cathect
(v.)
To invest emotion or feeling in a particular idea , object, or another person

•••

"My first mission was overall very easy. A rookie mission. But this one mission was worth so much more to me than all others combined. It was a mission of revelations. Some of the most important in my life."

•••

Natalia was dressed in an overall stylish dress that fell just below her knees with warming pantyhose and thick-wool lined shoes with brown woolen coat that was as long as her dress and a matching hat, scarf and gloves. Her layer of weapons was not the most comfortable thing, but she did feel safe.

In the purse she was provided, she held several legal documents that pertained to her cover: Dr. Calina Vanko. James was dressed just as warm. A long woolen coat with a scarf, gloves, and hat were worn with it. His thick layer of weapons was well hidden under his business tuxedo. He too, contained a wallet with money and legal documents pertaining to Dr. Albert Vanko.

They were given doctorates in engineering so that they were allowed in the room with Stark and Vanko. They did possess such knowledge, but, of coarse, work in a much more difficult field of work.

And Natalia's hair did possess small enough weapons. It was done in an elegant bun on the back of her head.

Dr. Albert and Dr. Calina Vanko looked like distinguished, outstanding Soviet citizens. And legally they were. In reality they were two weapons with broken souls buried deep inside, probably never to surface.

Natalia felt out of place in regular clothes. She had not worn them in almost two years. But really, they weren't normal. Not with all the weapons stashed in every available place. She was sure James felt the same way.

They sat silently in the back of a moving car that was quick on its way to the Moscow train station in where they'd meet the real Dr. Vanko and begin the enduring trip to the United Kingdom.

They reached the station and were let out of the long, sleek, black car. They were instructed to meet him at the platform where they'd board the private train.

The cold air bit at Natalia's beautiful face, freezing her to the core. Winter in Russia was nothing to take lightly. I wonder if that's where they got the Winter Soldier? she mused to herself.

They made no sound as they walked through the station, making no eye contact with any of the the citizens.

"We cannot seem cold towards each other as we must be in the Red Room. We must play our part. We are two Soviet citizens of high stature who are happily married and off to accompany my brother in his joint mission improve the lives of Russian inhabitants," he told her in a way that made it seem like that were speaking of something happy in their lives.

"Right," she smiled back showing that she had caught on. He smiled lightly and placed his hands on her back, pretending to be her loving husband through the bustling train station.

And in all honesty, she didn't have to act to seem comfortable around him. She had to act to seem cold towards in in front of their superiors.

Soon they reached the boarding platform where Dr. Vanko stood behind two body guards. <Anton! How are you, my brother?> exclaimed James happily as he held out his hand to shake. Anton shook his head and smiled back. <I am good, Albert. Very good. And how are you and the wife?>

<Splendid. Thank you for asking,> James responded happily. Anton then turn to Natalia, holding out his hand. She smiled and held it out to him. He placed a light kiss of her hand and shook it warmly.

<Good to see you, Calina,> he greeted. He had obviously been debriefed on the parts they'd all be playing. He turned to James.

<And who all will be on the train?> he asked.

<The three of us are the only passengers. There will be the conductor and his assistant. A cook and a server,> he answered, moving to Anton's left, and Natalia moving to his right and discretely leading him onto the train.

Once they boarded the train, they sat across from Anton. The small woman, who Natalia presumed was the server brought in a tray with three cups and a pot.

<So, we are set for the trip?> asked Anton, taking a cup from the tray as it was being filled with coffee.

<All set,> answered James, crossing his arms. <The train's clean. So is the staff. We've got about three days ahead of us. Three stops. We'll on the eastern border of Poland. Eastern border of Germany. Northern border of France. Then we'll cross the English Channel and should arrive promptly in London on the fifteenth. We will accompany you to meet and work with Stark. We'll attend the gala also. We expect most the most threat to come from that and in the motel. But for now, you are completely safe.>

<Am I to call you both Albert and Calina with no one around?>

<That would be best. There could be eyes and ears anywhere.>

<Thank you for doing this,> Anton said, taking a hand from each of his protectors and grasped them firmly in a thank you.

<We are going to the back to set up some gear. Come along, Calina,> James said, standing up from the booth and walking down the middle of the car and to the room where they'd set up some systems

Natalia closed the door behind them and began powering up the security systems in sync with James.

<He isn't bad,> Natalia pointed out as she looked over the camera screens that were powering on.

"Not too bad. Though you always need  to keep your eye out. Do you remember what I said about something like this?"

<Looking over your shoulder needs to become second nature,> she answered.*

"Right. You need to trust not even your colleagues. People that would call you close. Never trust. Human beings are untrustworthy by nature."

Natalia's brows furrowed. She wanted to trust James. But does mean she can't? <Are you saying that I can't trust you?>

A confused expression crossed his face as he put on a headset and fiddled with a commutation device.

"I wouldn't call us colleagues. More like... partners," he said thoughtfully.

<Well... can I trust that?> she asked, stopping what she was doing and fully focusing on him. His fingers stopped twiddling as he looked down quite consumed by the question.

