CopyCat | Bucky Barnes

19

"Now that I'm older, it's so much harder to say those words out loud."

               - When I Was Younger, Liz Lawrence

"Sir, there are a lot more unknowns than we anticipated." A woman named Jemma says through our ear pieces.

"If Skye's done her job and their leader agrees to meet, I'll handle the rest." He tells her.

"Lock in! Touch down in five!" The pilot calls to us.

I get back in my seat and strap myself in next to Gonzales. He buckles his own belt and turns to me.

"I want you watching every one of them. If you sense a hostile, I wanna be the first to know." He says not breaking eye contact.

"Yes, sir." I reply monotonically.

The quinjet machines continue to hum and there is a slight jolt in the ship when the wheels make contact with the ground. The accelerator whirls to a stop and I get back out of my chair.

I stand next to Gonzales and we wait a moment till the doors open and ramp folds down. The terrain seems to be mostly forest and there is a man waiting for us outside.

What puzzles me about him is that he seems to have no eyes. Not like he lost his sight somehow, but there is literally no eye socket, just smooth skin. It's not hard to see why humans fear powered people.

Gonzales waddles down the ramp as best he can with his cane and I try and keep same pace with him.

The man with no eyes meets us halfway and we stop. "Welcome to Afterlife, our leader awaits." He motions to the small village that looks sort of Chinese, and leads us over. The rest of the agents wait there so it's just me and Gonzales.

He brings us to one of the houses and opens up the doors, motioning for us to go inside. I walk in first and half expect some kind of booby trap. Nothing happens, and there are three other people in the room, one of them being Skye.

"Where's Coulson?" Skye says when she sees Gonzales.

"At headquarters, and I represent S.H.I.E.L.D. with his same intentions." The eyeless man closes the door and I focus my mind on the woman. But It's like her mind is radio silent. I can't seem to read her thoughts, and by her facial expression she knows I can't either.

"I might ask why he's here though." Gonzales says pointing to the other man in the room.

"You returned Lincoln and Skye to us. We'd like to return someone of interest to you." The woman speaks. "He's killed agents of yours, hasn't he?"

"Uh, no. No, not S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. I don't think. No, just people..." He pauses. This guy doesn't seem very stable to me and I narrow my eyes, staring daggers at him. "Who had it coming." He finishes.

"We pride ourselves on doing the right thing." Jiaying continues. "And as much as it pains me, I do understand the larger goal."

"I'll call one of my people to take him." Gonzales tells her.

"Skye can." Jiaying suggests, turning to her. "Would you take your father to the agents outside? I'm sure mister?"

"Gonzales, Robert." He finishes for her.

"Robert, and I have much to discuss." Skye nods and they leave the room. Gonzales take a seat in front of Jiaying's desk and I keep my feet planted behind his chair.

"I must admit," Jiaying says. "I'd feel more at ease if I didn't have your bodyguard attacking my thoughts."

She can feel me pushing into her mind, and not many people can. This doesn't make me feel at all better about this woman.