The false cameraman's truck rolled to a halt late into the night. The moon was just a crescent over the Wakandan jungle, providing cover for the three people in black, crouched among the trees. Shuri's suit was a version very similar to her brother's: black vibranium with a hood tipped with ears. She looked every inch the panther as she pressed herself to the ground, her attention focused solely on the facility in front of them.
"It doesn't look like much," Steve whispered from Bucky's left.
"There is vibranium in there," Shuri assured them. Every muscle in her body was tense.
"This looks like a trap," Bucky cautioned. The building in front of them looked like little more than a shack. Warning bells were going off in his head.
"I agree," Steve said immediately.
"It is assuredly a trap," Shuri did not sound concerned.
"So what's the plan?" Bucky asked.
"Draw them out," Shuri sounded almost excited. Without further preamble, she leapt forward. Bucky reached out to catch her, but she slipped past his arm, bounding silently through the jungle ahead of them.
"Shit," an uncharacteristic curse word slipped past his lips.
"No kidding," Steve glanced over at him. "Ready for a fight?"
Before Bucky could answer, an explosion rocked the jungle from somewhere in the back of the shed. The light filled the jungle, illuminating the scene just a moment before the deafening blast shook the earth. The pair of them slammed their hands over their ears.
"Damn!" This time it was Steve who cursed. People were streaming out of the shack now, more than Bucky would have thought possible.
"Only one thing to do," Bucky observed. The light from the fires had blown their cover completely.
Steve sighed. "I wish I had my shield," he lamented for just a moment before charging in, Bucky right behind him.
Even without his shield, Steve was a formidable foe. The first few enemies to reach the pair of them were easily dispatched.
"It's almost not fair," Bucky observed as he tossed a man over his shoulder.
Steve knocked another man face first into the mud. "Maybe the odd are a little uneven," he conceded.
Another explosion rocked the jungle, startling them. Bucky suddenly became very worried for the princess. One glance at Steve confirmed he was feeling the same way.
"Let's go," Steve dropped their last foe onto the ground. They took off running towards the back of the shed. One wall had been completely burned away, exposing the interior. The concrete floors lacked any decoration except for a shabby staircase descending underground.
"I don't like this," Bucky inhaled, already moving forward. He covered their backs as Steve led the way down.
"Now I know how all of these people fit in here," Steve observed.
A sprawling warehouse stretched out in front of them, stacked to the ceiling with shelves groaning under the weight of an arsenal of weapons.
"HYDRA would have killed for this," Bucky followed Steve up and down the aisles.
"Do you think they could be behind this?" Steve asked.
"If they had operations in Wakanda, I never knew about them," Bucky stretched his mind, trying to remember if his missions had ever taken him here.
"Whatever Klaue is planning, it can't be good," Steve paused to look at a shelf loaded with AK-47s.
"No vibranium though," Bucky observed, "They must be stashing it somewhere else."
"Let's check around the back. We can see if—"
His words were cut off as the shelves came tumbling down on top of them both, showering them in gunpowder and metal. A second later the lights flickered off.
"This just keeps getting better," Bucky sighed, groping for a gun.
The sound of heavy footsteps plodded toward them, shaking the concrete floor.
"I think we found our burly cameraman," Steve whispered, seizing a metal rod from the ground.
A heaving, dark shadow filled the space in front of them, snuffing out the remaining light.
"Barricade's a good name for you," Bucky acknowledged, diving forward. Steve went the other way, narrowly avoiding two meaty fists as they pounded down.
"There's the vibranium," Steve called out as light glinted off of Barricade's metal encased arms.
"That's not all they do," the man spoke in a deep gravelly voice that threatened violence in every sentence. He raised his arms again. Two flames went up from either fist, shooting fire towards the ceiling.
"Not good!" Bucky shoved Steve forward, determined to put as much space between them and the ammunition as possible.
Barricade pursued them, lighting the way recklessly.
"Run, run, run…" he called out.
"Glad to know their taunts haven't gotten any better," Bucky couldn't resist the urge to take a dig at him. He turned over his shoulder and tossed the gun in his hand as hard as he could. It hit Barricade square between the eyes.
"Nice shot," Steve complimented. He leapt into a kind of flip, spinning around to hit their assailant. By the time Steve had landed, Bucky was back up, tag-teaming their opponent with expert skill.
