The Gentle Sniper

Chapter 30: Contacting the Past

A/N: Thanks to my lack of academic skill, I have some things to address, so this will be the last chapter I write for you fine people until the middle of August.

Woe is me.

Review Responses

CajunBear73: You'll see what happens ;)

Scrumblenut: It's a good thing they're forgiving, isn't it?

…

It was now 1 PM, and Hiccup was sat on his motorbike, on the sidewalk just beyond the ferry dock, watching a few massive cranes, blue in colour, busily at work unloading a ship docked across the harbour from him, alongside a couple of the smaller more mobile versions, yellow in colour, moving around as they carried a cargo container each.

His focus was solely on these, and the occasional seagull he spotted flying past. So much so that he didn't notice the Range Rover pull up beside him until its hazard lights flicked on.

"Hazard lights on a car filled with DDIS personnel. If that isn't a metaphor about you lot being dangerous and to be avoided at all costs, I don't know what is," Hiccup commented with a smile as he turned to face an approaching Sigrid.

"Rude," murmured a bemused Sigrid, followed by the duo sharing a laugh before she placed the folder she was carrying in Hiccup's hands.

"These are the files on those two soldiers you asked about, and Major Hansen is in Aalborg. Set to retire later this year I'd wager though. I believe you owe me five krone now, so pay up."

"You lot do work fast, I'll give you that," Hiccup admitted, as he stuffed the folder in an empty compartment of his backpack, then brought out his wallet and handed her a note. "You wouldn't happen to have my sniper rifle in that Range Rover, would you?"

"No, but it's at the local office. You'll need to come with me; particularly since Viggo wants to talk to you about something concerning Drago - he didn't tell me more than that."

"Okay. You should get some people ready to nab Alvin. He sent someone to find me - who I sent packing - but Alvin will be on his way here expecting to meet me here."

Sigrid nodded. "How fortunate for us. I'll let someone know. Now, follow me please."

A little while later, the Range Rover and Hiccup on his motorbike, drove into an underground car park, complete with a manned kiosk and barrier at the entrance.

"Welcome back, Berkian lot. Still lost I see," the man in the kiosk uttered.

"Just scoping out this city before we invade," came Sigrid's reply. "We've even brought a soldier along with us."

"Aww, and I thought we were getting along, Haddock. You seemed fun when you turned up here yesterday. Should have known you were a sellout though."

Hiccup shrugged. "Still loyal to my hometown, Alfred, even if some of the people who live there are the worst."

The man laughed. "I hear you. Now, head on in."

After parking, Sigrid led the way to a waiting room on the floor above the car park before leaving to seek out Viggo.

Well, I say it was a room; it was more of an area, containing little more than an oak wood bench and serving as a joint between two corridors, with a wall directly in front of Hiccup and the backrest of the bench he was sitting on and another wall behind him.

Hiccup spent the time waiting for Viggo by taking out his phone for the umpteenth time that day, checking to see if he had received any new texts.

There was nothing, however, not even a reply from Astrid.

I guess the ol' Eret patriarch has her rather busy at the moment.

So with that thought, Hiccup returned his phone to his pocket and crossed his arms as he continued to wait for Viggo.

"Room for one more?"

Hiccup said nothing in reply but shuffled over a little on the bench.

It was only when Viggo sat down beside him that Hiccup spoke, glancing sidelong at the man with crossed arms as he did so. "What did you want to say to me? I have places to be, so make it quick."

"Copenhagen right? That's one of these places you intend to go to, I assume? Well I'll take your silence as a yes. In that case, I have some bad news."

"Out with it."

"Your mother doesn't want you there. Sigrid thought it best if I was the one to tell you."

"So I won't interfere in her mission or some shit? Well, she's not in a position to stop me, and don't you get any ideas either."

"I wouldn't dream of it, particularly since you Haddocks are infinitely stubborn. And it may be for our benefit anyway; that Krogan and co end up being arrested by you - would keep any suspicion off of me and Ryker. But now onto the real reason I wanted to speak to you: about your mission from years past and how Drago learned of it."

Hiccup turned and faced Viggo properly. "You have a mole in the DDIS somewhere."

"Quite astute there, Hiccup," Viggo nodded. "I believe it to be my brother, and I need someone to take care of him. It can't be me, because he would suspect that. So it has to be you. Or at the very least, someone who doesn't work for the DDIS and has little to no trust of said organisation. Again, so he doesn't suspect me when I make the final move."

