Chapter 10.
Atlantic Ocean, Now.
Gregori was tired, and his cargo was making him worry about his sanity. The creatures had been quiet since their feeding two days ago, and it made him very nervous. Quiet was not necessarily a good thing when it came to Stephen's monsters, they could be unpredictable at the best of times. The black bearded Hungarian known under the name Conquest was good at smuggling humans across oceans, but these creatures posed a new challenge. If they were hungry, they would howl for more food and attract unwanted attention. If they were too well fed, they tended to hibernate and moving them into the cargo container for transport could be an issue.
Even in hibernation, Stephen's creatures were dangerous. Two of the hired men found this out the hard way when one fell asleep during transport out of Afghanistan a week ago, and since then no one dared even nudge the creatures if they were resting. They tried to lift the creature to move the beast and it defended itself against the perceived threat, in the most violent way possible. One man died instantly, bleeding out from his wounds in seconds, The other, if he survived, would need extensive reconstructive surgery to live a somewhat normal life. Maybe even his family would recognize him with a new face.
Gregori looked at his watch and squeezed his eyes shut, a headache beginning to edge into his brain and take hold. The first howls in two days had began to echo up from the bowels of the large cargo ship, and he was nearly ready to drop one of the emergency C4 charges into their holding cell just to be done with it all. He could tell Stephen that he had lost control of them and they had tried to escape, he would believe it and be angry but he would get over it eventually. He was more used to human cargo, smuggling people into new countries through dubious means. Forcing them all to pay for their passage through work. The average looking women would clean houses and buildings, men would become farm hands or day laborers, the young and attractive women would end up prostitutes. If they refused him, he had no problems killing them and incinerating the bodies. It was business, nothing more.
No one could ever say that Human Trafficking was easy, but Gregori was good at it. The first rule of business was to find a product that people wanted, could not live without, and you would never truly have to sell it. Fortunately for him, there were so many desperate persons who wanted his product and were willing to do anything to get it. So many war torn countries that people were desperate to flee, so many lives to be exploited using their hope as his selling point. He promised them a new life in a different country, and he delivered it.
Another Howl from the hold ripped him from his thoughts, making him look at the man he hired to Skipper his ship. The man looked pale for an Italian, and his face betrayed his fears. However, the man actually managed to not loose his calm while another howl echoed after the last, making both men swallow hard. He was going to have to feed the creatures again soon, they tended to cooperate so much more after feeding anyways. He looked down at his watch again, he had about twelve hours from the first howls of hunger before the sound became unmanageable. Gregori let out a long breath, making a decision and turning to the Skipper.
"Tell Vasillies that he may allow the Human Cargo to take fresh air. He should also get his team ready for feeding, it is best to get it done and over with." Gregori said. The Skipper immediately moved and picked up the handset, he spoke quickly into it, relaying the message and setting it back down. Another howl echoed up from below and both men shivered in response to the sound, their primitive brains reacting to the disturbance. It would be another day and a half before they reached American Waters and another day before they docked and offloaded their cargo. On the deck below him, living people stood in the sunlight, soaking as much into their skin as they could before they had to return to their hold below decks.
Just a few days more, and then he would be able to relax.
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There are few times in your life, that you can honestly say that you scared the shit out of an entire flock of sheep in Scotland. I am currently proud to say that this was one of those times, and I still say it with a smile on my face when I do.
The flock bolted toward one side of the pasture as Natasha touched down and dropped the three of us off, I grinned to myself and laughed at the protests of the livestock. She immediately dusted off again to circle somewhere above us, making the damp grass wave and swirl about as she left. It was early dawn and it was doubtful that anyone saw us, the receiver clicked in my ear and Loki turned toward Clint and I in his black and green coat and armor. The sheep protested our arrival again, and I returned the annoyance with a whistle through my teeth that startled the already on edge animals and made them run again.
"The building is four miles West of here." Clint said and I nodded as I watched the sheep slowly return to their grazing on the knee high grass. I turned and started walking toward a stone wall, and stopped short seeing Clint shaking his head and rubbing his face. HE crossed his arms and grinned at me, looking amused as I stood facing them.
"Are you guys coming?" I asked them both and they both stared at me incredulously, Loki giving a low chuckle and grinning.
