Episode 1, Part 3: Hiccup Vs. Project Alpha Dragon
Hiccup and his friends stood gathered in the Nerd Herd desk area, staring down at his demolished computer.
"Sorry Hiccup, we all gave it our best shot." Fishlegs said with remorse. "None of us could find anything on the hard drive. Your computer is dead."
"May it find rest in the Halls of Valhalla..." Tuffnut proclaimed dramatically, raising a hand in the air in his usual dramatics.
"Can I light it on fire?" Ruffnut asked hopefully, a potentially dangerous glint in her eye.
"No!" Hiccup glared at the twins.
"Were you really almost robbed by a ninja?" Tuffnut asked excitedly.
"What if you're an unwitting target in a ninja vendetta and he returns tonight to strangle you with his nunchucks as you sleep the sleep of the dead?" Ruffnut asked with complete nonchalance.
"Great! Thanks, Ruff. That was just what I needed to hear after all the weird things that have been happening to me lately." Hiccup exited the enclosed Nerd Herd space as he tried to stamp down on the confusion and panic rising in him. "Man the desk while I go browse our security systems and maybe convince my dad to install one."
"Wait. What other weird things have happened?" Fishlegs suddenly asked, but he went ignored as Hiccup walked away. The others exchanged glances and shrugged. Hiccup was acting weirder than usual, but they supposed he had reason.
Hiccup walked down an aisle of DVDs and Blu-ray discs on his way to the section of the store that had home security systems. He didn't actually plan on buying any, he just wanted an excuse to get away from his friends so he could think and try to clear his head. It had been one thing after another ever since his birthday, and if he was being honest, he was getting a little freaked out by everything.
As he exited the aisle, not focused specifically on where he was going, he accidentally bumped into someone walking in the opposite direction. Their eyes met briefly as they looked at each other in either surprise or indignation.
"Excuse me, I'm..." Hiccup began to apologize when a throbbing pain erupted in his head. He squinted his eyes and blinked as, once again, images flashed through his mind. Old images of the customer dressed in fatigues. A file with a photo and the words: Demolitions Expert.
Hiccup stumbled back in surprise, his eyes wide. A glance down revealed what the man was carrying: some computer parts and wires.
"What?" The rugged looking man asked with impatience.
"N-nothing! I'm so sorry, please excuse me." Hiccup answered in a panicky voice. The man grumbled at him as he pushed past. Hiccup stood in place with a bewildered expression on his face as he followed the man with his eyes.
"Hey, dude." Snotlout snapped him out of his trance, having appeared at Hiccup's side without him noticing. "You're being weird. You've been standing there with a stupid look on your face for way longer than is socially acceptable."
"What?" Hiccup still wasn't paying Snotlout much mind as he watching the man he'd bumped into exit the store.
"Is something wrong?" Snotlout raised an eyebrow as he examined Hiccup.
"Weird things keep happening..." Hiccup started thinking out loud and in a distant sounding voice, his mind going through all the weird things that had been happening to him. "I have this headache that won't go away and I just recognized a man I've never seen before... a dangerous man. I think I'm going crazy."
"Yeah, sure. But you know what's really crazy?" Snotlout directed Hiccup's gaze to the Nerd Herd desk as he dismissed the nonsense Hiccup had just told him. "I think that girl really likes you."
Astrid stood at the Nerd Herd counter, waiting. She gave Hiccup a little wave when their eyes met from across the store. Surprised, Hiccup made his way through the aisles and approached her, forgetting the odd interaction he'd had with that man.
Snotlout followed right behind his cousin, there was no way he was missing this. When they passed by an aisle where Stoick and Gobber were talking, Snotlout met their eyes and pointed at the blond woman. The face he made giving them a hint as to who she was, and the two turned their attention to the scene in front of the Nerd Herd desk.
"Is it the phone again?" Hiccup asked once he was standing in front of her.
"Yeah. I'm not sure I'm able to receive calls... 'cause I never got one from you." Astrid gave Hiccup a suggestive smile, Hiccup's eyebrows shooting up in a look of surprise.
A chorus of "Oooooh" erupted from various, nearby aisles and behind the desk as his friends and fellow employees listened in on the conversation. Unfortunately, it was a rather slow day at the Buy More and his co-workers had nothing better to do but eavesdrop on Hiccup's conversation. His cheeks felt warm and he was pretty sure he was blushing. Why couldn't everyone just mind their own business?
A quiet snicker sounded from beside him and Hiccup shot Snotlout an annoyed look. Taking the hint, Snotlout slowly walked away to observe from a distance. He took a place next to Stoick and Gobber.
Astrid chuckled lightly at the antics of the people around them, then met Hiccup's eyes again. "I'm sorry I left in such a hurry yesterday. I had an appointment with my realtor. I just moved here."
"Oh, really? Um, welcome." Hiccup wasn't all that sure what to say, as he was still surprised that she had come back to see him. The growing feeling of self-consciousness from all the eyes he knew were watching this interaction, didn't help.
"Thank you. So, I don't really know anyone from around here and I was hoping that you'd want to show me around. Tonight, if you're free?" She looked at him with hopeful eyes and a touch of bashfulness that almost seemed formulaic.
"He's free!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut chorused from behind the counter, high-fiving at their synchronicity.
"Whoo hoo!" A voice from further back in the store called out, some other bored employee, no doubt.
"Way to go!" The shout of congratulations came from the other side of the store from someone in another aisle.
"Apparently, I'm free." Hiccup said with a blush, internally cursing his co-workers for getting so involved. "Sorry about my colleagues. I have... no privacy."
"Oh, it doesn't bother me."Astrid leaned in a fraction, almost conspiratorially, and in a very flirtatious way. "Sometimes the shy ones need a little encouragement."
Hiccup wasn't sure if he could blush any harder than he was. He was so dreading the looks he would get from his father and Gobber once she left, he knew that they were watching too.
"You still have my number?" Astrid asked when he said nothing.
"Uh, yeah, I do." Hiccup looked down sheepishly, because apparently she had actually expected him to call the day before. He was admitting to keeping her number, but still not calling.
