The Gentle Sniper
Chapter 28: Resolution
A/N: Well this chapter was draining to write, more than any other chapter in this story thus far. So apologies if it sucks.
Also decided to release it a little early for those sweet, sweet reviews; good or bad, I welcome both kinds.
Danish translation accuracy checking done by the always wonderful Danishvulkanhestan.
Now here we go.
Review Responses
CajunBear73: Yes indeed. He should fear Hiccup.
Scrumblenut: Well I can safely say that Drago won't be doing anything of that sort.
…
When the car in front of the Renault Trafic van, Savage, from his position in the passenger's seat, in addition to the driver, laid eyes on four dark grey VW Transporters that screeched to a halt not far away.
From each came SWAT officers that moved to encircle their van, rifles at the ready.
"This is bad…" said the driver, stating the obvious. "What do we do, boss?" he asked Savage.
"Don't move a muscle until I think of something," Savage ordered.
Then, the group noticed a black-haired woman striding towards their vehicle with a phone in hand.
Walking up to the driver side window, she motioned for him to lower it, which the driver did after a moment's hesitation and a glance at Savage.
"I do believe you boys should hear this," said the woman.
"Who are you?" Savage asked, while subtly lowering his right hand to the holster that contained his sidearm.
"It doesn't matter who she is," a voice said, emanating from the phone in Anne's hand, which turned out to be on speaker. "The only things that do matter are who I am, and what you decide to do. Now, we can arrange for a bullet to go through the head of each of you, so choose your next words carefully Savage. Where. Is. Astrid. Hofferson. If she is not with you, or if she is harmed in any way, then may Odin have mercy on your souls."
"S-she's fine! Allow one of my men to show you where-"
"She's with you in the van or in the boot, is she not?"
"She is, yes."
"Then that is enough for me, for now. Anne, over to you. Take them."
"With pleasure," she said, then turned away, facing a nearby SWAT officer. "Arrester dem nu. På dobbelt!" she barked, and they all moved in as ordered. [1]
"Hænderne på hovedet! jer allesammen! Gå så langsomt ud af varevognen!" [2]
"Do as they say!" Savage hissed when his associates hesitated again, the man already complying by opening his door with one hand while he held the other to his head.
…
When Astrid awoke, it was by torchlight shining into her eyes.
She quickly shut them with a groan, while she felt like someone was beating against her forehead from inside her skull.
"Keep your eyes open dear. I need to know if you have a concussion."
"I think I'm fine. Just got a headache though."
"Do you remember what happened to you earlier? And you feel dizzy or sick?"
"Yeah, I remember some guy hitting my head against the dashboard of my police car. And no, just got a headache."
"Okay, no sign of the symptoms then. Welcome back to the land of the living."
"Mum? Where am I? I want answers. What happened?"
She took a step back, then regarded her carefully. "In a DDIS office in Skagen. Long story. Also, you were abducted by some of the Outcasts. They were going to bring you here, as one of them confessed. Luckily we were able to intercept them."
Astrid glanced around the room, taking in a frosted glass window on her left, the bars of a holding cell to her right as well as a small table also on her right, by the bed she was lying down on.
After looking around, Astrid spoke again, looking at her mother who sat close to her on the bed. "Who's we?"
"The DDIS, Hiccup and a friend of his. You seem quite out of it right now. Would you like a painkiller for your headache? We can talk later."
"Yeah, a painkiller sounds great right now. Where is Hiccup? I'd like to talk to him later."
"He's waiting outside, hoping you'll wake up. He brought flowers for you."
"What kind of flowers?"
Sigrid sighed, looking quite sad all of a sudden. "Black tulips."
"Okay…?" Astrid was more than a little bit confused at her mother suddenly looking despondent but got no answer as she stood and left the room.
She returned with a glass of water and a box of painkillers, which Astrid accepted eagerly. "Bought these painkillers while you were out," her mother said. "I'll go get Hiccup for you now."
Astrid nodded, swallowing a pill with a mouthful of water as Sigrid left.
