Sooner Or Later
CHAPTER 2:
Agent Thomas Watkins stepped off the elevator into the lab at SHIELD Headquarters. The man removed his sunglasses and fiddled with them as he waited for Darcy to acknowledge him.
She offered him a fragile smile and hoped he hadn't come to ask her to dinner. Her appetite had vanished when Loki, had refused to help her. Not only was he not interested, but he'd barely given her a chance to tell him about Michael. Nor had he taken the time to hear her proposal. Darcy didn't know what she was going to do now. Fury had refused any help from SHIELD or the Avengers, saying that Costa Rica was none of his concern and that the Military would take care of it.
"Did you talk to him?" Tom asked anxiously. "The man you thought could help you?"
Tom was a decent, hardworking guy. He'd been Darcy's most persistent 'suitor', Thor's words, for the last couple years. He was cute, and nice enough, but not really her type.
"Darcy?" he tried again when she didn't immediately respond.
"I talked to him."
"And…?" Tom pressed. "Did he agree to go with you?"
"No." she answered flatly.
A short, tense silence followed her announcement. "You aren't going alone, then, are you?"
"Of course I am!" she insisted, irritated that he'd suggest otherwise. "I have to! Don't you see? Michael's my brother!"
"But I thought Director Fury advised you against it? He said there wasn't anything SHIELD could do if you got yourself in trouble."
"It doesn't matter what Fury or anyone else says!" Darcy cried. "I have to know what's happened to him. I don't have any other option. Michael would never leave me, and I refuse to just abandon him."
The Agent lowered his head and slowly turned the sunglasses between his nimble fingers. "I'm going to worry about you, Darcy, off in a foreign country, with no one there to protect you. You know I'd go with you myself but—"
"Fury would ream your ass…"
Tom appeared relieved when she offered him a ready excuse.
"I'd go in a heartbeat if it wasn't for SHIELD."
Darcy patted his forearm. "I know."
The Agent's eyes met hers. "How about dinner tonight? I checked in at Tommassino's and the special is chicken marsala. I know how you like Italian."
"Thanks, but not tonight," Darcy said softly, knowing she was disappointing him. "I've got a ton of work to do, ah, in the lab."
She had to find her brother. If she died in the process, so be it, but she refused to sit back and do nothing.
Her 'apartment' was dark, but cool when Darcy arrived back at Stark Tower. She switched on the light and opened the top three buttons of her shirt, slipped off her shoes, and sat on her small sofa. She closed her eyes and let the cool air circulating the room revive her.
"Good evening, Miss Lewis. You look especially tired tonight. Might I be of any assistance?" a charming, calm voice filled the room.
"No thank you, Jarvis. Not tonight, buddy." Darcy answered the A.I.
"Alright then, Mr. Stark and Miss Potts are not due to return for 6 more days. Please let me know if you require anything further. Goodnight." She heard a small beep and then there was silence once more.
A drop of perspiration slowly rolled from her neck toward the valley between her ample breasts. She pinched her lips, remembering how the Asgardian's gaze had fallen to her breasts when she had spoken to him earlier.
The man was dark and dangerous, a thrilling thing to Darcy, but she'd been a fool to ask for his help. She should've known better, but she was desperate. He'd stood within inches of her, invading her space, filling up the room with his presence. She could feel his heat, smell the uniquely masculine scent of him. The expression on his cold, extremely handsome face had been unreadable except when she'd told him she'd do anything for him to help her. Then, and only then, had any expression leaked into his features, and he'd silently laughed at her.
Annoyed, she rose and changed out of her clothes and into some cotton pants and a tank-top. With a critical eye, she watered her plants on the window sill.
Darcy's grandmother, her namesake, had instilled a love of flowers in her. Darcy had been an avid student until her grandmother's death when she was eleven. She'd grieved the death of Grammy more than she had the loss of her own mother.
Grammy had filled the shoes of Marian Lewis soon after she'd abandoned her family and disappeared. Darcy and Michael had only been five and seven and far too young to comprehend what happened. Over the course of years rumors had reached Darcy's ears about her mother's weaknesses. Stories of a woman addicted to alcohol and men.
