64: Guardian angel

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"You seem to have a guardian angel," said Zemo, walking up to them as both Sam and Cat looked up at the other windows to try to find the person again.  They were all dark except for the one the "angel" had just walked away from.

"Well, this is too perfect," said a voice behind Zemo. He instinctively turned around, and Cat, Bucky, and Sam all turned to face the voice.

A woman came out of the shadow of the alley and took off her hood. She was pointing a gun at the three of them. As she walked further into the light, Cat recognized her face.

Sharon Carter.

"Drop it, Zemo," she said, holding her gun steady. 

Zemo put his gun on the ground. 

Sam's hands were raised.  Cat raised hers slightly, as well.  Bucky just stared at her.

"Sharon?" said Bucky, tilting his head as he looked at her.

"You cost me everything," she said to Zemo, walking forward.  The gun was pointed straight at his head.

"Sharon, wait," said Sam, reaching a hand out, as if trying to calm her.  Zemo stepped back.  "Someone recreated the super-soldier serum and Zemo had a lead."

Sharon raised her brows for a moment. "That explains why you guys are here," she said, still pointing the gun at Zemo.  "And Selby's dead."

"Why are you here?" asked Cat.

"I stole Steve's shield, remember?"  she said.  "I also took the wings for your ass," she pointed the gun at Sam, "so that you could save his ass from his ass."  She pointed the gun toward Bucky and then at Zemo again. "Unlike you I didn't have the Avengers to back me up, so," she gestured around her, putting the gun to her side, "I'm off the the grid in Madripoor."

"Hey, don't blow that smoke at me, I was on the run too," said Sam.

"Was.  Is.  Big difference," said Sharon, looking Sam in the eyes.  "I don't speak to my family anymore. I can't. My own father doesn't know where I am."

"Listen," said Bucky, stepping forward.  "Sharon, we need your help."

Sharon laughed.

"Come on," pleaded Cat.

A pause. She sighed, then looked up at Zemo, lowering her gun.  "This isn't over."  She then turned to the rest of them. "I have a place in High Town, you should be safe there for a while."  Sharon began walking away, and the four of them followed her.

A car took them discreetly from Low Town to High Town. The five of them walked into a very expensive-looking living development. Two guards stood tall as they walked past, led by Sharon. It was a tall, modern, rounded building. The windows were dark— no one able to see inside any of the rooms on the interior.

Sharon led them into a room in the building holding glass cases lit up by LED lights that held expensive pieces of art. The room was dark and had many high-tech locking mechanisms and cameras around them. The walls were textured in a geometric pattern of triangles layered together.

"Looks like breaking all those laws is treating you well," said Sam, looking around at the place.

"Well, I thought if I had to hustle, I might as well enjoy the life of a real hustler." She gestured around her as they walked past all the cases. "You know how much I can get for a real Monet?"

"Deactivate your hustle mode," said Sam. "You sell fake Monets." Sharon raised her eyebrows and walked past him as he stopped.

"No, she means real," said Zemo, looking around at the art in the glass cases. "This gallery is specialized in stolen artwork. Monet. Van Gogh. Classics."

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