OK! Here we go, on with my neglected Twin Bullets. I was getting tired of my other stories, and this one was getting funny, so I wrote this chapter to entertain myself. Hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it! Read on, Hiccstrid lovers!

Replies to all the reviews, and thank you all for the support!

Foster117: All right, you got RWF, and now here we go with Chapter 3. Hope you enjoy, and those nudges you give me work, BTW. LOL.

Elsa-rosa-may: Yeah, I like the twist too. Read on. Next chapter is here!

TidePoolAngel: I know nothing about football either. I'm a baseball and running guy. But football is big in the US, so I put that in there for fun. I have no particular reason why Henry/Hiccup would be an Eagles fan. Astrid's face – HA HA!

SharKohen: Yeah, I was honestly just too lazy to change both Astrid's and Henry/Hiccup's name, so I made Henry have Astrid's maiden name. Father wouldn't work – both are too young, but maybe that would have been funnier. And they might have let Astrid off too easy – I dunno, I know nothing about this stuff, like, literally nothing. I'm making all this military stuff up on a whim.

Agent Khizar: Thankee man! And yeah, Hiccup is a cocky guy, ain't he! Fun stuff on the way! I'm pumped.

thearizona: Thank you! Here's what I came up with. LOL. Yeah, I LOVED writing the conversation with the Colonel. 'Permission to call you an asshole?' I absolutely loved it. So glad you like this one! Keep reviewing!

tjjenkins: Because funny stuff is about to happen? I don't know, read on and see!

jlrdsr: Yeah, I'm SO pumped for this flight. Funny and romancy stuff! Hmm. Romancy isn't a word. But it is now. LOL. I'm glad you liked the Colonel. It would be – err – interesting to have that guy as your boss.

Guest: I don't have a favorite football team, but all my friends like the Seahawks so I have to say I like them, too. If I don't then I get beat up. LOL. But they're out of the Super Bowl this year. Meh. :/

Ema: Yeah, I guess you may not find this story as appealing as Americans will. But thanks!

Unbreakable Warrior: Thank YOU! :)

HueDoge: Yeah, Modern AU's are hard to write well – I don't even think I do a good job. The best one that I've seen is Chasing Thunderstorms by Foxy's Girl. SO GOOD. I wish my stories would be even half as awesome. Astrid being too calm – yeah, she might have been. I guess I didn't want to make her terrified out of her mind, but hmm.

LunnaValley23: Here is the next chapter! Hopefully I didn't make you wait too long - :(

Andy493: MOAR is coming now! HA ha!

jade: So glad you like it! Your wait is over – temporarily. :) And your English isn't bad at all.

Hayden Strife: Hopefully I do earn a fav! :) Glad you found it interesting so far.

Thanks so much, great people. I love hearing from you!
NatB.


Time: 1944 hours
Location: Bagram Airbase, Kabul, Afghanistan
Coordinates: (34.944168, 69.273331)
Date: April 13, 2017

"You're my WHAT?" Astrid gaped.

Agent Haddock had the goofiest, funniest grin on his face.

"I'm your husband," he laughed. "You have graduated from Miss Hofferson to Mrs. Hofferson. I have graduated from Henry to Steve."

Maria, the secretary, laughed, shaking her head. "The Colonel has a good sense of humor."

"Yeah, I know, right?" Agent Haddock shook his head. "Just the thing he would do."

Astrid stood up. "Wait, what is going on?" She asked.

Agent Haddock walked up to her. "By the power invested in the Colonel, he has made us husband and wife," he grinned. "And we have to act the part for five hours."

Astrid stared. Agent Haddock handed her his ID card. "Have a look at that," he grinned, and threw his arm around her shoulder. "Steve. I always liked the name Steve. What you think of the picture?"

Astrid stared at Agent Haddock's fake ID. "Wow," she muttered. "This is insane."

"Yes it is, Milady," Agent Haddock laughed. "And it's going to be fun. Our car is leaving in about five minutes to take us to the airport. Hey, Maria." Agent Haddock tossed two folders on the desk. "Have those put in a bag and sent to the car. I'll need both of them."

"Right away, Agent Haddock," Maria answered, and immediately pressed a buzzer on her desk. Then Agent Haddock, steering Astrid to the door, handed her a yellow envelope.

"What's in there?" Astrid asked.

"We'll open it when we get to the car," Agent Haddock grinned, his arm still draped over her shoulders. "But I think it'll have some fun stuff in it, my sweet wife."

