THE SOUND OF CONCERN in Jarvis' voice sends the room's occupants to their seats, excepting Anna and Loki, the former who is staring at Tony with a look of confusion and the latter watching the girl with amusement.
"What the hell is going on?" Tony shouts at Jarvis, drowning out Rhodes' concerned voice coming through the speakerphone.
"Sir, they've breached the building," Jarvis replies. The screen at the front of the room comes to life with feeds of the building's security cameras as a team of armed operatives sweeps through the ground floors. "They'll be here in less than five minutes."
"Stop them," the billionaire slams his fist on the table, causing Anna to jump. "Shut down the building."
Bruce coughs, "Are you sure that's a good idea, Tony?"
Tony whirls to face him, eyes crazed and bloodshot with liquor and lack of sleep. The alarm screams in the background, and Thor takes a step toward the two of them. Rhodes' voice breaks through the noise.
"They have Pepper, Tony," he repeats. "If you don't come quietly, what will that look like? What about her?"
"The good colonel is correct, Stark," Thor affirms. "Whoever holds the Lady Potts will likely keep her until you surrender yourself. Were I in your predicament with Jane, I...I believe I would only have one choice."
Loki snorts, his shoulders shaking with muffled laughter.
"Got something to say, Reindeer Games?" Tony snaps at him.
"It takes three of you to form a semi-coherent thought," Loki sneers back, "And yet it's still rife with stupidity. 'Save the girl.' It's all very gallant and noble."
"No one asked for your opinion," Bruce tells Loki, putting a hand on Tony's shoulder as he seethes at the Asgardian god. "Tony, c'mon. Let's go."
Loki laughs, kicking up his legs on the table, and lifts his hands behind his head to relax into them. Thor glowers at his insolence, while Tony lowers his body into the seat at the opposite end of the table. His shoulders slump forward while the room waits for him to respond, with nothing but the sound of the alarm filling the room.
"I have to turn myself in," Tony mumbles, running a hand through his already mussed dark brown hair.
"Because the heroics have worked in your favor thus far," Loki snickers, allowing his piercing green eyes to close.
Tony explodes.
"What would you do, huh? You're a war criminal. If they find you, you're as good as dead." He shouts, his seat flying out from behind him as he jumps to his feet and lunges at Loki from across the table. Thor steps between them, Loki's eyes opening in a flash, as the god of thunder gently restrains the disgruntled man of iron.
"You don't even know who they are," Loki hisses, sitting up and letting his shackled hands fall into his lap. His eyes are filled with venom as he stands slowly before Stark, allowing the gravity of his threats to sink in. Recognition sets in his features as he realizes that the man is right - his own safety is at risk - then he glances at Anna before turning back to Stark. "Or am I mistaken?"
"Rhodey?" Tony asks, whipping around to look at the phone. Rhodes clears his throat to acknowledge that he's still on the line. "Who are they?"
"U.S. Army Special Ops," Rhodes tells him reluctantly. "They're working under orders of General Carson, Tony, and we both know he doesn't use the most 'traditional' methods."
Loki's eyes widen. Fear flashes in them for a split second before behind replaced by a veneer of rage. It seems the repercussions of his actions in New York not long ago might come to face him sooner than expected, and he wasn't too keen on the idea of ending up dead or imprisoned on Midgard.
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.
Enjoy this chapter! Please vote!
x