"You can go in now," Astrid heard her mother say, before Hiccup entered the room a few moments later, the bouquet of black tulips in his left arm, in his soldier uniform and armed to the teeth.
She blinked, barely recognising the man before her; thanks to the complete absence of hair above the neck.
"Well that is new, and weird. What's the occasion, Hiccup?" she wondered, as her boyfriend took the half-empty glass of water and box of painkillers from her, set them down on the table by her bed that she only just noticed before he placed the flowers in her arms.
"I'm trying to be in disguise, for army related reasons. Also, since I feel like I got you involved in being abducted somehow, and we need to talk about the text I sent you last night, so I felt that these flowers would fit the situation."
"These are meant for a funeral though… I don't see the connection between that and the texts we sent last night."
"I'm sure you will. Tell me, would you want to stay with a guy who has killed people in cold blood? Because you're looking at one."
"Kinda figured that already babe," Astrid sighed. "I… I'm not sure what to think about that."
The sentiment hung in the air like a discordant note in a concert. Something Hiccup picked up on and understood, but clearly didn't enjoy, much less find any words to respond to, as evidenced by his face twisting into a frown.
The next thing out of Astrid's mouth, however, was a sigh. The moment had drawn on for long enough that she'd come up with some follow-up words to say.
"You were just following orders, after all," She began, looking down at the bouquet of black tulips in her arms. "It's not like I can't understand that; since it's my job to do the same."
"Yeah. I mean, it's just a part of the job." Hiccup added, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "It's not like I wanted to kill those people. Especially when there's something about the whole situation that I think bears more looking into, still. But that's just me. I'm not sure anyone else sees it that way, unfortunately."
His face really did read true to what he was saying. It's not that Astrid didn't trust him; she fully did.
It's just that she thought this whole killing thing was reprehensible, anyway. Even so, she figured that his job was important to him, and she couldn't take that away from him; she certainly didn't want to, when he had confided with her something she figured he wasn't supposed to.
With another sigh, Astrid spoke again. Hiccup finally looked at her instead of the corner of the room.
"I still think killing people just because you're ordered to, or at all really, is morally unsound but…" Astrid's eyes showed compassion for the man behind the action if anything.
"I get it, Hiccup, you're only human," A pause. "Thanks for the flowers."
He nodded. "Thanks for understanding. That's all I could have asked for."
She nodded in turn. "You're welcome."
Another pause, in which the two shared a kiss.
"I think I'm in love with you now… probably for a bad reason, but I don't care."
"Well I've been falling for you for a while as well, and my feelings haven't diminished, quite the opposite in fact, since you were honest with me just now, so I guess we're in the same boat."
"Yeah," Hiccup had cupped his girlfriend's face before kissing her, and now used a hand to stroke her cheek as if it were made of rather expensive china, sending her heart fluttering. "So you like black tulips huh? Good to know."
Astrid smiled a little. "Yeah, I like them."
"Good, good. So I originally came out here to deal with Drago, and then a little birdie told me that you were abducted, and I wanted to kill him then, because I thought he had gotten you involved in his mess. He kinda has, but kinda hasn't so I'm not sure what to do or think right now. Also, I was thinking about going to interrogate Savage - the man in charge of the people who abducted you - soon. Want to watch?"
All semblance of good humour fled her face, replaced with seriousness by the time she spoke again. "More than that, babe. I want to take part in the interrogation, as well as help you deal with Drago."
"Are you sure, Astrid?"
"That's what I'd like to know as well, dear," a third voice said.
"I'm fine you guys, in case you're worried."
"I can't speak for your mother, but I am definitely worried. Drago isn't someone you can mess around with, so thanks but no thanks. You won't be helping me with him," commented Hiccup as he headed towards Sigrid.
"And why should I stand around and do nothing?" asked Astrid, prompting Hiccup to look back, seeing her frown at him.
"We're talking about someone who had my friends killed or fall out of touch with me. Just last night, he put Cami in a coma, and is part of the reason I have black eyes right now. Bertha wasn't happy at all."
