Hey all! I'm alive and well, and I hope all of you have had a wonderful month and change! Things have been unexpectedly and utterly wild for me (in a good way), so thanks for your patience, and I'll dig into the latest news I have for you after the meat of this chapter, which includes two new pieces of art for a prior chapter! :)
But without further delay: back into the action we go!
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Winter of the White Wolf
Chapter 85 - Urgent Circumspection
Summary:
After receiving word that Yama's Cry of Ngai bead was activated in another quadrant of the city and that she, Princess Shuri, and Nomble are currently being pursued by an unknown man, Barnes, Sam, and Ayo urgently seek to intervene on their behalf…
It was fast approaching the midnight hour in the rain-slicked city of Aniana, and though its weathered storefronts and scattered inhabitants lingered without any sense of urgency, the lazy pools of water tucked between its many cobblestones were struck to life by a set of heels that soared soundlessly over them like low-flying cranes.
The thread of whatever Ayo had been thinking moments before had abruptly been cut and let loose the second she'd learned that somewhere on the other side of the city, there was an unknown man in pursuit of her Princess. To what end? She did not know.
Barnes was already a block ahead of them when Ayo heard a rustle of plastic from just behind her, a tell-tale sign that Sam'd opted to pass off the not insubstantial bag of groceries recently in his possession. He managed to temper the urgency in his voice as he addressed the homeless man Barnes had been conversing with before their unexpected summons, "Gotta go! The rest is yours. Have a good night!"
"Thanks?" The homeless man's confused reply was accented by a pleasant trill from the cat nestled atop his lap.
Without a moment's hesitation, Sam's feet scraped against the wet stone and he pivoted to sprint across the street and catch up to Ayo.
As idle faces turned in their direction, she was swiftly reminded it was unwise to draw undue attention to themselves unless absolutely necessary. Without a second thought, she adjusted her stride to a hurried pace just under the sprint she knew she was fully capable of achieving, regardless of her present choice in footwear.
While her feet flew over the rounded stones, she quickly pocketed her cell phone and toggled the indicators along her Kimoyo strand to work in tandem with one another so her hands were free of distractions. The beads shimmered at once, illuminated small pinpricks of coded light representing navigable pathways as well as Yama, Shuri, and Nombe. Her skilled Lieutenants flanked their Princess and moved together as a group, treading away from the lingering threat M'yra'd marked in bold red. No-doubt, her bedridden Dora kept watch through the street's scattered security cameras for any worrisome developments. It was an unexpected boon if there ever was one.
Ayo's navigation bead detailed a proposed route that stretched just over two kilometers in length and wove them through more than a dozen city blocks to connect with the location Shuri and the others were moving about in downtown Aniana. Like misguided spokes on a gnarled wheel, the two groups had managed to work their way apart in opposite directions across the staggered city streets.
"How far out are we?" Sam breathed from beside her.
Ayo glanced down at her navigation bead, "Ten or fifteen minutes, but the path is winding and they are headed north. Away from us."
"I take it that's not intentional."
There was a quiet chime in Ayo's ear, and M'yra's voice flitted into a private communications channel shared only between the two of them, "No, it appears to be prompted as a way for them to put distance between themselves and the individual pursuing them. They remain uninjured, and their pace is steady and intentional as they weave through the street-side crowds."
"Crowds?" Ayo inquired as she watched Barnes dart left ahead of her and Sam.
"The area is more densely occupied, my Chief. I think Nomble hopes to lose their stalker in the surrounding crowds."
Regardless of how much Ayo ached for more visibility into the details of their pursuant, she tried to take comfort in the fact that M'yra was monitoring the developing situation from afar, and that by the sounds of it, Nomble and Yama had things under control.
In at least some manner of speaking.
It would stray from protocol for her to interrupt her Lieutenants and risk distracting them from their guard, but that did not mean Ayo was content to stand idly by and await their recap of events. No, they would have her full support, regardless of the many questions she had regarding why they had drawn so deeply into Aniana's busy downtown districts. Not only that, but Ayo was not blind enough to remain unaware of how their present path put them increasingly closer to the residence of the unreported breakin from only days before.
It could be merely coincidence, but Ayo had her suspicions that Shuri's insatiable curiosity had a role to play in their whereabouts.
She and her Ibhondi Yomgcini would have a deep discussion about such things later. In the present, Ayo only wished to ensure she and the others remained safe and unharmed.
And preferably: Unrevealed and unrecognized.
Ayo's frown deepened as she forcibly shucked aside the worries flitting in her periphery. Ones that marked Shuri as a potential target for whoever it was that was systematically hunting down Symkaria's own royalty. Simply because someone was in pursuit of them now did not mark them as one in the same.
She could only hope.
"They continue to seek to lose him amongst the others on the sidewalk, but he remains locked in their wake," M'yra's voice relayed through Ayo's comms. "The man is headed north after them. He is tall and slender. Pale. He has light brown hair with a goatee, and wears a white shirt, dark green jacket, and black jeans. Though his hands are in his pockets now, I suspect he might be armed with a small knife or handgun he's concealed in the belt beneath his jacket."
Ayo looked up to see how much further Barnes had gained on her and Sam only to catch him glancing over his shoulder in her direction. His expression was stripped of levity, and his concerned blue eyes met hers. For a split second, she saw fit to remind herself that it was not White Wolf before her, but Barnes. The necessary distinction briefly gave her pause for her decision to prompt him to run ahead of them rather than beside her. She knew such a choice was not without risk, but she wished to believe that between their extensive training sessions earlier in the day and the oaths they'd spoken aloud, that she could trust he wasn't planning to run away or to hurt anyone.
Or kill them.
But as much as Ayo didn't want to admit it, she knew there was a fleeting possibility that if Shuri's life was at risk, he alone might be the only one able to intercept them in time.
Ayo couldn't know if his enhanced hearing allowed him to make out M'yra's words through her comms, but he chose to remark, "We'll get there soon."
Though it went against any number of traditional Dora protocols, those few reassuring words swiftly informed Ayo's next decision. "Let me open our comms so we are not on split channels," she flicked her thumb over her communications bead and merged the signals so the four of them could speak as one.
Sam was first to chime in, apparently set on getting all of them up-to-speed, "And they're okay?"
Ayo was surprised he would seek to address M'yra directly, but then, their ways were not his, and his question was a valid one.
