"What's it looking like on your end, Sam?" Steve was squinting at the monitors in front of them.
"Is that a trick question?" Sam's distorted voice came through the speakers.
"I mean, do you see anything unusual?" Steve rephrased.
"Besides several thousand gorgeous faces showcasing tech that would make Stark jealous?" Sam asked.
"Besides that," Steve said.
"Then no, I don't see anything unusual."
Bucky leaned into the monitors, scanning for their teammate.
"How come Sam gets to be out there enjoying the festivities?" Wanda asked.
"You'd have a hard time blending in out here," Sam answered.
Bucky chuckled. He was a master of disguise, but Wakanda was nothing like Europe. Their skin color alone would make them stick out like a sore thumb. It wasn't as though Wakanda had any aversion to diversity, but they had been a very private nation up until a year ago, and this event was to be televised. There was no need to draw the world's attention to the fact that Wakanda was harboring fugitives from the United Nations.
"Just learn to shrink down," this suggestion came from Scott.
"Don't rub it in, Tic-Tac," Sam said.
"It's pretty amazing though," Scott intoned.
Bucky had to agree. Wakanda was a sea of color as its citizens took to the streets to celebrate the birthday of their former king. T'Challa and Shuri were walking the roads, surrounded on both sides by the Dora Malaje, all decked out in splendid trappings. The royals were wearing black, as was their custom, but their guard wore bright colors to offset them. They were making their way slowly up the main road to the palace, smiling and waving and touching hands with their people. Cameras lined the street, broadcasting Wakanda for the first time in the nation's history.
T'Challa and his sister cut an impressive figure, regal and beautiful as always. T'Challa had a following in the outside world, but Shuri was a new sight. Bucky had to guess she was making quite the first impression. Her hair was down and wild, billowing out in a thick pyramid of kinky curls. She was nearly as tall as her brother in heels, but it was her expression that was drawing Bucky's eye. She looked haunted, almost sad. It had been her countenance for the past few weeks. He had asked her about it on more than one occasion, but was unsuccessful in discovering the reason.
"It looks like the whole country is out there," Clint's sharp eyes were dancing from screen to screen, searching.
"I don't see anyone that we are looking for," Sharon was standing to the right of Steve, holding a tablet. She was flipping through images of known associates of Ulysses Klaue.
"Keep an eye out for anyone that doesn't look happy," Steve instructed.
"I think that is easier said than done, Captain," Wanda leaned in. They all watched the parade intently, interrupted only by reports from Sam and Scott, who were stationed out among the crowd.
"If something's going on out here, I can't see it, Cap," Sam said at last. T'Challa and Shuri were well up the road now.
"Follow the parade," Steve instructed. "Keep your eyes open." He exchanged a quick worried look with Sharon.
The plan was to use Wakanda's unveiling to lure Klaue out. It was a display of technology and power, of all of Wakanda's wealth, a statement to the world. According to T'Challa, it was the exact thing Klaue would despise but be drawn to. The event had been in the works since before his father's passing. Now it was to become an annual tribute. They had hoped to take either Klaue or someone he knew into custody. If this did not work they would be back to square one.
"They're almost to the palace now," Scott reported.
"Try and get up high, find a vantage point," Steve told him. Clint, head to the roof and see if you can see anything from there. Wanda, go with him."
The two nodded and headed out. Steve turned to Bucky and Sharon. "Do either of you have a plan B?"
Sharon spoke up, "We might have to take the fight to them. What intel do we have on his former bases of operation?"
She and Steve began pouring over information on her tablet. Bucky kept his eyes on the screen. The parade had come to a halt on the palace steps, where T'Challa was preparing to make his first public address since the UN incident. Every face in the crowd was turned towards the king, reflecting pride. Nothing seemed out of place. In hindsight, this wasn't the best situation for an outsider to infiltrate. Wakanda was a recluse nation, its customs and people foreign to the outside world. It was a spy's worst nightmare.
A thought occurred to him suddenly. "Sam?" he asked through the com, "Do you have a line of sight on the cameramen?"
"The cameramen?" Sam sounded confused. "I can get closer, but it's going to take some maneuvering."
"I'll go!" Scott seemed thrilled at the prospect. "Just give me a second."
"What are you thinking?" Steve turned to Bucky.
"They're the only ones out there, besides us, who aren't from here."
"It's the perfect place to hide," realization dawned on Sharon. "No one looks at the camera people."
Steve smiled, "We will. Can you upload the list of possible associates to Scott?"
Sharon was already typing. "It's on its way," she confirmed.
"Scott, the second you see one of them turn on your tracker and tail him. He's going to lead us back to the hideout." Steve looked over his shoulder at Bucky. "Good work, Buck."
