Twelve: Unravelled

Astrid glanced over her shoulder as the tsunami approached and on instinct, she clamped her hand around Hiccup's wrist the instant before the wave hit. And then she found herself thrown around, buffeted and tossed in the foul effluent. Every ounce of her being was focussed on surviving the immediate rush, keeping her head up and not swallowing any fluid. She felt herself flipped, colliding with another body and then dragged down…but as she felt herself sinking, she was hauled up and finally, she broke surface, her tortured lungs gasping urgently for the fetid air.

Hiccup was floating beside her, her grip on his arm the thing that had dragged them both to the surface. They were both coughing and soaked, still moving fast in the flow. He looked exhausted but he was determinedly swimming, pulling her along and she released her grip on his arm to pull alongside, gesturing.

"You okay?" she asked hoarsely and he managed to crack a smile.

"Just been captured, tortured, rescued and half-drowned in a sewer…never been better," he replied gruffly. "But I think we should get out of here before we die of bubonic plague!"

"There's a ladder over there," she said and struck out, hearing him splashing behind her and managing to thrash their way across the stream and make the ladder. As soon as she grabbed the metal, she half-turned and offered Hiccup her hand, feeling his grasp hers without hesitation. It was only when they were both hanging safely onto the metal that she saw him relax and look exhausted.

"Ladders," he groaned. "I'd even prefer a rope…"

"I wouldn't," Astrid sighed and slowly hauled herself onto the rusting structure, then stuck her hand out. "Come on, Fury. I didn't wade through this sewer just to leave you behind…"

"Well, that's a relief," he sassed and grabbed her hand, allowing her to help him pull himself up onto the ladder. It creaked alarmingly. "Any sign of the twins?" She sighed.

"You know, I'm not sure whether I should worry or not," she admitted. "I mean, they managed to blow up half the house, collapse the sewer and almost drown us…but they were the only ones who stepped up to come and help rescue you…" Hiccup coughed, painfully hauling himself up another step on the ladder.

"Shouldn't have bothered," he grunted, feeling his vision waver. "I failed-and I should have been left to my fate…" She glared at him, pausing in her ascent.

"Hiccup-you're on my team," she told him sternly. "And we don't leave our people behind…"

"But I'm not," he said bitterly. "I trusted the government, gave them my loyalty and my service once before-and look what happened! My family gone and I…was left for dead. So the only people I can trust are my friends. And you-for all your fine words, Agent Hofferson-want to lock me up for centuries for my crimes. You should have left me behind and saved the taxpayers thousands of dollars!" He blinked and almost let go-but she swung round, sliding down the side of the ladder to slam her feet on the rung below his, her arm wrapping round his shaking and sodden body.

"If you kill him, you win," she murmured. "And somehow, he knew. You said he was never there. And your details are so secret that he should never have found you the first time. So something is very wrong." She felt him lean against her, feeling the warmth streaming off his body, hoping he would appreciate that he wasn't alone. "We need to regroup."

"We need a shower," he murmured, his hands tightening around the rungs once more. "Boy, you're boneheaded, aren't you?"

"Hoffersons never give up," she told him firmly. "I'm a Viking through and through." He reached up and grasped the next rung, hauling his body up.

"Okay-you win," he groaned. "Let's get out of this damned sewer!"

oOo

Astrid forged ahead when they reached the top of the ladder and cautiously lifted the manhole cover, peering out-but they were in the middle of a small sidewalk half-shielded by a green-painted cast iron trash can. She scrambled out and crouched by the hole, helping Hiccup out as sirens wailed in the distance. The horn of a fire truck blasted as it roared past and they glanced up as Astrid shoved the manhole cover back in place.

"Hmm…they're looking elsewhere," Astrid noted, craning her neck and then popping up as Hiccup scrambled to his feet. Already people were giving them a wide berth and casting them disgusted glances.

"Except the people in the vicinity who are looking right at us," the hitman noted.

"Okay," Astrid murmured, checking her com and finding it was dead. "And perfect…"

"I'm not sure I can walk all the way across town smelling like this without gassing myself from the stench," he noted gruffly. She frowned-then grabbed his hand, hauling him across the road to a chorus of expletives from the citizens of Berserk, who were diving for cover. They marched into the pharmacy and bought a giant bottle of body wash and shampoo and then headed into the beat-up hotel next door, advertising rooms for $39.99 per night.