"Call me when you're done working, okay? I'll text you my new address so you can pick me up." She talked to him gently, like he was someone who spooked easily and needed encouragement.
"Okay, yeah, I'll do that." He must not have sounded very convincing, because she gave him a look. "And I really will call this time."
"Good, you better. Just remember, I know where you work." Astrid said with a sly smile as she headed for the exit. She gave him a flirtatious wave as she left.
Hiccup watched her leave, letting his eyes linger on the exit doors for a moment. When he finally looked away his eyes landed on his father, Gobber, and Snotlout. All three wearing huge grins. Gobber was wiggling his eyebrows again and Snotlout was giving him a thumbs up. Yes, he had certainly been right to dread their reactions after Astrid left.
—
It had been a long time since Hiccup had gone on a first date, and his nerves were getting the better of him. He fidgeted with a bouquet of flowers, anxiously, as he stood in the hallway, outside Astrid's apartment. He wore a nice, olive green, button-up shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, and black dress pants. It had also been awhile since he had needed to dress up for anything like this and he hadn't known how causal or formal he should look. Snotlout had told him he was fussing more than a girl would, about what to wear on his date.
He could hear movement inside and assumed that Astrid was coming to answer the door. It had taken way too long to work up the courage to knock. Part of him wanted to turn tail and run. If he didn't go on the date, he couldn't be hurt later. His father would be incredibly disappointed if he didn't follow through, however. Stoick and Gobber were so pushy about girls because it had been so long since Hiccup had ventured out into the world of dating. Past experience had not been kind to him and he feared rejection and betrayal.
The door opened and Astrid beamed at him with a welcoming smile. She was dressed in a simple, light blue dress. It was sleeveless and had a modest neckline with a slightly ruffled skirt that reached to her calves. Her hair was still in a braid, but it was more intricately woven than the one she wore earlier.
"Wow, look at you. You clean up nicely, Hiccup." Astrid complimented, seeming to be very happy to see him again. "That green really makes your eyes stand out."
"Oh, thanks." Hiccup said shyly, he could tell he was already blushing. Curse his stupid, red cheeks. "You look very pretty... These are for you."
"Thanks, Hiccup. They're very lovely." Astrid took the flowers from him and invited him to follow her inside. She walked to the kitchen area and pulled out a plastic pitcher. "Let me just put these in some water. I have a vase somewhere, but it's still in a box."
"If you need help unpacking, just let me know." Hiccup offered "I'll make Snotlout do all the heavy lifting."
"Your friend from the store?" Astrid laughed as she set the flowers in some water.
"He's actually my cousin. We kind of grew up together."
"That's sweet. I'll let you know." She walked over to him, grabbed his hand, and led him back toward the open door. On the way out Hiccup's eyes were drawn to a pile of black clothes peeking out from behind the couch, like they had been thrown there hurriedly. Before he could give the oddity of it any more thought, Astrid had pulled him into the hallway, shut, and locked her door.
"So, where are you going to take me?" She asked with an excited smile.
—
"Personal trainer is a very vague job description. Are we talking exercise routines or something bizarre like, axe throwing?" Hiccup questioned while they ate their dinner. He had taken her to a popular, locally owned diner, as she had said she wanted to get to know the area. It had taken a little time, but Hiccup discovered that she was very easy to talk to. He found himself lowering his guard and opening up in a way he hadn't done in years.
Astrid almost choked on her food as she laughed at his comment.
"You okay?" Hiccup asked with amusement.
"Yeah, yes." Astrid finally replied, gaining control of herself. "It's just funny. You're very funny."
"And you're avoiding the question. Is it something weirder than axe throwing?" Hiccup gave her a mock-suspicious look.
"Martial Arts." Astrid answered with a chuckle. "That's my specialty, but I can do exercise routines. Or, I guess, if you're into axes, I could probably do that too."
"Oh, that's impressive. I would be hopeless at all of those." Hiccup admitted, smiling at the banter.
"That's okay, I'm hopeless with computers." Astrid assured him.
"I used to be. It wasn't really my area of interest, originally, but I learned a lot about them in college. I had to take classes on 3-D rendering, computer processing, and computer-aided design." Hiccup explained his history with computers.
"Wow, now I'm impressed." Astrid said with interest. "What exactly were you majoring in?"
"Um... architecture." Hiccup hesitated to answer, not necessarily wanting to go down this line of conversation again.
Sensing his sudden discomfort, Astrid decided to change the subject. "This is a nice city. There is so much to do and look at, and it's next to the shoreline."
"Yeah, Berkeley, California is pretty great. I grew up here, so it's really all I know..." Hiccup's eyes drifted toward the big window beside their booth as a motorcade of black limos with little, foreign flags waving on the hoods, drove past and caught his eye. Before he knew what was happening, Hiccup sucked in a breath of air as a pounding in his head started up. Lines of code. A blueprint. The inside of a hall in a large building.
—
—"Hiccup? Are you okay?" Astrid said with a worried voice, reaching a hand across the table to touch his arm."
"Yeah... yeah, sorry. I just zoned out." Hiccup responded, still somewhat distracted. "Those limousines... Chief Mogadon was supposed to be in one of them."
"What are you talking about?"
"He wasn't though, they took him on a different route in a disguised vehicle, because they think his life is in danger."—
"Got you." A deep voice whispered in response to the conversation he was eavesdropping on. He instinctively moved his hand from the listening device in his ear and reached down to finger the gun he had concealed under his jacket. Instead of drawing his weapon, he thought better of it, they were in a populated area. Best to be more discrete. "I've got eyes on the target and confirmation that he is the threat. Move in when you get the chance."
—
"Hiccup, is there something-" Astrid started to say, slight suspicion in her voice.
"It's nothing. I'm so sorry." Hiccup quickly interrupted her. "I don't know why I said any of that. Do you want to dance?"
"What?" Astrid was thrown by the sudden change in conversation.
"The dance floor?" Hiccup gestured to the center of the quaint diner, where people were dancing to some live music. He hoped to distract her from what just happened. "We should dance."
