Author's Note:

For this chapter, it's important to remember that Steve and Sam are on the hunt for Bucky after CA: TWS.

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CHAPTER THREE

"The One with The Visitors Questions"

A long pause of silence filtered between Steve and Lilah. He frowned and looked at her cautiously.

"Ms. Novak? Are you okay?" he asked. Snapping out of her head spin, Lilah shook her head lightly, "Yes, yes, I'm fine," she mumbled, breaking her stare from Steve and reaching out her hand to shake his. "Sorry, I was caught a bit off-guard - I don't remember buzzing anyone in, so I thought it was a neighbour," Lilah told him. Steve went on to explain, "I saw that the main intercom system in the lobby is currently being repaired as I entered, the guys said it should be up and running within the next hour." Lilah nodded. Little would she know this was Sam and Steve's doing. It was their best way to enter the building without question and also their only way to get the upper hand on Lilah.

"I'm sorry, how can I help you, Mr. Rogers?" she asked. Steve's face relaxed, "Please, call me Steve," he offered. Lilah smiled and waited for him to answer her question. "It's actually about your Grandmother, Mrs. Karina Novak, that was her name, correct?" he asked. Steve gradually saw the light from Lilah eyes dim slightly. She was a bit taken aback as she replied, "Yes, that's right," she was hesitant in her response. Steve took a breath and continued, "Well, the group I work for, SHIELD, we're currently conducting an investigation into the... organization your Grandmother worked with," he replied, trying to find the correct words to use instead of 'a group of murderous lunatics who were hell-bent on achieving world domination', "Would you mind if we spoke inside?" Steve asked, gesturing passed Lilah.

"Sure, of course, please do come in and forgive me for my manners," Lilah took a breath and moved aside for Steve to come into the apartment, "I just haven't spoken about my Grandmother for a long time." Her heart was beating so loud that it was drumming in her ears. She could barely hear herself speak. Captain Steve Rogers of the Avengers is standing in my apartment, she said to herself, He wants to know about my Grandmother… and then immediately Lilah's mind jumped Is he going to ask me about James? Lilah's thoughts were running a mile a minute and she just wanted to scream, but instead, she composed her outer appearance, grazed her already sweaty palms on her tights, and continued. Somewhere deep in her mind, Lilah always knew that this day would come. Someone from some high-level government organisation would come knocking on her door asking about HYDRA and her Grandmother's involvement in the messed up work that they were doing. But never in her wildest thinking did she imagine that this questioning would come from Captain Steve Rogers.

"I'm happy to answer any questions you have but I don't know how much help I'm going to be," she said to Steve, "My Grandmother never liked to discuss her work when she was at home." Steve turned to her after surveying the room and smiled, standing in the middle of the lounge now, "Mam, any information is better than nothing," he affirmed to her. Lilah nodded and gestured for Steve to take a seat at the dining table. Before sitting down her complimented her on the apartment, "You have a beautiful home," Steve noted, still looking around. "Thank you so much," Lilah watched his gaze, "it was hers – my Grandmother's. I moved in after she passed," she explained. Steve nodded, "I know she passed away a while ago but nonetheless," his voice trailed, "I'm sorry for your loss." Lilah pursed her lips and looked down at her fingers that were resting on the table, "Thank you, Mr. Rogers, I really appreciate that" she whispered.

A breath of silence settled between them and then and then Steve jumped straight in with his questions. "Your Grandmother was a qualified nurse, correct?" Steve asked. Lilah huffed, "That's what her official documents want you to believe," Lilah looked up at Steve with a grin and then went on to explain, "but she was actually a qualified doctor. When she moved here from Russia her job with this organisation, would only accept her as a nurse because, surely a woman couldn't really be a doctor, right?" Lilah replied sarcastically, quickly masking her sheer panic. Steve laughed under his breath and nodded, "I understand, women were not looked at as equals back then and it's a real shame if you ask me," he smiled. Having lived through the war and having seen and experienced first-hand what women in the medical field could do, Steve had no doubt in his mind that Lilah's Grandmother was a qualified doctor.

Lilah smirked, "Back to your Grandmother," Steve continued, "did you know anything about the organisation she worked for?" Lilah frowned, looking down at the table, "My Grandmother hardly said anything about the people she worked for, especially to me. I was quite young at the time. She might have discussed it with my father," she lied and somewhere deep in Lilah's gut, she knew that Steve could tell that she was lying – but she really hoped that she was doing a good job of bluffing him.

He nodded again in reply while considering her answer. Slowly and very carefully, Steve reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a photo, "We believe that your Grandmother, along with other people from the organisation, were treating this man for his... unique abilities in Russia and the United States," Steve explained as he turned the picture toward Lilah, "Have you seen him lately?" It felt as if her heart had stopped beating altogether. There was a picture of Sargent James Buchanan Barnes, handsomely dressed in his official army uniform and his army visor cap on his head of neatly cut short hair.

