Chapter Nineteen - Reconciliation

Clara waited for the others to get changed, lent up against a wall and still wearing her trousers, her jacket off and drying as it hung of the arm of a chair. 'You want a drink?' Sharon asked Clara, walking towards the bar. 

'I'm good,' Clara thanked her, the dryness of her mouth urging her over to her bag that sat by the couch, close and in line of sight. She gave into the urge, unzipping the bag to pull a still-sealed bottle of water out from within. The action didn't seem to offend Sharon, and she downed the drink in one. 

'Much better,' Sharon commented as Sam walked through a set of glass doors. He still had his top off, and Clara didn't fail to notice the type of look Sharon had gave the man. Though she also thought she had seen the same look to Sam from Bucky as he walked past, so maybe she just wasn't very good at reading people when she was as tired as she was. 

Sam stopped in front of a clothes rail, a selection of tops there to pick from. 'What's going on, Sharon?' He asked, jumping straight to the point. 'You don't ever wanna come back home?' 

'They'll lock me up if I step foot back in the States. Madripoor doesn't allow extradition.'

'Look, I'm sorry I didn't call, but after the Blip and the chaos that followed, I just...' He shook his head, not sure how to find the right words to express his guilt over the matter. 

'You know this whole hero thing is a joke, right?' Sharon asked him, skipping forward in the conversation, clearly not wanting to linger on such matters. 'The way you gave up that shield, deep down, you must know it's all hypocrisy.' 

'He knows.' Clara looked over to the bar, only now noticing Zemo standing there with a glass of whiskey in hand. 'And not so deep down.'

'By the way, how is the new Cap?' Sharon asked conversationally. 

Bucky groaned. 'Don't get me started.'

Clara sat on the armchair opposite Bucky, folding one leg over the other as she sat up straight enough not to fall asleep on the soft seat. She pulled her bag closer to her, leaning it up against her own chair. 

'Oh, please,' Sharon scoffed, walking round the couch to sit beside Bucky. 'You buy into all that stars and stripes bullshit. Before you were his pet psychopath,' she gestured to Zemo. 'You were Mr America! Cap's best friend.'

Bucky narrowed his gaze at her as she bit her bottom lip, holding back a mischievous grin. 'Wow,' he observed. 'She's kind of awful now.' 

Clara didn't know Sharon before now, but she tended to agree. She didn't appreciate someone else making snide comments about Bucky - That was what Clara was there for.

'Karli Morgenthau and at least seven others have taken the serum,' Sam started on the reason they were there before an argument broke out.

'You guys should really steer clear of this,' Sharon told them. 'For your own safety.'

'We know it's a risk, but we're not gonna leave it alone until we find the person who cracked the code,' Sam said.

'We got a name,' Bucky added, Clara looking across at him with interest. 'Wilfred Nagel.' 

Sharon pursed her lips before standing up and walking over to the bar. 'Nagel works for the Power Broker.'

'We need your help, Sharon,' Sam almost pleaded with her. 'I can get your name cleared.' 

Sharon poured her drink, letting out another of her short, quiet chuckles. 'Are you haggling with my life?'

'Not like that.'

'I don't buy it,' she admitted. 'You pretending like you can clear my name.' 

Clara tilted her head to the side, letting herself lean back in the chair and folding her arms again. 'Sam's a good person. You of all people should know; you've given up more than anyone should have to in order to help someone I'm sure you once called a friend. There must have been a good reason for that - other than for Captain Roger's sake.' 

Bucky cast a sharp look to Clara as she spoke, the girl breaking one of the few rules they had. But Clara knew enough about how to speak to people to avoid trouble when she wanted to. So, she continued. 'He made a mistake, sure, but before the Blip he was on the run like you; he didn't have much of a chance to clear anyone's name, including his own. Plus, since then he's had is own crap to deal with,' she shrugged. 'And it's not like you would have been easy to find, right?'

Sharon went to speak, but Clara pressed on. 'But that's beside the point. What I'm saying is, you trusted him before, why not trust him now? Like I said,' she gestured to Sam. 'Good person. Can't say the same for him, though.'

Bucky clenched his jaw as she looked to him. Sam looked from Clara to Sharon. 'I get a lot has changed for you, but I'm willing to try if you are. They cleared the bionic staring machine, and he killed almost everyone he's met,' Sam said, Bucky gawping slightly.

'What is going on today?' He muttered, thinking he must've missed the mark in the calendar that said it was "pick-on-Bucky" day.

'I don't trust charity,' Sharon looked down at the whiskey in the glass as she swirled it slightly. 

'All right, a deal then,' Sam suggested. 'You help us out, and I get your name cleared.'

He held out a hand for her to shake, and after a moment of deliberation, she took it, sealing their agreement. 'Well,' she started. 'I sell to some pretty connected people. Lay low, blend in, enjoy the party.'

'Party?' Clara looked down at her shirt, thinking maybe she should change after all. Then again, she could use this time to get some shut-eye. She had exerted a lot of energy today, much more than she had for a while at least, and she wasn't sure when the next opportunity for rest would come about.

'Try to stay out of trouble, I'll see what I can find.' Sharon headed up a set of stairs, leaving the four in the room. 

'Trouble,' Zemo commented, as if that was the last thing they'd ever find themselves in. 

'You three going down there?' Clara asked them, knowing she wouldn't be able to close her eyes for a second unless Sam and Bucky were watching Zemo. 

'Yeah, we'll keep an ear out, see if we can get anything while Sharon has a go at it,' Sam nodded. 'Why? You not wanting to snoop?' 

Clara yawned, stretching as she answered. 'I think I'm gonna sit this one out, stay out of your way.' 

'Finally,' Bucky mumbled. 

Clara rolled her eyes, too tired at this point to bother thinking off a retaliation. 'Just don't leave me here while you go off looking for this Nagel.'

'Don't tempt me.' Bucky got up from the couch and began toward the stairs, Clara lifting her middle finger to aim at his back. She heard Sam sigh as he followed after him. 

Zemo lingered for a moment longer, placing his whiskey glass on the bar and glancing over at Clara. He didn't say anything as he turned and left and, once he had disappeared from view, Clara finally let her guard down. She lay across the couch, letting her eyes fall closed as her breathing steadied. 


Please comment and vote - It lets me know a you're enjoying it!

Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top