"I thought I told you never to come back here."

"Eret Sr, do you believe in ghosts?" asked Hiccup, before stepping aside to allow the older man to catch a glimpse of Aage.

"…I do now. So what is it you want exactly?"

"We want you to hide a person. Just as soon as the person in question becomes a corpse," Aage interjected. "I hope you say yes. Took me all morning to think up that line."

Eret chuckled. "Well it is a good line. Now, I want details about this person. Who is he to you, apparition?"

"He is a man who let others steal time from me. He let some of those same others kill Eret and our other friends. He needs to go. Before we tell you more, we need to know if you're in. This has to be done off the books."

"It will be, you can make sure of that. Who is this dead man walking?"

"Well… that's the thing. There are two dead men walking. Aage, fetch our guest and we can talk details about the other dead-man-to-be."

…

"Where did you put him?" Johann asked.

"Dan? With an associate of mine. You'll get him when the time is right," Hiccup replied

"And when will that be?" Viggo questioned.

"When I decide. Let's go back to what you said earlier because I find it interesting. When and why did you decide to retire, Viggo?"

"You know why," Viggo responded. "As for the former; it was shortly after you got back."

"I do know why, but I was thinking you would spill the beans for everyone else here. I'm sure they're dying to know. At least I'm sure they will be."

"Now, now, curiosity is lethal. Just ask any cat. Perhaps your pet cat at home."

"Touché."

"Boys," drawled Bekker. "Stop speaking in subtext so we can all go home."

"Quite," Johann agreed. "This meeting is adjourned."

"Hold on Hiccup. There's something you should know," said Sigrid, when he made to leave.

Hiccup glanced over at Bekker, who shrugged. "I'll be in your office when you find out whatever it is."

Nodding, he approached Sigrid who was still sitting at the table, taking a seat opposite her. "What's this thing I should know?"

She leaned forward to whisper. "Hold on. Wait till everyone's gone."

So he did.

Around a minute later, she spoke. "Naja is MIA. Thought you should be the first to know."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Hiccup?"

"What's my next assignment?"

"…Well, you'll need to continue where she left off. Finding her is of course ideal, but-"

"I'll do it. I'll leave in two days and get her back. That work with you?"

"Well yes, but are you-"

"Yes, I'm sure. Now, tell me when and how it happened."

…

Hiccup and Bekker were now walking through the streets of Berk without a particular destination.

"So, are you finally going to tell me what we're doing here?"

"We needed somewhere to talk that can't be bugged. We need to move up our schedule. We have two days to kill Johann and Viggo and dispose of their corpses before I'm going to Afghanistan. How do we do it, Bekker?"

"Does Afghanistan have something to do with what Sigrid told you?"

"It has everything to do with it. Naja is MIA and possible KIA over there."

"…I see. Right, I've got some calls to make. Depending on how they go, we may have an elegant solution. Otherwise… well we'll just do it the old fashioned way."

Hiccup smiled, and it felt like he was out of practice at it. But with that thought, he remembered the last time he had truly laughed and smiled. More importantly who had been present at the time and who was now on a charred boat, sleeping with the fish.

His smile disappeared like early morning fog as he brought out his phone.

The line connected on the fourth ring. "Cami. Are you busy right now?"

"Doing paperwork. What do you need?"

Hiccup glanced around to see if anyone was too close for comfort before answering. "I need you to make use of the talent that is your team and home island's name sake."

"You want me to burgle a place. Why? And which place exactly?"

"Two places, technically speaking. Johann's house and his office. The former is less of a hassle to break into, however."

"Okay. And why do you want me to do this? I distinctly remember you having an issue with this very thing, when we were together. In fact, you still do, about your own house. What changed your mind?"

"They took Naja. She's MIA."

"Who's 'they' exactly?"

"Well she was sent to Afghanistan. I'm sure you figure out the rest."

"Right. Understood. Well, I'm going to hang up now and get my tools. I'll meet you at your office in a bit."

"Don't bother. It's better if I come to your office as mine might be bugged. We can go over the plan there."

"Alright then. Let me know when you get here."

"Will do," He hung up, then dialled a different number. "Kai, where are you?"

"In Aalborg. Where do you think?"

"Have you seen Ulf yet?"

"No. Almost there though. I can see the base."

"Get ready to drive back to Berk with him then; my original plan has changed thanks to my new schedule."

"What do you mean?" Asked Kai, obviously confused. "How has it changed?"

