Before work, Elise stood in front of the bathroom sink unwinding the loosely-wrapped bandage that Loki had applied to her wrist. The fabric stuck to the blisters, some of which had popped under pressure, stinging her skin. She turned on the faucet and tested the water's temperature before placing the damaged part of her arm under it, as per Loki's instructions. Then she dried off with a towel and wrapped her wound back up again. Every step in the process hurt, and it only seemed to make matters worse.
Empty-handed but for a blank notebook and a pen, Elise went to the door. "I'm going now," she said as she passed the kitchen and Loki, hoping that he wouldn't change his mind about allowing her to work.
"When will you return?" he called.
Elise took a few more steps toward the exit. "A little before five."
"Very well," Loki replied, unaffected. "Remember: I see you."
Before he could say something to upset her, Elise left the building. She didn't dare stop for coffee, and as usual, she arrived early. The elevator doors hadn't even closed in front of her yet when someone spotted her.
"Hey, Elise! Hold the door!" It was another associate, someone else on the team defending Loki, and she seemed to be a morning person. "Thanks," she breathed as she entered the elevator and positioned herself at the back wall next to Elise. "How was your trip?"
"It was alright," Elise replied.
Unfortunately, the conversation did not end there. "What was it like?" the associate asked excitedly. "I want to hear all about it!"
"It wasn't really anything special."
"Oh, come on, don't be so secretive," the co-worker pushed as the elevator arrived at its destination. "Hey, I'll see you in there, okay?" she said as she exited.
"Okay."
When her co-worker went right, Elise went left and headed directly to the conference room.
"Elise! You're early!" Skip Parmeri bumbled toward her with his arms open wide. "You ruined the surprise!"
Elise glanced to the table. There was a large, white cake with text in blue frosting that read: "Congratulations, Elise!" Paper plates and a box of plastic forks accompanied it.
"Sorry," she said, trying to smile. "I just wanted to get here on time."
"No problem," Parmeri beamed. "I figured you'd be jet-lagged or something, show up late, but I guess I shouldn't have expected that from you."
"No, sir," Elise replied, setting down her notebook in the usual place. "Not me."
There was a pause, and then Parmeri asked the obvious question. "So," he said, "how'd it go?"
"It went fine," Elise answered. "But I lost my phone."
"Don't worry about that." Parmeri dismissed her concern with a wave of his hand. "You got a burn phone yet?"
"Not yet. But..." Elise hesitated. "I lost everything else, too. My notes and everything."
"Oh." Parmeri frowned. "How'd you manage that?"
"Long story." It really was. "But don't worry, I remember most of it, I just have to get it all on paper again."
"You've still got the memo in your e-mail, right?"
"Yeah."
"Alright," Parmeri sighed. "I guess you're fine. But don't go losin' stuff like that, okay?"
"Got it." Already, this morning was going badly, but not quite as badly as Elise had feared.
Soon, the rest of the attorneys assigned to Loki's case filed in. The associate from the elevator, of course, seated herself right next to Elise.
"What happened to your arm?" she whispered, feigning shock and concern.
"Sprained it," Elise responded as she tugged her sleeve down to cover the visible portion of the bandage.
"Let's get started," Parmeri said, his voice loud enough to be heard over the chatter that filled the conference room. "You've all probably noticed already, but Elise is back." He paused to permit a small ripple of applause before continuing. "I'm sure she's got a whole lot to tell us about, but first..."
With that, the meeting began. Parmeri's speech was particularly lively - perhaps he was excited to finally be moving forward with Loki's case - but still, he couldn't hold Elise's attention. At least her wandering thoughts were work-related; she imagined herself speaking privately with Parmeri after the meeting, probably recusing herself, and possibly losing her job. She calculated the chances of being readmitted after she was inevitably disbarred, and she pictured herself rattling off excuses to a disciplinary board, or worse, to a judge in federal court.
"'Lise?" Parmeri had paused in his speech, and everyone in the conference room seemed to be waiting. "You got an answer for us?"
"Oh. Yes," Elise replied with a nod.
The eyes of the room remained on her for a few seconds more. At least one associate was stifling laughter.
"So," Parmeri pressed, "what's the answer?"
"The answer is yes," Elise said, hoping that her pretended confidence would compensate for her lack of preparation. Apparently, it did not.
Parmeri pressed a sweaty palm to his forehead. "You want me to repeat the question, 'Lise?"
Her face feeling hot, Elise said it again: "Yes."
