The Gentle Sniper
Chapter 39: Burning Away The Dross, Part One
A/N: Poisons are terrible in the modern world. They are difficult to access and they can be discovered unless the right one is chosen. And even then they can be found in a toxicology report. Why would anyone try to use them to kill someone in a story?
Why?
WHY?!
*Ahem*
Blame poisons for this chapter being delayed. That is all. Now about those reviews from you lovely people…
Review Responses:
CajunBear73: Yeah, Hiccup indeed prefers firefights over family drama, but they're not especially high on his list of favourite things either.
Scrumblenut: Kill Bekker off you say? Hmm… perhaps…
If anyone else wants to review and get their review responded to by yours truly, I'm sure you know what to do.
…
Stoick looked at Valka when she sighed from beside him, as they both emerged from Aldi, laden with shopping bags, stepping into the car park and past a black BMW M3 with tinted windows that neither paid attention to. "What's wrong, Val?"
She sighed again. "What am I going to say to Hiccup? He has every right to be mad, and whatever I do seems to make things worse."
"Then I recommend you do nothing but listen to him. Isn't that what you used to tell me to do?" Stoick suggested.
She stared at him. "You still remember that?"
"Of course I do. Hiccup will probably do so as well. So I suggest you listen to him and find something to talk about that won't make him mad. Thor knows he's got my temper and stubbornness."
"And my occasional lapses of judgment concerning those he's close to," Valka added with a small bitter smile. "Did he ever mention how he broke up with Cami? She was nice."
Stoick shook his head. "Bertha refuses to tell me more than the fact that she left him. And of course I don't want to ask Hiccup," the man said before grumbling as they reached his car; an armour-plated BMW X5. "If he would even say anything. You know what he's like, Val."
A third sigh escaped her lips. "Yeah. Just like both of us."
"Exactly. Anyway, you listen to him and find something not related to your job to talk about. We both know nothing good comes of it."
Valka gave a nod. "Shall we go?"
"Yes. After you-" But Stoick got no further, for a burst of gunfire rang out, tearing through his body and striking the X5, though the armour plating on the BMW easily held.
As blood sprayed everywhere, onto her clothes and face, in particular, Valka scrambled for cover and reached for her gun, only to growl in frustration as she drew it too quickly and her work supplied USP9 slipped right out of her grasp, clattering to the ground in front of her. "Oh, for fuck sake!"
A second later Valka had scooped it up and proceeded to slowly poke her head above the rear of the car she had taken cover behind.
She glanced around, taking in the sight of her late husband's inert body but not spotting the shooter.
At least until a moment later, when she heard the scrape of a footstep on the stone ground behind her.
Scrambling to get away without looking back and make use of her gun from another location, Valka wasn't fast enough to avoid the kick to the heel of her right foot, making her stumble and fall.
Throwing her arms out to catch herself, Valka turned to look her assailant in the eye. Or so she had intended at least.
There was nothing to identify the person besides a black ski mask, a feminine form and most importantly at all, the business end of a suppressed MP5 that was levelled at her head.
"Friend of Drago?" Valka wondered.
"No. Someone else," said the masked woman.
As the woman spoke, Valka attempted to bring her gun to bear but wasn't quick enough.
The MP5 aimed her way spat three bullets at her head, and it was all over.
…
"There you are, milady," said Hiccup, with a smug grin. "That is how you cook stegt flæsk."
Astrid narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't get cocky now, babe. There's still the matter of how it tastes."
"Well if you don't like it, I'll be surprised. Valka likes it, and she doesn't particularly like pork."
Insistent and loud knocking on the apartment's front door interrupted the moment. "Well you go see who that is, and I'll be the judge of your cooking," suggested Astrid.
"Alright," he agreed.
So Hiccup ventured forth as Astrid procured a plate and helped herself while listening with half an ear as her boyfriend opened the door.
"Henry Haddock. We have something… something we should discuss with you."
Astrid stopped in her tracks, her meal forgotten as she recognised the voice of a colleague. Hoark?
"It'll only take a minute."
Phlegma?
Hiccup shrugged. "Yeah, go right ahead."
