A/N: Please read the author note at the bottom.

Disclaimer: As much as I want to be sadly I am not in any shape or form involved in the Marvelverse. My involvement ends at fanfiction and nothing more. Until I marry Chris Evans, that is. Then I'll get that talk with Stan Lee. :p

Chapter Ten

Loki bounced his foot up and down as he huffed loudly, gazing out the window. He sat on the windowsill, rolling the wolf's tooth between his fingers. The rising sun began to cast a warm glow upon the wall, stretching his shadow across the floor.

He was exhausted sitting alone, trying to think of an escape, only to remain completely blank at any sort of plan. Loki was baffled by the new sense of defeat. He was a master of trickery, a genius at devious plans and yet there he sat with the necklace of a past lover, trapped in a room with no powers to save him. He did not care for his current predicament.

Loki's fingers curled tightly around the necklace. Black Knight was headed for Hayden's mother, and Hayden was still out there blindly trekking in enemy territory. Stark and Astrid hadn't even tried to come for him. It had been well past ten minutes. The buffoon in a suit probably left without him. All Loki could hope for was that they left for California to reach Carol before Black Knight did.

His door opened. Loki barely glanced over, smiling at the sight of the old couple standing in the middle of the wooden frame. "Come to beg for my forgiveness before I decide to kill you and everyone that you've ever loved? Wise choice, I can assure you."

The old woman huffed, crossing her flabby arms against her sagging chest. "The master is on his way now," she informed him with a smug smile.

"Pray tell, if you no longer serve a god then who is your master?" Loki had a long list of enemies. How was he to ever remember everyone that was on it?

The old woman said nothing. She stalked away, padding her slippers down the stairs. Loki could hear humming downstairs and a faint aroma of rosemary. He cast his green eyes down onto the wolf tooth in his hand. His fingers slowly extended, cradling the necklace in the palm of his hand.

He had put Hayden into all of this. If Karnilla hadn't seen an opportunity in his lust to have his magic back then she wouldn't have seen opportunity in Hayden. While Karnilla's plan had backfired tremendously Hayden had still become involved in a world that she was never meant to be a part of. She had said it herself, that her books were supposed to have been her only adventures.

Now she was galavanting across Europe chasing storms where she'll soon find herself front and center. The eye could only be so calm for so long. She might have had S.H.I.E.L.D training and skilled agents at her side but they were not match for what could come. Not where the Dark Knighthood was concerned.

"Psst." Loki glanced up at the hissing sound. The old man hid near the door frame, waving Loki over. He remained seated. "Psst."

"I am not an animal to call at your will," Loki replied, pocketing the necklace. The old man stepped out from behind the wall, standing in the middle of the frame with a sour expression. "That is much better. Now, please, do tell me what it is that I can do for you."

"It isn't so much what you can do for me as I can do for you," he replied, producing a small glass vial filled with a blood orange, liquid substance. "It can free you from this room."

His interest was now piqued. Loki slid off of the windowsill, taking long strides to where the old man stood, stopped by an invisible force. "Why would you offer such a thing? What is it you want in return?"

The old man glanced around, looking over his shoulder to see if anyone was around. Satisfied, he nodded, returning his attention onto Loki. He rolled up his sleeve, baring the top of his forearm.

Upon the wrinkled and liver spotted flesh was a tattoo, green from age. It was crude ink work depicting a skeleton key with intricate detail done along the key's ridges. Loki pulled back from the man's arm, curious as to what it meant, but not enough to ask. He knew the man would tell him all he needed to know. Most men that preferred their tongues inside their mouth did.

"The tattoo is laced with strong magic, I am forbidden from speaking of matters that do not concern you," the old man informed Loki. His fingers trembled as he rolled down his sleeve. "The gods have long since abandoned us. All their servants, their people, their faithful followers, they returned to their homes leaving us upon Midgard's soils."

Loki lazily waved his hand around him. "All of this becomes a tale of how lost souls just want to return home?"

The old man shook his head, narrowing his eyes. "It is a story of revenge."

Loki resisted every nerve in his body to keep from rolling his eyes. "What do I have to do with revenge against your god? I have never even met Amor." Nor did Loki ever intend too. He had much more pressing matters than to be caught up in a blood feud between a Roman god of love and his diaper wearing fairies.

