Chapter Text
Baron Helmut Zemo steps off his plane, handing his flute of champagne to Oeznik.
It's still early in the morning, but who cares, it's never too early for a little drink.
Zemo closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, taking in the fresh scents of the county side. There's a slight breeze, but not enough to make him shiver. A few clouds are scattered across the beautiful blue sky, soft and white.
"Sir? Shall I call for the car?" Oeznik asks, pulling zemo out of his moment.
"Yes, please. The Bently." He replies, looking over to his butler.
"And some more champagne if you will." He adds with a slight smile.
"Very good sir." Oeznik nods, shuffling away.
—————— time skip ——————
Zemo sinks into his favorite armchair, glass of scotch in hand.
It had taken a little longer than he would have liked to get home, but at least he had gotten there at all.
After everything that had happened with those American idiots, he was just glad to be alone in his own home.
He was in one of his larger manors, old and stylish, just a few miles inland from a quaint German town.
It had been in his family for many years, but he hadn't visited in quite some time, especially since he was locked away for so long.
He lazily looks to one of the windows, and is immediately snapped into attention. A person stands at the edge of the treeline, about 400 yards away.
He quickly stands, setting down his glass, replacing it with a gun that had previously been tucked into a side table.
He paces to the window, eyes locked on the figure. He watches as they inch closer to the manor.
"Oeznik! Are we expecting someone tonight?" He shouts, hoping his butler has just made plans without his knowledge.
"No sir, you wished for a quiet night in. Why?" The butler replies, shuffling into the room.
"Scheisse! Where are the gaurds?" Zemo snaps. Eyes still locked on the ever approaching figure.
Oeznik furrows his brows, looking to zemo.
"They're not arriving until tomorrow, shall I call someone in?"
Zemo shakes his head, frowning.
"I'll deal with this myself, please escort yourself to the bar and ready my next drink." He orders.
Zemo quickly exits the room, heading to the front door. He grips his gun tighter and watches the figure approach from the eye hole.
—————— other pov ——————
This has been the worst fucking day.
I lost one of my only two knives, it was the good one too. Serrated and slightly curved, perfect for many reasons, one of which being the fact it can cut through bones in only two slices.
This may or may not have been the reason I had lost it in the first place, that guy was fucking lucky it had only gotten stuck in his arm instead of his face.
I dont even know where I'm going right now. I might as well fall asleep in the woods I'm so tired right now. No, that's gross, I'm not doing that. I'm going to find a fucking house, and go to fucking sleep. That's the plan.
I see some light coming through the gap in the the treeline. Lucky for me, it's only sundown and there's still a bit of light left. I make my way through the wood, and exit as gracefully as ever, tripping over a root and faceplanting into the ground. My military surplus shoulder bag flies off and spills my stuff all over the ground.
Smooth.
I push myself to my feet and brush the leaves and twigs off. Muttering profanities all the while. It takes a few moments to shove all my stuff back into my now dirty bag.
I walk forward, immediately noticing the huge ass manor not too far away.
I work my way forward, stepping over a small creek and around some flowers.
It takes a little bit, but eventually I'm standing in front of the fancy front door. I know someone has been watching me, as the backlighting from his windows had given them away quite some time ago.
Whatever, I'm sure it's fine.
I lazily knock a few times with the fancy brass knocker. I almost jump in surprise when it opens pretty much as soon as I knock.
Honesty I was not expecting someone to open up that fast but whatever.
I take a second to look at the man who opened the door. He was sharply dressed, with caramel brown hair and a cool looking trench coat. I kind of recognize the coat but I don't know where from, and to be honest, I don't really care.
His almost violet eyes widen as he registers the fact that im standing there. Or maybe he just wasn't expecting some kid to be standing on his doorstep at whatever time is was.
His surprise is short lived though, as his eyes quickly narrow and scan my scrawny frame.
"Uhh, gutten tag..?" I ask, a little caught off gaurd.
The man only keeps his eyes on me, not saying a word, obviously thinking something. I sigh.
"Hi, sorry about this, but I got separated from my friends, could I please come in?" I plead. I'm too tired for whatever this is.
The man just looks at me, rather confused.
"Uhhh, es.. es tut mir... mir leid? Ich bin ver... ver.. verloren!! Yeah, ich bin verloren." I try, switching to German.
"Your German is terrible, again in English please." He says, and I smile acwardly. He's not wrong, I'm very bad.
"Please sir, I got separated from my school mates a while back. We're on a Holliday and went on a day trip through that town back there,"
I gesture vaguely behind me,
"We went to check out the woods for a while, and I stop for two seconds and they kept going without me."
I paint a stressed look on my face, hoping he buys my story.
