EPILOGUE—AN UNEXPECTED FRIEND
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SHE DIDN'T THINK it would be possible for her to roll her eyes one more time that day. If I had a nickel for every time I made a fool of myself... she thought sardonically, closing her apartment door behind her. Tossing her keys on the table, she ran a hand through her hair and sighed. 

"Who knew getting a chance to train for the CIA would be this hard," she mumbled to herself, feeling more than hearing her stomach grumble with hunger. She'd put off meals for the day, simply because she was so nervous about her evaluation with a real CIA agent. It probably wasn't healthy, and she definitely regretted it afterward, but at the time it didn't seem necessary to eat when she would probably throw it all up in training anyway. 

The kitchen was unusually plentiful, a perk of actually having a job as a normal, functioning twenty-four-year-old should. It had taken her a few years after her fall out with Earth's Mightiest Heroes to figure that part out. 

Huh. Haven't thought of them in forever, she noted swiftly, pouring a glass of milk for herself and reaching in the cabinet for some crackers. Wonder how those dipshits are doing. 

Getting the majority of her news from snotty news reporters was rather disappointing if she did say so herself. There were times that she missed being part of a team, having that sense of familiarity with such extraordinary people. But then again, there were parts of the team—people in the team—that she would rather keep out of touch with. 

Munching on crackers, she grabbed her glass of milk and was aiming for the couch to do some serious bingeing of That 70's Show when her phone vibrated on the counter, alerting her to a phone call. She back-tracked to the location and peered down at the bright screen, frowning at the strange number. "Probably the Republicans trying to convince me not to vote for Democrats," she rolled her eyes—again—and nearly turned the phone off, declining the call, when a spark of curiosity got the best of her.

"Who knows," she remarked to herself with a shrug, picking up the phone, "this could be fun." She tapped the green 'answer call' button and put the receiver to her ear. "Hey there, you've reached the Russian satellite on Mars, how can I be of—"

"Hey. It's me."

Her voice cracked at the deep voice. It had been six years since that voice had rumbled its way through her body for the last time. Six years since she'd seen him in person. "S-Steve?" She stammered.

"Uh, yeah." His voice was hushed. "Look, I don't have much time, you have to listen to every word I say." 

The young woman shook her head, unimpressed by the sense of urgency in his voice. "Absolutely not. I'm not getting dragged into your shenanigans again. There's a reason I left the super-secret boy band, Rogers."

A pause. Then, "I know. I'm sorry."

Though he couldn't see her, she shrugged anyway and popped another cracker into her mouth. "Whatever, I'm over it. I think. But how'd you get this number?"

Steve chuckled on the other line. "You didn't change it. So I just looked it up in the phone book."

She scoffed, nearly choking on the cracker. "The phone book? Goddamn, Stevie, you really haven't changed. Still an old man, I presume?"

"Very funny," he hissed, "but we don't have time to catch up. I'm about to be found and taken in. You have to help me. Sam's here, too."

She heard a distant, "Hey, kid!" in the background, causing her heart to warm with the memory of old friends. Then, of course, she scolded herself for feeling so fluttery inside. It was so unlike her. 

"I know we haven't talked in awhile," Steve continued, "and I know this was a long shot to call you and ask for your help. But I didn't know who else to call."

She rolled her eyes(she wondered if they would ever get stuck like that if she did it too many times) and crossed her empty arm across her chest. "No shit, Sherlock," she huffed. "You think you can just call me after six years and everything that happened? There are lines, Rogers, lines that you've just crossed." Sighing, she added, "I really don't want to talk, Steve."

"I know. But this could get you back in the forefront of the fighting, just like I know you always craved."

This time, she coudln't help but let an intrigued smirk grow on her face. "Oh? There's fighting involved? Do tell, Cap," she winked.

Steve sighed, but continued. "Bucky's going to be taken in by the CIA. He's being taken care of by a close friend of Sam's."

She mocked surprise. "Sam has other friends than me?"

"Like you said, it's been six years." Clearing his throat, he went on to explain, "This friend of his, she's going to need help keeping Bucky out of the grasp of the CIA. I'm already going to be in their facility, it was only a matter of time. Sam's fine, he's going to see Bucky and our friend soon so he can help protect them both."

"Wait," she interrupted, "so you just want me to play bodyguard? Sorry, I don't watch other people's backs, I watch my own. And kick ass while doing it."

"Trust me, I know. I just need you to do this one thing for me."

She waited for him to state his request.

"I need you to go find her and Bucky. I need you to smuggle them out of the country. I don't care where you go, I just need them gone. Anywhere else will be safer for them than here." Steve's voice carried a sadness that was hard to ignore.

Her mouth hanging open, she was skeptical as she inquired, "I have to smuggle them out of the country? Like a criminal?"

"Yeah." He didn't say anything for a moment or two but then added, "Just think of it as a long vacation. In secret."

She chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, that'll do the trick. That's gonna make everything better when I'm hiding them in an abandoned church or in the sewers or wherever the hell I'll find them a spot—"

"So you'll do it?" His words began to get more urgent like he was running out of time. "I need you."

Scoffing, the girl retorted, "Please. You said that the last time. Look how we ended up."

The line was silent. But Steve obviously couldn't have it that way for long, as he put in, "Please do this. I'll pay you back, any way you'd like me to."

"Well, I'll start by having you leave me the hell alone," she started, but then deflated. "Fine. I'll do it. But only because you suck at hiding people. And partially because I can't get a job at the CIA. Something about having a previous involvement with a certain star-spangled fugitive." With a smirk, she finished, "You wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you, Cap?"

"'Course not," he replied swiftly, the teasing smirk evident in his voice. Then, softer, "Thank you. This really means a lot to me."

She waved a hand dismissively, saying, "Yeah, whatever. Thank me when it actually works, Rogers."

If she could have seen him, she was sure that he would be smiling. "It will. It has to." Then he went on to tell her the address of a certain Elda Reid, the house in which she would find the twenty-six-year-old and Bucky, the man from the past that she'd only known for a few months. 

"Alright, Captain America, I'd say it's time to sign off," she concluded, a pang of excitement growing in her gut. 

"Yeah, I've got to get on the move. And get rid of this phone. I've said way too much." He paused again, ever the sucker for dramatic effect(just like she remembered), and added a soft, "Thank you," before hanging up. 

Jabbing her thumb on the 'end call' button, Cara Jansen tossed her phone down on the counter. Running her fingers through her hair, she smirked, feeling the adrenaline surge through her veins.

It was time to go to work.

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so i feel like this is actually kind of bad, i like the bonus chapter before this a lot better tbh. i mean, it's literally 1:15am while i'm writing this, but you needed to know this stuff. cara jansen is my oc from home and stay, which i wrote two years ago, and for some reason i felt the need to include her in this series. so, whatever. if you want to read those books and get caught up on cara's backstory, you can, but i don't think it's necessary. i'll probably explain everything pretty well in the sequel to this book. 

well, that's it, everyone! thank you for reading!

published on: january 5, 2019