Anathema Reneau [1]

FIVE

I'm about to step outside when there's a hand on my shoulder. I whip around, coming face to face with the Captain.

"We've got this handled."

"If you're not going to kill them, then you don't."

"I think Thor's got this." There's a giant crack of thunder and screams of agony follow.

"You bringing them in?"

"That's our job. You know any of them?"

"Their leader, Devon. Worked a job for me a while back. Looks like he wasn't happy with three million in Bolivia."

"Know why he wanted to kill you? Or how he found you?"

"Same reason why anyone would wanna kill Stark. If he found me, it means someone's provided him with some very expensive resources."

"We've got this, why don't you go home?"

"Excuse me? I've got a right to at least talk to the guy. Take me to whatever room you're keeping him in."

"Fine," he agrees reluctantly.

The walk is short but silent. The room is below the ground level and we stand with Loki, Tony, and Natasha on the other side of the interrogation glass.

"Good to see Steven stopped you from committing suicide."

"Ha ha. Can you please change my clothes back now?" He snaps his fingers and I'm wearing what I came here in, hair loose.

"He's still unconscious. Thor hit him pretty hard," comments Natasha.

"The rest of the guys?" asks Tony.

"Died on impact, unfortunately."

"I think it's about time someone woke him up." I walk out, going instead into the same room as him. His head is heavy on the desk, arms and legs zip-tied to the chair.

I sit down opposite him and wait a few seconds. He remains unresponsive, so I pick up his head and bring it down onto the table.

Hard.

"Have a nice nap?" His eyes lock onto mine after coming to his senses.

"Bitch." I choose to ignore the remark; it's not much of an insult.

"Listen, I understand that three million didn't keep you happy enough, but it was still generous considering you tried to steal from me."

"What are you talking about? I didn't-"

"Oh shut up, you're making a fool of yourself. Violet confirmed it and she doesn't disappoint in gathering information. You were going to sell to Baraz, get him off your back for the money you owed him from the shipment."

"I. Didn't. Steal."

"You didn't manage to. Baraz is a very loyal friend of mine, who gave me back what was rightfully mine. Guess that means you still owe him." His eyes widen and he starts struggling against the bonds.

"No. No, you can't-"

"Do you even know what you were going to give him? Jewels, each worth much more than your life. Family heirlooms, so to speak." I pull out my phone from my pocket and dial the number, making sure it's on speaker.

"¿Sí?"

"Hola, Baraz. ¿Qué tal?"

"Señorita Reneau. I haven't heard from you in a while."

"Please, Mateo. Call me Ana. I have a gift for you, about five foot seven, Caucasian and has a tendency to forget to pay his debt. Say hello, Devon." He keeps silent, trembling in fear.

"My men can pick him up from the usual place tonight. How much of an inconvenience did he cause?"

"Five men, one on my friend and all of them on me."

"Then $30,000 will be transferred for your troubles, Ana. Muchas gracias."

"De nada." I press end call. "Now, I don't know exactly what he wants to do to you, but considering the number of times you've been late with payments, it won't be good. I hear Colombia is nice this time of year, however."

"You can't do this to me."

"You should think about that next time you try to kill me. I'm sort of convinced you won't get the chance to, though." I get up from the chair and get to the door before he says something.

"Someone else is gonna come after you, you know?"

"And just like you, they'll fail." I exit the room, going back to rejoin the party.

"What was that?" Stark looks... angry? Disappointed? He's spending too much time around the kid.

"A negotiation. You've taken part in them before, haven't you?"

"You have no right to-"

"I have no right to what? If I remember correctly, I was the target. So forgive me if it bruises your ego, but he's coming back with me."

"You just made a deal with a guy who sounded real shady and you expect everything to be a-okay?"

"Once he's in Baraz's hands he won't be a threat to anyone. Surely you can understand that."

"That Baraz guy is going to gut him like a fish and you know it."

"I owe my friend a debt, Anthony. If I don't hand him over, my businesses are going to suffer. It'll take me a lifetime to rebuild everything."

"Tony, maybe we should give him to her," Steve says softly.

"Seriously? Next Loki's gonna say we shouldn't kill people ever again."

"Oh, I don't think you have to worry about that anytime soon," he pipes up.

"Now look what you did, you ruined a perfectly good Loki. He hasn't mentioned murder in a week. A week."

"This isn't your fight, Tony. I know it sucks, but this time you won't be blamed for anything. Trust me, this isn't how I like to do things either." Stark rubs his temples before coming to a decision.

"Fine. He's all yours. Rogers will help you load him into your car."

"Thank you, Anthony. This means a lot to me."

"Yeah, yeah." Steve and I leave the room and whilst he goes to get Devon, I use the time to make a phone call.

"Mateo, hi. Just need to ask you for permission to do something."

"To Devon? What exactly?"

"Nothing major, just cut out his tongue. He's got some information I'm not to keen on him sharing with the rest of the world."

"It doesn't interfere with my plans for him, so go ahead. Privacy is something we don't have a lot of these days. Plus, it will be nice for someone to be quiet during the ritual for once."

"Gracias, Mateo."

"De nada, señorita. De nada."