HIDDEN ─ marvel

VIII. New Toys

Chapter Eight:
Soroya

"You ready to give up yet?" Okoye asks, hitting me in the shin with her spear, getting a curse to slip through my lips.

I blow a piece of my hair from my face, lunging at her and managing to hit her hard in the thigh. "Not a chance." I say, deflecting another blow from her. She smiles at me, kneeing me in the stomach and pushing me down to the ground with the end of her spear.

I use my spear to hit hers away, pushing her back with my legs and jumping back onto my feet. She swings again but I meet her spear in between us. I use all my strength to push my spear off hers, using her temporary lack of focus to hit her in the side with the butt of my spear. With a crouch to the floor, I swipe my spear and knock her down to the ground, pointing the end at her face.

"I win." I say, trying to catch my breath.

"You won nothing. It was just luck." I extend my hand out to her and she grabs it, grunting as I help her up.

"Luck or no luck I still beat you." I say with a slightly smug smile.

"For such a sweet person," Okoye says with a small smile. "You certainly are a sore winner."

The commander of the Dora Milaje walks in, coming up to us and whispering something in the general's ear. She nods to her commander, telling her she will take care of it. With a nod in my direction, the woman disappears. Okoye brings out her bracelet, one identical to Shuri's, and taps on it a few times.

Appearing from the beads is a projection of T'Challa, with Okoye's husband W'Kabi right next to him. "My king, my love," she says, looking between both of them. "You will never guess who just popped up on our radar. You both should come back to the palace."

The two men look at each other, then back to Okoye. "We will be right there." T'Challa says, before his image fades away and Okoye lowers her wrist.

"What's going on?" I ask, watching at Okoye makes her way towards the door.

"An important Wakandan matter has arisen. I need to alert the council members and tell them to meet here."

I grab onto Okoye's wrist, forcing her to focus her attention back on me. "How can I help?" I ask.

Okoye contemplates this for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Alert the queen mother and send a message to the River Tribe."

I nod to her, not wasting a second before running out the door, with Okoye only waiting a moment longer before doing the same.

-

"A misidentified Wakandan artifact was stolen yesterday from a British museum. We have learned that Ulysses Klaue plans to sell the vibranium to an American buyer in South Korea tomorrow night." Okoye says, clicking off her bracelet. Moments before had been projecting the image of Klaue for the whole council to see. He is much older than I would have thought, with a crazed look in his eyes that unsettles me to my core.

Okoye sits back down in her seat, which is directly across from T'Challa's throne. Her husband W'Kabi is sitting next to him, sending glares my way as I stand by his wife.

"Klaue has escaped our pursuits for almost thirty years," T'Challa says, his voice firm and strong. "Not capturing him is, perhaps, my father's greatest regret. I wish to bring Klaue back here to stand trial."

The leader of the Merchant tribe shakes her head. "Wakanda does not need a warrior right now. We need a king."

W'Kabi then chips in, saying: "My parents were killed when he attacked," earning a deep pity from me and a look of compassion that I don't think is welcome. "Not a day goes by when I do not think about what Klaue took from us. From me."