With a frustrated sigh, her boss repeated himself. "I'm asking you what's going on with our client. What's his deal?"
"Sorry, thanks," Elise said, flustered. "His deal is that he's a bit uncooperative. He admits guilt, but he thinks he's justified. The good news is that we might be able to show that he acted under duress, maybe extreme emotional disturbance-"
"Provocation?" Parmeri interrupted.
"What?"
"What provoked him?"
"That's a whole, separate can of worms," Elise sighed. "Family problems mostly, but I don't know if that's enough."
"What're you getting at, 'Lise?" Parmeri seemed to be getting impatient with her scattered analysis. "You think duress, or you think E.E.D.?"
"Hear me out," Elise said. "I think insanity might be our best bet..."
Her explanation was drowned out by her co-worker's mumbles and whispers. The voice of an older, more veteran associate across the table from Elise cut through the cacophony: "Insanity?" he remarked. "Are you kidding?"
"No," Elise protested, "I'm completely serious. Duress might not work – he could have backed out – but if we can get him to sit down with a psychologist, they'll find-"
"He's willing to talk to a shrink?" Parmeri said, eyebrows raised.
"Well, no," Elise admitted. "But we should at least try to convince him to. He said to me that he felt he was justified. I think he thought he was saving the world, or something like that. There was a sense of moral urgency that probably came from his psychotic fantasies. Get him in with a psychologist, and they'll tell you that, too."
"But that's not what he wants," the associate across the table nagged. "You can't make him do it, it's his choice!"
"Oh, please," Elise retorted, becoming agitated. "I don't think he even understands what's going to happen to him if he's convicted, let alone-"
"Unfit to stand trial?" Parmeri suggested.
"Yeah," Elise said, still irate, but winding down. "Yeah, I'd say he's probably unfit."
"Okay, we'll run with that for now." Parmeri stood and backed away from the table. "Meeting's over. Get to work. 'Lise, my office."
Without another word, Elise followed Parmeri down the hallway and into his spacious, modern workspace. She knew exactly where to sit - in the black office chair in front of the desk - but she waited for his word.
"Have a seat."
She did.
"What's going on with you?" Parmeri asked, standing behind his desk. He was surprisingly calm, but obviously not pleased. "When I ask you for the rundown, you give me a one-word answer? You leave your brain in Asgard, too?"
"I'm really sorry," Elise replied. "I guess my mind was somewhere else."
"No shit. What's your problem today? You get any sleep?"
"It's not that. I've just got a lot going on right now."
"'Lise, this case has gotta be all you've got goin' on right now." Parmeri finally took his seat. "Hey, what's wrong with your arm?"
"It's a sprain," Elise replied quickly.
"Sprains don't bleed," Parmeri observed. He lowered his voice. "You got problems at home?"
"What do you mean by that?" She looked, and her bandage was tarnished red. Another blister must have broken.
"Don't wanna get too personal, but..." Parmeri hesitated. "Well, that don't look good. You know they've got stuff out there now for, you know, lawyers with depression, right?"
"It's nothing like that," Elise assured her boss. "I'll be fine. It was just an accident."
Parmeri sighed, stood, and walked to the door, which he held open for Elise. "Take the rest of the day off. Get your head straight."
"You sure?" Elise asked, approaching the exit.
"Oh yeah, I'm sure."
Disappointed in herself and not wanting to go home, Elise left the building. She had said she wouldn't be home until much later, but she was being watched, she knew, and if she stopped, even at the bank to cash a check or at the bagel shop to get something hot to drink, she was finished. Slowly, she walked home, dragging her feet and for once looking up at the buildings that lined her route. When she was a tourist, just visiting law schools, they were monuments to opportunity. Now, they looked like prison walls.
The walk up the stairs to her apartment was too short. Before she knew it, Elise was at her door. She took a deep breath before opening it, but when she did, to her surprise, no one was there to greet her. Everything was still and quiet.
"Loki?" Elise called as she opened every door, peeking around the corners. "Loki, where'd you go?"
At first, his absence came as a relief, but quickly, Elise realized what that meant for the world outside her apartment. He was out there, somewhere, and if he hadn't done anything yet, he was going to.
"Loki, where are you?" she called more frantically. She turned on the television to see if he had done anything newsworthy; it appeared that he hadn't. The curtains were still drawn, and the fire escape hadn't been touched. Everything was exactly as she had left it.
"Loki," she shouted into thin air, "if you're here, say something!"
He was audible before he was visible: "What is it?"
