Fall of the Mighty ★ [4] ✔

Make Or Break

⏳ 2016

"So, you like cats?"

"Sam."

"What? Dude shows up dressed like a cat, and you don't wanna know more?"

Divided into three seats separated by grating, silence encapsulated us again as the road to the Berlin Task Force compound where we were to be taken continued to wind before us.

I couldn't shake that disappointed expression Andi had worn. But I was angry too. I was angry that she went to Vienna without telling me. I was angry that she went behind my back and stopped me from trying to help Bucky. She should be trying to help me get him back. To help get the real Bucky back, like she said we would since the day we found out he'd been alive all this time.

"Your suit," I said, changing the subject from the one that plagued my mind, "it's vibranium?"

The Wakandan processed his response. "The Black Panther has been the protector of Wakanda for generations. A mantle, passed from warrior to warrior. And now, because your friend murdered my father...I also wear the mantle of king." He sent a sideward glance at me, a dark eye gleaming that snarled vengefully. "So, I ask you—as both warrior and king—how long do you think you can keep your friend safe from me?"

For as long as I have to, I thought, and I meant it.

We delved into silence again as we entered the compound, travelling down into the underground entrance. The van parked and we were uncuffed and unloaded. I stepped out and watched Bucky, isolated and confined in a portable prison cell, strapped with metal across his chest and arms in his own little cage like an animal, turn to me and look away equally as fast.

Sam, the Wakandan, and I approached a suited man, short in stature, next to Sharon and three armed guards behind them.

"What's gonna happen to him?" I demanded.

"Same thing that ought to happen to you," the suited man remarked. "Psychological evaluation and extradition."

Sharon bit her lip, trying to not let a snappy response at what was most likely her boss. "This is Everett Ross, Deputy Task Force Commander," she introduced.