"They are. From their trajectory, I now believe the activated bead was meant for a secondary target that I cannot see from the limited cameras at my disposal."
"Second target?" Ayo frowned.
"Yes, my Chief."
"Are there others?"
"Not that I have seen so far, but the bulk of the cameras at my disposal are pointed towards traffic intersections. They offer a very limited view."
Ayo heard a grunt over their shared comms that she assumed belonged to Barnes. One second he was visible a block in front of her, the next, he darted out of sight into the dim dappled streetlight. Tension clutched at Ayo's throat at the conflict of interest she felt between wishing to instruct him to slow down and wait for them, and the reality that even mere seconds between them and their destination could count.
But what if his lone decisions — well-meaning as they were — were faltered?
She could not be of two minds at once, so she sought his voice as solace, "Barnes, do not engage them on your own."
Ayo couldn't see him, but his gravely serious voice was clear in her ear, "Wasn't planning on it. Not unless I had to."
His words weren't meant to cast doubt over his intention to obey her commands, but rather: to call sharp attention to the fact that his ultimate priority was to ensure their safety. If Ayo felt otherwise, it was now her opening to correct him and swiftly put him in his place.
But in the chill of the moment, she found she could not be critical of his remark and the protective spirit it was spoken in.
Ayo counted four footfalls before she and Sam shot around the next corner and hurried along the route suggested by her navigation bead. But it was Sam that broke the heavy silence that'd fallen over them, "Wouldn't have minded havin' my wings on me about now," he commiserated aloud.
"We're supposed to keep a low profile, remember?" the enhanced man on the other end of their shared comms spared a beat to helpfully observe.
"You know what I mean," Sam grumbled before his attention turned back to Ayo as they approached a particularly steep and unnecessarily narrow alleyway. He fell into step behind her as they were briefly forced to run single-file, "But they called for help? The others, mean?"
Ayo shook her head, "They did not. And while I have full confidence in their discretion and abilities—"
"—We're not about to let 'em tackle it on their own if we don't need to," Sam finished.
Ayo bobbed her head once in a quick affirmative and glanced up as she turned another corner and caught sight of Barnes in the distance. He'd gained at least another block on them and when he approached a slow-moving man on the sidewalk, rather than pushing past him, Barnes elegantly skirted around him with all the finesse of a blue-bellied roller. When he reached the next corner, Barnes turned his head to check on Ayo and Sam's progress.
Barnes didn't seek to call attention to himself, but as he briefly slowed and the amber-cast streetlight fell over his concerned features, Ayo realized she had two choices: to either rein him in, or to truly place her trust in him — this multifaceted man from out-of-time — and to allow him to continue on ahead of them unabated. Not because the way was easy or clear, but because it felt right.
"M'yra, share the detailed interactive display with Barnes."
"Transferring now," came her smooth and unquestioning reply.
Seconds later, Barnes glanced down to regard the latest update on his Kimoyo strand. Specifically, an enhanced live feed which now included interactive route assessments. From his expression, she felt certain he understood the additional display of trust he'd been afforded from the act, "The others will stay in motion in an attempt to throw him from their trail," Ayo observed for his benefit, "Perhaps your eyes will see something ours cannot."
"We need to anticipate their movement," Barnes agreed, darting right at the next intersection.
She and Sam followed in his wake, but once they caught up to the next street corner, her footfalls slowed when she noticed her navigational indicator directed them to continue forward another two blocks, rather than turn right as Barnes had. She didn't think Barnes was deliberately trying to lose them, so what was it that he was keying into concerning the paths between these dilapidated foreign storefronts?
Sam must've picked up on some fraction of her confusion as he helpfully observed, "You went the wrong way."
"I know a shortcut," Barnes swiftly responded before adding, "...Assuming it hasn't changed since I last remember. Feels recent though. But it's… probably not a route either of you can exactly follow."
"A shortcut." Ayo repeated, wondering what that could possibly entail under the circumstances when their navigational beads were already supplying the most efficient route.
Sam cocked an eyebrow in her direction as she surged back into motion and he fell into step beside her, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Barnes was well aware of Sam's latest inquiry, but rather than be drawn into unnecessary detail about his planned route, he sidelined the impulse for a snappy retort and focused wholly on the task at-hand.
Mere seconds could be the difference between life and death, and as his boots pounded rhythmically over the slick cobblestones, he did what he could to quiet the barrage of new and old questions still swimming violently around his periphery like famished predators.
He couldn't afford to dwell on what he'd tapped into when Sam'd led him down that abandoned alleyway. A brief, fractured glimpse into a long-forgotten past that felt frighteningly real in the moment. It was far more vivid than it should have been, and even though some buried part of Barnes recognized the memories were his own, it was still chilling to so easily slip back into that familiar mental space. To a mind had been so profoundly dulled and watered-down by someone else's will, that it was like he was slowly drowning in his own head. Being pulled ever-deeper by sanctimonious, unseen hands, all the while desperately wishing that he could relieve the pressure and shake himself awake.
Not only that, but Barnes found himself aching at the seams to know more about what'd come before and after the experience. How he'd gotten back to that secret base of HYDRA operations, and if those people he remembered were still there. He hadn't known if it was possible before to reach down into that pit and pull up anything bordering on useful, but now he knew firsthand that pursuing any of those raw answers carried the risk of being scalded by flash-hot knowledge.
But he didn't have time for any of that now.
Not when Shuri and the others could be in very real danger.
Even though he recognized that Shuri and the Dora Milaje guarding her were all highly trained, capable individuals, he didn't miss the quiet concern tucked around the corners of Ayo and M'yra's voices. Though they didn't speak it aloud, both clearly recognized the potential risks everyone was running up against.
That keen awareness reverberated deep in Barnes's gut, poking and prodding at grim memories placing him on the opposing side of strict commands and take-down objectives. But this time, not only was he tasked with ensuring the safety of others, but his desire to come to their aid was of his own making. The promises he'd made to King T'Challa, General Okoye, and Ayo — those were his too, and the weight of them was different than anything he could recall from HYDRA.
He didn't blindly obey or fear the press of painful 'enrichment' that came in the wake of failure. No: Like Steve and Sam, Barnes genuinely cared about their well-being, and he wouldn't allow harm to come to them.
Not when he could do something.