Elise turned to the source of the voice and watched, through a veil of light, as Loki apparated in front of her, the sight of him growing gradually clearer. Again, he was donning the gold, horned helmet he came with; Elise wondered where he had been storing it.
"What?" He spoke quickly, and his eyes seemed unable to focus on any one thing. "Why did you call for me?"
"I just didn't know where you were," Elise said.
"Well," Loki huffed, "did you think that I would idle here all day, waiting for you to return?"
"But where were you?"
He laughed. "I, too, have meetings to attend."
"Meetings?"
"Are you... questioning me?" He dropped his jaw in sarcastic surprise. "I thought you trusted me."
"No, no, I do," Elise lied. "I was just worried someone saw you."
"Oh, I was seen," Loki smiled. "But I have no doubts that my secret will be kept."
"I don't understand."
"You need not understand." He cupped Elise's face in his large, cold hands, and he lowered his volume to a whisper. "You need only obey." He lingered for a moment, then broke away abruptly, turning to look behind him before turning back. "I have something for you."
"What? Why?" Elise wasn't sure she wanted it.
"You question even my kindness," Loki said, his smile distorted into a wicked grin. "In Asgard, you said that you were fond of me, but now you will not accept my gifts. Why do you wound me so, Elise?"
He was joking, pretending melodrama, but it wasn't clear whether Elise was supposed to laugh, so she didn't.
"Here," Loki said after an uncomfortable moment of silence. He dipped his hand into a well-hidden pocket and removed a thin, metallic chain. It took a moment for Elise to notice that a complex pendant hung from it.
"Where'd you get that?" she asked, suspicious. "It's not stolen, is it?"
"Of course not," Loki said, his hands busy untangling the necklace. "It was a gift."
"From whom?"
Casually, he answered, "From the ambassador I spoke with."
"You're talking to ambassadors?" Elise exclaimed. "Where'd you go, the United Nations?"
"Shh, don't shout." With the chain finally untangled, Loki moved to stand behind Elise. "The story is simple, really," he whispered as he pushed her hair off of the back of her neck.
Elise tensed when his hand brushed her skin. All she could think as he fastened the necklace was that he was in a perfect position to strangle her.
"This ambassador," Loki explained quietly, "asked me whether I had a wife. I told him no, I do not. He gave this to me and expressed hope that I would find one. I have no use for a woman's jewelry, and that is why," he said as he returned to Elise's front, "it is now yours."
"Well, thank you," Elise said, though it felt wrong to accept. "It sounds like you made some friends... wherever you were."
"Friends, perhaps, but allies, certainly." Loki wandered to the window, parting the curtains a sliver to peer outside.
"Careful," Elise said. "Someone could see."
He ignored her. "Soon," he said, letting the curtains fall closed, "I will make this my kingdom."
"What?"
"This," he said, pulling one of the curtain panels aside but standing against the wall, out of view. "Look at it. Is it not terrible?"
"I don't think it's that bad," Elise replied.
"But it could be so much more," Loki said, dropping the curtain again. His mind seemed lost; he looked euphoric. "Such a modest realm, such a pure realm... well, pure it will be, once it is purged."
"Whoa, wow," Elise stuttered. His choice of words was startling. "Hold on... hold... wait, what have you been doing?"
"Full of questions, aren't you?" He left the window's vicinity for the kitchen. Elise followed.
"What are you purging?" she asked, desperate. "Don't tell me-"
Loki wheeled around and said, in a hushed roar, "Little girl, do not test my patience with these questions, for I will give you no answer. All you must know is that your allegiance will be rewarded, and when the Koreans-"
"Oh my God," she yelled, bringing a hand to her mouth, "you went to North Korea, didn't you?"
Even Loki's skin seemed to shake. He was furious, Elise knew, and she agonized as she waited for whatever violence was coming. She watched as his jaw tensed, as he clenched his fists, and then, in a turn of events she hadn't expected, as he smiled, then laughed. "Very clever," he commented, placing his hands gently on her shoulders and giving her a light shake. "Very clever, indeed." His tone quickly changed from playful to condescending when, bringing one hand up to touch her cheek, he said, "Now prepare us a meal, won't you?"
She was offended, but Elise knew that testing Loki's temper was not a winning strategy. She chose the non-confrontational approach, placing two Hot Pockets in the microwave as quietly as she possibly could and remaining in the room while they cooked and cooled.
Dutifully, Elise brought dinner to the living room along with two canned beers. She sat beside Loki on the sofa, leaving some space between her own body and his. She had hoped for quiet, but Loki wanted to talk.