"You c—" he stopped for a bit. He eyes looked like he wanted to say no, but defeatedly he said, "Yes, Natalia, you can trust me."

The train ride went smoothly. No complications. This was hopefully the way the entire mission would go.

Natalia and James escorted Anton into an armored limousine and buckled down for the relatively short ride to the military base.

<We are now at the moment where anything can happen. We are no longer in control of our surroundings,> James told Anton under his breath as they all stepped out of the car and met a man who was to show Anton where to go.

They followed him into the large building, through the lobby and into an extravagant conference room where a man and a woman were sitting next to each other, talking in whispers. Once they saw that their company had now entered, they stood up to greet them.

The man was short and obviously cocky—you could see in in his body language. His hair was brown, but near black. It was slicked back very stylishly. He wore a designer suit and a handsome smirk under his somehow modish mustache.

"Howard Stark," he introduced, holding his hand out to Anton. "And this is my colleague, Agent Peggy Carter."

"How do you do," she greeted from behind. Peggy was a beautiful woman, but obviously proud and confident in herself. Natalia wasn't very used to seeing women in this line of work. She though she'd be one of the first.

"Greetings, Mr. Stark. Agent Carter. I am Dr. Anton Vanko. And is my brother, Dr. Albert Vanko and his wife, Dr. Calina," Anton said in a thick Russian accent.

"Good to meet you all," he chirped, looking from Anton to Natalia with awe. "And what a lovely woman we have here," he said, taking Natalia's hand and planting a soft kiss on it. He moved on to James. "You are so luck—"

And he stopped. As soon as he held eyes contact with James, he fell silent. Howard looked him up and down in absolute disbelief.

James looked overall uncomfortable. But Anton fixed it. "Is there a problem, Mr. Stark?"

Howard remained fixated on James.

"I-I am so sorry," he said a bit shaken. "You just look like a friend of mine that I lost in the war."

James smiled. "It is alright. Everyone has a doppelgänger."

"Yeah..." Howard said distantly. "But this is kinda weird. You sound like him too, Al," he said placing a friendly hand on James's shoulder an turned to face the woman. And bit too close for James's comfort. "You see this, Peg? Doesn't he look just like Bucky?"

She looked upon him, brows furrowed in thought. Her stare was quite intimidating.

"He is a carbon copy of Sergeant Barnes," she said, coming closer. They continued to gawk, making everyone feel a bit uncomfortable. "Howard?" she asked.

"Yeah, Peg?"

"Didn't Sergeant Barnes meet his end in Russia?" she asked, suspicious of the situation.

"Middle of Siberia," confirmed Howard just as suspiciously.

"Right," she said, giving James and Natalia a death stare. But quickly she moved her attention from James to Anton. "Anyway, Dr. Vanko. As you know, there is some heavy tension rising between our countries. This combination of wits is inspire peace on earth. I do hope you can get to work soon."

"Yes," Anton agreed. "Let us go."

"Right this way sirs and misses," a staff worker said as he led Anton, James, and Natalia out of the conference room.

Howard began to follow, but Peggy held him back. "Howard. Can you believe it?"

He shook his head. "No. He didn't know who we were. Just an amazing look alike."

"No, Howard. That is Barnes. That  treacherous bastard. How could he do that to Steve!"

"Peggy. That can't be Bucky Barnes. He died five years ago," he told her. "Lets just go get to work," he said as he began to walk out. Peggy grabbed his arm.

"That is James Buchanan Barnes. I don't know what he did. Set up the fall or they found him and he complied, but he is James Barnes. And he is a traitor. He death made Steve reckless. Steve no longer cared if he lived or died. That man in there is betraying our nation and took Steve Rogers away from us."

"Peg, Bucky Barnes would never commit high level treason. That is Albert Vanko. Anton's brother. Besides. He'd be older like us."

She smirked. "Whether or not that is James Barnes or not—which it is— that is not Albert Vanko."

A confused expression crossed his face. "What do you mean?"

"They're his undercover bodyguards. I thought you had the highest IQ of the entire American military," she said exaggeratedly as she walked out angry at the genius's stupidity.

She left him standing there, completely dumbfounded.

Then he followed after her, throwing excuses as to why he didn't already know that.

They gathered in a planning room, James, Natalia, and Agent Carter sitting quietly in a corner, watching over the boys. It was like a supervised play date.

"I was thinking the perfect way to unite nations and people through science is renewable, clean, unlimited energy," Howard began. And the two boys delved into their new project.

James and Natalia sat quietly as they covertly observed Agent Carter. They didn't know another person was to accompany him. Was she here to kill Anton? Was she just close to Stark?Was she of any use in Howard's field or was she only an agent?

All Natalia and James could be sure of was that they were ready for anything the female agent could serve. She was easily overpowered physically. But she was intimidating. She had a strong mind. They figured she was probably safe, but knew one could never be so sure.

And whether Natalia knew it or not, she had completely cathected to James. He was her lifeline. He was her purpose. He was her inspiration. But how much longer would she have with him? Another thing no one could be so sure.

*Natasha goes by this statement in a present day and passes it along to the Avenger in Captain America: Civil War

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