After her mother's disappearance, their father had asked Grammy for help, so she'd moved in with the family.
Grammy was a grand woman who lacked neither grace, nor charm. Whenever there was a death in the community, Grammy would visit the family home, stop the clocks, cover the mirrors with sheets and place a cup of salt in the window sill. More often than not Darcy and Michael accompanied her on such trips. Darcy never fully understood the purpose behind these rituals and didn't think to ask before Grammy's passing.
But when her father had laid his own mother to rest, Darcy had left Jane and Eric and raced home, and with tears streaming down her face, she'd reverently stopped the giant grandfather clock that tolled in the study and covered the bathroom mirror with a clean white sheet. Last, she'd dutifully set the salt in the kitchen window, then hurried back to the funeral home, knowing her grandmother would have approved.
The night before the news of the coup had reached Darcy, she'd woken with her heart racing frantically, her head pounding. Instinctively she'd known something was terribly wrong with her brother. Many hours had passed before she'd heard that the government of Zarcero had fallen and guerillas had taken over the capital. As days progressed, news of atrocities committed against the people of Zarcero filled the TV. Darcy had watched in horror, hoping her brother and his small, floundering group had been spared.
The feeling that Michael was in trouble hadn't left Darcy since that night. If anything, the sensation had intensified.
There was no other choice. She was going, with or without help.
The next day, Loki literally ran into Darcy in the library of Stark Tower. He had bent down to return the book he'd been reading, when he'd felt his backside bump against a soft, womanly figure. He'd turned around, prepared to apologize. The words froze on his lips as his gaze slammed into Darcy Lewis's.
From his shocked expression, Darcy had actually managed to sneak up on him.
"Hey," she greeted him.
He nodded slightly and was ready to turn away when he noticed the bag in her hand.
"I'm getting stuff ready for my trip to Zarcero," she informed him.
He reached into the bag and picked out a flare and wondered if it was worth the effort to tell her that these were the last thing she was going to need.
"I thought it might come in handy," she said, studying him.
Loki tossed it back inside her bag. "Of course, if you want to alert the entire country that you've arrived."
"Oh, but I thought—" She stopped abruptly, clamping her mouth shut.
Loki put the book away, grabbed another and promptly left the library. At his best estimate, the young woman wouldn't last five minutes. If that.
He opened his door and was about to step inside when she called out to him.
"Loki…"
Groaning inwardly, he turned. "What is it now?" he demanded, making sure she knew he resented the intrusion.
To her credit, she didn't cower the way some would. "I won't be long." She stood in the hallway, looking uneasy but determined. The woman had mettle, he'd say that for her.
"When I approached you earlier, you didn't give me the chance to make my proposal."
"Any offer you could make wouldn't interest me." He didn't leave room for misunderstanding. Nothing she could propose would be enough to persuade him to join her in her suicidal mission.
"I—nevermind, then." Her shoulders fell and she nodded, accepting his final word. "Sorry for wasting your time. Bye, Loki."
He didn't respond, merely walked into his room and shut the door, eager to make his escape.
"Damn fool woman," he muttered as he crossed the room.
The text tone on his cell phone SHIELD had 'given' him was going off when Loki entered. Only one person in all of Midgard had ever called him on it: Thor.
"How's the honeymoon?" Loki asked when he reached his brother.
"Very well indeed, brother," Thor laughed merrily. He had gotten much better using Midgardian technology over the last 2 years.
"I thought I would check and see how you are fairing," Thor said.
"I am well," Loki muttered. Damn, but he couldn't get that pesky woman off his mind.
Thor hesitated. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing!" Loki snapped.
"Well, something is troubling you. I can hear it in your voice."
Loki told him of Darcy's plans.
"She's going to get herself killed," Thor announced flatly. Loki didn't want to think about what would happen to Darcy Lewis when the rebel soldiers got hold of her. Odds were they'd torture her, rape her, and then take sadistic pleasure in killing her.
"Are you going to help her?"
Loki's response was emphatic. "Of course not."
