Pierce sat behind his desk as Agent Rumlow explained the situation with the suit.

“Do you think she’s lying?” Pierce asked. He had been getting some unsettling reports about Brock's behaviour. If it was a problem, it needed to be nipped in the bud right now.

“Yes and no. I mean, she did find Stark’s worm thing, so is she lying, probably not. Is she stalling? Yeah, I think so.”

Pierce stared at the young agent in front of him. One of his finest agents. “You have one chance to get her on our side. If you fail, then there is no second chance.”

He had seen her phone. Examined in great detail. They had blackmail material they could use to keep Parker in line.

Olivia Octavius was another matter.

He was young and barely out of High School.

She had multiple Ph. D’s and reason to hate both her father and his ideals. She was an unknown variable, and if it wasn’t for Agent Rumlow's suggestion, she would still be on the list.

Rumlow moved to attention, and saluted, “Yes Sir, I won’t fail.” He almost uttered their code phrase. It was used to identify friendly agents, but it was barred in any official building. Instead, he just nodded respectfully as he was dismissed.

⁂

Jack Rollins was waiting for him, “Yes or no”

Rumlow stopped, “Yes for now, if she says no, then no.”

Jack stopped and placed a hand over Rumlow's chest, stopping him as well. “Can you?”

Rumlow huffed, “If I say no, is it no for me as well?”

Jack slapped his chest armour. Rumlow always wore the same flak jacket, “Of course not asshole, me and the boys can set up outside the bar.”

“Clean?” Rumlow asked.

Jack looked at his friend. There were three of them originally, but Garret never came back from a mission. Jack was positive it was Venom that did him in, but they never proved anything. None of the other costumed assholes were brave enough to take out one of their agents, or good enough. They were brothers, and sometimes brothers did stupid things, like dying. Or in Rumlows case, falling in love with a damn enemy agent.

“Yeah, I can make it clean. I’ll take point. Headshot?” Jack asked, as long as he got his brother back, he didn’t care how the bitch died.

“Yeah, just don’t get splatter on me. Blood takes forever to get out.” Rumlow joked, but he really didn’t want her to die.

“Stop being a cheap bastard and buy more clothes then.” Jack snarked back. It was good to see Rumlow laugh again.

⁂

Watching Brock try and flirt with Octavius had been painful. It was always the same. Agents barely socialised outside their teams. Training, assignments, and debriefs meant very little time for anyone else.

Jack sat the rifle on the edge of the building and covered it with a dark grey cloth. He checked his ammo and sent Brock a text.

Set up is done, have fun and don’t let her lose her head.

⁂

The blade in her hand tapped gently against the side of her leg. Elektra had been giving her lessons on firearms and she knew they were not playing.

Huntress watched, invisible, as the man, their enemy, set up his equipment.

It was for a kill, not capture. She couldn't warn Liv, all contact was barred while she was on assignment. Instead, they sent her to watch over her. Liv was on her own in the bar but still had backup. This man was the only one they sent. Hades had checked the other roofs while Huntress kept a tag on this one.

As she stood next to one of the air vents, using it to mask any noise, she patiently waited. If he moved one centimetre to take aim, she would have his head.

⁂

Liv stood waiting. It was nerve-racking. She had worn an actual dress this evening, as they had no idea what kind of detection technology their enemy had. A plain white blouse, matching bra, and a nice long maroon skirt. She had debated how far she wanted this to go and sought out Natasha.

“No sex right?” she asked

Liv nodded and handed Natasha her phone. Natasha scrolled through her pictures. They started off innocent, went to a few candid shots in a bathroom, loose bra, and panties, and then became more. An open mouth with a manhood in it, a shower shot with a razor and a hairless pussy.

“Go commando. Agents use embarrassing situations to check for obedience. Nothing says you’re in control like showing skin. Keep the bra as you can see through that top. Wear high heels with that skirt.” Natasha advised as she handed back her phone. “Nanofilm if he kissed you.” She remembered what Peter said about kissing someone else. “And stab him if he does anything other than that.”

Liv paled, closed her eyes, and let Octave dull her anxiety. She hated every moment of this. If it worked it was nothing compared to the lives they could potentially save.

⁂

Brock met Liv at a bar on Staten Island. It was close enough to one of her old hideouts that she got his hint. He knew she was dirty, and some of her secrets.

“So, you look nice,” he said with what she had dubbed the Rumlow smile. One that he always used when he was up to something.

“Thank you, Brock, and you are as handsome as always.” She returned his smile with one of her won. Just as fake, practiced in front of a mirror with Octave learning which muscles to pull. It was straight from a book, “How to Make Friends and Influence People.” The chapter had been called, “Give them your best smile, even if you want to stab them.”

He kissed her on the side of the cheek and then led them to their table. The booth was near the back, with a stained glass window that Liv always associated with dive bars. That cheap lead-painted themed glass.

“Yeah, a bit more private here, and uh,” Brock pulled out a small device, “White noise. Once we order we can talk.”

⁂

Watching Brock flirt was not Jack’s idea of a good time. He couldn’t even check his phone to watch sports. No smoking, eating or drinking anything more than water while on a job. It was boring, but better than losing a good friend. It was also freezing cold as the spring hadn’t quite turned to warmer weather yet.

His phone buzzed, once, twice and then once again. The emergency signal.

Shaw pushed to regain one of his assets. We need to move the timetable up before he does. Collar, Question, and eliminate if necessary. H.H

Jack looked at his phone and swore. Repacking his rifle, he headed down the fire escape.

Once he had left, Huntress lifted her own phone and dialled, “Yeah, he’s packed up and left. I can’t enter the bar as they might know me.”

