"They're not gonna keep you long," he said in a voice that was choked and tight. He hadn't anticipated being brushed off that easy or that thoroughly. He didn't want to leave? Of course he didn't want to leave. "You sure you wanna stay here and be bunkmates with that fat goose stepper Major? Circumstances may be looking damn bleak, but you ain't that man. Rotting in here 'til you do turn into that man is stupid."

It was the closest Tom got to admitting that yes, yes, that man with the ugly metal arm and uglier eyes was Mr. James Buchanan Barnes. It was the closest he could get without bile rising in the back of his throat.