Part 3

"So we're allied with a criminal mastermind, but avoiding the new Cap?"

"Pretty much."

"Seems pretty backwards, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does."

Alex nodded. "Right. Well, seems to be going well so far."

Sam shook his head. "What have we done?"

"So this is Madripoor," Carina remarked.

"Yes, it is. Now Mrs. Granado-Barnes, I would advise you to stay out of this one," said Zemo.

"Why?"

"Well I'm sure it is no surprise to you that you have many look alikes running around the world-"

"No, I know."

"I'm sure you are well aware-"

"Well aware."

"Well there is a bounty in Madripoor for your friend Sascha Shostakov - a high price. And Black Widows blend in seamlessly - you might be suspected."

"Well what about Alex, I mean she looks more like Sascha than I do - hell she looks exactly like her."

"Yes, and so we will use that to our advantage."

"Well what would you have me do then? I'm not staying behind on the jet."

"I advise you to stay with the car on the edge of town, out of sight."

She did not appear pleased. "Fine. But I insist that I'm looped in through the communication link."

"Very well, as you wish. But know that once we're inside, communication will be scarce."

"Wait, wait, she's not strolling through Madripoor on her own," Bucky jumped in.

"You two are adorable." Zemo gave an extremely fake smile.

"Don't worry, I'll stay close by the car and I'll be armed the whole time. You just concentrate on getting in, getting the information we need, and getting out." She hugged them all, including Alex - and except for Zemo.

"We have to do something about this," Sam said as they entered the city, shifting uncomfortably in his costume.

"You look exactly like the man you're supposed to be playing," Zemo assured him. "Conrad Mack, aka the Smiling Tiger." He handed his phone to Sam, baring an image of Smiling Tiger himself.

"He even has a bad nickname. Hell, he does look like me though."

"Yes. No matter what happens, we must stay in character. Our lives depend on it, there's no margin for error. High Town's that way - not a bad place if you want to visit - but Low Town's the other way."

"Let me guess," Sam said as they climbed into an awaiting car. "We don't have any friends in High Town." Zemo shook his head.

"Here we are," Zemo said when they arrived at an overcrowded bar full of neon signs. "Ready to comply, Winter Soldier?" he asked Bucky in Russian as he led the way to the bar counter. Bucky said nothing.

A bartender approached them once they reached the counter. "Hello, gentlemen, Miss. Wasn't expecting you, Smiling Tiger."

Sam gave a brisk nod in return.

"His plans changed - we have business to do with Selby," Zemo explained.

"The usual?" asked the bartender, addressing Sam who nodded.

He clearly regretted this though as, moments later, the bartender withdrew a snake - a real, live snake, though not for long - and cut into it, removing the insides and adding them to the drink.

"Ah, Smiling Tiger, your favourite." Zemo smiled.

Sam picked up the glass. "I love these."

"Cheers, Conrad." Zemo touched his glass to Sam's and they both took a drink, Sam forcing his down.

A man approached, coming up to Zemo. "I got word from on high: you ain't welcome here."

"I have no business with the Power Broker, but if he insists, he can either come and talk to me-" Zemo gestured to Bucky for emphasis.

"New haircut?" scoffed the guy.

"-Or bring Selby for a chat," Zemo finished. The guy left.

"A Power Broker, really?" said Bucky as soon as he was gone.

"Every kingdom needs its king. Let's just pray we stay under his radar."

"Do you know him?" Sam asked.

"Only by reputation. In Madripoor he is judge, jury and executioner..." A gang had approached. "Winter Soldier - attack!" Bucky jumped into action. Zemo smiled. "Didn't take much for him to fall back into form. Stay in character or the whole bar turns on us," he reminded in a hiss before praising Bucky for his efforts.

"You always let him have all the fun," Alex remarked. Keep in character.

"Selby will see you now," the bartender told them.

"Good," said Zemo. "So accommodating."

"You should know, Baron, people don't just come into my bar and make demands," a female voice baring an English accent said as they entered a dark back room.

"Not a demand, an offer."

"A lot has changed since you were here last," Selby told him. She was sitting on a patterned couch. "By the way, I thought you were rotting away in a German prison. How did you escape?"

"People like us always find a way, don't we?" Zemo smiled. "I'm sure you've already figured out what I'm here for."

"You're taller than I'd heard, Smiling Tiger." She looked up at him and gave a low growl. "What's the offer?"

"Tell us what you know about the super soldier serum, and I give you him - along with the code words to control him, of course." Zemo gestured to Bucky.

Yeah, it was a good thing Carina wasn't here to witness this...

"You have quite the entourage Baron," Selby remarked. "The Winter Soldier and a Black Widow no less."

"Ah yes - however only the Soldier is mine, and the Widow is Conrad's. He is far too fond of her to part with her." Zemo was clearly enjoying this charade way too much. He turned back to Bucky. "He will do anything you want."

"Now that's the Zemo I remember. I'm glad I decided not to kill you immediately. Yeah, you were right to come to me. Arrogant, but right. The super solider serum is here in Madripoor. Dr. Wilfred Nagel is the man you wanna thank - or condemn, depending on what side of this you're on. The Power Broker had him working on the serum, but, things didn't go as planned."

"Is Nagel still in Madripoor?"

"Oh, the bread crumbs you can have for free, but the bakery's gonna cost you Baron. And before you get all cute, don't think you can find Nagel without me-"

Buzz!

A ringing cut into their conversation - a cell phone. Sam's phone.

"Answer it - on speaker," Selby ordered.

Sam did so. "Hello?"

"Hey, um, we need to talk about this situation, it's been drivin' me nuts." A female voice answered.

"What situation exactly are you talking about?"

"Are you high? You know what situation, it's the only situation you and me have."

"What situation Sarah, say it."

"The damn boat. And watch your tone, okay? I let you slide at the bank-"

"The bank, yeah," Sam scoffed. "Laundered so much money - yeah, they'll come around."

"If that was the case, then why'd they dog you out, Big Time?"

"Yeah, you're damn right I'm Big Time. You'll see when I have that banker killed."

"Cass! What'd I tell you about the Cheerios? I don't have time for this! Sam, I'm sorry, here, let me call you back-"

"Sam?" Selby repeated. "Who's Sam? Kill them!"

BANG!

A gunshot filled the room for a second before Selby's body hit the ground. This was followed by her two guards, dead too before they could even fire a shot.

All three guys turned to Alex, gun in hand.

"What? You heard her, she was going to kill us first! Now let's go!"

Sorry this keeps taking me so long to update! But here we are! :)

I also updated my Karli story if you're interested in that one!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)