Lynn doesn't speak

Who has said that life is a river, you can't stop its flow, you can only be carried forward by it, you don't know where it will pass in the next second, and at what moment it may stop abruptly.

Steve Rogers has never felt more empathetic with the implications of that phrase than he does now.In fact, after being dug out of the ice and told he'd been asleep for 70 years, he thought it was hard to be surprised by anything—even if it was aliens attacking New York that sounded far-fetched. Steve dared to say that apart from blinking his eyes a couple of times, he didn't feel any fluctuations in his heart.

But now that confidence was crumbling the moment he met Lynn Morris himself in Washington and was utterly destroyed by the news he brought.And before he really understood what he was expressing, Steve stared for a long time, silent with Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. who rarely condescended to come to his apartment.

It's not his fault, Steve thought.After all, Hydra, which should have disappeared 70 years ago, is still there, planning to kill millions of people at once.And the fact that his best friend who fell off the train and died was still alive, and was taken away by their enemies and brainwashed into a murder weapon. It's hard to say which of these two events shocked him more.Moreover, every tiny detail in Lynn's words has enough weight. It is difficult for him to clarify his thoughts in time from this series of impacts. Steve is not sure which one he should ask first to make it easier to proceed.

"So, Bucky is your boyfriend?" In the end, for some reason, he hesitantly chose one of them.

"..."

Even though Lynn was anxious now, he was still choked by Steve.He just said so much, and everything was earth-shattering enough to break the existing order. As a result, what Captain America cares most about is not the lives of Hydra and the millions of people who have already stepped on the edge of the cliff, but his The love life of an old friend?

Lynn was baffled as hell, especially when he found out that Fury and the Black Widow who had accompanied him had no objection to this at all, and looked at him for an answer at the same time.

"...Yes, that's right, if you must want to know." He couldn't help raising his eyebrows: "But is it important?"

"Of course it matters."

Leaning back, the old-fashioned chair quickly creaked under the weight.The corners of Fury's eyes twitched, he sat up straight again calmly, and nodded rhythmically with his index finger on the table: "We haven't decided to believe you, Mr. Morris. So any information will be used as information for evaluation, I hope you Can answer truthfully."

Nick Fury has a deep-rooted distrust of everyone, and it's not hard to understand.In fact, anyone who worked in their line of work probably had some of these occupational diseases, including Lynn himself.In normal times, he wouldn't mind going around a few times with them, waiting until each other showed their cards before talking.But now time is running out, and the matter of the Winter Soldier has hit him too hard. Lynn doesn't even think about it for a second, and he can't delay any longer.

"I'll give you a list." After pondering for a moment, he said: "They are all Hydra's undercover agents in S.H.I.E.L.D. You can ask Agent Romanov to verify it."

"But none of us can guarantee that the list you gave is true."

The expression was still full of suspicion, and Fury's only exposed eye looked up and down at this haggard-looking man, frowning slightly:

"Even if it is Romanov, it will take time to find out the results of the investigation. And you are still an agent of MI6 and have a personal relationship with the Winter Soldier. In this case, in case you have joined Hydra, or the people behind you want You're bad for S.H.I.E.L.D., and we can't tell exactly."

"..."

This logic is more touching.Lynn felt that Fury might not have found the contradiction in his words at all. His suspicion of him was clearly based on the admission that everything he said was true, but it might have been intentional. Of.These intelligence agencies belonging to different countries are inherently incompatible with each other. Although he can use the name of MI[-] to make the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. attach importance to every word of him, but in contrast, it is not easy for him to choose to trust himself.

However, it didn't matter to Lynn at all.

"According to what you said, then I have no room for trust... Let me tell you first, don't blame me for not reminding you when you were blown up by the Winter Soldier carrying the bazooka."

Rolling his eyes towards the ceiling, he was too lazy to go around in circles with Fury, but turned his head and looked at Steve who was obviously in deep thought on the other side: "How do you express your position, Captain?"

His purpose in coming to Washington was, after all, nothing more than a warning.After all, with Pierce's speed, it's too late for Fury to counterattack now.Anyway, it will be sooner or later that Hydra is parasitized in S.H.I.E.L.D., and as long as Captain America is on his side and prepared, then Lynn can leave with peace of mind to carry out another plan of his in Europe.

