Clint had Jarvis stop the elevator on the floor that Natasha had chosen a room. Bruce was also on this floor, but the archer was pretty sure that Bruce's room was barely ever going to be used while Science! was within easy reach. At least while Clint was at the Tower. Either way, Clint took a room closer to Natasha's than Bruce's just in case the scientist wanted some extra space and asked Jarvis to pull up the Tower's security footage from the last four days. Specifically, where Rogers and Loki were being held.
Right away Clint noticed the odd tapping that the supposed original Captain America was doing. He also noticed the way both "guests" moved around the provided space. James was too close to all of this, that Clint realized right away, and his demeanor was subtly influencing the others. Thor didn't need too much convincing though, as he wanted to believe in his brother's innocence. But Tony and Bruce were unconsciously falling into line behind what James believed was the truth which made all of their responses to the last few days circumspect.
While Clint wanted to believe Phil's opinion, his fellow agent and friend was not providing evidence to support his claims. Clint used his anger at what Loki had done to look at the situation from a different perspective. He wanted to analyze the interactions between his teammates and their "guests," but he wasn't going to be sugarcoating any of his thoughts.
No, if Loki and this Steve turned out to be playing them then Clint would figure out how and convince the others. If it turned out that what Phil and James believed was true, then Clint would try to find a way to get over this anger he had at Loki.
Maybe.
So, the next few hours for the archer were spent reviewing the footage from the moment the quinjet landed at the Tower to the move to the actual room provided on the guest floors. Certain aspects of the footage were not adding up for Clint, it was a gut feeling, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why.
/Maybe it's because outside of facial gestures I can't figure out how they are communicating? / Clint didn't believe Tony's 'creepy telepathy theory' but he also knew he was missing something about their interactions. /No if Rogers had telepathy, why didn't he try to communicate with Barnes? Surely James would've been, at the very least, able to hear what his supposed friend was saying even if he couldn't respond in kind. /
When morning rolled around Clint was no closer to solving the mystery than he was after going over the surveillance footage for hours on end instead of sleeping. To say the archer was tired was a huge understatement. He decided to grab a quick breakfast, hopefully without having to interact with anyone before catching a little bit of sleep. The food and shuteye should keep him from snapping at the others when he interacted with them and it would help him focus when he went to talk to Loki and Rogers.
Jarvis informed him that the others were not up yet; the sun was barely coming over the horizon, which gave Clint enough time to make a few sandwiches, grab some chips and water, and make his way back to his room. He was thankful that he was able to sneak in and out of the kitchen without the others knowing, as he wasn't quite ready to talk with them yet. Even his conversation with Tony the previous evening had him on edge. The food and sleep situation would be taken care of with hopefully enough time in between for Thor to get Sif out of the Tower, as Tony thought he would try to do. Then Clint would talk to Loki- hopefully without getting violent and try to make some headway into these mysteries.
By mid morning Clint was up and ready to face the world, or at least Loki. Thor had indeed gotten Sif to go out and help with the clean up again, though from what Jarvis hinted at it had taken a little bit of effort and a lot of arguing before she agreed to go. Bruce had brought breakfast up to Loki and Steve; while Tony had grabbed one of his green monstrosities, he called food, before heading back to his lab- hopefully to pass out for a few hours of sleep.
The archer took the elevator up to Loki and Steve's floor, before knocking on the door, waiting a beat then pulling it open. He had his bow in hand- just as a precaution to help sooth his paranoia, and an arrow ready to be drawn. Jarvis had not frowned at the precaution, but he hadn't argued against it either, so Clint wasn't too worried about upsetting Tony or Bruce.
For their part, Loki and Steve seemed to be sitting in the same spot they usually inhabited- Rogers was drawing away in that pad of his that James had bought him, while Loki did something with the Starkpad. Neither of them seemed nervous or tense as he stepped through the door, and Clint wasn't sure how to feel about that.
"Ah, Mr. Barton," said Loki, barely glancing up at the archer, "welcome to the land of misfit toys."