"I didn't say it was revenge against just one god." Loki worked to keep his expression impassive. Though the stakes had significantly raised. What gods did the old man speak of? "I do not want to be a part of this, I never did. I follow where the Misses goes."

Amores and their unyielding claims of love. Typical, Loki chewed on. "Where was it that you followed your lovely wife to?" The old man remained silent. "Can you not tell me or do you not want to?" Loki smiled.

"A bit of both," he grunted. "Take the vial if you want but it won't last long and your window of time is short." The old man knelt down, gently pushing the glass bottle into the room. He hiked up his trousers and turned on his heel, leaving without looking back to see if Loki had grabbed the vial.

He stared at it for a few moments. It could have been a trick. If it were Loki he would have thoroughly enjoyed giving a prisoner false hope of freedom to encourage them to drink a bottle of poison instead. Though it was apparent that the amores needed Loki alive.

Loki bent down, plucking the vial off of the ground. He twirled it in between his fingers, the liquid almost appeared a pale pink in the sunlight. It was nothing new for Loki to play with magic he did not understand, he relished in the unknown, it was exciting, dangerous, but this? Well, it wasn't as if he had much to choose from the time being. He had to do with what was handed to him.

And right now it was a vial of an untrustworthy potion. Loki shrugged and titled his head back. The liquid was tasteless as it ran down his throat. He sighed, smacking his lips together as he stared at the empty glass in his hand.

The sand felt rough against my soggy hands as I collapsed onto the ground. It took all my effort to roll myself onto my back, blinking water out of my eyes I stared up at the brilliant blue sky. Ward and Freya scuffles beside me, a wet plop fell near my face. I craned my neck, scrapping my nose against a lifejacket.

Groaning, I pulled myself up, resting my weight on my elbows. Ward crumpled at my side. "Next time, let's just take a jet," I breathlessly laughed, sitting fully up to take off the lifejacket. "I can't believe we had to swim all the way back to Tønsberg," I frowned disappointed that not only were we attacked but our progress had gotten us no where in the end.

My fingers trembled. It was a little difficult to untie the buckle as the cold started to numb them. That, and my earlier frustrations weren't helping.

"Here," offered Ward making quick work of the task. He helped me slid the jacket off, tossing it beside his own.

"Thanks," I muttered, tossing my wet hair over my shoulder. "We should probably get a hold of Coulson."

Ward nodded, rising to his feet. I stood next to him, taken by surprise when an arm wrapped around my neck. Instantly Ward's gun was pointed at me, aimed above my head. She pressed the barrel of her weapon against my temple, digging it into my skull.

"Bailey, what are you doing?" Ward cried, his aim held perfectly still. "Think about what it is that you're doing. I can get you money. I can help you get immunity, remember?"

"Fuck your dirty S.H.I.E.L.D. money and immunity, Grant. I am thinking," she evenly replied, tugging me back with her. My feet licked over sand and rocks as I tried to dig my heels into the earth.

"If this has to do with Davis then leave Hayden out of it," he shouted, his breathing unusually rapid.

"This has nothing to do with Davis," she retorted, moving her gun from my temple to Ward, "Davis is dead, end of story. You're the only one who can't seem to let the past go, Grant. And I'm the one whose on the run," snorted Freya, pointing the gun back to my head.

"Unfortunately for you, Hayden is involved."

"I didn't do anything," I spat, trying to claw at Freya's arm. I was frantically trying to figure out why there was a gun to my head. Though having a gun to your head made it a little hard to concentrate.

"You think someone wants to take you because you're a threat?" Her laugh was a little louder then it needed to be. "Honey, you're the bait, the damsel in distress, not the hero."

"Bailey, what's happened to you? This isn't you. You don't take hostages." Ward kept his gun steady, his voice level, and his gaze hard. His breathing, however, was ragged and uneven.

I heard the safety click off. "Don't act like you know me, or that you care," Freya rebutted, digging the barrel of the gun deeper into my skull. "I know what you're playing at. I was in S.H.I.E.L.D once too, remember?"

