The man had short black hair and light stubble. He was handso, but there was a worn, weathered look about him. His face was expressionless.
Yet when he looked at Isaiah, a trace of mory flickered in his eyes.
Not just mories of Isaiah—but also of soone else. A close friend from long ago.
"You here to kill ?" Isaiah narrowed his eyes. Though he was old, his combat strength hadn't declined much.
"Mind if we talk inside?" the woman beside him spoke up.
She was Neagley. When Isaiah's gaze shifted to her, she spread her arms and spun in place. "We didn't bring weapons. We're not here with bad intentions."
Isaiah studied them carefully. After a mont, he nodded and turned to walk into the house.
Neagley and the man beside her exchanged a glance, then followed him in, closing the door behind them.
In the living room, Isaiah casually set the grocery bag on the coffee table. "Sit. But don't expect to pour you a drink."
"No need. We're not thirsty," Neagley replied.
They didn't stand on ceremony and took seats on the sofa. As Isaiah sat down, Neagley spoke first.
"My na is Neagley. Do you rember him? Bucky."
"So your na is Bucky?" Isaiah looked at him. "Back then, you only had a codena—the Winter Soldier. I tore half of that tal arm of yours apart. Looks like you've got a new one."
Bucky remained silent for a mont. Then he removed the glove from his left hand, revealing a tal fist. Its cold sheen carried a sense of raw power.
"They gave a new one afterward. Stronger than before."
"Hmph. You seem more human now than you did back then," Isaiah remarked, sowhat puzzled.
Back in 1951, Isaiah had been serving as a super soldier for the governnt when he was assigned a mission—track down and eliminate an assassin known as the Winter Soldier in Goyang, Korea.
With intelligence support, he found Bucky in a bar. A fierce battle broke out between them.
At the ti, Bucky had been utterly cold—like a machine with no reason or emotion.
That fight had been dangerous. Isaiah had won, but Bucky managed to escape.
He never expected that decades later, the man would show up again.
Judging by his appearance, Bucky's age seed frozen—but Isaiah wasn't too surprised. Even back in 1951, he had known the man was enhanced.
That inhuman strength and speed were far beyond normal.
As for Isaiah himself—if he hadn't spent thirty years having his blood repeatedly drawn, he would look much younger as well.
"I was brainwashed back then. Controlled," Bucky said. "Now, soone has 'changed' my mind for ."
"That explains it." Isaiah nodded in understanding, then asked pointedly, "So—who do you work for?"
He wasn't just asking about the past.
He ant now, too.
"Hydra."
The na froze Isaiah's expression.
He stared at Bucky in disbelief and repeated, "Hydra?"
Seeing Bucky nod, Isaiah couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.
Back then, the governnt had only assigned him to assassinate Bucky—they had never told him that Bucky was connected to Hydra.
So Hydra still existed… then that ant—
"Don't bother thinking about it. The people you served back then didn't know Hydra still existed. Bucky was too active at the ti and caused quite a bit of damage, which is why they sent you to eliminate him."
Neagley easily saw through Isaiah's thoughts and explained.
"You're just going to tell sothing like that?" Isaiah frowned, confused. What exactly were these two here for?
To clear up his doubts?
"It's not that important. I don't think you'll go around spreading it," Neagley said casually.
Soone living in seclusion like Isaiah—who would he even tell?
If he did leak it, he'd only bring trouble upon himself.
Not to ntion retaliation from Neagley's side—if the U.S. governnt followed the trail and found him, his decades of peaceful life would be over.
He knew what mattered more.
Might as well just say it openly.
"Fine. I don't want to get involved in any of this. So you should explain your purpose," Isaiah said, his tone easing slightly—just as Neagley had expected.
"It might upset you, but we're here for your blood."
Neagley took out a specially made syringe and placed it on the coffee table.
The mont those words were spoken, Isaiah's expression turned cold.
Looking at the syringe, old mories surfaced—unpleasant ones.
But before he could flare up, Neagley took out a tablet and handed it to him.
"Take a look first. I think it might help you calm down."
Suppressing his anger, Isaiah accepted it and turned it on.
The mont he saw what was on the screen, he froze.
It was information about his deceased wife.
And more than that—three additional profiles.
One was nad Sarah Gale Bradley.
Another was a three-year-old child nad Elijah Bradley.
The last was Sarah's husband.
Isaiah's thoughts spiraled into chaos. He looked up at Neagley in disbelief. "This is…?"
"We investigated. In 1973, when you were imprisoned, your wife Faith was already pregnant. The following year, your daughter Sarah was born. They lied to your wife and told her you were dead."
"Your wife was remarkable. Despite her grief and financial struggles, she moved away and raised your daughter on her own. Unfortunately, she passed away from illness not long after Sarah reached adulthood. Your daughter lived alone after that."
"In 2004, your married daughter gave birth to your grandson, Elijah. In 2005, Sarah and her husband died in a car accident. Elijah was taken in by an orphanage."
Neagley calmly laid out the truth they had uncovered.
When she received Matthew's assignnt to investigate Isaiah, she hadn't just looked into him—she had also dug into his family background.
Unexpectedly, she found these leads.
That was why she had co here with Bucky so confidently—to obtain Isaiah's blood sample.
"I can arrange for you to adopt Elijah through proper channels, without drawing attention. We'll erase all related records and ensure no one disturbs your peaceful life in the future."
Neagley stated her terms.
An offer Isaiah couldn't refuse.
It was the most reasonable—and safest—way, if he wanted to raise his own grandson.
She was right.
Isaiah had no reason to refuse.
Without hesitation, he picked up the syringe from the table, inserted it into his arm, and drew out a full tube of blood.
"Just this once."
After finishing, he tossed the syringe to Neagley, his voice carrying a warning.
"Just this once."
Neagley stood up, took Bucky with her, and left.
Isaiah remained seated on the sofa, staring blankly ahead.
...
Read Advanced Chapters on : patreon/cw/OblivionTL
~ Every 250 PS = Bonus Chapter!
~ Push the Story forward with your [Power Stones]
User Comments
0 comments from readers