The Gentle Sniper
Chapter 31: Moves of Desperation
A/N: Guess who's back again?
Review Responses
CajunBear73: Hmmm… well, not much to say here, since that way lies spoilers, so I'll keep quiet on what could happen regarding Krogan, Mildew and Grimmel.
As for Astrid and Valka, I can't wait to write some stuff involving them. But alas, now is not that time.
Scrumblenut: Interesting. My sister is also afraid of spiders, and bugs in general, and my mother happens to be afraid of snakes, while I'm not at all fond of heights.
Hope you continue to enjoy my attempts at humour.
…
It was past the hour of twilight in Copenhagen and the darkened sky concealed a threat in the calm waters that surrounded the Embassy of Iceland. Underwater, two men swan to the farthest terrain, carrying water-proof bags on their backs. Their snorkels went unnoticed by the few guards that patrolled the area.
The rogues saw the reflection of a lonely guard standing at the edge of the lake, unaware of what was coming for him. After gaining Mildew's permission to act in the form of a nod, Krogan quickly arose to the surface and pulled the guard's legs, forcing him underwater as he returned to Mildew, who proceeded to attach weight to the guard's body so it wouldn't float later. Then, upon ensuring the man had drowned, they got out of the water and ran to the nearest cover to check their surroundings and equipment.
Hidden behind pillars as a precaution to remain unseen by the other patrolling guards or any CCTV cameras, they got rid of the snorkels and duck feet.
Then Krogan opened his backpack and equipped himself with a gun alongside his partner, both USP9's, recommended by Mildew. They had come prepared for the raid, willing to sacrifice their lives to save their boss, Drago Bludvist.
Krogan used the radio pinned inside the sleeve of his right arm to contact Grimmel, who was watching over them from high ground across the street as a sniper.
"Grimmel, can you hear me?" he whispered. "Cover us while we advance and meet us by the entrance with our bait."
"Roger," and the line fell silent.
"You ready?" Krogan then heard Mildew utter, prompting him to smile.
"Yeah. Let's go make history."
…
Sergeant Viktor Lauritsen perked up when his work phone vibrated in his pocket. Hastily fishing it out, the screen displayed what he suspected.
Rising, he glanced over the wall of his cubicle at a colleague. "We've got a panic call from the Iceland embassy. We should tell the boss and get down there, Tage."
Tage didn't reply, instead choosing to immediately leave his cubicle. Viktor was similarly silent as he followed suit.
"I'll let Copenhagen PD and the DDIS know of this," said the commissioner, who was female. "In the meantime, you two get some people, head down there and secure the area, then find out what happened to our guy to make him use his panic button. Bring whatever firearms and people you feel are necessary. Dismissed."
Tage and Viktor nodded and left.
…
Viggo stared at the man from the window of his cell.
Ryker hunched his shoulders and bowed his head, ignoring Viggo staring attentively at him as he sat on the provided bed with his left hand chained to the bedframe, while food and drink went equally ignored on the bedside table, growing colder with time.
The pointed leather slap on the tiles reached out to Viggo as Sigrid and Johann approached, flanking him and looking into the room.
Then Johann spoke a little later. "Did he say anything at all?"
Viggo shook his head, then went on. "No, but maybe I can loosen his tongue, by myself."
'Is it the best idea? He's your brother…" Sigrid trailed off and glanced his way. "You could be compromised if you aren't already."
"How about you two watch, and I'll talk to him now? If I can't get anything from him, you can ask someone else to take care of the rest."
Viggo's last words were for Johann, who ended up receiving the gaze of two sets of waiting eyes.
Johann's reply was immediate. "Granted. Five minutes. Just go right ahead.
The room gate closed with a click, sealing the two siblings away from the outside world. "You ought to eat a little, brother. I'm sure you'll need your strength."
Ryker said nothing, any more than he looked at Viggo.
"Okay, listen; if you can tell me what you and your contact have been talking about, I can persuade Johann to leave you alone." Otherwise, the information will be forced out of you."
No reply still.
Viggo eyebrows knit together. "How vexing this is, brother dearest."
"I have nothing to say to you," Ryker grunted, at last, not looking at Viggo.
"You should. Better me than DDIS agents who won't be polite with you. What are your associates up to? Tell me, and I'll get Johann to leave you alone."
The silence arose between them for a third time, and Viggo waited a few more moments before sighing and taking leave.
"You should have arrested me when Stoick's boy became curious, brother," Ryker murmured, making Viggo pause before going on his way.
"How was it?" asked Sigrid and Johann when he came back.
