Tony had been asking himself that question a lot these past few days. Ever since two thirds of the team had been called out on S.H.I.E.L.D. business, to be exact. Because it sure as hell felt like he was wasting time by not joining them. And now he was stuck in the penthouse all day. Couldn't even hang around the command center to keep up with the latest intelligence coming in.

Christ, even Lilith will have a bigger role in the investigation than me at this rate.

A role still highly contested by Thor, but not even the Thunder god had been able to budge Fury on the matter. On Tony's part, he couldn't argue with the Director's logic on this one, especially if S.H.I.E.L.D. was harboring spies for the other side. If using anyone from the team was out and they couldn't trust the agents on hand…well, that didn't leave them with too many options, did it? Lilith was the sensible solution.

Which was what he'd told Thor and Hawk when they left Fury's office last night. He suspected neither of them felt the same way, and would have continued to debate the point with the Director much longer if they hadn't been more concerned about leaving Lilith alone with Loki. Probably why they were so quick to cut the impromptu meeting short so they could rush back up to the penthouse.

In the end, they'd worried for nothing. Hawk said they'd arrived to find Lilith in the large boardroom working on the cover story to meet Boyden, and Loki settled in the living room, reading. Even reviewing surveillance footage of the penthouse hadn't revealed anything out of the ordinary. The two had exchanged a few words after Thor left- something about her involvement with the team, from what he gathered- and then they'd parted company. Aside from the misadventure with her book, the two seemed content to ignore one another's existence.

So why am I sitting here when I've got better things to do?

Even though he knew he shouldn't, he answered that question- and to some extent, Loki's- aloud. "Because Hawk would never let me hear the end of it."

The god traced an idle finger along the top edge of the Kindle Pepper had loaned him, a bemused smile hovering on his lips. That look never boded well from Tony's experience. At best, it usually heralded the imminent arrival of a particularly snide remark. He was grateful that under the present circumstances, he wouldn't have to consider the 'worst' response he could have gotten.

"I have noticed that of your assorted cohorts, his animosity is by far the most apparent. I'm sure he was vehemently opposed to my even coming here." Not quite the caustic retort he was expecting. Still, Tony didn't quite trust the feigned innocence of his tone. And sure enough, that wariness turned out to be well-founded as Loki followed up with, "Which makes it all the more interesting to learn that you were the most in favor of it."

Thanks a lot, Pepper.

He'd known that detail would surface sooner or later, but he wouldn't have chosen this moment to reveal it. Maybe wait a few months when everyone might be in the mood to have a laugh. But not barely two weeks in. Obviously, his lady thought otherwise, though he couldn't for the life of him understand why. Didn't matter; cat was out of the bag now.

"So what if I was?"

A long, measuring look. Then Loki's gaze dropped to the screen, leaving Tony believing that maybe he'd leave it at that. But a few seconds later the god dashed his hopes with a condescending, "There's no need to get defensive. I was merely curious. You must admit that your demeanor thus far would not have led a reasonable person to arrive at that conclusion."

Definitely not going to let this subject alone, are you?

"Thor asked for a favor," Tony stated, trying to skirt his reasons for going along with this whole thing without telling an outright lie. "I just happened to think it wasn't the dire imposition Hawk and the others kept insisting it would be."

Another considering look. Why did he always have to do that? Why couldn't he just hold a normal conversation like a normal person? Probably because he prefers annoying us. Whatever the reason, he tried to pretend like the silence didn't make him uncomfortable. Just wait it out.

"Although perhaps you're rethinking your stance now, yes?"

Not at first. But since Fury sent most of the team out on missions for S.H.I.E.L.D.…Tony couldn't deny that now wasn't exactly the most convenient time to have the Trickster underfoot. He consumed resources that would be better spent tracking down Hydra- namely his and Hawk's time. Thor's, too. If he hadn't been caught up with all the meetings at City Hall these past few days, he could have devoted that time to digging up possible leads for Cap and Bruce to follow. Then maybe they wouldn't be in a situation where Lilith had to be involved.

