Project 43: Healing

Look who's still alive

Elias was trying to figure out what he was going to do. He really didn't want to be on the run again after getting a taste of what it was like living safely in one place. For the first time in his life he had a place he could almost call his home, but now he could never go back there again. 

Elias held his head in his hands, staring at the floor quietly listening to the gentle hum of the engine. Bucky and Steve were both still hurt and trying to figure everything out. They didn't even know where they would go in South Africa, but their safehouse and contacts had been compromised.

"We could go to Belize," Elias said out of the blue, snapping the two other men out of their whispered conversation. He had thought about it a lot and even tho he wasn't sure about letting the two men in on his life there, it was the safest option.

"I mean, you clearly don't have a plan on where we're going," Elias then added.

"What's in Belize?" Bucky asked, but Steve remembered the place. He knew his brother had been involved with some people he wasn't going to approve of, but at the same time, he couldn't think of a better option. No one besides him and Sam would ever connect one of the three men to Belize.

"A few good friends," Elias vaguely explained and dug into one of his pockets. He winced when his body shifted, but quickly dug out an old burner phone.

"Elias!" Dominik yelled after the first ring. Elias was relieved to know his friend was happy to hear from him. He hadn't been too sure of it after everything that happened since Sokovia.

"Hey, man. I'm in a pretty tough spot right now. If I come over there with a couple of friends, would you be able to help us out?" Elias asked, knowing full well that Dominik would ask questions. Sadly, he hadn't saved Victor's number.

"Yeah sure, but what are we talking about? The last thing I heard was that you're some kind of a superhero," Dominik laughed to which Elias just rolled his eyes and nodded to the other two men in the cockpit. Steve walked over to the controls and turned the jet around.

"I was never a superhero but I got caught up with some," Elias explained quickly, not wanting to get into too many details on the phone.

"Sure. By the way, in the picture I saw, you had longer hair," Dominik said out of the blue. "You look better with short hair," he then added causing Elias to chuckle at the man.

"Can we trust these people?" Bucky asked as Elias got off the phone.

"At least for some time. It's not an indefinite solution, at least not for you two, but Victor knows some people who're influential enough to let us fly under the radar for a while," Elias explained making Bucky nod along since he couldn't really do anything else.

"Victor's in a mafia," Steve said as a statement tho he had clearly meant it to come out as a question.

"And we're international criminals," Elias pointed out, not liking how his brother judged his friends.

Elias saw from the jet window Victor and Dominik waiting for them with a nice black car ready to take the men to Belize City. Elias couldn't fight the smile growing on his lips as he saw his friends again. It had been too long since the three of them went out together, laughing until the sun came up.

As the jet door opened, Elias walked out with a grin.

"Look who's still alive," Dominik pointed out as he and Victor walked over to Elias.

"By some sick turn of fate, I guess," Elias said hugging Dominik, knowing that Victor wouldn't appreciate the same gesture.

"Thank you so much for helping us out," Elias said turning serious, looking over his shoulder to see Steve and Bucky walking over to the group.