Joy ride (part1): Stealing

strategy meeting

Bucky just stares; mouth slack. Only barely keeping his jaw from dropping open to a gaping wide, complete vacant.. well, mind-wiped look. Body frozen in some perverted juxtaposition of horror and confused curiosity ,as he watches the quarrel between Steve and Stark's image-on-a-screen. The big meeting room feels empty, even with Shuri and Wanda in their respective chairs opposite of Bucky. On his left, Steve is now standing, arguing his position, while getting constantly interrupted by onscreen Stark; a hologram hovering over a chair to his right. A ping pong game of words thrown to and fro, that has his eyes snapping left-right-left and back behind the curtain of Bucky's too-long hair. From Steve's strong gestures and broad swipes to Stark's animated image moving up and down the screen while fluttering his arms like an ADHD robin.

What they are saying is all but lost on James now, because he's too busy replaying the events leading up to this disaster; figuring out how he let this happen, and how he was supposed to stop this now.

He doesn't have time for this shit. Sam's on James's team now, that's a big win. But there's still so much to do. The Accords. Hydra. Some guy with a broken back somewhere. Not to mention all the angry politicians... And Steve; surely, Steve will go stir-crazy soon enough. Go in all gung-ho and try to disarm a nuclear warhead with the power of love and hugs, or whatever he calls his suicidal tendencies these days.

While Steve was so against Bucky going into cryo yesterday, right this moment he is advocating that this should be totally and entirely Bucky's choice. And if getting frozen was what Bucky wanted, then that should be an option on the table. An opinion only born, James is sure, because Stark called the idea ludicrous and cruel. Next the exchange between the two had set off Shuri's funny bone, and Wanda's panic button and now everyone was screaming at each other.

Well; that wasn't really fair. Wanda had only stood up to yell "that's how they get into your head, they get into your head!" somewhere in the thick of 'what is Hydra practice anyway?', and then Shuri had managed to grab her by the elbow and had whispered something in her ear. Now the pair of women sits happily on their side of the table sipping tea, while Shuri contributes mediating questions such as: "Are you going to let him talk to you like that, Captain?" and "I think he just insulted you, Tony."

In response the two men are now happily cutting into each other with renewed effort, discussing their respective historical track records, and whatever lack of morality or misguided virtue that might indicate. It's a dick-measuring contest; two peacocks vying for the attention of a girl that is only mildly amused ...while said princess could have defused the situation with a single sharp remark. Shuri really is that good, and James would like nothing better than for Shuri to bat for his team. But she's sharp and mean and the kind of rogue agent that cuts at everyone's back; or at least all the men's.

So, no help from the Princess is forthcoming. And between Wanda Maximov's obvious distrust of him, and Stark and Steve again at odds, chances of anything good —or at least an end to his suffering— are slim.

It is at this moment, as James sits there running through his every—and admittedly few— life choices, that the doors slam open, thankfully behind the pair of women. Because with all the raised voices James isn't sure he could stop Bucky from swinging at loud sudden noises within arms length. Which is of course why one of James's more prominent life choices is don't sit with your back to the fucking door.

At any rate it's a damned good thing he's too far to take a swing, and only half gets to his feet when soon-to-be-king T'Challa himself strides in; a blue swirl in his regal dress suit, flanked by the orange of two of his Dora. James recognizes the one on the left as Okoye herself, but decides the right one can hardly be anyone of particular note.