"You want me to make him think I'm going to kill him, so you can arrest him. My answer is no."

Viggo frowned. "I'll have to ask you to re-"

"I am not going to get involved in something like that. If you had asked me five years ago, I would have agreed. Not now. Not after everything your pretend boss has done. Not after what I did. Find someone else to take care of it."

"A pity, but understandable. You wish for your friends not to have a reason to hate you again, correct?"

"Yes."

Viggo nodded again, and when he resumed speaking, his tone was colder. "Well I can tell you that despite your misgivings about this task, you will do it, or you will find all of Denmark will learn of what you did."

Hiccup groaned aloud, his head falling back against the wall as he did so. "Blackmail? Really? You plan to blackmail a soldier with guns on his person? Not the smartest decision."

"I brought my kevlar vest, so I think I'll live. This is the part where you agree, Hiccup."

Hiccup stood up with a sigh. "If only murder was legal. Where is he and what exactly do you want me to do? Knock him out?"

"Yes. Once you've done that, come find me and show me where you put him. I'll handle the rest. Oh, and he was in the staffroom last I saw him. At the end of that corridor," Viggo finished, extending an arm to the right of Hiccup.

"How do you know he's a mole anyway?"

"He's the one who informed Drago of you-know-what, despite your assumption that it was me.

"Alright," Hiccup sighed aloud. "We're done here. If we ever cross paths again, it'll be too soon."

"I suppose this is farewell then, Hiccup," Viggo called after him.

"That's Henry to you," Hiccup retorted. "Only my friends get to call me that."

The staffroom in which the man of the hour was located was unique, in that it contained an ATM to withdraw cash for the two vending machines that were beside it, with all three units backed up against the wall at the back of the room and the first things that were visible to anyone who entered.

After spotting these, Hiccup then registered Ryker perched on a well worn brown leather couch off to the right side of the room, distracted by the phone call he was engaged in; sparing Hiccup little more than a glance.

This allowed Hiccup to approach the ATM and the drinks vending machine thereafter. Then he turned his attention to the DDIS agent who was none the wiser, armed with a bottle of Dr Pepper.

Thunk!

"What the hell is wrong with-?!" Ryker exclaimed but went ignored as Hiccup dealt a sucker punch with his right hand that completed the task of knocking out the confused man, before collecting Ryker's dropped phone and the bottle of Dr Pepper from the floor.

"Ryker? Ryker! What happened? Pick up!" Hiccup heard as he held the device to his ear.

"Hello, this is HHH calling. Your guy fell asleep I think. Can I help you?"

"Sorry, wrong number," the guy on the other end said before hanging up.

Pity. I would have loved to chat with you, Drill Sergeant. Well, I guess that proves that Viggo was right about him being a mole. Which begs the question; is there anyone we can trust at this point?

"Good work," Hiccup heard Viggo say suddenly, finding him standing in the doorway. "You would make a good enforcer. Mind working for the DDIS sometime?"

Ignoring him for the moment as the thought continued bouncing around his head, Hiccup took a swig from his Dr Pepper then put the lid back on.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. No," Hiccup deadpanned. "Was essentially an enforcer for the army for a number of years, and you know how that went. No way in Helheim am I doing that shit ever again."

"How about a liason then? You're clearly not biased towards the DDIS, so think about it sometime."

"…Did you just come up with the idea right now, or have you given this some thought?"

"I'll let you decide which it was. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to tend to my wayward brother."

So Viggo stepped into the room and over to the unmoving form of Ryker, slumped against the couch while Hiccup stood still with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Liaison, huh? But wait, I'm still holding Ryker's phone.

"Hey, you'll be needing this," said Hiccup, tossing Viggo Ryker's phone, which the older man almost dropped before turning away. "You should get Ryker some ice by the way. I have a feeling he'll need it. Farewell now."

…

Across the country, three men were in a certain living room in a certain house overlooking a certain high school.

Krogan was pacing the length of the room in silence, Grimmel's lips were drawn together in a thin line as he gazed out of the room's only window from the armchair he was sitting on and Mildew was located on the edge of a sofa that was placed against the wall beside the door.

As for his mood…

"What are we going to do?! If they weren't onto us already, with Drago having been arrested, they certainly are now! We should run, while we still can…"

"We will do no such thing!" Krogan snarled. "Besides, where can we run to?"

