Chapter Thirty-Nine: Promise
Agent Stevens, or Glen if you were his friend, noticed the blinking red light immediately. It flashed in quick, rhythmic time in the bottom left corner of his computer screen and begged for his attention. "What does that mean?" Asked the fresh face he'd pulled from some unnecessary department to assist him. He didn't know the girl's name and wouldn't bother to check her name badge to learn it. He'd never see her again after today, assuming Agent Cooper returned after her field trip with the director.
He merely shushed her and clicked the box where the right light appeared. An alert popped up before him, covering the camera feeds. "It's gone from my side now-did you fix it?" The girl with no name peered curiously through the gap between computers at him. They were sitting across from each other and it was painfully clear that he would rather work alone if that was possible.
"Just watch the video feeds. If I need something from you, I'll ask." The alert was in bold, red letters. ABNORMAL ACTIVITY ON A HIGH PRIORITY RECORDING DEVICE. PLEASE ADDRESS. PLEASE ACT NOW. They only had a couple of high priority devices out in the field these days. There were plenty of medium and low priority-and even some that were not priority at all. Those were used for high traffic areas to potentially catch audio during random crimes. He clicked the option to listen in on the device. He saw that this particular bug was located at the house where the girl from the Loki situation was apprehended.
He rolled his eyes. That girl-Evelyn or something-was in her room. He tried to toggle back to the camera feeds to see for sure, but the computer would not let him until he addressed the matter at hand. He glanced over his monitor at No-Name. "Hey," he stated a little abruptly. She looked up quickly with surprised eyes. "That girl in the Suspect Room-"
"Which Suspect Room?"
"We only have one suspect in custody right now."
No-Name looked uneasily at her work station. She clicked a few times, scrolling through several cameras.
"That feed should be on your main screen, you shouldn't have to do anyth-"
"There's no one in any of the Suspect Rooms."
Glen laughed condescendingly. "Okay, I realize you don't usually work in here, but just think about it for a second. Just because you don't see her doesn't mean she's not in there. She could be in the bathroom. Check the bathroom audio."
"For which Suspect Room?"
He sighed. "The active one. The one pinned to your toolbar."
No-Name found the right room and clicked to listen in on the audio. "Nothing," she stated.
"Give it a minute. Turn it up. You should be able to hear her breathing."
She sat and listened to satisfy him. "Nothing," she said again.
He rolled his eyes once more. "Fine," he replied indifferently. He'd just check it after he dealt with the alert.
"Isn't that bad?" No-Name wondered.
He ignored her and hit play. With newly placed devices, it was common for things as simple as birds, car horns and passersby chatting to set them off. All he had to do was hear it and classify the noise as inconsequential in the system. Then if that same noise was ever picked up again, it wouldn't flag as urgent. The recording started playing at the beginning with an option to skip to real time. He heard the groan of the mattress and then a man talking. "Now will you speak to me?" he heard the man say. Glen began to panic. He'd heard that voice before. But where? "Now can you tell me what you want?" He blinked and began to panic when it clicked. He'd been forced to listen to recordings of Loki speaking way back when the Asgardians had first shown up. That was his voice, not even the disguised version that "Graham" had had.
He jammed his finger onto his earpiece. The audio still rolled into his other ear. A woman's voice sounded off next. "Director Fury," he spoke urgently.
"You got something?" Came his reply.
"They're at her house," he informed, "it just came up."
Fury did not respond.
"Did you know she was gone?" Glen asked, considering that the news had shocked him and that was why he wasn't answering.
"We knew. Thank you Agent Stevens."
Glen let the audio keep going, but he wasn't listening. He realized that Darla must have seen the girl escape, and that was why she'd left the room. He became distracted by the fact that he wasn't given information he needed to do his job properly. He was frustrated and annoyed and he felt let down, left out. Because of this, he missed hearing the next chunk of the conversation. And because he missed this, he was unable to tell the Avengers that Loki knew they were coming.
