Possibility of Tomorrow - 40

Cont...

Coney Island. Of all the places in the world, the girl in the recording wanted to meet at Coney Island. But if she was Barnes's daughter, it would make sense. 

He had been informed that she would find him in the crowd. How he wasn't sure. But he trusted T'Challa, so he wandered around the pier watching for a girl to approach him. The pier was busy, full of families enjoying the joys of the amusement park. He stopped and watched the Cyclone fly by, clattering on its tracks loudly. 

"You gonna ride it?" Someone asked, nudging him. 

"No, never was one for coasters." Everett shook his head, watching the Cyclone throw a car through a corkscrew.

 "I get that. My dad made my uncle go on one once. My uncle puked." The voice laughed. 

Everett stopped, puking on the Cyclone, a well-known story about Steve Rogers when he was young. Everett whipped around to find a dark-haired girl standing next to him. 

"Hopefully, he's not like that now," Everett said carefully. 

The girl shrugged, "They haven't tried it again. My uncle's worried it'll be an even bigger mess than it was."

 "Somehow, I doubt that."

 "Me too. But you not liking coasters? That I didn't see coming, you being a pilot and all." The girl grinned and turned, so they began walking together. 

"Eh, you'd be surprised. Flying and riding a rickety track are two different things." 

"I don't know. Both make you feel free." The way she said it, wistful, sad, and hopeful, all simultaneously made Everett pause. 

"How did someone like you get tangled up with Ross?" Everett blurted it before he thought it through, so caught on how innocent she seemed. 

The girl laughed harshly, "Someone like me? And who would that be?" 

Everett immediately regretted his words, "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know Mr. Ross. I know what you meant. And to answer your question, the fact you think that is kind of the point." The girl smiled graciously. 

Everett nodded, still shaken by how young she was, "Right. Please call me Everett. Ross seems a little odd considering the circumstances."

"True. Call me Darling." The girl, Darling, shook his hand. 

"Nice to meet you, Darling." 

"Likewise, Everett." 

"So, if you don't mind going back to that tactless question I asked you earlier could you elaborate on it?"

"Certainly, the fact I am a child and seem innocent is precisely the point. In your mind, I'm not a threat; I'm a nuisance. Groups of us bring annoyance, not suspicions, and one of us gets ignored or concern not notice. We're invisible until we're sticking a knife down your throat." Darling shrugged after her explanation. 

Everett shuddered at the last example, "I put that part together. I was asking in the beginning, how did you first cross with Ross?"

"I didn't. I've never met the secretary until two weeks ago. I dealt with his brother Randle." 

"And how did you first come into contact with Randle?" 

"He bought me." Everett had to reboot to process that, "What?" 

"He bought me as a baby from Hydra's trash pile." Darling said with cold indifference, "I was a failed experiment. He saw potential." 

"Then what were you meant to be?" 

"The next generation of super-soldier. Which, in some ways, I guess I am. I was just a late bloomer when it came to the super department."

"So that's how you're Barnes's daughter. You're biologically his but not-" Everett faltered on how to say it.

 "Not his offspring by choice? Yeah, something like that." Darling nodded. 

Everett looked repulsed, "So you grew up in that environment?" 

"Yes. It wasn't as bad as you'd think it was. Wasn't remotely good either, but it's nothing like the Red Room. It's hard to explain. There were thirty of us by the end of the program. Not one of us was over 18." 

"The end of the program?" 

"Yes. It ended about a year ago. They terminated all the participants." 

Everett was gonna be sick, "How old were they?" 

"The oldest was 17. The youngest was 5." 

Everett closed his eyes and let those numbers wash over him, "And you're all that's left?"

 "Yes."

 "How?" 

"Luck. A lot of luck." 

"And you're sure it's Ross?" 

"You've heard the recor-"

"No," Everett cut her off, "I want to know if you think he's responsible. Or if you think Randle was." 

Darling thought for a moment before looking Everett in the eye, "I know that those men have been working as a team to make this world chaos. I don't know who's the leader, but I know they're both responsible." Everett looked at her face, full of honesty and pain, and nodded, "Alright."

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