Berlin - Joint Counter Terrorist Centre (December 2017)

[Hollywood Heidi]

Joint Counter Terrorist Centre

The Joint Counter Terrorist Centre, also known as the Joint Terrorism Task Force, is an international counter-terrorism agency headquartered in Berlin, Germany. It has housed well known prisoners Baron Helmut Zemo and James Buchanan Barnes, aka Winter Soldier.

[DarkSideCookie]

One and a half years in isolation could be a long time, yet for a man who had patience and confidence about things naturally unfolding as soon as the time would be ripe, it was just another one and a half years of a lifetime. Besides, there had been worse. Zemo still had the luxury of a bed, a roof over his head, and even books. Maybe without books, it would have been much harder. Luckily, he had been able to bribe one of the prison library workers, so his reading matter wasn't narrowed down to those trashy novels you found at a secondhand market.

Once again, Zemo shut a book in his hands, by now having finished too many to count. This one he had read even twice. Not because it would have kept him in suspense so much, but because it had been a while since this prison worker had come back with new material. Zemo wondered if he was even still working here. He hoped so since it could be a risk and simply a wasted effort to build up a new business partnership within these walls. However, he was a snob, not content with the standard treatment, not even while actually in imprisonment.

Suddenly Zemo heard quiet steps approaching, giving him hope that Mark - the man he had bribed to bring him books that were more to his liking - came back, after all. Yet instead of the tall Afro-American-looking man, Zemo saw a much smaller figure, covered in a burkha, led into the hallway leading to his cell. With his features unmoving, he just stood in front of the safety glass and watched them, knowing it gave some of the guards a chill every time he did that. Maybe Zemo was even slightly enjoying that, most probably. It seemed that - once the guard accompanying the apparent new librarian saw him -, the man suddenly was in a rush to get back to his own post, letting the newbie find the rest of the way themselves.

An almost unrecognizable smirk appeared on Zemo's lips as he watched the cloaked person coming closer.

[Ariel]

Silence filled the air between Nebula and the guards that escorted her through hallways of top notch security. Her eyes gazed down through her cloaked head to the items she held securely in her hands. Books. Nebula understood the art of disguise, yet the way Andro had every characteristic detail of this Zemo boiled down to a T terrified her evermore slightly than she had been in the past little while. From Zemo's professional life to every move he makes in prison, to even his literature preferences - Andro was obsessive and dangerous, just has Nebula noticed he had started to become with her as well. She wouldn't dare let her fears show in front of him, but Nebula even began to wonder if Andro was truly willing to uphold his end of their bargain or if he whispered sweet nothings just to keep her around as a pawn. Nebula would be lying if she said she didn't feel like a puppet, especially in this particular situation with a bug in her ear and Andro's voice guiding her every move. Nebula's head jerked upwards as a door before them slid open to reveal the stone cold room, lit only by the glass enclosure from within. Following the silent motion of the guards to proceed forward, Nebula's identity remained concealed behind dark cloth as she moved towards the glass. Hearing Andro's voice come through the tiny microphone in her ear, her eyeballs darted around as she scanned the walls and corners without moving her head to give away any sort of suspicious movements. Andro explained that by now, he had successfully hacked into the security camera system, showing the personnel in the security room footage of a room only occupied by Zemo and no one more or less. Nebula then turned her attention to the little man behind the glass, staring right at her with a beady glare and a smirk that told Nebula that he was already two steps ahead of her. More feedback from Andro filled Nebula's head with direction and instruction. Yet, in this moment she had enough. After years of following the orders of a superior, Nebula had vowed never to go down that path again. She finally mustered up the courage to do what she had been wanting to do for a while, but had let love blind her. Having heard enough from Andro, she raised a hand up into the fabric of her cloaked head and with a single finger removed the bug in her ear, crumpling the device between her thumb and index finger. Now...it was time to get to business. Her own, for once. 

