[616] ground zero for trouble

[daughterofliberty]

"Remember, Nick," she calls, buckling the utility belt of her suit. "I've got years of vacation time saved up. You owe me. After this, I'm taking five whole days in Virginia with Steve, and no one is going to bother us. Right?"

Fury scoffs, and she turns a gimlet eye on him. "Right?"

"Right," he says, holding up his hands in surrender. "Hell, Carter, it's not like the rest of the Avengers and SHIELD aren't around to pick up the slack. Go! You crazy kids have fun. Send a postcard. Let your hair down a little. You've been tense as a wire ever since – "

"I wonder why," she snaps, and he shakes his head. 

"Just saying," he says, as Tony Stark sniggers behind him. Sharon waves them both off, an unruly smile tugging at her mouth.

"I'll check in once I've made contact," she says. "Steve should be waiting for me at the rendezvous."

"Good luck, Agent Carter," Tony says, and she tosses him a crisp half-salute, then heads through the hatch towards the hangar that holds her vehicle: not the Quinjet, not for a mission this small, but the cherry-red convertible that hovers as she enters and taps out the activation code. "Come on, baby," she tells it. "Let's go for a ride."

But when she reaches the rendezvous at Avengers Tower and strides through the door, Steve's nowhere to be seen. 

And, honestly? Neither is the Avengers Tower.

Comments

[miss_american_pie]

"Me?"

She glances at the other faces she can see, and her eyes grow huge as she recognizes Steve Rogers. "Is that Captain America?"

As much as possible, she addresses Natasha, who she can just barely see at the edge of the screen. "Старшая сестра, это что-то от Мстителей?"

"Did you say Captain America?" she hears Alexei holler from the kitchen, and she rolls her eyes and yells back,

"Busy! Give me a second!"

[nerves_of_ice]

"Unofficially," Bucky says, before Natasha can answer her. "Hello, Alyona."

He can't quite manage a smile, but he can feel his expression soften a little as he looks through the display at her.

"My friend is in trouble. We're going to get her out of it. It could get messy."

[miss_american_pie]

"Yasha?"

She moves the phone and cranes her neck, trying to see him, as if she could move the display from her end. He sounds...

Bad. For once, she doesn't say so out loud.

My friend is in trouble. All her bewilderment washes away as her expression clears to intent focus. "What do you need me to do?"

[marvel_npc]

Yasha, Sam mouths, and leans over to whisper to Steve, "Did you know about any of this?"

Steve shakes his head at Sam and looks at Yelena. "If you agree," he says, firmly, "you'll be going in undercover with Bucky." ("James," Natasha murmurs.) "We'll give you the details when you get here, if you come, but it's going to be dangerous. You can say no."

[miss_american_pie]

Yelena's eyebrows climb throughout this short speech, and she glances at Natasha, rather than Captain America.

"'It's going to be dangerous,'" she repeats, unimpressed. "Is he serious?"

"He always is," Natasha says, something unruly shading at the corner of her mouth. "I'll fill him in. You in?"

"Yes, of course," Yelena tells her. Him. All of them. "It's this or spend the rest of my life doing chores like Zolushka. Where's the rendezvous?"

[marvel_npc]

"I'll text you the coordinates and time," Natasha tells her. "Be nice to the man who's picking you up. He's about to have a very hard day."

[miss_american_pie]

"I can be nice," Yelena says, defensively. "Fine. See you soon."

She waves and then makes an awkward head-bob of a bow towards King T'Challa, who she had kind of forgotten about, then drags her thumb across the bottom of her screen to hang the call up. She takes a moment to blink to herself, then stands and yells: "Mama? I need my suit!"

"I think it's in the laundry," comes Melina's call. "Why?"

Yelena's already coming back inside, but she's shouting anyway. "I have to go rescue someone with Natasha and Captain America – don't start," she says, holding up a warning finger to Alexei before she runs up the stairs.

"Don't wait up."

[nerves_of_ice]

Shuri's laughter chimes out as the call disconnects. "I like her," she tells them all. Natasha smiles.

So does T'Challa, for a moment, before he grows solemn. "The last piece remaining is to contact Deputy Commander Ross." Somehow, Bucky manages to keep a neutral expression, although he can feel Steve tense beside him. "Shuri, if you could do the same again, but keep the visual focused on me until I signal you to expand it. We will need to secure the line against the JTTF systems."

Shuri nods, and her fingers fly over her tablet. Moments later, the call rings through, and the slightly-frazzled face of Everett Ross appears over the table.

"Your highness. This is unexpected."

[marvel_npc]

"I apologize for interrupting you, Deputy Commander," T'Challa says, smoothly. "Please know I would not presume to do so were it not absolutely necessary; but it is urgent."

He pauses, then says, blunt but not unkindly: "We believe Sharon Carter is still alive. We intend to discover the truth for ourselves, and, if she is... we intend to extract her from her mission in Madripoor."

[marvel_npc]

"What?" Ross stares at T'Challa through the phone, disbelieving. "But - how - why? What did you find out?"

[marvel_npc]

"Shuri decided to review the recording we were shown," T'Challa says, smoothly.

