The Gentle Sniper
Chapter 38: Wanted: Missing Boyfriend: Dead
A/N: Alternate title: Doing business with an enemy.
Onwards, to the reviews:
Review Responses:
CajunBear73: Yeah, it is indeed a briar patch. And uh, strap in and enjoy some family drama, lol.
Scrumblenut: While I appreciate the notion of Fishlegs as a discount berserker, I'm certain you're overestimating T.B's strength. Nevertheless, it is fun to imagine him as the Leonidas of Berk.
Now on with the show!
…
The ringtone of her mobile phone woke up Anja.
Reaching for her phone, she managed instead to knock it from the bedside table, making her curse incoherently under her breath.
"Who the fuck is calling me at seven am?" She asked aloud before responding to the call.
"W-who is this?" She demanded, her voice coming out a tad sleepily.
"Let me tell you a story, Sloth. I spent yesterday's dinner, eating in silence as I stared at someone I once cared a great deal about, while ignoring the attempts of my father and girlfriend to dispel the heavy nature of the atmosphere, pretending not to notice how they walk on eggshells around me.
I then have an early night to avoid them before I cave in and actually have to be nice to them. So naturally, I'm not in the best of moods. Following me so far?"
"Yes?" Anja murmured.
"Good. So I then wake up today at 6 AM, then sneak out and take my girlfriend's car. I then drive home, again to avoid them trying to get me and the person in question to reconcile. Now tell me, after all of that, how would you personally feel to get home and find your pet cat hacking up a furball, only to find that it's not a furball.
It's something the size of a watch battery with a wire attached. Anyone in that situation would take a closer look, I'm sure you'd agree."
On her end, Anja grimaced after a moment as his words registered, before quickly holding the phone at arm's length, knowing what was coming.
He didn't shout his next words, but his tone was calm, though Anja knew better. "You put a bug in my cat's mouth. Get yourself and your superior down here or I will find you and beat you to a pulp, even if I have to search every room in every hotel on Berk."
"Will do. Anything else?"
"Yes. Go fuck yourself, Anja Riel."
He hung up then and Anja leapt out of bed to get dressed in something besides her pyjamas.
On Hiccup's end, he pocketed his phone then looked to Cami, who was eating a buttered up slice of rye bread. "I told you to go take Astrid's car back. This place isn't a bed and breakfast, unless you want to pay me a hundred krone for breaking into my house again."
"I feel like I should ask what that phone call was about," she replied, as she finished off the slice of bread. "I'll drive the car back now."
"Good."
"Now your job is to talk to make up with her over whatever issue you're having."
"Astrid isn't the issue. My mother is. Astrid and my Dad are trying to get us to reconcile though, which I'm not ready for. Hence, I took her car to get out of there."
"I see," Cami nodded before her eyes widened. "Wait, your mother is here on Berk? Why didn't you just say so? I'd have already gone to see her. I want to know how she faked her death without dying!"
"Course you do," Hiccup said with a fond eye roll, watching Cami race for the door.
"Slow down there, book burglar![1] Don't tell my parents or Astrid where I am, please."
"Will do and that is a terrible linguistic joke, Haddock!" She shot back, as she opened the door.
"Says you, who used to make puns all the time when we were dating."
"Touché! Bye!"
Following this, the door slammed shut and quick-moving footsteps could be heard descending the steps to the building's front door, which was then opened and shut.
"Time to make a few calls," Hiccup sighed, reaching for his phone.
When Anja arrived at Hiccup's apartment, she knocked on the door and it was opened by some redheaded girl she didn't recognise.
"He's in the living room, first on the right," said the girl, stepping aside.
Anja hadn't needed the directions, having mapped out the place in her head from her last visit, but gave a nod and started forward as the redhead followed behind.
Inside the living room, she found Hiccup reclining on a sofa and a generously proportioned blonde guy in a wheelchair sitting next to him on Hiccup's left, where the couch ended.
The heads of both turned to look her way, like a pair of tank barrels that were ready to fire.
"You're late, and I thought I told you to bring your superior along as well," Hiccup said with an edge in his voice.