Astrid's eyes widened at that before she sighed. "Even so, two is better than one, right?"
Hiccup shook his head, looking at Sigrid then. "I'll let you two decide what happens to Savage for a moment more. Talk her out of going near Drago. You know what he's capable of."
"Not an easy task, that. But, in the meantime, go speak to Anne. She has something you might find useful. She's right outside," replied Sigrid.
"Alright." So stepping out of the room, Hiccup approached Anne, who held out a folder when she noticed him. "I was told to give you this."
Opening the folder, Hiccup found it contained a collection of photographs as well as a written note.
Included here are pictures of the building that Drago, Viggo and Ryker are holed up in.
It is a DDIS safehouse that Drago has been in, in the past. Finn Hofferson as well, for most of the time you have been after him. Apologies, but we had to gain Drago's trust somehow, and providing a hideout was the easiest option.
Nevertheless, these should prove useful in planning to capture Drago. When you're ready, give me a call or inform Sigrid so I can inform the Copenhagen branch to make a move on arresting Krogan, Mildew and Grimmel.
Your benefactor
Trader Johann.
Hiccup crumpled the note in his hand. "I should make a list of people I hate, Anne. It just got one name longer. Anyway…"
Hiccup put the photos back in the folder, then handed it back to Anne. "We should go. We've got a journey ahead of us still; we should find Eret Sr."
"I remember," Anne nodded. "We bringing her along?"
"Probably safer with me than in the same building as her recent captors, even if they're all in a cell each, so yes, she's coming with us."
Setting off to return to the room he had recently vacated, he posed the question to her.
A broad grin spread across her face. "I get to meet a real life Jaeger? Forget about interrogating Savage or the whole mess that is Drago for the moment and count me in, babe."
Hiccup smiled internally. You've already met a Jaeger, Astrid, and you don't even know.
Out of the corner of his right eye, Hiccup could see Sigrid holding back a smile, and a brief laugh audible from just outside the room.
"What are you smiling about? Is there something I'm not getting?"
"You'll find out in time, dear," a bemused Sigrid said simply.
Biting his lip to restrain his own laughter for a moment, Hiccup spoke up again. "If you want to come, then you better be okay with being left behind in the Jaeger's care until the whole Drago matter blows over. I'm not letting you get hurt again, got it?"
She glared at him. "I can protect myself."
"Recent events suggest otherwise, Astrid. Did I mention that Drago is a Jaeger himself? You might be able to protect yourself, but not against everyone. Certainly not danish special forces."
"You're right, but I don't like being treated like a damsel in distress."
Hiccup turned, approached her, carefully lifted her chin a little - treating her as one would treat fine china - and looked her in the eye. "You're going to have to suck it up then, Astrid. Because the condition of your pride matters less to me than you getting hurt again," he said seriously, before letting go and turning around again.
"Sorry not sorry about that," he added, then addressed the others when she didn't, couldn't, think of a fitting reply to that.
"Now then, let's get ready to leave. Girlfriend, you're with me. Sigrid, you want to come along as well? We're going to need a car since my motorbike only has room for two."
"I'll handle that for you three. Just wait here. Oh, and when I'm through with Savage and his men, he won't be bothering anyone again."
Elsewhere, a certain DSIS team was making a move.
"I want it known, that effective immediately, there is a warrant out for Drago Bludvist's arrest. I want him here for questioning. Make it happen," ordered Bertha. "And someone get me Anne's personal number!"
"Yes ma'am!"
Bertha hung up, then looked around at her companions in the helicopter with her. "Tiril, Bodil, Einar and Erling, you better be ready now."
"Ready as we'll ever be," muttered Einar. "We'll find the skeletons in Drago's closet when we land."
"Good, and if you don't, I'll do it myself."
"Yes ma'am!"
Satisfied, Bertha nodded, then leaned back in her seat.
I will make him pay for hurting you, dearest daughter.
…
You're going to have to suck it up then, Astrid. Because the condition of your pride matters less to me than you getting hurt again.
