"How reliable is his intel?" Steve asked the room, tensing slightly. Normally, this wasn't an issue but the room held a volatile mix of personalities.
"He could be lying." Loki looked nonchalant about the possibility, twirling a stylus in his fingers. He paused to tap the tablet in front of him, frowning slightly.
Steve thought of that as the godling's thinking face and left him alone for now, turning to Phil. "What do you think?"
"I think we check the lead on Barnes." Phil glanced toward Natasha, who hadn't said a word since entering the room. She was glaring at Tony and the billionaire was glaring right back. They'd clearly had another fight and Steve prayed it wouldn't get in the way. "If that is correct, we can follow up on the other?"
"Follow up on what?" Tony made air quotes as he mockingly repeated, "'Alien invasion' isn't good information. He admitted that he has no details beyond Garrett having some plan based off, I'll note, what Loki did." Thor shifted uncomfortably in his seat, glancing at his brother as if fearing a blow up.
"Yes, but my plan wouldn't have worked." Loki glanced up when shocked silence filled the room. He took in the looks, realized what he'd said and who he'd said it in front of, and flushed slightly. Clearing his throat, he murmured, "I didn't know that then."
Bruce frowned. "But Garrett would so why-"
"Can we focus on Bucky, guys?" Steve hated how small and fragile his voice sounded. It worked, though, pulling Loki and Tony back from whatever showdown had been building.
"So we hit Garang and take him out." Tony was already seeing the end of the fight, before he hit the battlefield. "Done. What are we waiting for?"
"This is a SHIELD op-" Phil started to say. Steve blinked at him, not sure if he'd heard that right.
"Nuh-uh, we don't pull agency bullshit on friends," Tony snarled. "If you want to help, help. Otherwise, stay out of our way.'
"I wasn't pulling agency bullshit. The intel comes from SHIELD, from me." Phil pressed his hands to the table. "I want a coordinated mission, not some bomb and burn. We need to get Bucky out. We need to secure the Chair so they can't do this again. And we need to do it in such a way that they don't kill or move Bucky or the Chair before we hit them."
Steve took a deep breath to calm himself; he felt Sam put a hand on his arm. Phil was trying to help, in his own way. Loki tapped more insistently at the tablet before looking up at Tony. "Will you grant JARVIS permission to post an image for me on the room's screen?"
"Just so long as its not from your guys' personal porn collection." Tony's words were barely out of his mouth before an image of a third-world city block appeared.
"This," Loki said as the largest building in the center of the image tinged with red, "is Garang's compound. It's in the heart of a small town in the territory claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan, making it a perfect place for someone intent on destabilizing the region."
Steve felt his chest constrict. "We'll have to worry about civilians."
"Yes. Stealth entry by a covert team who would secure the chair and Barnes." Natasha spoke in clipped, terse words. "Then the bunker busters enter and pull the attention away from the guys inside, so they can protect the assets when the hostiles try to move or damage them."
"Assets?" Steve asked, his brow furrowing.
"Sorry." Natasha gave him an apologetic half-smile. "I slipped into agency-talk."
"The big team is Thor, Stark, Sam, Bruce, and Tony." Phil glanced around the table, knowing that was the easy part. "The covert team is Natasha, Rogers, May, myself, and Loki."
There was a beat of silence; Tony looked around expectantly and said, "So I have to be the bad guy? Fine. Bad idea, Phil."
"It's not terrible when you consider I cast illusions." Loki met Tony's glare without flinching. "Makes sneaking around easier rather than harder."
The billionaire snorted. "Yeah, you're not inspiring any confidence in me by touting your ability to deceive."
"If anyone's getting left behind tonight, it's you, Stark." Natasha spoke like a woman delivering an ultimatum not a suggestion.
"That's how it's going down? Yeah, I can see that, given that your boyfriend is taking charge of this mission and he'll make sure that your other boyfriend comes along." Tony made a flippant gesture that bordered on rude. "Then those that don't like it can fuck off on the suit they rode in on, huh?"
That was the last straw. Steve rose and planted his hands on the table. "This is not a SHIELD operation. This is not about getting out that device or assets. This is about rescuing my best friend, who is probably having his memory wiped as we speak." An aura of shame descended on the room.
"So if you're making the calls, make them." Tony looked relieved at the change in the room, sitting back a little. He seemed confident about Steve's choices.
"We are going to go in as Phil said." Steve ignored the anger that flashed over Tony's face. "He's right that we can't leave the mind washing device. But to destroy it. I'm not sure SHIELD should have that temptation."
"So you actually want us to destroy it." Sam sat up in his chair as he sought clarity.
Steve nodded, watching the others. There was a pause before Thor said, "I will gladly destroy the machine that enslaved my brother."