The man on the desk gagged as they approached and covered his face with his sleeve.

"Go away!" he gasped.

"Do you have showers?" Astrid asked.

"You need hosing down!" the man at the desk choked.

"We'll take a room with your most powerful shower for one night," Astrid said, feeling in her pocket and peeling a damp hundred dollar bill.

"One room?" the man asked, his eyes fixed on the feculent note. "And you promise you'll never come back?"

"In fact, we may not stay for the whole night," Hiccup offered and the man snatched the bill.

"Room 15-best shower in the place," he said and threw the keys at them-and then retreated. They headed for the stairwell as the sound of air freshener being sprayed wafted from the back. Hiccup sniffed.

"Hate to say it…but we're more fragrant than that freshener," Hiccup commented as they limped to the room and Astrid opened the door. They both halted at the threshold and peered into the dim, damp-smelling space. "And this room is just fantastic as well." Undaunted, the agent walked in an inspected the shower, finding-to her shock-a modern power shower and clean white bathroom.

"Wow." Her voice was shocked as Hiccup limped to the chair and awkwardly sat down.

"You go first," he sighed. "I may take a while…" She looked over to him, her eyes filled with gratitude…and then she walked to him.

"Don't run off," she warned him sternly, closing and locking the door. He chuckled.

"Because I really haven't a clue where to go," he mumbled. "I'll be good, Astrid. I need a shower and a rest and then…we can decide what we do next…" Satisfied, she rose and shucked her coat off, urgently unbraiding her sodden hair.

"Absolutely," she reminded him. "We. You're not alone, Hiccup. You have friends…and I am determined that you will get your shot."

He sat back, watching as she vanished and the water started running. Suddenly, he felt old, tired and hopeless. Despite a plan that set everything up, they had been betrayed. There was no way that Dagur could know he was associated with the invading 'Meatheads' and the fact they had used him to dispose of the opposition-and then ambushed him had told him that he had just been played.

But Astrid had come for him-something he had never expected. He was fully aware that she had risked much to break him out of the prison transport…not that it had been headed in the correct direction anyway…and they were essentially fugitives. They had been operating using their contacts but independent of their chain of command…and yet…someone had been contacting the BHS. He was certain that was why Dagur somehow knew. It was why he avoided any so-called intelligence or law-enforcement agencies and guarded his identity jealously-but somehow, Astrid and her little team had found him, trapped him and offered him a deal he had to accept. He blinked. Well, Astrid and Fishlegs had tracked him down-he really couldn't see what Snotlout added to the mission apart from irritation.

He closed his eyes and felt a wave of pain run through him. Now the urgency had settled, he was able to feel the pain once more of losing his father, of saying goodbye to the man he loved and had always wanted to make proud. No one had seen it coming, a good six months after the assassination of Oswald Oswaldson and his men had ambushed the hitman and his family with military precision. He grimaced. The attack that had taken down his mother and left Stoick in a coma had been so brutal, so precise that he knew it wasn't just the work of the hoodlums he had met, observed and outwitted in Dagur's townhouse, the men who usually ran his operations. They were effective in enforcing his rule of Berserk, in keeping opposition off his territory and collecting rents, kickbacks and extortion money on time but in carrying out the executions of his family?

"Someone is helping him," he murmured.

How hadn't he seen it? How hadn't he realised that Dagur and his band of hoodlums wouldn't have done it on their own? But he knew the answer.

Because Dagur had been there at the end. Dagur had been the man who pulled the trigger. Dagur had been the one who had ripped everything from Hiccup's heart and left him the shell of a man he was, an empty vessel filled only with hatred and revenge…and looking at the wrong person.

Someone used me.

His eyes snapped open as the water clicked off and he heard the floorboards creak as someone stepped out of the shower. The herbal scent of the body wash Astrid had grabbed was wafting through on the steam that had curled under the door and he was suddenly glad he wasn't alone. He was injured and though he would never give up, he hadn't seen any way out. Until Astrid had appeared and suddenly, there was hope.

He turned his head towards the door, hearing muttering and banging. Hope. It was really something he had given up on the moment that bullet shredded his flesh, the moment he had seen his son and wife gunned down, the moment he woke with nothing left except the shell of his father and his crazy godfather. But seeing Astrid had broken his resolve and he had given himself away…and again, as they scrambled out of the sewer. He had no choice but to trust her.