"Uh, okay." Astrid took the hand he offered her and stood up. Hiccup led her to a corner of the dance floor and put a hand on her waist, leading her in a simple dance, rocking to the beat of the music.
Astrid observed their surroundings from over his shoulder as they swayed. Her eyes narrowed as she spotted three similarly dressed men spread out around them, all their attention on her and Hiccup. When she made eye contact with one of them, the three men slowly started to approach. Hiccup and Astrid were surrounded.
The slow song ended and a more upbeat one started up. Astrid pulled back from Hiccup's respectful embrace, gave him a smile, then twirled him aside.
"Whoa!" Hiccup exclaimed in surprise. As he stumbled away Astrid brought up her leg and kicked out viciously at one of their attackers, bringing him down as he clutched at his gut. Turning around she quickly grabbed onto Hiccup and got up into his face. He hadn't seen what she'd done. Hiccup seemed a bit startled by her aggressive dancing, but that didn't stop her, he would remain distracted and that's what she needed.
Continuing what she started, Astrid lifted a leg while she danced seductively and wrapped it around one of Hiccup's as she looked deep into his eyes. Without him noticing, she drew up the skirt of her dress over her thigh until she had a hand wrapped around a tranq gun.
"Um... Astrid?" Hiccup tried to talk, growing a little concerned at her sudden behavior, but she didn't give him the chance. She removed her leg from around him and threw both her arms over his shoulders, shooting the second aggressor in the process.
There was one left and he was pushing through the crowd of dancers with urgency. Astrid yanked Hiccup in for a rough kiss and shot the last of their pursuers, returning the tranq gun to its place before it was noticed.
Hiccup suddenly pulled back. "Not that I didn't appreciate that, it was nice... but-"
Astrid didn't let him finish, she clutched his wrist tightly and dragged him to the exit of the restaurant. She had spotted another man, more important looking than the other three, the man in charge. He had a strip of red hair down the middle of his scalp, the sides shaved, and it was pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck. He lifted a hand to his ear and spoke, probably summoning more back up. "Let's go. I'm going to take you back to my place."
"Wait, we haven't even paid yet." Hiccup protested. "Please stop."
Astrid had him out the exit and down the street in no time, Hiccup politely trying to object the whole way.
"Get in the car." She commanded as she walked over to the driver's side.
"Now wait a minute. What is this about?" Hiccup asked with growing impatience.
"Hiccup, seriously, let's go." Astrid replied. "I was having a good time and now I'm ready to return to my place. With you. Don't you want that?"
"We just met yesterday. I was perfectly fine finishing our date at the diner. On top of that..." Hiccup's eyes grew wide in horror. "I have never stolen a thing in my life! I'm going back in there to pay."
Astrid gave him the most confused and puzzled expression she could make. "Never...?"
At that moment a black van came barreling down the road toward them. Hiccup and Astrid snapped their heads in its direction. Astrid unlocked the car doors. "Get in, Hiccup!"
"Wait. How did you...?" Hiccup opened the passenger side door. "Those keys were in my pocket!"
"Get in." She started up the vehicle and buckled her seat belt. Hiccup climbed in and buckled his as well. Astrid shot out of their parking spot along the curb, twisting the steering wheel as far as it would go, taking them in the opposite direction of their pursuers.
"Next time you have phone trouble, I'm going to have to ask you to consult the Geek Squad." Hiccup said as he clung to whatever he could wrap his hands around, frustrated by the bizarre turn their date had taken.
They flew around a corner as the black van started to gain on them. "Okay, I'm gonna need to know who those guys are and what they want with you!" Hiccup finally reached his limit. She had pick-pocketed his keys, left the diner in a hurry without considering what he wanted, hijacked his company car, and was now driving like a crazy person.
"They're not after me, they're after you!" Astrid informed him in a tight voice as she looked in the rear view mirror.
"Me?! Why?!" Hiccup asked incredulously, in a strained voice. He hadn't done anything or upset anyone.
Astrid didn't answer, too focused on weaving through traffic. Spotting a narrow alley up ahead she turned the steering wheel and skidded the car around to face it, then pressed hard on the gas petal, shooting through the tight opening. The black van came to an abrupt halt behind them, unable to follow through the narrow space. They were left behind.
As they made their escape, Astrid slowed her driving so that they blended in with traffic. They were both silent for a few minutes. Hiccup suddenly wary and suspicious of her.
"How well do you know Eret Eretson?" Astrid spoke up after a while. Hiccup perked up and looked at her with a shocked expression.
"How do you know Eret?" He asked suspiciously in response.
"I work for the CIA. I investigated him. He works for a terrorist organization. Or at least, he did. He's dead." Astrid informed him with such nonchalance, like everything she said was something a person hears on an everyday basis.
"Eret is dead?!" Hiccup looked horrified and overwhelmed with everything she had told him. "Should I feel bad? Because I suddenly feel bad for holding a grudge against him. Wait... terrorist?"
"Yes. The terrorist group he worked for managed to steal a secret program that the CIA was developing. It was called Project Alpha Dragon. It contains all of the US' secret intelligence. After it was stolen, we lost track of it. That is until almost two days ago when it was transmitted from a device owned by Eret... to you." Astrid continued her explanation as she drove down random streets, insuring that they had lost their pursuers.
"That's what that was?" Hiccup sounded disbelieving. "Why would he send that to me?!"
"That's what I want to know. That's why I'm here." Astrid gave him a suspicious look, "Were you working with them?"
"No!" He was suddenly very offended. "That stupid message has caused me all sorts of problems! I met Eret back in college. I thought he was just another architecture student. But do you know what he did to me? He accused me of cheating and got me expelled from my dream program! And now I work at the Nerd Herd desk. Clearly, it was all good fun to a terrorist!"
"Why would he pretend to be a student?" Astrid tried to puzzle things out.
"How would I know?" Hiccup was still miffed by his misfortune.
"Okay then. Do you still have the program? Maybe on a backup external hard drive?" Astrid changed the subject from Eret. Hiccup narrowed his eyes as a thought suddenly occurred to him. She knew about his laptop...
"You!" He turned in his seat and looked at her with accusing eyes, the pile of black clothing coming to mind. "You're the one who broke into my house!"
