"Tell me what happened on the Raft." Everett Ross stood on the opposite side of the table Q was seated at. His arms were crossed over his chest, while one of hers was strapped to the table. There were clips attached to her fingers with wires running back to the computer that was facing away from her. The straps across her chest did nothing but remind her of what it was like to be strapped down to the Hydra chair in Sokovia. Though she couldn't focus on that right then. Passing the lie detector test was more important.
"We've been over this a thousand times, Ross." she reminded him, neither one of them needing the polygraph to know that it was true.
It had been a week since she had showed up at the task force with Zemo in tow. While he had been locked into the same sort of fishbowl that Bucky had been locked in, she had been dealing with a different kind of torture. One that was full of questioning upon questioning, lie detector tests, and meetings that never seemed to end. All in an attempt to get her to trip up. Say something she wasn't supposed to. That way Ross could have a real reason to deny her request to come back to the CIA.
Even though it had been made internationally known that Bucky was framed, meaning anyone who went along with Steve wasn't doing the wrong thing. The punishment was meant for those who were a part of the Avengers or enhanced in any way and had broken the Accords: Sam, Wanda, Clint, Lang, Bucky and Steve. They had done something that wasn't sanctioned by the Accords. No one knew that Q was enhanced, and she could argue - which she did, that she was technically a part of the CIA when the Accords were presented to the Avengers meaning she wasn't a part of the team either. Technically, she had broken no laws.
"I just want to hear it again." he circled his finger in the air like he was hoping there would be a playback. She sighed, shifted herself on the chair a bit, then began to tell him what happened all over again. Though it wasn't the entire truth, there was enough there that was the truth. Little half truths; there was a power surge, the doors unlocked, T'Challa had helped break them out, they were taken to Wakanda where Zemo was being held, Wakanda provided transportation and protection to get Zemo back to Berlin. Enough that the polygraph confirmed she was telling the truth.
"And you have no idea where Rogers is?" Ross asked after she had finished telling her story.
"I have no idea where he is." she didn't have to tell a half truth; it was completely true. In the week since they had separated, she hadn't heard a single thing from Steve. She had tried calling him a few times, but the number she had for him was out of service. Probably because he knew it could be used to trace him. Something she knew too, but it didn't stop her from trying over and over for at least a few days.
Though she had supported his decision - hell, even encouraged him to go, the tables had turned on her. Now she was the one staying up all night, scouring the news for any sort of reports on random acts of heroism. Ones that would help her figure out where he went or what he was doing. There was nothing like that circulating, but it didn't stop her from trying. She was always worrying about the constant terrible possibilities that could happen to him. The radio silence was deafening. And she could finally, truly understand what he had felt like when she had left him. She hated it. She missed him. All she wanted was to talk to him or even just hear his voice. Know that he was okay doing whatever it was that he was doing.
After the first couple of times she had tried to call him had failed, and then realizing that his phone really was out of service, she did the only other thing she could think of: wrote him a letter. Until she learned his location from either himself, Sam or even Wanda, there was no way she was going to be able to send it. But it helped to be able to get all her feelings down. Ask her questions. Where are you right now? Write out her hopes and her predictions. Hopefully saving the world. Tell him what was happening and how it was making her feel. I miss you, I love you. Even if he would never read it, it somehow made her feel closer to him.
"Right, okay, and what about the others?" Ross continued after a glance to the screen, "Any updates?" she made a face, shrugging as much as she could.
"You tell me. I've been doing this shit for the past week." she gestured to the room they were in, "Haven't had time to catch up with my fellow prison mates." Ross scoffed and shook his head. While Sam and Wanda had gone along with Steve, last she had heard both Lang and Clint were making deals with Secretary Ross for their families.
"Not even with that friend of yours? Starowicz?" Hearing Dawson being referred to by his last name never failed to make Q roll her eyes. No one called him that. Not even Fury.
"We aren't really on speaking terms right now." she responded; technically it was true. While she was in the Raft, he had left an update for her that Molly had been safely deposited back into the hands of Tony - before he then apparently punched Tony in the face for even bringing Molly into it, which explained the blossoming black eye he was donning during his visit to the Raft.
After she had gotten out of the Raft and back to Berlin, she had only heard from him once. A brief phone call that was short enough not to trace, but long enough to tell her that he wasn't coming back.
"We already left, Q." Dawson sighed heavily, "We had to." she shoved her hand through her waves, letting out a breath of her own. At one point, for a long time in fact, the we had always meant him and her. Now it meant him and Natasha.
