Winter's Soul (Part 2) 18+ Canon

Chapter 16

They had spent the whole day calling up contacts and calling in favors to find out where the headquarters of A.I.M. were. Hours later, they still didn't have any clues, and it worried Liv. An organization that big couldn't go unnoticed. They needed answers, a lot of them.

Liv leaned against a bookshelf with a good view of the hallway that led to the living area. Zemo was sat in an armchair by the window, picking lint from his jacket. He seemed rather bored but wanted to tag along, nearly insisted. James leaned against the sideboard to her right, arms crossed in front of his chest. He was deep in his own thoughts. The unlocking of the front door tore her out of her thoughts.

The approaching footsteps stopped right before the person was to enter the living room. The unlocking of a gun echoed through the silence.

"No need for the gun, Sharon," James said.

Soon after, Sharon entered the living room with the gun by her side, pointing to the floor.

"We have a problem," James said, as she kept quiet.

"No, you have a problem," she replied, walking over to the couch opposite of them and setting down on the armrest. "I have three idiots who keep getting into them."

"Why did you sell me wrong information?" Liv asked. Her voice was cold. She didn't come to Sharon for jokes. She needed to know.

"I didn't know they would leave that fast," Sharon said, shrugging.

"Bullshit," Liv said, walking to the middle of the living room.

She arched an eyebrow, not bothered by Liv's angry stare or her trying to intimidate Sharon.

"It's not my fault you took so long," Sharon said, shrugging.

"And the police showed up just out of curiosity?" Liv asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest and arching her brows. The anger inside of her stirred, and begged to be freed.

"I don't know what the police do, nor do I know what they don't." Sharon said.

Liv heard James's arm recalibrate behind her. A spark of excitement settled in her stomach. She suppressed her reaction to him. It bothered her that she reacted at all.

"I have a feeling we're all very tense," Zemo remarked, noticing Liv's mood shift but mistaking it for a loss of control. He came up to stand behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, rubbing them. "Maybe we should talk over tea."

But Liv wasn't willing to let this go that easily. "I don't think it's good for your business to sell incorrect intel. It would be a pity if others heard about it."

Sharon pulled her brows together. "Are you threatening me, Anna?"

"Just an observational thought," Liv said.

Liv inhaled deeply, trying to calm down. If the easy question got her all worked up, how was this conversation going to end?

"Why is Sam the only one on the tape?" James asked, changing the topic.

Sharon shrugged. "Maybe they didn't catch my sweet side."

James crossed the room in less than three strides and wrapped his hand around Sharon's neck. "I won't repeat myself."

Sharon pointed her gun at his torso, but James's hand stayed at her throat.

"Even if you shoot me, I can still break your neck in the process," he said.

From behind them, Zemo pointed a gun at Sharon. Leaving her with no choice other than to reply.

"My client didn't w-want me on it," she pressed out, tapping his arm, signaling she couldn't breathe.

"And who is your client?" Liv asked.

When Sharon didn't say anything, James's grip grew stronger around her neck. Her cheeks went red as she frantically looked to Zemo and Liv for help.

"A.I.M." Liv whispered.

James released her throat and looked at Liv for a long moment, while Sharon gasped for air.

"You work for A.I.M.?" Liv repeated, incredulous.

"I'm not working for them," she said, emphasizing the word "for".

"For them, with them, semantics," Zemo said, waving his gun.

"So, they paid you to set Sam up?" James asked, but when Sharon stayed silent, he added, "I thought he was your friend!"

"It wasn't personal," Sharon said, giving him a cold smile. "We have a common interest."

"The new serum," Zemo concluded.

For a brief second, Liv wondered how Zemo knew that Sharon was the Power Broker.

"Where is the tape that would prove his innocence?" James asked.

Sharon shrugged. "Probably somewhere on a server."

Zemo walked over to the windows and took a look at the streets, noticing a dark SUV on the other side of the street. Turning, he gave James a look that told him they'd need to make an exit soon.

"And bidding for my company?" Liv asked. "Was that also on their behalf?"

"For one, it was never your company in the first place, Anna," Sharon replied. "And for another, it's only to lure you out."

"Why?" Liv asked, but she already knew the answer.

"Your talent didn't go unnoticed," Sharon said. "They want you. As you are the only living, breathing object that survived the treatment with the new serum."

Object. The word echoed in her head. They took everything from her and now they wanted to make a claim on her?