Astrid elbowed him.

"Oww," Agent Haddock whined. "Don't hurt your husband. That's domestic abuse."

"Oh, pshaw!" Astrid laughed. "Don't be a softy. You're military, you can take an elbow."

"But this is my day off," Agent Haddock complained. "Can't I just spend a day with no action, married and settled down?"

Astrid elbowed him again.

"Okay, okay," Agent Haddock laughed. "I surrender. You win."

Astrid laughed at him. "You're a little baby."

"It's because I don't have my sunglasses on," Agent Haddock replied. "They make me impervious to all pain. Here, check these out."

He took his red-tinted sunglasses from his pocket and put them on Astrid. "Don't you just feel the power radiating from those?" He laughed. "You put them on and the world becomes red and dangerous, and nothing it sends your way can ever touch your or annoy you." He lowered his hand from Astrid's shoulder and tickled her under her arm.

"Heeeeyyyyy!" Astrid laughed, wriggling. She shoved Agent Haddock away and kicked him in the shins. "That wasn't nice!"

"Oww," Agent Haddock whined again. "You kicked me, Milady. That's mean."

"I'm a mean girl," Astrid answered.

"You look good in those glasses," Agent Haddock grinned.

"Well, you take your dumb sunglasses back," Astrid said, taking them off. "If I keep them on you'll tickle me again."

"If you keep them off I'll tickle you for the rest of the trip," Agent Haddock replied.

"Don't even think about it," Astrid grinned.

"Well, don't make me think about it and put my glasses back on."

"No!" Astrid handed him the glasses. "They're too big for me, and I hate red."

"But red is the best color ever!" Agent Haddock complained, taking back his glasses. "I want a divorce! My wife doesn't like the right color!"

Astrid laughed out loud. "You're a joke," she said. "How on earth did a guy like you ever get in the military?"

Agent Haddock was still grinning. "Because I can knock the wings off a flea at five hundred yards," he said. "I'm the best sniper in Special Ops. I can afford to goof off in my free time, Milady."

"Umm, aren't we NOT supposed to talk about how you're a sniper?" Astrid asked. "I mean, that's what got me in trouble last time."

"Not necessarily," Agent Haddock answered, putting his arm back around Astrid. "We just can't talk about any military operation that you might have seen me sniping in. And you've never seen that, have you?"

"Of course not," Astrid grinned.

"Right. So we can talk about anything but that. However, when we get in public, don't mention the US Military at all. I suspect that there will be questions asked about a family that got shot by a sniper today. I don't know why, of course, but I just feel like it. So it's safer if we just don't mention my – umm, profession in public. Instead we can discuss my fake job, which should be explained in that envelope somewhere."

"Okay," Astrid answered. "So where exactly are we going, Agent – err, Steve?"

"To the garage," Agent Haddock answered, and just then they came to a door. Agent Haddock opened it and they entered a room with two soldiers in it. They saluted as Agent Haddock came in, and he lifted his arm off Astrid's shoulders to return the gesture.

"Agent Haddock, sir," one of the men said. He had a cardboard box in his right hand. "I need you to go get changed into these clothes, sir. Colonel's orders. And I'm also going to need your sidearm."

"Right," Agent Haddock said. Reaching to his belt, he pulled out his pistol and handed it to one of the soldiers. Then he took the cardboard box and walked off into a side room. Astrid was left standing there. The two soldiers saluted and left. Astrid jokingly returned the salute, and she thought she saw one of the soldiers laugh at the poor attempt as he left.

Astrid shrugged her shoulders. She was left alone in a small room and no one was around. She didn't even see any surveillance cameras. She looked down at the yellow envelope. What was in it, she wondered? Agent Haddock had said that it would have information on his fake profession. It probably had other stuff in it. Fun stuff. If she could figure out what Agent Haddock was before he did, then she could surprise him. But Haddock had also said not to open it until they got in the car. But whatever. She reached for the opening and then the door opened. She yelped and jumped back as Agent Haddock came out. He had taken off his military gear and put on jeans and tennis shoes, and his shirt – he wasn't wearing a shirt.

"Umm, okay," Astrid said, trying not to stare at his thick chest muscles and strong core. Not to mention arms. It was hard. "Are – are we going to get going?"

Agent Haddock gestured to the door with a grumpy look on his face. "They took away my sunglasses," he whined. "Apparently I can't take them with me because they're officially military, and by some random freak of a chance someone will know that and suspect that I am a soldier. I'm not happy."