"No, yeah, I get that." she shook her head, not wanting him to feel bad for what he had to do. She had learned that Nat had switched sides, just as he had. Meaning both of them had broken the Accords. The same ones they had signed mere days before the fight at the airport.
"I'll try and keep you updated as to where we go -"
"Don't." she cut him off rather quickly. As much as she wanted to know where her friends and her quasi-boyfriend were, she had been, at that point, going through the rounds of lie detectors and questioning for a couple days. Even though it would hurt to be so out of the loop, not knowing would be better in the long run. "It's better that you don't." she explained rather simply. She knew he wanted to ask more questions but they didn't have much time left, "Just stay safe." he let out an annoyed scoff,
"We'll be fine." she could practically picture him rolling his eyes. Still, she wasn't sure how true it was. Since she didn't know the details of where he was going or what he was doing with Nat, it was hard to predict the outcomes. She just had to hope they both made the choices they were supposed to make - whether they be good or bad.
They hadn't spoken since.
"So you're just on your own now, huh, Proctor?" Ross let his arms drop to his sides, peering over at the polygraph to check the results as they came in.
"Yep." she answered, swallowing back the lump in her throat. She didn't like to think about how she had to go back to an empty apartment. Or about how she couldn't talk to her friends. Or how Steve was basically refusing to talk to her. She was left on her own. For the first time in a long time.
Once Ross was satisfied with the lie detector test, she was released from her restraints, but left in the room. The results were the same as the ones before; she had passed yet again. Based on the tests and the rounds of questioning, there was no reason why Q shouldn't have been allowed back into the agency. But she knew there was no way the CIA was going to welcome her, a supposed ex-enemy of the country, back with open arms. Give her back the same job she had used and abused to help supposed terrorists. Or at least, they had to make it seem that they weren't going to. For the public and the press.
The new role she was offered was more of a contractor analyst position. Associated with the CIA, but not officially a part of the agency itself. A loophole to where Ross could continue using her if he needed, wherever he needed her. If anything, it was a way that Ross could keep a close eye on her without putting her in a cell. She would take it.
"Proctor," Ross walked up to her cubicle - one part of her demotion that she hated; she missed her basement office, "walk with me." he gestured at her with two fingers, then turned and walked away. With a sigh, she pushed away from her desk and got to her feet to follow him down the hall, "Do you know the name Ulysses Klaue?" he asked while passing over a tablet that had security footage pull up on it. One from the Museum of Great Britain dated from earlier in the day.
"Only from my SHIELD Academy days." she answered as she looked at the tablet in her hands, "Tried to assassinate King T'Chaka of Wakanda at the Bilderberg Conference when he refused to negotiate about Wakanda's resources." she explained. Though the attempt was way before her time at SHIELD, she had learned about it in her Academy training. The attack had failed, but landed Klaue on SHIELD's radar as a potential threat to world security, "Became an arms dealer, right?" she expanded the pictures of the footage, zooming in on Klaue's face.
"Yep." Ross popped the p in the word, then continued, "Stole an axe from the Museum of Great Britain this morning." That much was clear, and considering where the footage came from and what wing of the museum it was in - the South African wing, there was definitely something special about the axe itself. Minimizing the security camera footage so it only took up half the screen, she pulled up an image of the axe on the right hand side of the tablet. With a tap of her finger, it filled the screen alongside the picture of Klaue.
"Does this axe have anything to do with Wakanda?" she glanced over to Ross, who looked mildly impressed by the connection she made. All things considered, it wasn't too hard to do so.
Beside the axe being in a certain wing of the Museum, the person who stole it already had an interest in the country. Klaue's case had been one of many Academy exercises in her analyst classes; she had to learn and understand his motives to predict his future. The attack on the former king's life may have put him on SHIELD's radar, but Klaue was always heavily interested in Wakanda - managing to steal the quarter-ton of the precious Wakandan metal as well. Before Ross could ask how she knew, she stopped walking so she could zoom in on the tattoo on Klaue's neck, "That's Wakandan." she pointed to the phrase that was seared into his skin, going for the most simple explanation rather than taking him on a trip down memory lane. She didn't bother translating it though. No need for him to question how the hell she knew Wakandan. But it meant thief. Ross let out a little laugh, then shook a finger at her.
