FORTY FIVE: Fire and Ice
"Icefell up ahead, ETA ten minutes." Cami's voice broke the tense silence in the cabin as she adjusted the course. "Skimming the deck." From the copilot's seat, Hiccup scanned the readings and nodded.
"You got that, Shattermaster?" he murmured over the com.
"Roger, DragonEdge One," the voice of Snorri, Dagur's trusted second-in-command. "We will follow your lead." Hiccup glanced over to Dagur, who was seated beside Astrid, his rifle clutched across his chest.
"You missing the crew?" he asked but the man gave a wry smile.
"Your Night Strike is much more comfortable," he commented. "It's like going to battle on a couch."
"Don't listen to him, Toothless," Hiccup murmured, resting a hand on the side panel. "You're a lean mean flying machine." Astrid was chuckling and Dagur arched an eyebrow.
"Yeah, he always talks to Toothless," she explained. "He rebuilt him from a rusting hulk to the aircraft he is today." Dagur chuckled.
"I know the feeling," he replied. "I talk to my rifle-don't I, Deathwing?" Astrid rolled her eyes, feeling the pistol strapped to her hip.
"I am surrounded by lunatics," she grumbled.
"That's for sure!" Tuff offered, popping up behind her. "Gummy worm, anyone?"
"Oh Thor," Hiccup groaned. "Where did you get those?"
"The hotel shop-I got a three kilogram packet…" Tuff enthused, waving a green specimen around.
"He's gonna be high on sugar by the time we land," Ruff offered.
"Thor help us," Snotlout grumbled.
"Okay-everyone listen," Hiccup announced as Cami flew them mere feet above the waves and well below radar. "This is dangerous. These guys are evil and play for keeps. I'm pretty sure I was in jail with some of them. They will kill you without hesitation and won't stop to ask questions or chat or be whimsical or anything. So stay out of sight, do as you are told and when I say withdraw, get the Helheim out of there! Understood?" There were various murmurs of assent as Hiccup turned back to the panel. "We're almost there. Has everyone got a headset?"
"Dagur has us all fitted out, cuz," Snotlout reassured him. "Everyone is ready."
"Reaching the coast now," Cami announced as they rose to skim the cliffs. Hiccup assumed the controls and the vessels decelerated, hugging the contours and finally landing in a hollow, just amid the trees of the stunted forest that satellite images had identified close to the base. Breathing hard, he shut the engines down.
"Showtime," he murmured. Dagur gave a nod and moved to the door, hunkering down and opening it swiftly, then leaping out and quartering the area.
"Clear," he reported over his com. Hiccup unstrapped himself.
"Astrid and Snot-you're with me: twins-stay with Dagur. Please. Just…do. For me." Ruff and Tuff shared a look.
"Is it me or has he gotten whiny in his old age?" Ruff asked.
"Nope-but I would prefer you both alive-and Fish would be devastated if anything happened…to either of you…" the billionaire replied. The woman's expression softened.
"I wouldn't want anything to happen to him either," she admitted. "Okay-I'll play ball."
"I'm here for Finky," Tuff admitted. "Over to you, Sir Dagur…"
"I may never forgive you for this," Dagur muttered, winking to soften the impact of his words as they all exited the aircraft. Cami checked her rifle and pistol. She was charged with staying with the aircraft in case they needed out in a hurry-and preventing anyone getting their hands on their escape route.
"Take care," she said, her blue eyes lingering on her friends. "If you need me to come fetch you, just call." Hiccup smiled as he pulled his hood up.
"I may take you up on that," he said cheerfully. "Thanks, Cami."
"Thank me when we're heading home," she advised him and winked, then closed the hatch. Hiccup nodded and stared at his group, checking his compass and nervously checking his pistol. "Okay-we'll head straight in…"
"…and we'll head a hundred metres to the north," Dagur agreed, beckoning to the twins, his rifle cradled professionally in his hands. Astrid bounded alongside Hiccup as they reached the tree line and saw him anxious.
