Summary: The gang pays Dr. Nagel a visit and of course nothing goes as planned.

AN: This is probably my last chapter for a few weeks. I am moving on Sunday and then I'm starting grad school the week after (eek!). So, I wanted to give you all one more chapter before things get crazy. (And it just so happens to be Seb's birthday!) This one is shorter than usual, but it felt right. Even if my updating slows, I promise I'm still obsessed with this story, and I'll be working on it every free second, I get. I have it all outlined, and I've written some future scenes that I cannot wait to publish. There is still a lot of story to come!

Title song: Trouble by Cage The Elephant

Chapter 11: Got So Much To Lose, Got So Much To Prove

"There she is." Sharon's shrill voice grated Chanel's ears as she strode through the kitchen. "And just where exactly have you been?"

"Running." Chanel waved her hand over her body, covered in sweat.

"You do remember there is a price on your head, right hun?"

"I don't think anyone in High Town has enough brain cells to figure out who I am and also do something about it," Chanel snorted as she searched through Sharon's fridge. She grabbed an apple and sat down at the table between Sam and Sharon. Bucky sat across from her, a guarded look in his eyes.

"I was worried when I woke up to find you missing from the bed," Zemo chimed in from the breakfast bar, knowing his comment would irritate Bucky.

When he didn't get a reaction from anyone but Sam, Zemo frowned; that was no fun.

Chanel rolled her eyes at Sam's incredulous look. "He's just trying to push your buttons. He talked my ear off until I fell asleep. That's it. He even slept on the couch like a true drunk gentleman."

"If we can focus, I have some info to share." Sharon paused, waiting for all eyes to turn in her direction. "One of my clients had a location on Nagel. He's operating out of the shipping docks. I can take you now; the sooner we get you in and out, the better. You've already been here too long. Everyone will be hunting you now."

The group nodded in understanding.

"I also got some info on the Power Broker." Sharon handed Chanel a file. "It's all over the place; no one knows his name. But there might be something useful to you in there."

Chanel briefly flipped through the few documents in the file. "Which client gave you all of this information?"

The way Chanel stared at her, Sharon felt obliged to answer. "Her name is Claudia. Zemo, I think I saw you talking to her at one point. Tall and blonde."

Chanel and Zemo shared a concerned glance before she turned back to Sharon with a tight-lipped smile. "Well, I hope she knows what she's talking about."

Chanel left the kitchen to change clothes, and Zemo followed close behind.

When they were safely upstairs with the door closed, Chanel turned to him. "So that's bullshit, right? That lady didn't know anything."

"It is awfully suspicious, but—"

Before Zemo could finish his thought, there was a knock on the door, and Chanel opened it to let Bucky in.

"Sharon's lying to us," Chanel started in on Bucky, not noticing his frown upon finding Zemo already in the room. "Zemo talked to this Claudia woman last night, and she didn't know anything. No one at that party knew anything."

"Have you considered that maybe she just didn't tell Zemo what she knew? Not everyone just spills their secrets to any random stranger who happens to be listening." Bucky remained in the doorway with his arms crossed.

"Trust me, if there was anything of value in her pretty little head, she would have told me." Zemo handed the file back to Chanel with a shrug. "I don't know why she would lie, but it might be worth looking into these leads. Carefully."

Chanel nodded, and Zemo left the room, anxious to move on with the mission. Chanel was appreciative of his focus. She was not ready to talk to him about the previous night. She knew she had fucked up, but she wasn't sure where that left her now. Would he use the information against her? Would he tell Sam or Bucky? She had to find a way to get back on top, to gain her control back. At the very least, she had to find out where his head was at.

Bucky started to leave until Chanel called out to him. "I assume you came up here for something other than to talk about this file?" Chanel ran her hand up and down his arm, "I'm sorry I missed you last night. Why don't you join me in the shower?"

"I already showered."

Chanel frowned at his dismissive tone. "Fine, another time then."

The shipping docks were muggy and windy. The unique scent of Madripoor was even more pungent near the water. Chanel was glad she had styled her hair in two tight braids that landed just above her lower back. The humidity was already making her sweat.

"The shipping container isn't on a boat, right?" Chanel tried to hide her uneasiness at being near the water.