"Knew it was a good idea to keep you around, Proctor." Turning, he continued their walk down the hall to the main ops area, "So since you probably already know all this is to know about vibranium," she ignored the slight reference to her history with Steve, "I'll save my breath and get to the point; that axe head is made of vibranium." he glanced at her as if waiting for a surprised reaction. Not that one ever came because it made sense that Klaue would go after something made of vibranium considering his past with Wakanda, "The vibranium we found after the attack on Sokovia links back to Klaue." she knew that much from talking with Steve about Sokovia and Ultron's final form - one that he had created out of vibranium.
"So the U.S. government has decided to buy it from him." she summed up. Ross nodded which made Q sigh a bit. Apparently, the end justified the means. It didn't matter that Klaue was a recognized arms dealer, who supplied organizations like Hydra with their weaponry. What mattered was that he had something the government wanted - the vibranium. Used to make Steve's shield and Bucky's arm. Something of value. Something that wasn't the United States' to begin with.
Certain that Ross didn't know about the secrets of the country of Wakanda - believing that it was nothing more than a third world country with a limited supply of the strongest metal on Earth, she decided to keep her mouth shut for the time being. There was no need for him to realize that whatever they tried, the Wakandans would likely turn up to take Klaue into their custody. He was their thief, not the United States' quasi-ally.
"What do you need me to do?" she asked. Ross slipped his hands into his pockets and glanced up at her,
"Do you like to gamble, Proctor?" he tilted his head at her with a bit of squint. Making a face, she shrugged, not feeling any which way about it.
Based on what she knew and how Ross had been acting, meeting Klaue at the Jagalchi Market Casino - a secret, high stakes casino in the market district of Busan was Klaue's decision. Not one made by the United States' government.
While there were apparently no weapons allowed in the casino, it was easy enough to hide them from the metal detectors that welcomed them into the gambling den. She had a handgun strapped to her upper thigh, masked by tech and hidden by the skirt of her rather revealing dress. Natasha would be proud of the deep V Q was showing off in an effort to blend in. Everyone in the club was dressed to the tens, flaunting their wealth as they spent it on card tables, and roulette wheels.
Ross had trusted her with the suitcase of diamonds that was meant for the trade off. She was supposed to wait at the bar - it was against the wall, giving her the ability to see across the entire floor, for his signal. Something that was easy enough for her to do. This was a test. One that she would pass if the Wakandans didn't show up - though she was counting on them to, considering who would be present.
A half an hour had passed before she spotted T'Challa walking into the casino with two women on either side of him. Her eyes flicked to the table Ross was at, making sure he hadn't noticed the new king of Wakanda and the entourage he had brought. She knew this was bound to happen, her brain already figuring out the potential outcomes of the confrontation once both parties noticed who was there, plus whenever Klaue showed up.
While she wanted to warn Ross and leave before it turned into a fight, not only did it mean she would expose herself and her abilities, but she was sure that Ross wouldn't listen to her, which would make things worse. So she stayed at the bar. It was the safer option for herself. The fight was bound to happen, making both T'Challa and Ross momentarily lose out on what they came to the casino for, but if she made Ross leave right then and there, she would be putting herself at risk.
The two women T'Challa had come in with split away from him at different points. The one in the red did so first; staying up on the balcony to have a bird's eye view of the floor. A tactical move made so that she could see everything that was going on. One that a soldier would make. The one in the green walked down the stairs with T'Challa, still holding his arm. The two of them were talking casually; an eye roll here, a bemused laugh there. Clearly there was something more between the two of them beside king and commoner. Based on her observations, she could tell that both were close to the new king, and he trusted them. The way they moved through the crowd, their eyes sharp and muscles tense, made it clear that they were skilled fighters. They were ready for the fight, even if they didn't know it was going to happen.
The woman in the green separated herself from T'Challa, heading over to the bar that Q was already seated at,
"Over here." she gestured to the bartender, speaking in Korean as she got his attention, "One whiskey, please." she ordered as she settled herself on the stool near Q. The bartender slid the glass over to her with a napkin underneath. Picking up her glass at the same time, Q caught her eye with a soft smile,
"Cheers." she offered in Korean, the woman repeating the phrase and taking a small sip. Q did the same, setting her glass down to watch as the woman scanned the room. Then, switching to an accented English, she communicated with the rest of her group, "Eyes up. Americans." she looked over to where two other CIA agents had been stationed, terribly posing as a couple, "I count two."
