New chapter for you. No need to thank me. Thank you, though, for your lovely support.

Yesterday I went to watch Thor 2, and I must say I'm completely and utterly affected by it. Too many Loki feels. If someone wants to do thoraphy with me, I am here in need of a lot.

Chapter 25. The One Who Does As He Pleases.

I didn't know where I was. I didn't know what time it was. I didn't know how long I had been blacked out. What I knew, though, is that I was inside. Exactly where I wanted to infiltrate.

Not in ideal conditions, but that could be dealt with.

I think.

I looked around me. It was a dim lit room, plain dark greyish walls and no furniture. I was sat on a chair, my hands handcuffed at the back and my ankles to the legs. I sensed a soreness in the articulations from being in this position for too long. There was no mirror to be seen, but it could be behind me.

An interrogation room.

A door opened outside my view and a pair of heavy steps followed by some lighter ones entered the room.

The man with the heavy footsteps appeared in front of me. He was bald, dark skinned, and lacked an eye. The one remaining was fixed on me.

"Mr Holmes, nice to meet you."

"I wish I could say the same, but that would be lying." I eyed the man up and down, analysing his posture and manners. "Mr Fury, I suppose."

His expression didn't change. So I was right. Of course I was. I always was.

"Well, Mr Holmes. I was hoping we could have a nice chat."

"Well, Mr Fury" I replied, mimicking his tone. "Having me chained doesn't help you on that."

"What about you get unchained if you answer a few questions?"

I remained silent and cocked my head to the side, encouraging him to continue, even though I already knew what those questions were about.

"Do you know the whereabouts of the one who calls himself the God of Mischief?"

"Sorry, who?" I teased. Fury pursed his lips.

"Loki. The God of Mischief. Black hair, green eyes, tall, lean" the director described.

"It seems you like him." He raised an eyebrow at that and I answered by raising one of my own and smiling mischievously.

"Just answer the question, Mr Holmes."

"Now that you mention it, someone who fitted with that description came to me for help."

"And?"

"I dismissed him, of course. His case was boring" I said, as if it were obvious.

"May you tell me what his case was?" wanted to know Fury.

"I don't know. He didn't tell me. I saw him and said I wouldn't help him. You should have seen the guy. He was practically screaming dull. I don't do dull." I watched his face, which didn't change. He was indeed a good spy. And so was the woman behind me, lurking in the shadows, listening and observing. Did they know I knew she was there?

"Mr Holmes, why were you in New York?"

"I was on holiday, why?" I tried to look surprised by the question.

"There are no flight tickets reserved under the name of Sherlock Holmes."

"That's because I didn't book it."

"And who did it, then?"

"My assistant. He's the one who usually does those things. They should be under his name."

"So, let me know if I get something wrong. You, for no apparent reason, decided to go on holiday to New York on your own the very same week our prisoner had escaped and contacted you. You may understand why this could seem suspicious, Mr Holmes" Fury said.

"But I didn't come alone. I was with my boyfriend. Who must be really confused right now. Have you explained to him why have I disappeared? No? You should have. How long have I been here, by the way?"

"Your boyfriend? Who may that be?" he asked, ignoring completely my other questions. So it had been a long time. If it were a couple of hours of so he might have answered.

"My assistant, of course. Why else would he book personal stuff like flights to go on holiday?" My tone left no doubt about how intelligent I thought he was. Which, by the way, was really little.

Fury sighed.

"Mr Holmes, we understand that this is a difficult situation, but if Loki has threatened or blackmailed you in any way we will solve that. You can trust us."

Trust a vague yet menacing agency. Yeah, right.

"He hasn't" I almost cut him off.

"So you know him" Fury accused.

"No, I don't. That's why I said he hasn't" I explained calmly. I was certainly having my fun on this.

Fury sighed and looked somewhere behind me. At the woman, presumably. Then he nodded and stepped back.

A moment later the redhead appeared in my view, piercing me with her gaze like I was a prey she was stalking.

"Sherlock." The way her voice curled around the words, like steel hidden under silk, sent a chill down my spine. "I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation. Loki is a war criminal. He is dangerous, more than any man you've ever encountered."

"Yet he lacks purpose, rendering him useless." And he is certainly not the most dangerous man I've known.

"I wouldn't say he doesn't have an objective. He does. He wants revenge against us, against humanity, for capturing and punishing him."

She was good, I had to admit that. She was exaggerating, obviously, but still. No one would believe Loki didn't hold any grudge against the whole universe. The man was such a diva. He words made sense, even if I knew the truth.

Do you?

"I don't see how I fit there. Or here" I said, moving my head to include the whole room.

"We know he has contacted you, and that you've been helping him. So you can just admit it and tell us what you know or we'll have to take it from you." It wasn't even a threat, more like a fact. That made it scarier than any threat could ever be.

