Steve and you walked down hallway as you saw agent 13.

"Captain Rogers, Y/n." She said to us as she walked passed us.

"Neighbor."

"Oh, Captain, Y/n. I'm Alexander Pierce." He introduced himself.

"Sir, it's an honor." Steve said as you both shock him hand.

"The honor's mine. Captain. My father served in the 101th. Come on in." He said as we walked into his office.

"That photo was taken five years after Nick and I met, when I was at state department in Bogota. E.L.N rebels took the embassy, and security got me out, but the rebels took hostages." Pierce explained as Steve looked at a photo as you stood patiently next to him.

"Nick was Deputy Chief of the shield station there, and he comes to me with a plan. He wants to storm the building through the sewers. I said, no, we'll negotiate. Turned out, the ELN didn't negotiate, so they put out a kill order. They stormed the basement, and what do they find? They find it empty." Pierce walked towards us as we sat down and put papers on the table.

"Nick had ignored my direct order, and carried out an unauthorized military operation on foreign soil, and saved the lives of a dozen political officers, including my daughter." Pierce continued to explain.

"So you gave him a promotion." Steve asked.

"I've never had any cause to regret it. Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?" Pierce asked Steve.

"He was going to hep me with homework." You told pierce with a smile.

"Did you know it was bugged?" Pierce asked.

"I did, because Nick told us." Steve told Pierce.

"Did he tell you he was the one who bugged it?" Pierce asked and no one answered.

"I want you to see something." Pierce said as the tv behind us turned on.

"Who hired you, Batroc?" Some asked the guy on the tv.

"Is that live?" You asked.

"Yeah, they picked him up last night in a not so safe house in Algiers." Pierce told us.

"Are you saying he's a suspect?" Steve asked.

"Assassination isn't Batrocs line." Steve continued.

"No, no. It's more complicated than that. Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian star. And he was contacted by email and paid by wire transfer, and then the money was run through 17 fictitious accounts. The last one going to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech." Pierce explained as he handed Steve papers.

"Am I supposed to know who that is?" Steve asked.

"Not likely. Veech died six years ago. His last address was 1435 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick, his mother lived at 1437." Pierce told us.

"Are you saying Fury hired the pirates? Why?" Steve asked.

"The prevailing theory was that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence. The sale went sour and that led to Nicks death." Pierce said.

"If you really knew Nick Fury, you'd know that's not true." Steve told him.

"Why do you think we're talking? See, I took a seat on the Council not becausei wanted to, but because Nick asked me to, because we were both realists. We know that, despite all the diplomacy and the handshaking and the rhetoric, that to build a really better world sometimes means having to tear the old one down." Pierce explained as he walked towards the window on looked out.

"And that makes enemies." Pierce said as he looked towards us.

"Those people that call you dirty because you got the guts to stick your hand in the mud and try to build something better. And the idea that those people could be happy today makes me really, really angry." Pierce explained.

"Captain, Y/n, you were the last ones to see Nick alive. I don't think that's an accident. And I don't think you do, either." He explained to us.

"So, I'm gonna ask again. Why was he there?" Pierce asked again.

"He told me not to trust anyone." Steve told him.

"I wonder if that included him." Pierce said.

"I'm sorry. Those were his last words. Excuse us." Steve grabbed his shield and pushed you towards the door.

"Captain, somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why." Pierce said as Steve stopped to look at him.

"Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. Anyone." Pierce explained.

"Understand." Steve said to him as we then left his office.