Anja shrugged, moving aside a little as Bekker brushed past to sit on the sofa by the door. "It would take a while to get him to come down here. It took this long for him to respond and agree to speak to you in the first place."
"I'll let the matter slide this one time. Now then, ground rules. First of all, Toothless is off limits. You do that shit again, and I will find you and drag you back here by the ear to fix it. Same goes for anyone I know, without good reason. For instance, the people in this room are off limits to your investigation."
"Okay. Next?"
"Any information on Aage No-Name's whereabouts are to be sent our way without delay," Blonde-Wheelchair chimed in, drawing Anja's focus. "Similarly, if the DDIS happens to find anything on Kasper, we will share it with Interpol."
"Alright. What else?"
"One more thing; I want you to set up a meeting this afternoon with Kasper involving myself and three others."
Anja's eyes shot to Hiccup's. "Hell no. You must think I can control Kasper. I do his bidding, much like I once did the bidding of the Jaeger Corps. It is not my place to organise a meeting between him and you, and even if it was, it wouldn't happen so quickly. I can do little more than pass on your message. Speaking of which, all bets are still off regarding your associates. Even more so, after what you did yesterday."
Green orbs of ice bore into her, then looked away as he got up, no movement wasted in the process. "You're coming with me," he said, eyes somehow growing colder and voice razor-sharp, before it softened a tad, returning to something resembling normalcy for him as he glanced at the blonde guy and redheaded girl, in turn, then back to spearing her with his eyes. "I'll be right back guys. Don't go anywhere."
"Take your time, Hic," said the girl, but Hiccup kept his eyes on Anja, his expression not changing at all.
Anja shivered under his gaze. She knew no one else who could look quite as furious as he.
"Well go on then. Ladies first," he said, and she turned at once, more than happy about not needing to look him in the eyes.
Leaving the room, he followed, eyes boring into her back the whole journey to the front door.
Wordlessly, he moved to the right, through the door of some room, from which emerged a black cat that she had interacted with of course.
It proved to be a smart cat, for it took one look at her, hissed, then slunk away elsewhere, to the amusement of its owner, no doubt hearing the interaction.
Hiccup soon returned, and Anja's eyes immediately flew to the USP9 holstered against his left leg. "On you go," he gestured to the door, a moment before both could hear the building's front door open with a bang as the rapport of footsteps on steps sounded, stopping by Hiccup's apartment door and knocking three times, rattling the door some.
"Expecting someone?" Anja decided to ask.
"No, but there are only three people I know who can and will knock on a door like that…"
Hiccup opened the door and paused.
Standing just beyond the door was not just Stoick, who Hiccup had expected, but Valka as well.
"Beat it," his father told Anja before his eyes slid from her to land on Hiccup. "This is a family matter."
Cami, you had one job.
"Stay," Hiccup countered. "She's not the one leaving. You lot are."
Stoick had the gall to darken his face. "Listen to me, Hiccup-"
"No, you listen to me. This is my apartment. I am in the middle of something at the moment. In much the same way as she has expressed," Here Hiccup nodded at Valka. "Work is more important than family. So you will leave and come back tomorrow. Then she and I will talk. You will ensure she shows up."
"Good. Thank you," spoke Valka. "You won't regret giving me another chance."
"That remains to be seen," replied Hiccup.
Stoick looked to Valka, for once in his life helpless, but couldn't think of a response for her or his son before Hiccup tapped the doorframe with his USP9, having drawn it from his holster.
"There are two kinds of people in this world. Those with loaded guns, and those who walk. You walk," with their attention flitting between him and the gun, he jerked his head to the main door down the stairs.
A moment went by, but neither moved nor even turned away.
"Why are you both still here? Get going, or I will call the police for harassment. Come back here tomorrow afternoon."
Closing the door on them, he turned to Anja as they could hear the pair retreat back down the steps.
"Talk about family drama," she commented. "Do I need to be an outlet for you, Mr Eastwood?"
"No. I'm surprised you remember that still. Anyway, do what you have to do, to arrange a meeting between me and Kasper, or he will learn that you are Interpol."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "And how, pray tell, will you do that? You have no way of getting the message out. I'd also like to know why you'd do that?"
"Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer. Why else would I do it?"
"Alright, and when do you want this meeting to happen? Assuming I can get Kasper to come to Berk at all."
Grabbing her arm, he drew her close then pressed his gun to the centre of her forehead.
With her already close to him, there was barely time to react before the gun was in position. When she did react, she tensed up. "I'll call him now, shall I?" she murmured.
"Calm in the face of your possible death, huh? Guess Heath Ledger had a point when he said that people show their true selves when they could die. Good to know."
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Muhw. Muhw.
Muhw. Muhw.
The line connected. "Boss, it's me. Haddock has me at gunpoint. No, his son. He must have suspected I would follow him after passing along the message. Anyway, he wants to arrange a meeting between him and your boss…" she paused for a moment. "Two days from now," she looked to Hiccup, who nodded.
"Yeah, schedule it for two days from now. At Hela's Crest. Yeah, I told him the same thing, but he insists on it. Yeah, I can wait, but it's not me you should worry about. …thanks. The meeting is set to include him and three of his friends. Pass it along. I'll see you later."
Hiccup raised an eyebrow at her, having heard the note of loathing that had entered her voice towards the end of the call. "Trouble in paradise?"
She sighed, offering him a tight-lipped smile. "That was my contact; a middleman between me and Kasper. 'Sounds like a you problem,' asshole. He's next on my kill list for that."
"Am I on the list anywhere?"
She delivered a wry grin. "If you keep your gun pressed to my head, then sure."
Switching the gun to his left hand, he pried open the door before, at last, removing the gun from her head but keeping it at the ready. "Get lost now. We're done here. Let me know when and where."
"Nice to see you've gotten a lot more bold since we last worked together, Henry," she said as she left, but paused on the threshold. "It makes a welcome change. What caused it, if I may?"
"Death, left, right and center," he replied, face like a carapace once more, as he shut the door in her face.
"Sorry for the delay, friends," said Hiccup as he returned to the living room at long last. "Who wants coffee, and a tour of Berk? The latter is more for you, Bekker, since Fishlegs of course lives here."
"Sure," said Bekker. "And on the way, you can explain what all that stuff we both heard was about."
"I second this," said Fishlegs.
"Alright then. Let's go. We'll use your car I think, Fish, and along the way, I'll be sure to fill you in on everything 'Thor Bonecrusher' said last night."
"Thor Bonecrusher?" A bemused Bekker queried, raising an eyebrow, while an amused Hiccup gazed at Fishlegs, who grew pale.
"Hiccup, no," the man pleaded.
"My friend here has the mouth of a drunken sailor when intoxicated. Quite unlike his usual state. An alter ego you could say. We've taken to calling him Thor Bonecrusher. Sorry Fish, but the lady did ask."
"I hate you."
"No, you don't. Anyway, Latte's all round?"
…
Astrid Hofferson stepped through the front door of the lodge when Hiccup's parents returned in Stoick's Range Rover.
"How'd it go?" She asked, once they got out and stood before her. "Do I need to go and handle him?"
"No, that won't be necessary. He requested that Stoick and I come back tomorrow afternoon, but I'll speak to him tomorrow. Alone," Valka said, sending a firm look to Stoick.
"No objections here," he said, raising his hands in a placating manner.
The trio then parted ways, with each preparing to go to their respective workplaces.
Heading upstairs to her assigned room, Astrid paused by her door, her gaze drifting in the direction of Hiccup's old room.
With a glance at her phone screen for the time - 7:45 AM - she decided to have a look around inside, so she went in.
Sitting on the bed in Hiccup's old room, anger and sadness started to bubble up inside, torn between forgoing work in favour of leaving to seek out her boyfriend or leaving him be for a while longer.
She had been set to go and communicate with her fists and harsh words as soon as his parents located him and returned, as she would have taken that as him blanking them both still.
He requested that Stoick and I come back tomorrow afternoon
Astrid sighed at the words which still resided at the forefront of her mind. His willingness to talk to his parents, and Valka in particular, was at complete odds with his brooding silence of the night before, capped off by him retiring to his old bedroom the moment he finished dinner, with nought but a glance at anyone, least of all her.