Clint saw the eye roll that Rogers gave to Loki's comment before nodding at him as well. Although, instead of going back to his drawing the first Captain put the pad away and moved to slowly stand. His right hand began tapping away on his leg and he slowly started to make his way over in front of Clint.
The sniper tensed as Rogers got closer, but didn't pull the arrow he had ready, wanting to see what the Captain's play would be. Rogers seemed to be moving slower than he had at the beginning of the week, and Clint wondered if that was for his benefit or if something else was going on. Rogers stopped barely a foot away from Clint, who fought the urge to take a step back, knowing the Captain's track recorder with Shield personnel and not sure if he was considered an Avenger or Shield lackey.
The Captain didn't seem to notice Clint's struggle as he made eye contact and tilted his head while frowning sadly at Clint. Steve then moved the hand that he was tapping against his leg up to his own eyes before tapping his temple twice and lowering the hand again.
Loki spoke up from behind Steve, "Steven would like to apologize for the mind control. He's sorry, but it was a necessity that one of you was under the scepter's power."
"If that's the case, then 'Steven' can go ahead and use his own words to say that." Came Clint's snappy reply. That earned an eye roll from Steve, this time directed at him, before turning around and reaching towards Loki- presumably so he would hand over the Starpad. Clint however, grabbed his arrow and notched it, not wanting to take any chances. Loki just put the Starpad on the ground in front of his feet and used them to kick the device over to Steve. Rogers slowly moved to pick it up, all the while seemingly unconcerned with the arrow Clint was pointing at him, before opening the typing program.
The Captain gave him an unimpressed look that said, 'really?' before hitting the talk button, "I'm sorry that you had to go through being under the scepter's control, but Loki is right- it was a necessity that one of you was also under the scepter's power."
"Steven," Loki said in a warning tone, giving Clint a chance to process exactly what Rogers had said. The pair shared that 'creepy telepathy' thing that Tony was talking about as they stared each other down. The hand Rogers was using to hold the Starpad was rapidly tapping away at the underside of it. They were making subtle facial expressions at each other as well, seemingly well versed in conversing without words. It almost reminded Clint of how Nat and James would share looks when James was first brought in. If nothing else Clint realized that the pair had a history together. There was no other way for them to be conversing otherwise.
Then Rogers' words sunk in and the memory of what happened in Central Park came flooding into Clint's mind. Specifically, the part right before the pair disappeared. Steve had touched Loki in the temple, just like he had a moment before. /No way… /
Realization seemed to flood through Clint, but he wasn't sure he wanted to believe the conclusions he was drawing. He filed away the thought and all the implications of what it would mean for another time. When he wasn't in the middle of an interega- conversation with people he wasn't sure he could trust.
Steve and Loki seemed to come to a stalemate over whatever they were silently arguing about when Steve abruptly turned back towards Clint and began typing again, completely changing the subject. "I'm glad that your friend Phil is going to make a full recovery. Loki is too, even if he won't admit it."
Said Asgardian was glaring daggering into Steve's back when he heard that response but didn't deny his words. The original Captain either didn't notice the glare or didn't care. Clint suspected it was the latter, but he was also suspicious as to how Rogers knew that information. Clint's narrowed eyes and further tensing seemed to make his point, as Rogers typed something else into the pad quickly and hit the talk button, "You wouldn't be here if he wasn't on the mend."
And while that did answer Clint's non-verbal question, the archer knew it wasn't the full answer. He debated trying to get said full answer now, but then thought better of it. He had spent less than ten minutes with the pair, and he was already overwhelmed with all the information he'd gathered. "Right," said Clint with a tone that clearly said he knew Rogers was hiding something, "well then. I'm going to head back to my room for a bit. It was very informative talking with you both this morning."
Steve nodded at Clint, before turning around and slowly making his way back to his original spot on the wall. He laid the Starpad on the ground near Loki as he sat, but the God didn't move to pick it up again, staring instead at the wall over the bed. Clint un-notched his bow, before putting the arrow back in his quiver and deliberately turning around to face away from the pair as he left the room.
