Peter slipped out of the tent and passed his hand over a small camouflaged pad by the tent door. If you didn't know it was there you would have missed it. The device acted as a lock of sorts and effectively made it so no animal or human could enter the tent. Wakandan technology was awesome. Peter stayed in the shadows and listened to the group that was approaching. If he had to guess it was five or six men. The number he could handle. He was more worried about their intent.
One of the things discussed at length was the fact that the regional warlords weren't going to like what SI and Wakanda were doing. The warlords power came from the fact that most of the villages were out of options. Bad weather meant that whatever sources of trade died up. It didn't matter if a village relied on agriculture or livestock, all it took was one bad season. The warlords seized the opportunity to increase their ranks by grabbing what they could, be it able bodied men or the women and children. Human trafficking of the women and children, while hard to battle, was easy to confront. Most governments allowed intervention by just about anyone...the UN, various other agencies, Wakanda, and even the Avengers. Peter knew Nat had run multiple ops targeting human traffic rings, some on the books, others not so much. What Wakanda and SI were doing was a little more strategic.
Trying to combat failing economies in small corners of Africa that were barely a blip on anyone's radar was hard. You couldn't just write a check and solve the problem. Many of the villages in question were steeped in tradition. Wakanda had mastered the art of not sacrificing tradition with the advent of technology. The initiative wasn't trying to replicate Wakanda, it was trying to provide schools, clean water, and even some options for trade. All without sacrificing tradition. Creating a synthesis of the old ways with the promise of a future. And the warlords were mad.
Peter walked over to the edge of the partially constructed school building. From there he had a completely clear view of the road. He leaned against it and crossed his arms, web shooters formed on both wrists, and waited. The men rounded the corner and stopped when they saw Peter. The moon was still high enough to cast a pale light. "It's a little late for stroll, isn't it?" The fact that there were six automatic weapons aimed in his direction wasn't lost on him.
Peter saw one of the men's finger twitch against the trigger of his gun. Removing the weapons from the equation was his top priority. Flinging webs he snagged two of the guns and pulled them, sending them flying over his head. Flipping up he knew the next volley of webs had grabbed two more. It was the final two that was the problem. Flinging web grenades he wrapped up the closest two. Unfortunately they happened to be two without weapons. He slid to the side as he felt bullets fly over his shoulder. Rolling to his back he shot a taser web at one of the guys still armed, knocking him to the ground. Flipping backwards he landed in a crouch and checked down on his targets. Two were secured by web grenades, one was unconscious from the taser web. That left the one with the gun and the two he had disarmed.
Firing a web grenade in one direction and a taser web in another he flipped up and over the man with the gun and fired another series of web grenades directly down. He landed behind him and fired another grenade over his head. He instinctively knew he had hit his target. He ducked into a roll and flung another series of web grenades, letting momentum carry him forwards. Landing on his back he looked around at the six men, satisfied that they were all contained. Then his eyes landed on a vibranium spear hitting the ground in front of him. Following the spear to the face of the person holding it, Peter looked up at Okoye. "You've been there the whole time?" He received a nod in response. "You could have helped."
Okoye reached her hand down to pull Peter up. "You had it under control. Plus, you seemed to be having fun."
Peter looked around and saw that the six men were being gathered together by other Wakandans. Okoye seemed to be the only Dora Milaje present. Peter looked back at her. "Why are you here?"
Okoye shrugged, "T'Challa wanted someone who would be able to discern if you actually needed help. It was important to him that you and MJ remain as undisturbed as possible. Nakia is the only other person he would trust with this and she was unavailable."
Peter frowned and walked over to the tent. Waiving his palm across the pad he pushed the flap aside to find MJ standing behind it with her arms crossed. He knew she hated being locked in but he also knew once she calmed down she'd be fine. He knew she knew why he had done it.
She glanced over at him as they walked towards the group of men that were now sitting in a row in front of the school. "Are you ok?"
Peter smiled and nodded. Stopping next to Okoye, he looked down at the six men. "Why are you here?" He knew why, he wanted to hear them say it. His question was met with silence.
MJ walked over to one of the men and crouched in front of him, studying his face. "You are Ba'Tunde's father?"
The man's eyes widened and he looked down, refusing to meet MJ's eyes. Peter glanced between the man and MJ trying to figure out how she had figured that out. Ba'Tunde was one of the boys from the village...a boy who's father had disappeared. It was hard to determine if he had left of his own free will or if he had been forced to leave. MJ stood and looked over at Peter. "Same facial features and identical eyes."
Peter smirked to himself. The things MJ picked up on never ceased to amaze him. He looked down at the man, then knelt in front of him. "You do know we're here to assist. That's it." The man refused to look up. Peter looked down the line at the rest of the men. "Anyone else from this particular village?" When another man looked down at the ground Peter stood up and looked over at Okoye. "What are you doing with them?"
"We will take them with us and see if we can gain any intelligence. After will depend very much on how they behave." Okoye nodded to the warriors that had accompanied her to take the men to their shuttle. "Your father and your friends will be here this afternoon. Would you like to come back to the city to meet them?"
Peter looked over at MJ. He was perfectly fine staying out here, but if she was ready to go back he'd go without hesitation. MJ shook her head. "We'll stay out here. Johnny, Bobby, Davis, Wyatt, and Jen were planning on staying out here with us so we can just stick to the original plan."
Okoye nodded. "If you require assistance, we will be near."
Peter watched Okoye retreat into a shuttle that had been previously cloaked. He turned to look at MJ. "Are you ok?"
"I don't like being locked in but I get it. If you have to worry about my safety you can't focus on what you need to do." MJ relaxed into the hug Peter had pulled her into. "The sun will be up soon. Let's start on the roof."
Peter smiled and released her. "You know, I could just make you armor." He had seriously thought about. Just something that she could trigger that would keep her safe.
MJ frowned. "I don't want armor." She had had multiple conversations with Pepper. Tony had made Pepper armor which she had no intention of ever wearing. She had told MJ how uncomfortable the Iron Man armor had been. MJ had no idea how Tony could stand to wear the earlier versions of the suit. She had also heard Peter complain about how inflexible the earlier Iron Spider versions were. The idea of wearing armor sounded horrible to her.
Peter just chuckled and retreated to the pile of roofing material.
