The Tesseract didn't shut down despite everything the scientists tried. Coulson came and went over the next hour, each time looking more stressed than the last. Eventually, he came back on the radio.
"Kari, copy?"
"Copy, Coulson. What do you need us to do?" I responded right away. Clint was still watching everything below us intently and I wasn't going to break his concentration.
"We're about to order a full evac," Coulson's voice was crackly over the radio. "I need you on the door. No one goes into that room without permission from me. Selvig is in charge down there so do what he says within reason. Understood?"
"Copy that." I stood up, feeling every bone in my back crack as I did. "Heading down now."
I held out the radio for Clint. He shook his head in refusal and tapped his ear in reply. He must have had his comms patched into his hearing aids. He was too focused on watching everything else.
I made my way down the ladder and jogged over to the very harassed looking Dr Selvig. He glanced at me before doing a double take.
"I'm Agent Lyngley," I said before he could start playing the guessing game. "We met a while ago into Puente Antiguo. Agent Coulson sent me to make sure no one comes in that isn't needed. Can I help you with anything else?"
"Not right now, thank you." Though looking stressed beyond belief, Dr Selvig still had manners. "If I'll need you, I'll let you know."
At his dismissal, I walked over to the door and stood in the open doorway. There I waited.
And waited.
Nearly two hours into standing in the doorway, fighting back a yawn, Coulson came jogging down the hallway.
"This is for you." Coulson held up two thigh holsters with a P30 on them. "And this one is for Barton. Throw it up to him and come right back."
I was very glad for something to do. Right now I was feeling useless as I listened to the chaos behind me. None of the scientists knew what to do right now. Every suggestion wasn't working. Pulling the power source did nothing to stop the growing power levels of the Tesseract.
"Got it." I turned and jogged back to the ladder.
Clint peered down at me as I came up the ladder as fast as I could. When I held up the thigh holster, he looked relieved.
"I never thought I'd need to be armed while guarding scientists," Clint said as he took it off me. "And today started off so well."
"Hopefully it will end well." I gave Clint a flirty smile. "This will probably settle down and then you can bend me over your bed as you promised a few nights ago."
"Really?" A smirk grew on Clint's face. "I wasn't going to make it to the bed. I was going to fuck you up against the wall since you enjoyed that so much the first time."
Now that was a promise I could get behind.
"Great, now that's all I'm going to be thinking about while standing at the door," I said with a playful grumble.
"How do you think I feel?" Clint said pointedly. "At least you can't see you thinking about it."
I glanced down at Clint's crotch. The very prominent boner was visible the way he was sitting.
"Well, you're up here alone, you could probably get away with jerking off and no one will notice." I was very pleased with the reaction I was getting.
"I'm saving it all for you." Clint's smirk grew. "After all, you did leave me hanging last night."
"I was not sexting you with Captain America sitting beside me." That made me laugh. I knew Clint was joking though. "No matter how tempting it looked."
A commotion below made us both look down. By the looks of frustration on people's face, there was another energy spike.
"I better head back down." The playful mood was quickly forgotten. We had work to do.
"Sure." Clint gave me that soft smile that seemed reserved only for me these days. The one that made my heart flutter for all the bad reasons. "Be safe."
"You too."
I had to push all those feelings aside before I got back down the ladder. Nobody needed to see me wandering around with my head in the clouds. It was look very suspicious. As it was I had a hard time getting the small smile off my face.
As I walked past Selvig, he glanced up at me.
"You know," he started, making me pause mid step. "I think that's the first time I've ever seen Agent Barton smile."
"Having your best friend around during a painfully boring mission can bring a smile to anyone's face." At least that wasn't a lie.
Besides a small sound of acknowledgment, Selvig said nothing else. My guilty conscious was in full swing again. Clint and I were really going to have to be more careful.
I went back to my door guarding. The atmosphere only got tenser as the moments dragged along. The number of scientists working inside started to dwindle another two hours in. Selvig was encouraging a lot of people to leave. Most of them didn't hesitate, finishing up what they were doing and leaving in a hurry. Only a few scientists were left when my otherwise boring guarding was interrupted.