Truly Henry Horrendous Haddock III was an enigma.
However, he had ignored her the day before, and it was, for this reason, she was torn on what to do; not entirely anger-free.
But dare she approach him and make things worse?
Make him angry not just at Valka and possibly Stoick but herself as well?
There was a chance her intervention could prompt him to go back on his word, and it was for this reason that she remained.
For she couldn't imagine what it must be like to not have a happy family. Her immediate family that is. There was a relative of hers that she did also dislike, but she had always gotten along with her own parents and younger sibling, and so she wouldn't intervene.
Not after everything he had gone through, particularly as of late. He deserved the same happiness of the sort that she currently possessed.
So she would stay her hand until his meeting tomorrow.
After that, however, all bets would be off. He wouldn't be avoiding her any longer. She would make sure of that.
So shifting her legs onto the duvet of the bed she was sitting on, she placed her head on the pillows and took in the sight of the room.
The walls bore poster after poster, each of either a car or a motorbike, most of which Astrid couldn't recall the name of, though were of brands she had seen before - cars by BMW or Mercedes for instance.
Her focus now turned to the bed she was lying on. It was narrower than the bed at his apartment, providing just enough room for one person, and as such, they had slept in separate rooms.
She groaned, annoyed at herself as a thought sprang forth. "I am never giving him my car keys again. Should have known he'd take advantage of the fact we slept in different rooms in order to drive away with Stormfly."
That was another thing that fed her ire; him taking her car and fleeing a little while earlier when Astrid was still asleep.
Her anger won out as she recalled this, and she reached for her phone.
You son of a half-troll! Stop blanking me and get your arse back here. And if you take my car again, I will find you! As an aside, you have a nice room. Too bad I'm still mad at you.
Then Astrid got up and stomped out of his old room, returning to her room to get her gun and head out. Tinnitus or no, relationship drama or no, Berk central police station awaited her.
…
Bekker stared coffee cup in hand, speechless as she took in the picturesque lake, cliffs and green vegetation that surrounded said lake.
"This is beautiful…" murmured Bekker, moving forward slowly to get a better look while taking care not to fall from their vantage point.
"Agreed. It also makes for a great way to get away from it all," he replied, with his focus on a tree at the other side of the lake, before he paused to sip from his coffee cup.
"Hiccup, why don't you fetch your old art stuff and show Bekker?" Fishlegs called from behind them, his wheelchair preventing him from lying prone on the cliff edge like Hiccup and Bekker currently were.
"Was thinking the same," Hiccup called back, then winked at Bekker. "You're going to enjoy them I think, Sofie. But I will need you to shift so I can climb down."
As he neared the tree on the other side of the lake, Hiccup felt a vibration against his leg. Ignoring the phone for the moment, he traversed the last few meters between himself and the tree, then stooped down in front of it.
Now level with a section of the tree bark that was split apart, he reached in, his hand coming in contact with wax paper.
Taking a firm grasp, he pulled the wax paper and the notepad just underneath, which was bound to the paper by double-sided tape, out of the tree.
Letting it drop to the grass-covered ground, Hiccup shuffled closer and reached around, grasping for a pack of sketching pencils.
Then at long last, he retracted his arm, picked up the protected notepad and then stood up. Holding the pack of pencils and notepad in his left hand, he fished in his pocket for his phone as he began to make his way back to his companions.
Chocolate and flowers are in order, I see, Hiccup mused, as he read a text from Astrid, then gave a shrug and put his phone away and continued on his way.
"You know, if you're going to take pictures, don't publicise them. This place is to be untouched. It's one of Berk's unwritten rules and is taken quite seriously." For Bekker had her phone out and pointed his way as he hoisted himself back up the cliff face.
"How seriously are we talking?"
"Legal action seriously; by Berk's nature and landscaping trust. And seeing as this is Denmark, ex soldiers are members of the thing."
"Say no more. Consider these pictures deleted then," said Bekker, pointedly tapping away at her phone, then showing him the screen as proof. "I was something of a nature geek when I was younger. Then I met Karl, and he talked me into all this soldier business," she sighed, her hands curling into fists by her side. "If only he hadn't died."
