HARLOVSEN - An Avengers Fanfiction

Chapter 23 - Four Hours

Fenris starred at the place Katta had been standing only seconds ago, his hands clenched around the gun in his holster. His breathing was going fast, his chest rising and sinking. He blinked, testing his eyes. Did he really see this?

"What is it? What happened?" Magnus's voice sounded through the earpiece, cutting through the silence. Fenris wanted to answer, but his lips were sealed, trembling.

"He's got Katta," Clint whispered, his mouth dry. "We lost her." He swallowed, only now completely feeling the pain in his left arm. Fenris let out a yell of frustration, looking between Thor and Clint as he wanted to murder them before covering his face with his hands, breathing in deeply.

〰〰〰

They had all met at one of Stark's offices in another part of New York. It was no secured institution, just an ordinary building with a few bureaus.

"Fenris?" Magnus asked him with a calm voice. He stood next to the window, glaring outside.

"My fault. I was too late," Fenris uttered, running his hands through his hair. "If I had been earlier, maybe then–, maybe she would be here instead of–, I should have –"

"You've done nothing wrong," Natasha interrupted him. She stood next to Erik, who sat in front of the large conference table. He also was staring outside the window, his face tensed while he remained completely silent. The door opened and Tony entered, a woman alongside him.

"Linda, dear. Please make our guests a coffee," Tony said to the secretary before closing the door and joining the round.

"The stone," Olaf finally spoke up. "Where is Strange?"

Fury, who'd wandered around in the room, directed his look at him. "We don't know that. I thought it would be better to have his location unknown, in case Loki bewitched one of us."

Olaf clenched his jaw, the pen he'd been holding in his hand broke.

"Apart from that. Are you really considering giving the stone to Loki? You can't even imagine what he would cause, having it," Natasha said, her voice soft but determined.

Erik glared over his shoulder, meeting her eyes before addressing all the Avengers. "This is all your fault. If it weren't for you. Katta would still work in Wakanda for a man that actually cared for her well-being," he snapped, standing up. Magnus laid a hand on his shoulder in a soothing manner, but he shook it off.

"No, Magnus. You know that I am right. Everything would be perfectly fine right now. We would do our daily business, probably shoot somebody, hack security systems, protect clients, which are all makeable tasks. But in this case, we know nothing." His voice raised as he banged his fist on the table.

"Erik," Natasha said. He spun around facing her.

"And you, Romanov. If I hadn't given you this ridiculously tiny hint about her position, you would have never been able to spot her." He fumed, kneading his hands.

"I know," Natasha silently agreed. "I know we did wrong. But accusations won't help us in our current situation."

"I agree," Arne nodded, looking at Erik. "Breath bror," he added, standing up. "Tenk pa det. It would not be smart, giving Loki this stone."

"Tenk pa – ?" Bruce looked at Magnus, who slightly shook his head before murmuring, "Think about it."

Erik deeply inhaled and nodded, burying his face in his hands. Bucky watched him from the other side of the room. How was he able to remain this calm when his own sister was missing. They had absolutely no idea, where Loki had taken Katta. She could already be dead, lying somewhere in a drain. She could still be in Lokis' hands and this specimen had some serious psychological issues. Bucky felt a gnawing in the back of his head - the winter soldier, threatening to overtake his mind and solve the problem.