"We'll be fine," she reassured him as she heard the news that Dagur's transport had touched down in a clearing two hundred metres to the south and his men were heading towards the complex. He sighed and checked his compass. The day was foggy and cold, the snow crunching and creaking loudly underfoot amid the damp silence in the forest.
"I wish I could be sure," he said. "Any trouble and promise me you'll head for Toothless?"
"No chance!" Astrid told his sharply. "I'm not leaving without my son. Our son." He nodded absently.
"Just…don't go after Eret," he said quietly. "He's mine."
oOo
Fink became aware of the rising alarm as men started rushing back and forth in the barracks. He was paying little attention, trying to make himself as insignificant as he could after his last run-in with the sergeant major-a mean-faced man named Savage-left him bruised and beaten. He cringed back as the tannoy crackled into life.
"All soldiers to defensive positions," the familiar cold voice of General Grimmel sneered. "Enemy aircraft approaching from the south. Gunners to emplacements. All units, man your stations! For Drago!"
There was an eruption of movement as the men in the mess all rose, heading to grab their guns and head out to man the perimeter. Fink rose too, half-heartedly getting a rifle and some ammunition and trotting slowly to the side entrance. He was supposed to be on Raincutter Squad, who were assigned somewhere near the fuel depot but all he wanted was to find some way to get away-and hopefully the chaos of an attack would provide his opportunity.
He almost ran into a tall, lean man, his dark eyes cool and scarred face twisted in anger. A hand grabbed him by the throat and squeezed. Gasping for air, Fink's green eyes widened in shock and he clawed at the hand.
"Where are you going, boy?" The man's voice was smooth and cultured, his delivery perfectly enunciated and ever so menacing. Noting the purple and red stripe on his uniform and his scary manner, the boy realised he was probably someone very senior.
"M-my pos-position…" he choked. "F-fuel…depot…" The man sneered and dropped him, leaving him on his knees, gasping for air.
"You're Eretson's boy," he scoffed as Fink looked up. "Interesting. He's happy for you to be cannon fodder. What a caring father."
"Yeah, he's a real model parent," Fink muttered.
"What was that?" the man snarled. Grabbing his rifle, Fink scrambled to his feet.
"On my way to my position…sir…" he said, backing away. The dark eyes narrowed.
"I will be looking out for you, boy,' he sneered and was about to say something more when Sergeant Savage appeared.
"General Krogan, Lord Drago wants…" he began and then a nasty smile crossed his face. "YOU! Sir, is this mouthy little rat bothering you? I can see him disciplined…" Krogan lifted his hand abruptly, the snatched Fink's rifle. He roughly pulled out the magazine then shoved the rifle back into his arms.
"I think we can allow Darwin to sort our problem out for us," he said. "Run along, boy. Take up your station. But see how well you do with an empty rifle." And then he marched away with Savage in tow, the magazine still clutched in his hand. Fink slung the rifle across his back-in case he could get a new magazine from someone else or a new rifle-and headed for the side door. The klaxons were sounding and it seemed that the attack was imminent. He knew the guards on the snowcats would have been sent to their defensive positions so he would finally have his chance. All he could think of was getting his hands on some tools to get through the chains locking them and then grabbing one of the snowcats to finally escape.
oOo
They reached the tree line and hunkered down, taking in the flurry of activity and the men running around like ants.
"It seems our secret is out," Hiccup murmured as Astrid crouched at his side.
"To be fair, I don't think they picked up Toothless," she replied.
"No-they look ready for war," he commented, his gaze flicking over the buildings ahead of them. "These look like stores and depots. And it looks like there are men being deployed to defend the area from the assault." He grimaced. "They're likely to shoot any unknown on sight. This could be a problem."
"A problem?" Snotlout snarked. "Sounds like an impossible mission."
