At least the first step in their assassination plan went off without the hitch. Or, if there had been hitches, Brunnhilde didn't consider it necessary to inform Loki of these. But now that he had the datapad with the back-up of the files Brunnhilde had stolen from the Sanctuary, with every minute that passed, Loki was increasingly certain that the datapad retrieval had been by far the easiest part of this affair.

'Besides all of the above, Valkyrie, your ship was impounded. As if they'd miss something that obvious,' he said as he none-too-gently massaged his temple.

Gamora had no reason to ask about Loki's shape-shifting abilities and thus Brunnhilde hadn't shared any information about Loki's pseudo-Asgardian form with the Children of Thanos. While Brunnhilde had retrieved her datapad, he had dropped the Chitauri form and reverted to the face he had grown up with. It was as much a deception as the Chitauri disguise he had adopted earlier, but this magic was intimately familiar to Loki and asked a lot less of him than any other glamour he could adopt. Once he had stripped off the jacket, which bore the insignia of Thanos' military forces across the shoulders, he was left with a plain, grey shirt. He rubbed some dirt into it and added a few extra scuff-marks to his boots until he thought he no longer stood out from the thousands of labourers at work in Sanctuary City on any normal day.

He had taken the risk and ventured out to the port - no plan was complete without an exit strategy. What he found, however, hadn't left him enthused about their chances.

Brunnhilde tapped her fingers against her thigh, the beat a match to the thumping of the machinery on the factory floor below them. 'Security's tight, I take it.'

'Very. Maybe it'll be all chaos once the Palisade is compromised, but even so, we won't have a pick of ships to choose from. The fuel can't be procured locally so there's always a shortage. They don't refuel right until the ship is about to go and they don't put in a drop more than is necessary.'

'Then it'll be a fight all the way out and we'll just take the best of what we can get,' Brunnhilde replied.

Loki nodded, although this conclusion left him deeply unsatisfied. On the other hand, their departure was the last step in this operation and he had plenty of doubts outstanding about what would precede it. He slid his thumb over the datapad screen in order to zoom in on the Palisade schematics.

'It doesn't have to be his bedroom,' he said. 'While he's on Theta-Three, he scarcely leaves the Palisade, there are other areas of the complex where he regularly spends his time.'

Brunnhilde crossed her arms. 'Such as?'

The ideal scenario was the laboratory. If he and Brunnhilde stacked the enclosed space with enough explosives, they could potentially incinerate not only Thanos, but Ebony Maw and the mind stone too. The problem was, the schematics they had in front of them didn't contain any trace of the said laboratory. Loki supposed he could trace the path there by relying on his memory, but once they got to the lift, Loki didn't have the entry code. Ebony Maw had never permitted Loki to be in the laboratory on his own. The first time around, he had tried to puzzle out the code from watching the Maw's movements but had gotten nowhere. Nor did he have a way to fake the Maw's fingerprints for the scanner.

Where then if not the laboratory or the bedroom? The throne room tempted, mostly because it satisfied Loki's sense of dramatic irony to imagine Thanos' throne blowing up under him. However, the room was used on an ad hoc basis. There was no predicting who might walk in or when.

'He has an office,' Brunnhilde said, motioning towards the datapad screen.

Loki zoomed out a tad; he didn't recount ever hearing about any office. 'This is just a room in his suite. I don't know how often he uses it and if we get that far, we might as well walk a further twenty metres to the bedroom.' He zoomed out and flicked to a file that detailed a different level of the complex. 'Maybe the dining room? No, there are people coming and going all day, plus the staff cleaning up in between. No chance we'll manage to get in, set up and get out without being spotted.'

'The bedroom it is then. So what are the walls and the floor like? And the furniture?'

'Why would I know that?'

Brunnhilde swore under her breath, then went on at a louder pitch. 'For a person who was supposedly set on killing the madman, you've been rather too pre-occupied training his troops and cozying up to his daughter. I don't suppose you have any idea of his daily habits either? It would be helpful to know when he goes to bed and when he gets up.'

'I'm not the one who got caught,' Loki replied. 'If not for your idi...'

