The Ides of July // Loki - Book 1 ✓

Chapter 17: Invasion of Stark Tower

Tony's groan interrupts his thoughts. He knows this Carson. The general was known for being a fan of torture and other illegal means of intelligence and warfare. He and Rhodes had been working to gain information about his unsanctioned activities in the Middle East, but nothing had come up yet. Carter loathed Stark and his 'crusade' against the General, which meant Pepper might actually be in danger.

"There's a public outcry, Tony," Rhodes continues, his voice softer. "The people want you behind bars...or worse."

"Sir?" Jarvis' voice interrupts Tony before words can come out of his mouth. "You have less than 90 seconds before the floor is breached."

A swear slips from Tony's mouth as he looks around the room. Loki stands behind Thor, his posture relaxed, while Bruce is anxiously rubbing his neck by the door. His eyes flit between each of them before landing on the girl perched precariously in the seat normally occupied by Natasha Romanoff.

"You," Tony says.

Anna's eyes widen as her posture straightens. Thor and Bruce look at Tony questioningly then at the girl, trying to follow the brilliant man's train of thought.

"You're the connection," Tony says, rushing around the table and grabbing Anna's arm to pull her to her feet. "You were there in Istanbul."

"And?" Anna asks.

Tony stares blankly at her, "And you're going to find out who is responsible for this."

"What?!" Anna and Bruce say simultaneously.

He moves for the door, glancing down the corridor, before beckoning the others to follow him. The special ops team will be breaking into the floor at any moment, leaving the balcony as the only exit. Not exactly ideal, but with two gods, Tony's mind was already racing for a workable solution.

"You're a journalist, right?" Tony asks Anna, who nods as he pulls her toward the door to the balcony. "She's a journalist. She can follow the leads. Find out who fed us false information and, more importantly, why."

Banging against the stairwell door interrupts his train of thought for a moment, then a blinding light followed by a bang erupts into the room as armed figured in black burst into the room. Shouting follows as chaos erupts in the smoke.

"Take her!" Tony shouts, running toward the men breaching the floor. He takes a swing at the first one, tackling him to the ground. A second slips in behind him, his gun trained on Bruce Banner. Shooting a tranquilizer into him, his face contorts in pain before flashing with pure rage and tinting green. The soldier's face pales in recognition of his mistake as Dr. Banner - calm, mild mannered Bruce - is replaced by The Hulk.

"GO!" Thor shouts, grabbing Anna's arm and tugging her out on the balcony. Loki follows behind him, not allowing himself to glance over his shoulder at the green rage monster he remembers less-than-fondly.

"Thor," Loki cries, holding his wrists out to his adopted brother as the sounds of Hulk's destruction reach their ears outside. It's only a matter of moments before he turns his attention away from the special ops team and seeks an escape on the balcony where they stand.

Thor glances over his shoulder at scene inside, before turning his back to the glass and grabbing Loki's wrists.

"I'm trusting you, brother," he tells Loki with a growl as he releases Anna's arm to undo the shackles from his wrists.

Anna rubs her forearm, watching the madness unfold with wide eyes, before turning back to the two gods standing before her. The moment the bonds are released, Loki smiles wryly at Thor.

"You never learn, do you Thor?" Loki cackles.

His green eyes are filled with mischief as he feels the familiar surge of magic coursing through his veins. In that instant, before he can act on his new-found freedom, the glass separating them from the chaos inside is shattered as Hulk comes raging across the balcony followed by more special forces officers.

"Take her!" Thor roars, pushing Anna into Loki.

Thor spins on his heels to face the oncoming attackers - both his friend and their foes - while calling Mjölnir to his hand. Anna falls against Loki, grasping at his armor to brace herself, while his hand snakes around her waist. The glint in his eye makes her tug away from him instantly, repulsed by the proximity by someone her every instinct is telling her to avoid, but he holds her close to his chest.

A spray of bullets ricochets around them, and Anna ducks her head against him for cover as Loki teleports the two of them off the balcony and into the unknown.

Now playing: "Burn It Down" by AWOLNATION.

*****
Author's Note

In case you haven't heard - The Ides of July soundtrack is now available on Spotify. You can find the link on my profile.

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