"I needed to get my hands on that program. Your bumbling cousin ruined my chances at getting it back." She responded with annoyance.
"Nice disguise, I just assumed the intruder was a man." Hiccup mumbled with irritation, "And to answer your question— no. I did not back it up. After I opened his message and all those weird images popped up I wanted nothing to do with it. So I didn't touch it again."
"You opened it?!" Astrid exclaimed with alarm. Before Hiccup could respond, they were thrown to the side violently as the black van T-boned them on Hiccup's side.
—
Hiccup didn't think it was possible for his head to hurt any more than it did in that moment. He was slowly gaining consciousness. Above the ringing in his ears he heard muffled, angry voices. He was pretty sure he was sitting in a chair... Were his hands tied behind his back? And something soft was patting the right side of his face where he felt all sticky.
"...could have killed him!"
"How was I supposed to know who he was?!"
"Maybe because that's your job!"
The arguing, loud, and sharp voices pierced through Hiccup's skull. He tried to make sense of the words he was hearing, but his head was foggy and it took a lot of effort.
"His name came up as a threat to national security, the reason why was confidential. As the one assigned to Chief Mogadon's security, I had to check him out." A deep, male voice spoke with a little less intensity than before, making it easier for Hiccup to listen.
"By attacking him and ramming a car into him?! That's a bit extreme, don't you think, Throk?" Astrid was reprimanding someone.
"I would have left him alone— watching your date was extremely boring, by the way— but then he mentioned Chief Mogadon. He knew information that he shouldn't have known. I assumed he was a threat." Throk defended his actions.
"I was sent to investigate Hiccup, you should have contacted Director Mala, then this whole situation could have been avoided!" Astrid continued her reprimand, her voice increasing to a painful volume, even though in actuality it wasn't that loud.
"Ah..." Hiccup gasped in pain. He slowly began to force his eyes open, but everything remained fuzzy, he closed them again.
"Hiccup?" That was Astrid's voice, she had been talking about him with someone. "I need you to open your eyes."
Hiccup pried his eyes open again, his vision clearing the more he blinked. Astrid was leaning down to look him in the eye, holding a cloth up to the side of his head where he was pretty sure he was bleeding.
"There you are." Astrid said with relief. "I've almost stopped the bleeding. Hold still while I clean you up."
"Why are you so worried anyway?" Throk asked from behind her. "Isn't he some kind of criminal?"
"M'not..." Hiccup tried to defend himself but consciousness was coming to him slowly. His head really hurt.
"It sounded to me like he was dragged into something unwillingly." Astrid replied, getting defensive on his behalf. "He's a nice guy. He certainly didn't deserve to be hit by a car."
"If he's a threat to national security then he's not innocent." Throk continued. "Don't tell me you fell for him on that date? You're more professional than that."
"Shut up, Throk. He is my mission. Why don't you go walk the perimeter and make sure your precious Chief is safe?"
"Wait... Where am I?" Hiccup was becoming more lucid. "Why am I tied up?!"
"Because Throk is an idiot." Astrid stopped wiping the blood from his head and leaned over him to cut the ties binding his hands together.
"You shouldn't-" Throk tried to protest.
"He's not a threat to Chief Mogadon. So calm down." Astrid interrupted, moving in to clean the remaining, dried blood off Hiccup's face. Hiccup leaned away from the touch.
"Where am I?" Hiccup looked worried. Neither his father, Gobber, Snotlout, or his friends had any idea where he was. He had left on a date, if he didn't return that night, no one would question it. They would just make suggestive remarks to him the next day, assuming he ever got out of here.
"It's okay Hiccup, no one is going to hurt you." Astrid tried to reassure him.
"For now." Throk grumbled. Hiccup looked up at him with panic in his eyes, then groaned and lowered his head as the quick movement made him dizzy. Astrid punched Throk's shoulder and glared.
"Don't listen to him. We're at the Hotel Shattuck Plaza. It's where the summit is taking place with Chief Mog-"
Hiccup gasped loudly and cried out in pain. He grabbed his head with both hands and leaned over. A myriad of images invaded his vision. Blueprints for the Hotel Shattuck Plaza. Computer schematics. Photos of the Serbian demolitions expert.
"Ah!" Hiccup cried out again. He had seen a staggering amount of data and was very overwhelmed.
"What's wrong? Hiccup!" Astrid kneeled in front of him with a hand rested on his shoulder.
"He's going to kill him..." Hiccup groaned, voice muffled by his hands that were now covering his face.
"Kill who?" Throk demanded as he leaned over, grabbed Hiccup's shoulders, and pulled him back up into a sitting position despite Astrid's protests, causing him some vertigo.
"Chief Mogadon..." Hiccup met Throk's eyes, an almost frightened expression spreading on his face. "I think there's something wrong with me. I keep remembering things... things that I shouldn't know."
"What is he talking about?" Throk looked to Astrid who was still kneeling next to Hiccup.
"Hiccup, talk to me. What did you see?" Astrid ignored Throk and turned her attention back to Hiccup.
"There was a Serbian demolitions expert at the Buy More earlier today... Last week the NSA intercepted blueprints for the Hotel Shattuck Plaza. And the CIA found a file in Prague with schematics for a new Serbian bomb... the bomb in this hotel." Hiccup's eyes grew wide. "Why do I know all this?"
"Astrid." Throk demanded in a stern voice.
"It's the Alpha Dragon program. You said you opened Eret's message?" Astrid inquired more urgently.
"Yes. There was a question and a box for typing in an answer. When I input the answer all of these images popped up on the screen. There were so many. What happened? What's wrong with me?" Both Hiccup and Throk looked to Astrid for answers.
"The intelligence imbedded in the Alpha Dragon program are subliminally encoded into images. If you see the image, you see the secret. Eret sent you the entire thing." Astrid finally answered, revealing to Hiccup what had been in that message.
"Wait. What are you saying?" Throk asked with horror.
"Don't you get it? All of our secrets, all of our intelligence... It's all in his head. Hiccup is the Dragon Master. The program is in his head." Astrid announced much to everyone's shock.
