A/N: Good news. I have almost finished writing Treasure and I have finally caught up with some important pre-written chapters so we're going to update Monday and Friday until the end of the story. Enjoy.
-o-
THIRTY EIGHT: The Game Ends
"Aaaand the verdict is…" Cami announced as she ripped the envelope open. Then she sagged and gave a sigh.
"What? WHAT?" Tuff asked desperately. Ruff was almost clambering over her brother to try to read the results and Snotlout was trying to play it cool with little success.
"Eret Nuffink Eretson and Zephyr Eretson are DEFINITELY the natural offspring of Ingen Doddman," the blonde pilot read. There was a moment of absolute silence.
"CALLED IT!" Tuff yelled as Ruff threw her arms in the air and accidentally punched Snotlout.
"Ow!"
"I hardly touched you!" Ruff protested, though she gave him a sloppy kiss as an apology. "I knew it!"
"It was so obvious, Butt-elf," Tuff commented.
"Though Ingen can't see it. At all," Snotlout sighed, trying to ignore the sense of betrayal that the words caused. He knew the man's name wasn't Ingen and he had no idea how his cousin Hiccup would react to the news that Astrid's children were his-but he guessed the man would be hurt that his friends had gone behind his back.
Or would he? Hiccup had been consumed by his vengeance for the last six years or more, his rage at learning at his betrothed's betrayal the most bitter of all his reactions to his misfortune. The fact that Uncle Stoick had died in such poverty while Astrid luxuriated in Eret's mansion had enraged the man more-though Snotlout knew that the story wasn't so straightforward. They had all learned that Astrid's life was anything but a bed of roses, though she concealed her woes very skilfully…but Eret was a nasty piece of work and what Snotlout had heard from the gossips had convinced him that Astrid deserved some mercy.
"We could just walk unto him and hand him the results," Ruff suggested but Snotlout found himself shaking his head urgently.
"He's too buried in his revenge," he countered, his eyes concerned. "Eret was the one he has been after since the start-and now he has him in his grasp, he won't listen to anything that may divert him."
"He can still take out Eret," Ruff pointed out. "But he needs to know that that kids are his." Cami sighed.
"If some guy had just bankrupted your father and then rocked up and said 'hey, by the way, I'm your long lost Dad," would you welcome him with open arms or spit in his face?" she asked in a defeated voice, seeing the problem.
"There's an option?" Tuff asked blithely but Snot folded his arms.
"I can't see the kids forgiving him for ruining their father and taking everything they have as well-even though Eret more than deserves it," he said slowly. "Maybe after, when we know how Eret has reacted and what's left…but for now…?"
"Fink hates Eret," Ruff reminded him.
"But he loves his mother-and I can't see Ingen sparing her from his vengeance," Snot replied. He ran his hands over his face and then looked round his friends. "No-we keep this to ourselves for now but once he's had his words with Eret and closed the deal, we can offer him the chance of something beyond this vengeance. Of a future that maybe can help him heal."
oOo
Snotlout, Fishlegs and Hiccup were in the car, the tinted windows reflecting the late afternoon of sunny Berk. The streets were crowded with people, enjoying the market, for it was coming up to Bork Week, the annual holiday that celebrated one of Berk's most famous and mishap-prone-founding fathers. The red and green bunting was flapping gaily in the light breeze and there were at least three 'Viking Ice Cream' vans strategically placed around the Plaza, doing a roaring trade.
Dressed casually in a mid brown linen suit with white open-necked shirt and his usual mirror shades, Hiccup was looking without seeing, his mind sliding back to previous Bork Weeks, his father grinning and enjoying every moment of their proud heritage. He glanced over at the statue of a Night Fury Dragon, cut from jet black granite and still in its honoured place in the centre of the Plaza. Viggo and the Council had proposed moving it but there had been the one proposal that had been consistently defeated across the years of Viggo's now-ended stewardship. Memories of himself and Astrid, clambering over the statue in the freezing winter flickered across his mind and his mouth tilted up slightly at the memory.
"You okay?" Snotlout asked in a low voice, his tone concerned. Starting, Hiccup nodded.