"Umm, I think you should stop whining about the glasses and start worrying about maybe putting your shirt on?" Astrid said. She was having a hard time not staring.

"But this one is too small," Agent Haddock complained, holding up a printed tee-shirt with the words 'Just Do It' and the Nike symbol. "Apparently the Colonel thought I was a twelve year old."

Astrid grinned. "Just put it on, okay?"

"All right," Agent Haddock said, and put the shirt on over his head. It was, in fact, too small, and Astrid could easily see his muscle tone through the shirt. It was nice and defined… She jerked her head up and saw Agent Haddock grinning at her.

"See something you like?" he asked jokingly.

"Oh, shut up," Astrid said, reddening. "Let's go. Where's the garage?"

"It's that way," Agent Haddock said, pointing. "But first I have to search you."

"What?" Astrid asked.

"Search you, pat you down," Agent Haddock explained sheepishly. "What they do at the airport."

"Uhh, I don't really like that," Astrid stammered.

Agent Haddock spread his hands. "Look, you should be happy," he said. "The security people I just talked to weren't pleased that you weren't cleared for weapons when you came in here. They wanted to strip-search you."

Astrid froze. "Oh."

"Yeah," Agent Haddock said, plowing his hand through his brown hair embarrassedly. "I talked them out of it, but I have to, uhh, pat you down." He gestured to Astrid. "So could you just put your arms up?"

"Yeah," Astrid said, and raised her arms. Agent Haddock walked in front of her and gave her a pat-down. He was quick, but he was thorough. He even emptied her pockets and checked the contents for weapons. Reaching into the back pocket of her jeans, he pulled out a slip of paper.

"What's this?" he asked, unfolding it.

"Umm, I have no idea," Astrid said. "It looks like a receipt."

"Well, it's not," Agent Haddock grinned. "This is a highly technical paper infused hand grenade."

Astrid shook her head. "What is the matter with you? I thought it was something serious."

"Oh, it's very serious," Agent Haddock laughed. "Going to -" he looked at the receipt – "The Night Fury diner in Paris is a grave crime."

Astrid couldn't even laugh, and just shook her head again.

Putting the receipt in his own pocket, Agent Haddock squatted down and slid his hands down Astrid's legs.

"All right, you're clear," he said, straightening up. "Let's go drive to the airport and get out of this cursed Airbase. Let me see that envelope."

Astrid handed him the envelope, and then he led her out a door and into a large, noisy garage. There were tons of military vehicles, tanks, and humvees, and there was only one normal car. That was the one Agent Haddock was taking her to.

There was a US Marine, out of uniform, standing in front of the vehicle, and he saluted as Agent Haddock arrived. The Marine had a leather coat in his hand. Agent Haddock, of course, saluted back.

"Here is the bag, sir." the Marine said. "I'm driving you to the airport and then you're on your own."

"Roger that," Agent Haddock said. He took the coat from the Marine and put it on. Then he opened the back door of the car and gestured inside.

"Inside, Milady."

Astrid stepped to the door and swung her legs inside. Then Agent Haddock walked around to the other side and got in. He put the bag on the floor but kept the envelope in his hand. Then the Marine got in front of the wheel and turned back to look into the rear of the car.

"All set?" he asked. "Seat belts, both of you."

There were two clicks as Astrid and Agent Haddock snapped their seat belts and leaned back. Then the car jerked forward and zoomed out of the garage.

"All right," Agent Haddock grinned, as they sped towards the entrance of the airbase. "Let's see what kind of toys the Colonel gave us."

Opening the envelope, he reached in and pulled out a piece of paper. "Let me see," Agent Haddock muttered, unfolding it. "Well, here's the info on my fake job. It appears I'm a manager of Taco Bells in Mississippi. Wonderful."

Astrid chuckled, and Agent Haddock handed the paper to her. "That's useless. What else do we have?"

Astrid looked at the paper. It was a document stating that a certain 'Steve Hofferson' had authorized increase in staff throughout twenty-seven Taco Bells in Mississippi. All of a sudden, Agent Haddock laughed, and Astrid turned to look at him. He held two sparkly objects in his hand.

"Well, would you look at that," Agent Haddock said, holding up two golden bands. "Wedding rings. The Colonel sure made this real. I even think they're real gold."

Astrid stared. "Are we going to wear those?"

Agent haddock grinned. "You bet we are." He held out the smaller ring, which had a white stone set on top of it. He then grabbed Astrid's left hand and held it out.