"No, it's this way." Sharon led them away from the water into a maze of shipping containers on the dock. "Why?"

"No reason." Chanel relaxed as they put more and more distance between themselves and the water.

"Here it is." Sharon pointed to the container where Nagel was working. "Make it quick; being out in the open like this isn't safe. I'll keep an eye out for trouble." She left them to prowl the dock.

"Sharon, are you sure this is the right one? There's nothing in here," Sam spoke into his comms as he slowly walked to the back of the container, Bucky close behind him.

Chanel and Zemo hung back near the entrance.

"It has to be," Sharon responded.

"Here." Chanel nudged Zemo. She handed him her pistol and pulled another one out of her bag.

Zemo took it but looked at her questioningly.

"They're too uptight," she motioned to Sam and Bucky. "I don't like being in the field with a team member who doesn't have a weapon. I'm not babysitting you."

"Smart." Zemo nodded and hid the pistol in his coat pocket.

"I hear music. I think this is a false wall." Sam slowly pushed the back wall until it opened, revealing a hidden laboratory.

Classical music blared through the container, silencing their steps as they all entered the lab and spread out.

Nagel was oblivious to them, lost in his work, until Bucky turned the music off. Nagel whipped around, coming face to face with Sam.

Chanel was surprised at how young he was; she had expected a white-haired aging scientist in a lab coat. Nagel could have been any random person on the street, not someone you would recognize or pay attention to. He looked like he hadn't seen the outside of the container in quite some time. His eyes had dark bags underneath them, and his face was pale and gaunt.

"Dr. Nagel?" Sam questioned.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Nagel didn't seem to be frightened, as if he was used to dealing with shadier characters.

"We know you created the super-soldier serum."

"Get out of my lab." Nagel tried to push past Sam. He still hadn't noticed the other people who had entered his lab.

"Hey!" Sam shoved Nagel back and turned his attention to Bucky as he approached from the right. "You know who he is, right? Nagel shrunk back to his left only to find Zemo standing there.

"And this is Baron Zemo."

Zemo stared at Nagel with nothing but contempt.

"I know you've heard of him too, right?" Sam took the tiny flicker of fear in Nagel's eyes as a yes.

Sam pointed at Chanel. "Her, you don't know. But I'll give you a heads up; she has a proclivity for shoving knives through necks."

"And eyes," Chanel added while she flipped her knife in the air.

Nagel watched her closely but still refused to say anything to Sam.

"You seem like a pretty smart guy. So you better become conversational, real quick." Sam moved closer to Nagel, crowding his space.

Chanel kept tabs on the conversation as she looked around the lab, opening drawers and cabinets. Sam seemed to have the interrogation under control, and her instincts told her to snoop.

"How about a counter proposal? Make me a better offer, and I'll talk." Nagel was once again trying to hide the fear in his voice.

Chanel scoffed.

Does this guy really think he's going to negotiate with us?

Nagel looked over at Chanel just as she finished picking the lock on a case she had found hidden in a cabinet.

"Can you not do that?" Nagel sounded agitated as he tried to move toward Chanel.

Bucky stopped him, pushing him into a chair.

"You have more important things to worry about right now," Sam said.

Sharon interrupted, her voice crackling through their earpieces. "Guys, we have company. Every bounty hunter in the city is here."

They could hear the muffled grunts and yells as Sharon fought off the bounty hunters. They were out of time.

Bucky pulled his pistol and pressed it against Nagel's temple.

"Okay. Okay." Nagel's fear was finally starting to slip through as all three men converged around him.

Chanel continued her search of the lab while she listened to him spill his guts. He had been part of Hydra. They had him working on the super-soldier serum, and when they fell, Nagel continued his work at the CIA. Nagel mentioned that he worked with blood from an American test subject who had the serum in his system. Chanel assumed he must have been talking about Isiah Bradley. She was really starting to question the agency she worked for; even though she was unofficial, it still bothered her.

"I did what no other scientist since Erskine was able to do. I was a god."

Chanel smirked and looked at Zemo. He looked like he was ready to snap at any second.

"How have we never heard about this?" Sam asked.

"The Blip. When I returned, the program had been abandoned. So I came here. The Power Broker was more than happy to fund my work."