"We're meeting the Court Officers there are five," he said. "When the debt is due in full. Eret will be at the Casino while Astrid and the children are at the house."
"You could still leave them something," Snotlout found himself saying as Hiccup glanced over his glasses.
"How much did they leave Dad?" he murmured. "What did they do for him? Why should I do any more?"
"Because…"
They're your children.
They're innocent.
They trust you.
You still have feelings for Astrid.
"…because you're the better man," he finished lamely. "Damn it 'Tallon', you don't want to measure yourself by his standards! You aren't Eret!" He pressed his lips together in a thin line and then nodded.
"No," he said coldly. "I'm a far better businessman." Fishlegs glanced over and gave the slightest shake of the head. Snotlout got the impression that he had already tried these arguments with little reward.
"You expect Eret to stand by and accept his fate?" he asked and then Hiccup did give a small shake of the head.
"No," he admitted. "That's why you, Fish and the Bailiffs are to be there. I wouldn't put it past Eret to try to kill me."
"He already did," Snotlout murmured and his hand found his cousin's arm. "I'm here. Just give me the word and I'll take him."
"I know, Snot. And I am grateful," Hiccup murmured as they swept through town and started the rise towards the Casino, perched high above the town. The sun gilded the ornate decor and the white walls were all golden in the afternoon light. "Never thought I would own a Casino. But it's among his assets-probably the largest one, apart from the NF-100s, that Thug is currently repossessing. And since I own all his other debts…I own him." Fishlegs nodded and gestured at the two black vans of the Court Officers, with the black-clad men in their shades and earpieces standing by, waiting for the billionaire to arrive. They pulled up as the clock on the Town Hall struck five.
"Showtime," Fishlegs murmured as they clambered out of the car. The Court Officers nodded a greeting to the billionaire and walked alongside him as he approached the gleaming doors of the casino, before the doorman stepped forward. Both scowled at him.
"Please stand aside," Hiccup said calmly. "As of five PM today, this casino is the property of Tallon Fury per Court Order in part payment for Eret Eretson's considerable and delinquent debts. Mr Eretson has been in default of his debts for many months and has failed to respond to all legal measures to recover the debt."
"You can't come in," the doorman growled, glaring at the billionaire. Hiccup stared equably at the man, ignoring his bulging muscles and scarred face.
"As of two minutes ago, Mr Eretson no longer owns this place: I do," he explained evenly. "I want to do this in a civilised manner. Mr Eretson did not pay you last month. Mr Eretson is the only man who has ever made an operating loss in a casino-ever. In the entire world. Because he used this place like his piggy bank and drains the money to his own pocket. At least I will ensure you are all paid and that this place is put under a competent manager. If you refuse me entry, you will be terminated with no backpay, no pension and no hope of every being re-employed. Is that clear?"
There was a pause and the bulky man stared at the calm, auburn-haired billionaire before he stood back.
"Sorry, sir-enter," he said more quietly. The Court Officers glared at him as Hiccup walked past and glanced around, seeing the sumptuous surroundings in daylight and admiring the elegant fixtures and fittings. His agile mind was already considering whether he should just not close down and bulldoze the building for all the trouble it had caused him-but he needed to consider the wider impact on jobs and on the Berk economy. There were about two hundred people directly or indirectly employed by the Casino-a significant number of jobs on a small island like Berk-though Eret was a bad creditor. He hummed.
"Find the office and seize all the documents and all electronic records," he instructed Fishlegs as he and the Court Officers headed off while Hiccup peered through and gestured to Snotlout. "I think we need to find the former owner and request he vacates the premises."
"Yes sir," Snotlout said, a nasty look in his eyes. "Bar?"
"Bar," Hiccup decided and strode through, his heels clicking off the marble floor until they arrived at the plush bar-and the familiar powerful shape of Eret sitting at a stool, drinking from a thirty year old vintage cognac. His shirt was tieless and his white tuxedo tossed over the adjacent stool. There was a pause as Eret lifted his head, his bloodshot amber eyes filled with hatred.
"Get out!" he spat. Hiccup shook his head.