"Much obliged. So…" Hoark sighed.
"So, what, exactly?" Hiccup prompted.
Hoark sighed again. "There's no easy way to say this, but your parents are dead. They were killed during a shootout in Aldi's car park, following which, the staff called it in."
"I see," said Hiccup, his voice taking on a note of bitterness. "Did you find any sign of the shooter?"
"No," said Phlegma. "But the rest of the force are searching Berk for any sign of the individual at all."
"Figured as much. Well you'll keep me posted if you find the person, won't you?" Her boyfriend inquired.
"Of course. Now you have as good a night as you can. Oh, and we left your parent's car right outside. We'll be going now," said Hoark, after tossing Hiccup a set of keys.
Glancing at the keys, his expression turned into a strained smile as he pocketed them, then addressed the two officers one last time, his expression not changing one iota. "Thank you, officers. Bye now," he added as they left and he closed the door.
A few seconds of silence passed before he sighed and spoke again. "I'm going to pretend that I don't know you listened in, Astrid, and instead ask how the food tastes."
"Yeah, you got me. But I haven't tried it yet, so let's eat."
…
"You seem to be taking their death rather well," Astrid commented, once she was finished her meal and was passing the time by observing Hiccup's face.
He simply shrugged, his expression now unreadable as he looked her in the eye. "I feel inured to death at this point. In the case of my mother, it's the second time it has happened after all."
"How can you be so calm?!" She bawled, glaring at her boyfriend as the dam broke and she burst into tears.
Hiccup simply sat there, face impassive as he stared at her.
"They're dead, Hiccup!" She wailed. "Your parents are dead! You'll never, ever, see them again! And you can just sit here?!" She exclaimed through grit teeth.
Hiccup frowned at her. "Are you done?"
"Cut the macho crap with me, Hiccup. They are, WERE, your parents! I'm here FOR YOU! You can cry! You SHOULD cry!" Astrid exclaimed brokenly, then sagged and grew quiet.
Then she started shaking her head. "I'm sorry. I-I can't stay here. Not when you're apparently emotionless and your parents seem to mean nothing to you."
"Astrid…" He began, his brows dipping as she stood up.
"I'm spending the night with my parents. This isn't goodbye forever, but I need some time without you."
Hiccup stood up, face filling with worry. "Astrid? Please, let's talk about this…"
She paused, her demeanour softening for a moment. "I'll be back tomorrow. Promise."
Then she made to leave the room, but before she knew it, Hiccup had crossed the room and was kissing her desperately. "Asta, please don't go…" His voice broke on the last word, and her heart clenched.
Even so, she brought a hand to his chest and pushed him away, albeit with a fair deal of effort.
Then she all but ran out of the room and down the hallway, then tore open the door and raced down the steps, knowing that if he caught her, she wouldn't be able to leave as planned.
Climbing into her car, she was turning on the engine when he emerged from his flat. Standing in the doorway to the building, he looked left, then right before spotting her car.
He started forward, at the same time she put her foot down and began driving, out of the parking space and away down the street.
A strange sense of giddiness gripped her at nearly being caught by him, and she laughed as she put on her seatbelt.
The feeling quickly subsided, however, as her mind drifted back to his stricken look at her making mention of her plan to leave temporarily, and she very nearly decided to turn her car around but soldiered on.
It wouldn't be right to go back if she wasn't ready to cope with his lack of feeling on the matter of his parents after all.
Meanwhile, Hiccup was still standing on the pavement beside the road, standing on tiptoes to watch as her car receded into the distance for as long as he could.
Then the roar of a Range Rover coming from the other direction reached his ears, and he turned and watched as it pulled to a stop in front of him.
From within, Viggo emerged and looked over the large car at him. "Get in, Hiccup. You've got a visitor, and not the sort you can ghost, just as an FYI."
"What, someone from the Danish Royal Family? Is it the prince of ours who trained with the Frogmen Corps?"
"No, more… political, in nature."
"The Prime Minister then, here to thank me for saving Emil?"
"Bingo."
"I can and will ghost her. I have more important things to deal with. Like my prodigal girlfriend."
