"Then what is the reason for this visit?" asked his father, equally cold.
"We have a proposition for you."
"You mean the mutant has a proposition for me?" he asked, giving me a sly look. The hairs at the back of my neck rose and my fingers tightened into fists at my sides.
The man before me was the very same man who had ordered my capture, who had hacked the wings off my back and drained the blood from my body. All in the name of science, not to overlook weapons creation.
Aidan snorted and brought me back from my memories. "This mutant is now in charge of all of Odin's armies across the nine realms, so I'd watch what I say if I were you."
"And how is it you came by this illustrious designation, dear girl?"
Interesting. We seemed to have piqued the curiosity of the good doctor.
I shrugged. "I did what any other warrior would do. I proved myself," I answered before Aidan could, keeping my emotions off my face. "Now if you don't mind, we have very little time at hand. We would like to ask you a few questions."
"What kind of questions?" He studied me as he spoke, then took a breath and got to his feet. "And why would I feel the necessity to answer any of your questions?"
"You get lonely down here, Father?" Aidan cut in. I had an idea where he was taking it, and when he glanced at me, I gave him an almost imperceptible nod. Then Aidan asked, "Has anyone been to see you yet? Besides me, of course."
Dr. Lee met his son's gaze, and the flicker of pain that flashed across his face was clear enough that I knew we had him right where we wanted him. "You know full well I've had no visitors since you imprisoned me here." His voice lowered to almost a growl, but he stayed put, even as my hand went to my sword. He looked at my fingers as they closed around the hilt of my blade and he smiled. "I was never known for my stupidity, Valkyrie."
"Then you will use that intelligence to answer a few questions, because if we get the information we need, you may soon be in for a family reunion ."
"Provided they still want to have anything to do with you," said Aidan. The malicious tone in his voice made my heart ache.
"Are you trying to trick me?" asked his father, his already pale skin losing all color.
"No. No tricks, Dr. Lee," I spoke, my voice firm. "We will pass the message on that you are allowed visitors. Family only, of course. I will even go so far as to say I give you my word you will be allowed regular and ongoing visitation should your information assist us in any way." As I spoke, I walked closer to the doctor, only stopping when I was face to face with him. Then I said, "But believe me when I say if any of the information endangers even one of my warriors, you will answer to me." He must have seen something in my eyes because he quailed in the face of it, visibly shrinking away from me.
"Are you ready, Father?" asked Aidan, seemingly unaffected by my threats to his own flesh and blood.
Dr. Lee sat heavily in his chair. He looked twenty years older, all the fight and arrogance gone.
Aidan walked closer to him while I stood and listened as he asked Loki's son question after question. What was Loki's method of infiltrating businesses? How did he manage to convince people in important positions to work for him? Were their families being threatened? Were there frost giants under cover in large organizations?
Many of the questions surprised the doctor so much that by the time Aidan had asked his last question, I was convinced we were on the right track.
As we turned to leave, I glanced back one last time but was unable to summon even one iota of sympathy for Dr. Stephen Lee. I quite liked what I saw as he hunched over in his chair, his spine curved, his skull shining though his thinning hair.
A broken man.
CHAPTER TEN
When we emerged from the dungeons, I felt like I needed a bath. Not just because of the dankness of the cells, but from the proximity to a man I hated with an unadulterated passion. My mind returned to the look he'd given me when I'd threatened him, and I shook my head. His fear was unwarranted; not like I would have harmed in an any way. Surely I wasn't all that scary. I hadn't even used my wings to strike fear into his heart and that usually worked like a charm. Instead, he'd given Aidan page after page of information, and I was repeatedly thankful Aidan had taken Joshua's laptop to record everything.
Aidan sighed beside me as we reached the war room. He handed the laptop over to me and said, "I'm going to speak to Enya and Mother. Maybe I should tell them they can go see him as soon as they like." He didn't sound too thrilled about it.
"What's wrong? Not looking forward to breaking the news?" I asked.