He quickly filled her in on the plan, plus Naja's death and his new schedule as a result of said death. There was silence on the line for a few moments, which was broken by a sigh on her end. "Well this new plan is less risky than killing your boss outright, but not riskless. What happens if I fail on my end?"

"I'm sure you can figure that out. Suffice to say, you'd be fucked. So I advise you to take as long as you need. Keep in touch as well. We'll help as much as possible on our end."

"You can help from abroad? You're leaving for Afghanistan in a couple of days."

"I'll text you advice, provided there's enough signal out there. Failing that letters will be the next option."

"Good luck with them arriving on time. And speaking of luck, I should go see him. Wish me luck he agrees to come along."

"I have a strong feeling he will."

…

Closing time for Johann started like any other end-of-shift scenario. He left his office, took either the stairs or the lift to the ground floor, signed out with his keycard and left the building for the car park behind.

Only this time, he encountered Hiccup pacing back and forth idly, his phone pressed to his ear. "-yes. I will be away again. I know it's not what you want to hear, but I feel obligated to help out. I might, but I think Berk is honestly less safe than Afghanistan is at this point. Yeah, I make a good point. Glad you agree. Alright, well I'm going to head home now. See you in a few, milady."

Hiccup lowered the phone from his ear, tapped the screen once and pocketed the device. "Johann, why are you staring at me? Move along, your car awaits."

"It can wait. About Dan…" The stout man trailed off.

"You'll get him soon. I'm really just keeping him hidden to make sure his people don't find and recapture him."

Johann nodded once. "Very well. I'll be off then. Good night."

He had barely taken a step toward his car when Hiccup spoke again. "Y'know, you really ought to give up your job as a barman or perhaps this one. You do a much better job serving alcohol than this DDIS business."

"That's not really up to you to decide."

"Of course not. Just giving my two cents. Goodnight."

When Johann got home, he seemed destined to deal with one sizable problem.

Namely a Range Rover waiting for him, outside his house, in his usual parking spot.

So he opted to park by the pavement opposite and get out to cross the street.

As he did so, the right-side front window of the car slid down all the way. "Are you Johann Trader?"

"I am. And you are?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Ulf. You're under arrest for the alleged murder of one of my people. A little bird told me."

"Well that is a bold claim. Do you have a witness?"

A car door opened and shut, the sound drawing Johann's attention as Josephine Kai emerged from the car before him, then rounded the car to approach with phone in hand. It was then that Ulf's window slid back up, obscuring him from view.

"We've got a witness and more," said Kai, shoving the phone into his hand. "Take this."

Gingerly, he accepted it and then held it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Johann. Sigrid here. We have much to discuss and you're going to want to listen to what I say until the end. Suffice to say, your time as Berk's regional director for the DDIS is at an end. I have a whole book of information on your past misdeeds. Now before we begin our long chat, any questions?"

"Yes. Just one. Did Hiccup put you up to this?"

"Quite the opposite. Let's just say that you should never have forced my daughter to sign that damn form. Now, if that's all, let's begin."

…

Hiccup and Astrid were laying on a couch together at home, Hiccup's phone held between them, both staring at the screen, waiting.

"Gods, I wish I could see Johann's face when he finds out what's waiting at home for him."

Astrid giggled. "Me too."

"So about the wedding… still up for the venue choice?"

"Yeah? Why wouldn't I be?"

"Just still can't imagine you want a wedding that small."

"Weddings are expensive and I don't make much as a cop."

"You could ask your mother."

"Hiccup, you know why I won't. Same reason why you moved out of the haddock lodge, remember?"

"Yeah, but when I did that, I was young and stupid. Then I joined the Jaegers and made lots. Not quite the same thing as you refusing to let Sigrid or bear pay for your wedding."

She punched him on the arm, smiling. "Did you just call my dad, 'bear'?"

"It's what his name means," Hiccup pointed out.

"Yes, but you don't call me 'divine beauty', do you? You call me Astrid. Why is my dad different?"

He shrugged, smiling. "I find it funny as well. Deal with it, milady."

"Alright, I will," said Astrid, as Hiccup's phone vibrated.

"All clear here, Johann is in Jaeger custody, have a good night," Hiccup read.

"Great," Astrid snatched the phone from him, tossing it aside before pushing Hiccup further back into the couch and straddling him. "Now, you're mine till morning."

"On the contrary milady," said Hiccup, as he embraced her and brought her close enough for a peck on the lips. "You're mine till morning."

Her own arms tightened around him at his promising tone and she gave him another kiss. "Oh, gods yes please!"

Needless to say, both were far too enamoured to focus on anything besides themselves for a good while after that.