black sun rising || b. barnes ASSEMBLE ✔️

1.9

W A S H I N G T O N  D.C.
america

ATHENA

WE SAT at the bench until closing. I told him about the little time we had together, from how we met to up until now. We stayed in the museum until it was very late, until the security came and told us that we had to leave.

Slowly we made our way back outside, where the sounds of the city had hardly quieted. It had gotten a bit cooler. The air made my head hurt less.

"Do you want to go back to see Steve?" I asked when we got outside.

"No, not yet. I don't remember him. I need more time."

I nodded slowly as I thought about his words. I felt bad for Steve; I knew he cared for his friend deeply. But my alliance was not towards Steve. It was to James. My purpose was to help him. Something I set out to do five years ago. When I did, and he was ready, I'd bring him to Steve.

With that decided, I looked around. "Are you hungry? You must be."

He nodded. He was still scared. I know talking to him helped jog a small part of his memory, but I couldn't tell if he actually remembered me.

"Do you remember pizza?" I asked.

"No."

I smiled. "Well, you're American. So you'll love it."

Twenty minutes later, we sat at a small table of a pizza shop. It had an hour till closing, but the pizza was still good.

I had bought us a regular pizza, but James ate the entire thing and even the piece I had offered to him. While he ate, I sent a message to my mother. She was happy to hear my mission was a success. She sent a cab for us that would take us to her jet.

"Where are we going to go?" James asked.

"I am going to take you to Vienna. But Natasha released records of Shield, Hydra, everything. You are a wanted man. I am not sure what do to just yet."

He nodded. Slow. I wondered what he was thinking.

We waited in quiet for the cab. And when I saw it pull in front of the pizza shop I nodded my head. He followed me out wordlessly and we left together.

"I don't want to cause you any trouble."

"I am an agent of Black Sun. I always seem to have trouble around me."

A smile ghosted his face. "Thank you." It was only a whisper.

We rode the rest of the way in silence. The cab took us to the outskirts of city under my mothers directions, and before long we were pulling up to a jet in the middle of an open field.

The cab drivers mouth widened and he spoke. "Holy crap."

I swiped my card in his reader, and left a generous tip. "Thank you for your discretion. Come along, James. We have got to get on our way."

He followed me just as quietly as he did into the cab and when we got to the jet my mother was waiting for us.

"James, this is my mother. She is the director of Black Sun. Do you remember her?" I asked him.

James looked at my mother and then shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't."

"That is alright." My mother said. "James, I am sure my daughter has told you, but you are a wanted man. Your crimes have been made public after everything that has happened. I cannot risk my agency being made a public enemy by harboring you."

At this point, we had gotten into the jet. It took off.

"That being said, I have set up a place for you to stay in a small city in a small country. You will not be allowed to come to Black Sun as of right now."

I looked at my mom quizzically. That was not what I had in mind.

"My daughter will continue to aid and help you. The apartment will have everything you need. It is my advise to you, when we get there, that you do everything in your power to stay quiet and stay safe. If trouble arises, Black Sun can not afford to bail you out again."

I watched James swallow. "I understood."

"I know that it sounds hard. But I have a billion dollar agency to protect. You'll have a decent allowance delivered to you monthly. Athena will help you adjust. Athena, you have any questions?"

"Where will he be staying?"

"I've arranged for a small flat in the Ukraine. Only because the nation does not have an extraction treaty with the states." When she saw James' confused face, she spoke again. "That means if you are caught in the Ukraine, they will most likely not hand you over to them. We will bounce you around from country to country. It'll be easier. Hopefully."

James nodded slowly. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. Thank Athena."

>><<

The apartment was small. It only had one room; a studio of sorts. But the natural lighting was good. Too good. I closed the blinds as soon as we got there.

It came mostly furnished. There was a table and a couch, an old stained twin mattress in the corner of the room.

It didn't seem like anyone had lived in the building for a while. But it was enough for now. Besides, it is most likely a hundred times better than where he stays when he is with Hydra.

I glanced at James, who was staring at the empty table. "What are you thinking?"

"I never had a table."

I frowned at the sadness of that sentence. This must be a castle to him. "Well now you do. We can get you a television. Some books. Anything you want."

"I don't know what I want. Everything is so foggy." His hand pressed against his forehead.

"We just need to give it some time. We will let the dust settle. We can give you a new identity. You can come to Vienna or go back home. We just need to give it some time."

"I..." James said. "I remember sitting at a table with you. Is that true?"

"It is. Five years ago. I made food for us."

"There was a burning building?"

"The Hydra base. We got out. We were stuck in the forest for a while. You remember?"

James slowly closed his eyes. "You're afraid of snakes."

I laughed loudly. "Yes, yes I am. You remember."

"Will I remember more?"

"Hopefully."