BERLIN - DAY
Traffic rolled around the victory column. A police convoy drove beside the river Spree. Amidst the convoy was a gray armed truck. Inside, Bucky wore restraints inside a prison pod. Three armed guards sat on the other side of the glass-walled pods. A police motorbike stopped traffic and a van driver looked affronted. The convoy turned a corner onto a bridge across the river. In an SUV, T'Challa sat in front of Steve who sat in front of Sam who sat next to Katherine. Nicolas was on Katherine's lap as he slept.
"So, you like cats?" Sam asked.
"Sam," Steve called.
"What?" Sam asked. "Dude shows up dressed like a cat and you don't wanna know more?"
"Your suit... it's Vibranium?"
T'Challa's eyes narrowed as he glanced sideways and said, "The Black Panther has been the protector of Wakanda for generations. A mantle, passed from warrior to warrior. And now, because your friends murdered my father, I also wear the mantle of king. So, I ask you... as both warrior and king... how long do you think you can keep your friend safe from me?" Steve was stone-faced as the convoy headed underground.
---
In a light gray walled bunker, Buck's pods was carried away by a forklift. Nearby, Steve and Katherine, still holding Nicolas, got out of the SUV and glanced across at Bucky who didn't spot them. Steve, Sam, Katherine and T'Challa approached Sharon who was standing with a diminutive, gray-haired man.
"What's gonna happen to him?" Katherine asked.
"Same thing that ought to happen to you," Everett Ross replied. "Psychological evaluation and extradition."
"This is Everett Ross, Deputy Task Force Commander," Sharon introduced.
"What about our lawyer?" Steve asked.
"Lawyer," Everett repeated. "That's funny. See their weapons are placed in lockup. Oh, we'll write you a receipt."
"I better not look out the window and see anybody flying around in that," Sam said. As they went, Steve an Katherine looked back and caught Bucky's eye.
COVERED SKY WALK
"You'll be provided with an office instead of a cell," Secretary Ross said. "Now, do me a favor, stay in it?"
"I don't intend on going anywhere," T'Challa retorted.
"For the record, this is what making things worse looks like," Natasha stated.
"He's alive," Steve shot back.
Tony, on his phone, said, "No. Romania was not Accords-sanctioned. And, Colonel Rhodes is supervising cleanup."
"Try not to break anything while we fix this," Natasha told Steve.
"Consequences? You bet there'll be consequences. Obviously you can quote me on that 'cause I just said it. Anything else? Thank you, sir."
"'Consequences'?" Steve repeated.
"Secretary Ross wants you each prosecuted. Had to give him something."
"I'm not getting that shield back, am I?"
"Technically, it's the government's property," Natasha replied. "Wings, too."
"That's cold," Sam said.
"Warmer than jail," Tony shot back.
POWER STATION SURROUNDED BY TREES
The van with the driver who was affronted by the police convoy pulled up by the open gate. Scowling, he put the parking break on and picked up a clipboard.
YOU ARE READING
As Time Goes By
ActionKatherine, Katie, Nelson is a soldier, a friend, and she catches the gaze of a steel blue-eyed soldier. Life does not go as planned for the young soldier and 67 years later, she wakes up and finds the world to be a different, yet semi-familiar plac...