It took longer than Tony anticipated for Jarvis to provide a list of the residents in the building Loki had disappeared into. And even then it wasn't a comprehensive list. The owner or whoever was in charge of bringing in residents apparently didn't believe in an organized system to keep track of people. Some apartments were meticulously accounted for, as if the curator had done a historical manuscript of those rooms. While others didn't even have a single person listed as a resident. After several quick scans Tony had to slow down to check that he hadn't missed something. But after carefully going through the current listings that Jarvis had found, Tony wasn't able to find anyone going by the name of Vincent.
Loki tightly closed his eyes. He clenched his lips together. His mind drifted so nothing seemed to stay in focus. It was jerked back with one cut after another. The blood began to dampen his clothes. His blood dipped to the floor and seeped into the carpet. Some went to the hilt and seemed to dig around while others were like pinpricks. Loki tried his best not to move or set his captor off even more.
Twelve stories tall with one hundred and sixty four apartments. Fifty were practically perfectly accounted for. That left over a hundred to search through. Tony did his best to be quick but it felt that every other apartment had a sweet old lady type who insisted on a conversation.
Vincent didn't really notice how much blood he was spilling till he reached for his beer bottle and saw his stained carpet. That combined with the empty bottle only made him more enraged. He smashed the empty bottle over Loki's head and stumbled to his feet. After a few missteps he reached the fridge and pulled out another bottle.
On the tenth floor Tony finally lucked out in his search. An older, half blind guy answered the door for apartment one hundred thirty. "He's two doors down now get out of my house!" After the door slammed shut Tony hurried over to door that apparently had the missing god behind it. He froze mid motion to knock on the wood like he had with every other door. Instead he bent down, pulled out some tolls, and jimmied open the lock.
After finishing the bottle in a couple of gulps Vincent reached for a third. But before he could grasp it his door swung open. He ran back into the living room to stop Loki from escaping. But the monster hadn't moved. Turning to the door he saw the problem, "What the fuck?"
Tony slipped his tools back into his pocket and closed the door as he walked into the apartment. "Yeah. What the fuck? Who or what do you think gives you the right to just take a person and torture them? You don't get to torture people let alone torture them for hours and days."
"He's not people! He's a monster and a killer. Just because Shield signed the paperwork doesn't-"
"You work for Shield! Damn, and here I thought they were finally getting better at hiring people who wouldn't fuck the system." Tony walked past Vincent and crouched down beside Loki. He whispered, "You don't deserve this. You have suffered so much and this isn't one of those times. This is-"
Loki shook his head. He deserved this, he always did. He had killed without a thought for those who were left dead around him. At the time all he could think of was the mission he had been given and escaping the Mad Titan. This man, Vincent, was suffering because of him. Families had been torn apart because of him.
Despite not saying anything Tony knew what Loki was thinking. "You didn't enjoy what happened. You did what you thought you had to. It probably wasn't the best solution but it's what happened." Tony stood up with a grunt. He held out his hand till Loki tentatively grabbed it. "Keys?"
Vincent stared open mouthed. He seemed to forget that he was the reason this was happening. Without thinking he handed over the keys from his pocket. He only focused on what he just did when Loki was free from the shackles. "But he has to pay...I wanted."
Tony shook his head. "He has paid. And you even got the chance to get some one on one time which is something not everyone effected can claim. If you're lucky Fury won't find out about this little breach. I wouldn't count on it though. Hope this was worth it." Tony carefully pushed Loki ahead of him toward the door. "You're going to let us leave but if you don't I'll be more than happy to make you pay for what you've done."
As they headed toward the door Vincent grumbled a little but made no moves to stop them. He just sat down on the couch and stared down at all the bloodshed he had caused.
Once they were in the elevator Tony asked if Loki would be okay till they made it back to the tower. He wasn't completely convinced by the "yes" that Loki weakly gave but didn't argue with him. Instead he let Loki lean on him for a few moments and then led him to the nearby parking lot where he left his car.
Loki slipped onto the passenger seat as Tony held open the door. He wrapped his arm around his stomach and tried to staunch the bleeding. He didn't notice the wheezing with each breath. Instead he focused on the little things like the movement of the car and how many times Tony changed the radio station (at least once per street street corner).
By the time they reached the tower Loki's cuts has slowed in their bleeding. His tears had dried leaving behind their salty trails.
As the Tony parked the car and helped Loki out of his seat Jarvis made sure there were plenty of bandages, food, and ice at the ready.