Before she could even flinch at the photo, Lilah registered Steve's words, "Wait… What do you mean 'lately'? Are you saying that he - this man in this photo – he's still alive?" she frowned while waiting for Steve's response. "Well yes, we believe he is," he replies, impressed with her ability to keep her front of innocence going. Lilah paused and frowned, carefully choosing her next words, "Mr. Rogers... I've always had my suspicions about what my Grandmother actually did at this organization. She was a strong woman, both mentally and physically, she could stomach pretty much anything," she said firmly, "but the way she would come home so drained and mentally beaten from work, I'd sometimes hear her cry at night. Now, for a job to do that to someone of that character? It just… it just never seemed like a normal nursing job to me," Lilah said, leaning in, "That's why I always thought that she might be involved in something bad, something more... morally jarring, and if you're saying that this... young man, whom I assure you I've never seen before, was under the organisations care, surely he can't possibly be alive, right? Also, this photo looks like it was taken decades ago," Lilah gave a chuckle, trying to give some lightness to the conversation and herself a moment to release some of her feelings of panic and terror that were building since Steve turned that photo to face her.

"Ms. Novak," Steve looked deep into Lilah's eyes, considering his next sentence very carefully, "I know this man is alive because I saw him about 6 months ago and now he's disappeared again," he said to her assuringly. Lilah raised her eyebrows and leaned back in her seat, "Months...? Oh..." saying it soft enough to be a whisper, Lilah looked away from Steve. He's alive? James is alive!? She said to herself while staring across the table into blank space, her confusion turning into pure panic How is that possible? I saw them shoot- Lilah's thoughts were interrupted by Steve. "Ms. Novak?" he whispered, she snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him while still holding her breath, "Sorry it's just you haven't said anything or blinked for about half a minute, is everything okay?"

"Yeah... Yes, I'm fine. It's just that..." Lilah trailed off again while looking at Steve, her throat dry as sandpaper from holding her breath"... It's just that I forgot to offer you something to drink. My manners seem to have just gone out the window today," she laughed, creating an excuse to get up from the table and from Steve's glare. Lilah walked over to the kitchen, opened the fridge, leaned down to stare at the contents, and, let out a deep exhale while allowing the cool air to brush over her face and calm her down. "I've got orange juice, soda, iced water, tea, coff-," Lilah's eyes were shut as she rambled off a list of beverages until she was cut off again. "Ms. Novak," Steve's stern voice echoed from the entrance of the kitchen and it made Lilah whirl around to face him. She didn't expect Steve to follow her to the kitchen. "I know that you know who this is," Steven said, the photo of James still in his hands and the gentleness in his voice now gone. "Mr. Rogers, I'm sorry, but I really don't know who that is," Lilah managed to lie convincingly once again.

Steve looked at her and took a step forward and saw her body immediately tense. "Look, I don't mean you any harm, Ms. Novak, but you know who this is and I need you to tell me where he is," his voice firm and demanding now. Lilah blinked, the cold air from the fridge now hitting the back of her legs and making them numb, "I don't know who he is!" she said a bit louder than she intended to. Steve took a deep breath, "You see, I find that hard to believe Ms. Novak because, why else would a young lady such as yourself go to a museum just to stare at this man's photo, without having known him?"

Steve's words were cold as ice and to the point, but Lilah read it differently, "You've been following me?" she asked, looking at him with confusion. Before Steve could even reply, Lilah slammed her fridge door closed and stormed over to him, "How dare you..." she remarked, the disgust in her voice masked the fear and anxiety that she was actually feeling. Now ashamed, Steve looked down at her as she spoke again, her eyes shuddered with anger, "I want you out of my apartment, right now." Moving past Steve, Lilah headed straight for the door and held it open for Steve to leave. "Ms. Novak, pleas-," he began but was stopped by Lilah. "Mr. Rogers, if you don't leave right now, I swear that I'll scream... and call the police," she added, knowing that she didn't stand a chance against Steve, whether or not the police were on her side. Steve was a nationally protected icon and would have all the advantages he needed over her. However, for her peace of mind, she said it nonetheless. Steve didn't want to press her anymore, he could see that she had had enough. Slipping the picture back into his jacket pocket and pulled out a smaller rectangular-shaped card. Walking passed the threshold, he stopped and turned back to Lilah, "I'm sorry if I've upset you Ms. Novak, but if you do remember anything else, here is my car-," before he could finish Lilah stepped in, "Thanks, but I won't be needing it," she said and slammed the door in his face.

After watching Steve slowly leave her doorway from the eyepiece, Lilah pressed her back against the door, her whole body shaking as she sank to the floor. She wrapped her arms around her knees, the tears in her eyes threatening to fall, Goddammit! James is alive?! she said to herself and then the tears began to flow.

DISCLAIMER:This fanfiction will follow its own timeline, however, I've tried to stick to the movie timeline as much as possible. It must be noted that this story is rated M as there will be some explicit content mentioned later in the story (depictions of sexual intimacy, and also mentions of rape and abuse) but forewarnings will be provided at the beginning of the respective chapter.

It must be noted that I don't own any of the Marvel characters or anything affiliated with the Marvel Universe. However, all OC and original content have been created by me.