"Let's see if it works first," Bucky said.
"Stay out of sight," Steve cautioned the team. "They eyes of the world are on Wakanda today. We don't need to start another international incident."
"Where's the fun in that?" Clint joked through the com. Wanda admonished him gently in the background.
"So if we catch this guy, what's the play?" Sam asked. The sounds of cheers drowned out his last few words.
"Monitor only. We can't take him in front of a crowd." Steve said.
"Or her," Sharon corrected.
"Or her," Steve amended.
"T'Challa will want to be the one who questions him," Bucky glanced at Sharon. "Or her," he quickly added.
"He's meeting with delegates all day today," Sharon told him. "Ziwadi gave me his agenda."
"What about the princess?" Steve asked.
Sharon consulted her tablet. "She is free this evening."
"Buck, once things settle down, rendezvous with Shuri. See what the next call is."
Bucky nodded. He had seen a lot of the princess over the last few weeks. Their training together had gone twice as long as they scrambled to give Bucky immunity to his trigger words. It had been a lengthy and tiring process, but Bucky had been able to resist. It took intense concentration, but he could power through the effects now. The danger now was maintaining his focus until the words were neutralized.
Much of Shuri's good humor had vanished during these practices. She operated with all of her efforts on a single goal. It was a little bit jarring, after so many weeks of casual friendship, to suddenly be made to feel like he was just a mission again. It reminded him of HYDRA, only with the opposite goal. Something was plaguing her, more so than this business with Klaue.
Bucky turned his attention back to the monitors, where the princess was standing behind her brother, wearing a proud smile. When it was her turn to speak, she approached the podium to raucous cheering.
"My father was a man of Wakanda," she began. "He was a warrior, fierce and strong, a protector of our people and our resources. He came into this world at a time of great strife, when the nations were at war. It was his goal that war should never come to Wakanda's borders. For all of his physical strength, peace became his mission," she paused then, to look around at her brother. He smiled at her. "It is a mission he instilled in my brother and I. Though violence claimed his life too soon, King T'Challa and I will continue his mission. Wakanda will no longer exist in shadow. Let all those who oppose the peaceful cooperation of the world's nations hear this and tremble. Peace is our mission, and it is a mission we are willing to fight for," she nodded politely as her people cheered.
"A little militant," Scott said, "but still inspiring."
"They're almost as good at speeches as you, Cap," Sam sounded amused from out in the crowd. .
"I wouldn't mind raising my kids in a world like that," Clint added from somewhere up on the roof.
His statement hung in the air. Bucky had forgotten for a moment that Clint was separated from his wife and three children. Scott too, had a daughter back in the States waiting for him. They were all sacrificing a lot in this fight for peace, but the two fathers were sacrificing more than most.
"We're going to make it there, man," Scott assured Clint. "We're going to leave that for our kids."
"We are on the right path," Wanda agreed.
"Too bad the right path ain't ever the easy one," Clint said sardonically.
"It's not so bad," Sam said.
"Easy to say while you're at a parade and I'm being sunburned on the roof," there was no malice in Clint's tone. "Oh," he sounded surprised, "Wanda just made an umbrella out of her energy. So I'm good now. Thanks kid."
Steve chuckled. "Let's stay focused guys," he reminded.
"I think I found one!" Scott exclaimed happily. "Big guy, standing in the back. His face matches."
Bucky, Sharon and Steve all swarmed forward to see who Scott was referring to.
"I see him," Sam confirmed.
"Keep your distance," Steve cautioned, "We don't want him bolting."
"There he is," Bucky pointed with a vibranium finger. "Burly guy. Bald."
"Barricade," Sharon brought his profile up.
"Jeez, his name is Barricade?" Wanda snorted.
"Settle down, Scarlet Witch," Clint said. "It's probably a code name."
"His identity is unknown," Sharon confirmed. "We do know that he's part of a group called the Supremacists. Possible HYDRA connections."
Sam made a sucking sound, "That doesn't sound like a good thing."
"It's not a word I'd associate with peace," Bucky agreed.
"We're going to have to track him the old-fashioned way," Steve mused.
"Good thing we've got two old-fashioned guys," Sharon smiled at him.
"You up for it, Buck?"
"Whenever you are, Cap," Bucky nodded. He was itching for a little bit of action, even if it meant just a stakeout.
"Suit up," Steve instructed. "The ceremony is almost over."
"Should someone touch base with the royals first?" Wanda asked. "It is their mission."
"I'll do it," Steve immediately volunteered. You guys stay sharp tonight. T'Challa is going to be distracted with the politics. Stay vigilante."
"You got it, Cap," when Steve was away, Clint and Sam were in charge. Neither seemed to mind sharing the responsibility of leadership.
