Chapter 36

The plane landed with a lurch, sliding to a stop on the smooth pavement of the runway. Jane tensed beside me, her brown eyes nervously flicking back and forth between the pilots and Darcy. With a groan, the loading hatch began to open. We had to move.

Catching my breath, I pushed off my seat, raising my gun. I fired a warning shot, making sure to well miss the men scrambling into the plane. They yelled, confused by the noise. It gave us our chance.

"Go," I hissed over my shoulder, raising my gun and pointing it at the closest man. Fear clouded his brown eyes as he slowly dropped to his knees. Pivoting on my heel, I checked to make sure neither of the pilots had tried halting my friends. Clear.

"Let me by," I spat at the men, holding the gun towards them as I side-stepped off the black plane onto the pavement. Darcy and Jane were already running, Eric tailing them. Breaking into a sprint, I chased them. My legs ached, but my body burned with the rush of flat out running. Images of training flickered through my mind and a wave of nostalgia washed over me. I didn't have time for this.

An abandoned luggage cart sat waiting, idling in the sweltering heat. I wondered just how well the agents had been greased by Eric to have this much of a plan already worked out for us.

"Get in, loser! We're going shopping!" Darcy bellowed, shaking me out of my thoughts. I just had time to swing into the square curtained box before she stomped on the gas, sending us skidding along the ground. Across from me, bracing with her arms, Jane tried to remain casual. Her teeth clacked together as we darted over dips and cracks at break neck speed.

Sirens wailed in the distance. I guessed that was one thing she hadn't thought of. Cops.

Leaning my head out, I ignored Jane's cries. "Darcy! Hang a tight left, and whatever you do- don't stop moving!" I yelled over the squeal of the tires. I didn't know if she heard me, but it was good enough. Crouching, I waited.

Seconds later, the box lurched to the left, nearly spilling Jane onto the ground. I caught her, making sure she was safe before I resumed my position. Raising my handgun, I squinted down the barrel. I just could out four fuzzy cop cars tailing us, getting closer and closer.

If we could just make it to the airport we'd lose them.

Trusting Darcy's mad driving skills, I let out a breath. "Duck," I advised Jane. Looking confused, she followed my command. Bang. Bangbangbang. The shots ripped through the air, piercing my ears. It hurt, but it was bearable. The cops swerved, tires screeching. There was a thud and a loud metallic groaning. When I dared to look back out, one of the cars had popped a flat, and had crashed into another in it's attempt to stay on course.

Two down, two to go.

"Did you just shoot down a cop car?" Jane shrieked, looking like she'd just witnessed a murder.

I smirked, lowering my gun hand. "Yea, why?"

"That's highly illegal!"

"I know,"

She shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself. Firing a couple more shots, I blanched when I felt the gun shudder. Out of ammo. How predictable.

The luggage mover wailed to a stop. Realizing we had maybe seconds before we were stormed by ground crew, I latched onto Jane, hauling her out after me. Bright sunlight nearly blinded me but that didn't matter. We had to move.

Running, I pushed forward, edging past Darcy into the lead. She let out a yelp of protest, but quickly stopped when she seen my plan. A man the size of a wrestler had stepped into our path, arms hanging loose, his mouth a grim mask of smugness. Clearly he thought he could bring me down.

Little did he know he was wrong.

Kicking off the ground, I reached out my arms. They wrapped around his pudgy neck, sinking into his collar. He yelled, trying to shake me loose. I knew that trick. Using my legs, I swung, using the building for leverage. When my feet hit the metal wall I pushed off, driving my head into his chest as best I could.

He went down like a sack of bricks, moaning and numbly holding at his chest.

"Whoa! Do you know how, like, totally badass that just was?" Darcy squealed in excitement, digging in her pocket. I caught her hand, pushing her forward.

"Now is not the time to take pictures," I mumbled, forcing her into a jog. She complied, grumbling under her breath about a buzz kill or something. A buzz kill who had just saved her life.

By the time we'd caught up to Eric and Jane I nearly didn't recognize them. Jane's hair had been pulled up into a sloppy ponytail, a hat reading some lame hunter slogan shielding her face. Eric was nearly unrecognizable, doubled over on a cane with dark glasses hiding his eyes. He let out a convincing wheeze as we quickly walked towards them.

Jane threw me a bundle, passing another to Darcy. "Take these and change," she hissed under her breath. "Don't draw attention to yourself. Me and Grandpa Sampson will be over here waiting," she indicated to a row of benches next to a kiosk selling maps and keychains with Washington D.C. on them in blinking neon letters.

Shrugging into the over-sized sweater and sweat pants, I exited the bathroom. Darcy had given me a series of hair clips, and I had pinned my hair up in what I hoped looked like a girlish and innocent manner. Darcy had taken the short straw and was dressed like a man. She complained heavily as we made our way back.

Jane cracked a grin at the sight of us. "Ready to go, Dan?"

"Mention one word of this to anyone and you are so dead, Jane Foster," Darcy mumbled in a low voice. I smirked, dropping my head as she shot me a look.

"Right. If anyone asks, I'm Nancy, and this is my sister Leah. We're taking our grandpa on a sight seeing trip in honor of his seventy eighth birthday coming up, and you're my brother Dan who flew in from North Dakota for our special day."

"Seems good," I said quietly. Tension bubbled in me like a red hot river. I wanted to keep moving. Every second we wasted was another second that I could be using to help.

Nobody stopped to bother us as we exited the airport, tugging along the bags that no doubt contained whatever science equipment Jane had managed to sneak onto the plane. A friendly flight attendant wishes us a nice stay as we leave, piling into a checkered cab.

Jane slides into the front, leaving us three in the back. She makes small talk with the cabby, chatting on in an animated voice on how much fun our vacation is going to be and that she hopes we have time to see everything. Darcy sits quietly, ignoring us all, and Eric is a sickly shade of green. How much of it is acting I do not know.

The radio is barely audible, yet I manage to hear it. "Turn that up, would you?" I ask in a small voice. The cabby complies, fiddling with the dials until the volume on the static-y radio increases. It's the local news.

My stomach drops as the woman babbles on. "The mysterious creature known as Thanos has landed on the outskirts of D.C. and is said to have made his way into the downtown area by high noon. Military forces are in full swing but residents are asked to evacuate immediately. If you have nowhere to go please visit marked locations, such as any hospital, the Red Cross-"

I blotted out her voice. If Thanos was here, that meant that he had picked up a trace on Loki. And if Loki was here...

"The Cube," I whispered, my eyes growing wide. Darcy shot me a look of questioning, but I was too numb to answer.

The Cube was somewhere in D.C. And if Thanos got a hold of it, we'd be finished. I knew then and there what had to be done. I'd have to find Loki, but before I did that, I would have to find the Cube A voice in the back of my head laughed. Finding it would be like finding a needle in a urban, busy, buzzing haystack full of nosy agents and panicking citizens.

We needed every minute of time we had.

Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? I'd love to hear it.