"Truly?" The man asked with a raised eyebrow, to which Hiccup nodded. "You are an unusual man."
"I did a job. That's all there is to it. I'm okay with not getting thanks for stuff that I do. Guess I got used to it at some point. Anyway, because I'm suddenly feeling generous, I'll come with you if you can do two things for me in return."
Viggo raised his other eyebrow. "And what would they be?"
"You go and find me a burner phone, or direct me to the nearest payphone, and send Mildew along to the DDIS building. I'm going to tend to him and Sven."
"Do I want to know why you'll need a burner phone?"
"I'm going to be speaking with an old friend. Would be rude to have people snooping in."
It was then that the heavens opened without warning, and sent down heavy rain on anyone who was standing outside. Namely Hiccup and Viggo.
Because of this, Viggo was quick to agree. "Alright. Consider your requests granted. Now, get in."
"In a minute. I need to get my work clothes. Also, drop me off at the lodge, along the way. There's a certain tool I need that's over there."
"Fine," Viggo snapped. "Just hurry up."
…
Elsewhere, a clenched fist met the surface of a wooden table and promptly broke through it. "Enough! Torturing the Haddock boy is one thing; he can take it, but leave the Hofferson girl out of it."
"She can take it as well. Or she'll learn to. Either way, Thor, you know the plan. Things will start to look up from now on, or did you forget?"
"Shame. I was enjoying the show," another voice sighed.
"Of course you would," grumbled Thor.
"Thor, Loki, silence. Odin, Freyja, do you have any opinions you want to voice?"
"I think you should cease making the residents of this island on Midgard your plaything, Son of Frank, as well as remove that clone of yourself, much like my boy has expressed. It is unbecoming of a deity - any of us - to interfere," said the Allfather.
"You know I don't intervene directly. If I did, this story would be over and done with. But that's not fun. Besides, you have Huginn and Muninn watching over the last Haddock and the Hofferson girl. They'll be fine. You know this."
"He raises a valid point, dear," spoke Freyja. "Also, he has interfered no more than you, my love."
"I observe. He causes the sorrow of some who live on Berk. It is this that I really take issue with."
"Then maybe I should deal with you, Odin? Don't forget your place. With a snap of my fingers, you will cease to exist. All of you except me," he added, with a pointed glance at a still visibly angry Thor.
"You agreed to live in harmony here in Asgard," Odin replied with grit teeth and an edge to his voice.
"Yes. And you should hope that I don't break this harmony. I think we're done here now."
Clapping his hands together after saying this, he vanished, and the family of deities were left alone at the table.
Thor stood up. "I am tasking Heimdall with watching him. If he harms the two midgardians any further, then I am going to intervene, boundaries be damned."
Odin nodded. "Go forth as you please, my boy."
…
"Astrid?" asked Sigrid as she opened the door of her house to find her eldest daughter on her doorstep, soaked through because of the rain, made worse as she hadn't brought a coat in her haste to leave. "This is a surprise…"
"Surprise is right, mum. Can I stay the night? I'll explain everything tomorrow."
"Of course you can, dear! Now come inside, before you get hypothermia," Sigrid beckoned.
"Okay."
So once inside and situated in the living room, where her father Bjorn was reclining on a sofa, whose face lit up upon seeing her. "Ah, there's my eldest daughter," he exclaimed, standing and quickly crossing the room to hug her.
She patted his back in turn. "Nice to see you too, dad. Did something happen?"
Sigrid laughed, which prompted the hug to end. "Go on, husband of mine. Tell Astrid what has you feeling lovesick," she teased, forcing a smile onto Astrid's face.
Bjorn grumbled, however. "Ingrid's on a date, apparently. Some guy called Gustav. I would very much like to meet him," her dad answered with a manic grin that promised much.
Good to see she took my advice, Astrid thought, smiling inwardly.
"Hush you. Ingrid can date whoever she likes. Now, Astrid, you just stay there by the raidistor and keep warm while I get you a bed ready."
"Okay. Thanks mum."
"Anytime, dear."
…
"I take it that the axe is ornamental? Because otherwise, my bodyguards will have to remove it," said the Prime Minister.