"Would you like to know what I think?" Thor said, and laughed lightly.
"I don't want to know."
"You need the touch of a woman."
"What in the nine-"
"You have been too long without a woman, brother," Thor pronounced. "Otherwise, this business with Lady Darcy would not be bothering you so much."
"The last thing I need is a woman."
"Take my advice, Loki, find yourself a lovely maiden and seek the solace you need in her arms. Trust me, you'll feel worlds better in the morning."
Sex was Thor's solution to everything. "That's not going to stop the girl from risking her pretty fool neck," Loki insisted.
"Perhaps not, but you may not feel responsible for her death."
"I don't accept any responsibility for whatever happens to her."
Thor chuckled, that damned laugh of his that caused Loki's jaw to clench.
"And what is so funny?"
"You," Thor returned evenly. "You're tempted to do it.
"The hell I am." It would take a rabid bilgesnipe to move him from his spread. He wasn't about to let some silly mortal girl run his existence. If she was insistent on getting herself killed, it wasn't his problem.
"Admit it, brother, you want her."
"It's time we ended this conversation."
Loki went to press the button when he heard Thor laugh and shout, "Call me when you get back from Zarcero."
"That'll be the day I kneel to you," Loki muttered, satisfied.
The restlessness that plagued Loki the rest of the day and all of the next refused to go away. Again and again he reminded himself that Darcy wasn't his responsibility. As far as he was concerned, the woman was on her own.
He didn't want to become involved. But if she insisted on rescuing her brother, death would come as a blessing.
There had to be a way to get her to listen to reason and at the same time absolve him of any guilt. The idea of how to do both came to him the following afternoon.
Loki whistled as he walked into SHIELD Headquarters, his mood greatly improved. He reached the lab and Darcy was speaking to one of the other scientists, but her gaze was immediately drawn to his. He noted the surprise and hope filter into her eyes as he sauntered over.
"Can I help you?" she asked, clearly struggling to maintain a smooth voice. The man next to her gave Loki a dirty look, handed her some papers and walked out of the lab, the door sliding shut behind him, leaving the two completely alone.
"Are you still intent on traveling by yourself?" he asked briskly.
"Yeah. My flight is already booked. I leave in two days."
"I've had a change of heart," he said, leaning indolently on the counter.
Her relief was evident. "I thought you didn't care? I mean…"
"And I do not. And I am not doing this for nothing. There are other more pressing concerns we should discuss first."
She blinked and stared at him as if unsure she'd heard him correctly. "Such as?"
"Your 'payment' in exchange for my services. You did say 'anything', did you not?"
She raised an eyebrow. "What do you want?"
"You are a maiden, yes?" He spoke slowly, letting his words sink into that thick, stubborn skull of hers.
For a moment, Darcy looked confused until realization dawned on her. Her eyes went incredibly round, and she swallowed uncomfortably. "That's none of your damn business."
Loki laughed smoothly. "That tells me everything I need to know. I'll overlook your lack of experience. Generally, I prefer a woman seasoned in the art of lovemaking."
Darcy bristled. "What exactly are you saying, Loki?" She took two small steps away from him as if she feared contamination.
"A bargain."
Darcy didn't say anything for a couple of moments, then swallowed hard and asked, "What kind of….'bargain'?"
Loki smiled slowly and looked her over, allowing his gaze to linger over the generous fullness of her chest and the delicious curve of her hips. He was sure to let his appreciation show in his eyes.
"One night. You and I together, all night. In exchange I will accompany you on your...mission."
Her eyes widened to such proportions that he struggled to keep from laughing outright. To say she hesitated would be an understatement.
"It's a 'take-it-or-leave-it' offer, my dear Darcy," he said. She'd leave it. There wasn't a single doubt in Loki's mind. If she decided to do this on her own, the she would leave him with a clean conscience. He'd made the proposal. Either she agreed or not; it was up to her.
Satisfied, he turned to go. He made it all the way to the door before she stopped him.
"Loki….wait," she called out to him in a voice that trembled.
Confident, he turned back.
She smiled weakly. "How about tomorrow night?"