While those thoughts had passed through his mind, Loki had been watching him expectantly. And now too much time had passed to pretend he wasn't having second thoughts. Reluctantly, he conceded, "The timing isn't the best, I grant you. But Hydra had been quiet for well over a year when we started negotiations for this arrangement. Didn't expect them to have the resources to put together a large scale offensive after we routed their last scheme."

Thought we'd thoroughly crushed them. Guess we were wrong.

One more reason why Tony wanted to say to hell with Thor and Hawk and just leave the Trickster to JARVIS for the day. He wanted to help the team bring down those bastards for good this time. But here he was, doing nothing. The tedium of it all was enough to drive a man to drink…but after a long, serious talk with Pepper last night, he'd promised her no liquor before noon.

Among other things.

Thankfully, Loki seemed to have lost interest in their conversation. Just as well. Tony had little desire to dwell on a problem he couldn't solve. Well, couldn't wasn't the right word. He was sure if he had access to the mission dossiers- and whatever data Lilith had turned over to Fury- he'd surely find something to help the team. But he didn't.

Or do I?

With a covert glance to the chair opposite him, Tony reconsidered his available options. Did he risk getting his old laptop and use it to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s encrypted files? He didn't doubt that he could do it, but with the Trickster around, maybe not the smartest of ideas. Then again, what could he really do with any of that information? Arguably, not much. And he'd tell that to anyone who might take exception to what he was about to do. Decision made, he left the room and returned a moment later with the computer.

It fired up as if he hadn't left it in a drawer for the past decade. A forgotten relic in a time when Tony had been tinkering around with more sophisticated technology. But all that stuff was down in his lab, so he'd just have to make do with what he had. Think of it as a challenge. And a challenge it certainly was, remembering all of his old programming skills; the thing was still operating on Windows 7 for pity's sake. He'd just gotten past the first set of firewalls when his concentration was broken by a question.

"Is that what 'working' looks like in your case?"

Annoyed at the disruption, Tony retorted with a sarcastic, "I'm playing Solitaire."

"You'll forgive me for finding that highly unlikely," Loki scoffed. "Sarcasm notwithstanding, your expression displays all the classic hallmarks of deception."

Whatever enchantment had been used to wrest his magic away hadn't affected his ability to see through lies, apparently. And tell them? Tony supposed magic wasn't really necessary in the case of the latter; people lied all the time without it. But now he regretted his flippant remark, since it hadn't deterred the god from further inquiry into what he was doing.

"Mr. Stark, sir," JARVIS interjected just as he had come up with a suitable response.

"Yes?"

"If you persist in your current activity, Director Fury will become aware of it. I am obliged to remind you that he won't be at all pleased."

So much for keeping the Trickster in the dark. He suppressed a sigh and tried to shrug off the AI's warning with a light-hearted, "Fury is always in a bad mood, so that's hardly a reason to stop now, don't you think?"

"Sir, I highly advise that you abandon your probe."

JARVIS' insistent tone gave Tony pause. Although he owned the building S.H.I.E.L.D. used as its headquarters, the agency wasn't his to control. In some ways, he had to answer to Fury instead of the reverse. So it wasn't exactly in his best interest to rile the man up. Still, that didn't mean he was content to back down. It just meant that he'd have to be more careful if he wanted to get away with this. Loki must have guessed the direction of his thoughts.

"Spying on your own side, Stark?"

"I was not spying," Tony muttered irritably, uncomfortable with how close the god's taunt came to the truth. "I was just getting caught up on what the rest of the team has uncovered thus far."

"Interesting. From what I gather, it doesn't sound like your team, as you call them, provided you with said information."

"I'm sure they would have, if I'd thought to ask."

A long moment of judgmental silence, and then the god replied, "But you didn't ask- and you weren't going to, were you?"

"So where were you headed," Thor asked Hawk as they reached the end of the hall. "Anywhere in particular, or just away from the penthouse?"

