Ego Operor Quis Volo

Warnings: some action violence.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

23rd July, 2012

Tromsø Observatory, Tromsø Municipality, Norway

1700 hrs

Loki had to admit, he could see why Jane had chosen Norway as her chosen place of exile. The view was spectacular, the fjord opening up before them as they left the metropolis of Tromsø behind, and approached the Observatory, perched partway atop the slopes of the nearest mountain, its bulbous roof pointed towards the sky.

The water of the fjord lapped quietly against the shores, and as the sounds of traffic slowly faded from a constant buzz to a distant hum, Loki felt his heart begin to race. Not because of any danger he could sense, or the prospect of his assignment….it was because in a few moments, he would see…Jane again, and he wasn't sure how she was going to react, or what he would say to her. He'd always been a master of wordplay and wits, but Jane had always been one of the few to see through his façades, other than his mother.

The nondescript grey buildings of the Observatory came closer, as he carefully applied the brakes and came to a halt in front of the stone steps leading up into the main building. Nat and Clint pulled in behind him, hopping from the vehicle, as he removed his helmet.

"I'll take the perimeter," Clint offered immediately. He always said he saw better from a distance. "Nat, you take the interior. Loki…go do your thing."

Loki felt like his feet were moving through molten lead as he stowed his helmet, swallowing hard as he regarded the cold exterior containing her. Containing Jane.

"Hey," Nat's soft voice echoed in his ear. "It'll be ok. Just be yourself."

"What is this, a date or an assignment?" Loki rolled his eyes, his voice joking even as his heart thrilled in his chest. He mentally checked the position of his gun, hidden in a holster beneath his armpit, the heavy leather jacket hiding it easily. Nat simply smiled knowingly, walking by his side as Clint disappeared, slipping between buildings with ease. It was starting to get dark, so he hid easily in the shadows cast by the sunset.

Inside comprised of a dreary reception area, with hard, uncomfortable chairs upholstered in dingy grey fabric, and the usual strip lighting. The only colour in the room were the brightly coloured flyers and leaflets hanging from a notice board on one wall.

Without preamble, Loki and Nat walked straight up to the receptionist and spoke before he could do more than look up. "Hello, we're here to see Doctor Jane Foster?" Loki inquired politely. The receptionist was a tall, pale and somewhat weedy figure, in his too-big woolly jumper and jeans. He had a biro tucked behind one ear, and his skin looked bloodless in the harsh lights of his computer and the overhead strip lighting. His eyes blinked once, twice before he reacted. "Yes, she's in today. Who's asking for her?"

Loki only hesitated for a moment, before answering. "Loki Odinson." There was no point concealing his identity from her any more.

The receptionist turned away for a moment, picking up a phone set against the wall, and speaking quickly into the receiver. Nat leaned in to whisper in Loki's ear. "I'm going to do a quick reccie. Good luck."

Loki didn't bother nodding, as the receptionist put the phone back in its cradle, and turned back to them. "She's just coming down. You'll need visitors' badges," he informed them politely, plucking two badges from a drawer and holding them out.

"Thanks," Nat smiled, her most devastatingly charming smile, and leaned over the desk. The receptionist's eyes widened, as Loki mentally rolled his eyes. "Hey, you don't know where the bathroom is, do you? It's been a long drive."

"Sure, down that hallway, third door on your right," the receptionist replied, looking slightly dazed as Nat flicked a stray red curl over her shoulder.

"Thanks a lot," she murmured, winking at him before she turned away. Loki caught her eye and shot her a deprecating look, at which she just smiled and winked again. He turned to watch her go, and felt his heart seize.

Coming down the hallway towards them, down the hallway Nat was told to go, was Jane.

And she did not look pleased to see him.

She was dressed in old jeans with a white blouse and a black jumper over the top; her hair haphazardly arranged into a messy bun, which Loki could see was anchored by a pencil. An ID badge hung on a lanyard around her neck, and her eyes sparked as they met his own. She looked a little paler than when he'd last seen her, but her eyes were as alive and fiery as ever.

