fɪᴠᴇ — ɢᴀᴍᴇ ɴɪɢʜᴛ

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"WILL THERE BE any trouble tonight, Ms. Bolaji?" T'Challa asked, walking down the final steps to the casino. Aretta smiled warmly, giving his arm a squeeze. "Depends; on how quickly we finish the mission."

"Can we please focus?" Okokye asked through their comms as Aretta smirked at T'Challa before sauntering away, knowing his eyes were on her every step she took. "Thank you."

Aretta made her way to the bar, joining Nakia who was already seated. Nakia lightly gripped her glass, which sat on a coaster. In the glass was a brown liquid, which Aretta quickly deduced to be whiskey. She smiled the bartender. "Good evening." she spoke in Korean. "Bloody Mary, please."

The bartender nodded, slapping down a coaster in front of her before rushing off to prepare her request. Once her drink was in hand, she took a small sip, glancing around the room. Nakia subtly nudged Aretta with her foot that was crossed over her other leg. Aretta's eyes lifted, spotting a man linked with a woman, standing at table for the game Craps.

"Eyes up." Nakia hushed to herself, her voice picking up on the comms. "Americans." Nakia lifted her glass, having a small sip of it. "I count three."

"Five." Okoye whispered. "How could you miss Grease Lighting, they are behind you."

"Six." T'Challa said, walking across the room, slipping between the crowds. At the table, Everett Ross stood among others. Everett's eyes lifted, meeting T'Challa's and he smile on his face quickly dropped. "I just spotted an old friend who works for the CIA. It just got a little more complicated."

Aretta listened in on their tension filled discussion before T'Challa left Everett with a warning. Aretta's eyes glanced over, watching as T'Challa walked away, before Everett called after him. Then, a man with grey hair and tinted glasses walked up, scooping up T'Challa's chips and shuffled away with them.

Everett looked after T'Challa before following after him, trying to negotiate with him further. Aretta chuckled at Everett's persistence before looking up towards the door. Her smile quickly dropped as she raised her glass to her lips. "Klaue."

"Plus eight." Okoye added. "In position to secure our exit."

"And the Vibranium?" T'Challa asked as Aretta and Nakia lifted from their seats, paid their drinks and walked off. Nakia shook her head, even though Aretta could only see it. "Not in sight."

"I thought there were no weapons allowed in here." Okoye said in a husky voice.

Aretta tipped her head, looking at Nakia. The two smiled at one another, trying to play off as if they were engaged in their own conversation. "There's not supposed to be."

Okoye looked around the top floor, resisting the urge to scratch her wig. "Someone did not get the memo." Her turned her body, quickly glanced at the men before turning away once more "Definitely armed."

T'Challa's brows furrowed for a moment, standing in front of another table for the game of Craps. Nakia and Aretta joined in on an ongoing game, leaning on the table. Nakia frowned, seeing Klaue discuss something with Everett. "We need to move on Klaue."

"Stand down. We can't afford a shoot out." T'Challa said.

Aretta growled, clenching her fist. "This ends now!" she hissed in Xhosa, lifting her body from the table.

Okoye glared at the back of her head from the upper level. "Stand down!" she hissed back in Xhosa. A man standing a few feet away glared at Okoye, pushing through the crowd.

"Hey!"

Okoye smiled at him, turning her back at him.

"Hey!" he yelled again, reaching her. He placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I've been made." Okoye said with the click of her tongue, throwing her clutch at one of Klaue's men. She turned, taking out her collapsible spear and slamming the staff into his throat of the man who grabbed her. Quickly turning on her heel, she slapped the blunt end at the man's knee before impaling his foot with the blade of it.

Okoye grabbed a fistful of her faux hair, tearing it off her head before throwing it in the other man's face. Okoye hooked the spear under his knee, lifting him and throwing him over the railing. The man crashed into a table below, breaking it. Guests standing around the table screamed, running away.

Klaue reached into his jacket, pulling out a handgun and aimed it at Everett. Everett gasped, lifting a metal briefcase to protect himself with, backing away.

T'Challa ducked, turning over a game table. Pressing his body to it, he reached up at pulled Everett down with him.

A man of Klaue's ran around the table, quickly getting tripped by T'Challa. Another ran up to the King, trying to kick him. T'Challa dodged the attack, turning and kicking him away. Everett stood, firing his gun at Klaue and any of his henchmen.

As T'Challa fought off two more guys, Aretta ran across the room, splitting off from Nakia. She felt a man reach for her, and grab a fist of her coarse hair, pulling on his harshly. Aretta bit her lip, resisting the urge to cry out. Aretta slapped her hands over his fist, grabbing onto it tightly.

She turned her body around, loosening his grip on her hair. With his hand in hers, she pulled it toward her, swinging up her leg to kick him in the groin. The man jerked back from the hit, crying out. Aretta frowned, twisting around again and pressed her back against his chest. She held her arm over her shoulder tightly. Using her weight to her advantage, she pulled on his arm, throwing his body over herself. Aretta gripped his forearm tightly, stepping over his body and gave his arm a painful twist, successfully breaking it.

Aretta stepped over the man, slipped off her heels, and ran off. When another man ran up to her, she stopped in her tracks. The man lifted his fist to punch her, but Aretta quickly grabbed it, turning around to smack the back of his head with her elbow, knocking him down in one hit.

Nakia dodged a hit from a henchmen, slamming this body on a nearby table. Using one of her shoes, she swung it at another man, knocking him away from a woman, who screamed and ran off.

Nakia flipped the man onto the ground, twisting and disclosing his shoulder, before stomping on his face. Taking his gun, she lifted it towards the second level, shooting out two more men.

On the upper level, Okoye swung her body around, tripping two men with her long staff. She hit one man down before stabbing the other one. When he fell, the first one shakily stood up. Okoye shot him a look over her shoulder before spinning around. She swung the staff around her neck and shoulders before pulling it sharply to the side, smacking her opponent out cold.

Okoye ran for another henchmen, hitting the inside of his thighs before sharply pulling it up to hit his groin. The man cursed, grabbing the staff. Okoye activated the electric end, poking him with it before hitting his chest, kicking him through the railing.

Okoye jumped after him, her dress floating up in a twirl of red. She impaled the man again with her spear, earning a pained cry. Rolling off him, she grabbed her weapon, smacking another villain. Aretta, who was close, grabbed the man, flipping him over her shoulder before punching up out cold.

T'Challa stood behind her, throwing man onto a pool table. He was grabbed from behind and turned around, hitting his arm away before throwing him over his shoulder harshly. The man who at up from the table launched at him, before getting dodged. T'Challa's fist curled, punching the man out with his super strength.

Hearing gunshots, he looked up to see Klaue escaping up the stairs. He growled, using his strong legs to launch himself to the second level. Calling after Klaue, Klaue turned around, pulling the trigger only to get several clicks.

Klaue frowned, throwing down the useless weapon. Klaue giggled, holding the Vibranium in one hand, while letting this left hand deform into a small weapon. "You know, you look just like your old man."

He fired the weapon at T'Challa, who blocked it with a nearby safe. The safe exploded, raining down hundred-dollar bills and coins in the empty casino room. Klaue laughed, turning to one of his bodyguards. "Ha! I made it rain!"

T'Challa landed on a broken pool table, as Nakia, Okoye, and Aretta skipped up the steps to get to Klaue, yelling after him.

They all made it outside the club, and Aretta glanced over her shoulder. "What about T'Challa?!"

Okoye growled. "He'll catch up."