Chapter 33: Fire
After dismissing his council, the King ushered the General, W'Kabi, Shuri, and Lieutenant Barnes into a small office. The Princess sat on a chair by a desk and the others sat in a circle surrounding the elaborately carved chair of their monarch. Shuri pressed a button to project an international news report into the space between them.
"Here it is," she said. "I have removed all breakable objects from the nearby vicinity. It was a necessary precaution."
"That bad?" Bella asked.
"Yes."
The BBC flashed onto the screen where a man of British-Indian descent in a grey suit read thenlatest news report.
"Now, in world news tonight, an explosion four days ago on the border between the East African nations of Wakanda and Uganda left twenty dead and over fifty injured. Tonight, sources report that the explosion has been attributed to a Wakandan rebel group seeking to destabilize a lucrative oil drilling venture taking place a few kilometres outside the border of Wakanda.
"Expatriate workers from Ketterly, Inc., the international petroleum company targeted, have cited that four of their workers were injured and claimed the attack occurred by Wakandan guerilla soldiers. They have discovered an additional undetonated bomb near their outpost. They have requested military aid be sent into the region as soon as possible.
"The Wakandan government has refused to corroborate their story. The U.N.'s independent human rights expert on Wakanda has cited that increasing political instability has increased in recent years due to the government's continued refusal to allow humanitarian aid and international investment into the primarily agrarian and underdeveloped nation. In addition, there have been reports of an increase in the suppression of human rights under the current government."
"How dare they!" Okoye shouted, throwing her spear through the transmission screen and pinning it into the wall behind. "Asking for military aid, indeed! They bomb us and then have the audacity to claim we attacked them! Wakandan rebels? And they wonder why we do not want to open our country to international business! Hmph!"
"I should have taken all weapons along with all the pottery," Shuri said as she shrugged towards the spear in the wall. Okoye turned to glare at the princess.
"Shhhh, General," T'Challa said. "They want to incite us to action and provide a cover of legitimacy for a future attack. We must decipher why and not simply react out of anger."
"There is more," Shuri whispered and started a second news clip, this time from an American woman in a white suit on CNN.
"This just in...American citizen Edward Cullen has been cited as missing in the aftermath of the Wakandan bombing which has injured at least four others. American tourist Edward Cullen has disappeared without a trace after the bombing which has been claimed by a Wakandan rebel group. His family are saying they fear for the worst and will take whatever measures are necessary to ensure he is discovered."
This time a small knife flew through the transmission and lodged itself next to the spear. Shuri clicked her tongue at Okoye.
"It is a threat," W'Kabi said, his face absent any of the boiling anger written so plainly on the face of his wife.
"Yes," T'Challa said solemnly. "They wish to force our hand by engaging the international world in our affairs. This complicates matters."
"At least they could have used an accurate map-they could not even label Wakanda correctly on a world map for international television!" Okoye said and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Aya. I will allow you to complain about that….American media knowledge of geography is almost as appalling as their knowledge of world history," Shuri said. "Mama W'Kabi will be very happy to know their village has an international airport next to their goat herds and cassava gardens."
"It is an improvement. At least we are no longer in the deserts of Turkana," W'Kabi replied with a half smile. "In a few years, we may even gain the Uganda railway and the source of the Nile."
Okoye grumbled to herself.
"They are playing us," T'Challa said, bringing them back to the matter at hand. "If we do not cooperate with search teams, they will accuse us of ill-intentions and provide justification to forcefully enter. Our cooperation leaves us vulnerable to questions that cannot be answered in the public sphere without jeopardizing our secrets."
"But they are lying!" Okoye growled.
"Yes. Since when is truth the measure of what should and should not be published? No. What matters is power and greed and not reality. Of course, we cannot explain what we know of the disappearance of Edward Cullen. We are at an impasse. We cannot allow their search party to seek him within our borders, we cannot give them his soulless body, and we cannot provide proof of his well-being," T'Challa said.
"Do you think the Volturi are aware of Nyelu's actions?" W'Kabi asked.
"I do not know," T'Challa responded. "They may know that Edward is currently trapped or they may not. It does not change our situation."
"Can we simply hand over his body, then?" W'Kabi said. "We can send his body to Volterra and they will leave us alone."
