Chapter 44: Son, Warrior, and King
J'Zaki was given his own private office to use but he decided to spy on the other office where all the Avengers were with one of his Kimoyo Beads. He wanted to see how they would handle the situation. And what he saw was a complete disappointment. It was mostly Stark and Roger talking about meaningless things before ending it all in an argument.
"Steve, if not for these, you wouldn't be here. I'm trying to, what do you call it, a... an olive branch. Is that what you call it?" Tony pointed at the pens that his father had collected so long ago and ones that were dear to him.
"Is Pepper here? I didn't see her." Steve wanted to divert the conversation. He didn't want to talk about the hard stuff.
"We are kinda... well not kinda..."
"Pregnant?"
"No, ha, definitely not. We're taking a break. It's nobody's fault."
"I'm so sorry, Tony. I didn't know."
"A few years ago I almost lost her so I trashed all my suits. Then we had to mop up Hydra. Then Ultron, my fault. And then, and then, and then. I never stopped. 'Cause, the truth is I don't wanna stop. I don't wanna lose her. I thought maybe the Accords can split the difference. In her defense, I'm a handful. Yeah, dad was a pain in the ass, but he and mom always made it work."
"You know, I'm glad Howard got married. I only knew him when he was young and single."
"Oh really? You two knew each other? He never mentioned that. Maybe only a thousand times. God, I hated you."
"I don't mean to make things difficult." Steve was serious. He always wanted to be nice. But being nice and doing the right thing conflicted so often.
"I know. Because you're a very polite person."
"If I see a situation pointed south, I can't ignore it. Sometimes I wish I could."
"No, you don't." Tony pointed out. It was one of the things that he loved and hated about Steve Rogers
"No, I don't. Sometimes..." he trailed off
"Sometimes I wanna punch you in your perfect teeth. But I don't wanna see you gone. We need you, Cap. So far nothing's happened that can't be undone. Please, sign. We can make the last 24 hours legit. Barnes gets transferred to an American psych center instead of a Wakandan prison."
J'Zaki raised his eyebrows when he heard this. He wasn't sure whether Stark was telling the truth or lying to try and get Rogers to sign easier. Either way, it wasn't what was going to happen.
"I'm not saying it's impossible. But there would have to be safeguards."
"Sure! Once we put out the PR - they're documents. They can be amended. I file a motion, have you and Wanda reinstated..." Steve caught onto that and interrupted
"Wanda? What about Wanda?"
"She's fine. She's confined in the compound currently. Vision's keeping her company."
"Oh God, Tony! Every time. Every time I think you're seeing things the right way..."
"It's 100 acres with a lap pool. It's got a screening room. There's a worse way to protect people. She's not a US Citizen and they don't grant visas to Weapons of Mass Destruction."
"Protection? Is that how you see this? This isn't protection, it's internment, Tony. Come on, she's a kid!"
"Gimme a break! I'm doing what has to be done, to save us from something worse." Stark finally lost the cool demeanor he was trying to give off. He had barely slept for days. He was constantly plagued with thoughts of what actions he took were right and which ones were wrong. Which ones he would change if he could. He couldn't afford any more of them keeping him up at night.
J'Zaki deactivated the feed after seeing up to here. It was obvious that the result would be Rogers not signing the accords. The question was about what would happen after that.
J'Zaki turned to see the television that was showing Barnes being interviewed. He watched the screen until there was a blackout. As soon as the lights were out, he activated his mutation and focused on the basement.
He saw that the psychologist was saying something while reading through a book. J'Zaki focused on the book and read through the entire thing. Even though he didn't understand Russian, he had memorized the entire thing.
J'Zaki continued looking down at what was going on while he began writing out all of the information on his phone. He watched as Barnes broke out of his cage and then proceeded to beat the psychologist and Rogers before escaping to the cafeteria. There, he fought an unarmored Iron Man, an unarmed Black Widow, and several security guards. None of them were able to stop him.
The new king of Wakanda watched as Barnes left the compound in a helicopter that Rogers tried to hold back and ended up crashing into the river. He continued to watch Barnes until even his enhanced vision could no longer see him.
J'Zaki pressed on one of his Kimoyo Beads and the symbol changed into an arrow. An arrow that pointed in the direction that Barnes had left. He made sure to mark the Winter Soldier when he passed him in the lobby earlier.
J'Zaki was patient. He had already marked his prey. He had given the United Nations a chance to bring him to justice. And they had failed. The only question in J'Zaki's mind was: who will die alongside the Winter Soldier?
After an hour, J'Zaki felt that he had given Rogers enough time to try and bring his friend in. But it was obvious that he had given up on being the hero he had sworn to be. Which the king did not mind. He was also one that felt personal feelings were important even during political matters. It was just that Rogers had chosen the wrong side.
Just J'Zaki was about to leave when Natasha walked into his room.
"You're going after them. You know where they are." She wasn't asking. J'Zaki was far too calm.
"I am." J'Zaki didn't mind telling her that. "I gave you a chance to arrest him your way. Now it is my turn."
"Your majesty..."
"I am a son who has lost his father to senseless violence. I am a warrior who has killed to protect Wakandan interests and avenge its people before. And I am a king whose former was killed by a man in a foreign nation. So I ask as a son, warrior, and king: do you truly think I will stop before he is dead?"
Natasha could see the determination in his eyes. She knew better than to try and stop him. But that wasn't her goal in the first place.
"I know that. I also know that it won't just be Cap, Falcon, and the Winter Soldier. They have friends. Work with us. We will find them and bring them all to justice."
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