That night, Elise got nine hours of much-needed sleep. However, despite being well-rested, she didn't want to wake up when it was time.

"'Lise, come on," Parmeri shouted from the living room. "You gotta get up. You got a medical exam."

She growled into the pillow and turned over to get out of bed. Forgetting about the arrow wound in her ankle, she tried to stand, and when she put pressure on her injured leg, she screamed.

"What's goin' on?" Parmeri called from the other room. "You alright?"

"My leg," Elise gasped. "Help..." She wrapped the blankets around herself to cover up.

Parmeri entered the room, wielding an umbrella. "I don't got a crutch you can use," he said. "Think you can get around with this 'til you get somethin' better?"

"Yeah," Elise winced, fumbling with the blankets as she tested out the makeshift cane. "Thanks."

When Parmeri left, Elise got dressed, pulling on the same, dirty clothes she had been wearing for days before limping out into the living room.

"You're not goin' like that," Parmeri said when she opened the door. "Go in Erica's room, get one of her outfits. I think she's got some stuff that'll fit ya in the back of her closet."

Elise rolled her eyes, then proceeded slowly to Erica's bedroom to search for something to wear. Sure enough, there were smaller garments at the back of the closet – some of them too small, even for Elise – and each one was a relic from a time that seemed long gone: the beginning of the millennium. Bell-bottom jeans, loose, "boho" blouses, and shrunken t-shirts emblazoned with brand names were dangling from coat hangers and lying in piles on the floor. Elise didn't know what to make of the mess, and she didn't have time to sift through it. She chose baggy, light-colored denim, a velour hoodie that once belonged to a "Juicy Couture" tracksuit, and a tank top that didn't quite cover her midriff. The clothing felt silly and age-inappropriate, but, she supposed, it didn't really matter.

Back in the living room, leaning on the black umbrella, she asked, "How do I look?"

Parmeri cringed. "Like you're visiting someone in prison."

"I guess it's almost right, then."

They took the subway to the hospital. Elise could still sense some tension in the air between herself and Skip Parmeri. They barely exchanged words along the way, and when they arrived, Parmeri did Elise's talking for her.

"She's got an appointment with Doctor Washington," he told the receptionist. "Court-ordered exam."

It couldn't have been the same doctor, Elise thought as she waited. There must have been thousands of doctors named Washington in New York. Still, she was nervous for the "I told you so" that would surely come if this was the same person who had warned her about the danger she was in once before.

Parmeri elbowed Elise. "You're quiet," he said.

"Sorry," she replied. "I'm just thinking."

"Can't say I blame ya. You've got a lot to think about."

"Yeah," Elise sighed. "It's all pretty unreal."

"I didn't wanna tell ya when you first woke up," said Parmeri, "but I gotta go down to the jail later and talk to Loki."

"Oh. Okay," said Elise. "I guess I'll just hang out until you get back."

Parmeri frowned. "Sorry, 'Lise," he said, "I need ya there with me."

Elise shook her head in disbelief. "That's a really bad idea."

"I gotta make sure your story matches up with his," Parmeri explained. "How am I gonna do that if I can't get both of ya in the same room?"

"Write everything down and compare notes!" Elise was becoming frantic. "Talk to Cara! She's been talking to him, right?"

"Well, that's the thing," Parmeri said. "He doesn't like Cara."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Nope," Parmeri replied. "Last night he told her he only wants to see two people: me and you. Kind of flattering, if ya think about it. For us, I mean."

"No," Elise insisted. "He only wants to see me because he heard what I said yesterday!"

"You're bein' paranoid, 'Lise," Parmeri responded gruffly.

"Elise Milton?" A nurse with a clipboard and floral-print scrubs was calling her name. "Come on back."

"Have the doc check your head out while you're in there," Parmeri mumbled as Elise left.

In a series of jagged steps, she followed the nurse through the hallway and onto a scale.

"One-thirty-two," the nurse announced. "What's your height?"

"Five-two, maybe five-three," Elise replied flatly.

The nurse escorted her to an exam room. "Go ahead and put on the gown. The doctor will be here in just a minute," she said as she shut the door.

Elise pulled herself up onto the exam table, removed Erica's old clothes, picked up the gown from where it sat beside her, and fastened the ties around her back. She was able to complete the task just in time for Doctor Washington's arrival. Sure enough, it was her.