Later, when reviewing the surveillance footage Clint would see that neither one of them seemed to notice or care that Clint deliberately turned his back on them to leave the room. He added the behavior to everything else he had gathered in that quick meeting while also trying to figure out some of the missing pieces to this odd puzzle.
After an hour of strategizing and processing Clint had a sudden thought to have Jarvis pull up the feed from the room holding Loki's illusion. He fast-forwarded through the footage until there was a good shot of its face. Clint froze the picture and had Jarvis zoom in closer so the archer could look it over. He cursed in disbelief when he found what he was looking for. "Son of a bitch!"
Loki's illusion had green eyes. Not the pale blue color so similar to his own when Loki touched him with the scepter's power.
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Clint debated whether or not he wanted to have lunch with the others, who he knew would be eating on the guest floor. He smirked when an idea popped into his head, and he moved to put the plan in motion, finding the closest air vent and making his
way into it. The archer asked Jarvis not to give away his position, as he wanted to monitor the group's interactions in real time without them knowing he was there. It would also give him more time to watch Rogers and Loki. There was something definitely going on there, but he still couldn't put his finger on what it was.
Lunch for the group was a quiet affair. Or as quiet as anything involving Tony Stark can be. Bruce was trying to get Steve to agree to some kind of medical treatment, while also pushing a ton of weird smoothie drinks at him, while Tony was trying to get Loki to answer questions about the magic he was using on the illusion. Neither one of the "guests" seemed eager to agree to or answer questions regarding the topics of conversation, both sitting quietly and working their way through their meals.
At one-point Clint thought his position in the ducks had been made, when Steve looked straight at him, even through the vent cover before glancing away again. Clint chalked it up to a coincidence though, because the former captain seemed to be glancing at a bunch of random points in the room for varying lengths of time. Almost like other people were in the room with them, when that was clearly not the case. /Maybe he IS just THAT crazy… / thought Clint as he made his way back to his room after lunch. It wouldn't be the first time that prolonged torture would've had a lasting negative affect on a person.
Clint spent the rest of the afternoon and evening analyzing more of the tapes again and talking with Thor and his Lady friend when they came back in the evening for dinner.
"Ah, Shield Brother Clint! Welcome! How is the Son of Coul?" Said Thor as he came into the dinning room, Sif trailing behind him.
"He is almost back to top form. He will need some physical therapy before getting back into the field, but that shouldn't be too much for him to handle." Said Clint, as he finished stirring the pot of sauce he had made for dinner.
"That is glorious news! Isn't it Sif? You remember the Son of Coul from our time in New Mexico, yes?" Thor was beaming as he spoke, happy to hear that Phil was awake and coherent.
Lady Sif gave a halfhearted nod, before sitting down at the table, clearly still upset with Thor over the matter of bringing Loki back to Asgard. Clint debated about bringing up Loki while Sif was in the room, not sure how she would react to his questions, although from what he had seen so far, he could make a pretty reasonable guess.
Before he could make a final decision, Bruce and Tony came into the room, the former holding a Starpad and not looking happy about whatever it was he was reviewing.
"I'm telling you B-Bear! You need to let Hulk come out and take that tour of the tower! It would be really rude of you to not give him that opportunity. It will be like a team building exercise! And he can't do any MORE damage to anything- I mean you did see the mess in the Penthouse right?" Tony paused only long enough to make a drink at the bar and sit at the table, nodding towards Thor and Sif and Clint as he brought the food to the table.
"Maybe another time Tony," Bruce said distractedly, "I'm not sure I want him adding to the damage he's already done to the tower." The doctor barely touched his food, still too distracted by whatever was on his Starkpad as the others started eating around him.
"Doctor Banner," said Thor, "what has you so troubled that you can't partake in this feast our Shield Brother has created?"
