from crying. But he managed to apologize to their son and reconstruct the peace that'd been lost.
"Hey, what are you both doing here?" He asked, sounding tired. "It's late, come in before someone call the cops."
He pried the door open further, and the pair padded inside, intruding on the innocence of the room– of the goddamn building. Lucy saw the memorial James had talked about the first time he'd visited Yori. The picture of his son was sitting in between incense and a buddha statue. She stopped, only staring at it.