"You sense of direction is still lacking." Loki said and I rolled my eyes.
"We are going to go, but that is East." Clint said and I shook my head, and pointed in the direction I was walking.
"No, I am walking West." I said and pointed in the direction that Clint Indicated. "That is East, now let's go. I'm freezing and I am cranky without coffee."
Loki watched our argument like it was a tennis match, and I crossed my arms and planted my feet. Behind me a random sheep bleated, and Clint shrugged as he pulled a pocket compass out of his jacket and opened the case. He turned North and smiled over his shoulder at me as he handed me the navigation tool and I rolled my eyes, I was heading East.
"You really went old school there Clint, real dick way to prove your point." I said and rolled my eyes at him and handed him back the compass. He snorted at me, and Loki repressed a laugh.
"Don't rub it in ass." I said and he laughed to himself in amusement.
"I'm not the one with the world's worst sense of direction Short Round." Clint said and I rolled my eyes at his joke, trying to ignore the sarcasm he used in the nickname he gave me. He grinned at me sheepishly and I threw my arms out in annoyance, Loki let out a long breath and looked around the field.
"Very funny Clint, very freaking funny." I said and glared at him.
"Are we going to head toward our goal, or do you both wish to stand here among the local fauna and argue more." Loki said and we both faced him in shock, neither one of us believing that he played the part of referee.
"Did he really just say that?" Clint asked and I nodded. I started walking and realized my mistake, groaning and turning back around to go the other direction and heading West. Clint snorted at me and I somehow managed to ignore it, he walked next to me and I shrugged trying to beat everyone in out band of merry miscreants to the punchline.
"Loki hasn't threatened anyone in three months, it makes him a little moody." I said and Clint laughed at the joke, Loki fell into step next to the two of us and we headed toward the building. His long coat trailed through the grass as he walked, and I could tell that he was annoyed at my little joke. He would get over it quickly though, he was used to my teasing and came to expect it. He sometimes dished it right back at me too, we were that kind of insane couple.
"So what did Thor do to land himself in so much trouble?" Clint asked, trying to make conversation as we walked along.
"He nearly started a war with Vanenheim, and is lucky to still have his tongue." Loki said and grinned at his comment, he did enjoy that particular screw up on Thor's part. I just hoped Thor would learn from his mistake, and learn to be more diplomatic in the future. He really was lucky that Odin did not banish him again, instead he decided that making him do penance by training the newly recruited Palace Guards and putting off his coronation for a few more years was punishment enough.
"How did he do that?" Clint said and I spoke before Loki could, sometimes the messy details were completely overrated and did not need sharing.
"Let's just leave it at, there may have been alcohol involved. Like, a boat load of alcohol." I said and Loki snorted at my understatement. I hoped that he would not choose to elaborate on my statement, but I was not exactly disappointed when he did. Sometimes, standing between two siblings in a one up contest was next to impossible, and I was glad to be an only child.
"He compared the appearance of the King's favorite daughter to a pig, and then made matters worse by stating that her scent was that of a rotting dung heap. It sill amazes me that Thor made it back to Asgard intact, he was nearly flogged." Loki said and Clint laughed at the story, I shook my head in exasperation. Loki looked at me, a smug grin crossing his face as Clint continued laughing.
"You know Loki, there is this forest in Russia that the mane of which literally translates to: Do Not Go There. You started where I was at the edge, and just plowed right on in, marching right to the center and bitch slapped every tree on the way through." I quipped and Clint nodded his agreement with my statement.
"In Loki's defense though, you don't insult a man's daughter. There is a good reason they call them 'Daddy's Girls'" Clint said and I shrugged at the statement, Loki gave me a sheepish grin again and I rolled my eyes. We came up on a low stone wall and I carefully climbed over it, trying not to fall backwards. The damn thing had to have existed since the dawn of man, because many of the stones were loose and I nearly fell when when one slipped and shifted under my foot. Loki caught me before I hit the ground and I patted his arm in thanks, nothing worse than falling in what you thought was mud and finding out it was sheep droppings.
"Don't encourage him Clint." I said as we continued walking across another field. The mixture of the sun and the walking started making me warm, but I couldn't take off my coat because the shoulder holster would be visible. It could make things hard on us if we encountered a farmer of another person walking along, Loki would be hard enough to explain as it was. I figured we could go the route of being a part of some Lord of the Rings reenactment, or something equally weird. Thank God for my sense of Poo Culture.