"This guy? That program was meant for the best CIA agents!" Throk nearly raged at the less than ideal situation.
"The program was stolen. Then it was sent to him." Astrid explained.
"But why?!" Throk was not thrilled by the news. That program was very important and this guy was useless.
"Guys! There is a bomb. It's going to explode. Chief Mogadon takes the stage in twenty minutes!" Hiccup stopped their arguing before it could really escalate.
"We need to evacuate the building." Throk instructed.
"We don't have time, we need to find that bomb." Astrid countered.
"We definitely don't have time to argue!" Hiccup got up, swayed on his feet for a brief moment, then rushed to the door. The two CIA agents followed.
"Hey! Stop!" Throk demanded, still unsure about Hiccup.
"Hiccup, what are you doing?" She chased after him.
"I know a shortcut to the ballroom!" Hiccup explained as he staggered through various hallways. After a few more turns they made it to a door. Inside, the room was packed with press and official looking people. Chief Mogadon was sitting on the stage, waiting for his introduction to end so that he could go up and speak. Nobody moved to intercept them as they roamed the room, the security recognizing Throk as the one in charge.
"Hiccup. Where is that bomb?" Throk whispered to him as they scanned the area.
"We're running out of time." Astrid reminded them.
Hiccup felt panic rising in his gut as he searched the room with his eyes. This was not how he expected his date to go! He was frantic, looking around until... he saw something. Wires. Lots of them. Peeking out from under the podium.
"There." Hiccup pointed to the stage. Both agents directed their gaze forward.
"Out of the way!" Throk commanded, running towards the suspected bomb. "This is official business."
Astrid and Hiccup followed, climbing onto the raised stage after him.
"What is this? What is going on?" Chief Mogadon spoke up. No one answered him as Throk carefully lifted up the top board of the podium. Inside was a closed laptop connected to explosives by bundles of wires.
"Is that a bomb?!" Someone asked, causing gasps and panicked cries to erupt. Throk's security tried to control the situation.
"Evacuate everyone!" Throk directed his men who immediately took action.
"If this goes off, it won't matter if they made it out of the room." Astrid pointed out quietly.
"They don't need to know that." Throk answered as he slowly opened the laptop. Everyone held their breathes as they watched. Once open, a timer could be seen on the screen, counting down from two minutes.
"Can we disconnect the laptop?" Astrid suggested.
"No, there's an auto-trigger." Hiccup unexpectedly answered, he made a confused face at the knowledge he didn't think he knew, but did.
"What about the cables?"
"There are six, multi-colored cables."
"How cliche." Throk muttered.
They weren't in the original plans." Hiccup said with a nervous tone.
"You need to get out of here Hiccup. You're too important." Astrid turned to him, but Hiccup wasn't about to leave.
"No." he said firmly, taking a step forward, but before he could touch the laptop Throk grabbed his arm and gave him a stern look.
"Don't." Was all Throk said, but the threat behind that one word was obvious.
"I've worked on laptops like this before. What if the Serbian didn't reset the factory override? I can do this. I have an idea." Hiccup looked to Astrid.
"We can't save anyone here. We all die if we don't give him a chance." Astrid told Throk. They both looked at the timer— it continued to count down. Throk nodded his agreement.
Hiccup typed in a code, causing a black window to pop up on the monitor. Then he typed in another code and waited a brief second. An internet browser opened up in front of the timer.
"Where's my search bar...?" Hiccup muttered to himself before clicking on the aforementioned bar and typing in: Romantic Flight.
"Now isn't the time to look for dates!" Throk said incredulously as Hiccup clicked on the link to the website.
Immediately a whirring sound could be heard from within the laptop, something was happening. The three of them took a step back in unison, wide eyes staring down the computer. The internet window glitched and closed. The timer froze at 15 seconds as the screen became pixelated.
"What's happening?" Throk asked, not sure if it was a good thing.
"This virus destroys all the data on a computer. It's breaking down its programming." Hiccup answered. The virus continued to wreck havoc on the computer. Being allowed to do its thing this time around, the whirring became louder until the screen shorted out and went black, causing the three to flinch. They waited anxiously for a moment, but nothing more happened.
"Nice work, Hiccup." Astrid praised him. Throk gave an acknowledging grunt.
"I did it. I just..." Hiccup's eyes widened. "I just defused a bomb. A real, ticking bomb. Oh God what if I was wrong?!"
Hiccup's head started pounding again, reminding him of his head injury, as the adrenaline wore off. He brought up his hands and clutched his head, moaning in pain. Astrid gave him a concerned look and put a supporting arm on his back.
"I think I'm gonna be sick..." He suddenly leaned over, bracing himself on his knees.
"Whoa." Astrid said in surprise, trying to help in any way she could.
"Don't throw up on the bomb." Throk grumbled. "...can't even handle the excitement that just happened. And he's the Dragon Master..."
"I'm pretty sure you gave him a concussion earlier." Astrid gave Throk a piercing look. "We're lucky he's been able to function at all."
Hiccup's breathing became labored and his vision was darkening, but he fought it. The last thing he wanted was to lose consciousness in the presence of Throk and Astrid. Who knows where he would wake up then.
He became vaguely aware of being led down some stairs, off the raised stage, and to a chair. He was grateful to be sitting and immediately rested his arms and head on the table in front of him.
"Now what?" Throk asked as he watched Hiccup struggle, still unsure of what to think of him.
"You called it in?" Astrid inquired.
"Yes, a team is coming to dispose of the bomb properly." Throk informed her, having made the call while Astrid assisted Hiccup in fumbling down the stairs.
"Then that's it. Your job is done." She said simply, dismissing him.
"What about him?" Throk didn't think his job was done, clearly there was still the issue of the Alpha Dragon being in Hiccup's head.
"He's my mission, not yours." Astrid said with some hostility. Throk had a problem with Hiccup and hadn't treated him that well, but Hiccup hadn't done anything wrong.
"I'm just supposed to ignore the fact that he has the CIA's secret project in his head?" He voiced his concerns, not appreciating being brushed off.
