Coffee and Books 2

1. The bar

The Downtown Bar is crowded when I get in. In the front is a group of men, all wearing the same type of suits, their ties loosened. One of them even has his tie around his head, a beer in each hand. Lawyers, I think, and by the looks of it they are celebrating something.

"Excuse me, coming through." I try to make my way past the pumped up men. They meet me with cheers and raised glasses and some of the men actually close me in, standing around me. Great, drunk men who think I am their plaything.

"Hello there, beautiful!" A guy with slicked back brown hair points at me with his drink. He is drinking whiskey on the rocks, the ice cubes tingling in his glass.
I don't answer, glaring at him.

"Why the frown, beautiful? We are celebrating a big win here. And I'd like you to be my next big win!" His mates cheer him on, as the slick guy takes a step closer to me. He puts his hand up to my face, conveniently grazing my breasts in the process.

"Don't touch me," I state clearly, while quickly grabbing his hand and putting pressure on his thumb. It's a simple move, you just fold the thumb and apply pressure. But it hurts and the guy drops his glass as he shouts out in pain.

"Bitch!" he hisses at me, while clutching the hand I just released. His mates look confused, they had too much to drink to fully comprehend what just happened. The guy tries to get in my face, but he is held back by a strong hand.

"As much as I'd like to watch the lady kick your ass, now is not the time."
Loki pushes the guy to the side so I can step through.

"Hi honey," I say cheerfully and reach up for a kiss. Loki kisses me in a way that shows the rest of the world I am his and that he is not inclined to share. As always he manages to convey the message with class, otherwise I would have asked him to save it for the bedroom.

The God of Mischief takes my hand and guides me to a table in the back. My friend Sharon Carter is already waiting for us.
She has called us both here and I am curious why. I meet her for drinks here almost every week, but now she specifically asked for Loki to join us too.

Sharon is not one to keep us waiting, so as soon as we have drinks, she pulls out an envelope. "Plane tickets to Las Vegas. Wakanda needs your help."

"I beg your pardon?" Loki gives Sharon a sharp look and I can see he is suspicious.

"Why would Wakanda need our help?" I ask my friend. "From what I have seen in the news Wakanda is more than capable to take care of itself."
The African country gave the world a big surprise, showing it is way more advanced than everybody always thought. I had seen King T'Challa in the newspapers more than once, conveying a strong message of peace and charity.

"Actually, just your help," Sharon says, looking directly at me.

"You need her to use her powers on someone," Loki says, catching on quicker than me.

I glance in the envelope, it holds two plane tickets. "This is for tomorrow afternoon!"

"Yes. Is that a problem? You work just the morning shift this saturday, right?"

"Sharon, seriously. What is this about? I am not a secret agent."

"You better start talking." Loki sounds ticked off.

Sharon explains that the king of Wakanda needs information about a man called Blackstoke, who can be found in Las Vegas tomorrow night. "We suspect he is planning to steal Wakandan technologies, under the cover of a farmers aid program. We need names and dates."

"And why would I want to get mixed up in this?"

"You don't. Let's go, Ylva." Loki takes my hand and pulls me up from my seat.

"Please wait," Sharon says, grabbing my other hand. "I would not ask this if we had another choice."

I look from her to Loki. For the most part, I want to go with Loki. Why would I use my powers in the name of a king I've never met? But I also believe Sharon would not come to me if she had other options left.

"Let's just listen to her. We can always say no." I squeeze Loki's hand, pleading with my eyes. He pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out an exasperated sigh, but he sits down again.

"Doesn't king T'challa have his own secret agents or something?" I ask Sharon.

"He does. But he needs an outsider for this."

"Why not you?" Loki cuts in.

"I'm confined to my desk job."

"The Black Widow is your go to girl for things like this. Send her in." Loki seems to know his agents, I on the other hand am not sure if I know this Black Widow woman.

"She is otherwise engaged."

"But why me? I'm not a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."

"Well, S.H.I.E.L.D. needs to stay out of it. You're not an agent, but you do have some special skills. And..."

"Let me guess, you guys need a pretty girl," Loki sneers.

"I'm flattered," I say sarcastically. "And why two tickets? What does Loki have to do?"

"Keeping an eye on you," the God of Mischief answers my question. And he appears to be right. It really has to be an outside job, so I have to go in alone. King T'Challa's men will be on standby, but they have to stay out of sight. Loki can go with me, if he keeps his distance.

The whole thing is arranged. They even gave Loki and me an alibi to go to Las Vegas: apparently I've won a night in a hotel on the Strip in an online competition. Loki has permission to fly to Vegas, thanks to Sharon.

"You are doing this without S.H.I.E.L.D.'s knowledge, isn't it?" I ask Sharon.

"Yes. And no."

"And how does king T'Challa know about me?"

"A mutual friend."
Sharon explains some more about the mission. It sounds pretty straightforward and not too dangerous; just try to get a man to talk with my looks and my charm. Oh, and my powers, those too.

Loki folds his arms and sighs.

"What's wrong?" I ask him.

"You are planning to dive in head first in something you have nothing to do with."

I smile at my prince. "It worked out great with you."