He latched onto that firm handhold and streamlined his focus, quieting the ocean of his mind so he could lean into the thrum of ever-present instincts running just under the surface of his conscious thoughts. He knew they risked pulling him under if he wasn't careful, but he couldn't overthink it. Not now. Not when Ayo'd so clearly chosen to place her trust in him too.
There wasn't time.
At the next intersection, he spotted a pocket of pedestrians waiting patiently for the opposing traffic light. Rather than join them, he glanced in either direction only long enough to ensure there weren't any local police tucked away in the corners before he darted across the dimly-lit street, prompting a loud, and wholly unnecessary horn from a nearby vehicle.
"What was that?" Sam's voice interjected through their comms.
"Don't worry about it," Barnes grumbled, doing what he could to not be distracted by Sam's needless commentary.
"You better not be playing Frogger with traffic again. I hope your eyes are at least open this time."
Barnes rolled his eyes and flapped his lips in a mocking gesture Sam would have no-doubt taken issue with if the man in question wasn't blocks behind him out of view.
"They were closed the first time?" Ayo inquired before quickly adding, "—Nevermind. That is not our present priority."
Even still, the sharp blare served as a warning, and it swiftly reminded Barnes that while he was in a hurry, it would still be apt that he try to remain inconspicuous so he didn't unnecessarily blow their cover.
Or give Sam any additional fodder for sassy remarks.
Regardless of how you sliced it, it was a noble sentiment to try and be discreet, but it was challenging to consider that a priority when the navigation bead along the top of Barnes's wrist was set on regularly reminding him of how much further across town he still had to go to catch up with the other party and the dangerous man pursuing them.
Barnes knew that the application was meant to help him navigate the complex labyrinthine streets and passageways of the rolling cityscape, but Aniana's layout wasn't anything close to being on a grid. It was all sharp angles, and it wrapped, rose, and fell right along with the natural curves of the region's hilly landscape, which towered above two converging rivers. Barnes ran undeterred, but the bead along his wrist continued to silently buzz and suggest the latest 'optimal' routes. They not only contained dozens of tight turns, but they were being constantly updated and recalculated by the second in an effort to direct him towards their moving targets.
A stubbled frown crossed his face as his tactic-turned mind searched for alternative approaches that would not only increase his efficiency, but would allow him to anticipate the other group's movement. Ideally he wanted to approach their pursuer from behind so he could take them by surprise, rather than risk being spotted from head-on. "Do you have eyes on his accomplice?"
"Not yet," M'yra supplied.
"Add the indicator where Yama's Cry of Ngai bead was activated to his strand," Ayo directed before quickly adding for what Barnes assumed was his benefit, "The unseen individual at this location is not our priority."
Barnes glanced down at the new blinking red light on his beads, "Wasn't planning on it. Just wanted to make sure I didn't get caught between the two of them unaware." He paused a beat before adding, "We sure there's not more of them?"
"Inconclusive," M'yra offered. "I have limited visibility, but the man pursuing them does not appear to presently be in conversation with anyone else. He is not wearing a visible earbud, and appears focused on the individuals he is tracking."
That spoke to him not being a larger operation, but it didn't mean it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.
The navigation system changed its mind yet again and Barnes ignored the latest haptic cue around his wrist in favor of adjusting his course of his own volition, "I'll come in from further to the northeast."
"Credit to that purported 'shortcut' you were cluckin' about earlier?" Sam helpfully chimed in.
"If it's still there." He certainly hoped it was.
The navigation bead along Barnes's wrist pulsed twice alerting him that he was off-course from its advised route. In response, he used a one-handed gesture to temporarily disable the haptic cues so they'd stop pulling his attention away from the pressing matters at hand.
The dimly-lit city had reshaped itself many times over the years, but if Barnes searched hard enough, he could find the evidence of the streets he remembered. Mere echoes from a turbulent past coated in countless layers of faded, peeling paint.
He could feel the passing familiarity in his step as he hauled himself up a particularly steep incline that wiser automobiles and foot-traffic intentionally avoided. As he ran, he chose to ignore his Kimoyo Bead's well-meaning advice on the shortest advisable route to his moving targets, and instead tried to lean into his instincts. To the silent confidence that sprung from being well acclimated to a place rather than a stranger to its many layered nuances.
Barnes knew Aniana's streets because he'd been here before, regardless of the names and designations he'd answered to at the time. It wasn't a brief stop — he'd been here multiple times. He was sure of it. Even so, the details were frustratingly fluid and slightly out of focus.
The shadowed pathways weren't parallels and perpendiculars like so many other cities. They were tight turns and small gaps that pitched this way and that as they clung defiantly to a chilled, slanted landscape that felt even more foreboding at night than during the day.
But even though Barnes found himself second-guessing his instincts on more than one occasion, that didn't slow him down. He wove and dodged through alleyways and access tunnels, gaining speed until he turned a corner and abruptly skidded to a stop when he came face-to face with a ten-foot reinforced wire fence blocking his way. A mound of abandoned construction refuse was dimly visible on the other side, a silent testament to the crumbling ambitions of the war-weathered city.
With a quick glance behind him to ensure no idle eyes were lingering in his direction, he locked his jaw and darted forward, smoothly launching himself at the right fence post along the curled metal weave. The maneuver was smoothly executed and he managed to land to the side of the upturned rocks and rusted piping, but as his boots hit the stone and he thrust himself back into motion, it was as if something else clicked too. Something powerful but unseen.
It was a shot of pure adrenaline. A swift callback to a bygone era under HYDRA's heel, but this time, the feeling wasn't laced with vile submissiveness or hollow obedience. It was something deeper. Singular. More personal.
Barnes wasn't able to put it into words, he just felt it. A sharp, decided shift that reverberated through to his core. One that shone not only with distinct purpose, but it was as if in one fell swoop, the fog surrounding his mind briefly parted, and the layout of the city at once came into a crisp, clear view in his mind's eye.
For a moment, it was all there.
He latched onto the key details and glanced down at the navigation bead along his wrist, tracking the latest update on everyone's position before he shot forward again. With nimble footfalls, he darted through the next cross street, pivoted north again, and slipped into an adjoining alleyway that was congested with toppled trash cans and refuse. Without missing a beat, he reached up to grab a hold of a low hanging fire escape and used his momentum to soundlessly pitch himself up and over the mounds of scattered debris.
As he exited the alleyway, his eyes locked onto a rusted fire escape lining the apartment building across the street. It wouldn't be difficult to get a hold of the access ladder, but while making his way up to the rooftops might offer some short-term benefits for the next few blocks, it would also undoubtedly risk drawing unnecessary attention to himself.