Director Fury himself breeze through the hallway. I had the good sense to step out of his way. Even though Coulson said no one in, I'm pretty sure I could make an exception here. Trailing behind him were a few boys from Echo team and what was probably some Specialist's in suits.
Although I was tempted to give the Echo boys some grief, now wasn't the time. Everyone looked on edge.
"Talk to me Doctor." Fury's voice rang out the room.
I only barely heard Selvig's reply acknowledging my boss. I craned my head to listen to the rest of the exchange.
"The Tesseract is misbehaving," Selvig's dry answer did nothing to ease the tension in the room.
I couldn't help it. My small snort of amusement was barely covered up. Unluckily for me, it echoed around the mostly empty room. My back was turned to them but I could feel the glare of Fury on my back. I straightened my shoulders and cleared my throat.
"Is that supposed to be funny?"
I thought Fury was addressing me, however Selvig spoke up before I could.
"No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active she's," Selvig trailed off, as if lost for words. "Behaving."
Misbehaving wasn't a good word. I really didn't need any alien artifacts misbehaving on my watch.
"How soon until you pull the plug?" Now Fury sounded concerned. I don't think I'd ever heard the tone from him before. It made me glance over my shoulder.
I couldn't see much. There was no one coming down the hallway and I could easily see anyone coming. I shifted so I could see a little better.
Selvig was walking back over to the computers as he spoke with Fury stalking after him.
"She's an energy source. We turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level…"
"We prepared for this, Doctor. Harnessing energy from space," Fury cut in. His back was to me but I could see the tension in his posture clearly.
It was such an odd thing for SHIELD to be doing, trying to generate an energy source from space. Considering they had the best R&D program in the world, tampering with something that was alien seemed like a really bad idea.
"We don't have the harness, my calculations are far from complete." Selvig reached his computer and he was facing my direction again. "Now she's throwing off interference."
I didn't need any more powers. I unconsciously took a step back. The movement caught Selvig's eye and he quickly added.
"Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation."
"That can be harmful." Fury echoed the exact thought running through my head as he glanced back at the Tesseract. "Where's Agent Barton?"
"The Hawk?" Selvig looked back up from the computer with a scoff. He jerked his thumb over his head, pointing towards where Barton was lurking. "Up in his nest. As usual."
Fury glanced back at me with a questioning look. There was no point denying I was listening. I simply pointed up exactly where Clint had his perch.
"Agent Barton, report." Fury's voice echoed over my radio. "You too, Agent Lyngley."
Trouble by association. I knew it was bound to happen. Clint couldn't keep out of trouble for more than five minutes on a good day. Any day where Fury was around, was not going to be a good day. The only thing I could do was walk up to my boss and try not to feel like I had just been called up in front of the Principle at school.
"Sit rep, now." Fury crossed his arms and stared down at me as I came up in front of him.
"An energy spike came from the cube around four hours ago," I said briskly. "Since then, the Tesseract has been having various power spices. Beyond you and the men you brought in, no one has been in. Selvig ordered evacuation for anyone not wanting to stay."
My answer seemed to satisfy Fury. He gave me a brisk nod and turned on his heel, marching over to where Clint had just landed from sliding down his rope. As soon as Clint was on the ground, Fury was on him.
"I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things." Fury sounded more curious than scolding as he and Clint started to walk around the room.
I had to give it to Fury. He knew Clint extremely well that Clint wouldn't be able to stand still at a time like this. Clint was looking poised, ready to snap into action at any second right now. I hung back behind them as we circled towards the Tesseract.
"I see better from a distance," Clint said in a clipped tone.
"Have you seen anything that would set this off?" Fury probed for an answer.
Someone called for Selvig but my attention too intent on Fury and Clint right now to glance over to see what they were doing.
"No one's come and gone," Clint confirmed my earlier sit rep. "Selvig's clean. No contacts, no IM. If there's any tampering, Sir, it wasn't on this end."