Astrid sat behind her boyfriend, her arms wrapped around him, equal parts annoyed and happy because of what he said, the words replaying in her mind on a loop.
They were on their way to Aalborg now, with Anne leading the way in a car that Hiccup was following with his motorbike.
He had no spare helmet, which meant that her hair was billowing out behind her like a golden banner.
But now back to the matter at hand.
Yes, Astrid was annoyed at his words.
She took pride in being able to defend herself, but her recent abduction coupled with the fact that she had been told by her boyfriend that she wasn't good enough to help him deal with Drago; it honestly stung, even if she begrudgingly knew he was right in his assessment.
Recent events suggest otherwise, Astrid. Did I mention that Drago is a Jaeger himself? You might be able to protect yourself, but not against everyone. Certainly not danish special forces.
She hadn't missed these words, even if a part of her wished she had. But she had heard them, and of course knew she couldn't face a highly trained soldier, such as what Drago apparently was.
We're talking about someone who had my friends killed or fall out of touch with me. Just last night, he put Cami in a coma and is part of the reason I have black eyes right now. Bertha wasn't happy at all.
Astrid then recalled these words and sighed internally. How could she be so stupid as to say she could ever hope to handle Drago, if he could do that to Cami, not to mention Hiccup's comrades?
Letting out a real sigh, her annoyance leaving her at the same time, Astrid came to a decision. She withdrew her right arm - previously having wrapped both around his torso - so she could tap Hiccup's shoulder with her right hand.
He tensed up, a little bit startled by her action before he spoke. "What is it?"
"Pull over. There's something I should say to you."
"Uh, alright then."
Upon seeing a section of hard shoulder appear on his right, Hiccup flashed his motorbike's light at Anne in the car ahead to get her attention, he pulled over to the side of the motorway and she did the same.
Then he stood up, got off his motorbike and turned to her, taking his helmet off before he spoke. "Alright, milady. What do you want to say to me?"
"I'd like to apologise for what I said. About the whole 'offering to help you with Drago' thing. I can protect myself, but to say I could face Drago when your friends couldn't was quite rude of me."
"Yeah, it was," Hiccup agreed.
Astrid nodded. "So yeah. I'm sorry for what I said to you. Is there anything I can do to make up for it?"
"Stay with the Jaeger we're going to see until this all blows over. Can you do that?"
"Anything besides that? Because I was going to do that anyway, even if with great reluct-" He cut her off with a kiss that left her breathless, almost choking on the emotion he poured into it.
Their foreheads met when the kiss ended, forcing her to stare into intense green filled with adoration. "Nothing else comes to mind, really. You're already staying with me, even when you know the horrible stuff I've done. How could I dare to ask for more?"
She smiled fondly at him. "Pulling out all the charm today, huh babe?"
"You've figured out my plan. Damnit!" Hiccup said with mock seriousness.
She laughed, and their lips met again in a lingering kiss.
"Did you two pull over just to have a makeout session?" asked Anne. "Because if so, I'm leaving. We've got places to be, in case you've forgotten."
They reluctantly pulled away and Astrid faced Anne, expression entirely unrepentant. "Wasn't my original idea - I just needed to apologise to my boyfriend for something. Things kinda went from there."
"I could tell. I saw. Now let's go before you decide to take things further than that. I won't be here if you decide to get naked in public."
Hiccup laughed, but the words that followed wanted to make Astrid hit him, and she did punch his arm, but he didn't seem to care. "Not a bad idea, Anne. What say you, milady?"
"Shut up and get on the bike," she said.
"As my beautiful lady desires, I shall do," he nodded solemnly, and it was her turn to laugh.
…
"So this is the place then?" Hiccup asked a good while later when all three individuals were standing on the pavement outside an ordinary-looking block of flats.
"Yep," Anne said in confirmation. "This is it. Who wants the honour of ringing the buzzer?"
"I'll do it," Hiccup decided. "Here we go."