"I don't think so," he said clearly. "Since I own the place."
"Over my dead body!" Eret hissed, glaring at the other man.
"Nope," Hiccup retorted briskly. "You had your chance."
"What's it to you?" Eret spat. Hiccup gave a humourless smile.
"I entered a contract to sell you aircraft. You have defaulted on all payments since they were received. After assessing your business practices and the way you treated me as entitled, that you expected to just be gifted hundreds of millions of dollars of aircraft merely for the dubious pleasure and distinct lack of advantage of being your so-called friend, I made a decision. I contacted the banks and all your creditors and assessed the entirety of your liabilities. And guess what I found?"
"No-but you're gonna tell me anyway," Eret sneered.
"Because you need to hear what you are and what you have done," Hiccup told him, pacing forward and slowly circling the bar.
"You love the sound of your own voice," Eret scoffed.
"You should listen to it," Hiccup replied. "You bought the Casino from Johann Trayder, sold it at a small profit and then bought it back for a hugely inflated price by taking out Bank Loans. These were guaranteed against your house, your family home. As of January this year, you have defaulted on the loan payments, despite the Casino apparently doing excellent business. Yet your taxes posted a loss on Casino business for this financial year. You are officially the only man in history to make a loss on a Casino." Eret swigged from the bottle once more.
"Go me," he slurred.
"Your debts outstrip your assets fivefold," Hiccup told him. "I took possession of your debts to ensure that I am your primary and only creditor that no one else could have any prior claim to your assets before me."
"You expect me to feel honoured? Grateful?" Eret spat.
"No," Hiccup said quietly. "I expect you to feel ashamed. Or scared. Or hopeless. Take your pick."
"I'll pass," Eret sneered.
"Shouldn't," Hiccup told him. "You have a gambling problem. You dumped ten million to me in an unlimited stakes poker game-when you are a terrible gambler. You tried to threaten me to get out of paying your debts until I pressurised you. I emptied your accounts. And as you failed to defend yourself in the Archipelago High Court, I have been awarded everything you own. Your house. Your company. The aircraft revert to me. I have your children's college finds-what little remains in them since you raided them to support your lifestyle. I have taken your entire life."
"The house is in my wife's name!" Eret spat but Hiccup tutted with an irritating smile.
"We both know you would never do that," he scolded the larger man "It would grant her freedom-especially since your buddy, Viggo Grimborn, can no longer manipulate the courts in your favour despite what the law actually says. And we both know you keep her on a short leash. She was your trophy, after all-the mother of your children, the last prize you won when you completed your treachery."
Eret's head snapped up and he glared at the man.
"What are you talking about?" he growled.
"We both know you're a traitor," Hiccup told him. "Were you watching Grimborn's trial?"
"Imagine I don't waste my time watching some dull court case?" Eret sneered.
"Perhaps you should," Hiccup told him, pausing to look at the dishevelled shape. "Because then you would have heard that I have tracked my unpaid-for aircraft and have picked up the discrepancies between the transponder and the factory fitted trackers that you knew nothing about." Eret looked up with hatred. "So I know all about those trips to Icefell. The trips you ran for both Grimborn brothers and Minister Johann Tradyer and of course, yourself. I have pictures of you all getting on and off after the trips. So there is no doubt that you are a traitor. And Special Investigator Throk is in possession of all the details as well."
"You bastard!" Eret spat.
"Why are you so upset?" Hiccup asked him roughly. "You have always been a traitor. Seventeen years ago, you framed your business partner for carrying a package from Ryker Grimborn to Icefell and Drago Bludvist. Even back there, it was possible to track the money trail from the Grimborns to your accounts. If anyone bothered to look. You lied and framed your business partner. You watched him condemned for your treason and watched him sent away for life. And then, you had Johann lie that your massive gambling debts were his. You forged letters that claimed the debts were his. You supported Johann in court as he stole everything from the father and the fiancee. You saw them thrown out on the streets and you took everything for your own. You stole the air transport business from your friend, you betrayed him over and over and you ended up taking his fiancee. There are arrest warrants out for you, Eretson-for treason. Maybe, for once, you could face up to them like a man rather than running like the coward you are."