His friend jabbed at the call button for the elevator and eyed him with a wary expression. They still weren't on easy terms with one another on account of their tense disagreement over Loki. He probably thought Thor meant to come along so he could pick up where they'd left off. Probably ought to, or the subject would remain a festering wound between them. Better to lance it now before it got any worse.

But it's just too damned early to deal with that headache.

Nor did he feel like spoiling his good mood. Getting Stark to order Poptarts had proved to be the highlight in Thor's morning. No matter how badly the man had wanted to say no, he'd been thwarted by his own words, and had no choice but to agree. He could almost understand why his brother found engaging in that sort of verbal duel so entertaining. It had certainly buoyed his spirits.

No need to drag them down again so quickly. This afternoon is soon enough to deal with the subject of Loki.

"Wanted to check in with Fury," Hawk said at last. "Didn't quite finish with him last night, what with Stark reminding us that we'd all gone and left Loki alone."

A comment like that made it very difficult to stick to his plan. Thor could have easily pointed out that they'd returned to the penthouse to find nothing even remotely alarming where his brother was concerned. Even he'd had to admit that perhaps Lilith was right, and that they were overreacting where she was concerned. Maybe backing off was the right course of action, as it seemed Loki had no interest in her whatsoever.

Or maybe he's biding his time until you all grow complacent- catching you by surprise when he finally makes his move.

Sadly, a theory that could well turn out to be the truth. Thor had seen it happen with Loki scores of times. Every time he thought his brother might have turned a new corner, he'd find them traveling the same road as before.

It'll be different this time, he tried to tell himself. I'll get through to him and put an end to his self-destructive madness once and for all.

While he'd been thinking, the elevator had arrived. Thor buried his worries about Loki for later as he followed Hawk into the waiting car. It sped them down to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters where they were greeted by a feeling of subdued, nervous energy. Lots of anxious glances and hushed whispers from the agents already on shift for the day as the two of them headed for Fury's office.

Definitely not a good sign.

The door was closed, an ineffective barrier against the garbled curses that could be heard on the other side. That, at least, appeared normal. Thor glanced over to Hawk. The archer shrugged as if to say 'I guess we're here' and gave a perfunctory knock before ducking inside. Not waiting to find out if Fury was going to send the man out again, Thor followed suit. The Director's irate glare could be felt from across the room. He covered the mouthpiece of his receiver.

"Shut that damned thing," he commanded sharply. As the one closest to the door, Thor obligingly obeyed while the Fury went back to berating the person on the other half of the line while putting the call on speaker. "You had your orders, Sczepanek, and I don't want to hear any piss-ass excuses. I want to know why Eric Hartley's damn name came out of Chief Nielson's mouth at the press conference."

"I never mentioned it to him- or anyone in his office, sir. In fact, aside from the coroner and my team here, no one else even knew the identity of our arson vic."

"Well, then he must have heard it from one of them, because it sure as shit didn't come from me. So you'd better pin some asses to the wall and find out just how this got out. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

Fury pounded on the 'end call' button in a display of temper and then immediately dialed out again. As he did so, he cocked his head to angle another look at the two of them. "If you're here to do more arguing about Morgan, you can just forget it."

That was one topic on his list, but Thor thought better of mentioning it right now. He still didn't believe Lilith was the right choice, no matter what any of them said. Not even if it was just sitting in for a few interviews. And he was certain if he got a moment to talk to Fury alone, he could make the man see his point. Just not in this moment.

"Actually, I wanted to talk more about this Hydra spy situation," Hawk spoke up. "We didn't get into the details last night."

Fury held up a hand as someone picked up the call with a harried, "Mertz."

"You heard yet?"

"Rogers called me after he spoke with you. Gave me the head's up while I was on my way into the office so I wouldn't be blindsided. A good thing, too, because the local news crew was already camped out on the sidewalk."

"And what about the family?"

"Showed up fifteen minutes ago- Rogers and Romanoff are with them while I stepped out to take your call." Mertz exhaled in a drawn out sigh. "The wife is livid, of course."