"Will you marry me, Miss Hofferson?" he laughed, as he slid the ring on her finger.

Astrid pushed him away with a laugh, and his own ring fell from the seat and onto the floor of the car.

"I'll get it," Astrid said, and reached down. She picked up the ring. It was a solid gold band, and she turned to hand it back to Agent Haddock. But he was just holding his left hand out.

"Are you serious?" Astrid groaned, and then slid the ring on his finger. It was a perfect fit.

"Thank you, Milady," Agent Haddock smiled. He grabbed her wedding ring hand and kissed it. "Now we are officially married."

"No we're not!" Astrid said.

"Oh, yeah, you're right, we need to kiss first," Agent Haddock grinned.

"Look, why don't you take your kiss and shove it up your -" Astrid grabbed his shirt and pushed him away playfully. "Wow. You have GOT to stop joking around."

Agent Haddock sighed. "We are married now. Officially."

"No, we are NOT," Astrid groaned. "We haven't stepped in a church and said our vows!"

"Actually, according to this document, we HAVE," Agent Haddock grinned. "Wow. Look at this. The Colonel is just having fun now. Check it out. An OFFICIAL marriage license for us."

He looked up at her, the corners of his mouth up in a broad smile. "You can't escape the power of the government, my dear wife."

"Give me that!" Astrid exploded, yanking the paper out of Agent Haddock's hands. "What is the US Military doing to my life? Can I tear this up?"

Agent Haddock roared with laughter, slapping his thighs. "Yeah, you can just tear it up if you want," he chortled. "It's just to let us know the details if anyone were to ask us any dumb questions about where we got married. It's worthless, Milady. Go ahead."

Astrid grinned and was about to rip the document down the middle, but then stopped.

"Wait," she said. "I might want this. Maybe I'll let my parents find it."

Agent Haddock laughed again. "That would be a good joke. But if you're keeping it, then we are still married."

Astrid glowered. "No, we're not!"

"Officially, we are." Agent Haddock was enjoying himself.

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Because!"

"Because what?"

"Well, because you - you never proposed!"

"I just did, a few seconds ago!"

"I never said yes!"

"But you're wearing my ring."

"Because I HAVE to!"

"You have to because we're married."

"We are NOT married! It's not a real marriage until we say the vows!"

"And, according to that document, we did."

"Whatever! WE never kissed! It's not real until there's a kiss!"

"Fine. I can settle that right now, Milady." Agent Haddock leaned over and kissed Astrid, right on the lips.

"HEEEYY!" Astrid grabbed Agent Haddock's collar and pushed him away. "You scoundrel!"

Agent Haddock rolled over in his seat and laughed and laughed.

The exit gate rose, and the car turned out of the airbase on its way to Kabul and the International Airport.

Time: 1958 hours
Location: Kabul International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan
Coordinates: (
34.551769, 69.218318)
Date: April 13, 2017

There was no saluting as Agent Haddock and Astrid Hofferson got out of the car at Kabul International Airport. Instead, the Marine just handed Agent Haddock the bag, and he took it without a word. Then, with a smile, Agent Haddock offered his arm to Astrid.

Astrid took it, and the two Americans walked arm in arm into the airport.

"So what flight are we?" Astrid asked. "I don't know what it is, only that it's leaving in eight minutes. We have to hurry."

Agent Haddock nodded. "It's Flight 324. Kabul to Paris. We need to go this way." He gestured to the security.

In a few brief minutes they were through security, and Agent Haddock, upon getting his bag returned, peeked inside it and chuckled.

"The security here isn't very good," he said, zipping up the leather container. "They took nothing out of this bag."

"Umm, were they supposed to?" Astrid asked.

"Well, not really," Agent Haddock replied. "But it's got some stuff in it that would seem suspicious to an inquisitive eye, like some highly detailed folders on terrorists and some Special Ops info. I'm surprised the Colonel had us take it and possibly have it confiscated by security."

Astrid shrugged. "Well, we're through," she said. "And our flight is leaving soon. Let's get on the plane."

"You're right, Milady," Agent Haddock grinned. "The entrance is up there. Let's move."

Time: 2005 hours
Location: Flight 324, Kabul to Paris, Kabul International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan
Coordinates: (
34.551769, 69.218318)
Date: April 13, 2017

Hurrying, Astrid and her fake husband came to the tunnel and got on the plane. Walking down the boarding passage, they entered the plane. Together they passed into the first class section. Astrid expected Agent Haddock to continue to the normal seats, but instead he stopped and plopped down into a couch in the first class section.