"No, an impossible mission is escaping from Jotunheim with a cup, a plate and a pencil," Hiccup snapped back.
"Yeah-but we don't have a decade to do this one," Snotlout snarked back and then he blanched. "Thor, Hicc, I…" But his cousin was actually grinning. He clapped his cousin on the shoulder.
"I think you know you've accepted your past when you can joke about it," he said. "Give me a minute…" Then Astrid gripped his arm fiercely.
"There he is!" she hissed and pointed at a slight figure in a too-large khaki parka, his wild blond hair framing a concentrated face, a welt livid on his cheek. There was a rifle slung across his back. Hiccup took a sharp breath and saw him head towards a more distant outbuilding. "Hiccup…"
"That's where we have to go," he murmured. "Dagur-he's heading towards a depot about a hundred metres north of our position. We're coming towards you."
"Roger," the man said over the com. "We'll be waiting."
"Just a small question-how are we going to get to him without the bad guys shooting us?" Snotlout asked as they retreated into the trees and began to stumble their way north. But Astrid smiled.
"I have an idea about that…"
oOo
Eret was feeling a mixture of frustration and boredom, with a side of anger. He wasn't sure what he had expected on fleeing to the stronghold of Drago Bludvist but the silent undercurrent of disdain and scorn probably wasn't it. He had risked everything and lost everything for his association with the traitor and in his mind, he expected to be welcomed with open arms as a returning hero. Instead, he barely registered a nod, though he was included in the Dark Lord's circle. General Grimmel, his tactician and second in command, treated Eret like an irrelevance while Krogan, his field commander and Enforcer, treated him like a fool and never resisted a chance to make him look small or just worthless.
And now, the damned Archipelago Forces were mounting an attack, approaching en masse from the south, which had Drago scowling and huddled with Grimmel and his trusted lieutenants-which didn't include Eret. It seemed the man apparently had contacts among the senior Generals who had been subtly diverting any suggestion to attack the terrorist thus allowing him time to build his influence and organisation. This time, there had been no warning and the Dark Lord was furious. Especially when Krogan reported that preparations were taking an age.
"WHAT DO I PAY THESE DOGS FOR?" Drago roared, his massive, brooding black leather-clad presence causing everyone to subtly step back. The man was imposing, tall and massively built, his dark eyes cold with cruelty and his sallow face twisted in a permanent sneer. His hooked nose dominated a face framed by jet dreadlocks and a narrow braided beard. Missing his left arm, he was still a fearsome fighter: ruthless, merciless and completely single-minded, his gun never leaving his right hip and his two foot long wakizashi affixed to his left. In fact, Eret had seen the man draw the blade and decapitate a corporal who had displeased him the previous day and it had given him pause for thought-but at this stage, he had few other options.
"You recruited for psychopathy and enthusiasm, not efficiency or competence," Grimmel said coolly. He was a tall lean man with cropped grey hair an ice blue eyes, a brilliant planner and completely devoid of any empathy.
"Johann has failed to respond to all communications," Krogan commented. "I suspect that the weak administration are attempting to undermine your rule."
"They will learn the error of their ways in challenging me!" Drago roared. "Icefell is hostile and fortified and my men are motivated. Their foolish attack with be met with blood and fire."
"Not by everyone," Krogan sneered. "Eretson's boy looked less than enthusiastic. I had to discipline him." Drago spun and inspected Eret, making the hairs on the back of Eret's neck stand up.
"Your…son?" he murmured, his deep voice thoughtful.
"Not my son," Eret spat, despite himself. "The brat is the child of Tallon Fury." He was rewarded by the sight of the Dark Lord's eyes widening.
"The billionaire?" he breathed.
"The man who brought down me and the Grimborns," Eret spat, despite himself.
"You have his son here?" Grimmel asked pointedly, his ice-blue eyes nailing the man. Eret nodded, feeling the hairs at the back of his neck stand up.
