SLIGHTLY.
004. | ❛ it's a sin to kill a mockingbird. ❜

"I'D RATHER YOU SHOT AT TIN CANS IN THE BACKYARD, BUT I KNOW YOU'LL GO AFTER BIRDS. SHOOT ALL THE BLUEJAYS YOU WANT, IF YOU CAN HIT' EM, BUT REMEMBER IT'S A SIN TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD." KATIA READ OUT LOUD TO HERSELF IN THE GRAND LIBRARY, PREPPING ON KEY POINTS SHE WANTED TO MAKE FOR LATER TODAY WITH BUCKY. There wasn't much on his end to say, so Katia had to fill her time and ramble on about Atticus. She attached little post-its to sides on the page when she couldn't add on to her citations already in the book. She didn't feel this passion for a book ever since she left her job as a professor. The yearning of reading between the lines, and adoring the faces of students who are on board or who view it a different way. She couldn't believe that she actually missed that feeling.

"Damn it, Harper Lee. Always getting me to a state where I reconsider my life." Although Katia never regretted that she left teaching to become an agent, sometimes she wonders if she was missing out on the books that she left behind. If there was one thing that Katia learned from books is that we can't keep living or wondering about the last because then we'll miss out on the present and future.

"Am I disrupting anything?" T'Challa asked, scaring Katia out of her seat.

She caught her breath after placing a hand on her chest, "Do you just appear out of nowhere?"

"My sincerest apologies, Katia. It's just that the medics want to see to see how Mr. Barnes brain is in response to this therapy." T'Challa explained as Katia acquired her book, and went towards him.

"What exactly do I have to do? Just read to him throughout the exams?" Katia asked him, which he replied with a single nod. But it wasn't the end of her questions. She wondered about so much beside that, what if the treatment wasn't working? Where would they go from there, or what would happen to her?

At first, she'll admit that it wasn't the dream mission she thought she was sent on; but the vocation that she had got in touch with again, felt rewarding and known. The furthering friendship that she had established with T'Challa was another positive, and was one that she wasn't willing to let go so easily as before. Not to mention, Bucky. Steve tasked her with this mission, and believed that she could do it. She was trained to stay till the end, and this time around, the end could be near in sight. There was so much she would lose if the treatment wasn't proved resourceful.

"Is there something wrong, Ms.Rivers?" T'Challa asked the woman who seemed to have drifted off from their conversation into her own mind.

Katia stopped her daydreaming and shook her way back to reality, "I'm not entirely sure. I mean, what's going to happen if the test says that this doesn't work? Am I going to stop reading to him? Because I have a stack of books that I haven't even gotten to just yet. I can't leave without him, or at least without something that proves that he can wake up with Hydra in him."

"Katia, if you are scared, you shouldn't be. That's the person that I have come to know. You're—"

"Brave? Strong? Trust me, I admire that those words come to your mind when you think of me. But that's not who I am. I learned how to be that way because of books. I saw the characters that would carry themselves higher than the world, and wondered what it would be like to be them. I'm just simply a person who likes to live in the stories of others." Katia admitted to herself for the first time. It was something that she never liked to confess, but the person she was before didn't at all represent that person she was now. The old Katia would shy away from everything, and hide in the corners of the library. Perhaps that's why she chose to be a SHIELD agent, to fix the struggles that she had dealt with and become a better version of herself.

"Katia, I think you're forgetting to ask yourself one simple question."

"What's that, T'Challa?" Katia asked standing across from him, waiting for his answer.

"What if it does work?" Katia sighed at his question, because she knew that hoping for one possibility was always a bad idea; because if you hope for something and it doesn't come true, then it's even worse than never wishing for it at all.

"I'm a believer in positive thoughts, and surely if you give it a chance, I'm sure that those test will result in something positive." T'Challa concluded before he walked away from Katia leaving her alone to assess his words.
Katia never was an optimist, and would never identify as so. Mostly because she didn't see the world through rainbow glasses, or that everything was pre-determined. She liked to believe in facts, and it fascinated her that it took so long for someone to question her own morals.

She looked at the time on her watch, and quickly headed out to the lab where the team was probably expecting her. Once she barged in with her book, all the eyes landed on her. The head scientist came over to her and greeted her as he always did in the past.

"Ms.Rivers, we simply want to monitor his brain levels. And all you have to do is what you always do, read and explain." Dr.O'Connell told her and Katia promptly took her seat and cracked open her book.

MRI was the key one that they were testing, and to put the pressure on her was difficult. She had read in front of the team before but never in a position were it mattered a lot.

Katia started as soon as they told her, "I'd rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

"So what they're saying is one of the key metaphors of the book is the idea of "mockingbirds" as good, innocent people who are destroyed by evil. Boo Radley, for instance, is like a mockingbird—just as mockingbirds do not harm people but only "sing their hearts out for us," Boo does not harm anyone; instead, he leaves Jem and Scout presents, covers Scout with a blanket during the fire, and eventually saves the children from Bob Ewell. Despite the pureness of his heart, however, Boo has been damaged by an abusive father."

Katia continued reading to him and stopping every so often for the scientists. Once she finished, she felt a relief come off her shoulders but still didn't feel completely in the clear. One of her traits was curiosity, and while it did kill the cat, she needed to know what the scientist were discussing. They did keep a good poker face because their emotions didn't say anything.

She approached Dr. O'Connell who finished conversing with his team, "Katia, you did a good job. That's was all that we needed for today."

Before he could turn around, "What did the brain scans show?"

"I'm afraid that I can divulge that information."

Katia once again stopped him, by placing a hand on his forearm, "I'm involved in this operation more than you think. If you can't tell me, then perhaps I should get King T'Challa in here."

Dr. O'Connell sighed heavily before bringing Katia over to were the scans were taken, "For the looks of Mr. Barnes brain, it's pretty evident that the treatment is working."

"Well, isn't that good news? Shouldn't we be celebrating?"

"While that is a good thing, our team is still working on a way to end the brainwash in his system." Dr. O'Connell explained to her, and washing away the smile that she had on her face.

"How much longer is he going to stay under for?"

"If our calculations go our way, then another month the least." He said but still raised doubts with Katia.

"And if it doesn't go your way?" Katia asked.

Dr. O'Connell removed his glasses and placed them on the table, before looking up at Katia, "If it doesn't go our way, then Mr. Barnes could be lost for a year till forever."