"You returned from work early," he said. "Why was that?"
"My boss sent me home," Elise answered.
"For what reason?"
Elise took a sip of her beer. "Oh, I'm sure he had a lot of reasons."
"Hm." Loki seemed to ponder as he chewed.
"But," Elise continued, "I'm going back tomorrow, and... well, I don't really know what we're going to do tomorrow."
"Oh, but were you not supposed to convince me that I am... what was the phrase, Elise?"
Damn it, she thought. He was picking another fight. "What phrase?"
"Unfit?" he snarled. "Insane? Which is it?"
"Loki, I'm sorry," Elise said, "but you have to look at that stuff in context. It doesn't mean what you think it means."
"'Psychotic fantasies,' are they?" He raised his voice. "I would sooner return to Asgard to rot than allow your realm's tribunals to dismiss what I have tried to do as fantasies." He didn't move toward Elise – he barely even changed his posture – but the look he gave her was enough to make her shake.
"I can't..." She was ready to cry.
"You can't do what?"
Elise stood and backed away from the couch, anticipating an overreaction to her next words. "I can't be your lawyer anymore."
She was right to be worried, it seemed. For several seconds, Loki just sat, his face screwing up and his eyes darting around. Then, he got to his feet. He took a few steps toward the window before turning abruptly and kicking the coffee table, cracking the surface severely and knocking off one of its legs. After that, however, it appeared that he was finished, and something different came over him. He slouched, retook his seat on the sofa, and hung his head.
"You are abandoning me," he mumbled.
"No," Elise said softly. "It's not like that. It's a conflict of interest, you being here. I have to recuse myself."
"But you promised me," Loki reminded her. Pain, either real or faked, seemed to motivate his words. "If I win, you win. Those were your words. Do you not remember?"
Elise returned to the couch. Against her own intuition, she laid a hand on his knee, hoping that her closeness, though it felt unnatural to her, might comfort him. "I remember," she said, "but you're not going to win if you don't have a lawyer who can give you the best defense you can get. I'm not that lawyer."
"Excuses," he said, shaking his head. "You will betray me like the others, like Thor, like Odin..."
"No, I'm being honest with you," Elise said, though she was about to stretch the truth. "I want you to win your case. It's just not going to be my case anymore."
Loki sighed. "I apologize," he said. Suddenly, he seemed to brighten, lifting his head. He placed his own hand over Elise's on his knee, closing his fingers to hold it. "I should have believed you." He squeezed her hand tightly, almost painfully. "You swore to serve me, after all."
"Yeah," Elise said, disheartened by that reminder. "I did."
He smirked, apparently no longer upset, and said, "I need something from you."
"What do you need?" Elise asked. She tried to extract her hand from his, but Loki showed no intention of letting go.
"How much do you know about Tony Stark?"
"Not a lot," Elise replied. "I just know what everyone else knows, what's in the news."
"Well, that won't do," Loki said, his grip still firm around Elise's fingers. "You must find out more. Can you?"
Elise paused to think. "I mean, what do you need to know? Any real estate stuff is public record, so that's easy. I think my firm had an investigator on him at one point for a client who wanted to sue, but that was a while back, and there wasn't really a case."
"Anything you can find," Loki said, "bring it to me."
"Well, it's not that easy," Elise admitted. "I could probably get access to all that if it relates to your case, but... well, that's gonna be a problem."
Loki frowned. "I fail to see the problem."
"I'm not going to be on your case after tomorrow, remember?"
"Still," Loki said, "I fail to see the problem."
Elise's forehead crinkled with doubt and concern. "How?"
"No one knows of my presence but you," he explained, "and no one will know unless you tell them, which, of course, you will not."
"Are you asking me to lie?"
"Of course not," Loki chuckled. "I am merely asking you to continue on as you have been."
"But I can't," Elise protested. "I have to recuse myself, and I have to do it tomorrow, before this gets out of hand."
"You do not have to do anything that I haven't asked of you," Loki responded. "Furthermore, what reason have you to think this will 'get out of hand?'"
"Oh, no, none at all," Elise defended. "I'm just being cautious."
"Would it not be more cautious to lead others to believe that there has been no change in you?"
"Maybe." Elise felt guilty; she had probably already said too much. "Can I think about this?"
"There is nothing to think about," Loki replied coolly. "I have already told you what you will do." Finally, he set her hand free. "I am right to have faith in you, am I not?"