"…The results of the scans Jarvis has been doing for my project are a little concerning," He glanced up at the others briefly before looking back down, "I'm not sure how worried to be at this point, but if the results continue to degrade then it will become a very big problem very soon."
Thor looked concerned, "Is there anything we might do to assist your project in achieving more promising results?"
"You could whisper sweet nothings until it decides to cooperate?" Said Tony offhandedly, partially making a joke about it in an attempt to lighten the mood in the room.
Bruce snorted in amusement, and Clint rolled his eyes at Stark's comment.
Eventually the men were able to get Sif to join into a conversation about battles, or missions in Clint's case, in an attempt to get her to feel more welcome. Tony excused himself first, with a call from Pepper, while Bruce was called away for more tests (and a dinner run upstairs for Steve and Loki), while Thor and Clint talked Sif into watching a movie- something along the lines of Wonder woman or Xena. And while the movie did work, Sif did insist on checking in on Loki that night before heading to bed. Thankfully this visit didn't end in a yelling match, or Sif storming out of the room in a fit of rage, though she was still angry about the whole situation.
Clint fielded a call from Phil and did a check in with Natasha before calling it a night. He did spend a little more time re-reviewing some of the footage, still no closer in figuring out how the pair was communicating.
As Clint awoke the next morning, he was getting frustrated at his inability to put together the missing pieces to this Loki and Steve puzzle. He thought another interaction with the pair might be in order, but he wasn't sure which way would be best. /Should I observe from afar? Or should I talk in person…./
As Clint went down to get a quick breakfast, he came to the decision to watch from afar. That was the best way to get information for the archer, and distance would help keep him rational.
Sif and Thor were arguing- at not quite yelling decimals, but it was close as Clint came onto the common floor. He thought he might be able to sneak away without getting caught in the middle of the argument, when Thor noticed him and pulled him into the kitchen. /So much for a clean get-away…/ Clint thought ruefully.
"Shield Brother, welcome. I was just trying to explain to the Lady Sif about the scepter and of its control over all who get touched by it. Indeed, you were also caught in it's magic, so perhaps you could aid me in my explanations." Thor not so subtly steered Clint to the table where Sif was already seated and glaring in his general direction.
"…Sure. I'll do what I can." Said Clint as he sat down and smiled towards Sif.
Sif seemed to be eying him like he was a commoner, which in her mind he probably was. "What would it help your argument to bring in this human, Thor? Surely this is just a sad attempt to sway me to your view of things."
Clint felt his smile fall away and his eyes go hard. "I'm not sure I understand your point, Lady Sif."
"You are a lesser species," started Sif haughtily, "any points you have on the matter would be trivial at best."
Thor spoke up before Clint could say anything, "Lady Sif, my Shield Brother Clint is a formable warrior, who was not only able to help in the fight against the Chitaru but did so right after fighting off the hold of the scepter had on him. He has proven to be of strong mind and will and would be a match for any Asgardian warrior."
The glare from Sif softened slightly at Thor's words, "So tell me human warrior, how did you manage to fight off the magic holding you prisoner?"
"A swift knock to the head and a strong will to get free were the main factors. Having friends and teammates still willing to work with me after everything I did while under the scepter's power was another." Said Clint in a hard tone.
"Indeed," said Sif. But before she could ask another question, Clint beat her to it, "What color are my eyes right now?"
Sif's and Thor's own eyes shot to their foreheads in confusion, before Sif answered, "dark blue."
Thor's eyes darkened in recognition as Clint spoke, "when I was under the Scepter's magical hold, Thor- what color were my eyes?"
"Pale blue. The color of the magic the scepter contained." The God of Thunder suddenly started racking his brain trying to remember if he knew what color Loki's eyes were naturally. The trickster God loved to change their colors, but always went back to the original when he was too tired to hold the illusion, especially when they were children… But he couldn't remember.
/Warriors do not trouble themselves with such girlish observations, / Thor thought as a way to console his heart against more pain in how he had failed Loki.