"When you put it that way, Thor, I have to agree." Phil nodded to Steve. "If you want it destroyed, we'll do that."
"You guys have fun." Tony's first coherent words made Steve's heart sink.
"Tony, please." Steve knew he was giving him a pleading look but he didn't stop. It would be worth it to get Tony to come. To get Bucky back, he'd do worse.
"Please, what? Give me one good reason. One!" Tony held up his finger as if he worried that Steve couldn't count without a visual representation.
"Because he's willing to help and I will take all the help I can get." Steve glanced at Loki. "If I didn't take him, and we didn't get Buck, I'd never forgive myself. Tony, please."
They held gazes for a long moment, Tony's angry and Steve's hopeful. "Fuck!" Tony snapped sharply, looking pissed. "God damnit Rogers. Fine. Fine! I'm in. But you're explaining it to Pepper if Loki turns me into a goat or something."
"I'd never turn you into a goat." Loki smiled wickedly. "There are so many other uses for you."
"Great." Tony glared at the Asgardian. "Now I'm gonna have nightmares. And I'm gonna tell Pepper why her sleep gets interrupted." Loki raised an eyebrow skeptically and Tony grinned. "I'll let Phil and Natasha tell you about Pepper and her temper."
It was the first remotely positive interaction he'd seen them have and Steve dared to hope they could work together to save Bucky.
This felt like natural and right, and Loki wondered if this had been his fate all along. If so, the Norn had weaved a bizarre path through life. It was almost easier to believe that random chance had brought him here.
Natasha crouched in front of him, her pistols held in her hands. Loki had the assault rifle Phil had loaned him pointed to the right of his own feet. It left the weapon ready but minimized the chance that he'd shoot an ally.
Phil touched his back lightly, just below his tactical vest. Loki glanced back and his lover gestured to the right, down an alley. A man was working on lighting a cigarette, the staccato flicks of his failing lighter showing only flashes of him. It was enough for Loki to see the assault rifle hanging from his shoulder. He touched Natasha's shoulder before she scurried away and got separated from them.
The godling focused a touch more magic, feeling the strain of holding so many illusions at once. Attempting to hide five people from everyone took far more effort than most people considered, as Loki had to adjust for each potential angle he had to angle. This time he kept it simple, darkening the shadows his team hid in until no human could pierce them. The lighter ignited suddenly and the guard lit his cigarette. Loki watched as he glanced casually toward them while drawing his first puff, then disappeared around a corner.
Phil breathed a soft sigh of relief and tapped his back twice in the all-clear. Loki released the extra bit of magic before looking back to verify that Steve and May were still with them. After the conversation he'd seen between her and Phil, he was surprised that she'd been cooperative in the field, much less come at all. She may not have liked him but aside from some glowering at him, she was the consummate professional. Steve could actually sneak, something Loki wouldn't have guessed before today.
All the ducklings were accounted for and he gave Natasha the all-clear. She slipped into motion again, silent as the shadows around them. Loki followed after her, feeling oddly content despite going into combat with both of his lovers. Nothing would happen to them; he was here to see to that.
Their path continued through the compound, Natasha following the map in her head. She came to a door and paused; Loki put his head near it and listened as well. When she glanced up, he shook his head in the negative. Her lockpicks appeared in her hand as if summoned there by magic, her deft fingers starting to pick at the lock.
Loki turned his focus to their immediate area, strengthening the illusion of the empty wall. They were right in the open, right where anyone could see-
Clint Barton came around the corner of the building. Ricochet walked to his right, laughing at something he was say, while Dethlok followed, a dark wraith. Everyone froze as the three came toward them. Of the three, Dethlock was the greatest threat right now. What he saw, his HYDRA operator saw. Loki drew more reserves of magic, focusing on the way the wall would look to the three from their angle, the way that the shadows fell across the door, or any of a million details that Hawkeye could spot.
He saw Phil move and turned his head fractionally to see Steve quickly shake his head. Natasha waited with her picks still in the lock, holding her uncomfortable crouch without a sign of muscle fatigue. The three continued up the path toward them, their conversation audible as they came closer.
"-of my own." Ricochet giggled happily. Perhaps she'd been laughing at something she'd said, instead of Barton. The man did have a vaguely bored expression on his face, as if he wasn't listening to her anymore.
"Yeah, exciting stuff." He tossed a piece of kisra in the air, catching the flatbread in his mouth. He froze, in mid-step and mid-chew, and looked right at Loki. The jotun put his finger on the safety, ready to release it and start firing. The only thing that stayed his hand is that Barton looked suspicious, not terrified.
"What's wrong?" Ricochet asked. Dethlok stood mute and powerless behind them.
"I dunno. I have a bad feeling suddenly." Barton took a look around the area, his eyes sweeping over them more than once as he tried to find the source of his uneasiness.