Sharon drove herself and the others to her High Town apartment.
Once they arrived and entered, the four looked around and saw numerous pieces of art.
Sam chuckled and said, "Looks like breaking all those laws is treating you well."
Sharon shrugged. "At some point, I thought if I had to hustle, I might as well enjoy the life of a real hustler. You know how much I'll get for a real Monet?"
Elisabeth looked around and said, "Quite a nice place you've got."
Sam scoffed as he turned to Sharon. "Easy. Deactivate your hustle mode. You sell fake Monets."
"No," Zemo said. "She means real. This gallery is specialized in stolen artwork. Monet. Van Gogh. Classics."
Bucky nodded, taking Elisabeth's hand as he said, "It's true. You know, half the artwork in museums like the Louvre is fake. Real stuff sets in places like this."
Sam chuckled as he pulled out his phone. "Okay, guys, I see what you're doing. You're more worldly than good old Sam."
An amused smile crossed Rori's face as Bucky said in a condescending tone, "Yeah. What's Google say?"
"No shit."
"Come on," Sharon said. "You guys need to change." She stopped a door, waiting for Sam to join. "I'm hosting clients in an hour."
She led them upstairs to where she lived. There was a large living room, a couple bedrooms, and numerous bathrooms.
Sharon glanced to Elisabeth and said, "You're welcome to wear anything in the closet."
Elisabeth nodded and smiled. "Thank you."
---
She made her way to the closet and rifled through, finding a 40s style blue dress that had caught her eye.
She slipped it on and began combing her hair.
A knock sounded on the door and she said, "Open."
Bucky entered and smiled. "You look stunning, doll."
"Thank you. Hey, are you okay, Buck?"
He nodded. "I'm okay. Are you?"
"Yes, though I miss Colleen."
"I miss her too, but we'll see her sooner than we know. I'm sure of it."
"I hope so."
---
The two made their way back to the main living area and saw that Sam and Sharon were already there.
Sharon smiled as she looked at the three before saying, "Much better."
Sam, who was still looking at jackets, glanced over to Sharon and asked, "What's going on, Sharon? You don't ever wanna come back home?"
"They'll lock me up if I ever step foot back in the States. Madripoor doesn't allow extradition."
"I'm sorry I didn't call, but after the Blip and the chaos, I just..."
"Look, you know the whole hero thing is a joke, right?" She tucked a strand of hair back. "I mean, the way you gave up that shield, deep down, you must know it's all hypocrisy."
"He knows," Zemo said with a shrug. "And not so deep down."
"By the way, how is the new Cap?"
Bucky, who was sitting on the couch next to Elisabeth, replied, "Don't get me started."
Sharon scoffed. "Please. You buy into all that stars and stripes bullshit. Before you were his pet psychopath," she gestured to Zemo as she sat next to Bucky, "you were Mr. America! Cap's best friend and your wife was his sister."
"Is," Elisabeth corrected. "You don't stop being someone's sister even if they're gone."
"Wow," Bucky commented. "She's kind of awful now."
Sam joined the three on the couch, Zemo leaned on a table nearby, and said, "Karli Morgenthau and at least seven others have taken the serum."
Sharon shook her head. "You guys should really steer clear of all of this for your own safety."
Elisabeth turned to her. "We know it's a risk, but we're not gonna leave until we find the person who cracked the code. We got a name. Wilfred Nagel."
Sharon stood. "Nagel works for the Power Broker."
"We need your help, Sharon," Sam told her. "I can get your name cleared."
Sharon poured a drink as she looked at Sam. "You haggling with my life?"
"Not like that."
"I don't buy that. You pretending like you can clear my name."
"Okay, maybe it is hypocrisy. Maybe you're right. What happened to you. But I'm willing to try if you are. They cleared the bionic staring machine and he killed almost everybody he's met."
"I heard that," Bucky retorted, clenching his jaw.
Elisabeth frowned. "Okay, that's enough." She took Bucky's hand and gave it a light squeeze, seeing his expression.
Sharon shook her head. "I don't trust charity."
"All right, a deal then," Sam said. "You help us out, and I get your name cleared." He shook hands with Sharon.
Sharon exhaled. "Well, I sell to some pretty connected people. Lay low, blend in, enjoy the party." She started leaving and added from the doorway, "Try to stay outta trouble. I'll see what I can find."
"Trouble," Zemo said with a chuckle and a shrug.
Bucky stood and offered his hand to Elisabeth. "Shall we?"
Elisabeth nodded and accepted his hand. He pulled her up and the two left the room, holding hands. Sam and Zemo followed.
---
The four made their way downstairs to the party. People were dancing to upbeat music around the paintings. They made their way to the bar.
Elisabeth made her way to the bar and ordered a drink. As she waited, she sat on a stool.
Bucky glanced at her and said, "You don't want to dance?"
Elisabeth shook her head. "Not yet."
"I haven't danced for decades, doll."
"I'm sure you can wait a few more minutes."
"Looking at you, I don't think I can." He gestured to the seat next to her. "Is this spot taken?"
"Have at it, soldier." She glanced at the dance floor, watching as Zemo danced. "He looks like having a grand time."