Nagel looked over at Chanel. "You won't find anything. There's no serum in this lab. Karli Morgenthau stole it all."

Chanel raised an eyebrow and held up a small light blue vial. "Then what is this?"

Nagel's jaw tightened in annoyance. "That...is something new I've been working on. It's like an antidote. Suppose it's given to a subject within a few days of them having injected the super-soldier serum. In that case, it takes it out of their system."

"Why would you make that?" Bucky questioned.

Nagel shrugged, "I'm optimizing the serum. Test subjects are hard to come by. If I can keep taking the serum out of them, I can test different versions on the same subject over and over."

Chanel stuffed all 10 vials of antidote into her backpack along with anything else she thought looked interesting and then joined the men surrounding Nagel.

She squatted next to him to look him in the eyes. "Where's Karli now?" Chanel's quiet voice was somehow more demanding than Sam's shouting and Bucky's gun.

"I don't know where she is. But a couple of days ago, she called and asked if I could help a woman named Donya Madani. She has tuberculosis. It's typical in overcrowded displacement camps like that."

"So what happened to her?"

"Not my pig. Not my farm."

Chanel rolled her eyes; this guy was just as useless as everyone else they had dealt with so far. She could see in his eyes that he wasn't going to quit. Even if they sent him to prison, the serum lived in his brain. He couldn't be stopped.

"Now what?" She asked Sam and Bucky.

They stared at her and then at each other, neither knowing what to do next.

Sharon burst through the door. "Guys, seriously, we have to go. Now!"

Zemo had come to the same conclusion as Chanel, just a few days earlier, the second they knew Nagel's name. He pulled the pistol Chanel gave him out of his pocket, and before anyone could stop him, he shot Nagel in the head.

Sharon pushed him up against the wall, and Sam forced the gun out of his hand.

"What the hell did you do?!" Sharon shouted.

Chanel slowly stood up; Nagel's blood was splattered all over her face.

How many times am I going to end up covered in someone's blood on this mission?

Before she could turn around to yell at Zemo or see if she was in trouble with Sam and Bucky, she was knocked to her feet.

Chanel's vision went blurry, and a loud ringing was blaring in her ears.

What the fuck?

She blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to clear her vision; she smelled fire, melting metal.

A bomb?

She turned her head and registered all of the chemicals that were surrounding them.

Shit.

She tried to get to her feet, but when she sat up, her head pounded, and she couldn't see again.

Bucky pulled Chanel to her feet and pushed her in front of him until they stumbled outside, just before the container exploded behind them.

Sam and Sharon were already outside, crouched behind the wreckage from the container.

"Anybody see Zemo?" Sam yelled as shots started firing in their direction.

"Let's go. Wait for my signal." Bucky started moving to the left, pulling Chanel behind him, clearing a path for them to escape.

Sam and Sharon ran in the opposite direction.

"Damn it," Bucky grumbled when he realized Sam hadn't listened to him.

"Bucky, wait, I just need—I can't breathe." Chanel's head was still pounding, and she just wanted to sit down and close her eyes.

"We don't have time," Bucky tried to keep moving forward but stopped when she sat down behind a piece of wreckage. "Shit, are you okay?" He knelt down next to her and scanned her for injuries.

"I just need a second; I'm sorry." Chanel put her head between her legs until she finally registered the gunshots that were constantly going off, and panic set in.

She snapped her head up and quickly joined Bucky's side, firing a few shots before crouching back down.

"We're pinned down here; we have to move." Chanel stood up again and emptied her magazine, but there were too many bounty hunters. They didn't stand a chance.

"Oh really? I hadn't realized that. Thanks." Bucky emptied his magazine as well before leading her back in the direction they came from.

Sharon and Sam were in an even worse position. They all barely fit behind the barricade, and there was no escape.

"I thought we were gonna go left?" Bucky asked sarcastically.

"You went the wrong way!" Sam yelled as he fired blindly over the barricade.

They crouched down again as the enemy fire increased.

"I was clearing the way!" Bucky yelled.

"I came out first; you were supposed to follow me!"

"And where are we now?!"

"Guys!" Chanel shouted. "Can you have this argument after we get out of here? I think I have a concussion."