And then the door opened and Astrid emerged, swathed in a towel with her long blonde hair brushed out over her shoulders and her damp, newly-washed clothes in her hands.

"Bathroom's free," she said cheerfully, her blue eyes sparkling. Unwillingly, he stared at her, her cheeks pink and lithe body moving with confidence. "There are some towels left and plenty of the bodywash-I used some to wash my clothes out and I think I saw an iron I can use to dry them…" She paused and saw him gaping. "Did I miss a bit?"

"No…I was just surprised you cleaned up so well," he admitted, levering himself up to his feet and feeling his legs almost buckle-but he gestured her away. "Stay back-I'm still a little…grimy…" She smiled as he limped past.

"I'll be waiting," she said as the door closed.

He stripped and washed carefully, making sure his wounds were as cleaned as he could manage and his auburn hair was sluiced free of everything foul. He scrubbed himself twice more and then slid down to sit under the shower, washing his clothes through and then just curling up.

He had never felt so far away from avenging the people he loved.

oOo

There was chaos in the motel when they lost contact with the team-and when the twins turned up nearly an hour later, stinking of sewerage and babbling about explosions, pungent tsunamis and losing the other two. Snotlout's comment of 'Good Riddance!' had almost gotten him punched by Toothless but the matter had been dropped when Tuffnut-wearing an evil grin and pre-shower-had hugged Snotlout and tried to kiss him. This had chased the agent away to hide in the shower and scrub himself scarlet while the twins explained they had already rented out the neighbouring room and were going to shower there now.

But the two information specialists had both shared a look once the twins had left and the windows were wide open to let out the stench. Snotlout was grumbling in the shower and singing so Toothless had slumped back on the sagging couch.

"Someone tipped Dagur off," he concluded, casting a jaundiced eye at Fishlegs but the agent was equally firm.

"Not by us," he said. "Astrid and I are AWOL and she may be a fugitive. I can access our systems because, quite frankly, the firewalls are a little leaky…helped by myself, I have to confess…but we haven't communicated with Director Jorgensen since we came to Berserk." Green eyes drifted to the sounds of bad singing from the shower.

"But has he?" he asked astutely. "He's never been really on the team, he's moaned all the way-and honestly-he's only here because Daddy wants his little boy in the service…"

"He does have his good points," Fishlegs said reasonably, perversely feeling he should try to stick up for his fellow-agent…and then he sighed. "And he can be a good agent…but he is a really poor team player! And he lacks any sort of overview of the situation."

"He's a grunt, who thinks he's a leader," Toothless translated. Fishlegs rose and walked quietly over to Snotlout's place and fished out his phone.

"One way to check," he said and plugged a cable into his computer, swiftly breaking through the security and accessing the emails, texts, messages and call record. Toothless rose and leaned over his shoulder, shocked that the husky agent was willing to search through his fellow agent's device. "Hmm…I wonder what this 1111-999 number is…he phones it an awful lot…"

"They're usually sex lines," Toothless said matter-of-factly. "So he's clearly not as attractive to the opposite sex as he would like to think…" Fishlegs blushed all the way to the tips of his ears and hastily scrolled down the list.

"That one is a Service number," he said, tapping the screen. "And he phones it every evening."

Toothless stood up and stared at the shower room.

"Find Fury's tracker," he said calmly. "Find out where he is." Fishlegs was already tapping on the computer, his eyes focussed on the programme located the man.

"Hotel Splendid, Lunatic Row, Off Lower Sleuther Street," he reported with a frown. "He's on the third floor."

"How's he in a Hotel…and why?" Toothless murmured as Fishlegs's cell rang. He answered the unknown number and frowned.

"Hello?" he asked warily.

"Fish, it's me. This is an unsecured line so listen carefully," Astrid said briskly as the husky agent switched the phone the speaker. "We're safe-just freshening up after our swim. They knew who we were. There's a leak."

"Guessed that," Fish replied, frowning with concentration. "Probably located it."

"We can use it," Astrid said. "We'll be in the neighbourhood for a change of pace. Get in the pizzas. I like mine hot."

"Understood," Fish said and hung up, smiling slightly as Toothless frowned.