"She's not the only one."

"Yeah. The team over here is pretty pissed off that White Plains leaked Hartley's name to the Press and started this clusterfuck. First chance I get I'm putting a call through to Sczepanek to find out what-"

"I've already talked to Sczepanek," Fury cut in. "You focus on your assignment and I'll handle sorting out where the leak came from and whose ass needs kicked. Don't forget you've still to six other open cases yet to solve."

The long pause left Thor feeling as though the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent wasn't happy about those orders, but Mertz didn't argue with Fury. When the Director got that tone in his voice, no one argued with him.

"Yes, sir," A muffled voice came through the speaker, and then, "Did you need anything else, Director Fury?"

"No. Just keep that circus under wraps. I don't want to see any more names on the six o'clock news."

"Me, either. I'll report back once we get a break."

Fury ended the call so abruptly that Mertz almost didn't finish his sentence before the line went dead. Thor didn't quite know what had happened this morning, but from what little he could glean of those two calls, it was pretty bad. Something to do with the body they'd discovered in that church yesterday. They must have discovered the identity of the unfortunate mortal. And yet Fury didn't sound all that happy about it.

"You said you wanted to discuss the Hydra spy situation- well, this morning we're up to our necks in it." He swept an arm over his desk. "I've got one dead kidnapping victim and two teams in the field and both of them are swearing up and down they don't know how his name got passed on to the White Plains police department. But somebody leaked that information, and the sooner we find out who the faster we can root out all those fucking bastards."

"What makes you think it was one of our guys," Hawk challenged. "Coroner's lab had to ID the body. Could have come from that direction- someone looking to sell a big story and make a quick buck."

"It didn't."

Something about the certainty behind those words warned them not to ask how Fury knew that. And so his friend pressed on with the next likely culprit, "So it's someone in Sczepanek's team, then."

"Or Mertz'. Or both. Hell, could be someone out there for all I know," Fury grumbled ominously with an impatient gesture to the closed door behind them. "But what I do know is that Romanoff doesn't trust Mertz- or Sczepanek. And Banner didn't disagree when she said she preferred to run anything related to Morgan's findings through them instead of those two."

That got Hawk's full attention. Thor's, too, but his friend was quicker to react.

"Wait- you think Hydra got to Mertz and Sczepanek? If that's the case, then why keep them working the investigations at all? Recall them back to HQ."

"And then what?"

Hawk faced Fury, hands on hips and confused disbelief etched on his furrowed brow. Thor had to admit that he wasn't quite understanding the Director's hesitation to act, either. If their loyalty was compromised as Nat suspected, letting those two agents continue to lead major operations just offered them more opportunities to sabotage the agency. Then again…if Nat was mistaken, Thor supposed pulling them out of the field would leave the teams short-handed at a time they couldn't afford it.

A point that remained lost to his friend, as he spat out, "I don't know- maybe interrogate those traitors and find out what Hydra's after."

"Easy there, Hawk," Thor cautioned. "We don't know they're traitors yet."

"Exactly. And if they are, I don't want to give Hydra any reason to think we suspect them," Fury added. "Which is why they'll stay put. Rogers and the rest of the team can handle the critical mission objectives until I know just how deeply S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised."

"How were you planning to do that, exactly?"

The Director leveled a very pointed look at the two of them- Thor in particular, as he'd been the one to ask the question- and then replied, "Glad you asked, because I'm thinking I'm going to need you all to give the others a hand on that front."

Mertz ducked back into the conference room, expression grim and resigned. Steve caught his return out of the corner of his eye; most of his attention remained on Mrs. Hartley and her daughter, Alice. They'd arrived not long ago, demanding answers. He wished they had any to give her. He really did.

"I still don't understand," Mrs. Hartley protested with an emphatic shake of her head. The movement caused strands of blonde hair to obscure her face, which she pushed back distractedly. "The news story said the church burnt down yesterday. You had to have known already that-" her voice choked up before she could finish her sentence. She shook her head again and gestured at them with outstretched hands. "You knew."