"I've been wandering for hours trying to find my group, and I've just been getting more and more lost. Please could you just let me inside for the night? My phone died and I need to call to let them know where I am." I finally finish, letting the tale sink in.
The man has one eyebrow raised, and a hand on his hip. It looks like he doesnt really believe me, but hopefully I sold it enough to let me in.
The man steps aside, allowing enough room for me to step inside.
"Fine, please come in. There's a phone you may use in the parlor." He still sounds a little skeptical, but it's good enough.
I quickly step inside, wiping my feet on the mat just inside the door. I turn around to see him placing something in his coat pocket, though I didn't turn fast enough to see what it was.
My messenger bag is digging into my shoulder, so I shift it again, grabbing the man's attention.
"Thank you so much, I really can't imagine how horrible it would be in those woods at night." I gush, hoping to turn his gaze to me, not my bag.
The man just nods, and gestures to an open doorframe to my right a little bit down the large entryway.
I smile and go through the doorway, emerging in a large parlor with a high ceiling and many windows.
The walls were covered in bookshelves, save a spot in the middle of the largest wall, where a fancy fireplace sat, warming the entire room. Above the fireplace was an enormous portrait of my host, dressed in the same coat.
"Wow. This room is incredible." I say, meaning every word.
The man half smiles, sending a shiver down my spine. He was more than a little unsettling, especially with the huge ass portrait of himself directly above him.
I acwardly smile, and make my way the the small table on which an old fashioned rotary phone sat.
"Is it okay if I make a few calls?" I ask, looking back to the man.
He leans against a bookshelf and nods, not taking his eyes off my belt.
Another awkward smile, and I turn back to the phone, letting out a small nervous breath. I shouldn't be so anxious right now, I am more than capable of fending for myself, but something about him just rubs me the wrong way.
I dial the first number I can think of, the hotel I was at two nights ago. It takes a second for me to get the weird old timey phone to do what I wanted, but I eventually it started ringing.
No one picks up, just as I had hoped.
I turn around, an anxious look plastered on my face.
"They're not picking up. Maybe it's just late? I'm sure they've been busy looking for me, they must have all been using the phone.." I faded off, hoping he would feel at least a little bad.
"It's no worries, you may stay here until the morning if you wish. I can give you a ride to town tomorrow." He suggests.
I hold back a grin, opting for a thankful smile instead.
"Thank you so so much, I really appreciate it." I say, hoping he isnt the type to wake up early so I can take his car in the morning.
He smiles tightly, not unlike a shark. He take a few steps towards me, and I nearly flinch.
He holds out his gloved hand, offering it to me to shake.
"Baron Helmut Zemo, it's a pleasure." He introduces himself.
Again, I recognize the name, I'm just not sure what from.
It doesn't matter, I need to think of a name before he starts to get suspicious.
"Asher." I say quickly, taking his hand. "Nice to meet you."
Zemo let's go and turns around, gesturing for me to follow. I do, and scurry after him as he strides out the door and up some stairs.
We wind up at the end of a long, fancy hallway on the second floor. He opens a door and steps aside, sweeping his arm in a wide gesture to the room.
"You may stay in here until the morning. Anything you should need will be in there. If you are hungry, please stay in your room and pull the bell string, my butler will see to whatever you need." He finishes and looks expectantly at me.
I smile and nod, stepping closer to the doorway.
"Thank you again for letting me stay, I really appreciate it, especially the Enligh, my German is not very good." I say, looking up at him.
Zemo nods curtly and turns around, ending the conversation.
I grab the door handle, pulling the door closed. Right before it shuts, zemo grabs the door and stops it from moving.
"One last thing, you have no reason to be leaving your room, so I shouldn't be seeing you sneaking about later. Correct?" He adds, staring expectantly at me.
I stare nervously at him, forgetting how to word.
"Uhhhh... yeah, yes yeah, no problem." I fumble, hoping he leaves.
He seems satisfied enough, and let's the door close all the way. I wait a moment for his footsteps to reced down the hall. When they are faint enough, I let out a sigh of relief.
God that guy was unsettling. Obviously I'm not staying in my room after that. I wanted to sleep but now I'm just curious as to what he clearly doesn't want me to find.
I quickly rummage through the room, searching the dresser drawers first. I dont find anything too interesting, save a small tin of turkish delights.
I shove a fistful of the treats in my right pant pocket. Thank God for cargo pants.
I glance longingly at the fancy four poster bed, feeling the exhaustion seep into my bones.
I let my bag fall to the floor, and turn back to the door for a moment, promptly locking it.
My eyelids are heavy, and I'm struggling to even keep my head up.
I'm sure a few hours of sleep can't hurt..