The Golden Jaguar

Prologue

Hello, readers!

If this book looks familiar it's because I had it posted awhile ago but took it down recently. I just wasn't satisfied with how it was going. Anyways, this is an idea I've had ever since I saw BLACK PANTHER for the first time.

Please note that I don't own anything a except the character I created.
________________________

"My brother, N'Jobu, has disappeared." King T'Chaka announced to the council.
They all murmured to each other in confusion. N'Jobu was a skilled warrior and highly intelligent. He was chosen by the king himself for this mission. What could've happened to cause his disappearance?
"What is to be done?" Zakia demanded. "A member of the royal family has disappeared! We should alert the War Dogs in the area to begin the search!"
"No..."
                                      #############

Zakia could still feel the ache in her heart over her King's decision. For the sake of Wakanda's secrets, N'Jobu would be left to Bast's grace. This was something Zakia couldn't accept. N'Jobu was her friend, her confidante, and lover long ago. He had always held her in such high esteem even though she was a Jabari. When the rest of the Wakandan tribes treated her like an outsider, it was N'Jobu who gave her a place among his War Dog companions. She would never forget the day she traveled down the mountains to reach out to the other tribes. Her little cousin, M'Baku, thought she was being naive and to some extent he was right. "The Black Panther hasn't been seen near our mountains is centuries." her little cousin would scowl. "What makes you think that they'll welcome you?" No one trusted the Jabari and all the tribes treated her with mistrust and suspicion. All except N'Jobu.

Zakia turned away from the window of the taxi she was riding in. The sight of homeless families and graffiti on rundown and battered buildings made her angry. N'Jobu wouldn't tolerate this. She thought. She shuffled through her notes again in frustration. She would rather have her Wakandan beads to help her search, but her War Dog contacts discouraged her from drawing attention to herself. All it took was one misstep and the American government would do anything to get their hands on such advanced technology. From her notes she knew N'Jobu's last residence but judging from the neighborhood, it was most likely that no one would talk to her. Such mistrust only saddened Zakia. Her next best bet was the one place she prayed he wasn't...the morgue.

She felt the taxi jerk to a halt and snapped her out of her revere. Sighing, she paid the cab driver and marched into the police station. "Can I help you?" The clerk grumbled without looking up.

"I called earlier about a missing person," she pulled out a form, "An officer gave me this."

"Yeah sure," the clerk scanned the form before reaching for the phone, "You want to talk to a couple of detectives. Wait here."

Zakia nodded and took her place on a nearby bench. That can't be good.

She didn't wait long before two detectives in suits came in. They both had grim expressions on their faces. Zakia kept her best poker face on as the detectives introduced themselves.

"I'm Detective Monroe," he then motioned to his partner, "and this is Detective Holland."

Zakia accepted his hand and nodded to the other detective. "Hello, detectives. Do you have information about the man I'm looking for?"

"Let's go somewhere more private to discuss this." Detective Holland suggested.

The detectives led her through the crowded center of the police department. She looked around the crowded room and remembered what N'Jobu spoke of. She saw black men handcuffed to benches, young women with tears streaming down their faces as they talked to the officer sitting across from them, and the worst was the children. How the children sat playing with their GameBoys or toys as if it was just another day.

If only they had to technology to protect themselves against the drugs and violence that plague their communities. She heard N'Jobu's voice in the back of her mind. So much suffering.

The two detectives led her into a cold windowless interview room. Zakia felt claustrophobic in such a small dark place and she imagined any prisoner would confess to anything if only to breathe some fresh air. "We'll have more privacy here." They motioned for her to sit and she quietly played along.

"You're from Wakanda, right?" Detective Monroe asked.

Zakia nodded. "I was fortunate enough to study abroad."

"And how do you know the victim?"

Her heart plummeted to the floor. "...Victim?"

Detective Holland pinched the bridge of his nose and gave a frustrated grumble. "Real smooth, Monroe." He looked back at Zakia and set a file on the table. "Mr. Stevens was found in his apartment by his son...I'm sorry."

Zakia let the tears fall down her face as she tried to understand how a powerful warrior could be killed. Who did this? Where can I find them so I can kill them slowly?

"Why don't we give you a minute while you digest what you've heard..."

She didn't care which of the detectives spoke. She just wanted to be alone to grieve...and to look over the case file on the table. The detectives took her muffled sobs as a confirmation and left to find some coffee and a CPS representative. Once Zakia heard the door click behind them, she immediately snatched the file from the table and flipped through it. According to the coroner, N'Jobu was stabbed but the pattern was peculiar. To anyone else it was multiple stab wounds, but Zakia knew. A cold red mist clouded her vision as she set the folder back in its place. "Panther claws? T'Chaka, you dishonorable bastard! You'll pay for this!"

She furiously wiped away her tears as the detectives returned with a older woman with them. "This is Marie Smith." Monroe motioned to the woman. "She's a social worker and she's going to discuss what happens next with Mr. Stevens' son."

Zakia sat up straight. How selfish of me! I almost forgot about the child! The poor thing found his father's body. "What's his name?"

"Erik Stevens." The social worker replied. She passed a photo of the child to Zakia. She gave a watery smile as she noticed the resemblance between father and son.

"Where is his mother and her family?"

The social worker gave a tired sigh. "His mother died in prison and she had no relatives. It's lucky you showed up when you did otherwise we wouldn't have known Erik had paternal relatives."

Zakia nodded. "When can I meet him?"

"We'll set up an appointment at his school so you can meet him."

After signing some papers to release N'Jobu's body to Zakia's care, she prepared herself to lay her friend to rest. She decided that it cremation was the best option. I'll take him and his son to the mountains with the Jabari. I'll keep his son safe there...

________________________

Apologies, everyone. I pulled this book so I can re-edit it. I just wasn't happy with how it was written. But I hope you'll keep reading and enjoying my works.

Thank you.