Sam's critical voice flitted over their shared comms, "Why'd it reroute us again?"
"The direction of your approach remains at odds with their current trajectory," came M'yra's patient apology.
"This place is a damn labyrinth," Sam grumbled. "Didn't seem half as bad on our way out."
"It's because you're now trying to cut across to downtown, which is at a higher elevation."
"I can assure you that we are not presently lacking in elevation gains," Ayo deadpanned.
"That's one way to put it," Sam agreed. Puffs of air bled through his microphone as he added, "What about you, Barnes? You didn't get turned around after you wandered off, did you?"
The tall, crumbling warehouses surrounding Barnes all but obscured his view of his darkened skyline, but he managed what he hoped was a suitably defiant, "Says the man who asked me to pull up directions not ten minutes ago."
"Hey! At the time we—!"
"—You're the one that doesn't have any clue where you are without the GPS—"
"At least I—!"
"Barnes," Ayo's no-nonsense voice smoothly cut in, "You'll have to trace your way south to the nearest bridge once you reach the river's shore."
The moment Barnes exited a particularly claustrophobic series of tight turns, it was as if the horizon opened up in front of him, revealing a familiar span of dark water. He abruptly slid to a stop and looked from side-to-side in confusion. There was supposed to be a wooden fisherman's dock of sorts ahead of him. What had happened to it? It must've been torn down at some point. That was supposed to be his ticket across the river.
So much for this particular 'shortcut.'
Barnes glanced left, spotting the narrow pedestrian bridge Ayo'd made mention of a distance away. It was easily five blocks to the crossing, but winding back and over it would waste precious time when his ultimate destination was straight across the water, just beyond the swath of tall, steepled buildings and narrow storefronts.
"They're headed deeper into downtown," M'yra observed through his comms. Barnes didn't pretend to know the injured member of the Dora Milaje well-enough to read between the lines of her tone, but he quickly grasped that Shuri, Yama, and Nomble were inadvertently putting increased distance between themselves and their allies across the dimly-lit river.
He felt a mounting sense of urgency in his chest as he evaluated his immediate surroundings and ran quick math on his options.
A series of amber street lamps illuminated the passing cars that started and stopped at intersections along a winding road that ran parallel to the cement-lined river that was tucked away behind a waist-high metal fence to ensure no one accidentally fell in. He glanced to his right, and through a bank of gnarled, barren trees, Barnes could make out an automotive overpass just beyond where the river turned eastward. The distance to the latter crossing was no-doubt a longer jog that would take him even further out of the way, but for just a moment, Barnes allowed himself to eyeball a passing motorbike, and the numerous possibilities that a far-faster mode of transportation allowed for.
The bike looked to be narrow enough that he could potentially take it across the pedestrian bridge, and he found himself quickly running numbers on how much time and distance he might be able to make up with it. Though he wasn't familiar with the exact model, he felt confident he could dismount and operate the bike without any issues, but at the same time, the act of 'borrowing' the wheeled transport was certain to draw undue attention, especially since it would be suboptimal for anything but straightaways on established roads.
That, and he'd also promised Okoye he wouldn't pilot anything. Although the verdict was still out on what vessels and vehicles that clause covered, he felt confident that this wasn't the juncture to test her good graces from a distance.
Narrowing down his options, he sprung for a more direct approach, "...M'yra…?"
It took half a second for her to respond, likely because she wasn't expecting to be addressed so directly, "Yes?"
Barnes licked his lips testingly as he drank in his surroundings and searched his periphery, "Do you have a visual on my present location?"
"A visual?" There was a brief pause as she undoubtedly flipped through her digital sources, "Across the street from the water. No, you're just out of frame."
His words were slow in coming as he gauged distance across the dimly-lit water that was spotted with a few fast-moving boats. There wasn't a chance he could jump it, but maybe… "Are there other cameras that look out over the river?"
"Nearest your location, there is just one south of the street's intersection. The next-closest ones are two blocks to either side, and they are focused on the road and bridge crossing respectively."
Ayo's voice interjected into their developing conversation, "What are you getting at?"
"The most direct route is across the river," Barnes began, "I'm thinking I could—" but before he could say more, he was abruptly cut off by an older woman's faint but critical voice speaking in Wakandan through their shared comms.
"Ndiyazi ukuba usavukile, ndiyakuva uthetha, uyazi." I know you're still awake, I can hear you talking, you know.
Barnes couldn't immediately place the voice's owner or who she was speaking to, but if he listened hard enough, he could just make out another woman's voice who responded in respectful Wakandan, "Uxakeke kakhulu. Kungcono ukuba umyeke aphumle." She's very busy. It's best if you let her rest.
Instead of acknowledging the conversation brewing in the background, M'yra lowered her voice and whispered into their shared comms, "If you back up a few paces and approach the traffic camera from the east, you might be able to spot it. The angle of the lens indicates it is attached high overhead. Move slowly as to not draw attention."
The suggestion might've offered more benefits to someone like Sam who was unaccustomed to operating with tight discretion, but Barnes chose not to take it personally.
His mind might have disagreeable interactions with REM sleep, but he wasn't an amateur.
Barnes took a step back and waited for another group of pedestrians to pass while he searched the overhangings for the surveillance camera M'yra'd mentioned. Then he spotted it. The small rectangular box was mounted to the neck of a noticeably older light pole nearest the intersection. It was easily fifteen feet up, probably more. He couldn't reach it, but there was a fair chance he could disable it with a well-aimed projectile, or at least crack the lens that faced towards the river. Even still, it was a tricky angle, and that still didn't account for all of the nearby street lights and automotive traffic. Someone was bound to spot him.
With a frown, he looked back out over the foggy waterfront. What little he had resembling a 'plan' was a long shot, but if he was going to try to play leapfrog out over the water, it was imperative that those on-shore didn't see him or alert the operators of the nearby boats of what he was attempting to do.
And those boats were currently moving at a not insubstantial clip.
But maybe if he could just obscure the video feed and knock out one or more of the ambient security lights surrounding the river, he might be able to operate in the shadows. With any luck, those out on the water might even be prompted to temporarily rein in their speed to avoid collisions, giving him a brief opening to make his way across unhindered.
In theory.
What he needed was a distraction.
