Meteorite

"Well, a brilliant and beautiful woman, such as yourself, deserves all the flattery and praise there is," he replied with a devilishly handsome smirk. He thanked the waiter for their coffee and took a sip. "As have I, Dr. Sofen. It has been one of the nicer evenings I have had in quite some time."

And thus their dinner came to an end after a coffee and some empty conversation of those normal folks. Yet when on the sidewalk, Karla felt a little regret to leave Zemo's compagny. It was business , she knew as much, they were testing , learning each other, but it did not mean she did not find him very charming. "Well this is me" she stated when her car was in sight and about to pull in front of them for her chauffeur to take her back to her cage of the moment.

Osborn took a miniscule step back just so he could observe her. "Good. Make sure your team is cleared and remind them of what I told you. Use whatever means you need to when you're clearing them. I don't want any stone left unturned."

"Understood Sir." She took a step back and nodded her head a bit before turning swiftly and leaving the office. A hand on her neck , her mask dropped after calling an elevator. A smile stretching on her features. His hand would leave marks on her neck, she was sure of it, and she knew already how to use them to her advantage. The smile disappeared at the ding and the door opening. Going back to the low profile Karla.

Zemo went to refill their wine glasses before taking his in his hand. “I believe that I will be a relative and get what I need before I head to Madripoor. It is easier to build from scratch than change an already established legacy.”

"It seems like a good first step to establish your legacy on this world. " She lifted her glass to that to toast with him. "To new legacies". The next meal arrived, just as good as the starters. Time seemed to go slowly and fast at the same time. Their conversation took a turn where Karla talked about something that had happened to her as a kid. How her "friend"s horse had escaped and she found the horse and just hid it for a week. "And then she was given a new one, so I kept that horse... it was my first con really. " she laughed a bit. The plates were finished and the waiter asked if they wanted a dessert. "Oh I have room for nothing but a cup of coffee thank you. "

Norman kept squeezing, enjoying watching how she struggled to breath. "You better not have," he hissed just before he let her go, "If I find out you have betrayed me in any way, I will ensure that your last moments on this Earth will be slow and painful. Do I make myself clear?"

Karla couldn't help it and caughed when he let her go, and stumbled to hold herself on the chair. "Very clear, Sir. " she replied keeping her head down. A hand was protectively on the area where the stone was. That was very clear that this was directed at this. She had her other hand on her throat, massaging it gently.

He remained still for a moment. Not a single part of him moved until like lightning he reached out and grabbed her by the throat. His grip instantly tightened as he dragged her to her feet. "Do not test me, Karla. When I ask you a question, I expect an honest and complete answer. Do you understand me?"

She should have seen that coming. She felt the pressure on her throat and fought the urge to use her powers, fought the urge to panic. " I - understand" she articulated. She was trying to grasp for air as she felt the hand tighten. "I hav-n't ....s....aid...any...thing ...I...s...w...ear " she added in a strangled voice.

"Did you?" he asked, remaining hovering over her as he spoke. He could sense her uneasiness and wanted to keep her that way. "What did you learn about our new friend?"

"That he despises the actions of our Zemo. " she replied , knowing just how careful she needed to pour information here. "Why are you so interested?" she tried to gain back control over the information by diverting the conversation on him and not on her.

Norman's smirk drew across his face. Playing dumb, was she? "Oh, Dr. Sofen, you think I haven't noticed how much time you've been spending with our new friend? How was dinner with Zemo the other night?"

Karla looked up at him, her eyes into Osborn's . This was a dangerous position to be in. She had no means to defend herself, not if she wanted to remain alive and working for Hammer. She was thinking how to get around it. " It was quite pleasant. " she replied. "I gathered quite a lot of information about the man."

Norman shook his head as he put his hand on her shoulder to keep her from standing. "I'm not done yet," he spoke, his voice scarily steady as he pushed her back down into her chair, "There is another matter I want to speak to you about. About your chosen company, lately."

A cold shiver went down her spine at the contact. She had enough self control to not flinch, but she felt uneasy. "What about my chosen company? " she asked , just not saying anything more than she should.

As she came to sit down he got up from his seat so he could stand before her. "Schmidt seems to believe that it is someone within her organization or within SHIELD. While I believe that it is someone in Hydra, it does beg the question on whether or not there is a trade of secrets between our organizations. I will not tolerate traitors, Moonstone."

Sin. Of course it was Sin. She wondered just how much truth those words were holding but she kept her mouth shut for now. "Of course Sir, I'll look into it. " she promised and went to stand up again , thinking this was done with.

Zemo simply nodded as he took another sip of his wine. “I shall remember that,” he spoke as he set down his glass. “It would be quite unfortunate if such an event were to occur.”

"Some people may disagree with you on that one. My life is forfeit for a lot of people who consider my actions ...let's say on the opposite on what they consider good. " she argued. And that was fine. She had chosen her path, it was what she enjoyed. They finished the starters that got picked up by the waiters. She asked for some water with the wine. "Have you come to a decision as to if you want to be a relative or just have access to what he possessed ? "