"Hey, hey, hey. Depression isn't allowed here. This is a sadness free zone. Also, catch," said he as he tossed her his notebook.
She caught it and carefully unwrapped it. "Is the wax paper to keep it dry?"
"That and to stop air getting to it as much, so the paper doesn't decay as fast."
"Smart. Though I think an air tight container wouldn't go amiss."
"Room is an issue. There aren't many trees here with small openings in their trunks. That might have changed since I last came here, but I'm not going to check."
Bekker nodded absently as she started to flip through the notepad. "The envy is real," she said with a flat glare, wringing a laugh out of him.
"I can teach you sometime, if you'll do me a favour."
"Name it," she said instantly.
"Be my joint second in command, external contractor, whatever the title is, for the DDIS. I want to form a team of people I can trust, and I want you with me. You as well Fred," he added, looking past Bekker as he called to him.
"Okay!" Fishlegs replied.
Bekker bore a pensive expression. "I don't know…"
Hiccup frowned for a second before it melted into neutrality. "Just think about it. I don't need an answer immediately."
"I'll do that. But you might need to prepare for disappointment."
His frown returned. "Yeah, well what else is new?. Anyway, let's get out of here. Got some stuff to take care of, before tomorrow."
"Well I for one would be happy to join you, Hiccup," Fishlegs interjected.
"Partners to the death, huh?" said Hiccup, with the ghost of a smile.
"Partners to the death," Fishlegs confirmed. "Sha we get going?"
"Hold on boys. Five more minutes. I want to remember what this place looks like after we leave."
Fishlegs shrugged and Hiccup shook his head fondly at her. "Alright. Five minutes. Take a good long look, Bekker. Though not for too long. You can always come back with us, another day."
"Hush. You're breaking my concentration."
Shrugging, Hiccup approached Fishlegs. "So what are we going to do to prepare for the meeting with Kasper; besides asking Dagur and Snotlout if they want to join us."
"I still can't believe you want him to come along," sighed Fishlegs.
Hiccup shook his head. "Oh I don't. But he's meant to be my partner, and therefore with me when I do this sort of thing. I want to see if he can handle himself at the meeting."
"He could be a liability, you know that right?"
"No arguments here. But again, we're meant to work with him since he's in our team. I'd pick Gruffnut as well, but… actually scratch that. Forget about Dagur. It'll be Gruffnut, Snotlout and Bekker as well as me. You'll be handling communications and I'll tell him she's a Jaeger and have her keep him in line."
Fishlegs raised a doubtful brow. "Can he be kept in line by her? I'm not sure he'll listen."
Hiccup's eyes flashed. "Oh, I'll make sure he listens if it kills me."
"Okay. Then what? What will you do to avoid a repeat of what happened to Cami?"
"Hmm," Hiccup brought a hand to his chin. "Well we would need Kasper to be relaxed. If he's relaxed, he might be less likely to try something."
"Put a table in the middle of Hela's crest with two chairs and food or drink or something," Fishlegs snorted.
Hiccup paused for a long moment, looking increasingly thoughtful as the silence stretched on. "No, Hiccup, I was joking-"
"-But it might just work. We place a table right in the middle of the graveyard, along the central path. I sit on a chair on one side of the table while he sits on the other.
All the while, Gruff, Snot and Bek will cover me. I will be armed of course. He tries to run, I shoot him. He tries to shoot me, we die together and the warrior trio covering me can take care of whoever's left. Any problems with that plan that I've missed?"
"There has to be," Fishlegs muttered. "It can't be that easy. Mind if I look over the plan?"
"Not at all. By all means go ahead."
Raising his voice, he called out to Bekker. "Ready to go now?"
"Yeah, let's go now, Henry."
…
"Ow! Hey, I brought you chocolate and flowers for a reason!" Hiccup protested, in the aftermath of getting punched by a certain blonde, who was sitting facing him at her desk, having been relegated to desk duty on account of her Tinnitus.
"That was for taking my car and leaving while I was asleep."