"It's an heirloom; used to belong to my grandfather."
"Well as long as you don't plan to use it, it can stay where it is," one of the prime minister's bodyguards chimed in.
"I can confirm that I won't. Besides, you'd have enough time to shoot me before I reached it."
"Charming," murmured the prime minister. "Let's move things along."
There were no objections.
"Now as you are no doubt aware, Jaeger Corps personnel tend to live in and around Aalborg, if not on the base itself. So it came as a mild surprise that you live an hour and a half drive north from Aalborg," she stated.
"Active personnel are encouraged to live close to Aalborg air base. I was a reserve. I hadn't been on active duty for a number of years before my old C.O. got in touch, asking me to fill in for some people."
"I see," the prime minister before him mused, a slight frown adorning her features. "I end up in charge of the day to day running of this country and I still don't know things about my home town."
"Tell me about it," sighed Hiccup. "Anyway, ma'am. I was told you wanted to thank me for helping protect Emil…?"
Mette Bank gave the smallest of smiles at him while taking a few steps towards his desk, behind which he sat, with the bodyguards that flanked her doing the same. "Eager are we?"
"Not for the reason you might think, ma'am."
Her smile grew bigger. "Oh? Do tell."
"Relationship drama, connected with the death of a couple of people in my family."
Her smile vanished. "Oh, I see. My condolences, on both counts. If I may be so bold, who died?"
Hiccup's lips wavered for a few seconds. "My parents. They were murdered just a few hours ago."
The prime minister's eyes widened. "So recent? That right there is why you are a Jaeger. I could never hope to be like you."
"Yeah, it's not for everyone. Anyway, do you mind if we hurry this along? I'd much rather call my girlfriend than be here."
"Understandable. So, I thank you for keeping an eye on my son. Now I don't know your girlfriend, but I'll say this: bribe her heavily. Wine and chocolate are the best for that."
"I don't think that will work in this particular situation, but yeah. That is good advice, ma'am."
Mette Bank gave a nod. "You know her better than me, so I'm sure you'll figure it out. Best of luck to you. I'll leave you be, now. With me, gentlemen," And with that, she and her bodyguards filled out of Hiccup's office.
Hiccup sighed after they were gone, and stood up, just as the door to his office opened once again and the female agent who had provided Hiccup with his evaluation task, entered.
She held out a phone with no markings. "This burner phone is for you, fellow errand boy."
"Errand boy?"
She shrugged, smiling lightly. "Nickname for field agents here. We work at the beck and call of the management. Welcome to the team."
"Ironic. In my last job, I was in management."
"You were a Captain, yes. I read your file. Things are different here, than in the army."
Hiccup took the phone from her. "Yeah. Here in this beastly hole of an organisation, we let people die without consequences. Hopefully, I can start to change that somewhat."
"I'm not going to hold my breath," she answered, before turning to leave. "The name is Naja Bjørn by the way. Nice to meet you officially, Henry Horrendous Haddock the third."
"Likewise, Naja. See you around, sometime."
Waiting until she had left, he dialled a number, started the call and held the device to his ear. The line connected almost immediately.
"What's the passphrase?"
"Aber ja, natürlich Hans ist nass. Er steht unter dem Wasserfall."
All was silent for a beat. "Alright, Snow Cub. What do you want?"
"For you to go and investigate someone. Kasper Hendegaard. He's on my list. I want to know everything about him and his associates. Specifically where he's hiding."
"And why should I help you? We agreed never to speak to each other, much less work together as Jaegers when we went our separate ways."
"Tell that to Sloth. She killed my parents on the orders of this man."
"…Understood. Give me 24 hours."
"Copy that, Eagle. Snow Cub out."
Ending the call, he placed the phone on his desk, then went over and picked up his grandfather's axe, propped up against the filing cabinet in his room.
"Time to put this to good use. Sven, Mildew. Brace yourselves…"
…
That is what you wanted to get? Your tool? Do you know how to use that?
Yes, Viggo. My grandfather taught me a bit before he passed when I was fourteen. Then I practised with it whenever I could after that since Old Wrinkly willed me to have it.
