Marvel With Zanpakutou

Chapter 829: Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole

The bar fell into a tense silence.

Zemo’s face shifted through various emotions, but under the stern gaze of the elderly bartender, he chose to remain silent, avoiding further argument.

Compared to the others, who had lived through the last century, Zemo had only joined their group two years ago. He had only seen the mysterious ’founder’ Yvette a handful of times and lacked respect for her.

He had assumed that no one truly valued her.

After all, in the few times they had met, Yvette had never shown any authority. She often behaved like a madwoman, constantly shouting about looking for her brother. Yet, when asked who her brother was, she would fall silent for a long time.

But now, Zemo realized that Yvette was more complex than she appeared. Otherwise, merely mentioning her ’brother’ wouldn’t have elicited such serious expressions from everyone present.

Sensing the growing tension, Bucky coughed to break the silence. He spoke up, aiming to ease the atmosphere. "Old man, speaking of which... don’t you want to see your son?"

"Not for now..."

The elderly bartender fell into a brief silence before shaking his head and sighing. "It’s not the right time yet. At least, not until Hive is eliminated. Seeing him now would only bring unnecessary trouble."

Bucky nodded in agreement, understanding the situation. "True. If Hive catches wind of it, it might hide again, and then finding it will become much harder."

"Someone’s approaching," the bartender suddenly paused, his cloudy eyes glancing toward the street outside. "It seems they’ve found you, Peggy. What do you plan to do next?"

"Just as I expected."

Peggy showed no surprise, swirling the glass of liquor in her hand and gazing at the amber liquid. She smiled lightly. "I’ll handle them myself. You all stay hidden. Don’t expose yourselves."

"Are you sure that’s a good idea?"

Bucky frowned, clearly uneasy with the plan. "With how cautious Hive is, there’s no guarantee it will fall for the trap. And you alone against S.H.I.E.L.D. sounds too dangerous. What if something goes wrong?"

"If you want to catch a big fish, you have to take some risks." Peggy chuckled softly. "We need to make Hive feel it must act personally and that it has a 100% chance of capturing me. Only then will our moment for revenge come."

"But what if Hive... sends the Avengers after you?" Bucky remained unconvinced, voicing another concern.

"It won’t."

The elderly bartender interjected calmly, "The Avengers aren’t under government control. Besides, Tony and Steve don’t see eye to eye, and at least in this matter, they won’t interfere. As for the others... Fury will keep them at bay."

"You... have connections with Fury?" Bucky’s face shifted at the bartender’s confident assurance.

"No, no, no... I’m not foolish enough to contact a spy master," the bartender quickly denied, flashing a knowing smile. "I simply did my duty as a responsible citizen and informed the director about certain suspicious behaviors of some agents."

So... you reported them...

Bucky’s expression twitched at the thought, and he stood up from the bar, turning to Peggy. "Since you’re confident, we’ll leave now. But we’ll be watching from the shadows. If things go south, we’ll intervene."

"Understood."

Peggy lounged back on the sofa, her long legs propped on the table as she lazily swirled her drink. "If you run into Yvette, bring her back. But don’t let anyone provoke her into causing chaos."

"I’ll... try my best." Bucky smiled wryly, feeling the weight of the task. "You know how hard it is to track her down when she doesn’t want to be found."

"I know, just do what you can." Peggy didn’t press him, aware of the difficulty involved.

"We should go," the bartender said, his eyes darting towards the approaching movement outside. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has blocked off the street. Steve and Natasha are leading the team, and they’re headed straight for the bar."

Bucky nodded, offering one last reminder to Peggy. "Be careful, and if things get out of hand, signal us for help."

Peggy waved him off with a smile, assuring them she understood.

Turning to the bartender, Bucky added, "Please, make sure to erase any trace of us. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are sharp, and any clue could lead them straight to us."

"Leave it to me."

The elderly bartender smiled, bowing slightly like a gentleman. He then clapped his hands, and a subtle shift occurred in the atmosphere. "Welcome to... the world in between!"

Suddenly, a faint whistle echoed.

A ghostly, pale blue train emerged from the cracks between the buildings. Its translucent appearance gave it an otherworldly feel as it quietly glided into the bar.

The bartender was the first to step aboard, followed by Bucky and Zemo. Once the three were inside, the whistle blew again.

The ghostly train, now carrying its passengers, slowly reversed course, vanishing into the crack from which it came. It was gone in the blink of an eye as if it had never existed.

As the train departed, the bar’s interior shifted as well. Every trace of their presence was erased as though they had never been there.

Even the sharpest agents wouldn’t find a single clue of their existence because, in truth, these people never existed.

Moments later, shadows moved outside the bar.

Peggy set down her glass, knowing S.H.I.E.L.D. had arrived. And her ’boyfriend’ was just on the other side of the door, strategizing with his team on how to storm in and capture her.

A second later, the bar’s door opened.

To her surprise, Steve didn’t choose to force his way in. Instead, he entered calmly.

"Peggy, come back with me," Steve said evenly, his eyes fixed on her. "There’s nowhere left for you to run. Hand over the Obelisk and come home. It’s your only option."

"That’s just what you think."

Peggy remained seated, unbothered by the numerous red laser dots from targeting sights now trained on her. She calmly replied, "I’ve already told you—I won’t return until this is resolved."

"Agent Carter!" A striking, blonde man stepped forward, his eyes sharp. "If you refuse to hand over the Obelisk, we will use force. We will retrieve it at all costs. As one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s founders, you know what that means."

"Grant Ward!"

Steve’s eyes blazed with fury as he turned on the man like a predator. "As long as I’m here, no one will harm Peggy. No matter whose orders they follow!"

"Captain Steve Rogers." Grant Ward showed no fear, his tone cold and unyielding. "This is a direct order from the World Security Council. You’d do well to think carefully about the consequences of defying it."

"Stop fighting."

Peggy slowly stood, prompting the agents to tense up. She ignored the numerous red dots trained on her, gently brushing her hair with a smile. "If you’re so determined to take the Obelisk, why not try it? See if you can take it from me.