The three of us had stopped at the unit housing the Tesseract. It wasn't my imagination that it was glowing brighter than before.
"At this end?"
Fury's look of surprise and confusion made me raise an eyebrow. That was concerning that even Fury didn't know how this thing was working.
"Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right?" Clint looked over to Fury, the concern clear on his face. "Doors open from both sides."
Anything Fury was about to say was cut off from the Tesseract suddenly sparking. The ground shook beneath us as the Tesseract seemed to be powering up. I took an instinctive step back, just as Clint raised his arm protectively in front of me. He gave me a tight smile as he caught my eye.
Selvig was muttering something to himself as the sparks from the Tesseract grew in frequency, shaking the entire building. Dust fell from the ceiling, making me reach up to rub the mess out of my eyes. As I did, the Tesseract shot out a beam of light to the other end of the building.
A portal was opening at the other end. It was incredible. And terrifying. In the brief few moments it was open, I was staring into the abyss of space.
There were no words to describe it. It was an experience I would never forget staring into that hole. It didn't stay that way for long though. The portal shut within a few seconds, sending the room into tremors as the portal shot out and up through the roof. The energy flowed throughout the room in an eerie blue glow, knocking me backwards a few feet.
This was not good. An uneasy feeling came over me as the room stopped shaking. My attention was drawn back to the middle of the chamber. Kneeling in the middle was a man, with tendrils of smoke coming off him.
What in the actual fuck?
The Echo boys started to move in slowly, weapons raised. The man on the platform slowly stood up.
He was definitely not of this world. If I was a betting person, I'd put my healthy bank account on this guy being an Asgardian. As he straightened up, the spear in his hand became clear. As did the manic grin on his face. I took another step back , my hand going straight for the P30 on my thigh.
"Sir, please put down the spear!" Fury called out a second later.
The man looked down at his spear, almost like he didn't believe he had it. A second later, a blast of it came directly for us.
Clint pushed Fury out of the way and I rolled to the side. The noise of a firefight in an area like this was overwhelming. The huge concrete chamber made everything echo louder than usual. Not that it was doing any good. The gunfire didn't seem to have an effect on this guy. Regardless, I still pulled my P30 out and fired three rapid shots to his face.
The man turned towards me with a snarl. Those bullets should have torn his face off at this range. The spear glowed and I knew I was in deep shit. I threw up an ice shield just as he let the beam of energy off.
The beam of energy shattered my ice shield a second later. The force behind it sent me backwards a few feet, crashing into lab equipment. My head smashed into something hard and I was seeing stars.
It could have been minutes or seconds before the room went quiet. I was disorientated enough that I had no idea whether I was upside down or not. Blinking rapidly, there was a blur of green and gold in front of me.
"And what do we have here?" His tone was tinged with amusement.
I shook my head rapidly, trying to clear my vision. The blurry outline came into focus, just as the spear was reaching for my chest. My body reacted quicker than my mind could process. My hand came up and ice formed, easily encasing the head of the spear. It was glowing as the ice wound around it and up the person's arm.
Most people would have dropped the spear in fright. Not this guy, he looked down at the ice wind up his arm in fascination.
All of a sudden, the man jerked forward, as if someone had shoved him. With no effort at all, he yanked the spear free from the ice and turned to face his attacker.
I caught a glimpse of Clint around the person. He had a metal pole in his hand and he was on the offensive, poised and ready to strike again.
"I wouldn't do that if I was you," Clint said, his tone low and deadly.
The man scoffed, it almost sounded in amusement. Then he moved faster than I had ever seen anyone move before. The spear connected with a solid thunk across Clint's stomach, sending him to his knees with a painful groan. In a movement that was more like a blue, the end of it connected to Clint's head, sending him spraying on his back.
"You have heart."
Clint was too dazed to react. The spear came to his chest and glowed brightly. The breath seemed to leave Clint's body and then he was eerily still.
"Get up."
Despite the solid blow to the head, Clint instantly got to his feet.
"Don't let her out of your sight." The order came out almost like a hiss before raising his voice. "Please don't. I still need that."