The distant Wakandan voice bleeding into their shared comms channel grew louder, "So which is it? Busy or resting? M'yra, I'm coming in!"
Before Barnes could formulate his next steps, he heard a latch click somewhere on the other side of the call and then the same matronly voice hotly declared, "M'yra! What in Bast's name are you—? What is all of that on your bed? Who—? How did you get all of this? Nailah insisted you were resting!"
"Mamma, this is not a good time—"
"Not a good time?" The voice Barnes presumed to be M'yra's mother sternly repeated. "Just how many devices do you need to rest, or 'do some light reading,' eh? You must have at least a half a dozen touchpads here, and where did all these folders come from?"
Barnes stood opposite of the light pole that was mounted with an eagle-eyed surveillance camera, "I'm in position behind it."
At Barnes's remark, M'yra responded in that same language he'd deemed to be a private tongue amongst the Dora Milaje. She didn't say much, but Ayo smoothly responded. Her words turned into a short but rapid volley between the two of them that was cut short by M'yra's mother's next inquiry.
"Who is it that you are talking to? Is that Teela? Does she know that Princess Shuri ordered you to rest?"
Barnes didn't miss the irony in her remark. It was clear she had no clue that the very same princess's safety was at-risk at this very moment. "It is private business, Mamma. This really isn't a good time," M'yra emphasized.
"Oh, don't you take that tone with me young lady. Injury or not you—"
"—I don't have a tone, it is just— here, just a second."
"—What is that you're doing?"
The indicators on the beads surrounding Barnes's wrist briefly changed colors before reverting to their original designations. By the looks of it, M'yra must've been fiddling with the settings, but whatever she was up to was no doubt made all the more challenging by the absence of her dominant hand and her mother's perceived inability to read social cues.
Would it be deemed acceptable to provide M'yra with a stronger lock for her recovery suite?
On the other end of their shared communications channel, Ayo's voice piped up in English, "Sam and I are coming up on the southern bridge now. Barnes, free the bead to the right of your communications Kimoyo. The one marked with a Wakandan 'Q.'"
Barnes glanced down and found the bead in question and pulled it free from the surrounding magnetic field. His other beads snapped shut behind it, "I've got it."
"Okay, now standby a moment. M'yra is working to reprogram it. She is… a touch preoccupied."
He gave the bead a second glance, confused, "Reprogram it?"
"As a short-range EMP bead," M'yra's voice cut-in using smooth Meridional French. Barnes was guessing the choice of dialect was her way of ensuring her mother couldn't easily follow her side of the developing conversation, "It should temporarily disable both the camera and nearby security lights to help obscure your planned jump across the river to cut across to the other side."
"Wait, is that French?" Sam helpfully inquired.
"I'll enable the translation feature for you just as soon as we—" Ayo began before being cut-short by a voice on M'yra's side of the communications channel.
M'yra's mother couldn't hear either of those remarks, but she swiftly addressed her daughter in irritated Wakandan, "You did not just choose to leverage another tongue to intentionally sidestep our conversation."
In the background the voice who Barnes assumed was Nailah patiently interjected, "Esteemed mother, perhaps it is best if we—?"
"You knew she was up to this, too?"
Nailah's sigh was audible in the background of their shared comms, "Her work is very important to Wakanda—"
"Not when Princess Shuri insisted she should rest."
"Technically, she is resting her body," Nailah reasoned aloud.
"You know exactly what I mean. Don't think that just because you are a Dora that I cannot be cross with you too!"
There was a building urgency in the rhythm of M'yra's French when she re-entered the Symkarian-side of the conversation, but her words stayed steady on Barnes, "You will need to be far enough away that the resulting pulse doesn't risk impacting your own electronics. At least ten meters or more. Are you confident you can strike the pole at such a distance?"
Barnes lightly bounced the loose Kimoyo bead in his hand, testing the weight of it. There was nothing on his end to indicate that M'yra had remotely reprogrammed the small vibranium orb into a short-range disabling device, but he didn't get the impression anyone was presently testing him to see if he was a fan of pranks.
As he ran his gloved thumb over the engraved etching, he caught movement across the beads surrounding his wrist. The flickers of colored light indicated that Shuri, Yama, and Nomble were still being pursued by that unknown dangerous man, and the group of them were moving ever-further away from him and deeper into downtown. He had to act quickly so he could catch up to them on the other side of the river. Ayo and Sam were still too far out.
Mind made-up, Barnes locked his jaw and eyeballed the distance between himself and the lamp pole. He measured the distance and took four more steps back to where he hoped he would be outside of the range of the upcoming EMP detonation, "Yeah, I can hit it."
"Okay then. My changes should temporarily disable most other technologies in a hundred-meter radius for two to three minutes, which should hopefully buy you time to make it across the river. I will activate the bead's magnetic attachment field on three, and will detonate it on your mark, since I don't have eyes on it, and will confirm once the feed's down."
"Copy."
"Okay," M'yra breathed, ignoring whatever it was her mother was saying in the background of their call, "One. Two.—"
Barnes pitched his arm back and swung it forward sending the coin-sized bead streaking across the air. Just as M'yra's voice declared, "Three!" the projectile struck the pole dead-on directly above the traffic camera and the magnetic field immediately took hold, locking the device firmly in place.
"Mark," Barnes whispered into the anxious night air.
No more than a half a second later, the street lamp just above the bead pulsed brightly and then abruptly fell into darkness, taking every beam of light in a block's radius with it.
Barnes's surroundings swiftly fell into darkness. The interior and exterior lights of buildings suddenly dimmed, and nearby cars sputtered and rolled to a stop as their engines cut out. Scattered voices punctuated the night, quick to search-out blame for the localized electrical failure, though most hadn't yet had time to put together how odd it was that their cell phones were temporarily disabled as well.
While he waited impatiently for M'yra's confirmation that the surveillance camera was down, an unexpected twinge of pain shot through Barnes's right shoulder. He found himself glancing over his vibranium reinforced leather jacket, as if that'd help him diagnose the root cause of the disruption. Maybe the EMP wave had jostled something in the underlying electronics of the mounting or that node they'd attached in case something went wrong with his mind and they needed to disable him again.
Whatever it was, he didn't have time for questions now.
He rolled his vibranium fingers one after another, forcibly ignoring their slight tremble as he waited for his eyes to acclimate to the abrupt drop in ambient lighting, and the swath of shadows that would afford him cover for what he was planning next.