"Not well. I haven't got a thing. Have people take care of him; nothing else will work.
Now Johann sighed. "What a shame, and I was eagerly awaiting to know if he had spilled anything. Sigrid, fetch Hans for me. Have him bring his tools."
"Yes, sir," she hastened to leave, and Viggo looked again upon the still shape of his brother on the other side of the glass. "How long do you think he can hold out, Johann?"
"A couple of minutes. Not more than five."
"I say no more than two. You want a bet?"
"You're on. Five Krone says he spills after two minutes."
"Let the luckiest man win," the two shook hands.
But then, Johann's phone started ringing in his pocket.
Drawing it out, the man held it to his ear. "Hello? Yes, this is he… what do you need? Uh, huh. I'll get right on that."
Once his phone was away again, he turned to Viggo. "The bet will have to wait. Get Sigrid," he said.
His tone made it clear that it was an order, and Viggo gave no argument, instead choosing to turn at once and set off in the same direction his colleague had gone.
…
Frederick Lam groaned lowly, startled out of sleep by the harsh buzz of his phone and already protesting that fact. He blinked a few times, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness around him as his mind snapped awake. In his profession, one learned to sleep light and wake quickly. The phone rang and vibrated, moving an inch or so across the nearby nightstand surface with each surge.
"Yeah?" he mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with the back of his left hand, following him snatching up the device.
"Good morning, Lieutenant Lam,"
Lam sat up in bed and almost hit his head on the bunk above him. "Lieutenant Colonel Ulf, sir… uh, how can I help you, sir?"
"We've got a situation. Suffice to say, you and your team are being reassigned. Your replacements are on the way from Rosenborg to brief you on the situation, so sit pretty until they arrive."
"Yes sir."
"Get your team awake and ready for them. That is all."
Once the call ended, Lam tossed his phone onto the duvet, near where his feet were concealed, then got up to do as instructed.
…
Blond hair
Terrified blue eyes
The gunshot that followed.
No sooner had the sound rang out, than Hiccup found himself in a cold sweat, being shaken awake. "Haddock. Haddock! Wake up! Snap out of it!"
Breathing hard, Hiccup sat up in bed, meeting the concerned gazes of Lam, Bekker, Loft and, from behind the trio, the Jaeger operative who had replaced him, while the rest of the room went about the process of waking up fully.
"You okay?" was chorused.
"Y-yeah," Hiccup exhaled shakily. "Just a nightmare. Such is my life, it seems."
"Recurring?" Bekker murmured as she glanced away.
"No, new. Involving someone who's indisposed." Clearly, Bekker's thoughts were elsewhere, but Hiccup was the only person in the room besides the redhead who knew precisely where.
"Alright, well go ahead and get dressed. We've got work to do," said Lam, already crossing the room back to his bunk. Scooping up his phone, he checked the time as his mind drifted back to the earlier phone call.
What could be so important that he calls me at around 2:45 AM?
Answers came some thirty minutes later, in the form of a contingent of six soldiers from the Royal Danish Life Guard, plus the leader of the squad, making seven total.
They emerged from three jeeps; two soldiers from each jeep besides the one the leader climbed out of. Leaving engines running and headlights on, the group advanced across the lawn, converging on Hiccup and the others who stood in a line in front of the house.
Blinking away the last embers of sleep, Hiccup could have sworn that he recognised the leader of the squad in question from somewhere. It was just before the new arrivals reached them that it clicked for Hiccup.
"Long time no see, Marc," he smiled, though the gesture most likely went unseen due to the only source of light being the moon and stars. Nevertheless, Marc strode forward, closing the distance to shake hands with Hiccup.
Then he spoke. "Yeah, not since we became Jaeger's. How've you been?"
Hiccup shrugged. "Let's just say that if I could go back in time while knowing where to find the younger versions of my friends and this lot, I would do it in a heartbeat."
Marc's brown eyes took on a glint of understanding. "Ah. So not good."
"Yeah-"
"Hate to break up the reunion fellas," Bekker cut in, "But did he say he was a Jaeger? If so, why is he dressed as one of the Life Guards?"
"I was a Jaeger. I left active duty after a couple years to become an instructor," Marc explained. "Then I transferred to work with them."
"I didn't know they were running out of tank driving instructors," muttered Hiccup. "Is that why they hired you?"
Marc shook his head. "They're actually doing fine. I have a lot of free time on my hands."
"Alright, I think that's enough chit-chat," Lam interjected. "I got a call that you lot were on your way to brief us and keep an eye on Emil in our place. So what's going on?"