After all, it isn't a lie. "She found a number of discrepancies, enough to make us suspicious. In the context of Nick Fury's relaxed relationship with the truth on more than one occasion, we feel it justifies a rescue operation. If she is alive – "

Beside him, Nakia tenses. " – If she is alive," he continues, "then she is friendless and alone in the middle of the most dangerous city in the world. She is still under my protection, Ross; I cannot allow it to stand."

[marvel_npc]

He takes a moment to imagine Fury encountering T'Challa after a deception of this sort, and has to fight hard to keep from choking at the mental image.

"Of course you wouldn't," he says, instead. "I can work up a basic profile for you of what we know about the major players, at least in a general sense. It would help if we had any idea what Fury had her doing, but oh well."

Damn him to hell anyway for interfering with his agent, never mind the current status. They were working on that.

[marvel_npc]

T'Challa hesitates for the space of a heartbeat. "We have some better idea of what she was working on," he admits.

"From what we know, the mission was an extension of our previous attempts to trace and neutralize the illegal weapons manufacture ring."

In other words... precisely what Ross has been working on, by the book, for over a year. "So you can see why I have called you."

[marvel_npc]

"Son of a bitch," Ross breathes. "That bastard. He sent her to Madripoor after the weapons traffickers and lied about it?"

He shoves the rage back - there's no time for it now, although he'll have to deal with Fury later.

"Yes, I can. I'll give you the full debrief, everything I've got. What else do you need?"

[marvel_npc]

"You, if possible," T'Challa says.

"We have assembled two teams for the mission. I would like you to be part of one. Your knowledge of the situation – and familiarity with both the likely players and Agent Carter's methods – would be invaluable."

[marvel_npc]

"I'll make it possible," Ross tells him. "If you're still in Wakanda, it'll be faster for me to meet you there, but otherwise I can rig a few things and meet you in Madripoor."

[marvel_npc]

"We will be leaving as soon as is feasible," T'Challa tells him. "But there is one more stop I would appreciate you making on your way, to pick up the last member of our party."

He glances to the side, Natasha Romanoff nods at him. "I will send you the coordinates of your rendezvous."

[marvel_npc]

"All right, I can make that work." Ross eyes T'Challa with determination.

"You know I've got a perfectly good team as well. I can bring a complement along. No offense to any of your people, god knows I respect you and them, but we don't want another Busan."

[marvel_npc]

"I appreciate the offer," T'Challa says, "but I believe we have it covered."

At his side, Okoye smothers a tiny smile. He barely refrains from winking at her. "I will be in touch soon."

[marvel_npc]

Ross manages to stifle a sigh. It'd be easier to insist if Wakandan technology wasn't so damn superior to almost anything else, not to mention that T'Challa and his people -- including Sharon Carter, dammit -- came out ahead in Prague.

"Fine. I'll see you soon."

As soon as the call disconnects, he's striding down the hall, mind whirling at high speed with all the things he needs to see about before departing.

[marvel_npc]

As the call drops, T'Challa looks back around the table.

"Nakia," he says. "Will you and Ms. Romanoff kindly review Agent Ross' files once they are sent, and determine the best angle for our approach?"

He turns next to Sam Wilson. "We will need an undercover identity for you, as well," he muses, and Nakia nods to him.

"I have a thought," she says. "Leave it to Natasha and me."

"Very well," T'Challa says, and looks at Shuri. "Shuri, we will need to be equipped. Are you ready?"

"Ready," she says, tightly, and looks at Bucky. "White Wolf, it will take a little while to remove the current arm and replace it with the new."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Whatever you need," Bucky tells her. "I'll meet you in the lab."

"I'll come with you," Steve says. "Unless there's somewhere else I need to be, or something else I can do."

"No," says Okoye. "The Dora Milaje and the king's guard have prepared a flyer for us. We will be ready to depart as soon as the Princess Shuri finishes."

"Okay," Sam puts in. "I'll--"

"You'll stay right here," Natasha informs him. "Not only are Nakia and I going to refine things about your cover with you, but you need a little practice in how to be a spy."

[marvel_npc]

"I will accompany you," T'Challa tells Steve and Bucky, and rises, adjourning the meeting.

"We will reconvene at the flyer when it is time."

As the others rise, murmuring, he turns to help Nakia up, gently squeezing her hand in his as they share a silent glance that nevertheless speaks more than any words ever could. "Come, White Wolf, Captain Rogers," he says, when he finally turns away.

"We will see what Shuri has found for us in the lab."

[nerves_of_ice]

He walks along at T’Challa’s side, between him and Steve, as they leave the Citadel and board the train. Only once it starts moving does Bucky cross to look out the window before turning to face them.

“If she’s dead,” he says. “If she’s dead because Fury lied—“

Each word is tightly controlled and dangerously level.

“—-because he lied because of me, I don’t know if I can keep from going after him.”

[marvel_npc]

T'Challa glances at Steve, whose ears are ringing.

If she's dead because Fury lied, he doesn't know that he'll be able to keep from going after Fury. "We can't think like that," he says, instead, as bracingly as he can.

"We have to go on the assumption that she's alive. We'll deal with Fury – however we need to deal with Fury – after."

When they find her alive, he hopes. Otherwise... he shakes his head. "One thing at a time."