"Anywhere but here for starters. We should also get rid of the politician. He's dead weight now…"

"In that, we can agree at least," Krogan sighed as he stopped pacing to glance at Grimmel. "What say you?"

"We go after the kid, and use him and the politician to buy ourselves the time we need to decide where to escape to, next. It's close to what the boss wanted us to do, anyhow."

"There's no chance that'll work," muttered Mildew.

"Do we have any other choice? I'd love to hear it, if we do."

"We don't, unfortunately. So I'm in. I'll call Valka and tell her to get ready. We'll make our move tonight. Best suck it up, Mildew."

"Wonderful," the man groaned but protested no further.

…

I couldn't take it, couldn't stand another minute

Couldn't bear another day without you in it

All of the joy that I had known for all my life

Was stripped away from me the minute that you died

The lyrics of the song emanated from Hiccup's headphones as he stepped up to Eret Sr's apartment door and knocked.

To have you in my life was all I ever wanted

But now without you, I'm a soul forever haunted

Can't help but feel that I had taken you for granted

No way in hell that I can ever comprehend this!

The door opened then and Astrid's head poked out, her face flushed and hair on a bid for freedom from her braid.

"Hello there."

"General Kenobi. How good to meet you again," she smiled and opened the door a bit more as if to invite him in.

I wasn't dreaming when they told me you were gone

I was wide awake and feeling that they had to be wrong.

But then she registered the words of the song Hiccup was listening to and she wrinkled her nose as her smile died a harsh death. "Please tell me you're not listening to red like roses."

"I am," Hiccup confirmed. "Problem?"

"Really not a fan of that song. Please turn it off or at least turn it down so only you can hear it."

It's like a movie, but there's not a happy ending

Every scene fades black and there's no pretending

Hiccup fished out his phone but then paused, glancing back at Astrid. "One sec though. You want to get out of here and find a gun range to train at? I know one from when I spent some time here in Aalborg."

This little fairytale doesn't seem to end well

There's no knight in shining armour who'll wake me from the spell.

"About learning to use a sniper rifle, right? Yeah, I'm down for that. I saw your text not too long ago. But what's in the case?"

Hiccup glanced at the briefcase in his left hand. "Sako TRG 42. The sniper rifle I first learned to use."

I know you didn't plan this

You tried to do what's right

"Alright, I'll go get ready and tell my sensei I'm leaving now."

"You do that. Don't forget your braid. Might want to tidy it up. I know how you women are obsessed with hair."

But in the middle of this madness

I'm the one (I'm the one, I'm the one)

Left to win this fight

"You don't know the half of it, babe. Come inside and wait, I'll be right back."

So once she had disappeared back inside, Hiccup followed suit, closing the door behind him just as Eret Sr made an appearance.

"Hey."

"Hello. I suppose you'd like to know how she did while sparring against me."

"Badly? I mean, you are a special forces soldier and she isn't."

"True, but she was certainly tenacious. How long have you known her?"

"A few weeks."

"Don't let her go."

"I'll sure try not to."

The older man turned a baleful eye on him. "Try? Like you tried to save my son? Or your other friends? I fear for her life in that case."

Hiccup's expression turned sour. "You have every right to be mad at me, but you have no right to mention them, sir, and imply that they died because of me. You weren't there."

"More's the pity. If I was, maybe they'd all still be alive."

At this, Hiccup let out a harsh breath and closed his eyes as he turned away.

"I wonder if that's why you wanted me to train her- because you're worried you'll get her killed?"

Eret accepted the punch to the jaw that followed with little more than a pained grunt, then had the gall to smirk at Hiccup as he spread his arms. "I thought you'd hit harder. Try again."

Despite himself, even as he stood there with fists clenched at his sides and blood boiling, Hiccup didn't punch him again, reigning his anger in by a hair's breadth. "You're not worth the effort. What even is the point of this? Two idiots who have lost friends - family in your case - fighting won't bring them back."

"Typical," Eret grunted.

Ignoring him now, Hiccup turned away again as he called out. "Astrid, you ready?"

"Almost! Just give me a few more minutes here."

"Okay, I'll be waiting outside."

"Okay!"

"You should find a gym with a punching bag. Works wonders for dealing with loss, at least for me," Hiccup said with one last glance at Eret before he left.