"I hoped I wouldn't be seeing you again so soon," the doctor said as soon as the door was securely shut.

"Same here," said Elise.

"How are you feeling?" the doctor asked. "How's your head?"

"My head's getting better, but in general..." She was quiet for a long moment. "I'm really not doing well at all."

Doctor Washington watched Elise's face; she seemed to be processing the emotion in it. She pulled the stool close to the exam table and sat down, crossing her legs and leaning forward. "Have things improved at home?" she asked in a hushed tone.

Despondent, Elise shook her head. "I haven't actually been home in a little while," she replied.

"So, does that mean you haven't seen..."

"No," Elise sighed. "Today's the first day I haven't seen him."

Doctor Washington nodded. "Have things improved at all?"

"Well, now that he's in jail, I guess they have."

"But before that?"

Still exhausted from recounting her experience to Skip Parmeri the night before, Elise was becoming frustrated at the doctor's intrusive questions. "Isn't this supposed to be a medical exam? Isn't it supposed to be pretty straightforward?"

"We'll get to that," Doctor Washington said. "Right now, I'm concerned about your safety. Where are you staying?"

"With my boss." Before she could correct herself, she realized that she was probably no longer on the Parmeri & Associates payroll. "I mean, with my lawyer."

"Do you feel safe there?"

Elise shrugged. "Pretty much."

There was a pause before Doctor Washington posed the next question. "Elise," she began, "I understand if you aren't comfortable discussing it with me, but..."

She stopped speaking when Elise started crying.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm just afraid."

"What are you afraid of?" the doctor asked, sitting up straight.

"There's no good outcome to this," said Elise. "If neither of us get convicted, I'm stuck with him. And he's just been getting meaner and meaner. I think he's completely lost his mind..."

The doctor nodded again, giving the impression of understanding. "I'm going to refer you to a social worker. I'll give you her contact information when we're done here."

"Where am I gonna find the time to go to a social worker?" Elise complained. "I'm going to be on trial starting the day after tomorrow, and after that, I assume I'll be in prison. Indefinitely."

"We'll work something out. You'll get the help you need." The doctor stood up. "Why don't we get started?"

Elise nodded in agreement.

"Are there any new injuries I don't know about?" Doctor Washington asked.

"Yeah," Elise said. She lifted her ankle slightly. "I got shot with an arrow. That's another long story I don't really want to go into."

The knelt down to see for herself. She unwound the bandage that Clint had applied and removed the blood-soaked gauze. "Who pulled the arrow out?"

"One of those S.H.I.E.L.D. agents," Elise said. "Remember them?"

The doctor rolled her eyes. "How could I forget them?" She stood up straight. "When did this happen?"

"Yesterday, I think."

"Alright." The doctor took a few steps toward the door. "I'm going to get a couple of things. Wait here."

Alone, Elise began to mentally check her body for other injuries. All things considered, she was in good shape. Her back was sore, and she imagined that there was a big bruise between her shoulders; her head still felt heavy, but that was to be expected; and there were scrapes and bruises on her face and arms. Still, she was thankful to have her life.

Doctor Washington returned toting a pair of crutches, which she popped up on the wall. She was followed by a young man in scrubs – presumably another nurse - who placed a metal tray of medical tools down on the counter opposite the exam table, beside the sink. He unwrapped a pair of tweezers with gloved hands, and with a pair of safety scissors, he cut a length of gauze from the roll. Once everything was ready, he left without saying a word.

"This is going to hurt a bit," Doctor Washington cautioned as she washed her hands with alcohol in the sink. "I'm going to make sure that arrow didn't leave anything behind, okay?"

Elise cringed as the doctor approached her with the tweezers. "Okay."

Doctor Washington knelt, holding Elise's calf in one hand and the tweezers in the other, and, with her gloved fingers, opened the wound.

"Oww!" Elise howled, clawing at the cushion of the table.

"I know, it hurts," said the doctor, "but it'll hurt worse if it gets infected."

Elise gritted her teeth as Doctor Washington extracted a small, black fragment from the wound and dropped it off on the tray. "You're lucky," she said as she returned to Elise with clean gauze and a new bandage. "It looks like it didn't do any serious, permanent damage." When she placed the gauze, it soaked up a bit of the blood that had started flowing again. She carefully wrapped the bandage around it, then stood up again. "I'm going to send you home with some of these. You should change the dressing at least once a day."