"If you aren't sure of the validity of Loki's claim, perhaps you should ask yourself what color his eyes are naturally. You'll find the answers you are seeking then." Said Clint as he got up from the table. All thoughts of food were gone from his mind. He grabbed some fruit on his way out of the room but that was all.
Sif's retort fell on deaf ears as he walked away, "He is the God of LIES, and often uses trickery to change his appearance. I question the validity of your argument archer."
Thor's response was drowned out as the elevator doors closed.
"Where to sir?" Asked Jarvis lightly, sensing the tension in Clint's frame. "My floor please, Jarvis. I have some recon I need to do."
"Sir," said Jarvis before Clint exited the elevator, "Mr. Rogers has been leaving members of the team drawings he has been working on the past few days."
Jarvis' cryptic statement had Clint slightly confused as he went to the access point for the air vents.
However, that confusion died away as Clint made his way to his previous spot from the day before in the vents above Steve and Loki's room. A small folded piece of paper was settled in the vent right where Clint's head was yesterday. Clint decided on opening it later, not wanting to draw attention to his position.
However, neither of the room's occupants seemed to realize he was there, as they were having an argument of their own.
"-don't understand why you won't let the doctor assist you Steven." The glare the original Captain was shooting his escapee companion was intense. Both of his hands seemed to be tapping a mile a minute, almost too fast to see.
Loki shook his head, "I understand that part more than anyone, believe me. But you are getting worse. What they currently are doing is not helping you heal-"
Steve's hands suddenly froze, and he hunched forward a little seemingly in a lot of pain. Loki's own hands shot out to steady his friend, even with their seated position. The God of Mischief also stopped mid sentence because of his concern.
"Steven, this is killing you. You need more help." Loki whispered in as close to a pleading voice as he normally got. Steve's head shook frantically for a moment while it rested against his pulled-up knees. Loki put one hand on his back, moving in slow circles as a way to help ease whatever pain Steve seemed to be in.
"I don't care if Sif will be there trying to get at me. Your health is more important to me than her petty threats," said Loki so quietly, Clint had to read his lips to follow what he said.
"Sirs," interrupted Jarvis, "Dr. Banner is on his way up with his medical bag and other supplies. He has been monitoring Captain Roger's condition through scans and is concerned about this spike."
At Jarvis' announcement Steve seemed to transform. Indeed, if Clint hadn't been watching him so intently, he would've missed the whole thing and questioned the statements of Dr. Banner concerning Roger's health decline. The Captain took a deep breath and held it a moment. As he exhaled, he seemed to push all of his pain away from his features, moving from his curled position into something similar to how he normally sat. His hands came back to the floor, only one- the one closest to Loki- moved in agitated motions.
Loki drew his lips into a fine line, pulling away from Steve, even though his eyes were still very troubled.
Clint suddenly came to a few realizations in that moment- Steve had to be James' original friend. There was no mistaking that defiance and demeanor from the way James spoke about him. He also realized Loki and Steve's connection seemed to be deeper than the group originally thought. Clint had a whole new level of understanding about how desperate the Chitauri invasion had really been.
As Bruce came running into the room, bag in hand; Clint made his way out of the air vents. The archer was eighty percent sure the trio had no idea he was even in there and planned to keep it that way.
"Jarvis," said Clint when he was secured in his room, "who put this paper into the air vents?" Said paper was the one he was pulling out of his pocket.
"Captain Rogers did last night, Sir. He knew you wouldn't open it if you had known Loki had handled it. The Asgardian only used his magic to make sure the Captain was able to get up to and open the vent, then stabilized his position as he placed the note." Clint relaxed a smidgen at Jarvis' explanation and unfolded the paper.
However, shock, confusion, and anger seeped into his body when he realized what was on the paper. "-the Fuck!? How? When?! Who?! That location was supposed to be secure!"
