Always Mine (An MCU Fanfiction)

25. Secret Heroes

Casey's POV

Our rendezvous in Buenos Aires, a brief respite from Craig's ever-present threat, was a tense affair. With my aunt in his clutches, Craig's attention was momentarily diverted by a call. I could only surmise that Fury was alerted to my ex's actions and intervened, forcing him to halt his pursuit of me. The relief of not having to scan my surroundings for signs of Craig constantly was tinged with caution, a stark reminder of his unyielding determination.

After spending a few days in Argentina's capital, Sylvia and I headed for Cape Town. My aunt had some colleagues there and decided to introduce me to them. 

Right after meeting Sylvia's colleagues, they were a bit cautious of me. Their suspicion was palpable, knowing that I had worked for SHIELD. They asked me if I had taken note of anything suspicious. My aunt had to remind her colleagues that there was no reason to interrogate me. 

I was introduced to Zak, a Canadian hacker with dual citizenship in Canada and South Africa. He reminded me of Vince since his favorite pastime was playing video games. Zak met Sylvia in Amsterdam when she recruited him to look into something for her.

I met Aletta, also known as Letta, as she prefers to be called. Letta grew up in Johannesburg and had a lot happen to her during her childhood, starting with the death of her mother and separation from her sisters. Letta met Sylvia and Zak and joined their group to escape from her life and use the experience to help those who couldn't help themselves.

We ended up traveling to Nairobi after another one of Sylvia's contacts there informed her of signs of a human trafficking operation. My aunt, along with Zak and Letta, had been trying to expose the operation to the world.

Under the cover of darkness, I snuck into the back of a truck where a bunch of young women, abducted from their families, were kept in cages and crates. I even noticed some of them were as young as twelve. It angered me that some sickos had torn them from the security of their homes and loved ones.

A few of the women noticed me. I shushed and assured them in their native languages that I was there to help them. I telekinetically unlocked all of the cages and crates. While I had the women prepare to jump out, I snuck toward the driver's seat and used my weaponized bracelet to tase the driver and passenger unconscious. I used my telekinesis to put the truck into park, allowing the already freed women to escape. Sylvia and her colleagues met up with me as I managed to park the truck.

"Show off," Zak joked as he and the others jumped out of the Jeep they arrived in. "You're gonna have to teach me how you did that."

"Someday, I'll have to introduce you to one of my mentors," I smirked at him. "One of 'em is an excellent sharpshooter who never misses a target. The other can take down two people in less than a minute."

"Forget it."

The freed women huddled together, staring at us curiously, unsure what to make of our group. 

"We should see about locating their relatives," Letta suggested.

"Yeah, we'd better hurry before any more of those bastards bring reinforcements," I agreed, and turned to the women, explaining to them in their native languages that we'd help them return to their homes.

As we were about to get a move on, a couple of Jeeps pulled to a complete stop on both ends, preventing us from leaving. I got in front of the women, prepared to throw any potential assailants away telekinetically.

"Hold up, Casey," Sylvia called out, pointing.

I noticed the people in the Jeeps were in police uniforms. It was a relief when they took note of the unconscious traffickers and cuffed them after our group explained everything to them. Another group of women appeared out of nowhere and had the freed young women follow them while assuring us they would be well cared for.

"That was strange," Zak rubbed the back of his head after seeing the entire group of women disappear into the darkness.

"They'll be all right," Letta nodded as if knowing the outcome.

"How do you know that?"

"I just know."

We stayed at a house owned by Sylvia's contact. After having a hearty breakfast, I found Letta looking out over the balcony as if she were in deep thought.

"I heard you speak Xhosa, Swahili, Igbo, and Zulu to the women," she told me. "It was as if you were fluent in the languages even though you are not from anywhere in Africa. How do you do that?" 

"Ever since I can remember," I answered. "Any language I hear or read, I can translate and speak it without having to use a phrase book or an app. By the way, how did you know those women would be all right when they left with those others?"

"There are stories of a hidden kingdom. It's very likely the women we rescued are from there."

"I can only hope they're reunited with their families and friends."

"They will be."

Sylvia came out and joined us.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

"We're okay," I nodded. "Just thinking about the events last night."

"I'm glad we were able to get to them in time."

"Me too," Letta agreed.

"Zak just booked us a flight back to Cape Town," Sylvia told us. "Our work here is done."

I followed my aunt back inside to pack up our things.