"So where is your code of conduct or your-"

"Okay, we're done here," Freya spat. "You saved my life once so I won't kill you."

She fired her gun. It exploded beside my ear, a loud ringing ricocheted around inside my head. Ward's hand flung onto his chest, he fell back onto the ground, crying out in pain. Blood poured between his fingers as his eyes began to roll to the back of his head.

"Grant!" I shouted, butting my head against Freya's nose.

She spewed out a string of profanities as her hands flung to her face that looked like a bleeding fountain. I took the opportunity given to me and elbowed her in the gut. Freya dropped her gun but was quick to scramble in the sand for it. I dove at the ground smacking into her. She reached out with her fingers curled into a claw and slashed at my face.

Really? Scratching? I sprang forward, grabbing a fistful of her hair and pulled down. Freya cried out in shock. A shot fired next to the both of us. Sand exploded like fireworks. We both covered our faces, turning away as the sand bit at our arms.

Ward weakly stood with his uninjured arm pointing his gun our way. Blood soaked the entire front of his shirt. Sweat and dirt sleeked along his face. I scrambled away from Freya, standing next to Ward. My hands wrapped around his, prying the gun out of his loose hold.

Before Freya could reach for her weapon I had Ward's gun pointed at her. She froze. I nudged the gun upward. Freya slowly rose to her feet, holding her hands out in front of her. Ward pushed Freya aside, grabbing her gun from off the ground, his jaw clenched tightly together.

"Sit down," he hissed at her through gritted teeth, shoving Freya down. She plopped into the sand, glaring at Ward through snake-like slits. He ignored her, littering the bullets from her gun into his pocket. He slipped the unloaded weapon into his belt. "We need to call Coulson," he said, taking his gun from my shaking hands.

"Will you be okay?" I asked, not sure if I should leave him alone or not.

"She's unarmed, I'll be fine," he grunted.

"That's not what I meant," I grimaced, darting my eyes to his wound.

"I'll be fine," he repeated, trudging through the sand to stand beside Freya.

Pursing my lips together I stalked off toward a food shack, hoping that someone was there. In a sea of bad luck that threatened to drown me I was finally given a breath of fresh air. Two blonde teenage girls sat on stools chatting happily to one another, instantly silent when I walked up.

"Are you alright?" cried the blonde with chin-length hair.

I nodded, trying my best to smile. "Do you have a phone?"

Skye typed furiously at her keyboard, groaning every time the computer screen flashed black at her. She had been working at Hayden's request all morning. A tension headache was forming in between her eyes, blurring her vision. She pulled her long brown hair free from it's elastic prison, the pressure that built in the back of her head instantly deflated.

Tugging her fingers from her hair she stared at the screen, focusing on the reflection that stared back at her. There were bags in her eyes and her hair was stringy around her shoulders. She needed a hot shower and a few hours of sleep but instead opted for a coffee and half a bagel.

Skye curled up in the recliner that had her butt imprinted on the leather cushion. She chewed on the dry bread, rapping her knuckles against the keyboard. Her mind was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't hear footsteps join her in the empty room.

"Skye? What are you doing in here still?" Skye's eye flashed up to see Agent Jemma Simmons at the bar making herself a cup of coffee. Noticing the blanket at Skye's feet she frowned, "did you sleep out here?"

She wore her light brown hair in a curly ponytail with a high collared shirt that buttoned down with giant black buttons tucked into a high waisted red skirt. Jemma was always dressed her best, even before she started the coffee.

"Hayden asked me to find out some information on someone and I keep just coming up blank." She chewed on her bottom lip, darting her gaze back to the computer screen.

That wasn't exactly true. After her surprise video chat last night Skye was given an ultimatum. She could have all the information that she needed to give Hayden at a cost.

Miles Lydon was a member of the Rising Sun, and her ex-boyfriend. He knew Skye's style unlike anyone else. She was lucky it wasn't somebody else who caught the trace first, he told her, as if he had done her a favor by blocking her progress and locking her out of the system.

"I can help you, Skye," he told her with that half-cocked smile that she always fell for. It was just so perfectly slipped onto his face, as though there was no other way for this man to smile at her. "But, I need your help too."