"When Bucky fell off the train, I swore I would kill all Hydra."

After being silent for a while, under the quiet gaze of everyone, Steve finally spoke slowly: "And now, they gave me another reason to kill them all."

Few people have heard such sharp words from the captain, but everyone present is not surprised.Needless to say, Lynn, he hated Hydra by no means less than Steve, or even more.Black Widow was born in the KGB and has top-notch psychological intervention capabilities. She has long seen that Steve is not as easy to talk as he appears on the surface.On the other hand, Fury was simply beaten by the captain more than once, and he knew where his bottom line was.Now that Steve has answered this way, it proves that he has absolute trust in Lynn Morris and all the information he brought.

"I told you, Fury, that there is no way peace can be brought about with those three Helicarriers."

Turning his eyes to the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. who was starting to have a headache, Steve looked serious: "And your theory of divided management. Hydra has grown and grown under your nose, but you haven't noticed it at all. Today's situation is at least you half of the responsibility."

"So, I will stop Hydra's plan and save Bucky."

Standing up and summarizing the conversation that took place in his apartment, he nodded towards Lynn: "SHIELD also needs to be cleaned together with Hydra, and I will not give in on this point."

"Wait, S.H.I.E.L.D. has nothing to do with this..."

"Then it's settled." Ignoring Fury's protest at all, Lynn just pretended that he hadn't heard anything: "We all follow your command, Captain."

"Don't look at me, I won't object." Receiving the help-seeking gaze from the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Black Widow shrugged, expressing her powerlessness: "Mr. Morris is not lying, Nick. If you need my assessment, I just I can tell you that."

Well, now it's three votes to one, and things seem to be a foregone conclusion.

He looked at Steve, who had an irrefutable expression, and then at Lynn, who was expressionless.Fury knew that he couldn't change the mind of any of them, so he could only sigh:

"...I will contact Agent Hill to get ready."

Then whoever likes to clean up the rest of the mess can clean it up, I quit.

Worrying about the group of kids under him and the Avengers Kindergarten every day, the chief suddenly felt that it might be a good choice to take this opportunity to take a long-overdue vacation.

……

From then on, everything went smoothly.

Now that there is a common goal and enough intelligence, all it takes is a detailed plan, and Hydra will usher in the most terrible defeat in 70 years.In this regard, Lynn was surprised to find that Captain America seemed to be the same as himself, a loyal fan of brevity, willfulness, and improvisation in action.Especially after witnessing that it took only half a minute for Steve to devise an extremely simple and crude action plan, he began to involuntarily think of the escape that he and Bucky had just left, which was also the same randomness, the same unconstrained style.But obviously, in many cases, this subtle unreliability can be interpreted as simplicity and efficiency in another sense.After all, plans can change at any time, but people don't.

Because it was impossible to screen out truly trustworthy people in S.H.I.E.L.D. within a short period of time, Steve asked for help from outside.A veteran, should be called Sam or something else, Lynn didn't listen too seriously.But he has no opinion on this either. After all, he himself will not stay in Washington to participate in the operation. In the case of a shortage of manpower, it is only one person who can be recruited to help. This is not a big deal.

"I thought you'd want to be the first to see him, but that doesn't seem to be the case."

When Lynn heard this, she was standing alone in Arlington Cemetery on the banks of the Potomac River, brooding in front of rows of white cross gravestones.He was a little surprised that Captain America would think of coming here to find him, but he was soon relieved when he thought that he also had an omnipotent black widow as a teammate.

"You are right. I hope to see him sooner than anyone else."

Glancing at Steve standing beside him, his tired face was reflected in his blue eyes like the sea, Lynn forced a smile: "But I have something to do, Captain. I know you will Bring Barnes back and I can't do better if I stay here."

"May I know why?"

Looking away from Lynn, he looked at the neat rows of cemeteries in front of him.Not far from them is the place where the government buried Captain America after the war ended, a very conspicuous monument, and Bucky Barnes's tomb is next to it.Because no remains were found, Steve guessed that there should only be a set of military uniforms in the coffins when they were buried.

People thought they were dead.But 70 years later, they all returned again.

The joke of fate is nothing more than that.

