Ororo sat and listened to James, every word cutting her like a knife. When he was finished, she couldn't move, couldn't say anything. She remained there, immobile, frozen trying to process what he'd told her. He was looking at her, there was nervousness in his eyes.
"Ororo, say something." He begged. She blinked.
"What am I supposed to say?" She finally managed. "What's the correct response to this situation? Do you know?" Her voice was rising. "Because I don't."
James hung his head. "I don't." He said, his voice dejected. His shoulders slumped and he looked so defeated, but Ororo was so furious that she couldn't even find it in herself to feel sorry for him.
"Get out." She said.
"Ororo, wait."
"Get." She glared at him, her eyes cold and steely. "Out."
He didn't move. "Ororo, you need to listen to me. If I fail, Command will just send someone in my place. You won't see them coming."
"Is that supposed to reassure me?" She hissed.
"No." He said. "It's a warning. I can't leave. We need to pretend that things are fine, otherwise..." He trailed off.
She got up and began pacing. Covering her mouth, she tried to regulate her breathing. James was right, she hadn't known he was an agent, and if he hadn't told her, she would have very easily fallen... She wrenched herself away from that train of thought. She didn't want to think about it. She couldn't even look at him. If this Command was coming after her in addition to Lehnsherr...she paused. No. That was too coincidental. She turned back to James. Angry as she was she needed answers.
"Command, what's his name?" She asked. James' eyes widened with horror. Sweat broke out on his brow, but he swallowed and looked her straight in the eyes.
"I can't tell you."
Ororo tilted her head. "is it Erik Lehnsherr?" She asked. James gripped the armrests of the chair and half got up.
"How do you know that name?" He growled. Ororo crossed her arms.
"I don't think I need to explain anything to you." She refused to let him intimidate her.
James was on his feet, grabbing her arms. "Ororo, how do you know that name?" There was fear in his eyes.
She forced her expression to remain calm. "Let go, James."
"Tell me."
"That's not how this works." She said, pulling away from his grasp. "I don't owe you any explanations."
He was breathing heavily, closing his eyes, he walked over to the window. "By telling you who I am, I'm dead." He said, looking out and scanning the rooftops as if...looking for snipers. The realization hit Ororo and she had to take a few steps back; the assassination attempt.
"Steve." She said. "Lehnsherr tried to kill Steve."
James let out a humorless laugh. "No." He turned and gave her a rueful smile. "That bullet was meant for me." He shook his head. "Command's sick twisted way of endearing me to you; have me be a hero by saving the president's life." Ororo glared at him.
"So you knew that Steve would be there and-"
"No." He said. "I had no idea." His eyes were haunted. "Ororo I know you have no reason to believe anything I say, but everything I've told you since I walked into this office has been true. I had..." He broke off. "I had no idea that Steve would be there or that they'd pretend to kill him to get to me."
Ororo sat, her legs unable to support her weight. If that was true, then James really was in danger. "They'd shoot their own operative?" She asked.
James nodded. "And if necessary, they'd kill." He said.
Another silence fell. James remained standing near the window, looking at her. She on the opposite side of the room. Should she trust him? Common sense said no. He'd been spying on her, using her, trying to aid someone in the destruction of her family. She should stay the hell away from him. and yet. Yet he had no reason to tell her. She hadn't suspect for a millisecond that he was untrustworthy. He could have continued his charade until the end and she would have been clueless. It didn't mean she had to trust him, but maybe he could be an in to stopping whatever Lehnsherr had planned.
"Charles." Ororo said, in answer to James' earlier question. "Lehnsherr threatened Charles directly. They have a history. Charles came to me." She crossed her arms. "So why would he need you to..." She shuddered. "Ingratiate yourself to me?"
James turned, giving her a wistful smile. "You know."
She did. From the second Charles had told her about Lehnsherr's threats his strategy had been the same; 'There was nothing Charles Xavier cared about more than his children.' She looked at him. "Is there anything else I should know?" she asked.
"Your apartment is bugged." James said. She gritted her teeth.
"And?" She asked.
"There's surveilance on all your siblings. I don't know who the agents are." James said.
"So there could there be others..." She paused. "Using the same tactics as you?"
He ducked his head, ashamed. Good.
"I don't think so." He said. "There's only one agent who specializes in this type of op."
"Lucky me." She said.
"It isn't me." James said. "It's..." He stopped, the revelation of another agent's name a taboo to big to break. "Command chose me...because of your connection to Steve." He shifted uncomfortably. "I found out when you came into the Oval and I saw the president's reaction."