…

"I'll need to see some ID. This gun range is for soldiers only."

Reaching into his leather jacket, Hiccup brought out a laminated card and set it down on the desk in front of the manager. "That good enough for you?"

Glancing at the card, the man coughed. "A-apologies, sir. Take any lane you wish. There's also an outdoor section if you want to practice with a sniper rifle."

"Perfect, lead the way."

As the man hurried around the desk, Astrid picked up the card with keen interest. "Huh. You weren't kidding yesterday. You really are a Jaeger."

"Why would I lie about something like that?" Hiccup questioned with a raised brow. "And I'd like that back if your curiosity is satisfied, milady."

She smiled and held it out. "Here you go, sir knight."

Hiccup slid his arm in hers, putting the card away, and they set off with the manager leading the way.

A short while later, Hiccup and Astrid watched from the entrance to the outdoor section of a gun range in Aalborg as a helicopter took off in the distance beyond the grass field where they were situated.

The pair were silent as they picked out a lane in the field, put on ear protection and got ready with the rifle Hiccup had brought along while lying on their bellies in the grass.

Once this was done, Hiccup turned his focus from the rifle a little bit in front of them and piped up as he worked affixing a suppressor to the sniper rifle. "So earlier, an old superior of mine suggested I should become a liaison in the future."

"Liaison, huh? You're considering that?" Astrid wondered as she watched him work.

"Haven't decided yet. Probably won't do it, but it might be interesting all the same. Not sure. Anyway," Hiccup continued, turning back to the rifle which he shifted over so that it resided in front of Astrid. "The first step in using one of these is to pull the bolt there backwards-" he navigated her fingers to the aforementioned bolt. "-then slide it forward again to load a bullet."

It took a few tries, but Astrid nodded with a smile once she managed it successfully. "Okay. You know, I can hardly believe you're a Jaeger, but you showing your ID to the manager back there was pretty convincing proof. You have to show me your uniform sometime, babe."

"As my lady wishes, so it shall be. Now you pull the trigger after aiming, rinse and repeat. It's that simple. That said, let's see where your shot lands on that paper target down range."

Bang!

"Fuck, I missed the centre. Another try then."

"You'll manage it. I believe in you."

"Hush now, you. Don't patronise me."

"That wasn't my patronising tone, Astrid. You haven't heard anything yet. Anyway, you go practice some more while I pick some music."

"Alright."

Tink!

Right, what song to go with?

Bang!

Blue Monday, Sebastian Böhm perhaps?

Tink!

Nah, something else. But what?

Bang!

Hiccup sighed in frustration and put his phone away again, then pulled his headphones down so they ended up hanging around his neck. "Hey, Astrid…"

Astrid paused, finger on the trigger of the rifle. "Hmm?"

"You want to go on a journey once we're done here? There are some folk I'd like you to meet. But if you'd rather not, I can call Heather to come pick you up."

Astrid sighed. "Yeah, I'd like to come with you, but I really should get back to work instead. Wait, did Heather let Throk know what happened to me? That I'm okay and all?"

Her counterpart nodded. "Yeah, Sigrid took care of that while you were out, yesterday. And I had Fishlegs pass a message along this morning, to Heather, just in case."

"Alright. Well I'll call her to come pick me up. Where was it you wanted to go to, anyway?"

"Copenhagen; but now that I think about it, it's probably all the better that you don't come along. Things might just get… heated."

"Heated, how?"

Hiccup blinked. "Wait, did I ever mention to you that my mother was thought dead but was actually alive the whole time?"

It was Astrid's turn to blink. "No. You didn't mention it to me. When did that happen? How did that happen? I need details."

"Well it's something I kinda forgot about, with everything that's been happening recently. It happened a few days ago."

"Even so, how do you just forget about something like that?"

"She 'died' six years ago, Astrid. And for all that time, she said nothing to me."

"Oh."

"Yeah, so how about instead of talking about that loaded topic, we have a competition to see who can get the most bullseyes with the sniper rifle, until Sigrid gets here?"

Astrid gazed at him for a long moment, her eyes tracing his face as if searching for something before she sighed. "Only if you're sure about that…"

"I am. Let's do it."

She nodded slowly, and when she spoke again, Hiccup noted that her voice lacked some of its usual competitive zeal. "Alright then," a sigh passed her lips. "You're on."

"We don't have to do it if you'd rather not."

