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"Brianna speaking."
"How's Ella?" Hunter asks. He leans against the grey walls of the Helicarriers bridge, an old wired phone held against his ear as he glances around.
"Who's this?" the woman on the phone questions.
"Mom, it's me," he answers, "Hunter."
"Oh!" she exclaims, "how are you, my son?"
"I am alright," he replies quickly, "listen, I don't have much time, I am still working. I just wanna know how Ella is doing."
"She's fine!" his mother tells, "you wanna talk to her for a bit?"
"Please."
"Alright, hold on." The clicking of her heels onto her wooden floor sound through his ears as he hears her call her granddaughter's name. Suddenly, a loud crash enters his ears and he tenses up.
"Mom?" he calls.
"Daddy?"
"Hey sweetheart," Hunter answers softly as his muscles relax, "how are you?"
"Good," she replies shortly. A moment of silence falls before she speaks up: "I miss you."
"I miss you too..." he exhales, "what did you do today?" Ella opens up, rambling all about the adventures she had with Luci and Grandma and Hunter listens carefully while he stares down at the plain floor. At the end of her story, he spots the red-headed agent in the corner of his eye and he lifts his head. She motions at him, mouthing a clear 'I need to talk to you'. He nods, waiting for his daughter to end. "Well, that sounded like a lot of fun," he reacts, "listen, sweety, I gotta get back to work now, okay? "
"Oh, okay.." she mumbles.
"I will call you again tomorrow," he assures, "deal?"
"Deal," he hears her say, a smile soundable in her voice.
"Alright, I love you."
"I love you!" He hangs up the phone, smiling as he puts the phone down and walks up to the table where Natasha is waiting.
"Wife?" she questions.
"What?" he answers with another question. She points at his face, talking about the smile resting on it.
"Were you talking to your wife?" she asks again.
"Where did you need to talk about?" Hunter quickly questions, changing the subject. She frowns slightly at his answer, noticing that the smile on his face disappears.
"Fury wants me to question Loki," she announces, "and he needs you to keep an eye on the situation." Hunter nods slowly, leaning back against the wall he's still standing next to.
"You still need someone to watch over you, after all these years on the job?" he taunts with a grin. She rolls her eyes, shaking her head and unable to hide the smile that is appearing.
"We don't know what Loki is capable of," she says, defending herself, "I need to speak to him about Agent Barton."
"The S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent he took?"
"Special Agent," Natasha corrects, her smile turning into a smirk as she turns around, "but yes." He pushes himself away from the wall, following her to the Detection Section.
"Let's ask Mr Greasy then."
Entering the Detection Section, Hunter waits at the entrance as Natasha slowly but quietly approaches Loki's cell. The god is walking back and forth until he suddenly stops.
"There's not many people who can sneak up on me," he speaks up, turning towards the two of them.
"But you figured we'd come," Natasha says.
"Not him," Loki tells, gesturing at Hunter who narrows his eyes at the prisoner, "only you. And after. After whatever tortures Fury can concoct, you would appear as a friend, as a balm. And I would cooperate."
"I want to know what you've done to Agent Barton."
"I would say I've expanded his mind," Loki clarifies. Natasha stays quiet for a second, sighing as she walks closer to the cage.
"And once you've won, once you're king of the mountain..." She crosses her arms, continuing with a question: "What happens to his mind?" Loki chuckles.
"Is this love, Agent Romanoff?" he asks.
"Love is for children," she states, "I owe him a debt." Loki walks back towards the bench in his prison, sitting down.
"Tell me." Natasha hesitates for a moment but then she begins the story, seeming to forget about Hunter in the back.
"Before I worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. I," she starts off, pulling up a chair from behind and she sits down, "well, I made a name for myself. I have a specific skill set. I didn't care who I used it for, or on..." Loki watches her intensely, listening to every word she says. "I got on S.H.I.E.L.D.s radar in a bad way," she continues, "Agent Barton was sent to kill me... He made a different call."
"And what will you do if I vow to spare him?" the god questions.
"Not let you out," she reveals.
"No, but I like this," he laughs, "your world in the balance, and you bargain for one man."
"Regimes fall every day," the redhead points out, "I tend not to weep over that. I'm Russian. Or I was."
"And what are you now?"
"It's really not that complicated," she tells him, standing up and moving closer to the glass, "I got red in my ledger, I'd like to wipe it out."
"Can you?" he asks innocently, "can you wipe out that much red?" He waits, leaving a dramatic silence. "Dreykov's daughter," he begins, slowly getting up from the bench, "São Paulo? The hospital fire?" Hunter's muscles tense up as he crosses his arms, making his way towards them.
"Let's go," he grumbles, grabbing Natasha's shoulder. She pushes his hand away, turning back towards Loki.
"Barton told me everything," he explains, narrowing his eyes at her as he slowly walks towards the glass, "your ledger is dripping. It's gushing red and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything?" He stops right in front of them. "This is the basest sentimentally," he snarls, "this is a child at prayer... Pathetic!" Hunter's eyes flash at the face of his coworker, spotting her anxious face, and his jaw clenches. He grabs her bicep, trying to pull her out of the room but she's frozen to the spot. "You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers," he goes on, "you pretend to be separate, to have your own code... Something that makes up for the horrors. But they are part of you, and they will never go away." He slams the glass wall, making her flinch and Hunter's blood starts boiling even more. "I won't touch Barton, not until I make him kill you," Loki threatens, "Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows your fear. And then he'll wake just long enough to see his good work... And when he screams, I'll split his skull!" Natasha turns away, taking a few steps forward. Hunter's eyes follow her, before turning towards the god in anger. "This is my bargain, you mewling quim!" he finishes.
"You're a monster," she responds quietly.
"Oh no," he laughs in return, "you brought the monster." She turns back around, her once scared facial expression now blank.
"So, Banner," she indicates, "that's your play."
"What?" he asks in confusion. Her eyes meet Hunter's and he nods at her in understanding. He then sprints out of the Detection Section, heading towards the Lab.