Sam started to continue the argument as he assessed Chanel's head, but his attention was caught by a masked figure that had appeared on top of a shipping container. "Is that Zemo?"

Even though the purple mask covered his face, the coat was a dead giveaway.

Zemo fired a single shot at a gas tank that promptly exploded, giving Chanel, Sharon, Sam, and Bucky enough of a distraction to escape.

"Go, go go!" Chanel pushed the group forward, and they took off.

"How many bounty hunters live in this place?!" Sam yelled as they continued to fight while they ran.

"Pretty much everyone that lives here is a bounty hunter, especially when the price is this high." Sharon spotted an unlocked container and ushered them inside to hide.

"And you like living here?" Bucky asked.

"It's not that bad." Sharon shrugged.

"Where's my gun?" Chanel held her hand out to Sam.

He placed it in her hand. "It's empty. I thought we were pretty clear that we didn't want Zemo carrying a weapon."

Chanel cringed in response to the group's disappointed glares.

Okay, Chanel - 1, Zemo - 1. Stupid decision.

She wasn't about to admit she was wrong, though, not with Sharon looking like she was just waiting to throw in a snide comment or two.

"And I was pretty clear that that was a stupid decision. I can't be in the field with someone who can't defend themselves."

"Well, Nagel wasn't exactly a threat."

"Wasn't he?" Chanel challenged. "And Zemo just saved our asses."

"We don't have time for this. Come on, let's go; it's quiet." Bucky hesitantly opened the door and made sure it was safe before allowing the others to exit.

Right on cue, Zemo pulled up in a shiny red convertible, a sly grin on his face. "Supercharged." He was clearly pleased with himself.

Chanel smiled, amused at his antics, and didn't hesitate to climb into the backseat of the car.

"You're going back to jail," Sam said sternly as he joined Chanel in the backseat.

"Do you want to find Karli or not?" Zemo countered.

"He's right. We need him," Bucky said begrudgingly as he sat in the front seat.

"Fine, but if you try that shit again—" Sam tried to sound threatening.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Zemo lied.

"Thanks for everything, Sharon. I'll be in touch about that pardon. Be safe until then."

Sharon nodded stiffly; she still didn't believe Sam's promises about getting her back into the States.

"Nice reunion. Until next time." She waved and ran off in the opposite direction, disappearing in the maze of containers.

"I still don't trust her." Chanel watched Sharon disappear with suspicious eyes.

"No surprise there. How's your head?" Sam tried to feel the back of her head, but she pushed him away.

"I'll be fine as soon as we get back on the jet. And once I get out of these blood-stained clothes. I'm going to end up having to buy a whole new wardrobe at this rate."

"My apologies, draga. I'll buy you something new as soon as we get somewhere nicer than this."

"I'll hold you to that." Chanel sat back and closed her eyes as Zemo started driving.

Sam tried not to roll his eyes as he turned his attention to Bucky. "You're not going to move your seat up, are you?"

"No," Bucky smirked.

Despite her headache, Chanel was in a positive mood. She felt like they had finally accomplished something. With Nagel dead and his lab destroyed, no more serum could ever be created. Now they just needed to find the rest of the vials that Karli had stolen. Plus, try to tame Karli and her army. Chanel was curious what Sam's plan for the Flag Smashers was. He would disapprove of killing them, but what other options were there?

Sam was struggling with that exact question.

Can Karli be talked down? Even if she can, then what?

They were progressing, but the path ahead was still littered with proverbial landmines just waiting to explode and throw them off course.

On the drive back to the jet, Sam had called Torres to ask for information on Donya Madani. Torres didn't have any immediate information on Madani, but he filled them in on Karli's latest attack. She had bombed a GRC supply depot in Vilnius, Lithuania, injuring 11 people and killing 3. To their surprise, Stephan and his crew had interrupted the Flag Smashers' robbery, killing one of them and forcing Karli to blow the building up earlier than she had planned. Chanel assumed he was either after the serum or information on the Power Broker, probably both.

The news had led to an argument between Sam, Zemo, and Bucky about Karli and her ability to be saved. Zemo was convinced she couldn't be stopped, that she had to be killed before she killed them. Sam didn't see things that way. He thought Karli was just a lost, hurt kid who could be talked down. He also seemed to support their cause. Bucky was somewhere in the middle. He didn't support Karli's motives or actions, but he was done killing.