"Baron Zemo?" Nebula asked sternly in a questioning manner. Yet before he could provide an answer, Nebula tossed the books in her hand and allowed both hands disappear behind her back for a mere moment before throwing them out to each side, striking the air with a dagger in each hand before throwing one each at the two guards in the room, landing perfectly into their necks. Without any time to react, the guards gurgled as blood filled their lungs, sliding down to the floor to drown in their own pools of death. Nebula turned back around to Zemo, and lifting her hands up to her face she removed the cloak to reveal herself, "Do you know who I am? Do you know why I've come?" Nebula interrogated the man who was separated from her by glass. She needed to know if he knew of any of Andro's plans before pressing her own agenda. 

[DarkSideCookie]

"Baron Zemo?"

The only reaction to her question for his identity was a slight rise of that smirk around his lips. Also, it was interesting that she was using his title, for not many people did, especially not around here.

When, suddenly, the cloaked figure tossed the books in her hands and produced two daggers from her back, killing the guards right next to her, Zemo's features were changing into surprise. He had sensed something about her that spoke of much more than being just a librarian but that he had not expected. Despite his surprise, Zemo remained calm and steady.

"Do you know who I am? Do you know why I've come?" his visitor then asked him, removing the cloak and revealing her quite unusual face.

The surprise vanished and made way for an expression that was hard to read, simply unpredictable. Slowly, Zemo approached his first and only visitor a bit more to meet her by the glass wall face to face. He tilted his head. 'What an unusual being was he facing here?' Zemo wondered as he silently pondered about if she was even human, after all. Surely not completely at least, but probably some kind of alien or robot figure, or whatever else this crazy world had started to spit out lately; Either way, certainly something that shouldn't be here, along with humans containing superpowers. But then again, of all people on this planet, it was him who she was seeking out. In silence, Zemo wondered why that was. His reputation now most certainly proceeded him far beyond. However, during his stay in this cell, he had come over his anger a bit, so he just tried to look at her as an unusual being instead of something that had been falsely created just like super soldiers.

"I would offer you tea or some delights, but - unfortunately - the service here is rather poor," Zemo eventually spoke up as well, yet again a slight smirk on his face. Before she could have answered to his words that had nothing to do with her questioning, though, he added: "Sparse staffing, I guess," pointing with his head at the two guards on the ground, still bleeding to death.

[Ariel]

"I would offer you tea or some delights, but - unfortunately - the service here is rather poor," "Sparse staffing, I guess,"

Nebula's neck twitched in confusion as her head cocked to the side, staring in stark bewilderment at this man. She was not entirely sure what to think of him. A trust in Andro's judgement had been direly made, and Nebula hadn't questioned it until now. Though, she had a slight feeling that by this man's concealed expression, that he had something up his sleeve. Giving him the benefit of a doubt, Nebula figured it would be worthwhile to humor the situation. Resetting her head upright, she gave Baron Zemo a very questionable, serious look, "What makes you think I'd come halfway around the world to be entertained by tea and...delights? What are these delights which you speak of?" Nebula tried to roll her tongue without sounding as if she was revolting in disgust by this entire dialogue.

[DarkSideCookie]

"What makes you think I'd come halfway around the world to be entertained by tea and...delights? What are these delights which you speak of?"

His lips rose into a slight smirk once again. Zemo got what she was doing here. Stalling the point of this conversation to get a picture of the person she was talking to first. Smart. Since he wasn't the one reaching out and also had all the time in the world, Zemo would play along.

"Sweets," he answered her question rather informative while he fixated her with intense. Zemo was doing the same thing. Getting a picture of the other one. "Not so popular where you come from?"

[Ariel]

"Sweets," "Not so popular where you come from?"

At this point, Nebula was so confused by his seriousness over what he called 'sweets' that she dodged his question altogether. This was not why she was here. Nebula's expression remained unamused as she scanned Zemo's confinement, wasting no more time, "Let's cut the shit," Her voice was raspy with annoyance as her large, void-like eyes traced the box he was in, snapping back to the little man on the last beat of her remark before continuing further, "We both have wants. I know your potential is wasted, sitting in here and growing stale. I can help you spread your wings and fly free from this cage...would you like that, little bird?" Nebula was serious with her proposition, and yet she couldn't help herself to give this little man a sarcastic nickname. He truly reminded her of little bird, sitting in it's cage for too long with so much potential to contribute to the world once again. She could scratch his back, but only if he scratched hers. 