Ororo's eyes narrowed. "Why am I so special?"
James gave her a small smile. "Because you're the most dangerous." He said. "The others, they don't have the influence or the ability to dismantle Lehnsherr's plan. He considers you the biggest potential threat."
Ororo scoffed. "So I should be honored that he sent you to poison my life."
His eyes flashed. "I didn't have to tell you." He growled.
"You also didn't have to do it." She retorted. He looked away.
"I'm going..." She paused. She'd been planning on saying home, but the knowledge that her apartment was bugged made her sick. "Do any of my siblings not have cameras and mics in their houses?"
He shook his head. "But I don't."
She laughed. "Are you sure, because they didn't tell you they were planning on shooting you. Why would they tell you if they set up equipment in your apartment?"
"Because I do a sweep every day when I get home." James' expression was serious. He'd probably had to look over his shoulder his entire life. Ororo squashed the brief flurry of pity she felt for him. Drumming her fingers on the conference table, she shook her head..
"Nice try, Barnes." She said. "I'm going home."
"Let me take you."
She coughed in disbelief. He sighed. "If Command suspects, anything, it's both our heads on the chopping block." He explained.
Ororo seemed to be debating whether or not to deny his request. Logically she should say no. Bucky had given her a very sanitized account of what he did, but she could easily fill in the blanks; he was a killer and she knew it. Worst of all she hated him for it. He deserved that. He deserved her hatred and disgust, but he needed to keep her safe. His life was forfeit, but she didn't need to be swallowed up by this mess. She could walk away from this...she had to.
"Alright." She said and Bucky felt a weight lift off his chest. "But you're not coming inside."
"Just to the door." He agreed. "Ororo, I-"
She spun around and went to her office to get her bag. He should have expected that. He had no right to ask her for anything. He followed her in silence. She pretended she was calm, but she seemed more jumpy, nervous. Her hand gripped her bag tighter and there was a slight lurch to her stride. He wanted to move closer to comfort her, but he knew it was useless and would only make her angrier.
They were standing a foot apart in the elevator to her apartment. She seemed to be gearing up the courage to say something. Turning to him, she put on a fake smile and moved closer, pressing herself against him and moving her lips to his ear. "Would you have killed me?" She whispered. The cameras. She wanted and answer, but didn't want to risk arousing suspicion. He fought the disappointment in his throat.
"If necessary, I would have been ordered to." He replied. It was true. If Lehnsherr had deemed it necessary, he'd have ordered her killed.
"And would you have done it?" She asked.
He couldn't answer that. He'd never been so close to a target before. His job was clean, efficient kills that were untraceable. Most of his victims no one ever knew were assassinated. He'd never gotten this close and personal before. Then there was Steve to factor in. They'd once been as close as brothers. Even after his capture and through all his rehabilitation, Steve had been there...even though by that time it had been too late. B613 already had him. Steve had never known why his friend had pulled away. Ororo was the first person he'd allowed close since... and he couldn't lose that.
Ororo took his silence as an affirmation and pulled away, moving to the opposite side of the elevator, fighting a look of horror and panic.
"I know you." He said. Choosing his words carefully, he tried to make her understand that this operation was different. "I've never been this close to anyone before." He looked at her. "It changes things, makes me see things from a different perspective." He paused. "So I'd say that this..." he motioned between them, "is moving towards a different outcome than my previous...relationships." He wouldn't kill her. He could never hurt her. She seemed to understand that, but whether or not she believed him was another story.
"I bet you've said that about a lot of..." She paused before adopting his metaphor, "girls before me."
"No." He said, admitting the disgusting truth. He was a coward, only capable of killing faceless people. She had a face, she was real. Command had made a terrible mistake giving him this op; he couldn't go through with it.
The door opened and she walked out, going to her door. She paused, her door on the handle. "Thank you for walking me home and the...interesting conversation."
He nodded. "Do you want to have dinner tomorrow?" He asked. She hesitated, and he cursed himself. Him asking forced her to answer yes. He should have let her make the decision whether or not to go out with him again, even if it was to continue the illusion for the sake of Command. "But if you're tired because of work, I understand."
She seemed to relax, recognizing that she was giving him an out.
"I'll call you tomorrow." She said, then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. It was for the cameras, he reminded himself as she went into her apartment. It wasn't real. But that didn't stop him from wishing it was.