The picture was two separate events that seemed to melt into each other seamlessly. On one side it was Clint, on the Helicarrier with Natasha right after she had knocked him against the railings. Coulson had already been shot at that point, but both Phil and Nat were at his bedside looking on with encouragement while he fought off the mind control, Coulson's hand on Clint's forehead like he was trying to help push the scepter's magic out of his brain. The bed he was laying on in the picture bleed into another bed on the other side of the paper, this time with Phil as it's occupant- only it was an exact replica of the facility Fury had the agent in, down to the marks on the walls. This time it was he and Nat staring down at Phil, trying to will him to get better with the power of their minds. Under the bed was a strange machine- shaded in with dark hues and the words TAHITI written out in the same handwriting as the first time Clint had seen it. The odd machine was cracked and looked like it was broken- an arrow… one of CLINT'S Circus arrows (from when he was a kid) was sticking out of said cracks.
Clint was completely flabbergasted by the drawing, having a difficult time taking his eyes away from it. He kept scanning it over and over, seeing new details each time. At one point he stopped breathing when he realized that the Phil on the left side of the picture, that was hovering over his bed, was signing their ASL code word for "Trust" with the hand not connected to Clint's forehead.
"Sir… Agent Barton, sir!" Jarvis' voice broke through the haze in his mind and Clint realized he wasn't really breathing. He inhaled deeply and started coughing when it was a little too deep. "I'm ok Jarvis. No need to call reinforcements." He choked out as he caught his breath again. Clint carefully refolded the picture and put it in his quiver in a hidden compartment. The Tower suddenly felt too small, so he grabbed his wallet and made for the door to his room.
"Jarvis, I need to go out and clear my head. I'll be back in a few hours." Clint didn't wait for a response, just took off down the stairs, not waiting for the elevator.
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It was well after dark when Clint made his way back into Stark Tower. "Good evening sir," said Jarvis as Clint made it into the elevator.
Clint nodded towards the ceiling, "was it a quiet day today Jarvis?"
"Quiet would not be the word I would use sir," said Jarvis, "after you left for the morning the Lady Sif and Thor also made their way out of the tower. Unfortunately, they ran into a haggard Doctor Banner, who had just finished checking on Captain Rogers and was about to bring the pair something to eat.
"Thor asked what was troubling Doctor Banner, who shared with the pair the news on Captain Roger's failing health. Thor grew concerned but Doctor Banner doesn't think there is anything the pair can do to help, other than forcibly drag the Captain to medical to get better treatment, which they both agreed was a bad idea." Jarvis seemed upset about the events of the day; obviously the Captain and Loki might've also won the AI over as well, although Clint wasn't sure how they had done that.
"Thanks Jarvis. How is the Captain doing?" From what Clint saw that morning, it seemed like the Captain might not make it until Barnes got back, in which case Barnes would be a disaster. For James' sake, Clint hoped the Captain would hold on for a little while longer.
"Were you able to get the thinking time you desired today Mr. Barton?" Asked Jarvis as the elevator opened to the common floor. Clint nodded and made his way to the kitchen to make a sandwich.
"Yeah, spent most of the day up in the trees at Central park- trying to wrap my head around that drawing." Clint's tone was lighter than it had been when he left, which was probably a good sign.
"The Captain seems to be very talented," was Jarvis' only reply. Clint nodded, not sure what else to add at this point.
Sandwich finished Clint made his way back to the elevators, "Jarvis can you pull up the surveillance footage for today in my room? I have a theory that I need to test."
"Of course Sir."
As Clint made his way into his room, the sandwich remained dusted off his shirt; he found a spot on his favorite perch. "Alright Jarvis, queue it up. Start with one hour before I arrived in the vents."
In place of answering, Jarvis started the surveillance footage on Loki and Steve's room like asked. "Can you show an angle where I can see Steve from Loki's perspective?"
"Based on the camera angles available in the room, that shot is not possible sir." Said Jarvis.
Clint nodded, "OK, how about focusing in on Steve's hands." That Jarvis could do, as he changed the angle of the camera and zoomed it in on Steve's hands.
At this point Steve was only tapping on hand, the one closest to Loki as was his usual. Clint watched the footage for about five minutes, "Stop here please Jarvis, and rewind back five minutes."