"No, it's fine. I'll get started first."

"Okay, you do that."

Tink!

Bang!

Whipping out his phone, he sent off two texts; each meant for a different person, then put the device away again. "Okay-"

Tink!

Bang!

"-I'm ready now. You're a fast learner, clearly."

"Mhm."

"Alright, let's get started on this competition of ours."

…

A mid-afternoon breeze wafted over Hiccup's head and parted the flaxen blond strands attached to the duo on either side of him. With the aforementioned breeze came words, drifting towards him from his left.

"A sniping competition, huh? How'd you both do?" Inquired Sigrid.

"I got ten bullseyes, and I think I did quite well all things considered. Though Hiccup easily beat me, as one would expect. He got to thirty before he stopped. I think it was out of pity though. He could easily have kept going," answered Astrid.

"You assume correctly, milady," said Hiccup.

An hour had elapsed now, and Hiccup, Astrid and Sigrid were leaving the gun range, traversing the short distance between the building and Sigrid's Range Rover in the car park outside; walking beneath a sky that was cast a pale blue.

"How modest of you, Hiccup. Now tell me; do you intend to hang onto those guns forever? Or do you have a goal in mind that requires them?"

With the words uttered by Sigrid, Hiccup found himself being gazed at by a set of inquisitive eyes that faced him from the right.

"Would you believe me if I said I forgot I was wearing them?"

The pair of eyes on his right moved with the head they were set within, in a side-to-side motion. "Not really, babe. I use a gun, and always know when I'm wearing it."

"Have you been using your gun for a decade?" Hiccup countered.

"Touché, I suppose," she conceded.

With a half-smile, Hiccup turned his attention to Sigrid now. "Anyway, I can hand them all over to you, plus the ammunition in my backpack."

"Call me when you get back to Berk, Hiccup," Astrid requested of him, speaking through the lowered passenger side window.

"You got it," Hiccup nodded.

"Great," she grinned and waved as the Range Rover started to pull away. "See you soon!"

Hiccup waved, then turned and headed for his motorbike. Reaching it, he was quick to don his helmet, climb on, bring his motorbike to life and set off.

Next stop: Aalborg Airport.

…

"One ticket for your next flight to Copenhagen, please," Hiccup requested.

"Alright. No luggage with you?" the woman behind the desk inquired.

"Nope, just me."

"Perfect. Makes my job quicker," the woman smiled a little, then started typing away at the keyboard on the desk.

As she did so, Hiccup gazed up at the brightly lit overhead sign.

Danish Air

Transport

Real imaginatively named, guys.

"Might I suggest a rebrand? To something a bit more original than that…" Hiccup prompted with a glance at the airline worker.

She looked up from the monitor on her desk and smiled at him, laughing lightly. "Yeah, it's not the best name ever. We're working on it. I hope so at least."

Hiccup chuckled. "Good luck. Anyway, can I pay now?"

"One sec… Now you can."

After paying, Hiccup parted ways with the woman with a wave and headed for his gate.

He glanced at his ticket. Right, which way to gate six?

Later, Hiccup engaged in the process of putting his leather jacket back on, then took his backpack, headphones, phone and belt from the grey plastic tray and put those on, but not in that order of course.

Then, he set off once more. Stepping into the lounge beyond security, he spotted an empty seat and made a beeline for it, occupying a spot opposite two men; identical twins clad in immaculate business suits with short brown hair, matching eyes and a splattering of freckles.

Then one of them began to speak. "Was war denn letztens in der Firma los? Ich habe nur von irgendeinem Zwischenfall gehört."

The other replied. "Da komme ich eines Morgens ins Büro und plötzlich stürmt mir meine Sekretärin entgegen. Ich habe sie gefragt was denn los sei. Daraufhin meinte sie nur panisch: ´Hans, hol den Flammenwerfer, da ist eine Spinne drin!´"[1]

So one of the twins over there is called Hans? And I think they're German since they said 'Flammenwerfer'. Interesting… Hiccup mused as the two brothers started laughing over what they had said to each other.

Paying the twins no further mind, Hiccup raised his headphones from where they hung around his neck to his ears and busied himself in selecting a song to listen to.

No ones gonna take me alive!

'Time has come to make things right!

You and I must fight for our lives!

You and I must fight to survive!

Hiccup paused the song. Nice song, but not really feeling like listening to Knights of Cydonia right now. What's next?

