A Complicated Web

Chapter Sixty One: All A Lie?

Kally came back around at that moment, swinging one metal rod over her shoulder. She paused at Hiro's far too pale face and grimace. "Hey," she said, hurrying over. "Are you okay?"

Hiro couldn't help but tense his muscles against the sensations filling his broken body, even if they didn't help. "I guess I . . . underestimated my ability to handle . . . the pain," he hissed through clenched teeth. And while most of his anguish was mental and emotional, he wasn't lying about the physical.

Loki frowned but made the critical decision to reattach the IV line, restarting the flow of pain meds. It wouldn't help with the mental pain but it would at least help with the physical. "I knew there was a reason I didn't want to remove that," he stated calmly before turning to Kally. "Is the area clear?"

"I took out about ten or so techs and a few guards," Kally replied, "but I think we should be good. I don't begrudge them the headaches they'll have when they wake up though. Come on." Loki didn't miss the unspoken "if" behind her words. She took charge of the wheelchair and pushed it towards the control station nearest the glowing cylinder in the middle. "If I read the specs correctly, this is the one that controls the distortion field, along with the security grid."

Hiro panted as he tried to control what was going on inside his body. The painkillers slowly trickled back into his bloodstream, though it took them a while to lower the levels enough for him to concentrate. While he waited for that, he did his best to try and close out any further thoughts about Dr. Bosch and Ms. Kendrick. "You should try and find a way out," he reminded, glad the station they'd chosen had more than enough leg room. It would have been more awkward otherwise. The braces didn't exactly allow his knees to bend.

Kally flung her hair out of her face, wishing she had a hair tie. Thoughts of that fateful day in Professor Othin's class filled her mind and how she'd wished for a scrunchie then filled her mind. It was what it was, though. "I think I saw a few air shafts that might be large enough for one of us to get out of. Loki would be a bit too big though."

It was hard to miss the emphasis on "one of us" she used. There was no way he could do it in his current state. And he was needed here. "Guess that'd be you, though it does change things a bit."

"I can project myself outside this room," Loki reminded. "But I'm just as physically stuck here as you are. At the least, I can see if the coast is clear and if there are any obstacles in the vents that might hinder you." He only hoped neither of them remembered he was also capable of changing his form.

Kally nodded. It wasn't the original plan but they were so far off that that it wasn't even funny anyway. Chances were good Loki could defend Hiro if he had to, though with the room on lock down it might not be necessary until later.

Loki closed his eyes and concentrated on the task at hand. It was a piece of cake, really, but he needed to make sure any obstacles were ones that wouldn't deter Kally's progress, not just his own. And while he was at it, he sent off a portion of himself to spy on Ms. Kendrick and the doctor, hoping they hadn't caught on to things just yet, though their chances weren't good.

After about half a minute, Loki opened his eyes. "I can't see any major obstacles," he reported. "But you might want to know it looks like there might be some lasers at the opening to this end of the vent. Do you think you can manage?"

Kally looked between Hiro and Loki, debating. At least one of them needed to find a way out of there in case their backup tried to blow the place to high heaven too soon. Then again, it also helped to have someone on the outside who could lead the rescue party to where Hiro was as well. She doubted Loki wanted to volunteer for that. Call it a gut feeling, but she somehow thought he wanted to stay in the shadows on this one. "Yeah," she answered after thinking it all through. "I'll just need a boost and that screwdriver."

Before heading over in the appropriate direction though, Kally bent to look Hiro in the face. He still looked pretty pale. "Hey, you gonna be okay if I leave you?" Even with the painkillers, she could tell something was wrong.

Hiro opened his eyes, which he'd closed momentarily. "I don't think we have much choice," he admitted as he handed over the screwdriver from his lap. "Try not to get caught and give me as much time as you can to get this thing figured out. I've already used up more energy than I probably should have." He gestured at the computer in front of him. It would be so much easier if he had his gauntlets from his suit but he'd make due.

Kally nodded. "I'll try." She then turned to Loki to make sure he would follow her to the vent in question. If she stood on his shoulders, she should be able to reach it. "This is going to be fun," she tried to joke as she set to work.

................................

Cass felt grateful. Not only had Bruce Banner given her a nice talk, but he's shown her the way back to her sleeping quarters. She'd never have found it on her own. He really was a nice guy.

She contemplated the conversation for at least an hour before finally falling asleep. And, despite her extended nap the day before, it was decidedly needed. She woke feeling more refreshed than she had before, which was a decided bonus. Maybe it was the tea, or maybe from a sort of peace of mind after talking with the quiet scientist. Either way, it was nice.

The woman stretched and then looked around; realizing they'd brought her suitcase along for the ride. She was more than happy to rummage within the case for a set of clean clothes. She even found a shower adjoining her room, which she took full advantage of.

By the time she felt presentable, another agent came to collect her. She was a little surprised not to see Natasha there, but was quickly informed that the Black Widow had joined the others who were getting ready for the next stage of the rescue mission. She was a bit disappointed but went with it.

"Welcome back," Maria Hill greeted, only turning slightly when the proprietress entered the command deck. "Allow me to bring you up to speed. We've got our troops scattered around the base and are waiting for our inside man to deactivate the distortion field so we can go in. We'll monitor things from up here, and when given the all clear, we'll blow up the base with a few strategically placed bombs."

Cass couldn't help but blink at that. "Oh. Well. Isn't that a bit excessive?" She moved to stand by Maria's side, looking out through the large windows and down as far as her vantage allowed. All she could see was a vast mountain range. Surely throwing a few bombs overboard would draw the attention of more than just those inside the base.

Maria smiled, immediately understanding her companion's expression. "We've already got a cover story for the explosions," she assured. "And yes, it's necessary. We can't let anything from this base out into the world once we've rescued our targets."

The agent knew a lot more about what was going on than Cass did, she mused. She just hoped they all knew what they were doing. "And what if you can't find my nephew?" It was a possibility. The insider could have lied. It might all be just some random wild goose chase, or a red herring to keep them from finding him.

"Then we keep looking," Maria assured. "Either way, this base has to be destroyed." There were a few who might try and retrieve some of the technology before that happened, though she hoped Tony wouldn't be that reckless. Chances were good that anything worth taking was nearer the bottom levels and not as easily removed.

Her words reassured Cass, even though she still felt all jittery inside. They were really doing this. Well, she wasn't, but she got to witness something normal people wouldn't. And no matter what happened, they had to find her nephew. They had to. She didn't think she could live with herself if the last of her family died.