"Yes. I put him in with the men…"
"FOOL!" Drago roared, his face suddenly twisted with rage. "That boy can be used as a lever. A bargaining tool. A hostage!"
"He's just a mouthy kid…"
"Whose father will pay dearly to retrieve him," Grimmel interrupted.
"And who, if rumour is correct, has the ear of the President," Drago growled. "Maybe offering a trade-my freedom for the boy's life-may terminate this attack and allow us time to complete our own preparations to take over this wretched Archipelago." Eret took a deep breath. There was tiny corner of him that had treated the boy as his son, had felt affection for him and that part was screaming at Eret for what he was about to do.
"I sent him to his position near the fuel depot," Krogan supplied snidely.
"Fetch the boy!" Drago commanded and nailed Eret with his hostile glance. "Do not return to my presence without him. I want that hostage!" Eret nodded and grabbed a gun.
"I want to see Fury's face when you show him Eret Junior. That's one trap that bastard won't get out of!" he snarled and headed out to find his son.
oOo
The five men hunkered down near the fuel depot were tense and waiting for orders so when a woman walked round the corner, her blonde hair loose around her pretty face and her obviously delicious shape sheathed in cold weather gear, they were all taken by surprise. The woman smiled, her blue eyes appealing.
"Hello, boys," she purred. "I was wondering if you can help me?"
At the sultry words, every single man there desperately wanted to help. The group leader cleared his throat and motioned everyone to lower their weapons.
"What do you need, Ma'am?" he asked, surreptitiously tidying his hair.
"My name is Astrid Eretson-Eret's wife," she purred. "I'm looking for my son, Fink." There was a general blank look. "Skinny seventeen year old boy. Blond hair, green eyes, lots of sass…"
"Oh-the runt…wait-you're his Mom?" the man asked. There was surprised murmuring. She smiled, causing five sets of pulses to accelerate.
"He's my baby," she purred, walking forward to almost press herself against him. "Do you know where he is? Lord Drago wants him back in the main base with me…" The group leader gulped.
"He's right at the back by the fuel depot and the vehicle stores," he admitted, gesturing to a lone boxy building with snowcats lined up beside it. "Stupid brat forgot his magazine-I gave him my spare, of course." Astrid smiled.
"That was so kind of you," she purred, then rammed her knee up into his nethers. He grunted and bowed forward…to meet her fist cracking up. He collapsed down, unconscious. The other four stiffened-but Snotlout and Hiccup reared up behind them. Snotlout clubbed his two unconscious with the butt of his rifle but Hiccup was more direct, brutally clawing one man in the eyes, punching the second in the throat and then slamming their heads together twice and dropping the unconscious men with a growl.
"Thor, Fishlegs said you fought dirty but I didn't believe it," Snotlout commented as they dragged the men into the depot and barred the door.
"Well, your Dad taught me some tricks and Gobber taught me a load more," Hiccup admitted, stuffing the gun he had purloined from one of the men in his pocket. "I'm not my Dad: I can't punch a man through a wall so I fight the way that gives me the best chance of surviving." Snotlout looked puzzled. "In the prison. There were fights. For the amusement of rich men who paid a fortune for the privilege. The loser died. I fought for my life over and over."
"You killed men to survive in single combat," Snotlout realised. Hiccup nodded.
"Why I practice with Thug and Cami," he admitted. "And shoot. And throw knives."
"Can we compare who's the deadliest later when we have my son?" Astrid asked them pointedly, a rifle slung across her back. "Though I vote for Hiccup by the way. I…"
Explosions sounded not that far away and they all stared as aircraft flew over, strafing the base. The returning sounds of anti-aircraft fire thundered away and Hiccup watched surface to air missiles launch. He nodded as an explosion sounded, downing one of the fighters.
"Come on," he said. "This diversion is getting far too diverting. Dagur-he's at the fuel depot-next to the snowcats."
"On our way," the man replied.