"I'll take care of it." Astrid took a step forward, getting in Throk's face.
"Really? From what I've seen you seem to have a soft spot for this one." Throk didn't budge. This was a serious situation and Astrid was clearly not handling the situation well.
"I do not. You're just sore because you went after the wrong target and my guy saved the day." Astrid threw the situation in his face, which Throk did not appreciated. They were practically growling in each other's faces as they confronted one another.
"Ugh! Shut Up! My head is pounding and the fighting isn't helping." Hiccup lifted his head and looked at the two, who took a couple steps away from each other. "Don't you guys work for the same organization? Shouldn't you be working as a team? Nice communication there, it definitely didn't almost get us all killed."
"You're right. None of this is helping." Astrid calmed down a fraction. Hiccup groaned again and lowered his head back down. "I need to get him some medical attention."
"There are paramedics outside..." Throk suggested.
"Yeah okay." Astrid gave her approval and Throk went to find a paramedic, obeying only because Hiccup was Astrid's asset, so she had to stay with him. After watching Throk leave, Astrid sat down next to Hiccup.
"What's going to happen to me?" Hiccup asked with his head still down. His voice came out all muffled, but she could understand what he was saying.
"My job was to get the program back. But I can't do that because it's in your head. Some of those secrets can only be accessed through you now." Astrid decided to be honest with him. "I don't know what Director Mala is going to say. But... we might have to take you somewhere secure."
"I have to leave...?" Hiccup sounded distraught by the idea.
"Maybe." She had to admit, Hiccup had a way of drawing out sympathy in her.
"Can't it be taken out of my head?" He asked timidly, afraid to hope for the best.
"I don't know. The program was still in development. We didn't get that far. It was meant for a CIA agent." Astrid felt bad that Hiccup had gotten involved in all this. He was a nice guy, he was good. He didn't deserve this misfortune and she felt the need to reassure him. "But maybe it's a possibility. Somewhere down the road."
Hiccup was starting to feel very tired. His eyes were closed and he just wanted to slip away and stop thinking about everything. He didn't want to be stressed out anymore. He wanted his headache to go away.
"I... don't..." He said in a very quiet, distant voice. "Wanna go..."
—
Hiccup was really getting tired of waking up in strange places with no idea what was going on. But at least this place was soft and cozy. His head didn't hurt as much as the last time he woke up— at least that was what he assumed, he couldn't really remember the last time he woke up.
"Where...?" He asked as he blinked open his eyes.
"Still at my apartment. Still in my bed." That was Astrid's voice. "Just like all the other times you woke up and asked me."
"Why?"
"Same reason as last time too."
"What...?"
"Concussion. I'm waking you every couple hours to make sure you're okay. You can go back to sleep now. My boss will be here in the morning and we'll discuss what's going to happen to you." She spoke quietly and gently.
"To me...?"
"Yes, Hiccup. Now rest."
—
This time around, Hiccup woke up much more coherent. He remembered the last time he had been woken up by Astrid. He knew where he was. He still had a slight headache, but since he wasn't incredibly disoriented, he counted it as a win. Astrid wasn't sitting by or on the bed this time around and light was spilling in through a crack between the curtains. Great. His father was going to start worrying soon. He'd been gone overnight and into the day. Their car was wrecked. He had no idea how he was going to explain all of that. But then... would he have to? He still didn't know his fate.
He sat up slowly, weary of his head. Quick movement still made him a little dizzy. At the sound of voices, Hiccup turned his head to the door that stood ajar.
"You're telling me that Project Alpha Dragon is in his head?" A stern and authoritative voice asked. "And the original program is destroyed with no way to get it back?"
"Yes ma'am." Astrid. Hiccup recognized her voice.
"The program is wasted on that one." Hiccup made a face, he didn't quite like Throk.
"Don't think that you're out of trouble here, Throk." The feminine and authoritative voice spoke again. "You made a mess of the situation with Chief Mogadon. You're lucky that— what's his name— Hiccup Haddock? Yes. You're lucky that Hiccup was able to defuse that bomb. I'd say that the program works rather well with that one. He's the only one it's worked on so far."
"I thought the project was still in development?" Astrid seemed confused.
"It was tested on one person before Hiccup." The one in charge, Director Mala?
"So then we still have access to that intelligence without him? We can use the other Dragon Master." Astrid seemed hopeful.
"No. The Alpha Dragon didn't take. The agent who volunteered, he won't ever be the same." Director Mala didn't sound too happy about that. "Hiccup is special. For some reason the program was compatible with his mind. We need him."
"But Director Mala." Ah, so it was her Astrid was talking to. "Hiccup has a life. He has a family and friends. He didn't ask for this. We can't just uproot him."
"What else could we do?"
"There's got to be a way to extract it."
"Astrid, we didn't even manage to find a way to safely put it in someone's head, who knows how long it will take us to figure out how to reverse it. He was never meant to have the program in his head. I have no idea what Eret was thinking or what he was trying to accomplish. But now that it has been done, we need Hiccup to keep accessing that information for us. We need to keep him safe so that our intelligence will be safe." Director Mala explained.
"So, what then? We take him somewhere. Lock him up and claim that it's for his own good?" Astrid started to sound angry on Hiccup's behalf.
"We can't just set him loose with all of our nation's secrets in his head." Mala countered.
"I'm not going anywhere." Hiccup had slowly made his way out of bed and to the door during their conversation and was now standing at the entrance to the living room.
"Look, Hiccup." An important looking woman with a stern face and short, blond hair turned to him, but Hiccup wasn't done having his say.
"Maybe I'm feeling a little cocky after defusing a bomb and saving like, hundreds of people." Hiccup dared to be forward, this was his life they were talking about and planning, without his consent. "That kind of thing can go to your head. But I'm the one who gets flashes of government secrets. Secrets that you need access to. That means that you need me. Which means that you, listen to me."
Mala raised an eyebrow at him, not used to being talked to in this way. But she was also intrigued by what he had to say. "Go on."
"I want to stay here. If you need information on something or someone, you can come to me." Hiccup said in a voice that begged no arguments.