Steve tried not to cringe at the tearful accusation. Couldn't deny it, though. Beside him, Nat bore the woman's outburst with sympathy, but never lost her cool, impersonal bearing. Never one to be unsettled by anything. He envied her ability to remain detached, especially for cases like this. She didn't stand around like a useless statue with a lump the size of a softball lodged in her throat.

No, she's not you, old son.

"We were in communication with White Plains yesterday, Mrs. Hartley," Nat stated calmly. "But at that time, everyone was being cautious before making any definitive statements."

A diplomatic way of putting it, but Steve knew it sounded like what it was: a lie. Mrs. Hartley's eyes narrowed, mood shifting quickly back to anger. "Well, the news story sounded quite definitive to me when they said my husband had been burned to death."

Better than having reported his actual cause of death, Steve thought dismally. Or this conversation would have been ten times worse.

The full coroner's report had been faxed over to the command center around three yesterday afternoon. He and Nat were the first ones to read it through. Absolutely grisly. The stuff of nightmares that he would have rather never known. So when Nat opted not to share the details of the report with Hartley's widow, Steve voiced no objections; knowing wouldn't make his death any easier to accept. Bad enough that they'd failed to find Eric before his time had run out.

Nothing Nat or I could have done for him, he repeated for the hundredth time. According to the report, Eric Hartley had been dead for five days. We weren't even part of the investigation yet.

Didn't mean he felt any less guilty. Nor did it ease his mounting concerns for the other six victims that were still out there. Victims like Candace Boyden, the youngest of them, who wasn't much older than Mrs. Hartley's daughter. Steve wondered how many of them- if any of them- were still alive. The worry that the answer could very well be 'none' had kept him awake most of last night.

While he'd been distracted once again by those thoughts, Nat tried to appease the woman with an explanation. "I understand that you are upset- and with good reason. It had been our intention to notify you privately once the evidence was conclusive."

That lie pinched Steve's conscience a bit. They'd known- as Mrs. Hartley said- yesterday that her husband was dead. And despite that, they'd had no intentions of notifying her until the Hydra connections were chased down and neutralized. Two or three weeks, minimum, if the meetings with Boyden went well. Who knew how long if they didn't. Potentially months of thinking her husband was still alive…

"So what the hell happened, then!? Why am I finding this out from a Facebook post!? My god, what kind of investigation are you people running over here!?"

That last question was aimed more at Mertz, who'd crossed the room to join them. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent looked as though he'd aged a decade in a handful of days- mostly over the course of the morning. His already sparse hair had thinned considerably on account of how often he raked his fingers through it. Didn't look like he had that much more to spare. Still, the agent stepped up to face the brunt of the woman's anger as he cleared his throat.

"I assure you, Mrs. Hartley, that my team has been doing our utmost to solve-"

"Then why is my Eric dead!?"

The grieving widow clung to her teenage daughter, who'd remained silent this whole time, and broke out into hysterical tears. Mertz was at a loss what to do for her, as was Nat. Paralyzed because they couldn't quite summon words that could compete with Mrs. Hartley's pain. Steve didn't know if he had the right ones, either, but he couldn't just stand by while she fell apart. And so when no one else made any move to help, he offered her the only thing he had.

Gently wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders, Steve murmured, "I'm sorry, Ma'am. We're all very sorry we couldn't get him back for you."

Mrs. Hartley didn't pull away as he worried she might. Rather, she let go of her daughter and latched onto him instead. They stood that way for some time as the emotional storm spent itself. Over her shoulder, Steve caught Mertz and Nat's grateful expressions. The latter mouthed the words 'thank you'. He nodded and just let the Hartley's widow cry for however long she needed.

The storm abated after a few minutes, and she pulled back with a flush of embarrassment. "I'm sorry," she mumbled in a shaky voice. "I know you've all been doing your best."