"How the Helheim do you know this?" Eret snapped, lurching to his feet. Snotlout tensed, his fists balled and ready.
"I note you haven't bothered with any denials," Hiccup told him, all coolness and calm.
"Who are you?" Eret snapped as the billionaire reached up and pulled his glasses off. His emerald eyes inspected the man facing him. Eret stared for a long moment-and then his mouth gaped. He back-pedalled and slammed into the bar, mouth working uselessly.
"For a man with instincts at self-preservation and an instinct for treachery, you were very easy to fool," Hiccup said.
"Im-impossible…" Eret mouthed.
"Not at all. Just very improbable."
"But the prison…you were declared dead…"
"You're not the only liar in the Archipelago. But you're definitely the stupidest. Imagining anyone would believe your debts were mine? The first time I set foot in this place was when I came to see you as your guest, only weeks ago. And then I cleaned you out. Amazing what years in prison can do for you."
"You can't…I could tell the authorities…"
"What, Eret? That you think they will believe the billionaire Tallon Fury is your friend who you framed for treason. The same Tallon Fury who uncovered your treason, who brought down Ryker and Viggo Grimborn and has provided conclusive proof that Trayder is working with him as well. The man who is friends with the President? The man who has done more for Berk in the six months I've been here than the sixteen years Grimborn ran it? They'll be laughing all the way to the cell they throw you into for life!"
"Then think about my wife and children!" Eret pleaded, his tone whining.
"What about my girlfriend and my father?" Hiccup asked him plainly. "You let them go penniless onto the street. At least your wife and children have prospects. Your children will be cared for-if you are willing to accept justice."
"And Astrid?" Eret spat. "I thought she would have piqued your interest. I ordered her to avail herself to you? Or has your jail time changed your tastes as well?"
"She's another man's wife," Hiccup said in a dead voice. "And unlike you, I don't steal someone else's family. She made her choice after I went to jail. Everything has consequences. This is one. You fall-and your family falls with you. But I will offer them sanctuary and support if you accept your fate." Eret closed to a few feet and glared into his emerald eyes.
"I underestimated you, Hiccup," he spat. "I thought you would have curled up and died like a good boy. If I'd know you had this in you, I would have recruited you for the cause."
"If I'd know what you truly were, I would have never paid any of your debts and let the mob break your neck," the billionaire retorted. "I guess we all have regrets. Last chance."
"I'll take my chances as well," Eret sneered. "I assume I get an hour to fetch my family?" Giving a sigh of resignation, Hiccup gave a curt nod.
"You have one hour and then my Court Officers will repossess the house," he said. "But I am willing to help Astrid and the kids. Just consider: how much use you have for Drago now you are penniless and bankrupt? My offer is the best you have."
"I'd rather die," Eret spat, lurching towards the door. "Astrid and the children are mine and I will determine their fates." Hiccup bunched his fists.
"Then rot in Helheim," he growled. "Just as you so generously arranged for me. I've just returned the favour for my former best friend and betrayer. I hope you enjoy the experience."
"I'll see you dead!" Eret spat and then stormed from the bar. Snotlout tensed.
"Let him go," Hiccup said in a weary voice. The stocky man stared at him.
"Excuse me but-what the Helheim was that?" he asked. "Telling him everything? Revealing yourself to the one man who could have you locked up again? Why?"
"Because I needed to see his face when I told him who I was!" Hiccup snapped, walking to the bar and fishing out a bottle of Scotch, He snagged two tumblers and poured them both a measure. "I needed to see if he felt anything."
"He's still the same self-centred amoral treacherous bastard he was," Snotlout condemned. "He felt nothing. Except what he could salvage for himself. Nothing for the kids or his wife. Nothing for anyone he's harmed. You should have killed him."
"Throk is on the way to the house," Hiccup said, draining his glass. "He'll grab him." He refilled his glass and chinked it against his cousin's. "Smile, Snot, We won. I won. Everyone who betrayed me is gone, ruined or being chased by the Archipelago Special Investigator for treason. It's over."