Bucky moved in front of Elisabeth. "Dance with me. Please?"
She took a sip of her drink and said, "Lead the way, soldier." She gestured for the bartender to watch her drink and he nodded.
Bucky led her to the dance floor and spun her again before placing a hand on the small of her back and the other holding her left hand as they danced.
Sharon walked up to the couple and said, "Hey, guys, I found him."
Sam glanced at Elisabeth and Bucky before saying, "Here we go."
---
The group made their way outside into the sunlight. Sharon's place had blackout curtains all over the place.
Sharon took the four to a loading dock full of large stacks of containers.
"Madripoor could give New York a run for its money," Sam said.
"They know how to party," Zemo replied.
Sharon frowned, looking between them. "With that bounty on your head, the longer you're in Madripoor, the less likely you're ever leaving." The five walked through the maze of containers a short while longer and Sharon stopped. "All right. He's in there." She gestured to one of the container piles. "Container four-two-six-one." She turned back to the others. "I'll keep an eye out while you guys talk to Nagel." She offered the four ear pieces. "But hurry. We're on borrowed time."
The four took their ear pieces and put them in. Sharon left to do a sweep while the others made their way inside. They opened the container, only to find it empty.
Sam looked up the pile of containers and said, "Hey, Sharon. You sure this is the right one? It's completely empty."
"Positive," Sharon replied. "It has to be."
They entered the container. Sam entered first, then Zemo, then Elisabeth, who Bucky had decided to stand behind.
Elisabeth studied the massive container and made her way to a back wall. She looked at the wall, settling on one location, and pushed on it, causing it to open. She looked back at her husband and smiled and he smiled back.
Elisabeth and Bucky followed Sam inside. They heard music playing as they walked up the stairs. The containers were cover for a small building. The group looked around what they guessed to be a lab and soon found a man sitting on a stool in the middle of work while humming to the music. Elisabeth looked around the room, seeing that they'd surrounded the man, leaving him with no escape.
Sam turned off the record player, causing the man to turn back, and he gasped and said, "Dr. Nagel?"
Nagel turned. "Who are you? What do you want?"
"We know you created the Super Soldier serum."
"Get out of my lab." He walked past Sam.
"Hey!" The man continued and rounded a corner to find Bucky and Elisabeth waiting for him. "You know who he is, right? You recognize her?" Nagel nodded and stepped back, looking at Zemo. "This is Baron Zemo. I know you've heard of him, too, right?"
Elisabeth stepped in front of Nagel. "We'd really like you to give us the information we need."
"How about a counter proposal?" Nagel offered, glancing up and down Elisabeth. "Make me a better offer and I'll talk."
Sharon's voice sounded over the comm. "Guys, we have company."Bucky grabbed Nagel and dragged him back to the stool he'd been working on and pointed a gun at his head. "Every bounty hunter in the city is here. We gotta go!"
Elisabeth crossed her arms. "Talk. We're wasting time."
"You won't shoot me," Nagel told her.
"I won't, but I wouldn't test my husband. Answer the question.""
Bucky stepped closer to Elisabeth and shot his gun to the side. Nagel glanced between them before saying, "Okay. Okay." He groaned. "I was brought into HYDRA's Winter Soldier program to pick up their work after the five failed test subjects in Siberia. When HYDRA fell, I was recruited by the CIA. They had blood samples from an American test subject with semi-stable traces of serum in his system. After much labor, I was able to isolate the necessary compounds in his blood. I was a god. I did what no other scientist since Erskine was able to do. But mine was going to be different. No clunky machines or jacked up bodies. Mine was going to be subtle, optimized, perfect."
Sam shook his head. "How have we never heard about this?"
"Because... Before I was able to complete my work, I turned to dust. Then when I returned, it was five years later, program had been abandoned, so I came here. The Power Broker was more than happy to fund the recreation of my work."
"How many vials did you make?"
"Twenty. Karli Morgenthau stole those, so... I can only imagine what the Power Broker has planned for that poor girl."
"Where's Karli now?"
"I don't know where she is. But a couple of days ago, she called and asked if I could help someone named Donya Madani. Poor woman has tuberculosis. Typical of overpopulation in displacement camps like that."
Elisabeth frowned. "What happened to her?"
Nagel shrugged. "Not my pig. Not my farm."
"Is there any serum in this lab?" Bucky questioned, but got no answer, so he pressed his gun against Nagel's head.
"No."
"Now what?" Bucky glanced to Sam and Elisabeth.
Elisabeth turned, hearing someone run up the stairs, relaxing slightly when she saw that it was Sharon who said, "Guys, we're seriously outta time here."
Zemo shot Nagel. Sam grabbed Zemo and pushed him against the wall before yelling, "No!"
Sharon fought to get the gun away from Zemo who gave up easily and asked, "What did you do?"
One of the walls exploded. As they dove to the ground, Bucky grabbed Elisabeth, shielding her body with his. An alarm began blaring. As they started to stand, the entire lab began shaking.
Sam groaned as he asked, "Anybody see Zemo?" He managed to stand.
Bucky stood before he said, "Let's go." He helped Elisabeth, Sam and Sharon up before evacuating the pod.