But I left it behind when I moved out because of a lack of room at my place. It'll be nice to use my first weapon again.
Well don't use it on me and there will be no problem.
Yes, because what I'm known for is murdering people with a large bladed weapon. I'm not a serial killer you know.
…
"What's in here?" Mildew asked, only for him and Sven to get shoved into the darkened room by Viggo.
"Look and see," he suggested, shoving them forward again, past the threshold and into the room.
Then he closed and locked the door, trapping both inside before he turned and walked away, whistling.
Inside, Mildew tried to get up, muttering curses under his breath as he struggled with his busted knees.
"Little help?" He said, addressing what he thought was Sven, lurking at the back of the room, far to the right, relative to the door they had entered through.
"You don't deserve my help, maggot."
"Haddock," Mildew growled, recognising his voice immediately.
"Don't wear out my last name now."
"Let me tell you something, Hiccup, you were always the worst soldier I had the displeasure of training. It's anyone's guess how you managed to become a Jaeger. And if you think I'll tell you anything, you've got it all wrong-"
But Hiccup was most certainly not in the mood for persuading the man to talk, for he brought his grandfather's axe - which he had raised just above his head - down on Mildew's neck, separating head from body.
Then, carefully navigating his way through the dark room to the light switch, he turned on the lights.
"Let there be light," murmured Hiccup, registering that some of Mildew's blood was splattered on his soldier uniform, as he gave a few experimental tugs of the handle before he yanked the axe free of the floor.
Hiccup had embedded it an inch deep in the floorboards, and so required a bit of effort to remove. Hiccup then turned to an anxious Sven, who was watching his every move with wide eyes and had witnessed the entire scene.
"I trust I don't need to explain what will happen if you don't tell me what I want to know."
Sven's eyes flew from the bloodstained axe in Hiccup's grasp, then at his face. "N-no explanation necessary."
"Good. Now I'm going to ask you something, and I'll soon know if you lie, so make this easy for yourself and don't get yourself killed. Where is Kasper Hendegaard?"
"R-Reykjavík, Iceland! He deals in weapons. Alvin receives guns from Kasper and the Outcasts distribute them! I swear that's all I know!"
"Hmm. Well I believe you. But of course, I'll have to wait to know for sure. Anyways, let me get the door for you."
Unlocking it, Hiccup paused. "And of course, when you get out, you won't say a word of this to anyone, will you?"
Sven responded with a frantic head shake. "Good. Now, with me."
…
"So you've taken care of Mildew and gotten information out of Sven. What's next on your plan?" Viggo asked Hiccup, a little while later, once he had changed out of his bloodstained soldier uniform.
"I'm going to pay Interpol a visit. See if I can find out what hole my so called partner is hiding in."
"Very well. Best of luck. I'll be keeping an eye on Sven in the meantime, but talk to Naja Bjørn if any developments occur."
"Will do."
…
"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."
…
The bespectacled man with black hair streaked with grey was tense in the presence of his auburn-haired guest.
He wore no smile, and his eyes were laden with pain and fury.
"W-why are you here?"
"I'm looking for Anja Riel. We both know why, don't we? And you pretending otherwise only wastes my time and serves to annoy me. Where could she go to hide?"
"I don't know."
"And I don't believe you. Try again."
"Agent Riel is best left to her own devices-"
"Wrong," Hiccup snarled the word, punctuated by his right fist connecting with the chin of the older man.
The man, having been knocked to the ground by the force of the punch, gazed anxiously up at Hiccup, who was glaring back at him. "She is a former Jaeger with a penchant for killing. She is the kind of person you always keep an eye on. Don't tell me you idiots didn't do a background check on her. Here's a hint: the black bars mean that she is dangerous."
Hiccup paused. "As am I. Anyway, where the fuck is she?"
"I-I only know w-where she could be!" Four eyes blurted out, eyes wide and riveted on Hiccup. "You have to believe me-"
"I don't have to do a damn thing. Certainly not because you tell me to. Now give me the location of the first safehouse of yours on the mainland or I start with more painful measures," said Hiccup, with a purposeful stare at a stapler on the desk in the room before continuing. "Time is of the essence after all."