"Make it three." Q interjected with a raise of her finger, "Agent Q Proctor. CIA." she spoke loud enough where she hoped T'Challa could hear her through whatever communication system they were using. The woman's eyes shifted to her as she lifted her glass of whiskey to her lips. She tensed at the realization, then looked out across the room to where T'Challa was walking toward the table Ross was playing at, only glancing to the bar area briefly enough to see Q sitting there as well.
"You are buying from Klaue." It wasn't a question, meaning she knew what Klaue had and what he was planning on doing with it. The woman's eyes trained on T'Challa almost protectively. To anyone else, it would look like a soldier looking out for her king, but Q could tell it was something deeper; looking out for a loved one.
"No, I'm not doing anything." she pressed a hand to her chest and shook her head slightly. The technicalities of the situation were important. Especially in a situation like this. She didn't want to be on the wrong side of T'Challa; he was still taking care of Bucky.
"You're working for an organization that is." the woman's eyes flicked over to her and she raised her brow slightly. Making a face, Q shrugged, but the woman continued before she got a chance to respond, "Klaue belongs to us." she assumed Q knew who she was and where she was from. She did, to a degree - maybe not a name but definitely knew the woman was Wakandan considering who she came with.
"I agree with you." Q put her hands up and nodded, "If it was my decision, he'd be all yours." the woman eyed her warily, not believing what Q was saying.
"Okay heads up; the king of Wakanda is here." Ross' voice crackled over her comm. She stifled an eye roll because no shit - she knew that five minutes before he did, "He cannot leave with Klaue." At the rate the night was going, no one was going to leave the casino with Klaue. He'd make it out on his own.
"So tell your boss to call off the deal and leave Klaue to us." the woman pressed. Q let out a slight laugh and shook her head.
"I don't have as much power as you think," she moved her foot down to point it at the suitcase by her chair, "I'm just the one who's holding the payment." The woman eyed her for a long moment before her eyes flicked to the balcony. Q followed her gaze, seeing Klaue standing at the entrance looking down at the casino floor as if it were his kingdom. He was flocked by several bodyguards, who definitely weren't for Ross or the other CIA agents, but for the three Wakandans.
"Klaue." the woman notified her partners, then set her drink down to get up from her seat. Without another look to Q, she moved away from the bar. Not focused on following her, Q watched Klaue move down to the table that Ross was at with a few bodyguards in tow. The two conversed for a moment, Klaue's hand going to rub Ross' shoulder in what appeared to be a comforting manner but was really one of power and domination. Then Ross glanced over to Q, nodding his head at her and giving her the signal.
With the briefcase in hand, she moved over to where Klaue and Ross were, passing it off to Ross like she was supposed to. There were six more bodyguards-slash-hitmen that appeared in the casino during her walk over. Time was clicking down like a bomb. Only a few more moments before the explosion.
"Vibranium?" Ross asked, prompting Klaue to unzip his pants and pull out a brown paper bag from his crotch area. Q tried not to laugh, looking away and across to where T'Challa's back was to them, but he was still listening intently. He didn't want to be made by Klaue quite yet, seeming to want to let Ross get the vibranium first. That way he could have both Klaue and the stolen axe head.
"Well, I was going to buy myself a fancy briefcase but I thought I'd save myself some money." Klaue explained, gesturing to the paper bag that was marked FRAGILE.
Above them, unbeknownst to anyone beside Q, a fight broke out. One of Klaue's men was tossed off the balcony and onto a craps table beside Q, Klaue and Ross - setting everything in motion. Q reacted before Klaue could; grabbing the suitcase of diamonds and using it as a shield to deflect the bullets Klaue immediately went to fire at Ross.
The casino exploded into chaos. She shoved Ross away from Klaue and around the table T'Challa had flipped onto its side to use as a barrier. T'Challa yanked Ross down to his knees, keeping a protective hand on his shoulder.
"Left!" she cried out to T'Challa, warning him that one of Klaue's men was going to be coming around the left side.
As he acted, moving to smoothly trip the man before he could do anything, Q hiked up her skirt to grab her handgun from her thigh holster. T'Challa's distraction was enough to allow both Q and Ross to get to their feet. Both of them fired in the direction of Klaue and his men while traveling toward the exit.
"This was not what was supposed to happen!" Ross called out to her over the sounds of guns and fists.
"But it was something that should've been considered!" she responded, meeting his unamused look. If he had consulted with her, gave her more than just an empty position or even just all the facts before putting her on a flight to Busan, then she would've helped him a bit more.
"Come on!" Ross gestured for her to follow him, which she did. She fired her gun at the man coming up behind the woman in green.