"That's ridiculous." Throk spoke up after a moment of silence. "We can't let him dictate the way this is going to go."
"Why not? It's his head. He's no CIA agent." Mala said with a slight smile. "What good does it do us to have him locked away in some secret facility? Why not keep him right here, hidden in plain sight?"
"What are you saying, Director?" Astrid asked, thinking that she had an idea of what her boss had in mind.
"That I have a new assignment for you and Throk."
"Me? Why do I have to be dragged into this?" Throk was affronted.
"Because you're still not off the hook for messing up your last assignment and you are now one of the few agents who have knowledge of the situation with Hiccup." Mala explained. "You'll make a base here, in Berkeley. The both of you will keep Hiccup safe."
Then Mala turned to Hiccup. "You will need to work with us, Hiccup. I expect you to be cooperative. Astrid will be your handler and Throk will be her back up. Astrid will teach you some basic self-defense as you may have to escort her on missions. You will be consulted on top-secret CIA matters. That being said. You cannot tell anyone about this. Your friends and family cannot know that you are working with the CIA. Understood?"
"Understood." Hiccup affirmed. He was, quite frankly, surprised that she went along with his request, but he wasn't going to question it.
"I suggest that you three get to work." Director Mala said as she strolled to the door. "You need to set up a base and a cover. Good luck."
With that, Mala was out the door, leaving the three of them standing in Astrid's living room. Astrid looked over at Hiccup with a smile. She was glad that it had worked out for him and oddly happy with the opportunity to spend more time around him. Hiccup gave her a slight smile in return. Things were working out better than he thought they would.
"Great. Now I'm on babysitting duty." Throk said grumpily.
"Oh, that's not even the worst of it." Astrid said with a smirk. "Hey, Hiccup? Is the Buy More hiring?"
—
"I was supposed to work today. My dad's probably freaking out." Hiccup said as he unlocked the front door of his house, Astrid in tow.
"Don't worry, it'll work out." Astrid reassured. "By the time he gets home we will have replaced your car with an exact replica. You'll be tucked in bed— oh, here's a doctors note— and you'll just give him the excuse we went over. Okay?"
"I should have told you from the beginning." Hiccup said as they walked to his room. "I'm a terrible liar."
"You better make it work, Hiccup." Astrid said sternly. "If we're going to pretend to be a couple as our cover, you're going to be lying all the time."
"I'm still not so sure about that..."
"How else are we going to explain why we're spending so much time together? Especially after going on one date. This is the best solution. You're going to have to get used to the deceit if you want to remain here."
"Yeah, okay." Hiccup was resigned. He would have to deal because he was not leaving.
"Now get into bed. You still have a concussion. You should rest for the next couple days." Astrid instructed. "I'll make you some food in your kitchen and bring it in here. Make it look like I've been taking care of you all day."
—
Stoick called his son's phone for probably the millionth time that day as Gobber drove him and Snotlout to the Haddock home.
"I still don't see how you're allowed to drive, Gobber." Snotlout said to break the tension.
"Hey! I drive better with two prosthetics than some of you four-limbed idiots." Gobber replied.
"He's still not answering!" Stoick yelled, ready to throw his phone in frustration, but holding back just in case Hiccup decided to call him back.
"Maybe he's back home now." Gobber tried to reassure him.
"But why would he skip work and not answer my calls?"
"What if they hit it off and decided to elope?" Snotlout offered from the backseat.
"Shut up or you get out and walk." Stoick threatened.
"Look, your car is back." Gobber pointed out as he pulled into a spot by the curb.
Stoick launched himself out of the car before it even came to a complete stop and raced to his house. He fumbled with his keys, growling in frustration, before opening the door.
"Hiccup? Hiccup!" Stoick frantically looked around the house. There were lights on in the kitchen. Some used pots and pans and a few dirty dishes in the sink. Stoick decided to look for his son in his room. Before entering he paused and knocked, a thought occurring to him. What if Hiccup still had company? He decided that he didn't care. Hiccup lost his right to privacy if he couldn't be responsible and let his father know what was going on and that he was okay.
"Hiccup? I'm coming in!" Stoick opened the door and found Hiccup laying in bed, back to him, apparently sleeping. Suddenly frustrated, Stoick stormed over to the bed and yanked the covers off of his son.
Hiccup yelped in surprise, waking up in an instant, and turned in the direction of his father. By this point Gobber and Snotlout had finally caught up and stood behind Stoick.
"Do you know how-" Stoick's eyes widened when he saw the nasty bruise and the bandage on the side of Hiccup's face. After a moment he moved to his son's side for a better look. "What happened?!"
"Did she beat you up?" Snotlout asked with curiosity. Astrid looked tough enough to beat someone up.
"No, don't be stupid." Hiccup answered with exasperation. "I... was hit by a car..."
"You were hit-" Stoick didn't think he could be more worried than he was. "Are you okay? Should I take you to a doctor?"
"The car looked fine." Gobber observed, pointing out the inconsistency in Hiccup's story.
"Yes. I mean no." Hiccup tried to answer all of the questions. "It happened while we were walking back to the car after dinner. They weren't going that fast, so I just fell and hit my head kind of hard."
"I'm taking you to the hospital." Stoick started to get up.
"No! I'm fine!" All three of them gave Hiccup a look, like they hadn't heard him say that plenty of times before. "No, really. I mean it this time. Astrid already took me to a doctor. See? I have a doctor's note. Then she took me back to her place."
"Nice." Snotlout commented smugly.
"Shut up Snotlout, it wasn't like that." Hiccup glared at his cousin. "The doctor said I have a concussion and somebody had to wake me up every couple of hours and she volunteered to take care of me. She drove me back here earlier today, made us some lunch, and took a cab back home about an hour ago when I assured her that you would be home soon and that I would be okay."
"Only you could manage such a crazy first date." Gobber said with exasperation, after a moment of silence. "But she must like you, to put up with all that. So, congratulations."
"You're okay then?" Stoick asked, concern in his voice.
"Yes, I'll be okay." Hiccup assured.
"Then... why didn't you answer your phone?!" Stoick let his frustration out. "Do you know how worried I was? All day the worst scenarios have been playing through my head!"