"L-let me write down an address for you…"
"Good decision."
…
Back at his apartment, a knock on his door drew his attention.
Is that Astrid, or someone else?
The possibility of the return of the former had him sprinting to the door.
But then he opened the door.
"Hey, Snow Cub. Nice suit."
"Oh. It's you. Why are you here?" He demanded, hands curling into fists by his sides.
She noticed this, and so started speaking quickly. "What if I could tell you exactly where your comatose friend is hidden?"
Hiccup said nothing as he threw his left fist at her nose, breaking it and causing a nosebleed.
"Ow! What the fuck, Henry! I'm trying to help you!" She shouted, cradling her nose in both hands.
Hiccup grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her into his apartment, then shut and locked the door. "Trying to escape me more like. What's to say that you won't send me on a wild goose chase to save your own skin? The very fact you offered yourself to me after killing my parents is because you didn't account for when the ferries stop for the day. Now you and I both know you deserve worse than a simple punch. So you get your ass on a sofa in my living room and shut the fuck up."
"How about we settle this with a fight?" Said Anja, looking up at him defiantly.
"…Alright then," Hiccup held out his right hand, which she took, and he hoisted her to her feet.
"Alright, so rules-"
But his left hand, clenched into a fist, struck her, cutting her off mid-sentence and rendering her unconscious. "Yeah, I got one: sucker punches are fair game, you bitch."
Picking her up, he dumped her on a sofa in his living room, right next to a sleeping Toothless, who was disturbed by Anja's arrival.
"Sorry Toothless," Hiccup murmured, as he rummaged through the pockets of Anja's jeans for her phone. "If you feel like it, scratch her eyes out. I give you my permission."
"Fingerprint scanner, huh? Cool," grabbing Anja's right hand, he pressed her thumb to the indented circle at the back of her phone, then moved onto her index finger when that didn't work. Next came her middle finger, which did.
Hiccup rolled his eyes as the phone unlocked. "Of course that worked. What are you, eighteen?"
Navigating to her contacts, Hiccup selected one labelled "K" and waited for the line to connect.
"Anja? Is that you?"
"No, it's Haddock."
"Oh, I'm sorry, wrong number."
"We could have worked together, you and I. Operating in mutual ignorance and bliss after meeting face to face to hash out the details. But instead, you decided to spit in my face. So now, I will tell you something. For having this devil kill my parents, I will kill you, your family and all your associates, and my only regret is that I won't be able to do it more than once. And know this: when the casualties start to rise, you will remember that you had a chance to avoid all this by simply leaving my family and friends in peace. Your loss, Kasper Hendegaard. Have a good night."
Hiccup then hung up but relegated the phone to his person as he looked at Toothless, who stared back, curled up as he was. "Keep an eye on her, bud. I'm going out."
…
Gobber groaned quietly as someone knocked on the door of his office. "Closed! Officers only! Go away, private… whoever you are!"
"Oi! Respect your subordinates, sir!" A nasally voice responded.
"Hiccup?! Well quit jawing and git yer arse in here!"
Hiccup entered, closing and locking the door, then turning to the Scotsman with a small smile on his face. "Excited, Gobber? Your accent is showing."
Gobber grinned back at him. "Aye, and it be lovely. Not like the disaster that you Danes have. But enough about that. What brings you here? I heard from Mogadon you got a new job. Speak to Erica about getting discharged."
"That's not why I'm here. Well it is, but it's not the only reason. My parents…" Hiccup sighed and seemed to age before Gobber's eyes.
"They're both dead. Hoark and Phlegma told me. I came here to let you know, and to pick up his stuff."
Gobber stilled, let out a sharp breath and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he sighed again and looked at Hiccup. "How did they die?"
"Shot, just outside Aldi," the last Haddock grit out. "The police didn't find the shooter of course. Also… actually nevermind. You heard nothing."
"Are you okay, lad?" Gobber asked, watching his tense form with concern.
Hiccup shrugged as his strained smile from earlier made a return. "Part of the job, isn't it? A soldier must just keep going, whatever happens. Anyway, will you join me?"