With no other leads at the moment, they decided to fly to Lithuania.

Zemo handed Chanel a drink which Sam promptly took out of her hand. "No alcohol for 24 hours. You hit your head pretty hard."

"Fine," Chanel grumbled and made an annoyed face when Sam turned his back.

Once back on Zemo's jet, Sam had determined that she didn't have a concussion but needed to play it safe.

"Here, draga, this will help too." Zemo handed her pain relievers and a glass of water.

"Thanks, Helmut," Chanel said as she swallowed the pills.

"So, what are you planning on doing with the antidote you stole?" Sam asked as he sat down next to Chanel.

She pulled the vials of antidote out of her bag, along with a notebook full of scientific scribbles. "I don't know; I just kind of take things and figure out a plan later. Maybe one of your genius friends can do something with it. Isn't Dr. Banner still around?"

"Yeah, I can get in touch with him. Maybe he can make it more effective. That could be an excellent solution to our Flag Smasher problem. They're just harmless kids without the serum."

Chanel could hear the excitement in Sam's voice and smiled to herself, feeling prideful that for once, her instincts had been helpful.

Sam took the vials and notebook to the front of the plane and called Bruce.

Zemo was still hovering awkwardly, and he looked like he was about to try and start a conversation. Chanel pulled the file Sharon had given her out of her backpack and began studying the pages. She hadn't worked up the nerve to talk to Zemo about the previous night, and the files provided a perfect distraction. Plus, with Stephan's madness escalating, she needed to find out who the Power Broker was before he did.

"Hey guys, I think I found something here." Chanel took the file over to the table where Sam and Bucky were deep in conversation over the shield, yet again.

Zemo joined, standing on the other side of her.

"There isn't much in here, but this name is mentioned a couple of different times," she slid a picture across the table, "Andre Black. He was my mark when I was in Paris."

Sam picked up the picture; he didn't recognize the name or the man in the picture. He looked like a typical rich white dude, nothing special.

"Why were you sent after him?"

"The US government labeled him a terrorist. He's more than that, though. The bombings are just fall out of the war he's fighting with various criminal organizations."

Sam and Bucky looked at her like they had about 100 questions each.

"The details don't matter. It would make sense that he's the Power Broker. He knew who I was. He has plenty of money and power. If nothing else, he might know who the Power Broker is."

"So, what do we do?" Bucky addressed Sam, "can you call someone to go check him out?"

"What? No. I'm going. I know where to find him."

"You're going?" Bucky scoffed. "He's trying to kill you, and you're just going to go straight to him?"

"He'll know if you send anyone else, and he'll escape or simply kill them." Chanel looked at Zemo. "We don't have any real leads on Karli right now anyway. Can we go to Monaco?"

Zemo nodded without question.

Sam abruptly stood up and blocked Zemo's path to the cockpit. "Hey—no! We're not going to Monaco. We're going to Vilnius to track down Karli."

"How about this? I will accompany Chanel to Monaco, and then Ozenik will fly you and James to Vilnius. By the time we get there, you might have a lead." Zemo tried to sound diplomatic, but Sam and Bucky weren't buying it.

"You're out of your mind if you think we're going to let you out of our sight," Bucky shouted.

Zemo tilted his head. "You don't trust Chanel to keep me in line?"

Bucky stammered, looking between Zemo and Chanel, who was staring at him expectantly. "It's not that I don't trust her. I don't trust you."

That was a good save, right?

Chanel rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm going; you guys do whatever you want."

Sam sighed and sat back down, allowing Zemo to pass. "Fine. But why Monaco?"

Chanel smiled cockily. "There's a fancy gala at the Monte-Carlo casino this weekend. He'll be there."

"Okay, and what exactly is the plan?" Sam's foot tapped rapidly under the table.

"Well, I think straightforward is best. I'll find Andre, approach him, and ask."

Bucky rolled his eyes and huffed in frustration. Chanel started to say something to him about his attitude when Zemo returned, carrying a stack of pillows and blankets.

"We'll arrive in Monaco in 15 hours. I suggest you all try to get some sleep."