He restrained a ludicrous urge to gulp, as Nat passed Jane with a smile and a nod, before turning and giving him the thumbs up behind her back. He shot a glare at her, before refocusing on Jane as she stopped in front of him.

"Hello, Jane. You're looking well," he offered, his silver tongue drying up in his mouth as it always did around her, as she just glared at him. He sighed. "I'm guessing not so happy to see me, then?"

"My office. Now," Jane replied shortly, turning on her heel and leading the way. Loki saw the receptionist shoot him a commiserating glance, before he followed her into the bowels of the Observatory.

Jane's office was a small, square room with a single window, a desk and two chairs. Every available surface was covered in papers and charts, diagrams littering the walls, the only clear area the place where her laptop rested.

Jane unceremoniously dumped a stack of papers on the floor and indicated Loki to sit without a word.

She went to the window and looked out, her arms folded as Loki waited patiently for her to speak, his anxiety lessening as his instincts kicked in and adrenaline pumped into his veins.

"Well, this is a surprise. Ever heard of calling ahead?" she finally asked, turning to face him with a cold expression.

"Would you have agreed to see me if I had?" Loki asked plainly, and a small hint of appreciation sparked in her eye.

"Touché. So why are you here?" she asked, almost accusingly. Loki's heart sank as he divined the real reason behind her coldness. It wasn't because of him, but the reason why he was there. Or at least, why Jane thought he was there.

"I'm not here because of Thor, Jane. Believe it or not, my life doesn't revolve around doing what my brother tells me," he replied coolly.

"Doesn't it? Well there's a first," Jane muttered, shifting more papers from her chair to take a seat herself, fixing him with a speculative look, but she was less hostile now. Loki felt the sting of her words, but put them aside. He had a job to do, regardless of their past history. "So why are you here? I'm guessing you don't usually bring girlfriends on social calls, so what is it?"

Loki stared at her, then it clicked. "Nat is not my girlfriend, and for God's sake don't let her hear you say that. She'd have my balls on a plate," he groaned. Just then, the little comms unit in his ear flared into life.

Too late, Silvertongue, came the gleefully teasing tones of Natasha in his ear. Nothing to report so far. The interior is clean of any extra surveillance devices.

Loki ignored her for the moment, focussing on Jane. "Well, if she isn't your girlfriend, who is she? What are you doing here, Loki?" she asked, folding her arms with an air of defensive tension Loki recognised.

"So suspicious of me, Jane?" he asked, with a slight smile. Her eyes widened, and she exhaled with a mirthless grin.

"It's been three years, Loki. I think I'm allowed to be a little suspicious when it comes to the Odinsons," Jane retorted, and he had to concede the point.

"Jane," he began with a deep breath. "I need to know if Erik Selvig sent anything to you, in the past week or so. Anything at all."

He watched her closely for signs of evasion or self-consciousness, but she just blinked and frowned. "He sent me his journal, for some reason. Asked me to take care of it for him. Why do you want to know?"

"Doctor Selvig was found dead three days ago, off the coast of Azerbaijan. He was abducted on his way home from his work in New Mexico," Loki coldly and bluntly laid out the facts for her. "He was working on a top secret energy programme for the US Government, one which had far-reaching consequences geopolitically. Considering Selvig's habits, we believe it's likely his calculations for the project are inside the journal he sent you. Have you read it?"

"I haven't had time. I've been studying gravitational anomalies in the Earth's atmosphere…." Jane trailed off, her eyes wide. "He's dead? How? Why?"

"I very much doubt you want to know how he died, Jane. As to why, I've already told you. His work was potentially historic; and the people who took him clearly got nothing from him. If he sent you the journal, he likely knew they were on his tail and decided to get his research as far away from him as possible, so he sent it to you. To the person he trusted most…" Loki trailed off, seeing the trembling starting in Jane's hands, and the glassiness of her eyes. Immediately, he stood and rounded the desk, placing a hand on Jane's shoulder. "Jane, I am so sorry…"

Jane took a shaky breath, nodding once. She wiped her eyes and sniffed, before she paused and Loki held his breath, waiting. Slowly she turned to look up at him, suspicion in her eyes. "How do you know all this? And what does a Royal Navy government liaison have to do with this?" she asked, pointedly.