The pedestrians nearest him were a ways off, and more interested in fumbling in their pockets for their deactivated cell phones than worrying about what the stubbled man behind them was scheming.
The uncharacteristically dark view in front of him was cast in a sea of black alit only with faint reflections of distant lights that indicated ripples of chilled water lapping at the edges of unseen boats. If he looked hard enough, he could just make out the weathered rail along the water's edge by the occasional glints where the paint had peeled off, revealing the rusted steel beneath.
Barnes felt his senses sharpen at the sight at the same time his mind pulled out each and every detail and cross-compared it to what the darkened waterfront had looked like moments earlier when the street lights still illuminated the foggy surroundings.
But for just a moment, the sight reminded him of the Dark Place he'd glimpsed when he was sleeping.
Barnes pitched his eyebrows together and forced the comparison down. Shuri, Yama, and Nomble were just beyond the darkened skyline across the river. They could be in very real danger.
He only had one shot.
He had to make it count.
"The feed's down, go!" M'yra's urgent voice shot through the comms.
"Copy," he breathed more than spoke.
Barnes didn't have time to overthink things, and in a blur of motion, he surged forward, crossing the artificially still street as he sprinted towards the darkened waterfront. Without losing speed, he hurdled over the thin rail and landed with one boot against the cement retaining wall, which he used to catapult himself up over the water in a short arc directly towards the tail end of a stalled cabin cruiser.
From what little he could make out, the vessel was occupied by four inebriated and overly gregarious adults, one of whom was presently ducked down and busily searching the floorboards for a misplaced object. "Stop your wailing" he slurred in garbled Symkarian. "It's prolly just the engine. I'll have the lights back on in a second here."
"You better hope so," a woman's voice observantly slurred, "'Cause otherwise, your insurance ain't gonna offer ya a drop of help after what happened last—"
Her speech was interrupted by a not insubstantial wallop as the better half of Barnes's left torso slammed against the flat of the stern maybe six feet behind the partygoers in a landing that was rough by anyone's math. The boat lurched beneath him as someone a few feet to his left yelped, "No! My drink!" Her remark was met with a hollow splash as what Barnes assumed was distended drinkware slipped from her fingers to be swallowed up by the pitch-black river below.
The small boat rocked side-to-side, forcing Barnes to briefly scramble to a half-crouch in an effort to regain his balance and remain out of their line-of-view. His gloved right hand struggled for a better stable grip on the water-slicked hull, but as he shifted his weight, his left arm momentarily seized. With a grimace, he ducked down and clutched at the malfunctioning prosthetic beneath his jacket. From the front of the boat, a third voice wailed into the darkness, "What'd you hit this time?!"
"I didn't hit anything!" the first voice insisted in an uneasy tone that wasn't entirely convincing even to Barnes, who knew better.
As the boat continued to bob and waver, Barnes heard Sam's voice in his ear, "We're about halfway across the southern bridge. Looks like the power's out further to the north."
"It is only temporary," Ayo assured him.
"—Wait, that's what y'all were—? But how did—?"
M'yra's voice interjected itself into the conversation in French, "His indicator is still over the river." Barnes could barely make out her mother's defiant voice in the background before M'yra discreetly muted her microphone.
"Here, is it translating now?" Ayo asked Sam.
There was a brief pause where the communication protocols must have translated M'yra's latest update into English, because a half-second later Sam exclaimed, "Wait, what?! Why is Barnes in the water? I thought he said he had a shortcut? Barnes, can you hear us?"
The man in question was presently doing his best to ignore the shot of panic in Sam's high-pitched exclamation and defend his solemn honor that he was not in the water, but he knew that breathing a word would give away his position in an instant. As it was, he made the best of things and stayed crouched on two knees and one elbow and he steadied himself like a seasoned professional. This wasn't the time for him to interject that he was doing just fine, nevermind that his highly advanced vibranium arm that was set on being disagreeable just to make things interesting. He grimaced through the pain and did what he could to bury that too. If he could deal with having nails driven into his skull and wires threaded through his torso, this was barely an inconvenience. With a surge of intention and a little home-brewed stubbornness, he eyed his next move.
A little ways off through the fog there was another stalled boat about ten feet away he could probably make it to, but its bow was facing the opposite direction and wasn't at all aligned to the makeshift location where he was presently hunkered-down. The nearest section of their craft to him was the bow, which was easily another three feet higher out of the water from where he was now, making the leap challenging no matter how he cut it. If he missed the jump, he'd end up in the water and call undue attention to himself, which wouldn't be the end of the world, but he'd also give up any possibility of remaining inconspicuous the moment he swam to shore.
Because of the angle and nonexistent lighting it was difficult even for Barnes's trained eyes to make out the details of the other ship, but he was fairly certain he spotted two men aboard the other vessel who were equally confused as to why their ship'd suddenly lost power too. The two of them presently stood near the helm while one negotiated with the ignition and the other provided much-needed advice coupled with emotional support, "You sure you didn't just blow a fuse? Happens now and again if you try to draw too much power. I did warn you about the risks of charging your cell phone off the auxiliary port..."
"You're not helpin', you know?"
From just to his left, one of the people on his own boat remarked, "Can you take a look out back? There should be a flashlight stowed under the seat." He heard the telltale sound of footsteps headed directly in his direction.
"You're running out of time," M'yra's voice reminded him as if the particulars of his situation weren't readily apparent. Regardless of the agreeability of his left arm, he couldn't afford to be discovered, and he didn't have much longer until the initial impact of the EMP detonation dissipated what little coverage he had evaporated away in the amber light. And if the other boat came back online first, it was liable to pull out of range in no time flat, leaving him stranded with the party brigade. But as it was now, the two men on the second boat were facing the exact direction he was planning on climbing, and even in the half-darkness, they were liable to see him when he crawled aboard.
He couldn't wait for his perfect moment, he had to go.
Just as the footsteps beside him grew closer and he heard the first signs of life in the whining engine one boat over, Barnes got to his feet and quickly swung his left arm around, hoping the move might reset whatever ailing mechanism was snarling at him. At the culmination of the motion, he reached into his pocket and grabbed the stone Ayo'd given him and hurled it into the water behind the second boat, before using both hands to forcibly push off the still-swaying stern. In a blur of what he hoped was calculated motion, he launched himself towards the starboard side of the nearby boat's bow in a Hail Mary.