"Our camera guy is on the move," Scott announced.
"Tail him, but keep your distance. Bucky and I will come to relieve you," Steve nodded at the team.
Bucky headed off to the room they were all sharing while the event was going on. It wouldn't do for a foreign dignitary to wander in on the Winter Soldier using the gym. The whole team was relatively confined to one suite. It was roughly the size of a large house, with enough room for them all, so no one was too upset. In some way, Bucky was comforted by the proximity of his team; it felt like being back in the barracks.
He gathered his belongings, including an all-black suit, mask and goggles. Stealth missions were nothing new to Bucky; he and Steve had pulled off more than their fair share back in the days of their first war. HYDRA missions almost always consisted of moving in the shadows. He slipped the mask over his head experimentally. It felt smothering.
"I assume you have found something then?" Shuri's voice startled him out of his reverie. He turned to see her standing in her parade dress, regarding him seriously.
"Did Steve find you?" he pulled the mask off over his head, relishing in the feeling of air on his face.
"Not yet," she walked towards him, her black train dragging behind her.
"You look very nice," call him old-fashioned, but when a woman dressed up, you complimented her.
"Thank you," she was calm and courteous as ever. "You look very ready for a mission."
"One of the cameramen," he explained, "we ran his face; he's associated with Klaue. Steve has more details."
She nodded sagely. "Do you feel ready?"
"As I'm ever going to be," it was like she could read his mind.
"Are you worried?" she came to stand right before him. In her heels, they were at eye level with one another.
"A little bit," he admitted.
"About the words?" she continued her line of calm questioning.
"Less about the words. More about being seen. Bad things tend to happen when I get spotted." Last time, her father had died.
She smiled wryly, "This time, Bucky, you will be seen as you choose to be: neither a fugitive nor an outlaw, but a fighter."
"We could expose you and your brother," this thought worried him most of all. To repay their kindness with an international incident would be horrible.
Shuri rolled her eyes, "Wakanda does what it right. Let the world squabble. T'Challa is more than capable of handling it."
"So this is all part of the fight for peace?" he referenced her earlier speech.
"It is in line with my father's mission, yes." She sat down on the couch in the middle of the shared living space.
"Is that what's bothering you?" He sat next to her.
"You have enough burdens, I think, without adding mine." She smiled gently at him. "Please do not fret for me."
"Too late," he told her. "You want me to put what HYDRA did behind me? This will help."
She scoffed. "How so?"
"Caring about people makes me human. I've spent enough time feeling numb." He had friends again for the first time since 1945. Bucky was determined to keep them.
She contemplated this. "I had not seen my father for weeks, before he died," she confessed. "He was on one of his missions. As king and protector of the land, he was often away, but never did he go so far. It was my brother who ventured out when threats came too close to our borders. I think my father was happy to hand the mantle of Black Panther over to him."
"He's a natural at it," T'Challa had been a formidable foe, but an even better ally.
"Perhaps too much so," Shuri confided. "Fighting comes easily to him, diplomacy much less so. It worried our father. It is why he took T'Challa with him to the UN. He said we had lingered too long in the shadows, allowing evil to exist as long as it never came to us directly. Klaue was a part of that decision. His efforts enabled Ultron to become so powerful."
Bucky had heard this story from Steve. He'd watched the Avengers fight Ultron with the rest of the world: from a television screen. He'd seen lots of terrible things in his very long life, but watching a city fall from the sky had taken the cake. This was a different world he lived in now; the stakes were considerably higher.
"Then he died," Shuri continued. "I thought that you had killed him."
"It's what the whole world thought. I wouldn't feel too bad about it," Bucky attempted to comfort her.
"You cannot comprehend my emotions when he first brought you here," Shuri looked up at him. "T'Challa had been consumed with ending you. I was left to protect our home as the world caught fire around us. T'Challa exposed the Black Panther to the world. There was no time to mourn."
"Then I showed up," realization was dawning on Bucky.
"A welcome distraction," she assured him. "Now as you heal, the distraction lessens."
"So you should mourn," he knew all about holding in emotions. There was no surer way to self-harm.
"When Klaue is in hand, I will," she assured him.
"Well then, Steve and I better get him tonight," he attempted to cheer her up.
"I will be coming as well," she stood up. "No one knows these lands like my brother and I. T'Challa is occupied tonight. So you will have me."
"We'll be ready," Bucky assured her.
"I know you will," her gown trailed behind her on the high-piled carpet. She turned to him as she reached the door. "Thank you," she nodded. "You are a good man."
Bucky pulled the mask on again as she left, feeling considerably more comfortable in it.
"Are you ready?" Steve asked him later as the sun began to set.
"Always," Bucky tossed him his mask.