Chapter 8 - Warning
Maria had seen Nicholas Fury at many levels of mad during their years working together, but this time, he was truly furious. So, she kept on talking, trying to get as much out as possible before he erupted.
"If Thanos is using these hidden passages, sir, we'll have next to no warning before he appears with his army. We need Loki. We have to offer him some sort of plea bargain, a promise for leniency or something."
His face frozen in a vexed scowl, Nick pushed back his chair and stood. The simple motion was sufficient to intimidate.
"Sit down, Agent Hill," he ordered, his piercing gaze zeroing in on her from behind his desk.
Maria silenced, looked away and eased into a chair, feeling instantly weary. If the fate of their world hadn't been at stake, she might have regretted pulling Nick out of his early-morning meeting.
"Take off the necklace," he demanded next, gesturing to the spot on the desktop where he wanted her to put it.
Maria had a terrible feeling that soon she might not have a job at all. Perhaps she was even on her way to a court martial. She reached back, opening the clasp and pulled off the Aries charm. She set it and the chain together on the desk.
Nick gathered the piece of jewelry in a tissue, which he pushed into his coat pocket and left the office. Through the windows, Maria could see him speaking with his assistant. Then both jumped on the phone, making several calls.
Fury left Maria alone in the office for almost ninety minutes before he came back.
"Everyone's been briefed," he said. "Asgard confirms Thanos is on the move from the Dark World. Come on."
Peter Quill and most of the Avengers sat around a big table bickering when Maria and Nick walked in. The director pulled out a chair for her then stepped to his own at the head of the table.
"Quiet down," he ordered those gathered and a tense quiet followed.
"Mr. Quill, Stark, any news?"
Tony Stark answered, "Asgard has confirmed an invasion on Nidavellir. Their army is responding."
Steven Rogers asked, "Shouldn't they be watching their own borders?"
Quill shrugged. "Odin seems pretty confident that the situation is under control. He doesn't appear to want our advice or assistance."
"I'd prefer to not defer to his judgment," Clint Barton said with a glower and left his seat to stand at the window. "Thanos is coming for our stone, and sooner rather than later, he's going to be here on Earth looking for it."
This comment caused most of the group to turn their attentions on Maria, like she needed a reminder of the horrors of which Thanos was capable.
Natasha cautiously asked Maria, "Loki knows the locations of these passages?"
"Yes. He told me that Thanos got the information from him."
Barton turned. "Loki gave Thanos intel to help attack Earth, and you think we should offer him a deal?"
"Thanos tortured him endlessly for months," Maria said. "They put him in this machine that caused excruciating pain while keeping him alive. He only slept when the pain became too much and he'd pass out. Then the guards would wake him and the torture would begin all over again. I don't believe he gave Thanos that information because he wanted to."
"I doubt any of us care that he was tortured— except for you," Barton accused, pointing at her. "Man, he really got in your head, among other things." His eyes dropped for just a moment as if looking straight through the tabletop at her midsection.
"Don't," Natasha warned him.
Maria hardened her stare. "You really want to go there right now, Clint?"
"Maybe I do," he shot back. "If Loki had raped you, I don't think you'd have been quite so hush about it. So...?"
"So nothing!" Maria pushed to her feet to allow everyone an unobstructed view of her immense stomach. "Don't think for a moment that I excuse anything Loki has done. But when I was taken, held captive, scared and in pain, none of you were there."
Guilty eyes dropped all around the table, and Bruce shifted uneasily in his chair. Maria knew she was being harsh, but anger spilled out of her heart, no longer able to be contained.
"They broke my bones, cut my flesh, and I told them nothing about Vision or the mind stone because I believed in you guys. I believed you would come, but you didn't!"
A sudden pain flared in her pelvis, causing her to gasp. She took her seat, drawing in breaths until it numbed to manageable. The others remained silent, allowing her to continue in her own time.
"Loki was in the adjacent cell within that terrible machine, hearing my cries. After every interrogation, he started in, taunting and ridiculing me so I'd get mad and stay strong. We said the most awful things to each other, but I know he understood how it felt to be so helpless and abandoned."
Natasha passed Maria a tissue as her eyes teared up, asking, "How did you two escape?"
"Loki figured out that there was one guard who consistently arrived late to administer the drugs that suppressed his magic. He'd be right on the brink of accessing his power then the guard would come. So, he made me the promise that if I found a way to delay the guard long enough for his magic to kick in, he'd get us both out of there."
Quill cleared his throat, leaning forward in his chair. "Gamora says Loki's a self-serving creep. Why did you trust him?"
"I took the only chance presented to me," she admitted. "Once he was free, Loki could have gone, left me at the mercy of that guard, but he didn't."
She went on to briefly explain how Loki's magic had recovered in short spurts. So, they had to sneak and fight their way out of the detention level to the docking bay, protecting and helping each other every desperate step of the way. Then their ship crashed in the snow-packed mountains of Montana and they'd fled on foot, both weak and injured, into the wilderness.
"What happened between us in the cabin was just poor judgment," Maria insisted, "on both our parts." She wiped at her eyes and shook her head, thinking of that morning's indiscretion as well. "After what we'd been through, it felt good to be close to someone, to be held, to feel warm and safe. There was no coercion involved, no trickery."