"On the condition that you tell ol' Gobber what you were going to say, Aye."
Hiccup's eyes cooled. "I don't appreciate you digging into my personal life, sir. With all due respect, back off."
But Gobber was never intimidated by Stoick, so naturally, he stared Hiccup down. "So it's a matter of your personal life, then? Let me guess… you and the Hofferson lass are having relationship issues. Presumably to do with how you seem mostly unaffected by your parents death?"
"Your DDIS buddies tell you about the bet?"
"I'm the one who set it up. But why are you here? Why not go after her?"
"Because she clearly doesn't want me to, alright? Women tend to want to be alone when they get upset."
"I wouldn't know. Never been with a woman before. But aren't you worried that she'll leave you like Cami did?"
Hiccup's face cleared. "She said it's only for tonight. I trust her. She trusts me after knowing everything I've done, so I owe her that at the very least."
"Alright laddie, since it seems my chances of beating Viggo in the bet are practically guaranteed, let's go collect Stoick's stuff. And of course, I'll give you the file on Kasper and his friends. Mogadon told me what you and the red haired lass were up to."
Hiccup snorted. "The 'red haired lass' has a name. Flight Lieutenant Bekker. Get it right, old man."
"Oi!" He mock-protested, and they both laughed.
…
"One whisky and a glass of red wine to follow, please Johann."
"What's the occasion?" Inquired the older man, once he set both drinks before Hiccup. "You always stick with a Bloody Mary unless…"
"Unless someone dies. Yeah. I don't want to talk about it."
"Suit yourself. But in these walls I am nothing but a barman. So if you wish to talk about it, I'm always available."
Hiccup lowered his voice. "Where exactly is the DDIS building? Nobody has told me the address yet, which I think is an oversight."
Nodding once, Johann retreated into the room behind the bar, returning after a while with a piece of paper bearing the address, which he handed Hiccup. "There you are."
"Thanks," Hiccup murmured, folding it up and pocketing it. Then, finishing both drinks, he rose. "Put them on my tab. I'll pay you when I see you tomorrow. Have a good night."
"Likewise."
"Oh, and I almost forgot." Hiccup handed Johann Anja's phone. "I happened to encounter the person who I believe killed my parents. This is her phone. Do with it as you wish."
"Where is this person exactly?"
"At my place. She just so happens to be an Interpol agent working undercover to take down Kasper, who you people assigned as my partner. But I believe she has crossed a line. So if you can send someone to pick her up, that would be good. Doesn't make our next steps any easier, however."
"On the contrary," Johann said, gazing coldly past Hiccup. "I believe dealing with this person is quite simple. She directly killed one of my best, so I will personally be around to your apartment to deal with the matter. I know a place."
So it came to be that Anja found herself soaked awake when Johann tipped a bottle of water above her head.
Wiping her now wet hair out of her eyes, she glared up at the man, even as she registered their snowy surroundings which shone in the moonlight, and a rather damaged building off in the distance behind him and Hiccup. "Who are you and what do you want? Hiccup told you what I did, didn't he?"
Johann ignored her questions. "At my demand, your employment at Interpol has been revoked," he said before stepping back to allow Hiccup to approach her.
He stepped forward with his gun at the ready. As a cold, night breeze whipped up, Anja shivered, partly because of the wind and partly because of Hiccup pressing the cold metal of his gun to her forehead.
He addressed her one last time. "This is for killing my parents, you bitch."
Once the silence was shattered by a momentary bang and Anja's body fell backwards and started to stain the snow, Hiccup looked at Johann. "How quickly do you think Kasper will respond?"
"That depends on him finding out that Anja is dead. I certainly don't plan on it."
"Alright. I'm going to bed now. It's been a rough few hours."
"No question as to why we never did this to Drago?"
"I would, but I'm done caring about that. Also, what boss asks an employee to question them? Amateur. Get on my level, Johann."
And Hiccup turned away, heading past Anja's corpse, down the mountain slope with Johann's laughter following him all the way to his motorbike, which waited at the bottom.
...
A/N: Okay, next chapter will feature the meeting. Promise.
B/N: Beta-read and approved for publishing by CommanderGreya.