"And that actually means?" he asked impatiently. "I worked for Special Ops. I recognise a code when I hear one…"

"Fury's injured and we need weapons and supplies. And she wants to know what went wrong." Toothless's green eyes glittered with anger.

"Well, we can certainly answer that one," he said. "I'll send the twins for munitions-they have a van full."

"And Snotlout?" Fishlegs asked him. "I don't think Astrid would approve of you killing him…or Fury…" Toothless gave a smirk as the shower finally clicked off.

"We're not going to kill him," he said with a knowing look. "We're going to use him!"

"Well, that will be a change, Snotlout actually being useful," Fishlegs commented as he turned back to his screen.

oOo

"Lieutenant Haddock?" The familiar gruff voice of the General came clear over the landline and he smiled at the gruff tone, imagining the man's eyes twinkling as he spoke to his top agent.

"General Utstoett, it's good to hear you sir," he had replied formally, instinctively standing at attention as he spoke to the man. He could imagine the huge shape, squeezed behind the regulation desk, the man's huge black beard a generous interpretation of army regulations and his dark eyes intelligent and calculating.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your R&R, Lieutenant, but there is a rumour that someone has eyes on you," the General reported. Every sense on alert, Hiccup glanced to the kitchen, where Cami was chopping vegetables for their tea. He was home, Sam was in his high chair, banging his little wooden Viking axe that Hiccup's father, Stoick, had given him when he was born and he felt a lurch in his stomach. Turning abruptly, he walked to the door onto the verandah, keeping his voice low.

"Eyes, sir?" he asked directly, his tone grim.

"Intel and ABI suspect that someone you encountered-or a relative-bears a grudge," the General reported.

"Sir-it's probably a false alarm," he reminded the man. "My existence is classified almost to Presidential level. No one but you and the President know what I do and how I serve. To everyone else, I am a weapons instructor. And no one knows where I live. At all."

There was a pause and a sigh.

"You're probably right, Lieutenant," General Uststoett sighed, his heavy body causing his chair to creak. "No one has notified me about this but it is unusual enough to want to give you the head's up. It's the first time anyone has mentioned Night Fury and you in the same message."

"It'll be careful, sir," he said as he heard Cami call. "My wife is calling me. I gotta go…"

"Give my best wishes to her," the General said and hung up. Staring at the phone for a second, he stuffed the device in his pocket and turned-to an armful of the busty blonde, with playful blue eyes and an assured manner that masked her own insecurities. Cami stared into his worried face.

"What's up, lover?" she asked him gently and he froze. As a counsellor and psychologist, she was almost impossible to keep a secret from so he opted to avoid the question.

"General," he said. "Classified." She slid her hands over his tense shoulders.

"It's worried you," she said quietly, her eyes searching his face-and he smiled, wrapping his arms around her pliable shape.

"It's nothing to concern us," he said calmly. "I'm the most classified solider in the service. The General was passing on a rumour. But no one knows who I am or where I live-so we have nothing to worry about." He paused and stared deep into her eyes. "My love-if I thought for a moment there was any danger to you or Sam, I would get you to a safe place." Then he leaned forward and kissed her. "But just to be safe, we'll all go to your Mom's tomorrow…"

She stared up playfully into his eyes.

"And tonight, lover, you're all mine," she whispered.

"MOMMA! POPPA! Lookee!" Sam yelled and the two giggled, resting their foreheads together.

"Once our little soldier is sleeping," he teased her. "Come on, Milady-I'll watch him while you finish." She grinned.

"Love you," she smirked and reluctantly pulled back.

"MOMMA!"

"Coming," she called and headed back as he stared into the gloom.

Maybe it was time to disappear…just in case…but first, he needed to make a couple of calls and warn his friends…

But General Alvin Utstoett had died in a gas explosion in his apartment that night, shortly after Hiccup's parents were ambushed and the intruders had snatched the hitman, his wife and young son from their home. And in the cold dawn, out in the wild of Berserk, they were all executed…

oOo

Hiccup's eyes snapped open and he managed a strangled yell, the cold water running over his beaten shape. He gasped, swallowing a mouthful of water and blindly reached up to click the water off. His eyes were stinging with water and tears, his chest tight with a toxic mixture of guilt and despair.

If he had gone that evening, taking them to safety instead of trusting the army to protect him as they had promised, they would still be alive.

It was all his fault.