The Story Book

Cont... The meet had been a trap. Bucky had known that walking in.  When he looked at the layout of the plaza, he had laughed silently to himself, an exposed space with two hostages and a sniper. This was a kill box, admittedly a big one, but still.  There were so many possible nests, so many possible angles. If one were to fire into a crowd like expected, it would be mass panic and a stampede. But the threat would be enough. There would be snipers. He had no doubt.  The irony, though, that was there. But if this was how he went out, sniper bullet in the middle of Nola protecting his fiancée's children, it wouldn't be so bad. But he still put on the vest and trackers they insisted on—nine in all. Overkill, but it wasn't like he would say that to them. In the end, it wouldn't matter. He'd be dead by the end of this as long as AJ and Cass weren't.  The crowds kept growing as the time drew near for the meet—the perfect cover. There would be no way to tell who was w...

Cont... Sam had never felt such relief as when AJ and Cass were ushered into Rhodes's situation rooms.  "Uncle Sam!" Cass threw himself into Sam's arms. AJ waited a beat before joining the intense hug. Sam felt something in him relax and finally breathe as the knot of fear loosened for the first time this week. They weren't out of the woods yet, and this still had a possibility of going way south before resolving itself, but they were safe. They were home. That's all that mattered. No matter what.  "AJ! Cass!" Sarah gasps, bursting into the ops center.  "Mom!" Both boys threw themselves at her in unison.  Sam rose, watching them cling to each other and drank in the happy sight before turning back to the wall of monitors. Pressing an intercom button that connected to Bucky's one-way comm unit, "We have them. They're safe." On-screen, Sam could see Bucky's shoulders relax from their tense position. Bucky nodded once. The...

  Cont... AJ wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it was a substantial amount before footsteps came clomping over and the door opened. It was Thing 1 again with a plastic grocery bag, "Put those on and eat." He dropped the bag in, closed the door, and walked away. AJ opened the bag and found two red Pelican jerseys, two sandwiches, and two water bottles.  "What's going on?" Cass asked, looking at the stuff.  "I think you're gonna get to go see the Superdome after all. Put that on over your clothes." AJ shoved the smaller of the two jerseys at Cass.  "They're gonna disguise us as fans. There's a game today." Cass realized, pulling the jersey over his head.  "Yeah, it'll be hard to keep eyes on everything. Eat quick." AJ shoved one of the sandwiches at Cass. They both devoured the sandwiches, trying to fill their empty stomachs before splitting the first bottle and saving the other one. About the time they wer...

  Cont... Sam watched as Shuri ran a diagnosis on Bucky's arm sitting on their kitchen counter.  He'd fought about everybody who was somebody in Washington but at the end had convinced them this was a good idea.  This was not a good idea.  But they were too far in to go back now.  Bucky had called Shuri and had explained what he was about to do. She was on a jet to them within the hour. Right now, she was installing state-of-the-art trackers into the arm so that you would have thought they were part of the arm. They'd injected Bucky with a tracking chip a few hours ago, and it was transmitting well. Rhodes had also insisted that Bucky practically bathe in satellite tracking liquid for extra precaution. So now they could find him with cell towers, Wakanda tech, and all US satellites.  None of it helped Sam's nerves. He still needed to have a serious conversation with Bucky about what they were walking into, and he had a sinking feeling that all the trackers ...

Cont...   AJ wrapped himself tighter around Cass, making sure his younger brother was warm, at least. Uncle Sam had taught them what to do when this happened, but he never thought it would happen in a million years.  He'd never seen it coming. One second he'd been yelling at Cass for yelling at Mom; the next, being thrown in the trunk of a car. They'd drugged him because AJ didn't remember falling asleep. When he'd woken up, he and Cass were locked in an empty storage room.  They'd taken his phone and Cass's glasses which had trackers. AJ had luckily been wearing his contact lenses so he could still see without much trouble. Cass could, too, to a degree. Their father had almost as blind as a bat, and both boys had the misfortune of inheriting that gene. AJ had it worse than Cass, but Cass still had it enough that trying to run if the chance showed itself would be tough.  Whoever had grabbed them had left the single lightbulb in the small closet on showing th...