Summer has come and passed

The innocent can never last

Wake me up when September ends

That'll do nicely.

As the song continued to play, Hiccup leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

Like my fathers come to pass

Seven years has gone so fast

Wake me up when September ends

Here comes the rain again

Falling from the stars

Drenched in my pain again

Becoming who we are

But then his phone vibrated in his hand, drawing his attention once more.

You won't need to worry about Alvin anymore. We've got him. Also, Bertha was quite pleased to receive Drago, judging by the message she sent me.

Sigrid gave you her phone, I presume? I never did get your number all those years ago.

As my memory rests

But never forgets what I lost

Wake me up when September ends

Actually, that was Cami - she told me your number in case she was ever taken to hospital and unable to tell you to come visit on her own. Speaking of which, I hope to see you around when she wakes from her coma.

I see. Smart idea, even if it seems a bit of a moot point right now. Also, if I'm not there when Cami wakes up, call me; I'll come running.

Summer has come and passed

The innocent can never last

Wake me up when September ends

You're not wrong; it is moot. Anyway, I'll hold you to your promise to come running when she wakes. Now I should get back to focusing on my post, lest I be out of a job. Bye for now.

Aight. Later, Anne.

Pocketing his phone, Hiccup leaned back with eyes closed once more as the song continued to ring in his ears.

Ring out the bells again

Like we did when spring began

Wake me up when September ends

Here comes the rain again

Falling from the stars

Drenched in my pain again

Becoming who we are

As my memory rests

But never forgets…

…

The sky was cast a rich orange and Lieutenant Loft was on her second patrol of the day; the last one she would do before turning in, and she was just about to observe the side and rear of the building when she noticed a taxi had pulled up alongside the guard kiosk that resided on the edge of the grass which stretched between the road and the mansion.

Since the Marienborg was the residence of each consecutive prime minister and their families while in office, visitors were few and far between, always known to be due well in advance and usually not arriving via public transport.

So Loft was understandably curious that someone had shown up in this way.

Abandoning her patrol for the moment, Loft crossed the grass, heading towards the taxi for a closer look at the person who had arrived.

When the Jaeger was close enough to lock eyes with the person who had arrived, who had stepped out of the vehicle by this point, the matter of the person's identity quickly became clear.

However…

"What the fuck did you do to your hair, Fishman?"

"All in good time. Is there a spare room free and where is Valka Haddock? I'd like a word with her."

"Your mother? Probably doing maid stuff. When did I become your servant though?" Loft finished with a half-smile.

Hiccup quirked a brow at her. "Do you want me to order you to find and tell me where she is? I do outrank you and all the other Jaeger's here, after all."

"Nah, I'll do it. I was just teasing. Be right back."

After she left, the guard in the kiosk to Hiccup's right spoke up. "Welcome back, Captain. What's the story behind you coming back here?"

"I'm more or less a visitor right now. That's all."

"There's more to it than that, otherwise you wouldn't ask to speak to one of the maids, immediately upon arrival."

Hiccup nodded. "That is correct, however it's best for you if you don't know the details."

The guard shrugged. "Alright. Off you go then."

…

The room that Loft led him to was fairly large, containing two bunk beds arranged on either side of the room, making four in total, while a table stood flush against a large window that could be seen from the doorway. Its curtains were pulled back and inner blinds divided up the view to the back garden.

But the blinds weren't the only thing blocking the view to the outside world.

Hearing the door open, the woman in the maid outfit perked up, but it was only until the door closed that she turned to look at him and speak.

"You looked so much better with all your hair intact."

These were the first words she had said to him in six, going on seven years. And it showed; as he looked at her, he noted that hair carried more grey than he remembered, and her face was somewhat more wrinkled, displaying the age difference of this Valka from the Valka he knew. A small part of him wanted to embrace her, but the rest of him remembered that she had purposefully stayed away.

So Hiccup rolled his eyes at her statement. "Let's focus on something much more important, mother, as I'm not in the mood for small talk with you of all people."

Her eyes narrowed at him. "You're not meant to be here. Viggo-"

"Tell me; what do you plan to do about Krogan, Grimmel and Mildew; your supposed buddies?"

"They're not-"

"If they're not your buddies, then you wouldn't have an issue with getting the nearest SWAT team to arrest them, would you? Since we both know where they are. Speaking of which, that was you that I saw watching the street that day, right? Do tell me if I'm wrong about that."