[DarkSideCookie]

"Let's cut the shit,"

With a slight, almost unnoticeable, shrug of his shoulders, Zemo gave her to understand that he was fine either way. As usual, he just kept his cool, listening rather than talking, at least for now.

"We both have wants. I know your potential is wasted, sitting in here and growing stale. I can help you spread your wings and fly free from this cage...would you like that, little bird?"

Zemo smirked once again as he took another step in her direction until he was standing so close that his nose almost touched the glass. "You've not come here alone," he suddenly spoke up again as well. This was not just a wild guess, but instead, background knowledge about the security system surrounding them. It wouldn't be possible to game that, not without a partner to act from behind.

Before the woman in blue could have answered his anyway rhetorical comment, Zemo went on with yet another assumption derived from former observations. "But you shifted us to private. Fair. But that leads me to believe that you might not be a team player. Or that you... might need a different team." Zemo ended his little monologue with his hands folded, patiently and curiously waiting for a reaction.

[Ariel]

"You've not come here alone," "But you shifted us to private. Fair. But that leads me to believe that you might not be a team player. Or that you... might need a different team." 

Nebula had been told just how good this guy was. He possessed wit and intelligence far beyond the typical, average human. So it didn't exactly come as a surprise to her that he had already analyzed and calculated her very steps. However, Nebula liked to think that she was pretty decant at playing games. She had played survival of the fittest her entire life, after all. 

"...What would you want in return?" Nebula questioned Zemo, already figuring he had a request in mind in exchange for helping her make an escape and finish what she set out to start.

[DarkSideCookie]

Zemo saw in her eyes that she was not surprised at all. Without wanting to sound arrogant, he was well aware of his wit and ability to always think one step ahead while the average wasn't. Not only had she analyzed him as well, in the short time they had yet, but she also must have studied him before she and her companion had made it their mission to break into this prison. Zemo even would have been disappointed to learn something different since he was assessing the alien woman to possess wit and intelligence herself.

"...What would you want in return?"

At that, Zemo made a surprised face, after all, not obvious though, if only played or not. "What makes you think that freedom wouldn't be enough for me?" he made her wonder instead of answering her question. Yes, he loved playing this kind of mind game. Or maybe he was just wondering for real? Who knew?

[Ariel]

"What makes you think that freedom wouldn't be enough for me?"

"Freedom would be too simple for a human mind as complex as yours, Baron Zemo," Nebula spoke, almost astonished that he would even contemplate that she would think that being a free man would be all that he desired. No. There was so much more to this man's story than he cared to let on. She wasn't quite sure how to feel about him yet, but Nebula was beginning to believe that she had just met one of the most intelligent humans on this planet. She alone wasn't even in tune with her own feelings, if anything she would much prefer to shove them aside and never deal with them at all. Impressed could very well have been one of the bigger ones she was feeling, as Zemo had far exceeded her expectations in regards to what Andro had prepared her for upon meeting him. Though, she had rarely expressed the feeling of being impressed or satisfied with another being to recognize it, "And powerful, intellectual men like you always want something more. So what will it be?" Nebula continued to press the man confrontationally until she got the answers she needed to hear. There was no trusting in this man that he would keep any sort of word or tattle on her to Andro himself. At this point, Andro was scaring her and someone powerful and influential like Zemo was her only way out.

[DarkSideCookie]

"Freedom would be too simple for a human mind as complex as yours, Baron Zemo,""And powerful, intellectual men like you always want something more. So what will it be?"

Zemo smirked, as usual, this time not at all mischievously, but rather amused. Then he opened his mouth again as well. "Allow me to ask another question first," he began, the smirk still resting on his face. "Why would you want to break me out?" He had already guessed her to need a new teammate, but the emphasis in his question lay on the word me instead of just why. Before she could answer, though, Zemo added more words to this thought. "Haven't you heard about what I did to your superhero friends?" The smirk grew a little wider, amused about the upcoming memory of past events in which he had played those Avengers characters against each other, a lot easier than expected, at that. This woman might not be one of them, but Zemo guessed that there must be some kind of connection. He just felt it. Maybe because they and aliens always had in the past.

[Ariel]

"Why would you want to break me out?"  "Haven't you heard about what I did to your superhero friends?"