Uncomfortable looks and a tentative silence followed before Stark said, "Fine. Loki was your knight in shining armor. I'll be the last person to deny that passion can overcome reason. I'm concerned that if we ask for Loki's help, he will betray us to Thanos to save his own skin."
"I agree," Clint said, leaning on the backrest of Tony's chair. "We shouldn't trust Loki."
"I've never met the guy," Quill said, "but I didn't drag my crew all the way here to let Thanos stomp on Earth. Maybe we should just give this Loki guy whatever he wants in exchange for these locations. At least then we'll be a helluva lot closer to protecting ourselves."
Nick was listening, his elbows on the tabletop and hands clasped together under his nose. His eyes shifted to his right and the silent Captain America.
"Cap, what do you think?"
Steve sat stiff in his chair. Even his jaw was tense as he asked, "What would Loki want? If we're going to consider a trade, we need to know the cost of this information."
Again everyone looked to Maria.
"When I suggested to Loki that the team could want his help, he didn't believe it. He knows he's made enemies and doesn't expect we'll ask anything from him."
Nick pulled the clump of tissue from his pocket and handed it to her.
"Call him. Ask that he meet you, Captain Rogers and myself at a neutral location."
"Sir," Barton jumped in, "at least take a squad of men."
Natasha scoffed. "Like that will make a bit of difference."
Maria unwrapped the tissue, lifting out the chain when she felt warm fingertips graze the back of her neck, making her shudder. Then an invisible hand rested on her shoulder.
"Sir," she said, staring poignantly at Fury, "I don't think that call will be necessary."
The director turned to her, his gaze questioning. He soon appeared to catch on, and he gestured Barton to take his seat. Up and down the table, those present were on edge and looking about the room.
"Please?" Maria uttered over her shoulder, choosing not to elaborate specifically on her request. In this particular situation, she wasn't certain who had the upper hand if this went badly.
"What I want," said Loki's silky voice from above and behind her, "is to be granted sanctuary."
"You're joking!" Hawkeye challenged. "Like we'd ever."
Stark asked with obvious distrust, "How long have you been spying on us, Loki?"
"I'm here because I lost my connection to Maria when Director Fury took her necklace. I planned to make certain she and the child were safe. Then things got interesting."
From their expressions, it looked to Maria that a calm discussion wasn't likely to happen. She flashed Nick a cautionary glance.
"Steve and Maria can stay for this negotiation," Fury decided with stern authority. "Everyone else out."
"Ridiculous," Barton grumbled and pushed again to his feet.
Bruce asked Nick, "You're sure about this?"
"Now," Fury emphasized as most of them were still in their seats.
Maria felt Loki step away as the team shuffled out past her. As soon as the door closed behind them, he pulled back the chair on her left, becoming visible as he sat. He wore a grave expression, not at all like the smug attitude he had the last time he'd been in Nick's presence.
Steve sat directly across from Maria. His gaze kept shifting between her and Loki like he was trying to figure them out.
"Stark is no doubt making an emergency call to Thor right now. So, if we can make this brief," Loki said. "I'm willing to show you where these passages exit into Midgard in return for sanctuary."
"What is your definition of sanctuary?" the director asked.
"I will be allowed to live on Earth under S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers' protection and see my son whenever I wish."
"That's a little light on the details," Steve said, his tone as hard as his stare. "Protection from whom?"
"My enemies. Asgard, Thanos, a few others."
Steve persisted, "What makes you think we can protect you from Asgard?"
"If you tell Odin that I've been granted sanctuary on Earth, it would be considered an act of war for any Asgardian to attempt to capture me here."
"Including Thor," Nick assumed. "You heard that Thanos has left the Dark World?"
"He has little interest in any world that doesn't currently possess an infinity stone. He will attack the other realms merely to draw the army out of Asgard. Then he will go after the tesseract."
Steve asked, "Are you sure he'll go for Asgard before he comes here?"
"No, I'm not. Earth is the easier target, and he can lure Odin's army here just as easily as any other realm."
"If we promise you sanctuary," Nick said, "you have to realize there will be strings attached."
"Such as?"
"Pulling your own weight and not getting into trouble, for starters."
"Define trouble," Loki said, being cheeky.
Steve clarified, "You're going to have to do what we tell you to do."
Loki sighed, pushing back his chair to stand.
"There are far too many people who've tried to order me around. Stark is an absolute menace, and he's allowed his bouts of chaos. I won't risk becoming Thanos's prisoner again just for the privilege of being yours."
Maria grabbed his hand as he came around her chair.
"Loki," she begged, "please give us something to work with."
"Give something for nothing?"
"Do it for me."
Loki searched her features, seemingly lost in thought.
She knew she was asking a lot, playing a card that she wasn't really sure had that much importance to him after their earlier disagreement.
"If Thanos is truly coming from Nidavellir, look for his army here."
He waved his free hand and blue flames flashed upon the section of tabletop between Maria and Nick, leaving a set of coordinates burned into the metal.
"For the sake of our son," he said to Maria, pulling out of her grasp then backing towards the exit, "I hope you will stay out of this fight."
The moment Loki opened the door, there was a blur of motion which struck him in the face and sent him flying across the conference room. He smashed through the drywall, cracking the cement underneath before collapsing to the carpet.
Thor charged in after him, snarling and wielding his hammer, but there was no further need for violence. Loki had been knocked out.