Marc sighed, and when he spoke again, he was all business. "We've got a hostage situation on our hands, and quite possibly, an international incident. Let's talk details."
Conversation resumed only when the group were on their way to Copenhagen proper from the Marienborg estate in the jeeps, having left the six soldiers to replace them behind.
"Alright, first things first. What should we call you? What's your rank?" inquired Loft between yawns.
The jeep they were in had the top canopy down, resulting in hair moving around on a stiff breeze. To Hiccup, who was sat beside Bekker, this proved bothersome as her red strands continuously made contact with his face, prompting her to smile apologetically upon noticing this.
"Captain, just like my friend here," Marc glanced over at Loft, who was in the passenger seat before waving a hand to the rear of the jeep to indicate Hiccup. "You can call me Captain Ipsen - or Marc Ipsen, if you prefer. What is everyone's name?"
"Loft, Kai and Bekker are in this jeep. The rest are Lam, Magnussen, Axelsen, Ipsen, Kai, Dall and Gad," Hiccup quickly listed off. "They're all Lieutenants, besides Bekker, who is a flight lieutenant."
"Way to do the speaking for all of us there, fishman," said Kai, who was sitting on Hiccup's right, next to Bekker
"And single me out," Bekker added with a small smile, from where she sat.
"So we have a pilot in our midst then, snow cub? How interesting. Also interesting is the fact that your callsigns seem to always revolve around some kind of animal."
Hiccup waved a hand in dismissal while turning to look out of the door window on his left. "Yeah, yeah. You mentioned a hostage situation."
"I did. Three men have rounded up the staff of the Iceland embassy to Denmark in Copenhagen; having managed to capture one of our politicians at some point in the past. They're demanding a trade of the prime minister's son and some guy called Drago in exchange for the people they have at gunpoint. Since you're the closest Jaeger's to the embassy, Ulf wants you lot to take care of things."
Thor damn it. Hiccup closed his eyes and bit his tongue. He wanted to scream. Why does everything involve Drago somehow? Odin, give me a chance to kill the people involved in this shit. I won't need more than one opportunity.
"No time like the present then, right?" Hiccup mumbled, stifling a yawn.
"Someone's eager," smiled Kai.
"Less than you might think. I want to deal with this mess, then go back to bed and sleep for a week straight. Suffice to say, I think we'll all need coffee."
"Hear, hear," said Loft, who yawned again.
"That can be arranged once after we get to ground zero, I'm sure," said Marc.
It was Bekker's turn to yawn. "It better be. So is there anything else we should know about the situation? I presume the DSIS will be involved."
"Probably. Can't say for sure. All I know for certain is that the police have set up a perimeter. No civilians are allowed to enter the area for obvious reasons."
"Alright. So I guess we go there, find out how many people are being held hostage, how many hostage-takers there are, then find blueprints on the embassy and practice breaking our way in, back in Aalborg."
"So since the snow cub has everything figured out, does anyone have any questions?" Prompted Marc. A few moments of silence later, he resumed speaking. "Alright, I have one. How do you all take your coffee?"
…
The Iceland embassy in Copenhagen was a red-roofed building that stretched the length of three houses, while perched flush up against a stretch of still water.
However, access to the water was blocked off by a Volkswagen Transporter van marked with the word 'POLTI' on its side, and police tape was bound to the front grill and three other vans arranged around the building, forming a rectangular perimeter.
Hiccup held a hand to his eyes, squinting against the glare of a floodlight, one of two that lit up the area against the inky sky. Beside him, Bekker smiled as she fished into a pocket on her uniform, producing and donning a set of sunglasses, then sipped at the coffee cup in her hand, filled with a Latte.
A couple of hours had passed since they had been woken and summoned to the scene, with a tent being erected, complete with a way to directly communicate to the hostage-takers, which they had used to determine their demands.
Following that, everyone present in the vicinity of the embassy had been filled in on the news; DSIS, who were managing negotiations, the police and of course all eleven Jaeger's present.
"I envy you," Hiccup grumbled into his own cup of coffee, which was a Mocha, once he noticed his companion's eyewear.
Bekker's smile waned and she nodded towards the tent that had been erected, standing between them and the embassy.
"So, how many people did the police say there were again? I remember hearing that there are three hostage takers - how many hostages in total?"
"Eleven," Hiccup answered. "Four guards, a politician and six embassy staff, who they want to trade for Emil and this Drago guy."
Bekker nodded as she continued to stare ahead. "And a fairly long building, with many windows and a red roof, built beside a lake."
"Not to mention a near blinding floodlight, over by that tent. Bekker, you wouldn't happen to have another set of sunglasses?"
