Special Agent Loki Laufeyson

Chapter 51

Gibbs led the way back up to the squad room while DiNozzo filled Loki in on what had happened after he had stormed out. After blaming him for the agent's loss of twenty dollars, DiNozzo was just about to say something about Bishop's reaction to that whole "lost kiss scenario," as apparently the others had dubbed it, when Gibbs slapped him in the back of the head and told him to catch Loki up on the work-related subjects. So with a sigh and considerably less enthusiasm, DiNozzo explained how McGhee, Rogers, Barton, and Thor were contacting ETCD to get them in for questioning. Then, Stark and Romanoff looking like they were suppressing laughs at Loki's discomfort and anger at DiNozzo for bringing up that lost moment, the elevator doors opened and they disembarked into the squad room.

Rogers, Thor, Barton, and McGhee all looked up at Loki as he walked slowly towards them. Bishop was the only one who dropped her head at the appearance of Loki, staring intently at her keyboard.

Stark snickered as Loki walked through the squad room, eyes intent on his desk. He wanted to look at Bishop so badly, to see the look in her eyes, to just see her feelings. But if he looked at her, he risked the rest of the agents and Avengers making some sort of comment or joke. So he kept his gaze on his desk.

Loki slid into his seat and looked across at McGhee, trying to ignore the smirk on Thor's face. His brother was sitting on the edge of McGhee's desk with a knowing expression on his face. Loki ignored him and directed his question to McGhee.

"DiNozzo said ETCD is coming in for questioning," Loki said, keeping his voice and attitude professional. "Is there anything we need to do?"

"No, Thor and I got it covered," McGhee said. "Thanks, Loki, for winning me the twenty dollars."

"Thank Bishop," Loki grumbled against his better judgement. "She's the one who didn't kiss me."

McGhee and Thor exchanged a glance, looking like they were trying not to laugh. "Thanks, Bishop!" McGhee called accordingly.

"Shut up," Bishop growled, ducking her head still further down.

There was a ripple of laughter and knowing looks as both Loki and Bishop tried to act like nothing had happened.

But of course, with everyone knowing about the whole "lost kiss scenario," that was impossible.

****

Rhodes himself brought in the four remaining members of ETCD. Gibbs had Artemis Drift, the Navy SEAL and apparent leader of the team, placed in the interrogation room, assigning DiNozzo and Loki to watch the session from the observation room.

Artemis Drift was tall and muscled, her steel grey eyes hard. Her brown, straight hair was slightly past shoulder length and drawn back into a simple ponytail, and she wore desert fatigues.

Gibbs glanced down at the file before him. "You were with John Samson the night he was killed."

Drift didn't react. "In the same club, yeah. With him, no. He was hanging with his girlfriend, Clare."

"Did you go together?"

"He recommended it," Drift answered. "We didn't know what to do with our Friday. Colonel Rhodes works us hard, but Samson wanted us to have some down time, have some fun. He wanted us to relax. He told us he was going with his girl, and suggested we go, too. So we did. But we didn't hang with him. We didn't kill him. We left, he didn't – he never left."

"Why did Colonel Rhodes recruit you for ETCD?"

"I experienced genetic alteration when I was on leave," Drift replied with a bit of a shrug. "I was visiting my parents out in Nevada and was close enough to the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility that the New York maniac took out, about a year ago. The blast changed my cell structure."