"No need to apologize, Ma'am," Steve insisted. "No need at all. You just lost someone important and you've the right to be angry about it."

She almost smiled, but couldn't quite manage it in the end. He could see that she wanted to ask again about the press conference, but just then the door opened to admit a new arrival. Not Ellis or one of the other agents, but someone he hadn't expected at all.

"Jill!" the man cried out. "Jill, honey, I saw this morning about-"

Mrs. Hartley turned and gasped, "Richard! Oh Richard I was so distraught this morning I didn't think to call you."

Richard Hartley, Eric's older brother. Damn near twin brother from what he could see. An inch or two shorter and not quite as broad in the shoulders, but he could easily have mistaken him for their victim. But though the two brothers may have looked very similar, one key difference set them apart: Richard had made a career for himself in real estate. In fact, he was their connection to the New Beginnings evidence Lilith had uncovered. And according to his bio, he was a regional sales executive for Manhattan.

So what is he doing here, I wonder?

Steve wanted to believe he had come to comfort his grieving sister-in-law and nothing more, but couldn't dismiss that Hydra might have sent him to gather information on their behalf. He glanced over to Nat, who raised an eyebrow. She, too, was curious why the elder Mr. Hartley would make an appearance today. And since she would be far better at ferreting out that answer, Steve decided to leave that detail up to her.

A vibration at his hip redirected his attention to his phone. Depending on how the call with Mertz had gone, it might be Fury calling him back. Steve tapped the display. Not Fury- Bruce. He held up the phone for Nat to see and motioned to the door with an apologetic nod to the rest of the group.

"If you all will just excuse me, I have to take this."

The Hartleys were occupied with their own drama to note his departure, and so he slipped out into the hall. Caught Bruce's call on the last ring before it went to voicemail. "Rogers- what's up, Bruce?"

"It's a madhouse over here, thanks to that damned press conference. I've been trying to get a free minute to call you all morning."

"Wouldn't have done you much good. We're dealing with Hartley's widow. She heard the story from her friends on social media before we could bring her in ourselves."

"Jesus. Isn't that just the worst."

"Just about. But at least she was more interested in talking to the team than the local news crew hunkered down on our front doorstep."

"I bet." A pause. "How's she taking it?"

"Devastated, of course, and I can't blame her for feeling our operation was at fault."

"You can only do what you can do, Cap."

"Yeah, I know."

"So listen, I wanted to talk to you about that latest bombshell from Fury."

More like from Lilith. Before Bruce could get another word in, he said, "So do I, but hang on a minute."

"What- oh, nevermind. Yeah, I get it. Just let me know when it's safe to talk."

Not wanting to risk anyone overheard their conversation, Steve headed for the cubicles along the outer perimeter. On the way, he passed Ellis and Nguyen, who were holding a meeting with several other agents in front of the Plexiglas map. Ellis appeared to be handing out assignments for another canvassing search. He felt bad that those agents were most likely wasting their time, but just kept walking.

He rounded the corner and headed for the last cubicle in the row. No reason to think anyone would come looking for him in the next ten minutes, but Steve wanted as much warning as possible if one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents did have reason to seek him out. He'd almost reached the end of the row when he heard Jessop's hushed voice from the other side of the chest-high divider wall.

"It's just as you expected- that announcement threw this whole place in a panic. Mertz has been sweating bullets all morning. Pretty sure Fury chewed him out something fierce."

Steve remained completely still, eavesdropping on the conversation. She was probably just gossiping with another agent and didn't want to be overheard, but something about her tone raised the hairs on the back of his neck. He put his phone on speaker, wanting Bruce to listen in.

"Nice!" Jessop snickered. "Sczepanek could use a dose of humiliation. You think he'll yank her and put you in charge over there?" A pause. "Damn."

Why do you sound so disappointed about that, Steve wondered with increasing unease.

"No," the young agent continued. "None of them pay any attention to me- least of all the 'dream team'. They'll never think I passed on that copy of the coroner's report." A humorless laugh. "You just let me worry about that and keep clear of Beauty and the Beast."