In his wake, the first boat lurched and the owner of the footsteps fumbled and loudly howled into the darkness, "Fritz, what'd you hit this time!?"
Barnes didn't have enough momentum to make it on top of the front of the second boat, but his left hand managed to catch the nearest cleat, which he clung onto as he scrambled up the side of the hull in time to catch the back of the heads of two men near the helm, who'd turned towards the sound of the pebble Barnes had just tossed into the water behind their boat as a diversion.
"Did you see something?" One of the men remarked.
"Nah, probably just one of the party boats throwin' their trash off the sides. You know how they are."
"We can hear you, ya'know!" a woman's voice slurred from the direction of the first boat.
"That was the point!" the voice nearest Barnes on the second boat loudly declared.
Barnes heaved himself atop the bow of the ship, threaded across the short span and immediately catapulted himself off the port side of the ship before either of his shipmates could turn around and notice him.
"Hey, did you feel that?"
As Barnes leapt into the darkness, he could only hope that he was as close to that welcoming cement shore as he thought he was.
It was a mixed blessing when he overshot his landing and his right hand slammed hard against the far ledge. In a highly-calculated professional scramble, Barnes worked to get a better grip on the crumbling retaining wall while he dug the soles of his boots into the rough vertical in the hopes that he could avoid slipping into the midnight river inches below his heels. With a grunt, he hauled himself up and over the edge until he felt the welcome give of dried grass beneath his gloved hands. He heard the click of a boat engine and swiftly rolled onto his back to ensure he was sufficiently out of sight to those out on the water just in time to catch the green and red sidelights of the nearest boat flicker back to life. Within seconds, the engine finally turned over and its other secondary systems came online.
From a short distance away, Barnes heard one of the two men confidently observe, "See? That's why you should never charge your cell phone through the auxiliary port."
Barnes allowed himself two quick breaths before softly complaining into his comms, "For the record, 'Your friend' is out of shape."
Someone — probably Ayo — snorted lightly in bemusement over their shared comms.
"You made it?" M'yra urgently sought confirmation in exquisite Meridional French.
"Something like that," Barnes confirmed.
"We need to grab you a towel?" Sam interjected in what Barnes took for a half-joke he wisely chose not to acknowledge.
"The feed's back up and the lights surrounding the river are coming back online," M'yra observed. "I… pardon. Give me just a moment here."
From the background of M'yra's recovery suite, her mother could still be heard speaking with Nailah, "If she's not hiding anything, then why won't you let me turn on the translation features on my Kimoyos? Huh? If either of you think I'm not going to mention this to Princess Shuri the next time I see her, you have another thing coming and—" The M'yra's audio feed cut out again, no-doubt tactfully muted by M'yra herself.
Barnes glanced back down to his navigation bead and frowned. Shuri, Yama, Nomble, and their unknown purser were closeby now, but Sam and Ayo were still working their way across the southern bridge a half a dozen blocks away. He couldn't risk waiting for them to catch up to him, not when time was of the essence. He had to get moving again.
He rolled his shoulder once and hauled himself to his feet, sparing only a moment to brush the dirt off his pants before he lurched forward and got moving again, "I'm on my way to them now. They're not far."
Rather than repeat her earlier warnings to not engage the perpetrator on his own, Ayo's steadfast voice coaxed him onward as she insisted, "We'll be right behind you."
He'd have to tell her what had become of the pebble another time.
[Chapter 85 Chapter Art, by KLeCrone]
[ID: A square four by four collage of art by KLeCrone showing fifteen pieces of original fan art she created for the MCU fanfic Winter of the White Wolf. End ID]
Last month marked the two year anniversary of when I began writing a Marvel fanfic because there were "a few" cracks in canon that I was compelled to flesh out. Now, it's somehow over 700k words, and includes over 60 illustrations from myself (seen above) and other talented artists, which is utterly wild.
It's tricky for me to put into words how this project has impacted me. As a writer: It's helped me grow and redefine my writing and editing habits to be more sustainable. As an artist: I had no intention of doing a single illustration for this story, but along the way it prompted me to challenge myself with subject matter well outside of my comfort zone. In doing so, I pushed myself and redefined my own expectations of what I was capable of.
Socially? Fandom is an interesting, diverse space, and I find myself incredibly thankful for the friends I've made that I wouldn't have bumped into otherwise, and the artists, writers, readers, and enthusiasts who have made it such a fun space to share, not to mention those that have contributed directly to this story too! I'm so incredibly thankful to everyone.
So Happy Belated Birthday to this wild ride that has been "Winter of the White Wolf," and thank you for joining me on this continuing journey. I'd have it no other way. :)
[Chapter 24 Chapter Art x2, by Kaite_xyxy]
[ID: A horizontal painting by Kaite_xyxy showing a scene inside a Wakandan café. The horizon is tilted at a slight angle and we are positioned behind Ayo who is wearing traditional Dora Milaje regalia and is seated across the table from Bucky. He has long hair, a beard, and only one arm, which he is using to tentatively taste orange marmalade from his outstretched pointer finger. He is wearing a medium blue shirt with African embroidery around the edges and has a blue and red shawl draped over his absent shoulder. A large variety of mostly untouched, very diverse food is spread out on the table between them. A distance behind Bucky, Nomble can be seen standing guard with her spear. The painting is awash with warm, inviting lighting, and there is a plethora of red-patterned Wakandan designs and lush green plants. End ID]
[ID: A horizontal painting by Kaite_xyxy showing a reverse-shot of a scene inside a Wakandan café. We are positioned behind Bucky, who is seated across the table from Ayo, who is wearing traditional Dora Milaje regalia. Bucky has a beard and long hair, part of which is up in a bun. He also has only one arm, which he is using to make a conversational gesture. He is wearing a medium blue shirt with African embroidery around the edges and has a blue and red shawl draped over his absent shoulder. A large variety of half-eaten, very diverse food is spread out on the table between them. Ayo has one arm across the other and is gently smiling. A distance behind Ayo, Yama can be seen snickering and standing guard with her spear. The painting is awash with warm, inviting lighting, and there are a plethora of red-patterned Wakandan designs and lush green plants. End ID]
It's been awhile since I originally wrote Chapter 24: Oasis, but when I did so, I remember being really eager to start to peel back the layers on the unique relationship between Bucky and Ayo, and to show that those missing years in Wakanda were rough in some ways, but that they were formative and nourishing in other ways.
