Captive

Chapter Twenty Eight

Warnings:
Captivity
Kidnapping
Compliance
Lima Syndrome
Crying

Coulson's POV

"How're you feeling?" Coulson asks when he walks into Mack's office. Coulson was acting director while Mack recovered from an injury. For a while, Mack would go on some missions when he could, but his doctor didn't want him to take the full responsibilities of director until now.

"A lot better now that I can actually get to work. Things ran smoothly?"

"As much as S.H.I.E.L.D. can," Coulson answers. Yes, but also very much no. "I got you up to speed on everything that's happened already."

"I know, but I wanted to talk to you about this Avengers stuff," Mack says, skimming through the files Natasha sent. "You're the only one of us that's been with Loki. Do you think that he could be connected to our Watchdog problem?"

"It's a possibility," Coulson answers. "He could be the hooded man. When Loki walked through the Tesseract's portal, he tore through our tactical teams without a scratch. And I know very well that he has a thing for stabbing. He is capable of doing what's happened to those warehouses. At the same time, he could be the one the Watchdogs are hunting. The Watchdogs first formed in response to the Battle of New York. Loki's made himself a lot of enemies, and not all of them are good people. It's been almost ten years since New York, and no one can keep him in captivity for more than a year. The guy we have downstairs says he's been waiting for this to be done. Watchdogs very well could be plotting to kill him."

"How would you fit [L/N] in?" Mack asks. "Does she have anything to do with this?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Loki could have his own motives with her, anything as simple as leverage. She could be targeted by the Watchdogs, specifically or grouped in with the Avengers. Or Loki and [L/N] could both be targets."

"But these are just theories. There's no evidence of a connection," Mack points out. "But if Loki's supposedly protecting her, we have to keep an eye on that situation. He might be lying, he might not be."

Coulson nods. "What's Hunter going to tell Romanoff?"

"Depends on your next answer. Are you alright with the Avengers finding out about you?"

Coulson sighs. "Originally, they didn't know because none of them had the clearance. That and it might have blown up in Fury's face if they found out the guy they avenged has actually been alive. No one knew about T.A.H.I.T.I., they would've thought I went into cardiac arrest but was saved. Then S.H.I.E.L.D. fell apart and we've been operating illegally a good amount of the time since then. Not exactly a good time to let them know. But now that we might have to work with them, they'll need someone to trust. If we need to, we can let them know."

Mack nods. "One more question. After Loki stabbed you, you told him he 'lacked conviction.' Were you stalling, or did you really believe that? Do you still believe it?"

"I tend to be a good judge of character. I'm not always right, so don't put all of your faith in this. But something wasn't right about him. Didn't seem like he really wanted to rule. He's skilled with his words and was able to manipulate conversations in his favor. Like he was hiding his true desires. It's why he lost. He wasn't fighting with his all. I don't know why he would invade if he didn't want to. But I still think I was right."

"What about now?"

"I haven't seen him for years. Really can't say."

***

Your POV
Day Thirty Five
April 8, 2021

You don't want to get out of bed. You're lying on your stomach, arms wrapped around the pillow almost like you are sleeping on a desk. It's awfully comfortable. Between the hoodie you're wearing and the blankets on top of you, you are the perfect warm temperature for bed. Sunlight slowly creeps between the curtains as the sun slowly rises. There is something about feeling well rested but staying in bed for a while.