"But remember, it is highly unlikely they care about Edward Cullen. They are simply using him. They are placing us in a position where they can justify a military intrusion into Wakanda. We cannot protect ourselves to the utmost of our ability before an international audience. If we send his body to Volterra, they can simply claim that our supposed rebels have 'killed' him and then send in 'investigators' to demand justice."
"Unless…." Shuri started.
"Speak sister. I see your brain is beginning to race like a cheetah. Tell us what you are thinking." T'Challa said.
Shuri furrowed her eyebrows and bit her lower lip. "Unless we return him alive. What if we can revive him and send him back to them? We planned to send him to Volterra already," Shuri said.
"The flaw in your logic is that we have a lifeless body and no Edward," Okoye said grimly.
"So, put life back into his body," Shuri said with a slight shrug.
"And how would you presume to do that, Princess? We have sought Nyelu at every water body surrounding our borders and have not succeeded in catching him. We even sent some of the Watu Wa Wanyama with to go search and still, nothing. We do not know how to find Nyelu or his store of calabashes. How do we release Edward?" Okoye asked.
"I didn't say we release Edward. I said we put life back into his body. I didn't specify which soul to put in."
All eyes in the room grew wide and stared at Shuri's nonchalant face.
"Sister, what are you hinting at?" T'Challa asked, warily.
Shuri leaned her elbows on her knees, her eager energy directed towards the center of the circle, her eyes bright as her brain swirled with possibilities and impossibilities.
"We have Bucky's statue-which we know still has his life force, his soul, still inside. We know his consciousness and thought-processes remained from what the zimwi could read from him. And we have the body of a zimwi without a soul. This body will not decay or deteriorate. It simply is missing its inhabitant. Can we, you know, shueee-shuee and put the one inside the other?" Shuri said, waving her hands from one side to the other to illustrate.
"Is that even possible?" W'Kabi said, his mouth gaping slightly.
"Why not? If spirits of the land and spirits of animals can possess people's bodies, why not the spirit of a person possess a zimwi?"
"How?" Okoye asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Aye, this would take someone who is used to managing spirits and deep sorcery," T'Challa said. "I am not sure that is a good idea."
"Mama would know," W'Kabi said, forehead wrinkled in thought. "If anyone in Wakanda knows of such deep magic, Mama would know who to ask."
"Call her," Shuri said. "Bring her here. We can at least investigate the option. It might not work. It might be a terrible idea, but while we pursue other options, let's at least have this as a backup plan."
"But is it safe? Would we be able to, as Shuri put it, 'shuee-shuee' them back again?" Bella asked, speaking for the first time since the gathering commenced.
"We can ask," Shuri said. She placed her hand on Bella's and gazed at her sympathetically. "You know we all care about Bucky. I don't want to do anything that would cause him further harm, but we could definitely use him back here with us, in whatever way we can get him."
Bella gave a reluctant nod.
"While W'Kabi calls Mama W'Kabi, we will speak of other ideas. Does anyone have additional ideas that we can present to the council?" T'Challa asked.
"I think it would be prudent to plan on Lieutenant Barnes preparing to leave for Volterra as soon as possible. We should continue her mission, even if she must continue with only the assistance of the Watu Wa Wanyama," Okoye said, nodding her head in Bella's direction. "This mchawi will continue to attack us until we find the means to protect ourselves from her. If she does not succeed this time using these ploys, she will develop another and another."
"I will form a committee to discuss how to handle the possibilities of a military convoy or search-and-rescue mission being sent to Wakanda," T'Challa said. "We would need to set up our public capital city in Mbarara with the necessary government figureheads to direct their searches in the appropriate directions."
Okoye grumbled under her breath over the trouble such scenarios provided.
As they continued to formulate plans, W'Kabi returned.
"Mama wangu amesema anajua mtu."
Ooooooooooo
Translations:
Mama wangu amesema anajua mtu: my mother has said she knows someone.
Mchawi: sorceress
Watu wa Wanyama: people of the animals-our shapeshifters. .
Author's notes: Thanks so much for reading and for reviewing. I've been entertained by all the comments from people wishing to get rid of Edward. He is a bit melodramatic so I can't say I'll miss him terribly for the next few chapters.