Afghan War army veteran Bucky Barnes has spent the last nine years working as a private investigator, the only job he could get after being found responsible for the deaths of two young boys in Afghanistan. After a year in military prison and a dis...
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When Bucky drove out of the warehouse parking garage he had no idea where he was going at first but something in his brain must have taken over because he found himself in front of an ordinary office building in Queens. Getting out he looked at the directory and saw the name. He took the elevator up to the fifth floor and tried the door, opening it to see a dark haired woman sitting there.
"Yes," she said in a no-nonsense way, "what can I help you with?"
"I was wondering if Mr. Coulson is in," he asked. "I'm Bucky Barnes."
"Mr. Barnes, how nice to finally meet you," she said. "I'm Maria Hill, Phil's law partner. Our admin assistant is off sick today so I'm kind of doing double duty. Come with me. We have your settlement."
She led him down the hallway to a small conference room and offered him a coffee. Then she went to get her partner. Bucky sat there taking in the ambience. In many ways it was quite an old fashioned office. The building, a brownstone that was probably built in the 1920s or 1930s still had its original wood finishings around the doors and windows. The light fixtures, although modern, were retro in look. Everything was made to look like a lawyer's office from the 1950s, functional, sturdy, and competent.
"I had the feeling you might appreciate the ambience here," said Coulson as he walked in with a file folder under his arm and Maria right behind him. "I'm a fan of old buildings. This one was in dire straights when I bought it but I wanted to restore it to its former glory. I think I succeeded. You met my partner, Maria Hill. Coffee?"
"No, thank you," said Bucky. "I just came in to see if the settlement was made. I need to go away for a while and I need funds to do it."
"Oh?" asked Coulson. "I thought ... never mind. You're my client and if you say you have to go away it's not my place to question it. Yes, your settlement is in. I have the cheque here. You just have to sign for it and then deposit it."
Coulson took the cheque out which was paper clipped to two sheets of paper. He had Bucky sign both of them and handed him the cheque, plus one of the papers with his signature on. Then he reached back inside the folder and brought out another piece of paper and a small card.
"Here is your honourable discharge paper," he said. "This is your VA card so you can access your benefits. There's a website listed on the card. You just create an account with your military ID, create a user name and password and you have access to everything, including that college tuition."
"Do I have to use that right away?" asked Bucky. "Or do I have time to do some research, figure out what I want to take?"
"You have all the time in the world," said Coulson. "If you have any problems you call me, or talk to Maria. She's familiar with your case as well. Bucky, is everything alright? You seem off."
"No, I'm fine," said Bucky, standing up. "Really, I'm fine. Thank you for taking my case and helping me. I do appreciate it. Miss Hill, it was a pleasure to meet you. I can see myself out, thanks."