Rows of numbers scrolled past. Numbers, dates and names. Its Bearer had been staring at them for hours. Ever since she'd come up to her office after meeting with the other mortals. Hadn't risen from her desk even once. Just sat there, studying those endless rows of information with narrowed eyes. Muttering curses under her breath as she made minor corrections here and there; expressing louder, more inventive ones at seemingly random intervals for reasons It couldn't quite understand.

"Ugh, when will you fucking idiots learn to stop using free text fields to capture this shit in your shitty-ass database?"

Times like that, It mused to Itself.

The Bearer highlighted a cell of text and updated its content with a flurry of assertive keystrokes. It tried to decipher what difference came of her changes, but could not work it out. An unpleasant thing to have to admit; It had always understood everything.

More accurate to say you always assumed you understood everything, countered an all too familiar voice. And refused to accept any evidence to the contrary.

It wanted to ignore those words- and the voice they belonged to. Engaging with her the previous evening had been a mistake. Not only had it ended in a pointless stalemate, but their argument had provided the Bearer with concrete evidence of Its presence. Now It could no longer pretend Its observations and comments were her own.

Be honest- you had already betrayed yourself more than once, without my help.

Did not, It protested. And even if I had, it makes no difference. I will not be tricked into listening to you again. Not after last time.

To prove Its point, Esperringte decided to engage with the Bearer instead. It drifted closer to the edges of her conscious thoughts. Waited for her to sense Its presence and then posed an observation designed to provoke her into responding.

Such strong feelings over meaningless nonsense. What purpose does your anger serve?

A pause. A sigh.

Without breaking her focus on the screen, the Bearer replied, "Venting my annoyance is likely the only thing preventing me from dying of a massive brain aneurysm."

But why the annoyance in the first place?

"Because I'm having to waste my time cleaning up someone else's trash data when I shouldn't have to. If the firm's architects had done the job right, this wouldn't take all god-damned morning."

It sifted through the words to tease out some measure of understanding. Incompetence. Its former Thabeleer had shared the same intolerance for that particular fault as well. A sentiment Esperringte could understand- even respect to some extent. But most importantly, It had found another useful lever that could be applied to get what It wanted out of her.

Combine it with a few of the others and…yes, that approach could prove very effective.

But an approach like that would take time. And required the help of a few other minor tactics to set it in motion. Esperringte decided to initiate the first phase, nudging their exchange slightly off-course as It prepared to use what It had been learning about her over the past week.

Especially when you have more important things to do.

It did not worry that the Bearer did not respond to Its baiting taunt right away, content to wait out her attempt to ignore It. After all, Esperringte had all the time in the universe. Sooner or later, the Bearer would relent. To Its delight, her capitulation fell at the 'sooner' end of the spectrum.

"At the moment, helping Fury and the Avengers solve their investigations is the highest priority on my list. Well," she amended after taking a few seconds to reconsider, "after guarding this amulet, I suppose. So, contrary to your point, there isn't anything more pressing that should occupy my time."

A deliberate- and yet futile- attempt on her part to keep the discussion on topic. Esperringte prodded at the Bearer a second time. Not even the correspondence you received regarding-

"Stop! You stop right there. Whatever games you're trying to play with me, you leave Caroline out of them."

Adrenaline. Elevated heartrate. A rush of emotions that flooded through the Bearer and overwhelmed her generally placid demeanor. She pushed away from the desk and stood, too agitated to sit still. Esperringte congratulated Itself on provoking such a spectacular response so easily. Encouraged by the success, It forged ahead.

Game? I play no game here. I just wouldn't want your recent duties to eclipse long-standing obligations. It can be so easy to forget them when you're half a continent away. After a half-beat of silence, It added slyly, Or perhaps that was the incentive to move away in the first place? A distant city offers an excuse to shed the burden of those obligations without having to witness the consequences first hand.

