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Red Tears:Part 2 of 4.
Brooklyn, New York City.
She lived where he had lived, occupying the same space he had once owned many, many years ago, before the war that ruined countless lives, including her own. If she'd known what the thing would have done to her, the poor woman might have changed her mind when it came to enlisting.
"-where a crowd appears to be hanging and burning effigies of Baron Zemo. One of the men responsible for the Congress bombing last-"
Peggy Carter chose to deactivate the TV broadcast, disgusted by its contents. In the bright, orange light shining into her suburban house she began to breathe heavily, anxious about the memories flooding into her mind, resulting in small streams of tears falling down across her ancient cheeks.
Years ago, Peggy, otherwise known as Agent 13 had lived a life with the champions of old, she'd managed to escape it for many years, but now....
Nok! Nok! Nok!
Now the champions were returning to her life.
"Hello, Peggy." Heinrich Zemo said once she'd opened the front door to her house. He stood in full view, dressed in body armor and wielding weapons that would rival a small army. "May I come in?" He asked.
_________________________________
1 hour ago.
Safe house #16
Gripping the safety railings inside his metal chamber, Baron Zemo clenched his teeth as he felt power begin to return to his body, turning his weak, frail torso into that of a man in his physical prime.
"I had no idea you still had any hideouts in New York." Director Strucker admitted as he watched Zemo emerge from one of his many Vitalization Ray chambers. In his hands, the ageing Director gripped a metal suitcase, containing an item that the Baron probably wouldn't be happy about seeing.
"Of course I do." The Baron said while reequipping his armor and weapons belt, tightening the various buckles until he could just breathe through them. "It helps to be prepared." Zemo shot the man a glance. "Something you could probably learn from."
Strucker frowned at the statement, reminding himself that while he and the Baron had been allies in the past, they had never actually been friends. Honestly, if given the choice, Wolfgang Von Strucker would have happily left the man in his cell, but desperate times called for even more desperate measures... and at this time, Strucker was very desperate.
"Here." Clicking a button, Strucker opened up the red, white and blue shield that had once belonged to the late Captain America, white star still in the center of the glorified Frisbee. "A sign of good will. You're going to need it."
Baron Zemo wasn't sure how he felt as he equipped the item, immediately he felt wrong upon wielding it... and a sickening sensation in the pit of his stomach only elevated this feeling once he saw his reflection in a shard of glass on the floor.
"It'll work." He finally said, reluctantly connecting the device to his metallic wrist gauntlet via the magnets located on the shield's underside.
"We'll inform you the second we find, Agent Ward." Strucker said as the Baron began to leave. No reply was given, and in a matter of seconds the Director of HYDRA was left completely alone, feeling worthless and old as a man more powerful than he left to go and save the world.
"Good luck" He muttered to himself.
____________________________________
30 minutes ago.
Far from the warmth that Baron Zemo found himself in, Agent Grant Ward stood in cold air, considering his options before he committed the indescribable. Finally his mind had become clear, and he was free to think. To him an eternity had passed, before he had.... 'changed' he'd been a hero. Now he was little more than a murderer, from his vantage point on top of Richmond Industries' Sokovia building he could see the men and women hunting him, prepared to kill him for the crimes he'd enacted in another man's name.
When he'd started, Grant had wanted to leave an impact on the world, make the world a better place before he left it.
Now the only thing he'd be making an impact on was the pavement.
____________________________________
Present.
Sipping tea through one of the air holes in his mask, Zemo felt his cold body become warm for the first time since he'd returned to the States.
"Thank you, Peggy." The Baron said, placing a cheap, china cup on the stained glass table separating him from his host. "You have no idea how long it's been since I enjoyed the taste of..." He looked to the tea packet located in the center of the table. "'Earl Grey'."
From her favorite chair, Peggy stared intently at the man she had known since the 1940s. He hadn't changed at all, still the same bitter person he had been since the end of the Vietnam War.
"Why are you here, Heinrich?" She asked, using the man's first name, one of the few who did so. "After our last meeting I never expected to see you again."
Standing up from his seat and towering over the old woman, Baron Zemo sighed slightly, seemingly at odds with himself and considering his next words with a hint of caution.
"I'm going to die." He finally said, having given up in his attempts to ease the woman into it. Surprisingly Peggy's eyes didn't move, by this point in her life she'd grown used to everything and everyone around her dying. "Honestly, you're the closest thing I have to a friend." The Baron admitted. "I have to tell someone."
Peggy looked up at the man who had taken so much from her, yet in her heart she felt no hatred, instead she just felt pity.