"Are you still convinced that I need encouragement?" Loki said as we walked, Clint laughed next to me and I groaned to myself.
"Point taken." I said and stepped over a large tuft of grass in my way, I could see the building in the distance and I stopped for a moment to point it out to the boys. The three of us watched it carefully for any signs of occupation, but we were still too far away for any reasonable assessment. The gray stonework structure looked like the buildings designer wanted it to blend in with the countryside, and they did a pretty good job of it with the faux stone facade. We started walking again, the grass in front of us got deeper, and soon my jeans were wet up to the knees from the dew that collected on the blades. I nearly tripped a couple of times, but managed to stay upright.
"Next time, let's have Natasha drop us off closer, I'm getting soaked from the knees down." I said and Loki looked down at my pants, Clint pushed on and I thought I heard him let out an annoyed groan. We kept up our pace and we soon climbed over another low rock wall, the cold seeped into my legs and made my knees ache. I did not make too much of a fuss, as I sat on the wall to scoot myself down the other side. Both Clint and Loki rested for a few minutes, so I took advantage of the break to catch my breath.
"We are not that far now." Clint said and I rolled my eyes as I started to feel the cold creep upwards.
"Now I'm cold." I said and stretched my legs out for the sun to dry them, shivering a bit from the damp. Loki walked over to me and used a bit of magic to dry my pants legs and I smiled up at him, Clint let out a long breath and tossed a rock in the air.
"Quit complaining Short Round." Clint said, I crossed my arms and glared at him, getting annoyed with his attitude.
"I like complaining." I shot back at him and he laughed, next to me Loki snorted and chuckled a bit. Clint threw the rock and it bounced off the wall next to me, I shrugged and he found another one as he leaned against the wall on my other side. The three of us enjoyed the view quietly for a moment, and I stretched my neck out to catch some of the sunlight.
"We will take the next few minutes and rest. We don't really have any set schedule, so we have time to spare." Clint said and I nodded. I looked out at the field, letting my eyes fall onto the building in the distance and felt a bit of trepidation creep in. Somewhere in the field behind us, a horse protested and Loki turned his head. I looked over my shoulder and a beautiful brown horse galloped by, flipping it's tail and snorting at us. Clint smiled as the animal stretched its legs and turned, enjoying the freedom of the large field and I smiled at it.
"Beautiful creature." Loki said and I smiled wider as it trotted over to us, I held my hand out and scratched the horse's chin. It nuzzled my hand, looking for my scent, tolerating me a bit more before galloping away across the field, flipping its tail at us as it ran about.
"Don't get any ideas now Loki." Clint said and I turned back around and glared at him, my entire expression screamed for him not to go there as he grinned back at me. I prayed to whatever fate was listening that the conversation would not go any further, but was not at all surprised when it did.
"I am a skilled horseman Barton, you should also know that I am quite fond of the creatures, they have a wonderful majesty to them." Loki said and I continued to glare at Clint, the man struggled not to die with laughter. Mentally, I begged Loki to stop talking and I could see tears forming in Clint's eyes as he fought back against the outburst.
"Lilly must get jealous when you go riding." Clint said, laughter lacing his voice as he choked a bit. I pressed my lips together and fumed at Clint, yet still begged both men to stop talking in my head before this went on further. Clint doubled over and had to put his hands on his knees as he laughed, and mentally I murdered him in twelve different ways. All of them, extremely painful and equally horrible.
"What exactly is so damned funny Barton? I would so love to hear how you find my enjoyment of riding horses so amusing." Loki said and I groaned and buried my face in my hands, Clint nearly fell backwards off the rock wall laughing. His face turned red as he wheezed and I did my best to just ignore the fact that Clint had just successfully managed to get Loki to put his foot into a bear trap.
"He really does not know." Clint said and I looked down at my feet and shook my head.
"Know what?" Loki said and I sighed, why did this have to come up? So much for a nice fucking day, I wanted to shoot Clint in the foot for that one. I let out a breath and thought best how to explain how Loki was actually the Norse God of Horse Fucking, not a fun conversation to have with the guy you are about to marry.
