Test Subject 13

Warning: Strong-ish language. 

Every morning started the same way lately. Wake up, contemplate rolling over and pretending the world didn't actually exist, finally drag myself out of bed, make coffee, and stare blankly out the window wondering how after all this time I was still hung up on a guy who abandoned me in the middle of nowhere. For my own good, apparently. 

A note and a gun. That's all he left me with. A heavy sigh escaped my mouth as I downed the last cold drops of liquid energy and grabbed my coat heading out the door. Another day spent trying to accomplish some pretense of normal. 

Not that spending 12 hours a day in the freezing cold mucking out stables and chasing horses around a field was really normal. After mind tricking my way onto a fishing trawler heading for Ireland's west coast, I found my way to the wilds of Connemara. Mal, my boss, was horse breeder looking for a yard hand, pay was terrible but it was cash in hand and I had free accommodation in the loft of a converted barn. 

It was beautiful, nestled in between a lake and rolling hills. Calm and quiet, and up until recently I loved it here, but then this sense of impending doom settled in my stomach, I started dreaming about Bucky. Caged like an animal, while faceless men in lab coats milled around him, whispering and jabbing him with needles. 

I shook my head. Nearly two years of peace, of relative happiness, the anger and hurt I had felt originally had dwindled over time. I understood that we barley knew each other. He was a master assassin, and I had pretty much no control over my powers and zero tact in sticky situations. I was a danger to myself and to him. 

Switching on the lights in the barn and opening the feed room, I heard a series of whinnys and soft neighs from the stalls. Relative normalcy, I thought. Just another day in the life. 

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Kicking off my boots and shrugging out of my coat I groaned and rolled my shoulders, 22 horses to take care of every day meant a serious work out, especially when wrestling with stallions five times your size and pushing bales of hay up hills, and technically no day off. Satlls had to mucked every day and while I could use my powers to take some of the pressure off, it was still too risky. Mal had almost caught me so many times at the beginning, that I just stopped risking it, except for Sunday mornings when he took his elderly Aunt to mass. 

switching on the T.V. and Kettle for a cup of tea I began the task of checking the fridge, then the pantry, then lowering my expectations and starting again. Pasta and slightly moldy cheese it is then. 

I was just taking a sip of tea when I looked up at the T.V. and nearly choked. Is that Bucky?  Grabbing the remote and nearly scalding myself in the process I turned up the volume,

"Fugitive and Terrorist James Buchanan Barnes, has been arrested after detonating a bomb in Munich Yesterday, Resulting in the death of a number of world leaders and officials as well as the late king of Wakanda. Sources are saying that the highly dangerous Assassin was aided in his attempt to escape by none other than Captain America and one of his associates, Sam Wilson."

"Oh my fucking god." I dead panned. 

"No there is no way he did it, unless they were hydra." 

Didn't he say there was no point in trying to get answers? I argued with myself.

"Yeah but if he did do this, he has to have had a reason. Unless..." 

Unless Hydra got there claws into him again. 

"Shite, But then why did Captain America try to help?"

This is insane, I have to help. But How?

"Ok, eat dinner, pack your stuff, and then, I donno, Bus to Galway and train to Dublin." Yeah good plan, well probably not but fuck it, worth a shot. 

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A strange sense of familiarity washed over me as I walked out of the train station. What do I do now? Shrugging to myself I headed for the tram stop and sat down. Right, plan time. Their keeping Bucky in..Germany? Shit ok, Internet Cafe. 

Standing and swinging my bag onto my back I debated just walking along the river in hopes I would find one on the way into the city center, but never got the chance as hand clasped my shoulder shakily, shrieking and jumping back about five feet I turned to meet the wide green eyes of a young man , "Lills?"

Clutching my heart and shaking my head I retreated more, "Ah, no sorry." Mind made up I turned and walked towards the pedestrian crossing, I had only made it ten steps when the young man was walking in step with me, "No, no it is you. Lills stop!" 

We faced each other, he had tears in his eyes. "Its me,  Sacha?"

Sacha, images of a younger looking version of the young man in front of me began swirling in my head, far off sounds of laughter echoing but it was all hazy, muffled like I was under water. 

"Lills? Don't you remember me?" he touched my hand and it all snapped into place, the flood gates opened and it was like getting hit by a train, "Sacha?" 

Relief flooded over his face and he did cry then, and so did I, This was my friend, my friend from before. He enveloped me in his arms, we were both shaking and I was dizzy. 

"Where the fuck have you been? I thought you were dead!"