"Is it going to heal completely?" Elise asked.

"It looks that way," the doctor said as she removed her gloves and placed them into the orange-red biohazard disposal canister beside the counter. "Just keep it clean. You don't want an infection." She retrieved the crutches from their resting place and handed them to Elise. "If there's nothing else, let's draw some blood and do some x-rays."

Elise hobbled around the hospital, following Doctor Washington into various rooms for the requisite tests. She was poked and prodded and asked about her medical history for roughly an hour until it was finally time to leave. The doctor escorted her out to the waiting room.

"Where should I send the results?" Doctor Washington asked.

Parmeri set down the magazine he was reading and stood. "Send 'em to me," he said.

"Is that alright with you?" the doctor asked Elise.

She nodded.

The doctor handed Elise a referral slip. "This is the contact information for the social worker. I've sent patients to her before; I think you'll like her."

"Thanks," Elise said, leaning on one crutch as she pocketed the half-sheet of paper.

"And please," Doctor Washington said, lowering her voice, "stay away from your partner for the time being, if you can."

"You mean Loki?" Parmeri snorted. "Not likely."

Doctor Washington shot him a mean look. "And why wouldn't that be likely?"

"We're goin' to the jail to see him right now," he said. "And they're gonna be sharin' a table for as long as the trial takes."

The doctor frowned. "I'd strongly advise against that."

"What can ya do?" Parmeri shrugged. "That's what joinder does. Brings people together."

"With all due respect," Doctor Washington said, "do you really think it's appropriate to put a survivor of abuse into a room with her abuser?"

"Sorry, Miss," Parmeri snarked, "but where'd you say you went to law school again?"

"Excuse me, sir," the doctor replied sarcastically, her tone full of quiet frustration, "but I am a doctor, and in my profession, we take our code of ethics seriously. Furthermore, I've seen what my patient's partner is capable of, and I'm not content to let you put her at risk for the sake of his criminal defense."

"It's her defense, too," Parmeri retorted. "Not that it's any of your business."

"My patient's safety is my business! It's my first priority!" Doctor Washington had lost her cool, but she took a deep breath and collected herself, bringing her volume back down from a shout to a near whisper. "Is there anything I can do to convince you not to put my patient within arm's length of this person?"

"Nope," Parmeri said, crossing his arms atop his protruding belly. "What's done is done."

Doctor Washington's forehead wrinkled with either worry or thought. "Elise," she said, "talk to that social worker." She started to walk away. "And if there's anything else I can do to help you, please be in touch."

"Jeez," Parmeri sighed as soon as the doctor was out of earshot. "Seems like everybody's got an opinion."

Parmeri started walking, and Elise followed him, slowly and clumsily. He hailed a cab and helped her into the backseat before they started toward the detention facility that housed Loki.

"I still can't believe that doctor," Parmeri kvetched. "See? This is what I was sayin' yesterday. No matter what I do, I'm wrong."

"You know," Elise said, "you could just tweak your strategy a little, and that way-"

"It's too late to tweak the strategy, 'Lise," Parmeri interrupted. "I was countin' on gettin' the two of you in the same room."

"Fine," said Elise in an attempt to end the discussion.

"'Lise, I've been married before. I know what that word means," said Parmeri.

"Seriously," Elise said. "Why don't we just... not talk about this anymore?"

And talk they didn't, all the way to the federal correctional center. The driver dropped them off at an artless, brutalist structure, dotted by windows and with only one door that appeared to be accessible to visitors. The entrance was equipped with an intercom; Parmeri pressed the button and waited for his turn to speak.

"Skip Parmeri and Elise Milton here for Loki Laufeyson," he said. He let go of the button, then turned to Elise. "You brought your I.D., right?"

"No," Elise said. "I left my wallet in Asgard."

Parmeri sighed and shook his head. "Hope we can count on them knowin' who you are."

There was a buzz, and the door unlocked loudly. They proceeded inside and immediately to security.

"Skip!" the corrections officer manning the metal detector greeted. "How's it goin', man?"

"Not bad, not bad," Parmeri replied as he removed his watch, belt and shoes. "How's the family?"

"Family's good," the officer said. "How 'bout yourself?"

Parmeri laughed as he passed through the checkpoint. "Can't say the same. Got divorced a little while ago."

"Ouch, sorry to hear that."