With Hiccup letting go of the button after a second, the buzzer sounded, then the trio waited.
"Who is it?" an English accented voice echoed out of the speaker.
"Plus Esse Quam Simultatur," said Hiccup.
There was a pause, then the buzzer sounded again, with Hiccup pushing open the door to get inside, the others following.
Climbing the stairs to the first floor, the trio encountered a man standing at an open door. He had a thick, dark brown beard with hair that was streaked with grey and bunched up together behind his head, styled like a feudal Japanese soldier.
For clothes, he wore a black vest and jeans; the former of which helped to display muscular arms and broad shoulders.
"Anne, how nice to see you," the man smiled in greeting, which Anne returned.
"Likewise, Mr Sallow. How are you holding up here?"
"Please, just call me Eret. I don't do formal. Reminds me of my age." Then he looked over Astrid and Hiccup, with his eyes lingering on the former. "Who are your friends?"
"I'm Henry and this wonderful lady is Astrid, my girlfriend," Hiccup introduced.
"Henry, huh? Your voice is familiar, but I can't quite place it. So you're a Jaeger, huh?"
Astrid blinked, looking between Hiccup and the man as her boyfriend nodded. "I am. Have been on reserve for most of the time since training though. Now allow me to say one thing; Eret son of Eret died a hero."
Eret's reaction was instant; a scowl marring his face as he advanced on Hiccup. "I should have known. Now tell me," he began, as he reached the younger man. "Why. Are. You. Here?"
Hiccup met his steely gaze. "To ask you to train someone I care very much about," he waved a hand over in the direction of Astrid. "I want you to train her to protect herself better than she can right now. She's not helpless by any means - her right fist is powerful - but as you know anyone can use more training."
"And just one mistake can kill you," Eret sighed. "I will do it, but not for your sake; rather because she seems like a nice person. Better than you at any rate."
"Nothing short of ceramic body armour would have saved Eret. I told you that, and that fact hasn't changed sir. Regardless of how much we both wish otherwise."
A moment later, Hiccup's head was knocked back and he bit back a curse when Eret punched him, to the shock of the trio. "Don't remind me about my son's death. You have no right, friend of his or not." Then he turned away. "Now, shut up and get inside, all of you."
He stepped back inside, followed by Anne, who shot Hiccup a look of mild concern before she was gone. Astrid remained, however. "You okay?"
"Fine. Told you before I think - I can take a hit."
"Yeah, but that looked like it hurt, regardless."
"I'll live. It's nice to know you care though. Let's go inside."
"Of course I care, you muttonhead. We are dating after all."
"I know. It's just I'm quickly running out of friends at this rate."
Astrid smiled. "Well at least you have me."
"Very true."
So they stepped through the door into Eret's apartment hand in hand, with the man waiting with a foot-tapping and arms crossed at the end of the apartment's hallway, in front of a closed door. "Took you long enough," he grumbled as they approached, closing the door behind them as Eret nudged the door open with the foot that had been tapping mere moments ago.
"Astrid, you'll be staying in here. This used to be my son's bedroom, for when he came to visit me," she heard him say, then heard Hiccup sigh beside her.
Glancing his way, she noted he looked guilty, but upon eye contact, he motioned her forward. "Go, before the Jaeger gets angry again and punches someone other than me," he said, with a weak attempt at a smile.
"Yeah… okay," Passing by Anne, she stepped into the room and found it a bit on the small side; furnished only with a single bed, a window behind said bed, a chest of drawers and an oak wardrobe, with Eret leaning on a spare section of wall.
"Alright, so I guess I'll need to go get pyjamas and stuff later right?"
"I'll take care of that. I've wanted a daughter for years, but my wife died in childbirth."
"I'm sorry."
"It was years ago. I've gotten used to it now. I take it, you like the room?"
Astrid looked around again before answering. "Yeah. I'd call it… snug."
Eret chuckled. "It's okay to call it small, you know."
Meanwhile, Hiccup had his phone out, debating whether or not to make a call. His finger hovered an entry in his contacts, labelled 'Mum'.