A sudden fit of rage burst from Nebula as Baron Zemo's words triggered an emotional response. Lunging forward, Nebula slammed her hands in place on the thick, clear confinement which held the man before her. Eyes glaring into his, Nebula was inches away from Zemo's face, and would have throttled him if the barrier hadn't gotten in the way. "You mean traitors?! The one's who betrayed me?! They're dead to me now...and as of late, I'm beginning to think that I need to play for a different team. One that can actually help me get what I want." Nebula eased her hands away, remorseful of her emotional outburst. She needed this man's help, and she was no good to him with a spoiled reputation and a terrible first impression.

[DarkSideCookie]

For the first time during their conversation, that haughty smirk evaporated, at least a little. Also for the first time of it, Zemo was actually acting surprised about the sudden rage burst; Not because of the burst itself but instead because of the words that had triggered it. Interesting. This was making things between them truly more plausible. Although looking surprised, Zemo still stood in place, unmoving.

"You mean traitors?! The one's who betrayed me?! They're dead to me now...and as of late, I'm beginning to think that I need to play for a different team. One that can actually help me get what I want."

"There's no need to push back your anger," he said in a calm tone as she seemed to back off, above all from herself, her emotions. Then Zemo even made one step further in her direction, so close that his lips almost touched the glass. "We share that." On Zemo's features, one emotion was clearly visible now as well. Wrath. Not suppressed at all. Only a little lapsed, yet not completely gone.

[Ariel]

"There's no need to push back your anger,"  "We share that." 

Rage flared like hot steam through Nebula's nostrils as she barely had a grip on her sense of self control. Something that hadn't happened to her in a really long time. Feelings that had been suppressed for so long. Afraid of expressing them as to not trigger or burden the one she loved and trusted. Or so the one she thought that she loved and could trust. The fact that these emotions suddenly rose to the surface like an unexpected explosive began to silently prove her otherwise. And then there was this man that she barely knew, but yet was willing to level with her and emotions face to face. Eye to eye. Staring right back at her in patience, waiting for her to collect herself and fall back into a more professional state. Emotional connections proved to be a dangerous trap for Nebula, but at this point she needed a way out of her current nightmare. And Zemo was her way out.

"And what is it you think we share, exactly?" Nebula questioned Zemo as she began to control her senses and straightened herself upwards once more.

[DarkSideCookie]

Zemo gave her the time she needed to not only calm down from but especially live through this rage, her emotions. Something seemed to have suppressed them for a long time. Of course, this was only a guess, but Zemo was quite good at reading people. The look she gave him now was telling him as well. Patiently, Zemo was waiting, saying nothing at all.

"And what is it you think we share, exactly?" she finally asked after a while.

A smirk appeared back on his features, resting there for some seconds, before he finally launched into a sparse yet honest answer, actually repeating himself. "Anger. Not only towards the Avengers," Zemo added, "but also towards those acting up with us."

[Ariel]

"Anger. Not only towards the Avengers,"  "but also towards those acting up with us."

Nebula's eyes surveyed his situation once more. Intuition told her that her and this man had more in common than she thought. And yet, she thought the same about Andro once upon a time. She felt like a complete and total fool, but the damage was done. Now what she needed was a way out and Zemo seemed like he could be her ticket out of this situation she found herself in. Perhaps she could be a ticket for Zemo in some way or another as well.

"I want to make them pay. I want to make them all pay," Nebula uttered harshly, "Like you, I'm stuck in a cage of my own. Only, my confinement isn't of the physical kind," She admitted, staring right at Zemo, "I've always worked...alone. Even in a pack, I don't play well with others. So even if we don't run together, maybe we can help each other out...making those who've wronged us pay." Nebula propositioned while laying down the facts. Perhaps, she wasn't ready to join another 'team' yet, but she would feel comfortable vouching for someone who could possibly have her back and help her get the job done she set out to do once and for all.

[DarkSideCookie]

"I want to make them pay. I want to make them all pay,""Like you, I'm stuck in a cage of my own. Only, my confinement isn't of the physical kind,""I've always worked...alone. Even in a pack, I don't play well with others. So even if we don't run together, maybe we can help each other out...making those who've wronged us pay."