"Arresting them is out of the question."

"And why is that? You wouldn't be working with them, would you?"

"I am not," Valka forced out through gritted teeth. "But there is more at stake here than you know."

"Other than Emil?"

Her eyes widened, and Hiccup sighed. "Oh come on, it's quite obvious. Short of abducting the prime minister herself and using her as a hostage, there is nothing better for Drago's people to do; I mean, isn't that why they put you here?"

Valka coughed, then turned and looked out the window. "Apologies, I was under the impression you were unaware of the situation."

"Didn't Sigrid or the others fill you in?"

She shook her head. "I asked them not to mention what you and Stoick have been doing since you know when. Makes it easier to focus on my job."

"Huh. Well after we've dealt with them, you and I are going to have a long talk."

She nodded slowly, facing him again. "Of course, son. I'll handle the preparations for their arrest first thing tomorrow morning."

Hiccup shot her an unfriendly look. "Okay. And don't call me 'son'. You have yet to re-earn the right to call me that and be considered my mother."

With that, he turned around and sauntered out of the room, leaving her with her thoughts. On the other side of the door, Hiccup encountered Loft face to face.

"You okay?" she inquired. "I heard what you said in there. Don't worry, she told us everything about the situation concerning Emil."

"Y-yeah, I'll be fine. Where am I spending the night? Is there a spare room?"

"Yeah, let me show you."

"Okay, lead the way."

Lead the way she did, all the way to the room he had slept in before.

Hiccup looked at her with a half-smile. "Really?"

"Of course. You think I was going to let you sleep in a room by yourself. You are one of us now, so you stay with us."

"Is there enough room? Bekker told me about the new person."

A mischievous glint entered Loft's eye. "We'll make room. Let him sleep on the floor if we have to."

Hiccup smirked. "How devious of you. But you know I'm not working with you, right? Only visiting, despite how much I would like to work with you folk again; I'm only spending a day here."

"All the more reason to have you sleep in this room with us, right?"

Hiccup grinned. "You're very convincing. Alright, I'm in. Let's do it."

"Good," Loft pushed the door open, and raised her voice as she exclaimed, "Fishman is back to visit! Can somebody please, get this man a bed!"

"With pleasure!" Hiccup heard Bekker announce, and saw her wave at him before getting out of her bed and crossing the room to another bunk.

Thud!

"Ow. Hey, babe, why'd you do that for?" A nameless guy with short blond hair and blue eyes complained from the floor where he now resided, beside Laerke's bunk.

That must be the obnoxious guy she mentioned earlier, Hiccup concluded. Reminds me of my cousin.

"Haddock, the bed's ready for you. Get your butt over there!" Bekker then ordered.

"You're more insistent than I remember," Hiccup muttered, but strolled over, ignoring the unfriendly look sent his way from the nameless blonde on the floor.

Occupying the bed which had been forcibly vacated, Hiccup tossed the guy on the floor one of the pillows at the head of his bunk. "Thanks for the bed. You'll be needing that."

"That's my bed."

"Was your bed. It's mine now; I play for keeps," Hiccup replied, to the amusement of everyone else in the room but Bekker in particular.

Hiccup took the opportunity to check his phone. Still no message from the ol' Major. Guess he's surprised to see a message from me after all these years, not that I can blame him.

Then a sudden idea came to him, prompting a text destined for a certain someone quite close and important to Hiccup.

If you happen to feel up to it, milady, we can spar together once I get back to Berk. And on that note, how did your sparring with Eret go? What did he try to teach you? Let me know so I can figure out what you should learn next.

"Hey, Fishman! Put your phone away and tell us what you've been up to since you left!"

"Found your voice at last, Magnussen? Alright then, a story just for you."

…

[1] What happened lately in the company? I just heard of some sort of incident.

Well, I came to the office one morning and suddenly my secretary rushed towards me. I asked her what was going on. Then she said in a panic: ´Hans, get the flamethrower, there's a spider in there!

A/N: So something I found out while deciding what airline Hiccup would use; I stumbled across Sunclass Airlines, which used to be part of the Thomas Cook group - the callsign for the airline is 'Viking'

Coincidence?

I think not!

Anyway, that aside, I'll see you all in a month.

Bye for now.

B/N: Beta-read and approved for publishing by CommanderGreya.