"Yeah." Parmeri retrieved his metallic accessories and put himself back together. "By the way, this is Elise, in case you didn't already know."

The officer's expression became suddenly dreary. "Oh, yeah," he said, turning to Elise. "Didn't think we'd be seein' you here as a visitor." His tone was unfriendly.

"Take it easy, Mac," Parmeri urged. "You believe everything you hear on TV?"

The officer shrugged. "Guess not," he said. He then addressed Elise. "You're not gonna pass the metal detector on crutches. I'm gonna have to do a pat search."

"Great," Elise replied unenthusiastically. She passed by the metal detector, raised her arms, and waited a few moments for the patdown to come to an end.

"You guys are all set," the officer said. "Pick up your badges from the desk. Good to see you again, Skip."

"You too," Parmeri said as he and Elise passed into the next room.

They retrieved their identification badges before being escorted to the visitation area by another corrections officer. He led them through a door and into a hallway partitioned off with metal grates from the floor to the ceiling. The spaces between the thin metal bars, which ran horizontal and vertical and even intervals, were barely large enough to fit three fingers through. It was the most peculiar visitation room Elise had ever seen in her years as a defense attorney.

"No conference room open?" Parmeri inquired.

"Not for this visit," the officer said as he turned to leave. "Wait here. When you're done, just go back out this door. I'll be on the other side."

They waited in silence for only a minute before Loki approached, escorted by yet another officer. His hands were cuffed in front of him, and his handcuffs were connected to the leg irons he wore with an additional chain. In a voluminous, orange uniform, he looked thinner, but the focused and emotionless look on his face told Elise that he was no less dangerous. As the officer who entered with him disappeared behind the door that he had come through, Elise shifted backward, and her crutches emitted a faint clatter.

"Alright, you two," Parmeri said, "we only got an hour. Let's get down to brass tacks."

Loki's eyes fell on Elise; she immediately looked down.

"Mr. Laufeyson," Parmeri began, "I wanna talk about these new charges. 'Lise has given me most of the story, but I need your perspective on this. How were you involved with the attack on the courthouse?"

"I was given a package," he replied stoically. "I gave it to Elise."

"What happened then, 'Lise?" Parmeri asked.

It took a moment for her to process the fact that Loki was trying to shift the blame for the attack onto her. "He gave me directions," Elise said. "I didn't know what it was. I just brought the box over to the hospital and gave it to the guy he said to give it to. That's it."

Parmeri shook his head. "You know nobody's gonna buy 'I didn't know,' right, 'Lise?"

"No, I know," Elise said, "but what should I say?"

"Let's get the rest of the pieces before we try puttin' it together," Parmeri said. "Who else was involved?"

Loki answered the question. "A small number of foreign nationals who wished ill on your land. A handful of officers of the army of North Korea. Though later, I learned that their government itself would have nothing to do with me..."

"Okay," Parmeri said, "and what was their role?"

"Pawns," Loki replied bluntly. "Mere pawns."

Tentatively, Elise chimed in. "Didn't you go there a few times? To North Korea?"

"You know nothing of that," Loki said, his voice low and steady and his gaze intent on her.

"But did ya?" Parmeri asked. "You gotta tell me if ya did."

"Can it be proven?" said Loki.

Parmeri nodded. "From what I hear, yeah."

"Then yes, I did." Loki shifted, rattling his restraints. "And I gave them the Tesseract, as well."

Elise felt the need to correct him again. "But didn't you keep-"

"Be silent," Loki snapped. "I am speaking now."

"Yeah, 'Lise, let 'im talk," said Parmeri. "Now, Mr. Laufeyson," when were you first detained by S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"I had gone to our meeting place. An apartment. I know not whose." Loki looked to Elise again, though he still addressed Parmeri. "I went willingly to their flying fortress. Elise met me there after a short while."

"Is that true, 'Lise?" Parmeri asked.

"Yeah," she said, "but I already told you about that part."

"Right," Parmeri said with a nod. "And then you two escaped?"

"Yes," Loki replied smugly. "We leapt from the sky and found ourselves in the forest."

"Now, this is where we might run into trouble," Parmeri cautioned. "We've got two bodies and a witness."

"Wait," Elise said, surprised, "two?"

"What, are there more I don't know about?" Parmeri asked, clearly becoming irate with Elise. "I got Shannon Smythe and Joe Rowcevski dead, and I got Smythe's boyfriend as a witness. Am I missin' anyone?"