"I didn't kill him if that's what you implying," Loki rolled his eyes, moving away. "As for the rest….it's a lie. I hold the rank of Commander in the Royal Navy, but it is nominal. I have never served with the Navy."

Jane stood up, eyes fixed on him unblinkingly. "That what are you, really?" she asked. "Who's 'we'?"

"I'm MI6, Jane. I have been ever since University. That's why I know what I know, why I was sent here. If Selvig has been disposed of, then his captors likely know he has sent off his journal to you, and now you're in danger. Where is the journal, Jane?"

"You're a spy? And that woman I saw in the hallway-" Jane began, dumbstruck.

"Also a spy. I have another colleague patrolling the perimeter in case of attack," Loki told her, facing her and lifting his hands to her shoulders. "Jane, I am sorry for the deception and the lies I have told to you, but they were necessary. Please, for your own sake, where is the journal?"

Jane swallowed and stepped back, turning to her desk. Taking a key from her pocket, she unlocked a drawer and pulled some papers before retrieving a small, leather-bound book, clearly old and well-used. Wordlessly, she turned and faced Loki.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" she demanded. "You've just admitted you've been lying to everyone your entire life, how do I know you're not lying now?"

"If I were lying, if I were the enemy, you would be dead Jane. Even if you haven't read the journal, seen Selvig's calculations, you would still have to die, and not by a clumsy shooting in your office, but so your death looked like an accident," he replied bluntly, and she exhaled with a shaky laugh.

"And that's supposed to convince me?" she asked accusingly. Loki shrugged.

"It's the truth," he replied. "And you've got no choice in the matter, Jane. Either you come with me willingly, conscious, or I'll knock you out and take you back to Britain over my shoulder!"

"Take me back to Britain!?" Jane exploded. "Hang on a second, you said nothing about taking me anywhere-?"

"Haven't you been listening? Bad guys who murdered your mentor are coming for that damned book, and you think they'll just ignore you once I've taken it? Like I said, they'll torture and interrogate you first, just to be safe," he retorted, beginning to lose his temper. He knew Jane was stubborn, but this was worse than he remembered. Taking a deep breath, he stepped towards her, hands up and palms out to assure he meant no harm. Well, he could do plenty with just his hands, but he didn't want her to think about that. Jane didn't move as he placed his hand on her shoulder, gripping it firmly but not cruelly. "Jane," he breathed, lowering his voice. "Please, trust me. I won't let anything happen to you, you know that. Trust me."

Jane swallowed, looking down at the book in her hands, before her jaw firmed and she met his gaze unflinchingly. "Ok," she breathed. "But don't make me regret this."

She held out the book, and Loki took it with a sigh of relief. Tucking it away in his jacket, he turned back to Jane. "Thank you. Now, we need to leave."

"Now?" Jane asked, eyes wide, as he nodded. "But what about my flat, my stuff? My superiors, I can't just…"

"You can, and you will," Loki replied, as her eyes narrowed and she opened her mouth to argue. "The British Government will remunerate you for the inconvenience and my superiors will ensure your bosses receive a suitable excuse for your sudden departure. Now come on!"

She grabbed a jacket from a peg on her door, and Loki held it open for her. They walked quickly down the corridor, past staring scientists and assistants, as Loki's earpiece flared to life once more.

Three hostiles just breached the perimeter, Clint barked in his ear. Two more inside the building.

I'm two minutes away from intercept. One's headed your way, Loki, Natasha added. Loki nodded to himself.

"Hold them off then meet us at the rendezvous point. I've got the package," he replied, Jane shooting him a look as they walked. Taking her hand, he pulled her into a side corridor, taking her hand unconsciously and jogging quickly through the building.

