ANGRBODA ※ Tony Stark [1]

16 - 42ND FLOOR

            

THE STARK TOWER was almost deserted when they arrived, at almost three in the morning. There were only a few night guards scattered around the ground floor and a handful of offices still lit up.

The pilot allowed them to get off a few blocks away so none of Loki's men would notice them. The jet they had flown in was impressively discreet. Angrboda didn't even know a plane engine could be so quiet. On a mission like this one, where their success relied greatly on the element of surprise, it had been a perfect landing.

Natasha, Clint, Thor, Steve and Angrboda didn't lose a second once they got to the Tower. They each took their separate ways and placed themselves exactly as Fury had instructed.

Thor and Steve were assigned the basement floors of the Stark Tower. They had to intercept any of Loki's men that tried to infiltrate the building from the underground.

Meanwhile, Clint stayed outside, perched on the building adjacent to the Stark Tower. His detractor arrows could lodge themselves in the engine of any enemy aircraft as well as take down any agent that came from the exterior.

Finally, Natasha and Angrboda were assigned the entire interior of the Tower.

Back in the jet, the pilot had various monitors that could detect unidentified presences on any floor of the building. S.H.I.E.L.D had profiled every employee of the Stark Tower as well as the security staff. Anyone who wasn't either of those and was found inside the building would be spotted by the monitors. Then, the pilot would give the intruder's exact location to the two women who would go after it.

The plan seemed foolproof enough.

Stark Tower had a staggering 42 floors and the two women were placed strategically so each of them would cover one half of the building. The Black Widow stayed at ground level, in charge of the first 21 floors while the Harpy climbed all the way to the 22nd, to guard the rest of the Tower, up until the penthouse.

Upon arriving, Natasha found a spot against the railings of the mezzanine, the perfect place to hide from the night guards while keeping an eye on the front hall. They were strictly forbidden to alarm any of the security staff or making their presence known. The entire operation had to stay quiet and discreet.

The 22nd floor was completely deserted once Angrboda reached it. She had taken the stairs all the way up there and found it to be an office floor like most were in the building. The lack of employees gave Angrboda the opportunity to walk around freely while expecting the pilot's signal.

Surely enough, the wait proved to be incredibly dull. The adrenaline that had kept her boosted until now was slowly fading as the long minutes went by. Having only two hours of sleep definitely took its toll.

Down in the undergrounds, it seemed like Steve and Thor had their hands full. The other three Avengers were alerted through their earpieces every time an agent was caught and Steve and Thor's numbers were increasing gradually. Even Clint had managed to catch a few of Loki's men as they were climbing along the length of the Stark Tower.

Against expectations, the coast was still clear for the two women in the interior of the building and Angrboda was starting to get seriously bored.

"I'm at seven," she heard Thor's voice through her earpiece.

"Five," Steve chipped in "Thor gave the coup de grâce on that last one but I did most of the job. I'm counting it."

"I beat you all, I'm at eleven and a half," Clint said, the smugness in his tone was obvious even through the earpiece.