No-One But You (The Mystic Consultant) - Part 1
Chapter 98: My Sweet Summer (Part 8)
Clint Barton was happy to have an extended amount of time off.
He got to spend a ton of time with Victor and that awkward roommate stuff eventually subsided. The baby archer finally asked him out and he almost forgot about Ezekiel Stane….
Well, almost..
The baby bird still held onto several thoughts and theories. He started dating Victor, but..
He tried to drop all that insecurity shit. Victor's focus seemed to be on the two of them, but the archer's gut was telling him that it would flip on a dime.
The thought crossed his mind even more when he returned to the S.H.I.E.L.D. base. Steve Rogers had called "the team" together, so the field agent waited for the rest of the group to arrive.
Victor's smug EX-whatever was standing in the middle of the deliberation room. His white suit had been altered once again. Barton kept staring at the hands of it, because Ezekiel changed them.
He made his suit look sharper, or something. The edges of it looked razor sharp, and the hands looked more like claws.
The change was odd, but the archer didn't say shit about it. He didn't even say hello to him when he entered the room.
Natasha Romanov was the final person to join the pack. Steve welcomed her when she arrived, then he told everyone to gather around a small table.
Ezekiel Stane, Wade Wilson, Bucky Barnes and Natasha were all there because of Steve.
The archer kept to himself and he thought about checking his phone. Victor was working over at the Sanctorum, and Steve said his presence wasn't needed for the meeting.
That was a relief. The archer was dreading any sort of reunion between Victor and, what's his face…
The insecurities he was trying to shake were suddenly heading back in the baby archer's direction, because Steve seemed to center his focus on some smug body-snatcher.
There was small-talk involved with the beginning of the peculiar meeting. Wade Wilson did his normal amount of talking, but he seemed way too comfortable around the person that was toward his left.
The baby archer took notice. Bucky Barnes seemed a bit too quiet as well. Clint noticed that too...
"I want you to place everyone on your team in a position to protect three people during the Stark Expo."
Steve was talking to Ezekiel. "Captain America" had some sort of do-gooder plan all worked out. He even had a chess board projected onto the table that was between everyone in the room.
Ezekiel was staring at Steve beneath his white armor.
Three people? The Jackal brought his focus down toward the table. He noticed the "chess board" was in the shape of a venue. It clearly had a stage and seating.
Ezekiel understood that he was looking at the amphitheater that was connected to the Stark Expo.
There were ten chess pieces on the table that he could move as well. Obadiah's son drew in a slow breath, because Steve's plan for him was becoming obvious.
Ezekiel ignored everyone else in the room as he indulged Steve's whim and he picked up one of the pieces.
"Tony Stark will obviously be on the stage. I'll set you beside him and then I'll have Bucky Barnes protecting his parents."
Ezekiel did the math. There were ten chess pieces with three targets that were needing protection. That meant Tony, Howard and Maria Stark, plus the rest of the team.
Steve watched him move three pieces toward the left side of the table. Bucky's chess piece was placed beside pieces that represented Howard and Maria.
"I'd put Victor Strange in the middle of the entire event, with the rest of the team set at every corner."
Ezekiel placed the chess piece that represented Victor in the middle. Steve glanced up at him when he placed a piece on every corner of the table.
"Natasha will hold the southeast section, Wade will cover southwest. I will be here, and Agent Barton will watch from there."
Ezekiel placed the final four pieces on the northeast and west corners of the table. He didn't really hesitate with his decision and he wasn't looking for any sort of debate.
The Jackal studied Steve's face for just a moment.
The blonde thought over what he heard and saw, then he started looking around at the rest of the "team". A question quickly formed in Steve's mind, so he acted on it.
"Why are you putting Victor in the middle?"
"Because of his ability to read energy. He's the strongest piece here."
If something were to happen during the Stark Expo, than Victor's abilities would be the best help. Ezekiel wasn't going to say anything further than that either.
He crossed his arms and looked toward his right. Victor's "friendly roommate" was standing toward his right. The Jackal studied him beneath his armor and he immediately felt amused.
Chapter: END
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