Brunnhilde brought her finger up to her lips. A moment later Loki heard it too - the machinery that had been rumbling in the factory floor below them had ground to a halt. Loki shut off the datapad in case the illuminated screen caught the attention of a wandering eye, then prostrated himself on the rough concrete. He was closer to the balcony railing and thus potentially more visible, but Brunnhilde didn't take chances, ducking down to lie beside him. They waited. There seemed to be more movement from the workers now, but Loki supposed the machinery might have just drowned out some of that noise either.

'Clean up your area!' someone hollered. 'Did you hear me back there? I've had enough of the third shifters complaining about you lazy-ass fucking wankers and the mess you leave!'

'It's just the shift change,' Brunnhilde muttered, rolling to her side.

Loki grabbed her before she could clamber up and forced her to stay put. They had relocated here on the assumption that a busy factory was less likely to be searched than an empty warehouse. But Thanos' thugs weren't the only threat in this city. While they worked, the factory labourers focused on their tasks. They had high quotas to fulfil, so there was no opportunity for malingering. Now that they had been dismissed, however, they were more likely to glance up and with the machinery quiet, any noise Loki and Brunnhilde made was more likely to be heard. Loki made sure he and Brunnhilde stayed still until the next shift had come in and started up the production lines again.

'He does sleep in his own bedroom, doesn't he?' Brunnhilde hissed when Loki finally let go of her.

'If he's not sleeping, he'd be working. This man has dedicated his life to his crusade for the universe; he's not going to waste time at a brothel or anything of that kind.'

'You're probably right there.'

Loki snickered. 'So there is something I can get right.'

'The ideal thing would be to pack the explosives on the underside of the bed frame,' Brunnhilde went on seemingly without having heard Loki's words, 'but that's assuming he sleeps on a bed. It'd really bloody help if we knew more about the Titans as a species too. But working with what we have to go on, we just hope there is some space to put the explosives that won't be immediately obvious. I can just set up a detonator to go when it senses motion.'

'What if Thanos isn't the first person to enter the room? It could be one of the house staff or just one of the robotic floor cleaners they have all over the place in the Palisade.'

'Have you considered inciting a rebellion among your Exian soldiers and getting them to take down Thanos? Might be safer than us sticking out our necks like this.'

'I assure you, Ebony Maw has done thorough work on those boys,' Loki replied. It saddened him to admit as much, in part because the Exians were now dedicating their lives to a vile cause and in part because he had thoroughly enjoyed leading the rebellion against the Grandmaster. 'We can do a remote detonation. Just set up a small camera in the corner of the room and when we see him walk in, you do your thing.'

'The Palisade has a host of shields set up around its perimeter that'd intercept unauthorised signals from the outside. We'd have to still be inside the complex to start the detonation and the signal won't go far, so we'd have to be close. It won't be a set up the trap and stroll away kind of deal.'

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Loki sighed. 'I never thought it would be.'

Somehow these were the words that illuminated to Loki the reality of what they were planning. Unwilling to accept the possibility of failure, they would be getting their hands on the most potent explosive material to be found on Theta-Three. If they didn't blow themselves up prematurely or get caught on the way in, there would be nothing solid left of the Titan's body. But as much as it was retribution for the fate Thanos had decreed to the Statesman, it was also a near-certain death sentence for many who worked and resided in the Palisade - once the explosives went off, the fire wouldn't be contained to the bedroom for long.

'So it'll be as many packs of ASV-591 as we can carry without looking obvious, a remote detonation mechanism, a camera,' he said. 'And add a pair of small blasters to the list of things we need. A knife's good for many things, but when there's fire all around you, a blaster is the quicker way out.'

Brunnhilde smiled wryly. 'This is the kind of shopping list I like.'

----------------------------------------

A day later, Brunnhilde and Loki were a lot filthier and a great deal hungrier, but they had made good use of the Mad Titan's warehouse and storerooms. Every item on their 'shopping list' had crossed off. The first stage in turning their plan into reality, however, wasn't happening as quickly as they had hoped it would.

While Loki stood with his arms crossed and hummed out an old song, Brunnhilde craned her neck to get a better look.

'These two,' she said pointing to her chosen victims.

