"You have precisely fifteen minutes," Valerie said coolly, sparing Loki a brief glance. They had taken up a booth in a very crowded cafetria, and from where they sat, the London Eye was sharply visible, with the sun in its east. The cafe was warm and toasty, with a thick smell of delicious coco flooding the air. Adding to this were the incessesant chatters of the occupants that rose like the hum of a buzzing bee. Loki felt slightly uncomfortable.
"May I ask why would you choose such a place? It is not very discreet, is it?" He asked. "I thought you wanted to meet 'privately'."
"The best place to hide a tree is in the forest. This is as private as it can get," she replied in the same flat tone. "Now tell me, how can it be that a Norse God be so drawn to my activities? I rarely advertise what I do."
"It just so happened that I met a client of yours," Loki said. "He chose to remain anonymous, but it was he who directed my attention, towards, if I may quote, 'The Operator'."
"Huh," she pondered for a while. There was a subtle improvement in her appearance, from the last time they had departed from the masquerade ball. She had looked visibly tortured, tired and shaken. This time however, she looked better, a little colour in her face, and her eyes did not seem that much sunken as they had been last time. She was still thin to the point of appearing worn out, but she appeared stronger. "You seem to know a awefully lot about me," she said, tapping the table with her long, slender fingers. "Care to tell me how?"
"You have your own personal tricks, I possess mine," he replied shortly. "But let's not waste words. It seemed from our previous meeting that you are mildly interested in what I have to offer. Am I wrong?"
"That's not relevant," she said. "Tell me how is it that I can be of assistance to you. Thirteen minutes."
"About three months ago, you were apporached by a Midgardian agency who goes by the name of Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, or S.H.I.E.L.D. They offered you a position, didn't they?"
"They did."
"And you refused."
"I did."
"You need to change your mind. I need you to change your mind." Loki said with cool command. Valerie arched an eyebrow.
"Care to elaborate on that, Mr Lie-smith? Never been a fan of riddles."
He remained silent for a moment. "Here's something that might explain my words," Loki took out a file from his coat and slid it towards her. Her eyes observed the motion, but she did not bother picking it up.
"What's this?" she asked.
"This is The Tesseract," he replied, tapping the file. "This is the object that has stirred the interest of some of my powerful friends. And they need someone who is well-versed in this kind of knowledge, and is willing to work for them without asking questions."
"The Tesseract," she repeated with little interest. "The Cosmic Cube. I though it was all a bunch of baloney, this thing."
"Oh, you did?" Loki did not conceal his mild surprise. Her utter lack of surprise or interest in what he was saying, was surprising, if not a tad bit annoying. He felt as if he was speaking to a brick wall. "And what made you think that?"
"I work for strange creatures, elves, leprachauns, fomorians. I listen; I hear things around the worlds. Gossip, rumours. Now I remember, someone said that this was the Frost Giant's-those Norse creatures, their power source," Valerie said. "Isn't it?"
Loki shifted uncomfortably. "You know a bit too much," he said. "That is certainly bothersome."
"If you know who I am, and if you are in full knowledge of my work, then it should not surprise you, or bother you. Information is my insurance." Valerie now opened the file. Putting a rather big pair of glasses on the bridge of her nose, she leafed through the pages silently. When she was done, she looked up again, now with a more prominent interest on her face.
"Does it capture your attention?" Loki asked.
"From a completely scientific point of view, it does. However, we are jumping topics. S.H.I.E.L.D and The Tesseract, two apparently unrelated things. I'm guessing there must be some link. Isn't it?"
"There is," he nodded. "For the last seventy years, The Tesseract has been locked up in the safety vaults in one of S.H.I.E.L.D's bases. Recently, with the advancement of Midgardian sciences, it seems that they have taken a new interest in the Cube. And with that action, they have stirred the curiousity of many other parties too."
"And you represent one such party?"
"Miss Goldstein, I am my own party."