"It's going to take more than that to bring Barricade down!" the large man bellowed, swinging his arms down. Bucky reflexively countered the blow with his own metal arm. The resulting sound reverberated throughout the whole basement, knocking the remaining shelves over. Barricade looked down at Bucky with surprise, giving Steve the opening he needed. He bent down, scooping up the heaviest object he could find and jumped, knocking Barricade over the back of his head. The large man went down like a ton of bricks, smashing unceremoniously to the floor.
"You ok?" He asked Bucky.
Bucky flexed his arm experimentally. "I'll live." He squinted at his friend in the dark. "I wonder if we can get his flame throwers though. I can't see anything."
A slow, mocking round of applause echoed through the overturned shelves. Steve and Bucky turned around as the lights came back on.
A short, stocky man with auburn hair and an unruly beard was stationed in the stairwell. His hair was cropped short and he was wearing a dingy khaki shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He brought his hands together slowly, the flesh and bone one colliding with what was clearly vibranium.
"Well done, Captain America," he announced grandly, as though he were introducing him at a banquet. "You should have known better than to think a mask would fool me; I have seen you fight before."
"Klaue," Steve did not bother to contradict him, but held his ground.
"I am pleased that you recognized me. After our last little skirmish, I got the impression that I wasn't all that important to you." Klaue descended the stairs, his arms folded across his chest. "Then again, it is difficult to compete with the marvels of technology. Isn't that right, Sergeant Barnes?"
"What's your game, Klaue?" Steve interrupted his monologue.
Klaue began to laugh sardonically. "Do you really think I'm fool enough to reveal my plan to you? My henchmen may be thick, but I pride myself on being a little sharper than that." Klaue continued his descent.
"It doesn't matter," Bucky spoke up.
"Are you going to tell me that I won't win?" Klaue taunted. "I have heard it all before, but here I stand." Klaue spread his arms. "And there you two are, like rabbits in a trap." He spread his arms to illustrate his point.
Bucky realized with a start that they were standing in the center of the room, surrounded on all sides by potential explosives.
"You should have brought your shield, Captain," Klaue smirked. "Very poor planning on your part." He shook his head. "Auf Wiedersehen," he reached for a cuff around his metal hand. "Know that you do not die in vain! Your vibranium arm will be the coup de grace," he turned his eyes on Bucky.
Before Klaue could activate his plan, the lights flickered off again. It was all the distraction Bucky and Steve needed. They took off sprinting, heading for the wall nearest the stairwell. Bucky got in front of his friend, thrusting his arm out in front of them and knocking a hole in the side of the building. They scrambled out, pushing past dirt and rubble to climb up the side of the stairs. Bucky braced himself for the explosion. Instead, they heard Klaue scream.
"What the—" Bucky made to move back into the room when a familiar black streak darted past them.
"Move!" Shuri called urgently.
They took off behind her, beating it up the stairs and back into the jungle. A moment later, the whole facility went up in a column of fire and noise, throwing the three of them off of their feet. Bucky had never been as thankful for Super Soldier Serum as when he came falling down, his bones and vital organs intact. He reached over for the princess, dragging her to her feet. Steve quickly came around the other side. She managed to get her legs under her.
"We need to keep moving," she wheezed from beneath her mask.
"What happened?" Bucky asked. They cut a path through the jungle. It wasn't graceful, but they were moving quickly.
"Did Klaue set that off?" Steve probed.
"I couldn't stop that," Shuri managed to right herself, speeding up their progress.
"Did he get away?" Bucky asked. They were nearing their hidden vehicle now.
"Not all of him," Shuri pulled her mask off. Her face was lined with perspiration and soot, but she was smirking. The three of them stopped running long enough to glance what she was clutching.
"Klaue's hand?" Steve exclaimed in surprise.
"It does not belong to him," Shuri retracted her vibranium claws. "It will be returned to where it belongs."
Bucky had to chuckle. He was glad somebody had gotten that smug little man. He quickly sobered though, as he realized Klaue had escaped. "We have a bigger problem," he said.
"Klaue recognized us," Steve finished.
"Then we need to get back, and quickly," Shuri's tone did not falter but she quickened her steps. "We must warn T'Challa."
A/N: You get a two chapter update! I am going on vacation for the next two weeks, and will be in a position where updating will be difficult. I hope this satisfies for the time being!
Thank you again to all who review and favorite and follow. Your input means the world. Please leave a review to let me know what you think so far!