Oh well, there is no point in pretending anymore.

And I still was getting the best I could out of the situation.

"Let's bargain, then, shall we?"

The spy smirked.

"What makes you think you are in any position to demand such?"

"Well, you are desperate. You posture is tense even if you try to hide it; which you do quite well, thanks to your training. You are purposefully suppressing any signs that could show your nervousness. Nostrils, pulse, the very way you stand. It is screaming your story, your identity. Former spy, obviously, now reformed agent. But you do not think you can wash the blood off your hands, do you? No matter how hard you try to do good, the past is always there to torment you." An almost imperceptible quirk of her mouth. "Nice to meet you, Natasha Romanoff. The infamous Black Widow."

"You could've looked it up online. You knew I am an Avenger; that doesn't prove anything" she replied coldly, looking unimpressed.

"But you know the information there is false, don't you? A fake identity. You must have enemies. How's the new life going? Not that much torture, I dare say."

"You only have to know where to look at to find what you want. Which is what you've done." She purposely ignored my questions.

"I'm sure I could have. But I haven't. Easy paths are boring." I lied, quickly gazing back at her again. "It is also known that you worked as a sleeper cell and that you studied to be a ballerina in the meanwhile?" I said, waiting for the reaction. The lack of it disappointed me.

"Where did you get that?" she asked, not giving off any emotion.

"Well, your posture says old ballerina. I guess you weren't trained to be a ballerina, were you now? But still something remains. And when and why would you do that, given the amount of time needed to learn? Obviously, sleeper cell. Simple as that" I explained, smirking.

"I see you are the showing off type." Her face was as blank as it ever was. Didn't she have facial expressions, by God's sake?

Oh wait, she's working. Of course she doesn't now. She's good.

"I am a genius" I simply stated.

"You are indeed. No one I've ever known knew about the dance classes I attended. That says something." There was silence for a moment. "What do you want to get out of this bargain?"

"Oh, giving up so soon? I thought you'd be tougher. You don't keep up with the legends around you, I'm afraid."

"Just thought hearing your demands out loud wouldn't hurt anyone."

Actually I hadn't exactly thought what I wanted to get, but still. Her being positive to listening my requests was a good sign. They were desperate.

"Firstly, I want you and your organisation to let me and John Watson go. We are not a part of this." A pause. "You have to guarantee our safety. And also Loki's. He is not a prisoner anymore, he can do as he pleases."

Natasha huffed.

"Him doing what he pleases is exactly the problem. And he still has some pending matters with us. His sentence is not over yet" she snarled.

"His powers were given back to him. His rights restored" I said, narrowing my eyes.

"He has amends to make for what he did."

"To whom?" I asked suspiciously.

"Please Mr Holmes, continue with your demands" spoke a voice from behind me. Fury.

Natasha looked at him for a moment. Then nodded once.

"You are asking for a lot for only giving us information we could get anyway. You're just a shortcut" Agent Romanoff told me.

I stared at her for some seconds.

"I only have one final request to make" I said, slowly, making sure she caught every word. "Capture and kill one Jim Moriarty" I finished and watched Natasha raise an eyebrow.

"The Napoleon of Crime, uh? You think we aren't looking for him?"

"Well, I know you don't know where he is." I let my eyes wander around the room distractedly before focusing on Natasha again. "But I do."

At that she nearly —nearly— gasped and looked at Fury, waiting for an answer. I couldn't see it, but judging by the expression on her face, it was permission. She took a couple of steps closer to me, until our knees were touching. Then she bended and came dangerously close. I could feel her breath on my face, each acute and feline feature, the red hair falling over her shoulders.

"How can we be sure you do have that information?" she inquired.

"How can I be sure you will do what I requested?" I replied. "Even if you said you will let Loki go, you could just break your promise."

"There is no promise to be broken" she answered.

Her fierce eyes were drilling into mine, making their way into my skull and my very core. I felt exposed. But being this close also allowed me to notice smaller details than usual.

And she was lying. She didn't have the authority to make that decision, to order to drop the search for Loki. That wasn't in her hands, but neither was in Fury's, director of SHIELD. So it had to be someone even more above. Asgard.

Earth was just the prison, the courts were far away.

She just stared at me after that, and so did I.

"Okay, fair point" interrupted Fury from the shadows behind me. "We'll have to trust each other in this."

"I tend not to trust spies. I quite like not being stabbed in the back" I mocked.

Agent Romanoff looked briefly at Fury behind me just once, then went back to examining me with her eyes like I were some kind of animal she was about to hunt.

"We will leave you to your musings."

She straightened and turned. Without looking back, she and Fury exited the room.

Their steps resonated for a couple more of seconds until there was only silence. There was only me.

They would be back.

But when?