He shook his head. "To be honest, I'd hoped we wouldn't have to use them to get him to talk. I really didn't want them to have anything to do with him ever again."
"He is their husband and father, you know. They have the right to see him if they want." I agreed with him, but I wasn't going to get involved.
"Yeah, I know. I just don't feel comfortable with them seeing him." He rubbed his scalp, running his fingers through his hair and mussing it up. I could almost see him return all neat after his mother restored it to a decent condition.
"Then make the stipulation that they aren't allowed to see him unless you go with," I suggested. "Then you won't need to worry."
Aidan looked at me and laughed. "Now why didn't I think of that?"
"Because you're not really as smart as you think you are?" I teased before turning to enter the war room. Joshua was standing stock still at the table, staring at something. "What's wrong?" I asked as I walked in.
His eyes went straight to the laptop. "Oh, thank God. I was wondering where that thing had gotten to." He sighed with relief as I handed it over.
"Aidan and I were just with his father," I said, watching Joshua's face for a reaction. Would he be wildly jealous that I'd spent time alone with an ex-boyfriend without telling him first? Instead, he stared harder and asked, "What did the creep have to say?"
"It's all in there." I pointed at the laptop, and Joshua flipped it open and hurried to read it.
"How did you manage to get all of this out of him?" he asked absentmindedly, as his eyes scanned pages and pages of information.
"We offered a trade. He can see his family on a regular basis. But only if all this information actually pans out," I said smugly.
"Brilliant idea." He agreed, then glanced back at the screen. "There's plenty here to help us get a head start. I'll go through the files and see what intel we have so far that matches up with any of these activities. And I'll make extra copies and get things in order to print as soon as we get to New York HQ."
"Yeah. Could we figure out a way to get a printer working here? Would make things so much easier," I said. Hearing the longing in my voice, I had to laugh.
Joshua snorted. "Now you are asking for way too much, woman."
I giggled at that and settled down to sort out files in order. A few minutes later, both Joshua and I suddenly looked up at each other, eyebrows raised. Voices traveled down the hallway, the sounds of two people arguing loudly hard to miss. We both watched the doorway, curious to see if the squabblers would enter our room. And they did. In the form of Aidan and his sister Enya.
"What's going on, you two?" I asked, unsure whether to be worried or amused, or if I should even get involved. But the situation looked in need of urgent defusing. Enya's face was red, looking worse considering her pallid coloring. Aidan's face was dark with anger, a vein throbbing at his temple.
"Could you please tell her she's being ridiculous?" Aidan pointed a thumb at his sister.
"Well, if you could tell me what she's being ridiculous about, I could then make a decision." I smiled and tried to prevent myself from laughing. It was seriously funny watching the two siblings have a spat, and it reminded me we were all still so young. I myself would be turning eighteen in a few months, and I was sure Enya was a good few years younger. Now she looked like a furious tiger.
She took a deep breath, gave her brother a dangerous glare, and said, "I want to join you. Be part of the missions. I know I can be an asset to the war." She spoke it all in one breath, then ended, suddenly uncomfortable.
I looked at Aidan and he seemed to calm down when he saw that I too thought her plan was ridiculous. I took a small breath and said, "Enya, this is a war we are fighting. It's dangerous. You aren't trained to fight." I shook my head as I met her frustrated gaze, feeling a little sorry for her.
"You have no idea what I can do," she said angrily, then threw another furious glare at her brother, as if my response were his fault.
"Then tell us and we can make a final decision, because right now," I said gently, "I don't think I can allow you to come to the front lines. You're so fragile. I really don't want to be held responsible if you get hurt, or worse." I didn't use the word die, but she didn't care what I was saying or what I meant.
She nodded firmly. "Fine. I've been practicing. Just watch. And keep away." She gave her brother one last glare, as if to say, Eat that, or whatever equivalent phrase was popular these days.
I watched and couldn't prevent my eyebrows from rising. Aidan watched her too, the amused expression on his face quite funny. Joshua looked on, simply curious.