"I'm sorry!" Hiccup raised his hands in a placating manner. "Really! I didn't mean to worry you. I don't even know what happened to my phone. I think it broke when I fell. This really hasn't been a good week for me and electronics."
"You could have called me with her phone! I happen to know she has a working one, courtesy of you!" Stoick pointed out angrily. His anger came from a place of concern for his son. He had been worrying all day.
"Right. Yes. That would have been a smart idea." Hiccup agreed. "Had I been in the right state of mind, I probably would have done that."
Stoick sighed, finally calming down. "Alright, that's fair. I'm just glad that you're safe and back home."
"I am so sorry, dad." Hiccup said sincerely. He really didn't want to worry his father, especially since he knew his dad was always so afraid of losing him too, after losing his mom.
"No, I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault." Stoick looked down. "It's been a long and stressful day."
"How about Snotlout and I go get dinner started?" Gobber ushered him out the door, giving the father and son some privacy.
"So... the date went well then?" Stoick asked, a teasing smile on his face.
"Up until I got hit by a car, yeah. Sure." Hiccup gave his dad a look of amused exasperation at the new line of questioning.
"Hey, a girl doesn't leap at the chance to stay up all night taking care of someone they just met if she doesn't like you." Stoick pointed out.
"I guess." Hiccup sounded unsure.
"Then take them to her home and continue to take care of them." Stoick pressed, hoping to help Hiccup understand that there were people out there who liked him and would be good friends, or girlfriends.
"Okay, you're right!" Hiccup laughed, giving in. "We plan on going out again. When I'm no longer on bed rest."
"Bed rest?" Stoick wondered if Hiccup's condition was worse than he let on.
"As per Astrid's instructions..." Hiccup looked awkwardly away from his dad as Stoick burst into laughter.
"That girl really likes you." Stoick said with a broad smile.
"Yeah, it would seem that way." Hiccup smiled back, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
—
A week after all the excitement, Stoick finally allowed Hiccup to go back to work, with the condition that he sit at the Nerd Herd desk for the whole shift. The bruise was fading and a scab had formed over the cut he had. He looked a lot better and he felt much better too. Even the insistent headache that had been bothering him ever since opening Eret's e-mail had begun to fade. Hiccup really hoped that it wouldn't return.
"I am so glad that you and your dad are back. Dagur was a nightmare." Snotlout was once again, leaning on the Nerd Herd desk instead of doing his job.
"I can't imagine why he would give you such a hard time." Hiccup said with sarcasm, although it went over Snotlout's head.
"I know, right?" Snotlout readily agreed. Hiccup rolled his eyes at him. A motion that no longer made him dizzy, and a good thing too, because he rolled his eyes a lot around his cousin. "Did Uncle Stoick really need to take the whole week off?"
"No, and I told him as much. But he insisted on staying home and taking care of me. He told me that head injuries are serious and he wanted to be home with me." Hiccup had actually been rather touched by his father's insistence, and the caring nature that he had allowed to show through.
"Well isn't that sweet." A new voice interrupted their conversation.
"Good morning, Dagur." Hiccup greeted with absolutely no enthusiasm, not even bothering to look up from the papers he was looking through at his desk.
"Snotface." Dagur didn't even acknowledge Hiccup. "You'll be training our newest employee."
Hiccup finally looked up, curiosity getting the better of him. When he looked just past Dagur, he couldn't help the amused smile that came to his face as he met eyes with Throk. His glare was contrasted by how ridiculous he looked in the Buy More green polo he wore.
"This is Throk. He'll be shadowing you today. So do your job and do it right." Snotlout didn't seem all that worried by Dagur's words.
"Yeah. Okay. He's in good hands." Snotlout responded as he led Throk away.
Dagur gave Hiccup a condescending look. Hiccup reciprocated with a bored expression until Dagur finally walked away, leaving Hiccup to get back to his paperwork.
"So, your cousin is training Throk. I feel like he deserves that."
Hiccup looked back up to see Astrid at the counter. "Yeah, he's not going to learn anything."
"I'm sure Throk can handle a retail job in sales." Astrid laughed lightly.
"What about you? Not eager to join the Buy More team?"
"I think our cover would work best if I'm not always in the store with you. You'll be safe with Throk. Besides, I won't be far away." Astrid pointed to the doors. "We bought that empty building across the parking lot. It's going to be our base. It'll have a cover, not sure what just yet. Maybe a frozen yogurt place or a pet supply store. I'll pretend to work there."
"A secret base, huh?" Hiccup leaned forward. "Does that mean it gets a code name?"
"Sure, why not? What should we call it?" Astrid decided to humor him.
"Dragon's Edge." Hiccup answered immediately. Astrid lifted an eyebrow at him. "I've decided to keep up with the whole dragon theme. What's with that anyway?"
"I don't know, I didn't name any of it." Astrid shrugged. CIA code names had a tendency to be weird and off-the-wall unique. But, it prevented anyone from knowing what they stood for, which was the point.
"Is Mala secretly a geek for mythological creatures?" Hiccup asked, bluntly.
"Hiccup!" Astrid laughed. Normally talking about an authoritative figure like that would be disrespectful. But... there was something about Hiccup, and she got the impression that he was honestly curious, not trying to be rude. "Actually... I could see that. Anyway, I should head back to, uh, Dragon's Edge. Got a lot of work to do setting things up."
Hiccup just smiled at her. She stood there for a moment longer, looking at him, before waving and walking away. As she reached the doors, she pulled out her phone and brought it to her ear, looking over her shoulder, before exiting.
Hiccup gasped, a slight throb erupting in his head. Images flashed though his mind. Of Astrid. Surveillance photos of Astrid holding a phone to her ear. Footage of Astrid casually taking a gun out from her pocket, shooting the person she was walking past, and hiding the gun away, all without breaking a stride as she held the phone to her ear.
Hiccup sat frozen in his chair, eyes wide. What had he gotten himself into?
—
A/N: This concludes episode 1 of "Hiccup." There will be more to come! Thanks for reading, favoriting, following, and reviewing!