This scene in particular always stuck with me, and I am incredibly humbled that Kaite_xyxy ("kaite_xyxy" on Twitter) was interested in lending her beautiful artistic style to illustrate this meaningful scene. It means the world to me to see how she captured everyone in such impactful, gorgeous detail.
This story is about a lot, but the bonds of friendship between these two is one of the cornerstones, and Kaite_xyxy captured that so powerfully here.
Please check out Kaite_xyxy's social media accounts to see more of her beautiful and emotive art (especially if you are a fan of Moon Knight)! Her style is so vibrant and alive!
Once again: A *huge* thank you to her for lending her artistic talents to capture these peaceful scenes in her lovely style.
Please check out this chapter on Archive of Our Own to see the gorgeous art and links to the artist's social media pages as well as the photos below!
Author's Remarks:
Hey all! I recently returned from Lightning in a Bottle, and had such a fantastic experience camping and spending time with friends and re-immerse myself among artists, creatives, and other beautiful souls! I returned to recharged and creatively reinvigorated, and I'm just so excited to see how I can cultivate that fire within me. ❤
Here are a few photos from this year, and you can find some photos from last year's adventure back at the bottom of Chapter 63: Orbital Resonance.
[ID: A sunset photograph taken at the opening ceremony of Lightning in a Bottle 2023. Members in full traditional regalia are seen surrounding a sacred fire while attendees in bleachers watch on from the background with a lake behind them. End ID]
Lightning in a Bottle tries to be a very self-aware festival, and even though it's changed and grown a lot over the years, it's managed to keep its spirit. The opening ceremony of Lightning in a Bottle 2023 included speeches and presentation of ceremony by members of indigenous tribes who have graciously welcomed the festival to their ancestral homeland.
[ID: A brightly-lit monster-themed art car with curled red horns, a mustache, red nose, teal teeth, and disco balls for eyes projects a kaleidoscope of colored lights onto the ground in front of it for a pair of dancers. Behind the art car is a wing-like art installation and various booths, vendors, and attendees of Lightning in a Bottle. End ID]
[ID: The Woogie music stage is awash with bright red, yellow, and blue lights and its signature mushroom-like art installations while an enthusiastic crowd dances in the foreground. End ID]
[ID: One of the many pop-up structures can be seen here with rugs on the ground and wooden and cloth structures that offer the feeling of a location right out of the old west. Individuals can be seen talking to other happy patrons. End ID
The General Store at the Grand Artique in Frontierville is a fun location to buy and barter goods and socialize on the fly in themed areas.
[ID: In the foreground you can see KLeCrone's tray table, which is topped with some of her art supplies, including watercolors, a sketchbook, and a pencil, and there is the beginnings of a gryphon painted in the open sketchbook. Beyond it, you can see a friend's camping chair, a grassy knoll, and then more tents and a wide lake. End ID
Our camp this year was right by the lake, and some afternoons I would relax by going outside and painting with my plein air paint supplies!
[ID: KLeCrone can be seen standing over a small table while she writes something down on a small slip of paper, to join the hundreds of others that are billowing in the wind around the wooden structure of Memory Palace. End ID]
Memory Palace was a special place where the interior was decorated to play homage to those who have transitioned over to whatever's next. The inside had photos and mementos from the friends and families of the dearly departed, like small shrines of love.
It's a heavy, but healing place, and if you walked around to the rear of the structure, there was a table and chair with a stack of tags and the instructions 'Memories are what exist between worlds… take a clip, write a memory, a name, whatever you feel… and tie it to the branches around grandma's yard.' It took me a few minutes to figure out what I needed to say, but when I did, I wrote it down and attached it to a nearby branch so it could join the other memories in the wind. It was a beautiful, powerful, reflective spot.
[ID: A man can be seen standing in front of a series of large easels while he paints. Beyond him, an illuminated roller rink is visible in the background. End ID
Lightning in a Bottle is big on art and interactive installations, and throughout the week there are all sorts of talks that attendees are welcome to attend, and you can also see well over a hundred artists out and about painting too! Towards the end of the festival, they all gather for the Art Walk, where you can see all of their incredible work in one place, and consider bidding on them in the silent auction
If you're feeling it, you can also do some rounds on the roller rink nearby!
[ID: One of many live performances included a troupe of immensely talented fire dancers, two of which can be seen spinning fire on-stage. End ID]
[ID: A massive art installation featuring four bamboo and LED giraffes looks out over the Lightning main stage. The tallest giraffe holds a disco ball in its mouth. End ID]
I've barely scratched the surface on everything I saw and experienced, but I can't wait to return again next year!
Ahead of my adventures I was also dealing with some exciting times in my professional career, including interviews with multiple teams! I'm thrilled to report that after accepting one role… and then a second, even better role, I've now accepted a Lead Artist role on the game Diablo IV! It's an incredible milestone in my professional career, and I am so excited to contribute to larger team projects while I can also continue to explore my own personal projects (like this story) and art outside of work.
It's taken a lot of years to feel like I could get a handle on juggling so much, but I'm so thankful to be able to pursue so many interests concurrently, and I can't *wait* for what's ahead!
Speaking of which: It felt so wonderful to return to this action-packed chapter, and what some of our characters are up to in Symkaria. The next chapter is well underway, so there shouldn't be as much of a 'life happened' delay between chapters this time around.
* Ibhondi Yomgcini - Wakandan Translation: Bodyguard's Bond
- Ayo's Trust of Barnes - While this situation isn't an easy one for anyone, I really loved the idea of Ayo choosing to trust Barnes to run ahead and help the others. It's so wonderful seeing how far these two have come over the passing chapters!
- M'yra's Mother - When the idea came to me to have M'yra be interrupted by a visit from her mother, I knew I had to include it in this chapter. I had a lot of fun trying to imagine what sort of distractions that might create. :)
- Barnes and Sam Banter - I never tire of writing the two of them taking polite pot-shots at one another and bickering at inopportune times…
- Chapter Title Origins - "Urgent Circumspection" - The title of this chapter relates to the idea of wanting to take your time to come to a decision, but being rushed to it because of surrounding circumstances.
Say hi and connect with me on social media:
- "KLeCrone" on Twitter and Tumblr
Thank you so much for your patience while I traveled and got things sorted, and thank you again for your continued readership and support! Your comments, kudos, and support help keep this story alive. :) ❤ (And thank you for checking in on me to make sure I was doing okay!)