Clint strode forward and yanked me to my feet. I was still dazed enough that I swayed dangerously as I got to my feet. Clint's grip was bruising on my arm.
"Ow, fuck it, Hawk." I tried to squirm out of his grip. "Let the fuck go."
Clint's eyes met mine and I knew something was very, very wrong. Clint's eyes were an unnatural shade of blue. He stared at me like he didn't know or care that he was hurting me. I felt a cold shiver come over me.
"Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else." The man raised his voice bringing my attention away from Clint. "I am Loki, of Asgard. And I am burdened with glorious purpose."
If the situation hadn't been so shitty I would have laughed that I'd called it. Fucking Asgardian's. Why did they always bring their problems down here?
"Loki, brother of Thor?"
Selvig's question made Loki turn to him with a furious expression on his face. Obviously that was a touchy subject. He certainly didn't look like Thor.
"We have no quarrel with your people," Fury spoke up, keeping his voice level and calm. His one good eye flicked towards me. I was terrible at reading people's facial expressions but Fury's spoke more than words did.
Stay calm. Don't fight. Fury had a briefcase in his hand and the Tesseract was out of its cradle. At least he had a plan and I was happy to follow whatever it was.
I was too dazed to do much else. My trip across the room into the science equipment had given me a good crack on the head. Coulson was going to make a huge fuss over the concussion I was sure I had. As soon as I stopped squirming in Clint's grip, it loosened.
I could get us out of here. I just had to bide my time.
"An ant has no quarrel with a boot," Loki said with an air of indifference to his words.
"You planning on stepping on us?" Fury expression turned stone cold.
Even I shivered at Loki's threat. I'd seen some evil in this world but he had really topping it. An Asgardian with a grudge was not something we needed to be dealing with.
"I come with glad tidings." Loki started to stalk around the room. "Or a world made free."
"Free from what?" Fury asked, his tone sharp.
"Freedom."
Loki said something else but my attention went to Clint. His grip was looser on my arm now and he was looking up at the cloud hovering above the room. In the chaos that had followed Loki appearing I hadn't noticed it until now. Something was not right up there.
"You will know peace."
Loki comment and movement pulled my attention back to the Asgardian. The spear touched Dr Selvig on the chest. With a gasp, Selvig's eyes went black before turning the same shade of eerie blue as Clint.
"Yeah, you say peace. I kinda think you mean the other thing," Fury's dry tone would have been funny in any other circumstance.
"Sir," Clint spoke up before anything else could be said. He gave me a firm shove forward, sending me staggering. "Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow and drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us."
Great plan, Fury. Given the circumstances, I didn't blame him though. Better to drop the threat here and now, even if it meant taking the rest of us with him. That was no comfort to me though. If Fury didn't see any other way out of this, how was I going to get me and Clint out of here?
"He's right." Selvig was back at the computer. I hadn't even seen him move. "The portal is collapsing in on itself. We've got maybe two minutes before this goes critical."
"Well then." Loki turned to Clint with an expectantly raised eyebrow.
Clint dropped his grip on me and before I could react, drew his P30 out and shot Fury point blank in the chest.
I swallowed back my scream of horror as Fury landed flat on his back. I didn't have a chance to say something or fight back now I was free. Clint had my arm again and was roughly shoving me forward.
"Don't fucking push me, Barton," I snarled as I regained my footing.
I'd had enough of the rough handling. If Clint wasn't going to listen to me, I was going to go Natasha's style of beating some sense back into him. I swung around and punched him as hard as I could across the face.
Guilt flared in me as Clint staggered back. Any other time and I would have been very proud of the hit I'd just landed. Clint's reaction time was slower than usual. He should have seen that punch coming a mile away. I could use this to my advantage.
The guy in the suit who I'd assumed was a Specialist, grabbed me from behind, trying to restrain me. I managed to avoid his grasp and drove my elbow back into his throat. He went to his knees with a choked gasp.
My victory was short lived as I turned around had a P30 an inch from my face. Clint was on the other end of it.