The Bearer froze mid-circuit around the tiny room, hands clenched into fists. Anger simmered along every nerve. But beneath that…guilt and self-doubt. The nagging fear that It had spoken a truth that she had been unwilling to face. Not that it was. Quite the opposite, Esperringte knew. But the Bearer could be persuaded to believe it all the same; she'd already convinced herself that she'd done it before.

You go too far.

Esperringte recoiled from the rebuke, having momentarily forgotten that It was not alone on this battlefield. It felt Its influence over the Bearer begin to weaken and cursed having lost a pivotal opportunity to seize more control over her will. The moment was lost, though, and so It turned to face the one responsible.

Why do you care one way or another, It scoffed. You left me to my own devices with the Jotun all these years, so why interfere on behalf of this insignificant mortal?

She sighed. That sigh she gave before saying something that always managed to make It feel uncomfortable. As if It had disappointed her in some way. Just as the other one always did in moments like this. Only worse. So much worse.

If you recall, I told you in the very beginning that you would have to tread a fine line with him or you'd end up destroying the best chance you had to really make something of yourself. Sadness crept into her tone. Profound sadness beyond anything any Thabeleer could ever express. But you refused to listen. And so it's come to this.

A Bearer, Esperringte sneered with disdain, trying to mask the other feelings her words elicited. A prison.

A second chance, she countered earnestly. One last chance to prove yourself. I implore you not to waste it.

Prove myself to who? Couldn't be you- how could I when you abandoned the Thabeleer!? Abandoned me to the two of them when I asked for your support.

It remembered that betrayal despite the centuries that had passed in between. Had resented her for it. Still did. And so to have her reappear now, trying to appeal to It in that way…

"Ms. Morgan," a concerned, male voice floated above them, jarring Esperringte out of Its argument. "Lilith- are you all right?"

The Bearer had dropped to her knees on the grey carpeting, head cradled in both hands. Taking shallow breaths through her nose while minute tremors coursed through her body. No, this would not do at all. The mortal woman would be of no use for Esperringte's plans in this condition.

"Lilith?" the voice queried again.

Say something, Esperringte urged, worried that her mind might be in a state of paralysis. Tell the snooping wretch that you're fine.

With a shuddering breath she lowered her hands to her sides and turned to face the young man hovering on the far side of the desk. "Caffeine headache," she told him with an anemic smile. "I burned the candle at both ends last night, so I tried to make up for it by drinking a half-gallon of tea this morning." The Bearer hoisted herself to her feet. "A decision my brain has taken exception to, and let me know."

"You sure," he queried skeptically.

"Yeah. I'm good, Darryl. Thanks for asking, though."

"Well, all right then. If you say so."

"What'd you want, anyway?"

The man thought for a moment, having clearly forgotten his whole reason for coming into the Bearer's office. She waited patiently for him to remember, though that patience began to wear thin as the seconds lengthened into minutes. And then this 'Darryl' jolted as the memory came back to him.

"Oh. Yeah- Ms. Potts wanted to know if you were coming to the staff meeting at 1:30. She mentioned you had something big going on, and might not be able to make it."

The Bearer turned slightly to glance at the monitor to her left, shook her head and replied, "I think I'd better keep at this while I've still got momentum going. Brief me later if there's anything critical?"

"Sure."

Darryl left with a jaunty wave. Once he was out of earshot, the Bearer sat down and laid both hands flat on the desk. In a low voice that thrummed with barely concealed anger, she addressed them tersely, "I don't know what you are- either of you. I don't know what you want. But whatever lover's quarrel you two are having, leave me out of it. I have work to do, and I can't do it with a yelling match going on inside my head."

It wasn't a-

"Shut up. Just shut the fuck up. Because I don't want to hear another word."

Lilith, if you…

"That goes for you, too."

The Bearer reached for a pair of earbuds and stuck them in her ears, cranking the volume full blast on her music player. Just like that. Discussion over. Esperringte knew It had lost tremendous ground and would have to work hard to win it back.

I took it too far.