"What?" Astrid asked, stopping. "We're not supposed to do that, Agent - Steve. We're sitting in the back."

"Does it look like I care?" Agent Haddock laughed. He put his bag up on a table and stretched out his legs.

"Well, no, it doesn't seem like YOU care about anything," Astrid answered, as she looked at her ticket. "But we this ticket says -" She stopped, and then looked up at Agent Haddock with a look of surprise. "You changed the tickets."

Agent haddock laughed. "You bet I did," he said. "Did you really think that I would sit for five whole hours on a plane and NOT be in the first class section? I wouldn't make my wife sit back there." He gestured to the normal passengers. "Come on, Milady. Sit down." He patted the red leather couch that he was sitting on.

Astrid shook her head. "Wow. You're one lazy guy." She sat down next to Agent Haddock and leaned back. It was the most comfortable plane seat she had ever sat in. Agent Haddock laid his arm across her shoulders and shifted next to her.

"Look, why did you change the tickets?" Astrid asked. "We would have been just fine in the back, and I think we were supposed to be back there. Besides, it costs a LOT of money to sit up here. You shouldn't have paid that."

Agent Haddock grinned his goofy grin that Astrid was beginning to think was sexy.

"What, do you think that I paid for this?" he laughed. "Of course I didn't pay for this. I charged it to the base."

Astrid gawked. "What!? You made the US Mil- you made your boss pay for this?"

Agent Haddock shook with laughter. "Oh yeah."

Astrid just stared. "You're going to get in a lot of trouble for that."

"No, I won't," Agent Haddock answered carelessly. "I'll make up some kind of random excuse."

Astrid shook her head as Agent Haddock reached over and brushed a hair out of her face, tucking it behind her left ear.

"Is that what you normally do?" Astrid asked. "Make random excuses?"

"Of course," Agent Haddock grinned. "I have to justify all my crazy behavior somehow. And random excuses are the best way to do it."

"What kind of crazy behavior?"

"Well, like, pretty much everything I do," Agent Haddock answered, and then the pilot's voice came over the intercom on the airplane, in Pashto.

"Fasten your seat belts, everyone," he said. "The plane is about to taxi to the runway."

Astrid looked up at Agent Haddock. "What does that mean?" she asked. "I don't know the language."

Agent Haddock glanced down. "Well, Steve Hofferson isn't supposed to know that language either, but I know a certain guy who does. He said to put on your seat belts, because we're about to leave."

"Finally," Astrid grumbled. She reached over, found her seat belt on the edge of the couch, and tightened it. Agent Haddock took his arm off her shoulders to do the same with his.

In a few minutes the plane taxied to the runway, and everyone experienced the thunderous rush as the plane became airborne and leveled out. The seatbelt light turned off.

"I'm going to sleep," Agent Haddock said, undoing his seatbelt. "And my excuse this time is that I'm really tired." He laid his head back against the back of the couch. "When the stewardess comes, get me some coffee and wake me up."

"Actually, I think I'll probably fall asleep too," Astrid murmured. "I've been up since 5:00 this morning. I'm exhausted."

Agent Haddock laughed. "5:00? That's nothing. I've been up since 500 hours yesterday. I win."

"You win? What did you win?" Astrid demanded.

"I win the 'who-stayed-up-longest' competition," Agent Haddock said smugly.

"There was no such contest!" Astrid complained.

"There is now. I just invented it."

"Well, you won, but whatever! That's not fair. I'm going to make my own contest. We will be waiting for a while. If we're not going to sleep, we need a game or something to pass the time." Astrid folded her arms.

"Sure. But if I win it, I get a prize." Agent Haddock replied, closing his eyes.

"Why should I give you prize?"

"Because then it's not fun, and not worth staying awake for."

Astrid huffed. "Fine. My contest will be a joke contest."

Agent Haddock laughed. "Not a good idea, Milady. I am a master jokester. Why did you decide to do that?"

Astrid grinned. "Because I like a challenge. I think I can beat you at jokes."

Agent Haddock leaned back further on the couch. "All right, Milady, we are so on. What are the rules?"

"The first person to make the other person laugh wins," Astrid stated.

Agent Haddock nodded. "That's fair. What's the prize?"

"Uhh – I don't know," Astrid answered. "But when I win I'm going to make you be quiet for a full minute. You won't be able to, I guarantee it."