He remained like this for several seconds, before at last sighing and making the call.
Sorry, I'm busy right now. Leave a message and I'll get back to you.
"Well that's just great," Hiccup chuckled humourlessly. "Anne, do you have unresolved family drama to deal with?"
"Nope. I take it you do then."
"Yeah. I'm really not a fan. Hey Astrid, you good there? If so, we'll be going."
"Okay, I'll keep in touch!"
"Likewise! With me, Anne."
…
Hiccup poured over a table with a folder and a collection of pictures on top. He focused on the pictures. "Three floors, two exits - one in back, leading to a garden and one in front, leading to the street outside. Have people watching both exits. Which window is Drago's room, I wonder?"
"Furthest on the left. One of the advantages of having people undercover around Drago," said Sigrid.
"Mhm. And using said people to suggest Drago hide in a safehouse belonging to the DDIS. Now I have a feeling I won't like the answer, Sigrid, but how long has Drago been able to access this place?"
"I reserve the right to not answer that."
"Naturally," Hiccup sighed. "Any buildings taller than the safehouse in the vicinity that happen to overlook either the garden or the street; ideally the garden?"
"There is a corner shop across from the safehouse, with what I presume is an apartment for the shop workers on top; but it only provides a view of the street. I can get back to you on what buildings are behind the safehouse however."
Hiccup nodded. "Please do. I'll be waiting. Oh, and let me know why Viggo told Drago about that mission I did."
"Will do."
So with that, Sigrid left the room, leaving Hiccup alone with Anne, who stood by the door.
"You don't talk much, do you Anne?"
"Nope. More of a bookworm than a social butterfly."
"Hmm. What else don't I know about you?"
"A bunch of things, but nothing I'd like to share."
"Alright then. What would you do if you had a falling out with a friend? A friend of mine - my friend for the longest time - recently found out something I wanted to keep under wraps. As I expected, they didn't like hearing about the thing in question, and now I'm not sure what to say to fix things between us - since this is a first for me. So I'm going to have to try and make up with him, but how do I start? We've never been at odds like this before."
"Find an olive branch; something that will make your friend happy. Work things out from there. I can't give specifics though, since I don't know your friend."
"I think that will help. Thanks, Anne."
"No problem."
Their conversation ended then, with a silence forming that was eventually broken by Sigrid's return. "Viggo has just messaged me that Drago is planning to head back to his home in Iceland tonight. So we're getting some guys ready to head out. That includes you, Hiccup, so follow me."
"I'll come to watch then, I guess," muttered Anne.
…
William sat down at the briefing table and looked around at his squadmates. They were all talking to each other, looking at their phones, or reading the briefing packets his boss had distributed.
It was William's first day on the job, and he didn't know any of his coworkers yet, and though he'd been training with them for a few months, he didn't feel comfortable trying to start a conversation with any of them.
At the sudden quiet thud of the folder landing on the desk in front of him, the DDIS operative didn't even look up to see who had delivered it to him, instead choosing to dutifully open it and start reading through his briefing packet.
The target for today's mission lived in Skagen, at an address around ten minutes from where William currently was.
His name was Drago Bludvist, a former Jaeger, performing missions that were concealed by black ink, before resigning in 1998, William read.
After resigning, he'd settled in Iceland and took up the reins of his family's company; a bi-national private security firm now named DB Security.
They were to breach the listed address and arrest the man, as well as two of his associates, using lethal force if necessary.
It was at this point that William's boss, a man named Hans, entered the room, and his squadmates stopped talking and attentively turned their eyes to their leader, who ignored them all and approached three other people; a man who was hairless from the chin and up, dressed in a soldiers uniform, with at least two weapons on his person, plus a backpack and headphones resting over his ears, and two women, one with pale blond hair in an intricate braid that disappeared behind her shoulder, and the other with unstyled black hair framing her face.