All Huntress could do was wait on the roof. At least she wasn’t cold.

⁂

“Look, I'm sorry okay, but I ain’t taking the collar off,” Brock explained to a very angry-looking Liv. His partner, Jack, shook his head.

“Well, what did you expect? Nobody’s happy with those on.”

Liv and Brock had their leam and stayed for drinks. Liv had bristled as she spotted Jack Rollins, Brock's partner. As he smiled and went to pat her on the arm, he slid a collar around her wrist and clicked it closed.

"So, why are you here Jack?" Brock asked as the trio headed to the bar. He sat Liv down before waving a waitress over and ordering three beers.

"Yeah, We had to up the timetable. So twenty questions, and then." Brock winced as Jack undid a thigh pocket and prodded Liv with the pistol he had holstered there. "Sorry about this, but we need to know."

“It’s fine dear, but we will talk about boundaries once this is all over. You could have just asked. You know I worked for Osborn, a little death and mayhem isn't outside my job description.”

Brock laughed while Jack smirked, “Yeah, but we had to make sure doc. With you and the kid, Fury’s not going to like what's about to happen and we need you on our side, no tricks.”

“Ah, so this was really about Peter was it?” Liv asked. Octave was busy scanning the device. It was a very good copy of the Osborn collar, and she had no problems bypassing it.

Jack raised an eyebrow at Rumlow, who shrugged, “What?” As Jack snorted and shook his head, Brock repeated himself. “What? So I like you, so what? That's that and this is business.”

“Again, you could have just asked. I am an adult, not some stupid teenager. If you wanted to know about Peter and myself, you should have said, I swear Brock, this is worse than high school.”

“Tell me about your pa and grandpa,” Brock asked.

Liv sighed, "You're Hydra. How droll. Yes, I was a disappointment, I didn't have the right equipment to follow in the family business. It didn't matter I was smarter than them both, all that mattered was I didn't have a cock. I was shipped to England and forgotten. Daddy dearest popped his clogs before he could produce another heir. Osborn found me and offered me amnesty if I did his dirty work." Liv sneered, "Arsehole."

"We need to make sure she's not lying," Jack said sternly, "that was too easy."

Brock sighed, "What colour is your underwear?"

Liv laughed, "What underwear? I have seen your scans. You are a very attractive man. You are well-endowed and quite pleasant to be around. I hoped this was a date, and I am not shy about what I want."

"You know I have to check right?" Rumlow said with a smirk and Liv leant to one side and pulled up the hem of her skirt, showing off a bare cheek. "Yup, definitely commando."

Jack checked his bag. “Maybe you should check her collar again,” and Rumlow looked confused. “I'm your best friend and I think you’re an asshole. If she likes you, it must be broke or something.”

Rumlow laughed and batted him on the chest with a fist.

“What’s Parker's plan?” Jack asked. Rumlow might be making a joke of things, but there were questions to be answered.

“Become an agent and clear his name.”

“Name? So he is Venom.”

“Sorry, but no. Peter is Spider-Man. Eddie Brock is Venom.”

Jack looked at Rumlow who shrugged. That was not what their intel said.

“Test Question. Shaven or hairy?” Jack asked.

Liv frowned and squirmed in her seat. “How dare you.”

Jack snorted, “Answer the damn question. Are you shaven or hairy?”

“My pussy? Shaven. Hair gets messy, and I hate messy.” Liv answered. Octave growled but kept her calm. The machine around her wrist silently vibrated as it tried to connect, only to be rebuffed at each turn. Liv hated it as she could hear its commands.

Conform, Comply, Obey, echoed in her mind.

“Okay, that's enough. It’s working all right.” Brock checked and the green light on the bracelet was on.

“Did you sabotage the War Machine armour?” Jack asked. Pierce had pre-prepared questions to ensure she was on their side. Rumlow might be going googly eyes for a woman, but Jack wasn’t about to let his dick dictate their mission.

“No, I didn’t need to. Stark messed it up with his virus.”

“Six months to fix?”

“A year to fix properly, but six months was some of my best work. Brock deserved it.”

“Tell me about Osborn's work. The Formula.”

“I can’t. Osborn kept me under control for so long that it burned out some brain matter. I literally cannot reveal his secrets.” Liv explained.

Jack looked at Rumlow who nodded. That was normal. They had tested the bracelets over and over to make sure there were no flaws. Some victims were reduced to vegetables with orders they couldn't refuse or follow.

“Brock, take a walk,” Jack asked. He had one last, but Brock wasn’t going to like the answer.

“Nah, I’m good, ask it.” Rumlow finished his beer and set it with a twenty down on the table, “Go ahead. I’m not some whipped asshole.”

“How do you feel about Brock Rumlow,” Jack asked.

“The arsehole would have gotten lucky this evening if he hadn’t given me this, “ Liv jangled the bracelet.”

Brock laughed “Oh yeah, how lucky?”

“I swallow and am sterile. The only thing I don’t like is being choked, but, everything else is fair game. I even like anal.”

Jack looked at Rumlow, who for once, wasn't smiling. He frowned, “We good?”

It was standard procedure now to ask about relationships. Any avenue could be exploited, and personal feelings were one of the easiest. Normally, it was done without the other person present. Nobody wanted to know the unfiltered truth.

Rumlow leant back and lifted a bar mat, He tapped it against the table. “Yeah, we’re good.”

He grabbed his jacket, “Just get your shit together. Liv, I need you to call Peter, and tell him you’re staying out all night. Tomorrow, get him and those other two to the west wing observatory, okay?”

Liv nodded, took out her phone and sent Peter a text.