Stark's Weakness

Chapter 20

Natasha is sitting in the chair jiggling her leg while scrolling through her phone, Steve is sitting on the small bench by the window and absentmindedly drawing in his sketchbook, and T'Challa comes in every hour to check to see how they are doing. Nobody will actually admit it but they are all worried out of their minds about whether (Y/N) will pull through the extensive surgery or not. Not to mention they're also worried about Tony's health. Steve looks up at the clock that reads in military time and mumbles, "It's been almost twenty-four hours since he went down." Natasha looks up from her scrolling and says, "Just relax, Steve. You know how he pushes himself when he's awake. His body needs the rest and frankly so does yours. I know he's one of your best friends but when he's on a manic insomnia streak you tend to get on one yourself trying to make sure that he doesn't invent something that would blow up the universe in one fell swoop. You should probably take some time to get some sleep yourself ya know." Steve sighs and flips his sketchbook closed and puts it and his pencils on the table up by his head and lays back and closes his eyes. The sunlight filtering in through the window quickly helps him doze off.

It feels like he'd just closed his eyes when Natasha shakes him awake and hisses, "Get up, Rogers! Pepper is in Wakanda and she's brought an army of HYDRA soldiers with her!" Steve sits bolt upright every nerve in his body tingling as his senses go on high alert. "Okoye was doing her normal scan of the shield around Wakanda when she noticed that one of the panels had been compromised then very sloppily put back up. It's only running at half capacity and we think that she may have kept it that way so that she'll have an easy escape route once she gets done whatever it is she came here to do." Natasha says as Steve pulls himself together and stands up as T'Challa and Okoye walk into the room. "She's currently making her way towards the palace. I've sent out a silent alarm and every citizen in Wakanda that is able to take up arms will help defend your friend until the procedure is complete. I've spoken with one of the nurses that are in the operating room with Princess Shuri and she says that there are only four hours left and if we can hold them off for that long then it will give her enough time to finish the procedure and get her into the healing cradle." Okoye says as she looks from Natasha to Steve. "Understood," Natasha says as Steve simply nods. Everyone in the room knew the stakes and they also knew what had to be done. A chill ran through the room as the unspoken thought crossed everyone's minds. They might possibly have to kill Pepper in order to stop her from hurting or killing (Y/N).

As Natasha and Okoye exit the room and turn down one hallway T'Challa and Steve exit and go the opposite way. "Captain, I just wanted to say that...while I do not agree with killing, we may have to tonight to save not only my country but yours as well." T'Challa says softly as though he's choosing his words carefully. "Whatever it takes," Steve says as he squares his shoulders and grits his teeth. He'd learned the hard way many times over that you have to be very careful with whom you trust but he has to admit that this time cuts the deepest. Pepper was someone that he'd admired, trusted, and, if he were being honest, looked up to for years. He had known for years that Tony was difficult from his own personal experiences but what she had done, announcing the divorce so publicly and then launching an all-out attack on the person that made Tony the happiest that Steve had ever seen him since he'd met the man, was downright sadistic of her. It also shows that, no matter how much you might think you know a person that you can never be completely sure of who that person is. "Captain?" T'Challa says and Steve pulls himself out of his head and says, "Sorry. Got lost in thought for a minute there." T'Challa chuckles and says, "I do the same thing sometimes. It's quite alright, my friend. But I was asking what our battle strategy is going to be."

Steve thinks hard for a while before saying, "I think you and I should approach her ourselves and see what she wants. HYDRA always likes to give speeches so let's give her a chance to give one and while she's busy boasting about what she's going to do we'll have Natasha, Okoye, and the Dora Milaje come around and up from behind and ambush her. Hopefully, this won't end in too many deaths tonight. I say we find out where she is and tell her we'll meet in an hour. Sound good?" T'Challa nods impressed that Steve can come up with a plan on the fly so quickly the pulls out a bead on his bracelet and puts it up to his mouth then repeats everything that Steve just said. Moments go by before it lights up and he squeezes it and Okoye's voice comes through it and says, "Excellent idea. I will check the computers to see where she's at now. I will let you know once I find her." T'Challa replaces the bead and then looks over at Steve and says, "Did she ever show any hints of being affiliated with HYDRA before now?" Steve finds a small empty meeting room and walks in then sits down in the first chair he comes to and says, "No not at all and that's whats got me shaken and worried. I mean if Pepper could turn dark then who's to say the rest of the Avengers won't? Do we need to start giving lie detector tests? Should we start hacking into people's private computers, tablets, and phones? Or should we simply trust them not to turn out as Pepper did? It's all...a bit much and completely confusing." 

T'Challa nods and pats Steve on the shoulder and says, "I understand. I thought the world of my uncle but as it turns out he was actually a traitor to the kingdom and tried to kill my father's best friend, Zuri. People are not always what they seem but then again when has that been a new concept?" Steve nods then looks at the floor and says, "I don't want to hurt Pepper. But she tried to have Tony and (Y/N), two of my best friends, killed. I say we give no quarter since none was given to us." T'Challa nods about the time that Okoye's voice comes out of the bead on his wrist and says, "We've found her. She wants to meet in the courtyard in one hour. Natasha, the Dora Milaje, and I already have a plan set."T'Challa walks out of the room and is back moments later with a small shield and hands it to Steve who takes a deep breath and takes it from T'Challa. T'Challa looks at Steve who looks back at him and says, "Whatever it takes."