When Sparks Fly

Nagel

When we get outside, we are blinded by the light of day. Sharon's place has black out curtains everywhere and we have been in Mardipoor since about ten o'clock the night before, this is one part of that superhero life that I don't miss, sleepless nights. Sharon takes us to a loading dock full of large shipping containers. I look up at the large stacks of containers, "it's like being back in New York."

Sam chuckles, "Madripoor could give New York a run for its money."

"They know how to party," Zemo looks over to me, "that must be where you get it from."

I scoff and shake my head, "nice try, but I'm not a Brooklyn girl."

"No? Where are you from then?"

"Can we focus please," Sharon looks back to us, "with that bounty in your heads the longer you're in Madripoor the less likely you're ever leaving." We walk through the maze of containers a little longer before Sharon stops, "alright, he's in there," she gestures to one of the container piles. "Container four-two-six-one." She turns back to us, "I'll keep an eye out while you guys talk to Nagel," she holds out a hand, offering us all ear pieces. "But hurry, we're on borrowed time."

We take our ear pieces and put them in, Sharon heading off to do a quick sweep while we head inside. When we open the container it is empty. Sam looks up the pile of containers, "hey, Sharon. You sure this is the right one? Its completely empty."

"Positive. It has to be," Sharon answers over our ear pieces.

We walk in first Sam, then Zemo followed by Bucky and I, Bucky makes sure I stay in front of him. I look around the large empty container and make my way to the back wall, "I have an idea." I look over the back wall, speaking to myself, "please be a secret door, please be a secret door." I gently push on the wall and it opens, "yay."

I step back, pulling my gun out and looking over to Sam, who walks in before I do. There is some music playing as we walk up the stairs, the containers being the cover for a small building. We look around what looks like a lab and before long we find a man working on a stool and humming to the music. I glance behind me, seeing Bucky, before I look to my right making sure Sam sees him too and that he has no where to run. As Sam turns off the record player the man turns back and gasps, "Dr. Nagel?"

Nagel looks around, "who are you? What do you want?"

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

"Get out of my lab," the man walks past Sam.

"Hey," Sam calls out to him, but he doesn't stop until he rounds a corner and finds Bucky waiting for him. "You know who he is, right?" Nagel nods and steps back, turning to Zemo, "this is Baron Zemo. I know you've heard of him, too, right?" I step out behind Sam and Nagel, the clicking of my heels catching Nagel's attention, causing him to turn, "and I'm guessing you know her too."

I had put my gun away before walking out, I grab Nagel by the collar, turning him around again and cornering him against a grate serving as a wall, "you're a smart guy. So you better become conversational real quick."

"How about a counter proposal?" Nagel keeps his eyes on the ground before looking up to me. "Make me a better offer and I'll talk."

Then we hear Sharon over the com, "guys, we have company." I grab Nagel by the collar and drag him back to the stool he had been working on, "every bounty hunter in the city is here. We gotta go."

I grab Nagel by the back of the neck, "start talking."

"Okay, okay," Nagel whimpers, "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 different. No clunky machines or jacked up bodies. Mine was subtle, optimized, perfect." Nagel looks up to me and smirks, kind of creeping me out to be honest. I look up to Bucky who trades places with me.

"How have we never heard about this?" Sam shakes his head.

"You have..." Nagel's gaze moves back to me before he points, "her. But before I was able to continue my work, I turned to dust. Then when I returned it was five years later. The 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 had tuberculosis."

I nod and sigh softly, "shes in a displacement camp. What happened to her?"

Nagel shrugs, "not my pig. Not my farm."

"Is there any serum in this lab?" Nagel doesn't answer Bucky, he just looks over to him. So Bucky lifts his gun to Nagel's head. 

"No."

"Now what?" Bucky looks over to Sam and I.

I turn toward the entrance of the lab, drawing my gun as I hear someone run up the stairs, only to see Sharon, "guys, were seriously outta time here."

Without warning Zemo shoots Nagel. Sam grabs Zemo and pushes him against the wall, "no."

Sharon fights to get the gun away from him, which Zemo gives up easily, "what did you do?"

With no warning one of the walls explodes. It looks like Sharon was right and our time really is up. As we all dive to the ground, Bucky jumps onto me as I turn. An alarm begins to buzz as we start to get up and the whole labs begins to shake, Sam groans as he gets up, "does anyone see Zemo?"

Bucky gets up and pulls me to my feet, "let's go." The two of us stop and help Sam and Sharon up before we evacuate the building.