Sam was too overwhelmed and exhausted to ask any more questions. He accepted his fate and took the blanket and pillow from Zemo.

Bucky was still too pissed off to care and refused the blanket and pillow out of spite. Zemo's play at the gentleman host was getting under his skin. It couldn't be genuine; he was supposed to be the villain, not offering them tea, snacks, and pillows on his private jet. Bucky glared at him as he passed and tried to pretend that he was comfortable in his seat.

Chanel waited until Sam and Bucky appeared to be asleep before she motioned for Zemo to sit next to her. "Um, we should talk about last night, right?"

"What about it, draga?"

"Sam and Bucky—they don't know. Not even Nat knew. Stephan kind of knows, but even then, I didn't tell him everything."

Zemo nodded; his eyes were unreadable as he waited for her to get to the point.

Chanel avoided his gaze; in the light of day, she had felt stupid for confiding in him. It was a foolish mistake.

"Look, we both know that this-whatever this is between us, isn't real. I had a moment of weakness last night, and I don't know why I told you all of that—"

Zemo cut her off, lifting her chin so she would look at him. "You are not weak, Chanel. We understand each other better now. I would never use this pain against you."

Chanel looked away from him again, her guts twisting with guilt. "But I did. I used your pain against you."

"That was before we knew each other. All is forgiven."

Chanel met his eyes, and he could see the struggle as her forehead creased and she searched his face.

She knew this wasn't a real relationship; it couldn't be when they were both constantly trying to outplay the other. But she liked Zemo. They were similar in so many ways. She felt his pain, and she knew now that he understood hers too.

Would it be so weird if we were—friends?

She gently brushed her fingers over his. "Thank you, I really am sorry."

"Try and get some sleep now. It'll be midafternoon in Monaco by the time we land."

Chanel nodded and laid back on the couch. "Wait, I almost forgot, what's the story behind the purple mask?"

Zemo grinned slightly and sat back down. "It's a family heirloom. It was my father's. He wore it when he was a young soldier. It's out of fashion now, but when I saw it in the car garage—" Zemo left the sentence unfinished as he stared into space, reliving memories that he wasn't inclined to share. "—it makes me feel connected to him and my ancestors. Plus, I like the dramatics of it."

Chanel snorted and pulled her blanket up to her chin. "I think we all have that in common. Go get some sleep."

Zemo left, and Chanel looked over at Bucky, who had barely spoken to her since they had left Madripoor. He was pretending to be asleep. She could tell because his jaw was clenched too tight.

She was too mentally and physically drained to try and figure out what his problem was.

Surely he isn't this upset about last night...maybe it's the shield.

He acts like Sam physically wounded him by giving the stupid thing away.

I don't get it. Maybe, if he starts talking to me again, I'll ask what the big deal is.

Bucky tossed and turned in his seat. He was beginning to think he might not ever sleep again. The exhaustion was not helping his mood as he replayed his conversation with Sam. He had wanted to hit him when Sam had talked about destroying the shield.

How could he even think of something like that? After everything that Steve did, everything that he stood for.

The disrespect was unfathomable.

And if Sam didn't want it, why was his first thought to destroy it? Why wouldn't he think to ask me if I wanted it?

Do I want it?

I'm tired of fighting. Right?

Raynor didn't seem to think so.

But surely there must be more to life than this.

The one thing not weighing on his mind was Nagel's death. Bucky still hated Zemo, but he had been glad that he was there to pull the trigger so that he didn't have to.

Replaying the morning's events, he remembered how his chest had tightened so painfully when he saw Chanel laid out on the lab floor. He remembered how he barely kept his panic under control when she fell to the ground outside of the container. That frustrated him more than anything. He was angry with her, and yet his body was still so in tune with her every action. And now she was forcing them into another dangerous mission where he would have to sit back and hope he didn't watch her die, yet again.

He might not survive this mission; the stress was going to kill him before anything else.

Why did I even let Sam drag me into this?

I should have gone to the beach.

He fell into a fitful sleep, dreaming of ocean spray and sunshine. Chanel was there, smiling at him while she sipped on a pina colada in a giant coconut.

Even in his dreams, she ruled his every thought.