"There are some old stories from the Vikings, told thousands of years ago. You would have been like eight at the time, and they are not exactly flattering. Can we all forget about it now?" I said and Clint collected himself, Loki tilted his head and I looked at the grass. I really hoped that this was the last of it, and I just wanted to get through the next couple of hours.
"Illuminate me, what do these stories say of me?" Loki said and I took in a very long breath, Clint laughed again and I did my best not to cry. I was so mad, I could strangle Clint and make up any story about what had happened to the man next to me. Loki waited expectantly and I shook my head, trying to think of a way to change the subject fast. I could not find a way out of this conversation, so I relented and groaned to myself.
"I am so going to kill you Clint." I grumped and did my best not to shake in anger, my hands curling into fists.
"You and my wife." Clint quipped and I rolled my eyes at him.
"What do they say?" Loki demanded, and Clint laughed again. I pinched my eyes shut and felt tears coming, fighting them and trying not to loose my control.
"Well, Lilly is going to be quite the Step-Mother." Clint said and I let out a frustrated yell and glared at him. He jerked away from me and I tried not to throw anything I could find at him, his face told me that he understood that the joke had gone on too far and he put his hands up in supplication. I glared a hole through him, Loki made an annoyed sound behind me. I had the feeling that I was going to have to end this now.
"Shut up Clint!" I screamed, startling the horse and it snorted as it ran away from us. Loki arched an eyebrow in confusion, his brows knotted and I nearly lost my cool as I slid off the rock wall and started walking toward the building. Clint laughed again at my frustration, and had to take in a deep breath to steady himself.
"No more talking, we have something to do and we need to get it done. Are you both coming, I would really like to get this all over with." I said over my shoulder as I walked, making it a few more paces before a hand caught my arm and pulled me back. Loki glowered down at me and Clint stopped laughing as I tried to pull my arm back, he looked angry and not at Clint. He had right to be, because I did lie by omission to him and I looked down.
"What do the stories say Lilliana Rose?" Loki demanded and I let out a long breath, knowing I was not going to have a good time with this.
"One of them says that you were with a horse and that Sleiphir is your offspring. Hela is your daughter, and that you have a few other children. They are just stupid stories though, nothing more." I said and Loki looked at Clint and I in open shock, he stepped back from me and let go of my arm as he looked around the field. His face a mixture of anger and grief as he studied me, I took a step forward and he put a hand up to keep me back.
"You know I have no Children, the one...the son. He was stillborn, and Elanora." Loki struggled with the humiliation as Clint walked up. He shook his head and looked at Clint in anger, I put my hands out and he stepped away from the two of us. He turned on his heel and folded his hands behind his back.
"Loki?" I said softly, and he looked back at me, his eyes red as his calm slipped. I tried to maintain my own control, and I walked forward. He shifted and ignored me, angry at me and I glared at Clint over my shoulder.
"They are just stories, I know the truth. I know how you lost them both, please calm down. Besides, you were a kid at the time, there is no way you could have done all that." I said and tried to use a nervous laugh to break up the tension. He turned back on me and I cringed back, trying not to look scared but everything in my past caught up to me and I braced for impact. I had my arms at the ready on instinct alone, and did my best not to run for it.
"Why did you not tell me of these lies?" Loki said, regaining his composure as he took in long breaths. I pinched my eyes shut again and tried not to freak out, he stalked toward me and I cringed back again.
"Because I did not know how to tell you, it sucks to know you are the scapegoat for every bad thing that ever happens. I really know that, and the whole subject was uncomfortable." I said and stepped back, finding the one rock in the field with my heel and falling backwards. I landed on my ass and tried not to yelp in pain from my bruised butt, Loki let out a sardonic laugh in front of me.
"Uncomfortable? You have no idea what uncomfortable is, to have lies used against you. To be subjugated behind your back and made a laughing joke for a band of primitive mortals, you know nothing girl!" Loki snapped and I glared back at him, I was tired of him being a primadonna and I was not going to let him stand over me and say I did not know what something felt like. I stood up and planted my feet, the fight of the century brewing inside me as I waved my hand at him.