"So you're a British spy, do your family know about what you do?" she asked. Loki shot a glance at her, and she nodded. "I'll take that as a no."

"Can we do the big interrogation some other time, please?" he fired back curtly. Suddenly a light exploded above his head, dimming the light in the corridor, as Loki's instincts kicked in. "Get down!" he pushed Jane to one side, spinning and already bringing his pistol to aim at whoever had shot at them. He caught a glimpse of a tall, muscular figure in a ski jacket and jeans, before he collapsed in a heap, a bullet-hole in his forehead. Loki lowered the pistol, his blood soaring with adrenaline and triumph, as he looked to Jane, crouched on the floor, her eyes wide as she took in the dead man. He held out his hand to her commandingly, helping her up off the floor. "Come on, Jane, before any more come," he murmured, as Jane stared at him as if she'd never seen him before.

And he supposed she hadn't, not really. And she had just seen him kill a man without as much as a thought, without so much as a blink.

No wonder she was spooked. Loki refused to acknowledge the sinking feeling in his heart as he hurried her down the back hallways, and out a fire escape into the cold air.

They raced from shadow to shadow in the Norwegian evening, until at one point Loki forced Jane back against the wooden panelling of a storage shed, covering her indignant shriek with his hand. He listened, senses primed and alert, and heard the sound of footsteps coming their way. Gesturing to Jane to remain quiet, he crept into the shadows and saw their assailant.

Tall and muscular, like his fellow Loki had shot inside, his coat bulged in two telltale places, and Loki could tell from his stride this one had military training. Silently, he waited, poised to strike.

Two quick jabs to the back of his knees, then a roundhouse to the head to knock him out. He didn't even have time to call out.

He heard Jane cry out, and spun to see another one of the hostiles trying to grab her. As if in slow motion, he saw Jane pull her fist back before striking her assailant across the jaw. It didn't do more than slow him down, but it gave Loki time to race across to Jane, and take care of him with two punches to the stomach and a kick to the head to silence him.

He stared at Jane, who panted for breath. "What?" she demanded belligerently.

Loki just shook his head, reaching for her hand and dragging her away.

"Nat, Hawkeye, I'm at the front entrance. Are you in position?" he asked, crouching in the shadow of the building as he watched the three other hostiles apparently guarding the perimeter. Jane waited beside him, silent and watchful.

Affirmative. I'll cover you, Clint replied.

I'll be right on your tail. See you at the RV point in three hours, Nat added. Loki nodded to himself, before turning to Jane. "When I tell you to run, run to my bike and get on. Understand?"

Jane nodded, pale and unresisting now. Loki shook her from his head, focussing on the moment and the task in hand. "Run!" he hissed, whipping his gun out as Jane broke cover, dashing towards the bike. He let off several shots, more to distract than to kill, as more rained down in the hostiles from above, where Clint perched on the roof with his own gun.

"Loki, go!" a female voice called, as a red-headed blur took the first down from the back, distracting the others from firing at Loki. Holstering his gun, he sprinted to the bike, firing the ignition and wheeling it around. Jane's arms were tight around his waist, as he squeezed the button on the handlebars of his bike, a cloud of tear gas emanating from a port just below the exhaust on the bike. It obscured them in the ever-darker evening, as Loki accelerated away without looking back.

"What about your friends!?" Jane shouted over the rush and roar of the engine as they sped away from the Observatory.

"They're probably the two deadliest people in the world. They can take care of themselves, that's their job. Mine is to get you out of here and somewhere safe!" Loki shouted back, feeling Jane's arms tighten around his waist, her weight warm against his back. "Now hold on!"

They said no more as they sped back towards the city, expecting attack every moment of the ride, but the night was as quiet and undisturbed as before, punctured only by the wail of emergency vehicles as they rushed towards the column of smoke trailing skywards from the Observatory, while Jane and Loki accelerated in the opposite direction.

To be continued…