Chapter 31

1.1K 25 1
                                    

"Are you sure you want to do this, baba?" T'Challa asked his father as they waited on the landing pad with a group of the Dora Milaje. "Wakanda risks the world discovering our best-hidden secret."

His father merely gave him a benevolent smile, "The people that attacked us in Vienna - if not for Ms. Carter's timely actions, we would not be standing here, discussing my decision to allow them into our country. You yourself have told me the story of the man they call Winter. Tell me why we shouldn't help an innocent man who has been forced to commit such atrocities, when we might be the only ones able to do so."

T'Challa hung his head. He had no answer for that. Feeling guilty, he opened his mouth to apologise but his father stopped him. "There is no need for an apology. You are merely concerned about your people and want the best for them. It is an important trait for a king, but so is calm and rational thinking. Ms. Carter has told you something of enormous importance because she believed you would keep it secret. She trusted you with the life of Mr. Barnes and the freedom of the people allowing him to reside with them. Is it not fair for us to prove that we are worthy of her trust?"

He couldn't help but agree with his father's words. Rosie had managed to save their lives, fight off a group of thugs and earn the respect of Wakanda's fiercest fighters, Okoye and Anyo, all in a couple of hours. She had further impressed him with her work at Stark Industries and the sheer amount of precautionary measures he had set up to keep their projects safe.

The Royal Talon Fighter landed in front of them, the doors opening and two figures stepping out of it. He recognised the short stature of Rosie and Barnes' hulking build, astonished that they had trusted his message enough to come all alone to the remote jungle where the Fighter was scheduled to pick them up. Ignoring his father's amused I-told-you-so smile, he faced the foreigners who were approaching them. "Where is Anyo?" He asked, noting her absence.

Rosie smiled at Barnes before saying, "He wanted to thank you for all that you're doing for us. I just helped track down the guy. The rest of it was all Jake."

"Who did you find?" His father asked, both of them burning with curiosity. With a meaningful look from the young woman, Barnes went back into the jet and helped Anyo drag someone out of it. He had handcuffs on his wrists and a black bag on his head, which Anyo whipped off as soon as they stepped into the light to show-

"Klaue? You caught him?" T'Challa exclaimed incredulously. They had been looking for the arms dealer for years with no results and now he had been delivered right into their hands.

"We found him a few months ago during the whole Ultron thing, but he managed to escape while the team fought Ultron, Wanda and Pietro. I didn't think much of the brand at the time, but I recently realized the danger he was to your country and the rest of the world with all the stolen Vibranium."

There was respect in the eyes of every one of the Dora Milaje who were there on the platform as they surrounded the foreigners and replaced the metal handcuffs with unbreakable Vibranium ones. Quite a few inclined their heads to the young woman and her silent companion as they marched off with Klaue.

"Why did you trust us so easily?" T'Challa asked as they walked into the palace after the Dora took Klaue to the prison.

"For a long time, I suspected that there was more to Wakanda than the rest of the world believed, Prince T'Challa. Meeting you and the king in Vienna further supported my conjecture and your message was the final puzzle piece. You clearly had more advanced technology than us, including whatever substance that has been used to enhance you, but you kept it all a secret. The A.Is were able to confirm that the message really was from you, meaning that you were willing to have me and Jake here in Wakanda and risk all those years of hiding to help us without having to do so. If that didn't show that you meant no harm to us then I don't know what would."

Just A Normal KidWhere stories live. Discover now