"I don't know? Do you know how much shit I got thrown at me because someone lied about something I did? Jesus Christ! I could tell you some stories about the garbage I put up with, but did I get mad because of it? No I shut my fucking mouth because it made everything ten times worse for me! I'm sorry, I should have told you earlier. I will admit that I messed up, but you have to believe me when I say that I looked beyond those stupid stories. They never once crossed my mind when I fell for you, and if you don't believe that, then I don't know what else to say." I said, letting my anger melt out of me as I saw sadness cross his face, I opened the wrong bag of cats and one was having problems getting back into it. Something from my past I was uncomfortable came screaming out, and I was going to have to have to elaborate. I was going to have to tell him about it later though, I was not keen on letting Clint see how messed up my head was in the middle of a Scottish field.
"She could have used them against you, but she didn't." Clint offered and I glared back at him. He was so getting his ass kicked later for this one, and I was going to be the one kicking.
"You really are not helping Clint, you opened this can of worms and I am going to kill you still." I said and threw my arms out. Loki chuckled to himself and crossed his arms, I looked for anything to say in that moment and found nothing. It was either he believed me, or he didn't and I was hoping for the first. He shook his head and laughed to himself as he thought about it all, I got more nervous and tried to keep a bit of distance from him.
"You still have explaining to do, and I expect it in full." Loki said and I nodded that I would, I did not look forward to the conversation and hoped he would forget about it in the end. Clint let out a cleansing breath and the horse nickered behind the wall at us, the animal regarding us as strange animals to be studied. I walked forward and put my arms around him, and he relented as he gave me a squeeze.
"I forgive you for that, you were only protecting me from this. I imagine that you knowing the truth is better than believing the lies, don't keep anything from me in the future." He said and I glared back at Clint and put up a warning finger at him. If he said anything more, I was going to come unglued and beat the holy hell out of him.
"Sorry Loki." Clint said and I grinned at him sheepishly, he knew he had screwed up. I felt him not above me and I let out a tense breath, considering changing my name and moving to France for half a second. I pulled away and gauged Loki's face for a half second, he pinched his lips together and patted my shoulder.
"New rule, No using Norse Mythology to pick on Loki." I said and Clint nodded his agreement, I clapped my hands together and started walking again. I stopped, realizing that I was walking the wrong way and turned back and began the correct direction again. Clint laughed to himself and I heard Loki snort at my mistake, I tried to ignore their amusement and kept going.
"Worst sense of direction ever." Clint said and I put up a warning finger over my shoulder at him.
"She once got lost once in the castle for hours, I found her in the kitchens. She was looking for the Library, and claimed that the walls moved on her." Loki said and I groaned to myself, trying to forget that story. I felt my neck turn red, remembering the look on the Maid's face when I opened the door and saw her there with a tray of bread. She was shocked, and tried to console me and directed me out of the kitchen with a small cake in my hands. He hands covered still in flour, left prints on my dress, but the was so nice about the mistake though.
"At least they were nice about it, she was expecting it to be Fandral and was ready to clobber me with a soup ladle." I said and Loki laughed at me.
"I hope you drew her a map for future outings." Clint said and I rolled my eyes ans Loki nodded, chuckling to himself at the idea.
"I may have to do that for her in the future. She once found her way into Odin's chambers, that was an amusing story alone. He sent his raven to fetch me, and I found them both talking together. HE was quite amused in her story though, the one about Harry Potter." Loki said and I did my best to not yell at them both in embarrassment.
"Alright, I get lost easily! We get it, can we just focus on the current for ten minutes?" I groaned, and Clint laughed at me again. I rolled my eyes and glared at Loki, he was obviously getting revenge for not telling him.
"Harry Potter? Really Short round?" Clint laughed and I rolled my eyes.
"I panicked, I needed an excuse to be there, and I played the part of the girl who had a new story to tell him. And for your information, he enjoyed it thoroughly." I snapped and Clint laughed loudly at me.
"He made her tell it to the Council, and direct a play of the story for the people." Loki teased and I groaned, I was getting tired of being picked on by these two. Clint laughed, not even hiding his amusement at the whole story.
"You two have got to be the cutest couple I have ever run into. The trouble maker and the one who needs a map, you better make sure she does not get lost on the way to get married." Clint said and I groaned, pushing ahead through the field as the two men laughed at me. The building loomed ahead, and I did my best to not laugh at myself and pretend to be annoyed.
"Shut up Clint." I said and kept walking.