I Am

Five

The atmosphere in the lab was tense and tinged with a slight panic once Ross had claimed recognition of the unknown man, all of the tiredness they felt from the previous few days pushed to one side.

Someone, an outsider, had shown up at the protected Wakandan border unannounced with a, seemingly, dead Klaue and nobody knew how or why it had happened.

Once the beat of anxious silence had passed between the three of them Shuri had quickly moved into action. Making her way over to her computer, she hacked into her brother's kimoyo beads to switch them back on so she was able to get in touch with him and tell him to come in.

Her fingers had clicked at her keyboard only a few times before she interrupted, what looked like, a countryside date he was on with Nakia without even a comment.

As she did, Harper (who trusted neither Ross nor the newcomer making his way into the palace) made sure she was stuck by Shuri's side, not letting her out of her sight. Though she hadn't been there long she wasn't used to the old unsafe feeling, which was crawling back over her skin, in the beautiful Wakandan setting.

They were protected there, with the vibranium and the dome around the country, unknown threats weren't supposed to be something that happened.

It didn't take long before T'Challa and Nakia, both looking concerned, made their way into the lab. The two of them crossed over quickly to join Shuri and Harper in front of a large picture of the newcomer, which had been brought up on the monitor, to listen to what Ross had to say.

"Erik Stevens," Ross began, gesturing to the picture watching over them all. The man loomed over them, his hair as dark as the eyes casting their gaze across the lab. He was wearing a uniform, his hands tucked behind his back, sporting a belt covered with different kinds of weaponry.

Everything about him sending an unnerving feeling up Harper's spine.

"Graduated Annapolis age nineteen, MIT for grad school," Ross explained, gesturing up to the picture of the newcomer "Joined the SEALs and went to Afghanistan where he racked up confirmed kills like it was a video game. They started calling him Killmonger," he continued, a shiver running through Harper at the nickname "Then he joined a JSOC ghost unit...now these guys are serious. They will drop off the grid so they can commit assassinations and take down governments," he paused for only a second before his eyes flickered across to where Harper was standing "It seems Wakanda has become some kind of magnet for assassins looking for an out."

As Harper took a step back and closed up against a tense Shuri, T'Challa spoke "I don't know what you are talking about Agent Ross, I trust all of the people in this room with my life and as should you. Harper was integral in the healing of your bullet wound," he said, not exactly telling the entire truth when all she had done was hand Shuri whatever she asked for but she wasn't going to argue "Now. Did he reveal anything about his identity?"

"He has a War Dog tattoo but we have no record of him," Shuri said, exchanging a look with her brother "They're bringing him into the council room for you to talk to."

Knowing she wasn't going to be much help, as being in the council room with the king and the other tribe leaders wasn't her place, Harper took the dip in conversation as her chance and cleared her throat. The exhaustion deep in her bones beginning to get to her as her eyes began to sting "If you're all happy with your safety I'd like to excuse myself," she said, also knowing with T'Challa and the Dora around Shuri would be safe to leave "I'm exhausted," she explained when she spotted the looks on royal siblings' faces "And I'm no good to anyone when I'm exhausted."

T'Challa looked as though he was going to argue, his eyebrows furrowed in worry, before Shuri nodded her head "She's been here for almost two days straight," she said to her brother "Go and rest, we may need you to fight."