"Nope," Bekker said, her smile newly restored as she took another sip of her coffee.
Hiccup sighed dramatically. "Is this revenge for the nickname, 'Ketchup-top?' because you're not being very nice right now."
Bekker looked at him, bemused. "It isn't. I'm just being opportunistically smug right now."
"Wonderful," he groaned, though Hiccup couldn't hold back a smile.
"Oi! Der er en mand i vandet! Nogen får en kran eller scuba gear!" [1]
The sudden shouted words gave everyone pause. "Did that guy say what I think he said?" Bekker murmured.
"Either he did, or we're hallucinating," Hiccup responded.
But that was unlikely, as a currently small, but ever-increasing amount of their colleagues and the assembled police officers were making their way over to the water's edge and peering into the dark depths over yonder.
…
The heavens had chosen this moment to open, letting loose the beginnings of what was quickly becoming heavy rain and the occasional flash of lightning and rumble of thunder as Magnussen, Kai and Dall stood around the corpse of the guard they had plucked from the water which was enclosed in a body bag.
As they did so, the rest of the Jaeger personnel, DSIS and the police on site looked on from within the tent.
Hiccup, in particular, stood with his fists clenched at his sides and shoulders tense. Glancing at Lam and Bekker, who were standing on his left and right respectively, he spoke. "Have either of you watched the movie '6 Days' by any chance?"
"Practically required viewing," said Bekker, with Lam nodding in agreement. "My boyfriend loved that movie."
"Right. So you remember how they suggested having the hostage-takers drive to Heathrow in a bus before the S.A.S would assault the bus and rescue the hostages? Why can't we have that happen here? That way, these fucks might just lower their guard; we've seen what they do when their guard is up."
Bekker sighed while Lam shook his head. "The politicians would never go for that. The media would take that as them giving in, and they can't have that. Only thing they care about is their image."
Bekker sighed again and tossed her empty coffee cup away. "Sadly, he is correct."
Hiccup frowned, then tossed his coffee cup away. "Way to ruin the mood, more than it is already."
Then, with a sigh he turned away, fishing in his pockets for his phone as he did so. "Let me know if you find someone with blueprints for the rooms in the embassy. I'll be right back."
So once he left the tent and was some distance away, he started tapping away at the screen.
If you're awake and aware of the news, I have something I would like to propose. If not, call me back and I'll explain what's going on. It's a matter of life or death, for some people.
Sending the text to Valka, Hiccup then returned to the others, pocketing his phone as he reentered the tent. There he noticed Lam had left the tent and headed out in the rain to where Magnussen and the others were standing. In his place was Bekker's BFF.
"What's his name anyway?" Hiccup opted to ask, drawing two pairs of eyes to him as he approached, standing on Bekker's right.
"I'm lieutenant Pihl," he said. "You're Haddock, right? Like the fish?"
"There's no other way to spell the name, so yes, like the fish…"
Pihl smiled slightly. "True. Anyway, what happens now?"
"Guess we wait to hear what to do next," mused Bekker.
Meanwhile, situated at a table in front of the trio, a DSIS officer was in the midst of a phone call. To his right sat a colleague, a woman, with a landline telephone situated before her, who he glanced at as his phone call progressed.
"Vær underrettet, premierministeren ønsker, at gidseltagerne efterspørger en bus til Copehagen Lufthavn, der skal udfyldes, hvor Jægerkorpset vil behandle sagen, med minimeret risiko for sikkerhedsskader. Giv det lokale team besked, så de kan forberede sig på dette scenario."
Hearing this, the DSIS agent spoke, straightening his back while he sat in his chair. "Ja Hr. Det skal gøres."
"Godt. Fortsæt, Sergeant."
His superior then hung up, and the officer went about his business as ordered, to a certain Haddock's delight upon hearing the news.
"Looks like your plan might be chosen after all," smiled Bekker.
"Yeah…" but his smile was fleeting, as his thoughts then drifted to the demands of the hostage-takers and how they involved Drago Bludvist.
Then Hiccup sneezed. "Anyway, does anyone have a towel? I'll be needing one, since I don't have hair right now and it's raining quite heavily out there."
"Looks like we'll all just have to make a run for those jeeps back there," Bekker replied, not sounding at all pleased with the idea.
"Yeah… Hey, Marc! Start the engines! Let's not stay here longer than we have to…"
…
"Looks like the sun will rise around the time we get back to Aalborg," Hiccup noted. "That said, it looks rather bright out for 4:40 am."
