No Good Deed Goes Unpunished (Loki Fanfiction)

Another kind of deal

"You are late!" Fury greeted Loki as he appeared in his office.

"I was ... delayed." Loki told him in response.

"Leah?" Fury asked not even trying to hide his concern.

"Yes." Loki dryly answered.

"How bad is she?" Fury asked again with a frown.

"I don't know. She had a very bad panic attack according to Bruce; she seems better now but I thought the same the day before." Loki bitterly admitted; why was he telling Fury that?

"You know we have specialists to handle this sort of situations; if you want ..." Fury suddenly offered.

"Send someone to help her?" Loki interrupted him. "Not sure Leah would accept that; I'm not even sure I agree with that. It's just that Brice seems to think she needs help'." Loki ended still debating with himself; she was trying, but would it be enough? "Besides, I have something else to ask you first."

"She wants to know about the mission." Fury guessed.

"Yes." Loki nodded in agreement.

"I'll tell you what; I'll make another deal with you, she can know about the mission if she agrees to keep the secret and ... and here's the big; if she agrees to see a psychiatrists." Fury offered.

"Why the sudden interest in her welfare?" Loki replied angered. "If you cared you should've rescued her from Doom."

"It's not her welfare I'm interested about now, but yours." Fury just dismissed his previous comment, following that line would lead them nowhere. "I need you focused and I don't see that happening if you're too busy worrying over her. There's a psychiatrist who I think would be the best person to help her, he has dealt with sensitive cases before. He's not a SHIELD's employee but he does contract work for us from time to time."

Loki listened attentively before asking. "If he's not from SHIELD how can I know he can be trusted?"

"Would you rather I sent a SHIELD's psychiatrist?" Fury questioned him amused by his reticent to accept.

"Probably not." Loki admitted; if they were going to go to the mission together he needed to start trusting Fury, their lives might depend on it. "Do you trust him?"

"Yes I do; he was married to one of my top agents, he's been cleared by us and he knows the drill." Fury volunteered.

"Really? To who?" Loki felt curious, the idea of SHIELD's agents having families still puzzled him.

"Melinda May." Fury told him.

"The Cavalry?" Loki asked surprised.

"Never call her that." Fury advised him with a stern look.

"Why not? I thought it was meant as a compliment." Loki questioned intrigued.

"It was; but she hates it. Anyway, do we have a deal?" Fury hoped he would agree; he needed Loki's mind on the mission.

"I'll tell her; if she agrees you'll have a deal." Loki responded.

"Seems fair. Now these are the locations of your team members." He tossed Loki a file over the table.

Loki browsed through the report; as he memorized the locations he said to Fury. "They will want to know how much ae you willing to pay."

"More than enough." Fury replied. "Although Sandman might be willing to accept another kind of deal."

"What do you mean?" Loki asked intrigued.

"In a way he's not that different from you, he wants to keep his family safe; but he can't do that if he can't be with them. If he hesitates offer him a pardon." Sandman seemed to have an act for being in the wrong place at the wrong time; from al the sinister six he was the least dangerous. That didn't meant he wouldn't keep an eye on him anyway; old habits are hard to break.