The three ducked down behind the building and scampered across the snows, sprinting towards the fuel depot-but as they looked up, Hiccup tackled Astrid to the ground behind a substation. She resisted but he pointed at the familiar shape of Eret in a beige Parka, storming directly towards the fuel depot.
"Get off me," she growled. "I want to kill him…"
"Fink first then your ex-husband," Hiccup murmured. "Bearing in mind he's on friendly ground while we have to be careful because everyone else here is our enemy!" Snotlout poked his head round the corner and frowned.
"What's he doing?" he murmured as the other two joined him to inspect the view. They could see the shape of Fink, crouching by a snowcat and busy fiddling with something.
"ERET!" The shout had the young man flinching and his head snapped up to spy the hated shape of his 'father'. He dipped his head and worked even more frantically. "I see you, boy! Get up!"
"You abandoned me," Fink yelled, pulling at something. "Go back to your friends and hide behind them some more!"
"I find you actually have a use," Eret sneered, walking closer as the young man. Fink scrambled onto the nearest snowcat.
"Too bad!"
"Lord Drago wants to meet you, boy-because he thinks you can be a hostage against your father!" Eret shouted, seeing his 'son' stiffen at the words.
"My father is dead," Fink shouted, turning the key in the snowcat.
"No, he's not-he's your friend, Tallon Fury," Eret snapped, pulling out his pistol as the boy froze. Emerald eyes widened in shock.
"What?"
"Your mother was as much of a whore when she was younger as she is now," Eret sneered. "She lied to me when we married-she was already knocked up. I should have aborted you-but you finally have a use." He gestured with the pistol. "Get off-you're coming with me." Fink stared him down.
"I'm guessing you're ordered to come back with me or not at all-and there is nowhere else you can go," he said evenly. "So you're not gonna shoot. You want me-come and get me!" And he shot off away from the complex, hunched low over the snowcat. Eret kept his pistol pointed at the retreating shape for a long moment as Hiccup pulled out his gun and targeted him…but then Eret gave a yell of frustration and clambered onto the next vehicle before shooting off after him.
"FUCK!" Hiccup snarled, sprinting forward. The others followed with Dagur and the twins joining them. "Thor, just for once, I would love for my life to be a tiny bit less complicated…"
"We heard," Dagur said, staring after the retreating shapes. "What do you want us to do?"
"We go after them," Hiccup decided as he looked over at Astrid.
"You're with me, Ingen," Tuff said, instantly leaping aboard the nearest snow cat.
"Wanna come with me, Astrid? Girls V boys?" Ruff asked, a wicked look in her eye.
"Sorry, aren't you…?" Astrid asked as Hiccup scrambled behind the male twin.
"Much as I hate to admit it-and I mean hate in terms of Tuff's crazy riding style-I can't drive a motorbike…or one of these. And the twins are experts. And I mean experts. They taught Fink. They'll catch him up." He paused. "Though it may take years off your life."
"I'll take years off Eret's life," Astrid swore. "Approximately all of them." But she jumped up behind Ruff and the female twin shot away immediately. Tuff scowled.
"It is ON!" he said and raced after her. Snotlout and Dagur glanced at each other.
"One each, I think," the stocky raven-haired man said. Dagur winked.
"I am so glad you said that," he said as they mounted the next two snowcats and followed. "Snorri-cover the fuel depot and snowcats. Stop anyone following us."
"Roger, Chief!"
Up ahead, Fink was finding his motocross skills were allowing him to blast across the rugged snowy and icy land, hopping over hummocks and trying to outdistance his pursuer. He was half-expecting to hear bullets whistle around his ears but he could hear the distant buzz of the following snowcat. Snatching a glance over his shoulder, he saw the bulky shape of Eret in hot pursuit and behind, there were four more snowcats following. His pulse accelerated further, guessing that the man had called for back-up in his mission to capture Fink. And the boy knew that if he was captured, he would never have another chance to get away. In fact, he was taking such a long look that he almost crashed into a rock, swerving and almost losing control. He skidded and slowed, allowing Eret to close right up. Panicked, he swerved away.