Skye hadn't said anything. She was too scared. After her last stunt of hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D's servers she wasn't certain if they were watching her or not. Coulson had already hinted that anything Skye owned with a power button was bugged. Hayden had said she didn't think he would do such a thing but Skye wasn't as trusting as Hayden could be.

Miles suspected as much. He was always quick on his feet like that. It was why the Rising Sun liked having him on top. His instincts always told him when to pull out, and he had emailed Skye once or twice (or, more like eight times) that since Skye had "abandoned" the rebel group their chances of being caught by government officials had dramatically decreased. Skye knew it wasn't true, but it didn't help her mood any when Miles had interceded her.

All Skye had to do was meet him at the "old place" knowing that only she would know what he meant. Miles, the ever illusive, had promised that he would bring her the information that she needed. Calling his bluff, Skye was surprised that within seconds an email alerted her with a high-pitched ping.

"Just a taste of what you could have," he winked at her as she opened the email.

It was information on one Bailey Strohm who had killed an agent in cold blood, left Agent Grant wounded, and fled the scene. It was more than Skye was able to pull up from the S.H.I.E.L.D. servers. How did Miles get that information but she wasn't even able to find a crumb?

Did she take the bait? Skye looked at her watch. It was late at night in New York, where Miles and the Rising Sun resided. She was given the time frame of a week, since Miles knew she wasn't even in the states. Hayden didn't have a week. She needed the information on this Bailey Strohm as soon as possible. Hayden had a mere few hours before she or Ward called Coulson needing a lift back to England, and it seemed any and all information that Skye had to help Hayden out was fruitless.

"Oh, hello Hayden," smiled Jemma. Skye glanced up. She hadn't even heard the phone ring. "You were-" Jemma's thin brows pulled together at the bridge of her small, pointed nose. She gasped. "Are you guys alright?"

Skye tensed, setting the computer down where she sat. She walked over to the bar, trying to overhear the conversation. "We'll send someone to pick you guys up. It won't be long. Keep pressure on Ward's shoulder." She hung up, quickly dialing another number.

"What happened?"

"Grant was shot," she frowned, punching numbers into the phone. "They've been compromised," was all she said entering her Agent mode that Skye rarely ever saw. Jemma was typically meek like a small mouse, minding her business and sticking to her lab. "Agent Coulson, we have a situation."

Skye dug her knuckles into her eyes. It seemed everywhere Hayden went there was a situation. Jemma hung up the phone, deepening her frown.

"What happened?" Skye asked again.

"Well, from what I could understand they were shot at, Ward is wounded but not on his deathbed and they have a hostage."

Skye's brows tugged to her forehead. "Productive morning."

Jemma nodded, grabbing her cup of coffee. "Very," she agreed, taking a sip from her cup. "Coulson has been talking with Tony Stark all morning as well, and Agent May has hinted at extra guests aboard the jet."

"Great," muttered Skye, "just what we need: to become a catering service to Tony Stark."

Jemma pulled her cup away from her lips. "It won't be like that," she smiled, her eyes distancing away from Skye for a few seconds as her smile started to falter. She snapped her gaze back, strengthening the twitch in her pouty lips. "It won't be like that," she repeated into the mug.

When I returned from calling Coulson I borrowed a first aid kit from the snack shop girls. Ward was sitting across from Freya, his eyes hard never leaving her as she returned his stare. There was a pale tint to Ward's complexion, the sweat clung to his hairline. I grimaced tossing the first aid kit onto the ground, sitting down next to Ward.

"They're sending someone to get us now," I told him, opening the kit to search for some gauze and an ointment that I hoped would be okay to put over a gaping wound. My father used to tease me that I knew a lot of nothing, which in this case proved true. Chewing on my bottom lip, I hesitated before glancing up at Ward. "Jemma said to treat your wound."

Nodding, he pulled off his shirt, wincing in pain. I inhaled sharply at the sight of his wound. Blood clotted around the hole, spilling down his riveted chest. I swallowed, feelings my head start to spin. Ward pulled his thick brows together, pursing his lips tight.

"I can do it," he told me, taking the gauze and ointment from my hands. I started to protest but Ward shook his head explaining that he had medical experience where bullet holes were concerned. "Keep an eye on Bailey. Make sure she isn't going anywhere."

