A Complicated Web

Chapter Sixty Two: Waiting

Not satisfied with just unplugging the thing, she rummaged hurriedly in the cupboards until she found something combustible. It took a bit of doing to get it lit, but once she had it going, she tossed it into the fridge as well, using the unplugged cord to wrap around and tie the doors closed. She could already see smoke filling the enclosed area and could only hope those were the only samples available in this area. It was time to move on.

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

"Come on, Hiro," Honey urged, her hands clasped near her chest. They'd been in position for only a little while but it still felt like forever. It didn't help that she knew time where he was went much faster than where she was. They weren't even sure if Hiro would be the one to deactivate it, but it made sense in her mind that it would be. She couldn't imagine anyone else doing it.

Thor paced the area, Mjolnir strapped to a belt around his waist. "He will do what needs to be done when the time is right," he said in response to Honey's nervous energy.

Fred couldn't help but watch the two with a somewhat worried expression. What if something had happened on the inside that prevented whoever from deactivating the field? He knew, after many missions, that things never went according to plan, despite Wasabi always harping about having one. He moved to pat Honey on the shoulder with one claw-covered hand.

"I just can't help but think something bad is happening in there," Honey confessed. "And if we can't get in there soon, we might not be able to."

Thor gave her a look out of the corner of his eye. "While I agree that things are not moving as quickly as I would like, there may be things beyond our control that we must wait upon. Perhaps your friend is not the one who will disable the field. There is no way to know for sure."

"Can you guys just can it?" Tony called over the link. "You're making the others nervous with all this pointless speculation. We all knew, coming into this, that we might have to wait. And if we have to wait until the cows come home, then we wait some more."

Honey's shoulders sank just a little. This certainly wasn't good for morale, she decided. It would help if they weren't just stuck doing nothing. But she also knew that's how things were sometimes, waiting for something else to happen before they could do what was needed. "I think he's right," she sighed.

"Don't worry," Fred comforted. "I know Hiro will come through for us. He has to."

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

It took a bit for the painkillers to numb enough of the pain away for Hiro to function again. Under different circumstances, there might be someone there to rub it all in, but there wasn't the time. Nor did he think Loki the type to kick a dog when it was down. But he wasn't an idiot either. Most of the time. He should have known stopping the medication earlier was a stupid idea.

Hiro turned his head to look back at Loki. Now that Kally was gone, had been for several good long minutes, he felt no qualms with venting a little. "I know you could have gone out that vent," he stated. "Why didn't you?"

Loki's eyes went wide at this turn of events. He hadn't thought Hiro was up on his Norse Lore, but apparently he was. He gave an almost apologetic smile. "I needed Kally out of the way," he finally confessed. "I have a feeling she'll be like a small army on her own anyway. That and I can't have her following me when I go after Ms. Kendrick."

"Okay," Hiro said, looking more than a little askance as he returned his attention to the console before him. If he had two working arms, he'd have cracked his knuckles before getting to work. But since he didn't, he pretended he had. It was more a morale booster than anything else. Part of him couldn't help but wonder how he was supposed to hack through a potential fire wall or two with only one hand, but he'd figure out something, even if he had to ask Loki to dangle him upside down from his ankles, as uncomfortable as that would be.