The blonde woman wore a shirt and black tie, with a black coat on top, matching the other woman who was close by. As William observed them, he noted that she was the oldest of the three; as hinted by a few large streaks of grey contrasting against the rest of her hair, with the soldier and black hair appearing similar in age.
They had arrived, forgoing introductions and heading over to stand in a corner of the room, where they been silently standing for a few minutes now, looking around at everyone and doing little else, but as Hans approached the trio, they engaged in muted conversation.
William's boss was a veteran of the DDIS. He was a hulking man about six feet tall, and though William was unsure of his age, he guessed that he was maybe fifty or fifty-five years old judging from the wrinkles on his face.
But besides these wrinkles, he showed no signs of old age or deterioration, and he was such a strong and successful leader that it was doubtful he'd be retiring anytime soon.
Hans' conversation - whatever it had been - came to an end, and he turned away, his eyes as well as those of the soldier's sweeping across the room, taking in William and his colleagues before he began to speak.
William listened to his boss's briefing, but it was mostly just a rehash of everything he'd read in the packet. They were to breach this Drago character's house and arrest him, while making sure to be extra careful, in light of their target having combat experience.
"Extra care should be taken as our target for the day has plenty of combat experience and likely a firearm, so I ask you all to stay alert during this mission. That is all. Dismissed," Hans reminded them, somewhat needlessly, before they all filed out of the room.
With that, they headed out. William's team had 11 other people, not including the silent trio, and William's was one of the two breachers designated to enter the scene after one of their squadmates had breached it.
"What do you think they're here for?" one of his colleagues voiced, as they traversed the hallway in the direction of the armoury.
The trio and Hans were walking ahead, with the soldier bringing up the rear, and apparently not out of earshot, for he spoke then. "I'm here to make sure Drago doesn't get away. He's a slippery fuck. If he tries to run for it again, I will make sure that he dies."
A pause before someone else spouted their own question. "Care to tell us why you went for a hairless look? Also, did you get in a fight recently?"
"Shaving my hair off, including my eyebrows was for a dare. And yes I got into a fight recently."
"Who'd you fight?"
The soldier turned and looked back, a half-smile on his face. "Nobody you boys would know."
William found himself unwittingly intrigued by the nameless soldier as he and his colleagues picked up their gear from the armoury, taking note of the man not wasting any time in collecting a gun case that had been propped up against a wall before he left again, the other two following him.
It left William more curious than he would like, but he had no time to satisfy his curiosity by finding out where the soldier went because his colleagues were swift to gear up, which meant it was time to bundle themselves into Renault Trafic vans and head out to begin their mission.
Coming to a stop at their destination, they parked the two DDIS vans a few blocks away from Drago's place to avoid alerting him, then proceeded the rest of the way on foot.
They found themselves assembling outside a block of flats.
"Negative on scan," William heard over his comm, after the other team flew a drone by him, overhead. He wasn't quite sure what that meant, but Hans, who was right next to him, told him: "That means we didn't pick up any heat signatures. Either he's not inside, or he did something to trick the sensors."
Considering his background, William thought, it was more likely that he'd figured out some way of hiding himself from the sensors. Hans made a gesture, and one of the squad members went forward to place a breaching charge on the house's front door.
He professionally attached it and retreated out of range of the blast to come, which was the cue for William to prepare to enter the house, He and his fellow breacher took up opposite positions on each side of the door, and the breach charge started counting down from 3.
When it detonated, destroying the door and sending a shockwave out; William and his teammate were prepared for it, and they braced themselves against the recoil before quickly rushing into the house.
They did a quick sweep of the entrance hallway, and William noticed that all the exterior walls had been shielded with aluminium foil. At the end of the hallway was an open door, which led to the living room.
William's squadmate proceeded to the living room, but William put his hand on his shoulder and pointed at the ground near the door. They both activated their night vision goggles, and sure enough, there was an almost invisible tripwire.
William stepped over it, followed by his teammate and he noted to his team over comms: "Tripwire in doorway from entrance to living room."
Though no lights were on, they could see perfectly using the night vision goggles, and they took a quick visual sweep of the living room. The furniture looked expensive, and there were pieces of exotic art on the walls and shelves.