Valerie snickered. "That's cute," she said. "That's a cute statement. Anyway, so The Tesseract is in S.H.I.E.L.D's locker, and everyone wants there hands on that. Where do I come in?"
"You have built quite a reputation for being a notorious, backstabbing double agent. What do you say you use that specific skill of yours to help my powerful friends out? Get into S.H.I.E.L.D. Do your job. You will be rewarded well."
She stared at him with very coolly. "Let's talk about rewards then. The Tesseract for your friends, and what for me?"
"Kehrjim," Loki said. The word had a drastic impact on her entire being. Her fingers immediately rolled into tight fists, and her jaw tightened. She swallowed deeply, and when she looked back at him, she made no attempt to disguise her true feeling.
"This simplifies things," she said. "I have been looking for a reason, and you gave me one."
"Why can't you ever speak without threatening others?" Loki gave her an injured look. "I want to help you."
"Yes, I have heard that before," she closed the file with more force than necessary, and opened her glasses. "I think we are done here."
As she tried to get up, Loki swung his leg under the table and blocked her exit from booth. Her knees crashed on his leg, but she managed to retain her balance. Valerie looked back at her with an acrid smile. "Ah, but now this looks familiar."
"Sit down."
"You stopping me?"
"I'm not done yet. You will sit and listen to me, all of it, and with full interest." Loki's disposition had changed the moment she had tried to leave. He was not smiling anymore, nor was his features relaxed. His eyes were sharply focussed on Valerie, who held the stare casually.
"And what if I don't?"
"Then there will be a ruse, which I imagine, would do wonders for your cover. Sit down."
She seemed to consider it for a moment. "I'm wasting my time here."
"Alas, that's not up to you to decide. Sit down, Miss Goldstein."
There was such a icy look of defiance on her face, that Loki felt positively alarmed for a moment. Then, to his relief, she slumped back in her position in resignation.
"Good. Now we can speak like civilised beings," Loki regained his composure. "Without brandishing threats at each other."
He gave Valerie a moment to come with her retort. But she didn't. She stared at him with very cool, controlled, contempt. Her jaw was clenched, and after holding his stare for a moment, she turned away, looking outside the window to the London Eye.
"As we had been talking," Loki began again. "I need the Tesseract. And in return, I would like to offer to you, well, this."
He pulled out a tiny vial from the folds of his coat, and placed it on the table carefully. It was corked with wax, and contained a clear, viscous liquid. Again, her expressions changed drastically-her features loosened, and she let out an almost inaudible gasp at the sight of the vial.
"Kehrjim, or the Brunt fever," he said again. "Was first detected in Svartalfheim, and there had been a few more sporadic cases reported since is not a disease that is easily heard of. Early symptoms include an agonizing chilly sensation, and unaccounted frostbites around the shoulder blades. May I see your arm, Miss Goldstein?"
"What do you want?" she asked in a very small voice, not taking her eyes off the vial for a moment.
"People diagnosed with Brunt fever meet a very agonizing death, as it has been seen. Sleeps turn into nightmares, organs began to rot, the muscles lose their flexibility. And then one day," Loki said. "They stop. How long do you think you have?"
Silence, giving the human's buzz even more place.
"Nine months and twenty seven days," she replied flatly. "Or at least that's what they told me."
"Now, we have in our hand, an excellent opportunity to help each other. I need the Tesseract. And you, Miss Goldstein, need this," he pointed at the vial. "To extend your lifespan, and die at a old, ripe age. So, what do you say? Do we have a deal?"
As he had been speaking, her eyes had been travelling from the vial to his face, and again back to the vial. Now that he stopped, she picked up her stare and looked back at him with the completely apathetic expression that he had seen in the beginning of the conversation. "My life in exchange for the Tesseract," she said. "That sounds fair."
"Do we have a deal?"
She got up, and put on her coat. "Wait for my contact."
She left.