Nick took a deep breath and said, "What did you do to Baron Zemo? Is he still alive?"
"Of course he's still alive, and doing quite well." Hearing the mockery in the other man's tone, Nick knew Baron Zemo was probably doomed. This freak had likely seized the opportunity amid the chaos, defeated Baron Zemo, and taken his place.
But now was clearly not a good time for a usurpation. The situation had already been tense, and after causing such a huge disturbance, Hydra's German headquarters could not possibly refrain from holding someone accountable. No matter what methods the other party had used, as long as he had been tailing Nick, there was room for negotiation.
"You contacted me because you want to talk." Nick said, "Tell me your terms."
"We share a common goal." The other man spoke very slowly, as though he was not fluent in German. From his pronunciation, Nick could tell he sounded more like a native English speaker, and he silently filed that detail away.
"Before that, allow me to introduce myself. I come from Hydra's American headquarters. I am the chief person in charge of the New York State district, codenamed Doctor. I came here because we saw through Red Skull Schmidt's scheme in advance—no one wants nuclear bombs falling on their own heads, do they?"
Nick's heart clenched. "You mean Red Skull might launch nuclear bombs at the United States?"
"He intends to use them to threaten you." The voice on the other end said, "If you do not help the German army drive out those Soviet troops, they will drop atomic bombs on your heads."
"Fuck!" Nick cursed despite himself. One Hand braced his hand on his hip, swaying as he pressed his lips tightly together. His eyes bulged like an enraged