Again, I tried to protest but the moment Wards fingers plunged into his wound I spun around. My stomach twisted at the thought, imagining how warm and sticky it must have felt. Shivering in disgust I walked over to where Freya sat in the sand. Her blue eyes barely gave me a second glance. They were heavily fixated on Ward treating his wound.

I crossed my arms, watching her breath in and out, barely even blinking. Her control was relentless. I thought to yet and engage her in conversation. So many questions were pouring through my head that I worried if I didn't receive some answers soon then I was going to flood over.

I wanted to know who she was working for and why she needed me. She had said I was bait. You don't use someone as bait unless you know a bigger fish is willing to bite. There was a small list, I suppose, including S.H.I.E.L.D since I did work for them, and I knew Coulson would fight to get me away from the enemy if Freya had succeeded. Or, so I kept telling myself.

The only other person I could think of was Loki. But, that was far fetched. As far as anyone knowing about our sordid affair on Asgard it was kept to a very small group of agents that I worked closely with and my mom. Besides, Loki was still in Asgard, with no contact toward me, so using me as bait for him started to seem even more unlikely the more I thought about it.

Swallowing hard I decided not to think about it anymore. S.H.I.E.L.D had the finest interrogators, I had no worries that they couldn't figure out what Freya was doing. And, if I was in trouble I knew that I would be safest among them. I chewed on the inside of my cheek wondering if I should make arrangements to have my mom protected too. Well, that would open a floodgate of questions that I wasn't ready for. Not to mention she would blame Loki the entire time, even though for once he was not involved.

"Here comes the jet," Ward shouted. I looked up at the sky, just past the horizon on the sea. Sure enough in the distance was a small black dot flying toward us at an incredible speed.

I walked over to Ward, glancing behind my shoulder to Freya. She remained seated, a smug smile planted firmly on her face. I frowned, turning back to face the jet. I could hear it coming for us, the loud whirring sound was almost deafening as it grew closer. I used my hand to shield the sun from my eyes, smiling in relief that I would soon be back to warm beds and books in my lap.

"Hayden!"

My ears were ringing. I fell backwards, blown away from the sheer force of the explosion. It had happened so quickly I had no time to process what was going on. Wildly I looked around, my ears produced a loud high pitched sound that drowned out everything around me.

In flames the jet crashed into the water, skidding toward the beach where we stood. Debris flew all around us, landing in the sand so that it flew up like exploding bombs underfoot. I felt Ward tug at my arms, pulling me up from my hands and knees He wrapped his fingers tightly around my hand, tugging me along with him as we wove around the fires that rained down on us.

A searing pain shot through my arm and I cried out. A chunk of burning metal caught my bicep, eating through my skin. There was no time to stop, not even in my deaf, pained state. We had to get to safety first.

I glanced behind me to see several men dressed in black from head to toe appear from no where, as though they had been hiding in the brush around us the entire time. They walked toward a wounded Freya, a burly man with arms as large as Thor's plucked her from the ground. Two of the others pointed to Ward and I and began to chase us on foot.

"We have company," I cried through the pain, wishing I was back on Asgard where one slab of a pungent salve would stop the burning.

Ward looked behind his shoulder, hissing a string of profanities. He stopped short, holding me by my shoulder. His brown eyes searched mine, frantic, as if he was taking in everything about my face.

I didn't like it. I didn't like the weird wrinkles that lined around his eyes, and I didn't like the way they softened as they stared at me. I didn't like the way his lips pursed tightly together as he started to make up his mind.

"Go back to the Aaby's bed and breakfast. Call Coulson immediately and do not leave until I return."

"You're wounded," I shouted, shaking my head. If anyone should stay behind it was me. I was the one they were after anyways. "Just come with me. We'll-"

"They'll follow us," he cut me off, looking behind his shoulder as the men advanced within range of being able to start shooting their weapons. "Go, I'll hold them off. Just call Coulson."

Before I could retort Ward took off. I swallowed, listening to the ringing that filled my head. Ward rolled out of the way of their gunshots, hiding behind a rotting, wooden telephone pole. He pulled out a weapon of his own. One man fell to the ground.