Tuff pulled alongside Ruff and the twins closed inexorably on the fleeing Fink. Hiccup peered over the male twin's shoulder and fished the gun from his pocket.
"Get me closer," he told Tuff, his eyes locked on Eret's back. "We can't let him get to Fink."
"He won't," Tuff confirmed, his tone unnaturally serious. "You think Eret can beat me on my worst day?" Hiccup tightened his grip on his friend.
"Actually, no," he admitted. "But Fink looks scared. He's a brave lad but this is new territory for him and he's already been through a lot."
"He won't get him," Tuff promised. "But he's taking risks." Hiccup looked over Tuff's shoulder and saw Fink swerving round the rocks, his cat bouncing over the uneven ground. Eret was far enough back to cut the corner and close the distance.
"Get me a shot!" Hiccup growled and Tuff weaved, allowing Hiccup to snap off three shots that whistled past Eret's head. The man ducked and growled as he saw the pursuers. He immediately fired a couple of shots back.
"That got his attention!" Tuff muttered as they swerved again. Shots sounded to their right as Astrid fired at her ex-husband. Eret wheeled around and dinked, allowing Fink to pull ahead and curve round to dive into the tree line, vanishing amid the trees. He had heard the shots as well and his heart was pounding in fear. Maybe Eret wouldn't shoot him but what was to stop his allies, Drago's men, from shooting him and dragging him back, wounded and broken, to be used as a pawn against Tallon Fury? Fury, who had shown him nothing but kindness and generosity and who had never acted as if Fink was anything other than a friend.
Maybe he doesn't even known, Fink thought darkly as he dodged between the trees. A bullet hit a tree twenty metres to his right and he flinched. Maybe the first he'll know is when he's contacted with a picture of me with a gun at my throat. And why would he lift a finger for someone who was really nothing to him except another man's son?
"Pull me alongside," Hiccup growled as Eret blasted another couple of wild shots at him.
"Dude-are you insane?" Tuff asked him, hanging back and swerving. "He's shooting at us! And when I say us, I mean ME!"
"We have to allow Fink to get away," Hiccup muttered.
"We can flank him," Astrid suggested over the com.
"Team Girl will distract him," Ruff added.
"Team Girl?" Astrid asked, her tone disapproving.
"You don't like it?"
"Team ASTRID!" Astrid told her sternly, snapping off another shot that almost hit Eret.
"Finky isn't riding how we taught him," Tuff murmured. "He's sloppy."
"He's scared," Astrid corrected him. "He's not used to any of this. Helheim, neither am I."
"You're not being chased by Eret," Hiccup added. "And he must think we're Eret's friends instead of people here to rescue him. He can't see us clearly. When he tried looking back, he almost crashed." He ducked as a wild shot flew over his head. "And Eret is getting closer. Snot? Dagur? You still with us?"
"Roger," Dagur responded. "We're a ways back."
"You guys are insane!" Snotlout shouted. "This whole thing is insane!"
"Yes, it's awesome!" Ruff agreed.
"And dangerous! Don't forget stupidly dangerous!" Tuff added happily.
"Just keep on his tail!" Hiccup snapped, ducking as Eret blasted a few more shots. They swerved round a fallen tree, watching Fink accelerate away and vanish down a small slope. Eret pulled away from them and Tuff skidded the snowcat as they jumped another fallen tree to land almost alongside. But up ahead, there was yell as Nuffink burst through the tree line into a small clearing and hit a hidden rock.
Hiccup watched as if in slow motion as the vehicle soared, rolling and the lad was thrown, landing hard in the snow and lying still, sprawled on his face. The cat spun once more and crashed into a larger boulder mere feet away, bursting into flames.