"No, no," Elise said, still in shock. "I just thought-"

"You thought that kid was dead, didn't ya?" Parmeri said. "Well, he's alive as you and me, and he's testifying against both of ya." He paused to catch his breath. "Now, would anyone mind tellin' me exactly what happened?"

Loki shrugged to the extent that he could move his shoulders. "I must have been overcome with psychosis," he answered facetiously.

"That's good," Parmeri laughed. "Stick to that, and you'll be out in no time."

Elise felt sick to her stomach.

"How 'bout you, 'Lise?" Parmeri asked. "You saw this goin' on, and what'd you do?"

"Nothing," Elise said, shaking her head. "There wasn't anything I could do."

"I told her that she could kill the girl," Loki stated, his tone still flat. "She wanted to kill her, but she was weak."

"That's not what happened," Elise explained frantically. "He asked me to do it so he could fulfill some kind of sick fantasy!"

Loki's eyes narrowed, and he became visibly tense.

"Here's what we're gonna do," Parmeri said. "There's no time to go through our direct here, but here's our basic argument. Loki comes from a broken home, yadda yadda, sad story. He develops some mental illness, gets in with a bad crowd, and that explains the first set of charges, right? Not just insane, but coerced, right?"

Loki nodded slowly. "Go on."

"Then," Parmeri continued, "after that's over and done with, his brother takes him back up to Asgard, and conditions are just awful, right? 'Lise, can you corroborate that?"

"Yeah, I guess," Elise said, "but I-"

"Good." Parmeri took a deep breath. "So, of course, with things bein' as bad as they are, Loki loses his mind. He sees this opportunity to get out, and – not bein' in his right mind, of course – he takes it. And poor 'Lise, she's just along for the ride. She's afraid of what he might do. So, 'Lise, there's your defense. You didn't do anything. You just couldn't stop him, right?"

"Right," Elise said, "except-"

Parmeri ignored her objection and continued. "The terror attack, that was a product of Loki's delusional thinking. At this point, he thinks he's doin' a world of good. He doesn't know right from wrong." He paused.. "Speakin' of which, Loki, how'd your psych eval go?"

"If my objective was to convince them of my madness," Loki said, "then I am sure that I exceeded their expectations."

"That's great," Parmeri responded excitedly. "So I don't gotta worry about the shrink getting' on the stand and sayin' you knew what you were doin' the whole time?"

"No."

Elise found herself increasingly concerned with Parmeri's choice of strategy. He seemed to know that Loki was a liar, and he seemed not to care. In fact, he seemed to be encouraging him.

"Same story for the murder charges," Parmeri coached. "Loki was delusional, thought they were some kind of threat, and killed 'em. And Loki, you gotta make sure to testify that 'Lise didn't lay a hand on anyone, including you, got it?"

"Very well," he replied quietly.

Parmeri glanced at his watch. "Now, that's all pretty straightforward as long as we stick to our guns. 'Lise, if you really didn't do anything, and you can get the jury to believe you couldn't stop Loki, you'll be off the hook. And the insanity defense is hit or miss, Loki, but I think this could work. Just don't say anything that implies you knew what you were doin'. I'll handle the rest. Okay?"

"Yes," Loki said.

"'Lise? You got it?"

"Yeah."

"We've got about twenty minutes left," Parmeri announced. "Any questions?"

"I would like to speak to Elise alone," Loki replied almost immediately. "Unless it would be too much trouble."

"No trouble at all," Parmeri said, turning to leave. "I'll see ya back out there, 'Lise."

"Oh, no," Elise said, worried, "I don't..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Parmeri was gone, and the door slammed shut behind him. She started to follow him, moving as quickly as she could on her crutches, but Loki objected loudly.

"No," he growled. "Come here."

Elise maneuvered herself back around and faced him. "What do you want?"

"Come closer," he said quietly.

Elise hesitated, but slowly, she closed the gap between herself and Loki. With the metal grate between them and his arms and legs in chains, she reasoned, she had nothing to fear. "Seriously, what?"

"You were correct in assuming that I could hear and see you, you wretched girl." His lips curled as he delivered the words. With his hands shaking, his restraints emitted a metallic rattle. "Know that if you betray me, you will know suffering beyond the darkest reaches of your imagination."