Her shot got him in the shoulder which was enough for the woman to use to her advantage to get him down on the ground. Though she was pretty sure her shot didn't do much, considering the way the three Wakandans were taking out every one of Klaue's men. That was until a loud explosion echoed through the casino. Cash, coins and chips rained down from above them, making both Ross and her look up to see Klaue waving his prosthetic arm around. Only it wasn't just an arm. It was some sort of sonic canon.
"Shit." she breathed out, glancing to Ross to see that this changed the game. The vibranium wasn't the most important thing on the list now. Klaue and his high tech prosthetic were. It put Bucky's metal arm to shame.
At the exfil point, Q got into the same car Ross did, the car turning down the street where the entrance of the club was to see a row of black Range Rovers peeling away from the club. The two women who were with T'Challa ran out of the club mere moments later, both getting into a silver Lexus and taking off after the Range Rovers. Ross shifted their car into gear and went after them, only to fall behind the Lexus.
"One of them has Klaue and the vibranium." Ross pointed out the obvious. While she hadn't seen which car Klaue had gotten into, she could figure it out.
"The second car." she nodded in the direction the second car had gone. The same one the silver Lexus was following.
"You sure?" he glanced at her with doubt in his eyes, but still he accepted her choice and went after the second Range Rover.
Though Ross was in the driver's seat, Q was the one giving him directions. It was made clear to her that Klaue was heading for the docks. Hoping to try and escape via a ship of some sort. Thankfully, Ross seemed to listen to her, accepting her directions with only a slight look of confusion. Both of them could hear the crashes of cars as others tried to get out of the way of the car chase - guns were firing and engines were racing.
"You do know who the bad guy is here, right?" Q asked at one point after Ross took a turn too quickly and almost cut the Lexus off.
"Of course I do." Ross glared at her from the corner of his eye, "But the Wakandans are getting in the way."
"It's their vibranium." she stressed, reminding him of who Klaue had stolen it from, "Klaue stole over a quarter-ton of it, which was valued at ten thousand dollars per ounce; over two billion dollars' worth." she rattled off the facts she remembered from her SHIELD Academy days, not even surprised that she remembered it. Though Ross was,
"How - never mind. Listen, I get it. I do, but we've already helped them enough." he pointed out with a raise of his eyebrows, "I agreed to keep the whole king of Wakanda runs around in a bulletproof catsuit thing a secret, remember?" she rolled her eyes a bit at his argument, knowing it wasn't the best one.
"Then let's at least get the Wakandans on our side." she gestured a bit with her hands, "Help them, help us." she put it plainly. It wasn't the way she wanted to go, still thinking that Klaue still should be the Wakandans' prisoner, but she knew they had a common enemy. He eyed her for a moment before sighing in agreement. As he should.
When they came around a bend in the road, both of them noticed the remains of the Lexus scattered across the road. The two women who were with T'Challa in the casino were standing in the middle of the road, seemingly unharmed. Ross stopped in front of them and gestured for them to hop in the car. Neither one argued about it; they needed a ride after all.
"Put that spear in the trunk." Ross advised the woman in red. She gave him a look before tapping it against the ground twice and letting it collapse into itself. Q couldn't help but be impressed.
By the time they arrived at the docks, T'Challa had already stopped Klaue. The two women were quick to get out of the car, everyone noticing how a crowd full of people on their cellphones had gathered to record what was about to be a public execution at the hands of the Black Panther. Who would soon be revealed as King T'Challa, if he wasn't stopped. Though both women were quick to try,
"The world is watching." the woman in green warned in Wakandan. Reminding everyone of the world they lived in: one of superheroes and super villains. It was important to remember which side was the right side to be on. At the reminder, T'Challa took notice of his surroundings - something he had missed having been so caught up in his revenge.
"Come on guys, let's go, huh?" Ross urged, knowing how it would end if they waited any longer. A beat passed, then T'Challa retracted his claws, but kept a firm grip on Klaue's shirt. Klaue, much to Q's interest, looked thrilled that he was being taken in instead of murdered on the street.
Almost like he wanted it to happen.
A/N: Are you surprised we're getting into Black Panther? Cause I am lol buT I'm also excited cause this was a spur of the moment decision but what I have worked out will hopefully be interesting! Let me know all your thoughts and feelings - I know everyone is upset that Steve and Q aren't together rn but it had to be done unfortch lol. I LOVE U ALL THANK U!