Shadows of the Past

Part 14

“Oh shit, is that who I think it it?” you can’t help but say into the coms.  Loki’s nod is barely noticeable on the screen but you know him and Nat are as surprised as you are.

Nat gets up quickly and heads to the front of the jet, she turns on the main coms back to the Tower. Your eyes are fixed on the screen in front of you and you whisper to Loki, “Stay calm, Nat is calling Fury and the team now."

Loki nods just enough for you to know he heard you but not enough for anyone else to notice. How could he be here? This didn't make any sense... he was supposed to be dead.

You look from the screen to Nat who looks just as confused as you feel. "Natasha, what's going on?" Steve asks over the main coms.

"That's what I want to know," she says as she sends them a screenshot you took.

"Wait, that's not possible," Stark says.

"And yet, here he is..." Nat says.

Everyone is silent for a minute and finally Fury speaks, "The last time I saw Pierce I shot him twice in the chest, you were there."

You think back to the reports you read while you were catching up. Alexander Pierce was one of Hydra's leaders and a high ranking member of the US government. As Secretary of the World Security Council, he oversaw SHIELD operations and was able to appoint Fury as the organization's Director.

He had attempted to use Project Insight to give Hydra complete control by using an algorithm that evaluated an individual's behavior and eliminated humans who posed a possible threat to them.  Pierce killed the other members of the World Security Council when his plan was discovered and he attempted to flee but he was killed by Fury.

“Is Loki’s cover still intact?” Thor asks, obviously concerned about his brother and Nat confirms that it seems to be.

“We need to keep Loki where he is for now, if we pull him out they will think something is up,” Steve says. The others agree, he doesn’t seem to be in immediate danger, so long as everyone continues to think he is Viktor Petrov. 

Fury orders Hill and some others to dig up everything they can on Pierce, Project Insight and any possible ways he could have survived the helicarrier being destroyed after he was shot.  In the meantime, the mission would proceed as originally planed.  Loki would continue to act as Petrov to learn as much as possible about the super solider serum they were developing and any plans Hydra was working on.

You relayed that information to Loki, “We are going to find out how Pierce could be here.  Just stick with the plan and you’ll be ok.” You try to sound confident but for some reason you are extremely worried.  You know Loki is a God and he can handle himself if he needed to get out of there, but you just wished you could help more.

This time he doesn’t nod in response, he seems focused on the meeting which you have been recording.  A set of three doctors are explaining the issues and progress they have made on the serum.  They flash up before and after pictures of patients and charts with formulas you don’t understand. 

Nat talks to the team a bit longer and then joins you.  She must have seen the concern on your face, leaning over to you she whispers, “He’s fine.  You’ve done everything you can so far to help with his cover.  They don’t suspect anything.”

You mute your end of the coms for a second, “He should get out of there as soon as this meeting is over.”

She agrees.  "The sooner we get all this data back to the right people the better.  Steve and Stark are working on a plan for us to come back with the rest of the team,” Nat says. 

You turn the coms back on and continue listening to the meeting.  It goes on for another three hours.  It doesn’t seem they have made much progress with the serum, most of the patients don’t survive the procedure.  Finally it comes to an end, everyone gets up to head back to work.

Loki waits at the elevator with Petrov’s friends and makes up an excuse to leave for the rest of the day.  He tells them he is feeling ill and needs to go home.

“I’m surprised you aren’t sick more often, I’ve eaten at the bar of yours... the food is awful,” Ivanov jokes.

(A little while later)
Loki arrives back at the jet, looking like himself and you can’t help feeling glad to see him. You find yourself almost wanting to hug him but you resist that urge.

Nat greets him and the three of you get ready for take off, this time you decide to sit in the back of the jet with Loki. He seems a bit surprised when you sit next to him.

“You wanted to talk,” you say, not looking at him.

“No, you didn’t...,” he looked at me, his eyes full of guilt.  “I wasn’t only upset about Petrov escaping.  I don’t want to make it seem like I’m giving you excuses but I think you should know why I snapped like that.”

“Was it because of Sarah?” you guessed. 

He nods, “I called Sarah to tell her that I wanted to talk about our relationship when we got back... when she picked up I heard that man in the background. I didn’t want to admit it was over, but there isn’t anything left to talk about now.”

“You uh- you said you knew him?” he asks you.

You shrug a bit, not really sure how much of the truth he wants to hear.  “Sarah and I met Marc in college when we were sophomores.  They dated for a little while but eventually it ended but they stayed... close” you tell him a bit vaguely.

“They must be close if she went to him so quickly,” he mumbles.

“Its not the first time she’s done that,” you say quietly.

He looks at you a bit shocked, “What do you mean?”

“Umm...well- ” you start to stumble a bit.

“Y/N, what do you mean?” he asks again.

“Its just that... Sarah’s relationships have a bit of a pattern,” he waits for you to keep talking.  “She typically only goes for guys that are really bad for her, most of them end up cheating on her,” you shrug, “So then she goes back to Marc for ‘comfort’ we'll call it.  When she first started telling me about you, the way she described you... I really thought she had found someone she could be happy with,” you tell him.

“I thought so too....” he says running his hands through his hair. 

“For what its worth, I’m sorry Loki,” you tell him, putting your hand on his knee and then taking it off quickly.

“Thanks,” he mumbles.  “We should probably try and get some sleep, it’s a long trip back and we’ll need to download everyone as soon as we get there,” he tells you.

You nod, you aren’t really tired but you should at least try.  You curl up as best as you can in your seat and close your eyes. 

(A few hours later)
A hand on your shoulder gently shakes you, “Wake up, we’re almost there.”

You shake your head no without opening your eyes and stay curled up.  You heard a low laugh and someone runs their fingers through your hair. “You really should wake up,” the voice says again.

“Mmmmm,” you mumble but open your eyes slowly.  You look up and realize you had snuggled up against Loki in your sleep. You sit up quickly and apologize.

He smiles, the first time you’ve seen that in a while, “Its ok, you looked peaceful.  I didn’t want to wake you but we’re going to land in a little bit.”

“Thanks, I should probably stretch my leg before we get off,” you try to stand, your leg sore from being bent at an odd angle for so long. This time, you don’t push Loki away when he offers to help.