'Too low ranking,' Loki replied. In truth, he was more preoccupied with Brunnhilde than with the two Titan's loyalists that the Valkyrie had picked out from the crowd spilling out of the Palisade. There was a distinct undercurrent of excitement to her words now. Loki had to swallow a laugh; Asgardians were all so alike.

'We've been waiting for the best part of an hour here already and this is the best we've spotted. If we hang around much longer, someone is bound to take an interest in our business. Or I'm going to die of starvation.'

I suppose we only have to get inside. Those two would have access to the lower levels.

'Fine,' Loki said. 'I'm sick of wasting time out here too. Let's go.'

He let Brunnhilde go ahead. Despite the effort it took on his part, he kept Brunnhilde concealed under the glamour of a Chitauri - posters had begun to pop up bearing images and descriptions of the two fugitives Thanos desperately sought, with a promise of a generous reward added in bolded text at the bottom. It was simply not feasible for Brunnhilde to be out on the streets wearing her own face. As a Chitauri, however, she blended in perfectly well. There were hundreds of Chitauri about in the streets of Sanctuary City, especially now that there was an open manhunt going on.

For his part, Loki had to adopt a new disguise for this scheme. He closed his eyes and coaxed his magic until he felt his bones twist and his muscles thin. It was far from a pleasant experience, which was why a wise sorcerer avoided shape-shifting that necessitated large changes to one's physical size. Unfortunately, the messengers that run between the various compounds in the city all through the day tended to be nimble youths who were still a little young to do a full day's physical labour.

Loki gulped down a lungful of air and broke into a sprint. In imitation of the dozens of messenger runners he had seen out on the streets, he weaved through the crowd, always apologising, but never slowing his pace. He passed Brunnhilde soon enough, but he pressed out without acknowledging her.

'Sir! Ma'am!' he called out, trying to sound like his voice hadn't quite broken yet. 'Sir! Ma'am! Hold on, please!'

The two Palisade clerks turned in unison and looked expectantly at Loki when they spotted him. He came to a sharp stop just before them, then sucked in more air to suggest he was far more winded than he was.

'Well, what is it, boy?' the elder of the clerks demanded.

Loki's widened his eyes. 'Crimson code! You are requested at the treasury.'

'In that case, you'd best lower your voice,' the clerk replied. 'Why in thrice-blessed Teerha would we be needed in the treasury? Who is the message from?'

'Ebony Maw.' In Loki's opinion, this was the riskiest part of this conversation. These two seemed like fairly low ranking staff, they might well believe it to be out of the realms of possibility to receive orders directly from the Maw. If only Loki knew who their supervisors were. The best he could make out from the insignia on their jacket lapels was that they belonged to the financial team. So lest the two clerks had time to ponder the peculiarity of this message, Loki quickly went on. 'I don't know what's happened, but it's gotta be big. I've been sent out to gather everyone I can spot and send them off to the treasury.'

'Do you think it's related to that break-in into the Palisade the other week?' the younger, female clerk suggested.

The older clerk pursed his lips. 'Maybe. I don't like the sound of this much, but we'd best get on with it then, Jalmar. Go on, boy, it seems we all still have plenty of work to do tonight.'

'Bye!' Loki replied, already turning on his heel.

He spotted Brunnhilde in the crowd about five metres back. She carried their supplies for the night's operation in a bag slung off her shoulder, which was a handy way to distinguish her from the actual Chitauri. He winked to her as he sprinted back past her. Once he reached an intersection, Loki took the smaller alleyway that spun off to the right. If the two clerks had a decent brain between them, they would know that if Ebony Maw had declared code crimson, the second-highest alert level for Palisade staff, he expected everyone to hurry directly to their work. The clerks should be taking every short-cut available.

And, as it happened, there were some narrow, little-used streets between this quarter and the treasury. Loki kept up the frenetic pace as he took a parallel street, then did his best to get ahead of the two clerks. He stopped at the mouth of the alleyway he and Brunnhilde had picked as the most suitable for their purposes and his best to block the entrance with his slim body.

'Hey, get out of the way, will ya?' said a wrinkled Kree, who was dressed in the usual get-up of the Mess hall staff.