"How, Loki?" Elise sighed. She was certainly fearful, but for once, his threats seemed empty - the product of panic, not of rage – and she thought she could set him straight. "What are you gonna do when we're in separate prisons, or when you're in an institution, or-"

"Have you learned nothing?" Loki seethed. "I could break these walls, and you would atone for your disloyalty here and now."

"Then why don't you?" As she challenged him, her heart beat at an uncontrollable pace, and were it not for her crutches, her shaking legs would have pooled beneath her on the floor.

Loki paused. "I have greater plans," he said. "When we are through with these formalities, I will claim my rightful place as ruler of this world." His brow furrowed. "And you, girl, will seal your fate if you cause me any further delay."

Elise swallowed hard, just short of being convinced of his honest intention to murder her. For a moment, she was speechless, and for a moment after that, she considered making another apology, throwing herself at his mercy again, allowing him to comfort her, deepening her dependence and allegiance to him. But then, something dawned on her:

"I have your kid," she said, as if she were realizing some great truth for the first time.

"What?" said Loki.

"You aren't gonna do anything to me," Elise said, limping toward him. "I don't know why you want a kid so bad, but I know you do. And if you kill me, you're not gonna get one. You're gonna have to start all over again with someone else, go through this whole... thing... with someone else." At last, she felt that she had the upper hand, so she delivered what she thought would be the final blow to Loki's ego: "And who else in the world is stupid enough to hop into bed with a criminally insane dictator?"

"You have no way of knowing whether you are carrying my son," Loki argued.

"Yeah, but I'll find out," Elise said, her confidence evolving into cockiness. "And if we somehow make it out of this, and you don't stop treating me like complete and utter shit..." She inhaled deeply, preparing herself to make a threat on which she was not sure she could deliver. "I'll abort it. I don't care. I have other things to worry about."

Loki went quiet. "You would hold my son hostage, would you?"

"Yeah," Elise replied, her head held high. "What are you gonna do about it?"

His expression softened and saddened. He bowed his head, but when he lifted it again, he was grinning a familiar grin. "What would I do about it?" Far from devastated, he seemed giddy, and the way his eyes glazed over suggested that he was lost in his own imagination. "First," he said, his voice so low that he could barely be heard, "I would come to your home under cover of night. Silently. And before a single soul could hear you scream, you would be gone. Someplace where you would never be found."

"I'm not scared anymore, Loki. I'm-"

"I'm not finished yet," he snarled, hatred momentarily replacing the elation on his face. His voice, still hushed, shook with excitement as he continued. "I would bind your wrists with chains like these. You would try to slip away from me – would you not try to slip away from me?"

Elise stood her ground. "I'm not playing your game anymore. I'm done."

"You would," he said, his smile broadening before it morphed into a scowl. "And that is when I would break your legs, one after the other. I would laugh as you writhed and screamed, and you would never forgive yourself for underestimating the extent of my strength. And if your suffering ever ceased to entertain me, Elise – for I am not easily entertained – you would endure horrors ripped from the depths of the Hell you mortals so desperately fear."

Elise remained and withstood his gruesome reprimand, though her stomach gnawed at itself and tears burned at the backs of her eyes. She was tired of being weak, and she hadn't said what she wanted to say yet.

"You would remain in that same place," Loki went on. "You would remain there until you gave birth to my heir. As soon as you had outlived your usefulness, I would slaughter you like the swine you mortals all are. And if you never gave me a son, you would remain there until your miserable life ceased, subsisting only on the scraps from my table, or until I chose to end it – and I assure you, your death by my hand would be slow and arduous and intimate. The memory of me would haunt you throughout your next life, and in the life after that." He tilted his chin upward and looked down at Elise. "That, you shrill, insufferable, ungrateful woman, is 'what I would do about it.'"

Elise took a deep breath to stabilize herself. She refused to cry or show him weakness. Instead, she chose anger. "Are you finished?" she asked, her voice raspy in her struggle to remain resolute.

"I am," Loki said.

A heavy knock came on the metal door behind Elise, and she turned her head to see the source of the sound.

The door cracked open. "One minute left," someone called before it closed again.

Elise turned back to Loki. "I hope they give you the electric chair," she hissed. "And I hope you don't die when they flip the switch. I hope they hit you with it again and again." She started toward the exit, but before she left, she twisted around to address Loki for a final time. "And I hope it reminds you of losing to your asshole brother, too."