Just A Normal Kid

Chapter 28

"Are you sure you want to do this, baba?" T'Challa asked his father as they waited on the landing pad with a group of the Dora Milaje. "Wakanda risks the world discovering our best-hidden secret."

His father gave him a kind smile, "If not for Dr. Carter's timely actions in Vienna, we would not be standing here, discussing my decision to allow them into our country. You yourself have told me the story of the Winter Soldier. Tell me why we shouldn't help an innocent man who has been forced to commit such atrocities, when we might be the only ones capable of doing so."

T'Challa hung his head. He had no answer for that. He opened his mouth to apologise but his father stopped him. "There is no need for an apology. You are merely concerned about your people and want the best for them. It is an important trait for a king, but so is calm and rational thinking. Dr. Carter has told you something of enormous importance because she believed you would keep it secret. She trusted you with Mr. Barnes' life, with no guarantees as to what your reaction would be. Is it not fair for us to prove that we are worthy of her trust?"

He couldn't help but agree with his father's words. Dr. Carter had managed to save their lives, fight off a group of thugs and earn the respect of Wakanda's fiercest fighters, Okoye and Anyo, all in a couple of hours. She had further impressed him with her work at Stark Industries and the sheer amount of precautionary measures she had set up to keep their projects safe. T'Challa knew their secret would be safe with her.

Besides, it was high time Wakanda integrated with the rest of the world. Their isolationist policy wouldn't serve them well for much longer. Helping a broken man recover was a honorable way to begin that journey.

The Royal Talon Fighter landed in front of them, the doors opening and two figures stepped out of it. He recognised the short stature of Rosie and Barnes' hulking build, both in ordinary clothes with no weapons in sight. That further proved that his father was right to trust them. The duo had trusted his message enough to come all alone to the remote jungle where he had arranged for the fighter to pick them up. Ignoring his father's amused I-told-you-so smile, he faced the foreigners who were approaching them. "Where is Anyo?" He asked.

Rosie smiled at Barnes before saying, "She's keeping an eye on someone. Jake wanted to thank you for all that you're doing to help him. I just helped track down the guy. The rest of it was all 200 pounds of super-soldier." She patted his arm.

Mr. Barnes - Jake, as Rosie called him - subtly rolled his eyes at her, bowing slightly towards T'Challa and his father. "My Ma taught me to never greet a host empty-handed."

"Who did you find?" His father asked, both of them burning with curiosity. With a meaningful look from the young woman, Barnes went back into the jet and helped Anyo drag someone out of it. He had handcuffs on his wrists and a black bag on his head, which Anyo whipped off as soon as they stepped into the light to show-

"Klaue? You caught him?" T'Challa exclaimed incredulously. They had been looking for the arms dealer for years with no results and now he had been delivered right into their hands.

"The Avengers found him during the whole Ultron thing, but he managed to escape while the team fought Ultron, Wanda and Pietro. Meeting you reminded me of the brand on his neck and the sheer amount of Vibranuim the guy was toting around. You guys are pretty tight-lipped about the Vibranuim found in the country, so it was fairly obvious that the guy was a major threat."

There was respect in the eyes of every one of the Dora Milaje who were there on the platform as they surrounded the foreigners and replaced the metal handcuffs with unbreakable Vibranium ones. Quite a few inclined their heads to the young woman and her silent companion as they marched off with Klaue.