And Captain America has this feeling, and Lynn is also partially buried here, buried in this land where the heroic spirit rests.He may have tried to escape, but now, he has decided to make a decision.

"There's nothing to hide."

Shaking his head, his eyes fell on the old tombstone in front of him.Steve looked down as he moved, only to realize that although his unfamiliar name was engraved on it, the last surname was extremely familiar.

The Morris couple, died on May 1991, 5.

"My father worked in the US military. In order to get rid of the control of HYDRA, he ran away from London, where he met my mother and settled down. But until now, his file is still kept in the Pentagon."

Lynn's voice was very flat, but there was an undercurrent visible to the naked eye surging under the ice.It's not just Captain America who has a mortal hatred for Hydra, Lynn thought, they have ruined too many people's lives, and he is just one of the lucky ones, and he can wait for the opportunity to avenge everything he has done.

"Arlington was built for all who served their country, and I know they put up a monument for you here, Captain."

After being silent for a while, he twitched the corners of his mouth and lowered his voice very softly: "And Hydra sent people to assassinate them, and finally buried them here in the name of heroes. It sounds ironic, right? Sometimes I Really want to tear up every Hydra in the world, burn them to ashes, and sink them all into the Atlantic Ocean."

"really."

Nodding, Steve hesitated for a moment whether he should go along with it, and finally decided to tell the truth: "But you can wait until the things here are over, and I and others can help you... Lynn, I can see Why do you have to face those guys single-handedly."

"Let me be clear, I am not alone, Captain."

Tilting his head under the tree not far away, Lynn smiled.And Steve looked up and found these people standing there, including Kuaiyin who he had seen in Stark Tower before. When he saw his gaze, he waved happily, then turned his head and followed The man wearing glasses beside him said something and smiled brightly.

"Professor X will help me, so maybe you can rest assured."

As early as when he was still a shield, he had experienced the excessive concern of 'Papa Rogers'. Lynn shrugged and smiled a little in his eyes.But soon, I don't know what I remembered, and the smile on the corner of my mouth faded a little.

"And you're right, Captain." He lowered his eyes: "My courage can support me to face Hydra, but it can't make me watch him forget me."

Since it is decided to stop the insight plan, it is only a matter of time before the Winter Soldier confronts him.Lynn had already contacted Charles in advance, and once Bucky appeared in Steve's sight, he would take action to undo Hydra's brainwashing.And that also meant that when he saw his boyfriend again, they would no longer have the close relationship they had before, and they would only be one-sided strangers ever since.

He may have been mentally prepared for this, but seeing Bucky's eyes looking at him gradually becoming unfamiliar, he felt that it would be more enjoyable to let him give him a knife.

"...I can understand."

It's easy to hear the bitterness in his words, Steve opened his mouth, wanted to say something but didn't say it after all, just stretched out his hand, and patted him comfortingly on the shoulder: "You need me to tell him your something?"

Lynn thought for a while, and Steve could tell that he was indeed thinking seriously.Maybe he didn't have time to think carefully before, but now, standing under the quiet and clear sky of Arlington, all the exhaustion and fear he had hidden could no longer hide.

"Tell him when I get back."

At last he replied.And Steve was stunned, not because of his decision, but because he understood the implication of Lynn's words.

I'll tell him when I get back.

And if I don't come back, I don't have to mention it again.

A wind blows through countless pure white crosses, igniting a scorching silence.They stood in front of the Morris couple's tomb, looking at the stone tablet stained by the wind and rain, each with their own thoughts, and fell silent for a while.

until the last moment.

"I have to go now."

Looking at his watch, it was already the scheduled departure time.Lynn took a deep breath, turned his head, and looked into Captain America's worried eyes:

"team leader……"

The rest of the words were drowned in the sudden choking, but Steve knew very well that what Lynn didn't say was a heavy and desperate plea in his life.

"I will definitely bring Bucky back."

So, with a sigh, he made such a solemn promise.

"You have to keep yourself safe too."

"……I will."

Taking one last look at his parents' resting place, Lynn nodded, then turned decisively and walked towards the waiting X-Men.

Perhaps this is his last farewell.

The author has something to say: The next chapter should be able to end this plot, and then we can end it happilyヽ（ωゞ）