Loki's heart thumped. 'Best take a different street. They... Someone found a decapitated head down there, the city militia told me to keep people away while they do their investigation.'

The Kree's expression twisted into a grimace. He stared at Loki for a long moment, before seemingly deciding that a story that outlandish wasn't worth questioning and turning away. Loki grinned as he watched the Kree's retreat.

A scream.

Loki whipped around and headed down the narrow alley. He found the source of the disturbance at the second twist in the passage. Brunnhilde had already slipped a line of steel wire around the neck of the older clerk and was pulled it tighter with every passing second. Jarmal, the female clerk, meanwhile had lost the lottery on her fight or flight response. She stood frozen three feet away, staring blankly at Brunnhilde's masterwork.

Loki slipped out a knife and sank it into the back of Jarmal's neck. It wasn't the kindest of deaths, but she did stop breathing before her companion had, which was as much mercy as Loki could offer her. Loose ends back on Jotunheim and then here in the Sanctuary had proven disastrous, he couldn't allow himself to make the same mistake for the third time.

'I thought we agreed on a no blood policy?' Brunnhilde said as she released the wire around the clerk's neck and let his body slide to the ground. 'You said yourself bloody clothes -'

'There was a shortage of bludgeoning tools.'

'At least you didn't leave any stab marks on her clothes.' Brunnhilde glanced up at the towering buildings either side of the alley. What few windows there were had been fitted with frosted glass, which offered light, but no view of the street. Satisfied that they didn't have witnesses, she rolled the dead clerk over to his back and pilfered through his pockets until she found his identity card. She tossed it to Loki. 'You look more his built. Do you have hers?'

That took a bit of digging; Jarmal's clothing contained about to dozen pockets. By the time Loki pulled out the identity card, he was thoroughly sick of fiddly zippers and tiny, slippery buttons.

'We need to keep moving,' Brunnhilde said.

'Yeah, I know,' Loki muttered in reply. He didn't like standing over two corpses in the middle of an otherwise deserted street any more than Brunnhilde did. 'Here, take her ID card. Take her clothes too, it's one less thing for me to worry about.'

He checked both sides of the alleyway and the windows above them. Still clear. Loki morphed the glamour on Brunnhilde until she resembled the dead clerk, then motioned towards the corpse. He had been forced to call on his magic for the past two days and he felt the first signs of strain, which worried him - he anticipated he would need to rely on it again for what was to come. Should the glamour fail, the clothes at least were a back-up. Brunnhilde and Jalmar were of a similar enough build that Brunnhilde wouldn't betray herself at once.

'There's blood all over her,' Brunnhilde tutted, peeling Jalmar's cloak off her swiftly cooling body.

Loki flicked his fingers. A cleaning spell wasn't yet beyond him.

'Thanks.'

He nodded and busied himself with taking on the persona of the other clerk. Lysande, according to his work identification card. Knowing his name left a bit of distaste in Loki's mouth about borrowing the dead man's face and wearing his clothes. Lysande seemed to have been having a perfectly normal day until Loki and Brunnhilde decided to end his life.

Fastening the clasp of Lysande's cloak, Loki said, 'The bodies.'

They had already stripped Lysande and Jalmar of their identification documents and of the most recognisable pieces of their garments, but Loki wasn't willing to take chances. Their cover would be blown if it was discovered that the people they were impersonating were already dead.

'Sure thing, Odinson.' Brunnhilde extracted a small flask out of the side pocket of her bag and poured its contents over the bodies. 'Stand back.'

Loki took three steps back, but it wasn't far enough for Brunnhilde. She thrust out her arm and pulled him along as she herself backed away. Once they were a good ten feet away, she took out her small blaster and fired in the direction of the two corpses.

The blaster produced a momentary, blue-coloured flash, but it was enough to ignite the accelerant. Flames easily as tall as Loki himself shot up from Lysande and Jalmar's bodies.

'Not bad, eh?' Brunnhilde remarked. 'Someone on this miserable asteroid knows how to make fireworks.'

Loki gave her a sidelong glance. 'Let's get out of here. We still have a lot to do tonight.'