Hiccup signed mentally and glanced around, looking at his friends in turn, with Fishlegs off talking to Heather, and Bekker watching the scene with a frown, something Hiccup made note of, from out of the corner of his eye.
But then his focus was back on Astrid as she lunged forward and pecked him on the lips. "That was for bringing me the chocolate and flowers. Good job guessing my favourite kind."
"You like black roses? That's convenient. Oh, and an apology is in order for blanking you last night, and today until now. I'm not that great at handling family drama, as you've noticed."
"Not your fault, babe," sighed Astrid. "I mean, in your place, I'd definitely have thrown punches," she said with a shrug.
"Yeah, I've noticed," Hiccup teased.
She shot him a half-hearted glare. "Hush you, I'm trying to be understanding right now."
"Amateur. Just be yourself and send me angry texts or punch me when you get mad. That way, you get 'make-up chocolate' for free."
Astrid could only laugh in response. "You're such a dork. Don't you ever change."
"Hey, you're dating a dork, so what does that make you?"
In response, Astrid snatched the chocolate bar in his right hand. "Sorry, can't hear you over the taste of this chocolate!" she mumbled through a mouthful of said chocolate, after unwrapping the bar and taking a bite. "Mmm!"
Hiccup smiled. "Anyways, I'm going to go pick up our stuff from the ol' house. I'm not staying there another night. There's only so much awkward I can take."
"Fair enough. See you later, babe. Oh, and take the third wheel with you as well. She can learn some Berkian history instead of being a statue."
"The 'third wheel' can hear you, you know," said Bekker.
Astrid put down her chocolate bar and adopted a thinker's pose with a hand on her chin. "Am I wrong?"
Bekker shook her head fondly. "Don't rub it in now. C'mon, Haddock. Let's go."
…
Anja was sitting on her bed in her hotel room when the fated call came through.
"Hello? …Yes boss. But you are aware that will make getting info out of Haddock next to impossible. He'll be on his guard and looking for me if I do that. Not to mention, he won't be happy at the meeting. …I see. No meeting then. I'll do it as soon as my tools arrive. Alright, Sloth out."
Hanging up, Anja sent off a text to her superior at Interpol, then tossed her phone aside and flopped back onto the bed.
How to make an enemy in a few simple steps, Anja thought.
…
Preview, for the next chapter:
"Can I help you?" the woman behind the desk enquired. She wore a pleasant smile and a modest grey suit and looked overworked. Her eyes only really reached his chest, half-focused on the computer in front of her as she feigned politeness.
"I hope so. I need to speak to one of your people."
The receptionist rolled her eyes like she got the request every hour of every day and had to recite the same empty excuses. Her eyes trailed a little higher as she let out a long sigh.
"And just who, exactly, do you want to speak to? I do hope you have an appointment as well, Mr…?"
"It's Haddock," he said before elaborating. "I'm here to speak with the boss of one of your agents. The woman froze, eyes meeting his. "Anja Riel."
"I see." A button was pressed on the desk. Hiccup didn't flinch, instead rolling his eyes when he heard shutters come down over the doors far behind him, locking him in.
Numerous doors opened, and cameras whirred loudly as they turned in his direction. The staccato of footsteps on the balcony above indicated people rushing into position, and the click-click of guns being levelled on the railing, aimed directly at him, spoke of their intent.
"Really?" Hiccup resisted the urge to hurl something at the head of the woman before him by a hair's breadth.
Ignoring her as she grimaced and let out mutterings of the development being procedure for unexpected arrivals, Hiccup looked up, turning around slowly to take in all the guns trained on him before addressing the multitude of agents.
"Put your guns down you paranoid lot. At that range, you're just as likely to hit yourselves as hit me, no matter how good of a shot you are, given how many of you are present. Now what do I need to do to have someone bring me Anja Riel's boss? He and I need to talk. Here is fine for me."
…
[1] The Danish word for book is 'bog' hence 'book burglar'
A/N: Next up, the meeting, continued tying up plot threads and building up to the final chapter and certain events for the sequel.
If things go as planned, chapter 40 will be the finale.
Now let's hope the meeting works out, shall we?
B/N: Beta-read and approved for publishing by CommanderGreya.