"How do you know?" She finally asked once the silence grew too much for her to bear.
"I can feel it." Heinrich admitted, uncomfortable with sharing such a personal detail. "I don't know how... but I can tell it's going to be soon."
Before the conversation could continue, a metallic chirp filled the air, followed by Zemo turning around and placing a finger to the device around the purple fabric covering his ear.
"Baron Zemo?" A voice said in the Baron's skull. "This is Agent Simmons of HYDRA. I'm your support on this mission."
"God help you." He replied. "What do you want, Agent Simmons?" Zemo asked, almost patronizing, acting like what she said actually mattered to him.
"We found Agent Ward." Jemma said, sounding sad as she began to say her next words. "He's dead. Byt his phone listed a single contact who-"
"Send me the coordinates." Heinrich ordered before deactivating the feed. With a hint of regret, Zemo turned to his only true friend. "Duty calls." He said, almost joking as he turned to the door.
"That shield..." Peggy said before Zemo could leave. "Heinrich. Was... was there any way you could have saved him?"
There was a reason Baron Zemo didn't have many friends. No matter his intent he always ended up hurting those closest to him.
"No." He lied.
________________________________________
In a shaded alleyway located in a district resembling one of the many layers of Hell, Gregor Goodman felt fear, along with intense pain as he lay on the floor, putting pressure on one of the many sword wounds on his leg.
"Gregor Goodman." The man in purple said, almost reciting the name as he walked around Gregor's collapsed body like he was in a trance. "Grandson to Austin Goodman, member of Johann Schmidt's personal storm trooper guard."
"Please." Goodman gasped, sweating like the pig that he was. "Come on, please..."
"I need information." Zemo said, stopping his walk and simply staring down at Gregor. "I'm not getting it. It's time to start breaking your fingers." The Baron said this final line while picking up a loose brick that had been located on the ground.
"Please stop!"
"Make me stop!" Heinrich yelled, ready to bring the item crashing down.
"But he'll kill me!"
"There won't be much left to kill." The Baron muttered, dropping the brick and instead dragging Gregor up from the ground and pinning him to the wall, drawing his sword while he did so and pointing it towards the man's throat. "Where is the Red Skull?!"
"Paris!" Gregor screamed, terrified by the masked lunatic he'd been told horror stories about as a child. It turned out that they were all probably true. "The Skull's in Paris! That's all I know! Please!"
Upon gaining the required information, Zemo dropped his victim and immediately summoned the flying HYDRA VTOL he needed to take him to his destination.
"I'm running a check of sources in Paris." Agent Simmons said once the Baron landed in the vehicle's cockpit. "We should have an idea where the Sk... where Schmidt is in a few hours."
"Forget it." He said, setting a flight course for France that avoided all other flight paths that could affect his speed. "I know where he'll be... and he won't be there. It's just another piece of the puzzle."
"Puzzle?"
"It's a test." Zemo said, almost smiling at the challenge he was undertaking. "The ba$tard is making me work for his location."
____________________________________________
As always, the Baron was right. Upon arriving in France's capital city, Zemo made his way towards an abandoned manufacturing plant that had been left empty since the Nazis lost Paris. There was a reason for that, and as Baron Heinrich Zemo descended down a hidden staircase, sword drawn, he considered the possibility that this would be his end. That at any moment he could accidentally spring a trap that would end his life.
Upon arriving at a steel door, Zemo took a deep breath and went to work unlocking the barrier, unprepared for whatever lay inside, yet unafraid of whatever dangers he might encounter. To the contrary, he was excited by the prospect of being unsure of his future, and as he entered the Red Skull's hidden bunker he found himself disappointed that once again there was nothing but dust.
"It's empty." He said, sheathing his blade and checking to make sure there weren't any potential traps in the area.
"Are we back at square one?" Simmons asked.
For the briefest of moments, Zemo lost faith. He doubted himself, and in his anger he knocked aside a wooden chair, letting it shatter against the fireplace holding several ornaments. It was only a moment though, and as the Baron reclaimed his senses he noticed yet another stepping stone on his journey. Atop the fireplace was a framed photo showing Johann Schmidt, wearing his infamous red mask, and the Baron himself deep inside Nazi Germany, shaking hands in front of the Nazi party, and a roaring crowd.
It was an event that had never taken place.
"Belay that, Simmons." Heinrich said quickly, inspecting the image closely in the hopes of picking up a clue. In a matter of seconds he found one. "I know exactly where to find him."
For the briefest moment, all had been lost, but now... now Zemo was more committed to the case than ever before, and now he was one step closer to finding the Red Skull.
Next Issue: The Red Skull.
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