Jarvis restarted the footage from the same spot, while Clint focused in on Steve's hands. When the same time stamp of five minutes finished the archer had Jarvis stop the footage and repeat it again.
"Shall I continue the pattern sir?" Asked Jarvis, accurately guessing what Clint was going to ask next. Clint nodded, this time his hand started moving in the pattern Steve was using against his own leg. It took Clint five more tries before he was able to accurately tap out the pattern against his own leg. /Not Morse code… So what…?/
"Hold on for a second Jarvis." Said Clint as he moved his hand to the wall. He closed his eyes and tapped out the pattern again, trying to see if he could find something vaguely familiar about it. Nothing struck a chord with the archer.
"Jarvis, can you run this pattern against all known Morse code combinations? Or other types of tapping codes that might be in use today, or might've been used during World War 2?" Clint was frustrated with himself. He knew this tapping was the key; it was just a matter of breaking the code.
"Of course Sir. It doesn't seem like there are any matches, but I will conduct an in-depth search and share the results when it has been completed."
"Thanks Jarvis," said Clint as he reminisced about the picture Steve had left him. When the archer had been sitting in Central Park, he had been trying to put the last two weeks into perspective. None of the pieces to the puzzle that were Steve and Loki made sense- the tapping, the oddity of their companionship, and the unusual nature of their story.
Even if the Tesseract had been in play- how had it taken Steve and the Red Skull into space? What had happened to the Red Skull? How had Steve survived that insane incident with Thanos that left him unable to talk? How did he and Loki learn to communicate in some way? And how in the hell did he make such an accurate drawing of the Helicarrier AND Phil's secret hospital location? Especially when Loki hadn't been present at either place.
As Clint had sat in the trees, the faint sound of a jackhammer started up in the distance, acting as a sort of drone sound for his thoughts. After a while it felt like the jackhammer was almost matching the tapping from Steve's hand as Clint reviewed parts of the surveillance video in his mind. It was actually that sound that gave Clint the idea that the tapping was more than just a nervous tick. That it was some kind of Morse code reminiscent of the forties and Cap's time with the army. With that thought ticking in his brain in time with the sounds of the construction site, Clint was able to push everything else to the side and bring his focus back on figuring out this new mystery.
If Clint could break the code, then he could just ask James' friend about the picture… and everything else he wanted to know.
Jarvis' computer beeped, bringing Clint back to the present, "I'm sorry sir, but the tapping does not match any kind of known code in any world databases."
"…Thanks for checking Jarvis… Can you run an analysis on the tapping to see if we can somehow break the code? Maybe figure out a pattern or the letter combinations?" Clearly Clint would just have to go to the source. Either Loki or Steve would have to tell him… if Clint asked… nicely enough. "Of course sir, but it might take a few hours to decipher."
"That's ok, Jarvis, it's late and I'm gonna get some sleep." Said Clint, as he got ready for bed. The archer wanted to get a few hours of shuteye before having to deal with Loki or Steve. He had a feeling he was going to need it.
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As the sun came up, different people in the Tower had different agendas set out for the day. Tony was going to be trying to work on his new suit design. After a few days of work, he hadn't gotten much accomplished, but that probably had to do with the total lack of sleep he'd been getting all week.
Bruce, as part of his care for Steve and Loki, was going to try to get the former to agree to more medical help. If it came down to it, he would drag the Captain to medical himself, hopefully with Loki's assistance.
Thor was going to try to spend the day at the tower with Sif. The Asgardian warrior was not going to take another day out with the clean up efforts, and it wouldn't be worth the fight that would take place if he pushed the issue. The prince thought it might be good to get Steve to spend some more time on the penthouse deck. Maybe he could even use the Tesseract to heal some of the wounds as an olive branch for Loki and his forgiveness.
Lady Sif was getting tired of Thor's attempts to waylay her mission. Thor had discussed using the Tesseract on a man named Steven, and Sif would help, especially if she could get Loki out of that room in some way.