Zemo watched her in silence for another while, not only pondering about her words but also about her motives, the person she was. They really seemed to have some things in common, also for the not playing well with others nature. How would two of the same kind work in one team? An interesting thought for sure, and worth a try as well. And, after all, his ticket out of here.

Then, without any reaction to her former speech, Zemo turned around and walked toward his bed. He kneeled down for a moment to produce something from a small slit inside the mattress; A note. While walking back toward the woman, he unfolded it slowly before wordlessly pressing it against the glass so that she was able to read it. It was an address in Barcelona, Spain, and a combination of four numbers.

[Ariel]

Nebula watched as Zemo turned and nonchalantly walked over to his bedside. With no explanation or clarification, the man appeared to be on a mission as he crouched down to allow his hand to disappear into the mattress for only a brief moment. She turned her head to the side, watching him in silent curiosity as he straightened himself upright once more and walked back over to her with something in his hand. With a light thump against the glass, Zemo's hand was pressed against the clear wall of his confinement, revealing a lightly crumpled note with something written on it. Numbers and the name of a place which Nebula assumed was here on planet Earth.

"What is this?" Nebula asked, her voice vibrated with demand as she wondered what this note suddenly had to do with her.

[DarkSideCookie]

"What is this?"

"My ticket out, and yours to not end up inside," Zemo explained as nonchalantly as he had made his walk through the cell. He wouldn't reveal what she was going to find inside the lockbox the address led to, for it was already dangerous enough showing it to her in the first place. On the other hand, he was sure that they were out of any camera's eye. She had mentioned another person, her boss. He surely was taking care of that while she was here with him. Yet still, Zemo couldn't risk this rare chance he just got. "The address will lead you to a private lockbox with more information inside," he added as she seemed not familiar with the place nor combinations like that in general.

[Ariel]

"My ticket out, and yours to not end up inside,"  "The address will lead you to a private lockbox with more information inside,"

Nebula had studied the address and combination long enough for it to be logged into her memory system. She had a feeling that Zemo did not care to spare any more details, verbally to her that was. It was still unknown what unseen bugs still remained in the room and she was aware of that. Nebula gave him a firm nod, showing that she understood the assignment, "I will not fail," Nebula affirmed, "Is there anything else?"

[DarkSideCookie]

Zemo studied her features while she did the same with the address. As soon as she gave a confirming nod, he took the note away from the glass. The camera system might momentarily be inactive, but they still had to be careful. Besides, he didn't know her boss and what he might be able to see and hear himself. It was better to keep this between the two of them only.

"I will not fail,""Is there anything else?"

A slight smirk was forming on Zemo's lips again. "Give my regards," he said mysteriously, with that, at least, giving away that the address might not only lead her to an object but also a person; His oldest and most loyal friend, Oeznik.

[Ariel]

"Give my regards,"

Leaving Nebula with that final thought, she knew that the conversation at hand was complete. She would successfully do his bidding and would gain a new ally. One that could help her possibly get out of the sticky situation she had found herself in with Andro. Nebula began to back away slowly from the glass, Zemo growing smaller and smaller in his cage as the distance between them grew. What on Earth would she tell Andro about her encounter? Nebula knew she had to fabricate something believable, and fast. Pulling her dark hood over her head once more, Nebula twirled around to the entrance from whence she came and disappeared back into the facility faster than a lightning strike to make here exit.


***

[DarkSideCookie]

Zemo watched her figure as it decreased in the distance, the stranger woman making her way back to where she had come from. He was still motionlessly standing in place, even minutes after there was nothing more to see than the dark corridor in front of him, thinking about their encounter. Although Zemo knew nothing about her yet, he had a feeling that having met her would lead him to new paths. He was not going to end up rotting in a cell, never had been, but, for the first time in felt ages, Zemo sensed that there was real progress. This woman will return, and she will help him break out.

With a satisfied smile, eventually Zemo took some steps back from the glass, placing himself on the cot in the corner of the cell instead. He grabbed his current lecture, a book he had read twice already, and made himself look like just a guy who enjoyed a story. He would mime that guy for as long it took to reap the seeds he'd just planted.


***