There were plenty of moments in my life where I'd been terrified. Right now, looking down the literal barrel of a gun with my best friend on the other end, that was entirely new territory.
"You wouldn't." Part of me was pleading, the other was challenging.
Clint was still in there somewhere, I knew it. Behind the blue haze clouding his eyes, there was still my best friend there. Someone who would never deliberately hurt me.
The unmistakable sound of a round sliding into the chamber proved me wrong. The sound itself sounded like a gunshot in the quiet room. Clint's finger went to the trigger.
After everything I'd been through, this was it for me. Staring into my best friend's face and he looked back at me like he didn't even recognise me.
I lifted my chin in defiance, despite my entire body wanting to shake in terror. At least Clint wouldn't miss. This would be quick. I closed my eyes and swallowed down the fear threatening to consume me.
A solid blow to the back of the head sent me crashing to the ground. It was hard enough I nearly passed out. The searing pain coming from my skull a second later was the only thing making me cling to conciseness. I was being lifted off the ground by my hair and it was a new form of pain I'd never experienced before.
"Aren't you a brave one?" Loki's voice hissed near my ear. He sounded right at the end of his patience. "You'll do as your told."
"Make me." At least I sounded defiant. I felt like I was about to throw up or pass out from the pain. I could barely see my head hurt so much.
"Agent Barton, show your friend here what will happen if she doesn't comply." Loki's voice turned dangerously calm.
Through swimming vision, I looked over to Clint. I had no idea how Loki was managing it, but Clint shifted from having the gun in my face to putting it directly under his chin.
If I'd thought I'd been scared before, this was a new level of terror. The sheer helplessness I felt right now knocked the breath right out of me.
"No," I managed to choke out. "Clint, don't."
Clint didn't move an inch. He stood there, eerily calm with a loaded gun pressed to his chin.
"Then on your feet and walk." Loki gave my hair one final yank, bringing me to my feet.
I had no choice. Selvig and the other man in the room looked at me passively, neither of them moving to help. My legs didn't want to work, my first step nearly sent me pitching to my knees. It was only Loki's crushing grip that stopped me going down.
"Keep her on her feet and moving," Loki ordered to the Specialist who I'd throat punched before.
I was roughly passed over to the Specialist who had no qualms in dragging me along. He was strong and easily manhandled me out of the room. It wasn't until we were going down a long corridor that I finally managed to clear my head to try and work out what the fuck I was doing. We were going in a different way than I came in.
Luckily for me, we walked straight past Hill.
"We need these vehicles," Clint said as he strode forward with all the authority in the world.
"Who's that?" Hill asked sternly. She didn't take Clint's shit on a good day, let alone a bad day like today.
"Didn't tell me," Clint's short reply made Hill frown.
She caught my eye as she went to turn around. I really hoped she was as sharp as I thought her to be. I shook my head, making the motion as small as possible.
"Hill!" Fury's voice crackled over the radio. "Do you copy?"
The last part came out as a pained wheeze.
"Barton…."
I didn't hear the last part of whatever Fury was saying over the radio. Gunfire erupted from where Clint was standing. Hill only managed to roll out of the way in the nick of time.
The Specialist who was holding me went down as he got clipped in the leg by a shot. I was free for a blissful half a second before I was roughly grabbed by my collar.
A gunshot exploded next to my ear. Clint had raised his P30 and fired a shot over my shoulder. The deafness was disorientating and Clint used that to his advantage. He dragged me backward and roughly shoved me in the backseat of the jeep.
I had no plan or idea what to do as the jeep speed off. We were going far too fast for me to bail. Even if I could, I was sure the doors would have been locked. Clint wasn't that stupid. No matter what Loki had done to him.
I never got to do the defensive driving course that SHIELD held. I kept getting booked in for it and then ended up doing something else. Now I was really regretting it. Clint wasn't a crazy driver normally, except for his lead foot. His driving combed with my concussion was making me feel ready to throw up. It was a blur of screeching tires and the sound of metal grinding. The erratic swerving threw me around enough that I couldn't see where we were going or what we were doing. It wasn't until another car pulled in front of us that things got interesting.
