America's Soldier

The Plan In Action

I have a lot to do, and not a lot of time to do it.

Nat got in contact with Tony, and we are in business in that regard.

Hill is on her way to acquire the clothes that we need.

I get a few recordings from Nick, as well as contact information to get ahold of him if this part of the plan flops.

I lay out everything that is going to need to be done tomorrow. We have a general timetable for how the launching should work, and everyone has some sort of backup plan in case our information or plan is shit.

By the afternoon, Sam has smuggled Tony to the hideout. Sam is the least suspicious out of all of us in hiding, so he's stuck doing the dangerous stuff that would be deadly to the rest of us. Plus, he has a car that isn't being looked for.

For how dangerous this plan is for him, Tony is actually incredibly chill. I've barely gotten to interact with him before today except in the middle of combat in passing, so seeing this man, a genius billionaire superhero, in casual clothes, discussing calmly all of the ways to avoid him dying, is a bit of a shock for me.

He's ripped, for one thing. Apparently his way of flying keeps him strong, along with all of the workshop work. I can see the muscle in his arms just rippling as he points at the sheet of paper I've laid out on the table. I am distracted by having twice as many pretty boys in the room. This is not me at my most productive, but I work with it.

By evening, everything has fallen into place.

And it might actually even work.

***

I wake up next to Sam again. This time, he's already awake. He smiles grimly at me and gets up, and I feel the missing body warmth immediately. I'm groggy, it's too early in the morning for me, but I get up and get dressed in the clothes that are folded nicely next to the bed.

Sam looks good in his, I feel off in mine. This is a SHIELD uniform, for all intents and purposes, but there's a HYDRA pin on the collar of the shirt. Just seeing the symbol makes my stomach feel weird, after everything I've done to stop them, and everything they did to me. But now I'm wearing it, and my acting better be pretty damn good if this is going to work.

I want my shield.

Wait.

I'm not in disguise. I am supposed to be me. I can have my shield!

I grab my shield and take it to breakfast because I am that guy. I remember back when I was little, I would take this stuffed dog everywhere until it literally fell apart. The shield feels like another support thing, something that reminds me of home when I'm feeling lost in this whole new world.

Nobody mentions it.

Tony is wearing the same clothes as yesterday, as per the plan, and he's already done with breakfast by the time I start to eat. I don't think he actually slept. But either way, I take some of the coffee he made to give me the boost I need this morning.

Breakfast is pretty quiet. We all clean it up together. As soon as the last plate is in the dishwasher, Tony walks over to me.

"Punch me," he says.

"What? No!"

"HYDRA isn't going to believe you got me without a fight. Punch me, Barnes."

He looks serious. I really don't want to punch him. I respect this guy, and he is pretty. I don't think he realizes how strong I am after HYDRA ran tests on me.

But then he swings a fist at my face. I block it, and it glances off of my injured arm.

Fuck.