SOLDIER ─ marvel

XII. The Team Up

Chapter Twelve
Soroya

Being at Steve's house is very hard. Nothing has been moved or cleaned, so the blood of Steve, Bucky, and Khari are all still staining the floor. Even the record player was still spinning when we reentered the house. The investigation was allowed to start immediately because I'm now the partial owner of the house, so we don't need a warrant to search it.

Everett is inside now, Alex and I are outside trying to find scents.

Alex is in wolf form and is currently sniffing the driveway. I'm sniffing around as well, but I'm not in any other form. HYDRA made sure I knew how to track, I can do it perfectly in my human form. But my strengths in tracking aren't as good as I would hope. I tracked Bucky's scent out here but it disappears when I get to the street. It's hard to track someone when they're in a car, the metal and exhaust makes it nearly impossible.

Alex shifts back into human form and lets out a groan, having no luck either. I'm standing just a couple feet from him, my eyes glued to the house. It's close enough to Brooklyn to make trips into the city, but far enough away that someone like Steve could live out a peaceful life without being noticed. There's no neighbors or people around, just this house and the woods surrounding it.

"Do you think you and Bucky will live here?" Alex asks me.

I shrug, glancing back at him. "I don't know. I guess it just depends on what the future holds for us."

Our conversation is interrupted when a large black truck pulls up to the house. The scent I pick up is one I smelled a few days ago at the accords signing; Old Spice cologne. I feel annoyance rise in me as Major John Walker steps out of the vehicle, a halfhearted grin on his face.

"Walker, what are you doing here?" I ask him as we walks over towards us.

"I heard you were put on the Zemo case with Agent Ross. There's something I want to discuss with you both," He tells me, his eyes trailing over to Alex. "You must be Alexander, I've heard a lot about you from Ross."

Alex narrows his eyes and smiles. "Oh I'm sure you have. Why don't you tell us why you're here? We're kind of busy."

"Sam Wilson has gone missing. I have been put in charge of finding him, and I think I have a lead."

I share a look with Alex, my annoyance slipping as worry seeps in. "That's why he wasn't at the signing or the funeral, it all makes sense now. What's the lead you have?"

"I think Zemo took him."

"What makes you say that?"

"He disappears the same day that Rogers is killed by Zemo, and they only live a few miles apart from each other. I have a hunch about this, and I haven't been wrong in the past."

Alex crosses his arms, glancing between me and him. "So what are you proposing? Working together? I thought someone as pure and worshiped as you wouldn't want to lower yourself to working with ex HYDRA agents." Alex says, sarcasm dripping from every word. Most of the time I'm annoyed by Alex's comments, but now they are fully appreciated.

"Trust me, if there was another way I would do it, but your abilities will make both of these cases move ten times faster. Who knows what Zemo is doing to Wilson or anyone else he'll capture. I think this is the swiftest way to get the job done."

Bucky's image comes to mind, of Zemo torturing him, experimenting on him, killing him...I lost him once, I can't do it again. If working with Walker will make this go faster, then I'll do it.

I nod to Walker, holding my hand out to him. "Alright then, let's do this together."

Walker grips onto my hand and shakes it, nodding to me before letting me go. Alex doesn't bother doing the same, he just stalks back towards the house with Walker and I in tow.

Everett is on the phone with someone when we enter the house, and his expression turns sour when he sees Walker behind us. His expression doesn't change as we explain to him the team up we have made. You would think I just set his house on fire by the look he has on his face.

Everett forces a nod to Walker. "Welcome to the case, Major," he says as courteously as he can, turning his attention to me. "Did you find anything?"

I shake my head. "No. It's hard tracking Zemo because we aren't familiar with his scent. I think we need to find something that has his scent on it."

Everett thinks about this for a moment, but Walker is the one to reply; "We could go to his prison cell in Berlin. That'll have his scent all over it."

That's actually a good idea, Alex sighs and nods his head, which I take as an indicator that he thinks so too. I bring my Kimoyo Beads up and tap on them, waiting a couple moments for T'Challa's face to appear.

"Is everything alright, Soroya?" He asks.

I nod. "We're fine. We need to get to Berlin and the fastest way there is with a Wakandan jet, can someone fly one here to us?"

T'Challa'a face sinks, his expression grave as he informs us; "All Wakandan aircraft has been permanently grounded. All of Shuri's tech, her lab, the trains, all of it is being shut down."

I blink twice. "What?"

"Ross has ordered that all Wakandan technology has to be examined and studied in order to determine if its safe for use or distribution. Even our California centers are being raided. The UN now has control over everything here, there are agents everywhere. I'm really glad Bucky isn't here, he would have been in great danger here."

I hate what Ross and the UN are doing to our home, it makes me angry beyond words. The people of Wakanda are so ahead of the rest of the world, they are trustworthy and responsible with the technology that they create. But of course the UN doesn't care, anything they don't understand they have to control.

Alex pulls my wrist towards him so he can see T'Challa more, his tone turning worried as he asks; "How's Khari? Is Jabariland getting the same treatment?"

"They haven't gotten to Jabariland yet, but I've alerted M'Baku and Khari of what's coming their way. I'm really sorry about this, I wish we could help, but I'm afraid you're on your own."

His image fades from my Kimoyo Beads and I drop my wrist to my side. I look down at my hand and stare at my ring, determination flowing through me despite this setback.

"Can we use the same jet we used to get to the city?" I ask Everett after a moment.

"We could, but flying commercially is faster."

I nod to him, already walking towards the door. "Then lets get going."