Gunfire was loud enough in an enclosed space. When it shattered windscreens, it was even worse. Another jeep had pulled in front of ours.
Clint didn't hesitate. He drove right into the other car, locking them together. The motion sent me backward and sprawled over the backseat again.
Everything was happening too quickly. More gunfire was making my head feel like it was going to explode. Clint made short work of the car that was in front of us. He managed to push the car to the side and speed off.
Think Kari, think. I had to think what the fuck to do now. Clint had to be fast running out of bullets. I wasn't counting but I knew he didn't have another magazine on him. It was a terrible game of Russian Roulette I could be playing. I wasn't just risking my life. I was risking his as well.
Breaking into the night air was a breath of relief. At least for a few seconds. The entire ground shook, nearly sending us off the road. Clint had to do some tricky steering to keep us from rolling. As he did, we left the road and started going over the rough terrain, Clint had to slow down.
A helicopter overhead was the perfect distraction. Both Clint and Selvig looked up to see what was happening. In doing so, I had an opportunity. I was up against the door. I quickly testing the door handle to see if I could escape the easy way or this was going to be exceptionally difficult.
To my surprise, the door handle gave way. I was so shocked, I snatched my hand back. I looked up, expecting Clint to notice the movement. I wasn't exactly being subtle.
Instead, Clint swerved again as more gunfire rained from above. The helicopter was on top of us. I could see it in the rearview mirror. Until a figure in the back of the jeep stood up.
For fuck sake. I'd nearly forgotten about that asshole. It's a shame Clint's driving didn't tip him out of the tray. With a flash of bright flash of light, the helicopter was plummeting to the ground.
My head felt like it was going to explode from the noise. More gunshots came from behind us. The car careened, sliding dangerously in the dirt. A loud thunking noise came from the rear of the car. By the way we were sliding around, we'd done a tyre.
A few more gunshots fired, each fading as the still limped along.
This was my chance. If I was going to do something stupid, now was the time. I didn't know if I had the courage to do this. Clint's life was the one on the line. If I stayed, I knew he was safe. But I had no idea what I'd be unleashing if Loki managed to do what he did to Clint, to me. Loki needed Clint for whatever his plan was. Taking him wasn't an accident. There was a strategy here. I just didn't know what it was. I was taking a huge gamble.
I looked at the back of Clint's head as he kept driving. If was like any other time we were driving somewhere. He had one hand on the wheel, the other on the gear stick. His jaw was set, something he did when he was in a bad mood or really concentrating. I took it in one last time. I really hoped everyone would forgive me if this went south.
Right as I punched him in the back of the head.
The car swerved so hard it nearly rolled. I took my chance and opened the car door.
This was really going to hurt.
Before I could chicken out, I threw myself out of the car.
I hit the dirt and rock hard. My pants and shirt ripped as I rolled across the ground. I stopped face down, spitting up blood and dirt. That hurt more than I thought it would. I pushed myself to my hands and knees, gasping for breath. My arms were shaking uncontrollably. Ice formed underneath my hand as I struggled to gain any control over my fear.
The car hadn't kept going like I thought it would. I could see the brake lights 20 yards away. In the swirling dust and red light, Loki was stalking back towards me.
I had nothing else in me. I'd hoped they would keep driving. It really was a fool's hope though. What the hell was I going to do now?
"You are proving to be quite the pain in my ass," Loki hissed through gritted teeth. "Didn't I warn you?"
"And it's a shame Agent Barton's gun is now empty." I scuttled backward, trying to buy myself a few more seconds before I got turned into a zombie. On impulse I reached into my thigh holster. No one had taken it off me. I ripped it out of my holster and held it up, freezing it over. It shattered into a million pieces, melting onto the hot dirt beneath me. "And mine's gone too."
Loki surprised me by letting out a manic chuckle. It sent a chill up my spine.
"While I admire the bravado." Loki raised his staff again. "I don't have time for this."