She just needed a plan.
Clint was going to spend some time working with Jarvis on the code cipher. Although if the A.I hasn't cracked it by now, then there was a good chance he would need to speak with Loki about it.
Steve and Loki were content to just sit in their shared room. Steve was fading faster than before; he could feel the serum working overtime and the medical level was out of the question for him. He just hoped he had enough time before Bucky got back to say good-bye. Loki was frustrated with Steve's refusal to get actual medical help. It wouldn't solve all of his problems right away, but it would certainly help in the long run. It was just a matter of trying to figure out how to get him there without causing a massive panic attack.
As the afternoon set in, there was an odd tension in the tower that hadn't been present all week. Clint convinced Thor to take Steve out to the penthouse deck for the afternoon, so he could speak with Loki to get a start on learning Steve's code.
Thor, who didn't need much persuasion on the subject, went to Loki and Steve's room with Clint, "Steven, I would love to have you accompany myself and the Lady Sif for the afternoon on the Man of Iron's balcony."
Steve narrowed his eyes slightly at the pair but shrugged and used the wall to slowly stand from his position on the floor, grabbing the Starkpad from Loki on his way to the door. No one mentioned anything about how slowly Steve was moving, but it did solidify the thought Thor had on using the Tesseract to help Steve heal his many injuries.
When the door closed behind Thor, Clint and Loki finally locked eyes, the latter knowing there was a reason the archer was still standing there, and slightly wary as he didn't know why. At least this time, the archer wasn't visibly armed for the visit.
Clint, for his part, stayed staring at Loki until he heard the elevator beep and close. Then he moved to a chair facing the God of Lies, gesturing after a moment to the other chair as an indication Loki should sit with him. Loki hesitated for half a second, before sighing and moving off the floor. He didn't have the same aversion to the furniture that Steve did, but it was hard to tolerate it for extended periods of time.
"I know the tapping thing Steve does isn't a nervous tick," Clint wasn't one to beat around the bush, although he did wait for Loki to start to sit back in the chair before springing the comment on him.
As it wasn't a question, Loki toyed with the idea of messing with the archer across from him, before deciding that it would be better if someone else knew how to communicate with Steve.
It had nothing to do with the guilt he was studiously ignoring.
Loki nodded his head in the affirmative, letting Barton take the lead in the conversation. Clint narrowed his eyes slightly, not expecting that answer from the God of Lies.
"It's also not any kind of Earth based code from the forties on from what Jarvis and I have been able to deduce." Clint barely had a moment pass before Loki was answering his not-question.
Again, Loki nodded before adding, "it is based on your alphabet system, but is also filled with the language nuances and code phrases from Steve's time period that he and his team used during the war. And lots of short-hand."
"How were you able to figure it out?"
"My ability of All Speak helped after I figured out the letter combinations. However we had nothing but time to practice when-" Loki cut himself off suddenly, seemingly remembering something from his imprisonment, not wishing to voice the thought.
Clint, as he had Loki actually cooperating, didn't ask him to elaborate. /He probably means between torture sessions./
"I want to learn. And I feel like I can do that faster with you teaching me rather than Steve." Said Clint. He was unwavering in his resolve, he needed to know what James' friend was saying with his hands. The need was somewhere between professional need to know, and curiosity.
Loki nodded, pulling himself out of the memory, and placing his hand on the arm of the chair. "I will do my best to teach you. Let's start with the vowels and simple codes."
The pair only stopped the session, well into the afternoon, when the ear-piercing screams started coming from the direction of the Penthouse.
The pair both jumped up and went to get into the stairs, Clint pulling out a knife and gun from his person and meeting Bruce who was running up from a few floors below them.
"Elevator's out," was all Bruce huffed out, as they raced up to see what was happening.
Hopefully Thor and Sif were enough to take care of the threat- whatever it was.
Tony was in the Suit, taking the window approach from the lab to get to the Penthouse.
-End Chapter 12-