"Maybe it's down to it being cloudless? Anyway fishman, have you found a girl?" Bekker asked, grinning broadly and nudging Hiccup's arm.
"I have, yes," Hiccup turned and smiled into the middle distance, gazing around at the other seats in the fairly empty airport lobby. "And you say that Pihl is the obnoxious one."
"He's been on good behaviour lately. Perhaps due to him sleeping on the floor." Bekker suggested. "Now, spill the beans, Haddock. We hardly know anything about you."
"To be fair, I could say the same," Hiccup pointed out. "None of us know the full names of each other."
Bekker glanced past Hiccup, at Pihl, who sat beside him, then back at Hiccup. "You raise a good point. What's your name? I'll tell you mine if you mention yours."
"What about the rest of you people? Do they want to tell us?" Hiccup countered.
"That's for them to decide," Bekker shrugged, then held out a hand. "Sofie Bekker, nice to meet you."
He took her hand in his own. "Henry Horrendous Haddock the third; a man with the unfortunate childhood nickname of Hiccup. Get your laughs out now."
Sofie Bekker's face contorted as she resisted the urge to do just that. "No, it's… unique. How uh- how did you get that nickname?"
"Guess."
"You got the hiccup's one day in school?"
"Bingo. It was my cousin that thought it up. Now, do please get your laughs out now, before this plane takes off."
"Sure thing, Henry."
"And don't wear out my name now, Sofie."
Bekker saluted him, then looked to Loft, Lam and Kai, who were sitting on the row of seats directly in front of them. "You hear all this right?" she asked conspiratorially.
"Yeah," Kai smirked. "You're never living this down, fishman."
"You better get your laughs out now, before the plane is ready."
"So about this nickname of yours…" Pihl began, but Hiccup snapped a hand over his mouth.
"You be quiet, almost stranger. Capiche?"
Pihl nodded, so Hiccup retracted his hand and withdrew his phone from his pocket.
"You still haven't told us anything about this girl you're apparently dating, Henry. Details, or we'll have to assume she's not real," said Pihl, with Lam, Loft Kai and Bekker nodding their agreement.
"Et tu?" Hiccup sighed but held out his phone for Lam, Loft and Kai to see, then Bekker and Pihl, handing it to the latter. "I have her number. Why don't you call and deal with an irate blonde, after you wake her up? Her name's Astrid by the way."
"I think I'll pass on that."
"Aw, and I would have loved to hear what Astrid would have said to you. Or most likely, shouted at you while in a half asleep state."
"Recompense for being obnoxious. I like it," said Bekker.
"You would," muttered Hiccup.
…
A bus drove into an aircraft hangar that had been emptied for the occasion. Once inside, the driver parked the bus perpendicular to the hangar walls, then turned off the engine.
Mere moments later, the driver instinctively jerked as axes cut through the windows on the bus's left side, followed swiftly by shouting from ten individuals in the infamous Jaeger Corps attire - spouting orders for everyone inside to remain still.
Imagine becoming a Jaeger and glass shattering still makes you jump. Get a grip, Lyng, the driver scolded himself.
Meanwhile, four of the group of ten set down step-ladders, which they climbed in order to level MP5's at the would-be occupants.
The remaining six tore the door open and advanced, only for the training exercise to end when Hiccup was tackled and pinned down in a seat.
"You're rusty, Haddock. You need to keep your head on a swivel, and check every seat," said Major Ulf.
Turning to the others, he continued. "Also, Kai and Magnussen. You were about to make the same mistake by passing Lieutenants Hjort and Toft, who are a few seats behind me, so get your heads in the game."
Now addressing the group as a whole, he added. "Everyone, prepare to go again. We're not stopping training today until sundown or we get this right. Whichever comes first."
…
[1] "Oi! There's a man in the water! Someone get a crane, or scuba gear!"
[2] Be advised, the prime minister wants the hostage-takers' demand of a bus to Copenhagen Airport to be fulfilled, where the Jaeger Corps will deal with the matter, with minimized chance of collateral damage. Notify the local team so they can prepare for this scenario.
Yes sir. It shall be done.
Good. Proceed, Seargent.
A/N: So while writing this, I found out that 'Oi' is a fairly universal term, apparently existing in other European languages, in this case, Danish.
And in other news, I've started learning Danish. I know the words for girl, boy, man, woman, bread, water, milk, reading and newspaper, plus a few phrases involving these words. Duolingo has an interesting teaching order, it turns out.
Also, thanks to windows insider, I am now running Windows 11 on my computer. I like the UI for the most part, but some layout decisions bothered my sense of OCD at first.
Anyone in the same boat? Let me know in a review :)