That was a strange choice of words. I didn't have time to ponder it.
This was it. Loki's staff was coming right towards me again. I had nothing left in me to fight it though. Maybe I should have used the gun to shoot myself. It would have been a better choice than this.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. It was one feeling in the world which no one else would know. Jared was in front of me. The flames on his arms stood out clearly in the night air.
"Jared, no!" The scream fell from my mouth too late.
There was no avoiding the staff that was aimed directly for me. Jared stiffened and dropped to the ground. I barely saw it. All I could feel was agony and a horrid empty feeling that was trying to strangle me.
My brain felt like it was being ripped apart. I put my hands to my head and fought back a scream.
"Oh, this is much better," Loki's voice was like a knife in my skull. "Get up."
In my wavering vision, Jared got to his feet. He swayed dangerously, looking like he was going to fall over at any second.
"You'll be far more useful right now." Loki sounded so proudly smug right now. "Take me somewhere useful. I'll need the other two by the car."
"Yes, Sir."
That was the most terrifying thing I'd ever heard come out of Jared's mouth. He was never that obedient.
"I'll be back for you." Loki's threatening words made me feel like ice was flowing through my veins. "Won't we?"
"Yes, we will." Jared turned to look at me. The vacant blue stare was the same as Clint. There was no recognition in his stare at all. "When you least expect it."
And then they were gone. It was dark enough that I saw nothing at the car. It was just me sitting out in the middle of the desert.
I felt like a part of me was missing. The throbbing agony in my head hadn't decreased in the slightest. I had no idea what to do. I wanted to cry and it felt very appropriate right now.
Or go on a homicidal rampage. I would burn the world down to find my twin and there wasn't a lot anyone could do to stop me. Rage quickly won over crying. Now if only I could get my head to stop throbbing, I'd get up.
"Agent Lyngley?"
Fury's voice was a welcome distraction. For once my boss didn't sound like he was pissed at me. There might have even been a hint of concern in his voice.
"Over here, boss," I called out. Every word felt like it was splitting my head apart.
I had to get to my feet. I didn't have the luxury of sitting on the ground and crying. Especially not in front of Fury.
The flapping coat of Fury was the first thing to come into my line of vision. He came to kneel down in front of me.
"Kari?" Fury's hand came to rest on my shoulder.
I could barely see him in the dark. But the pity in his tone nearly broke me. If he got here that quickly I had no doubt he saw everything.
"He took Jared," my voice came out as a hoarse croak. "And he took Clint."
What little was left of my voice caught at Clint's name. Fuck, we'd only been planning dinner a few hours ago. I didn't have the luxury of breaking down right now.
"I saw." Fury squeezed my shoulder. "Coulson is on the way."
I could only nod. There was a lump in my throat and it wasn't going to go away. I buried my head in my hands trying to stop the feeling of my head splitting apart. My hands were shaking uncontrollably. They were so cold. I was so cold. There was something missing and I felt like I was going to fall apart at any second.
"Kari!"
I hadn't heard the other truck approaching. But there was nothing in the world that could have stopped me from hearing Coulson and the raw panic in his voice.
"Over here, Phil."
Running footsteps made me look up. Coulson was crouching down in front of me in the next heartbeat. The look on his face made me break a little on the inside. With a strangled sob, I threw myself into Coulson's waiting arms.
"It's okay." Coulson's voice cracked as he wrapped his arms around me protectively. "I've got you."
Coulson may have me. But Jared and Clint were both gone. And there wasn't a damn thing I could do to stop this.
This time, I let myself have the luxury of crying.
Authors Note
Merry Christmas everyone! While I didn't get this out on Christmas Day as planned, I had to get it out before the New Year. I hope everyone had an amazing holiday.
I have no idea where 2019 has gone. I am stoked to be right at this point though. I have a big year of writing planned next year, adding a tie in story for Steve that runs along the Crystallize.
Thank you again to everyone for your amazing support. I am constantly blown away by the love from you all.
Onto 2020!
Until next time.