Elsewhere
Loki paused for just a moment to enjoy the sight of her. She was laying back on the bed with her elbows bent and propping her up so she could look at him. She looked eager and hungry, her lips parting slightly, her eyes drawing him in. Her pants were undone still and her plum underwear peeked through. Her breasts were still exposed as well, her shirt tangled up around her neck and shoulders. He could tell that she liked when he looked at her. When his eyes traveled up her body and admired it, she was smiling wide.
Eve watched him trace her figure with his mind. To be desired by him was her only goal in that moment. She opened her mouth to encourage him, but instead she had a brief flashback. "Wait," she sat up completely with a concerned expression. He was annoyed within milliseconds. It must have shown on his face, because she continued quickly, forcing her thoughts out as they became clear. "Can't they hear us still? Isn't that thing still on the window? Wait-can they hear me right now?"
"Oh," he cooed delicately as though the notion was a child's fear of the dark. "I've already taken care of that."
"So, you broke it?" He didn't answer. Instead, he pushed her back down onto the bed. "So, you cast a silent and invisible bubble spell or whatever?" She tried to sit up again and he held her firmly where she was. "Loki-" she protested, fighting the concerns she had. They were slowly being replaced by waves of yearning. He caressed her abdomen, waist and back before removing her top and bra in seamless motion.
"Loki-" she said again, her worries not yet drowned completely in lust. She pushed up against him once more, trying to right herself, right her head. He laughed openly at her pathetic attempt. He firmly secured her to the bed by gripping her upper arms toward her shoulders. All she could think about was the way he'd touched her before they'd come here. She wished it could be that simple-want something and take it.
"Would you undo my buttons?" He asked very politely-the way a wife would ask her husband to zip up her dress.
"What about the-"
"I could make you do it, you know. You may as well just-"
"Loki, just tell me what you…" she trailed off as her hands started moving on their own. "How are you…" but the thought never ended. Just a second ago, she had firmly not wanted to undo his buttons. Eventually, yes, she would have ripped the shirt off his back to get at him. But that was for after he'd answered her. She didn't want to be distracted by the possibility she'd just be captured again and taken back to that place. He did say he'd taken care of it, but his words meant nothing to her. She didn't trust him. It didn't help that he seemed to enjoy watching her squirm under the pressure of potential danger.
Still, now her hands were moving. And it was like she wanted to do it. Needed to, even. She felt him in the back of her mind, toying and stringing together impulses with a static green light. The urge had been buried there between her lobes, the sexual minx she became when aroused had wanted it-and he'd found it. Not only was she behaving against her previous intentions, but it felt good to do so. Not in a sensual way, not even in a physical way at all. It felt like someone was proud of her. It felt like she'd won the lottery-no worries, ever again. All A's on her report card. A new puppy for Christmas. Before she knew it, all his buttons were undone and she hardly remembered it. She stared on with uneasiness, she felt her body go limp and cold as the sensation crept out of her pores.
"Don't ever do that again," she implored.
He peered on with curiosity. "I've been told it feels good."
"It did feel good," she looked away, "and then it was over."
"But if it-"
"Please," she insisted.
"Okay," he agreed with no harshness whatsoever. He pushed her hair out of her face and kissed her deeply. When he pulled back, he made determined, meaningful eye contact. She couldn't have looked away if she'd wanted to. The hard lines of his face that were always present were gone now. The front he put up at all times, the one that kept him guarded, was gone. He was softer and steady and serious. "I promise," he said. And she believed him.
A/N:
Oh my god I can't believe it's been three weeks or so since I last posted. The time seriously flew right by me. In any case, my boyfriend and I will be moving into our apartment next Saturday. I bought a brand new desk to organize my thoughts so I can have a space to think. I think this process will be much easier then. Plus, in a few weeks I get to finally go to my set schedule at work since I'll be done with my training. Once I get a groove going there'll be plenty of time for me to devote to this story. Thanks so much for your patience with me, I try not to write if I'm not feeling inspired, because I want it to be the best it possibly can be.
