"Have a seat, please," George said as he shook hands with the young man.

Young being relative in this case. The truth was, Barnes was old enough to be George's father. He did some research on the new Captain America as he waited for his arrival. SHIELD's files were incomplete, but there was enough to paint a picture for George. The original Captain America's protege being found cryogenically frozen just as HYDRA made its reemergence was fortuitous. The coincidence gnawed at George ever since he read Barnes' file. When it came to Smiley's world, coincidence did not exist.

George logged that little tweak of intuition deep inside his mind for later use. For now, there were more pressing matters. He sat down behind his desk and adjusted his glasses as he spoke.

"James, if I may call you that, I would like to welcome you to SHIELD. I admit I am not the most qualified greeter, but you have my welcome none the less. Thank you for your service in the war as well. My own father was part of an RAF bomber crew, but he never had the pleasure of meeting you or Steve Rogers, but he would be thrilled to know I got to meet you."