Agent Haddock smiled. "Oh, you're cocky, Milady. All right, but if I win, you have to kiss me."

Astrid grinned. "All right, soldier boy. You're going down. We're on."

Agent Haddock chuckled. "All right, the contest is starting now. Who goes first?"

"Well, you get to," Astrid said, leaning back and resting her head against Agent Haddock's arm, which was draped across her shoulders.

"OK," Agent Haddock said. "And all I have to do is make you laugh?"

"Yep. You won't."

Agent Haddock gave Astrid an evil grin. "Oh, I think I will."

He reached over and tickled her stomach.

"Gaaaahhh!" Astrid grabbed his hand and tried to shove it away, but he kept tickling her, and she wriggled and laughed. "Stop it!"

"Ha Ha! I win!" Agent Haddock stopped tickling her and did a fist pump.

"Not fair!" Astrid attacked Agent Haddock with both hands, tickling him. "You didn't tell a joke!"

"But all I had to do was make you laugh," Agent Haddock laughed, grabbing Astrid's wrists and pinning them down so that she couldn't tickle him back. "Those were the rules, Milady. I win. You owe me."

"No! You cheated!" Astrid was indignant. "It was a joke contest, not a tickle contest!"

"But I followed the rules," Agent Haddock countered. "And I won. I get the prize."

Astrid huffed. "FINE. But you won't get away with that again. I'll make sure I get the rules harder next time. Cheater."

Agent Haddock laughed. "All right, but I still win. I get to kiss you."

"Oh no," Astrid moaned, burying her face in her hands.

"Oh yes," Agent Haddock grinned. "You can't escape me. Come here."

Resignedly, Astrid tilted her head back and Agent Haddock leaned into her, cupping her cheek in his hands and planting a good one on her lips. Astrid's eyes widened as he kept going. His tongue rolled against hers, his hands dancing smoothly over her cheeks and neck. He was a good kisser. Astrid didn't want it to stop. She gripped his collar and tugged him closer, deepening the kiss. Agent Haddock didn't seem to mind.

After a much longer time than expected, Agent Haddock released her and leaned back. Astrid took a deep breath and exhaled, glancing up at Agent Haddock. He was grinning.

"Score!" he laughed, brushing another hair out of Astrid's face. "Yes! Now this flight was worth it."

Astrid reddened. "Oh, shut up," she murmured.

Agent Haddock grinned, hugging Astrid closer with the arm still draped across her shoulders.

"I'm sorry. But you were into it."

"Was not!"

"Oh yes you were. I could tell. I'm going to make this my prize for every competition from now on."

Astrid didn't argue with that. She merely set her jaw and looked up. "All right, you rascal, next contest you will LOSE. But I really should go to sleep, or else I'll be too tired to make the rules hard."

"Oh, OK," Agent Haddock laughed. "Sleep is actually a good idea. Let me see if they provide their first class passengers with blankets." He removed his arm from Astrid's shoulders and fished around on the side of the couch.

"You took away my headrest," Astrid grumbled.

"Sorry," Agent Haddock said. He immediately returned his arm to its old place on her shoulders. "How's that?" He pulled out a blanket from the side of the couch.

"Good," Astrid answered, leaning back against his bicep. "Comfortable."

"Cool." Agent Haddock squeezed her closer and rested his own head on top of hers. "All right, now I can go to sleep too." He took the blanket and put it over both of them, tucking the edge up against Astrid's chin.

"Hey," Astrid grumbled, snuggling her head against his neck. But she didn't complain further. In a few seconds the two Americans were asleep in each other's arms, bound for Paris.

Time: 2043 hours
Location: Flight 324, Kabul to Paris, 10,000 feet Above Sea Level
Coordinates: (
45.8433219, 87.5643238)
Date: April 13, 2017

Many minutes later a man got up in the back of the airplane and walked to the restroom, locking the door behind him. Taking a careful glance around, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a large, bulky candy bar. He held it in his hand for a minute, staring at it. Reaching for the wrapper, he peeled it off. Instead of chocolate, however, cold metal gleamed in his hand.

It wasn't a candy bar. It was a pistol magazine - and a bomb detonator.


All right! Things were just going too perfectly, weren't they? I had to throw a wrench in the works. Action and more fun stuff coming up next! And I really hoped you liked the Agent Haddock/Astrid scenes. Or should I say Steve and Astrid? I don't know. Whatever. Please let me know what you thought. Writing romance has always been my great writer's woe.

Thanks for reading, people! Thankee!

Over.

NatB.