Ward looked back to where I stood frozen. "Go, Hayden. I'll find you."

His words resonated within me, thawing out my legs so that I could run. I tore through the sand despite the burning sensation that filled my entire body. My arms and legs were heavy, my chest heaved up and down with each breath that I tried to take. I felt ready to collapse but pushed forward. Grant's life could very well depend on me and that phone call to Coulson.

I felt my feet push hard against the sand. What was I doing? I was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D too, wasn't I? I had a weapon of my own. I knew how to use it. There were four maybe five guys charging at Ward, shooting rounds at him as he hid behind the telephone pole for cover.

Slipping my gun from its soaked holster I turned back to make my way toward Ward. My pace picked up when I noticed that he was rolling around in the sand with a man twice his size. Ward was pinned beneath the blond behemoth, his face red as he struggled to breathe beneath the man's meaty hands that wrapped around Ward's neck.

Without a second thought I held up my gun, exhaling slowly then shooting mid-breath. The recoil wouldn't have been so painful if my arm hadn't been burned minutes ago. I dropped the gun at my feet, falling to my knees as I gripped at my wound, feeling my stomach twist and turn as if I might throw up.

I glanced up at the muffled scrambling in the sand. Worried that I missed and shot Ward instead I stood to my feet. He struggled to roll the large boulder of a man off of him, breathing deeply once he was no longer pinned underneath. Careful not to aggravate his wound any further than it already had been he pushed himself up to a standing position, his gaze landed firmly onto my own.

There were no words. No shouting that I didn't listen. No praise for coming back. Just a simple stare, a small nod, and a black blanket that draped over my eyes and pulled me into darkness. I remembered hearing a muffled cry that vaguely sounded like my name, then nothing else but a familiar empty void.

A/N: Okay, so you're all probably wondering why I said I would have regular updates then didn't. There are a couple of reasons why. I work two jobs, and right now through April I will be very busy with one of them because it's the time of year where business picks up for my place of work. I am currently writing two docs regularly. This one, and When They Fall (a spin-off to this one with Fandral). Between two jobs, family, friends and upcoming cosplay season I do not have the time to consistently write two of them. So, I've decided to work on one and if I have spare time update the second one. I've chosen When They Fall as my main focus. My reasoning my seem petty and childish to you all, and I'm sorry if it does, but frankly the fun to write this story is being taken away. I have repeatedly said I do not cater for a fanservice, I write because I have a story I want to tell. And, it's really annoying and disheartening when I receive comments complaining about how they want Hayden and Loki together. Despite several chapters of me telling people that it will happen, they just have to be patient, they still continue to ask and almost demand it. I'm glad you guys are enjoying it and really I appreciated every comment, review, message and follow/favorite I receive but if you wanted Loki lemons or fluff you came to the wrong fanfic. Yes, I've written and will write sex scenes in the story but only if it pertains to the plot. I'm not going to throw Hayden and Loki together just because the readers want it to happen. And, because I'm not it seems that while my views remain the same the reviews have gone dramatically down and it's a little hurtful, and like I said, disheartening. I don't get paid to do this. I do this in my free time. I pour hours, days, even weeks to get these chapters out so that you can actually read a story with, you know, a real plot. But, it's a little begrudging to receive complaint after complaint about Loki and Hayden and that's all the reviews I get any more. It sucks, not gonna lie. I don't want you guys to not want Hayden and Loki together, it is their story after all, but where's the fun if they don't work to get their happily ever afters? So, I've decided to take a break, focus on a story that I get upbeat reviews from instead of whining and comments that make me feel bad and like a shitty writer because readers aren't getting their way right away. I'll get back to ITEOtS when I no longer feel so discouraged and will update when I have spare time. I don't plan on quitting, just need a break from all the negativity.

TL;DR: If you don't have anything nice to say and just want to complain please refrain from messaging me or commenting me. Thanks.

Also, I won't respond to reviews this time, sorry, but only because my replies would be very repetitive. And I like to take the time and reply to you all individually but if all the comments are basically the same in regards to Loki and Hayden then I don't have much to say back. Granted not all of them were, but I just have to get this all of my chest. Thanks for understanding.