Chapter 61 - Walk in the Light, Shadows in the Dark

Waking up to a feeling of excitement and a small amount of relief at the realization that he would be going home, Devin was ready to go in record time. He left the room after a quick breakfast of some kind of rice and vegetable mixture along with a glass of water. Having eaten and left his room Devin walked down the hall only to turn the corner and have a small form run into his midsection before rebounding and falling to the ground. Looking down, Devin found the sprawled out form of Shuri on the ground looking confused while her dora milaje bodyguard kneeled next to her to check if she was okay.

"Are you alright?" Devin asked as he bent over and offered his hand to the young royal. She was wearing a sleeveless white dress that had a mesh material for the neck and shoulders. Her hair was gathered into two buns on the back of her head. The young girl took his hand before being pulled up to her feet.

"Sorry, I didn't want to miss saying good bye before you left." Shuri said as she dusted off her dress before looking up at Devin with a smile.

"Well then, allow me to escort you outside before I leave." Devin said with a flourish and a bow that made Shuri laugh. They then turned and headed towards where the front of the building was located. They exchanged small talk along the way. Shuri told him that she was still looking into the ideas that he had given her before her abduction. She said she had made some breakthroughs though she was still a bit of a ways off from having a working proto-type. Soon they reached the main hall and the front door to the building. He could see quite the grouping outside through the transparent sections on the ornate doors. Stepping through the doors he found the rest of the royal family as well as Okoye and the rest of her squad. Stepping forward Devin took King T'Chaka's hand.

"This has been quite the time having you here as our guest my friend." T'Chaka said as he shook Devin's hand.

"I agree with you there." Devin said with a grin before turning to shake hands with T'Challa who grinned back.

"Maybe next time you could visit without bullets and evil organizations being involved." T'Challa joked as he released Devin's hand.

"Yeah hopefully though I'm gonna go ahead and keep my fingers crossed, just in case." Devin said before turning to the Matriarch of the Royal Family and her daughter beside her.

"Once again, thank you for saving my family. You will always be welcome here." Queen Ramonda said before giving a short bow that Devin returned in kind. Once he was standing back up, Devin saw Shuri step forward and present a small black box with both hands. Devin reached out and took the box from the teen before opening it. Inside was a shiny silver set of kimoyo beads.

"Thank you. This is very generous of you." Devin told Shuri as she smiled and nodded her head.

"This way you have a direct line to us if you need it and I can keep you updated on those ideas you gave me!" Shuri replied enthusiastically. Devin could tell that the reason behind the gift was more of the later and less of the former reasons she mentioned. She also probably would want to ask him for more ideas later.

"Of course." Devin replied with a knowing smirk before turning to see Ussom standing next to the vehicle along with Ondati and Irindi. Climbing into the vehicle. Devin saw that the entire back of the vehicle was filled with heavy duty cases that Devin assumed were the vibranium that had been promised to him. He already had all of the tech and equipment from Klaue and his men though he would need to make a trip eventually to clean out Klaue's main stash on the coast later. For the time being he really wanted to get home and relax with Izabela and the kids.

It took Devin several hours to finally arrive back in the states. Between waiting for the plane to prep and then the actual travel. By the time Devin found himself standing in his driveway looking at his house he felt more drained than when he had used the spirits for the first time. Devin walked up the steps of his front porch to the door but before he could open the door it was flung open and Devin was enveloped in a triple hug by Izabela and the kids. Once the situation set in Devin truly felt like he was home.

***

Unknown Location

Affliction was normally a very stoic and emotionally controlled woman, but reporting a failure caused a very uncomfortable feeling to settle in the pit of her stomach. This was a feeling she was familiar with others having when she was around, but not her. The feeling of fear was slowly twisting her stomach in uncomfortable knots as she moved through the halls that were devoid of any life, the only sounds being the click of her heels on the floor as a sterile white light illuminated sections of the hall every few feet. Eventually she found herself standing in front of a set of heavy, metal double doors. Raising one hand slowly she was about to knock when a deep, basey voice sounded from within.

"Enter."

Affliction opened one of the doors and stepped into the room. The room was only lit by the pale green light coming in through the glass window wall opposite of where she had entered. In front of the windows was a large hardwood desk with a massive padded chair behind it. The chair was turned towards the windows so that all Affliction could see was the back of the chair and vague pieces of a silhouette though with the back lighting and the darkness of the rest of the room it was impossible for her to make out any more than what she already had.

"Report." the voice commanded like before.

"Sir, the mission was a failure. There was an attack on Klaue's base by warriors of Wakanda and an unknown man. Klaue was killed by Prince T'Challa and Sabretooth was killed by the unknown man. I retreated when it was clear that the mission was a failure." Affliction reported nervously. There was a few minutes of silence before there was any type pf reaction.

"This man, does he have a name?" the voice demanded as it seemed to reverberate off the walls.

"He introduced himself as Devin." Affliction said as she began to fidget slightly.

"Devin. Tell the information sector to find all they can about this man. He might be the same man that interfered with the operation in Sokovia." the voice commanded.

"Yes sir." Affliction said as she bowed. As she turned to leave the voice came once more.

"When your done with that, report to the discipline hall. Failure will not be tolerated."

"Yes sir." Affliction replied as that fear turned into a lead brick of dread in her stomach while she stepped out of the doors.