The room seemed empty. There was one set of stairs on the left side of the room that led down, and another set of stairs on the right side that led up.
William's squadmate gestured towards the left side of the room, and they proceeded to the downward stairs. It was good thinking: the suspect would probably expect them to head upstairs first, presumably thinking that he would be in the bedroom.
They both knelt right above the first stair and took a look at the staircase. William's squadmate said "8," and William checked out the eight stairs. It seemed mostly clean, but there was a trace amount of sawdust on one side of it. It had probably been booby-trapped.
William took a weighted steel cylinder from his belt and rolled it down the stairs. It was meant to activate this type of trap, and sure enough, when it hit the eighth stair, a shotgun that had been hidden in the wall under the stair fired off a blast directly upward. The steel cylinder was propelled upward, then harmlessly rolled down to the bottom of the steps.
William told his team over comms, "Triggered shotgun trap with weight. Still no contact with suspect," He took point and proceeded slowly down the staircase, stepping over the now destroyed eighth step.
The basement was not as well-furnished as the living room, but it was not empty. Littered around the room were bomb-making equipment, chemicals, and a few firearms.
Out of the corner of his eye, William noticed someone step out of one of the adjoining rooms. He quickly swung his gun around and trained it on him.
It was Drago, the scars on his face unmistakable and matching the pictures in the briefing, but he had clearly been surprised by William. Perhaps he had been expecting the police rather than the DDIS – the police would probably have been maimed or killed by his series of traps.
He had a gun; a USP9, in one hand and an empty suitcase in the other, but he was too slow to drop the suitcase and raise the pistol. William and his squadmate both rushed at him, tackling the man-mountain to the ground before he could fire. Drago certainly looked strong enough to overpower them, but never got the chance to do so as two men burst out of the room he had emerged from and helped to subdue him by holding him down so that William could snap handcuffs around his wrists.
"DDIS Agents Viggo and Ryker Grimborn, at your service," William idly heard the shorter of the two men say.
All in all, William felt pretty good about his first day on the job.
"Suspect is in custody. I repeat, suspect is in custody. All personnel withdraw."
Well, that's an anticlimax, but thank Thor it's over with, thought Hiccup as he heard the words through his earpiece while observing the safehouse - which was disguised as a block of flats - from across the street via the scope of his sniper rifle.
"Time to thank the shop owners for letting me use this room, Anne."
"Yeah, I heard. Let's go then. I'll go prepare myself for a ride on your deathtrap of a vehicle."
"Don't diss my motorbike now, Anne. It doesn't usually bite."
Once back at the DDIS building in Skagen, one Hiccup Haddock was moderately pleased with having Drago at his mercy in an interrogation room - the same one Astrid had been brought to, earlier.
Drago received a fist to his left eye as he sat with his hands handcuffed to the bed frame, with the punch carrying enough force to leave a bruise. "That was for having my friends killed with the help of Finn Hofferson."
The same thing happened to his right eye. "That was for putting Cami in a coma."
Finally, a punch to the underside of his jaw forced Drago's teeth to collide together painfully but then mocking brown stared into stormy green. "That was for bringing my girlfriend into the mess caused by you."
Hiccup then finally turned away. "He's all yours now Sigrid. Let me know when Anne and I can bring him to Bertha as a peace offering."
Sigrid smiled grimly. "With pleasure."
…
[1] Arrest them now. On the double!
[2] Hands on your heads! All of you! Then slowly get out of the van!
A/N: So I struggled a fair bit with this last scene, ending with me giving up and commissioning someone on Fiverr; a writer who goes by the username of "dudewhowrites" before I used their work and edited it to fit the feel of this story. They were a great help, and I recommend them to any of you guys.
Now, onto writing the aftermath of this development here, as well as other things as we begin to bring this story to a close.
But that will come in a fortnight. TGS'verse is due to come along next week.
B/N: Beta-read and approved for publishing by CommanderGreya.