Twelve: Dealing with Dragons

"Seriously-was there any need to tie us all up?" Hiccup asked, his wrists and ankles roped tightly to the plain chair that went with the kitchen table. The stranger with the gun had forced him tie the twins, Fishlegs and finally Astrid up before the gunman had roped Hiccup up securely. The man's tanned face tilted in a smile, showing white teeth.

"Makes it easier for me," he admitted. "Maybe if you hadn't tried to give your gun to blondie, we could've sat comfortably but now..."

"Yeah-way to go, Astrid!" Ruff grumbled, fidgeting against her bonds. Astrid had brushed her hand across Hiccup's ass as she had tried to sneak the gun from his waistband...and his yip of shock and fierce blush had given them both away. Ruthlessly, the man had jammed his pistol into Hiccup's throat, tossed the gun aside and kicked Astrid back into the chair, the humour briefly leaving his face, making him look suddenly very menacing. None of the team had wanted to chance annoying him any further at that point. Narrowing his emerald gaze, Hiccup saw the man lazily pull up a chair and settle opposite him, his pistol lowered but still in his hand. He was back to his confident, casual manner and as a small smirk lifted his mouth, Hiccup felt a sense of deja vu. The tanned face, unusual eyes and tousled jet hair all rang alarm bells.

"Canteen," he murmured. "You were the guy in the canteen."

The gunman afforded Hiccup a small round of ironic applause as the others stared at him. "You don't know how much I hate mac and cheese-but I guessed you would like the slimy mess," he said lightly. "And you have no idea how important it was I got you to that table."

Hiccup stared and his eyes glittered with anger.

"YOU KNEW!" he shouted. "You knew AI6 was going to be blown up and you couldn't have raised the alarm? All those people died because you..." The acid-green eyes narrowed.

"It's hardly my job to protect an Intelligence Service that can't even keep a crudely-disguised bomb out!" the man snapped. "But it was my assigned duty to keep you alive."

Hiccup flinched and felt every eye land on him. "M-me?' he mumbled. "I-I mean I'm nothing...I'm not e-even an agent..."

"Hicc?" Fishlegs asked softly, a note of betrayal entering his voice. The twins were scowling but Astrid looked at Hiccup and saw as much confusion in his green eyes as she was feeling. The other man was playing them all-she just couldn't understand why. Yet.

"And yet here you are!" the gunman said with a shrug. "You saved these people's lives from the building, from Dagur..."

"Dagur?" Astrid asked.

"Dagur 'the Deranged', the top assassin in the Archipelago," Hiccup replied automatically. "Wait-he was the lunatic with the gun after us?"

"And why?" Astrid asked directly. The gunman gave that irritating smirk.

"Your boyfriend really annoyed the wrong people!" he noted.

"He's NOT my boyfriend," she snapped angrily, missing Hiccup's flinch.

No, I'm not that lucky. Ever. Even if I was the best agent in the whole service. I mean, I'm Hiccup, the lowest ranked, most useless agent in the service...

"Who?" Hiccup asked. The gunman gave a small chuckle.

"Alvin the Treacherous, of course!" he laughed. Everyone started at Hiccup but the auburn-haired young man groaned.

"The Warehouse," he sighed. "They must have realised who I was when we went there..." Then he flicked his glance up to the man facing him. "But how did you know? Who are you? What are you?"

The gunman gave a wide smile. "Finally you ask a smart question!" he commented. "I thought Snafflefang was making it up!"

"Who?" Tuff asked.

"It was a kind of dragon that used to live hundreds of years ago in the forests of the southern Archipelago," Hiccup replied automatically.

"Really? You geek out on dragons as well?" Ruff asked him. "Gods, how...?"

"Lame am I? Well, no friends, lowest rank in the service and nothing else to do," Hiccup snapped back. "Lame and pathetic. Got it. Thank you very much." He glanced up. "You're a Dragon, in the service of the Red Queen," he added shortly. The gunman was trying not to grin and turned over his wrist, revealing a tattoo of a dragon with half-furled wings, its tail coiled underneath it.

"Night Fury clan," he nodded. "Call me Toothless."

"What?" squeaked Fishlegs. "You've got teeth! I can see them! Why is everyone here completely insane?" Hiccup stared at the man.

"Are you in league with Alvin?" he asked in a low voice. Smiling wryly, Toothless shook his head.

"I'd just let Dagur kill you if I was," he informed his prisoner. "I just needed to talk. The Red Queen had intelligence that Alvin was making a play for the Presidency and that would place all of the opposing clans and gangs at a disadvantage." Hiccup glanced over to Astrid: her glare was stony but the young man stared at their captor and took a deep breath.

"He had two of our agents," he said quietly. Toothless gave a small smile. He glanced up as two more of his colleagues entered: a tall man with a deep tan and chestnut hair, his angular face hard and a very heavily built woman with mid-brown hair and calm, pale amber eyes.

"Hookgang and Meatlug will watch your friends while I have a word with you in private," Toothless decided, flicking open a knife and slicing the ropes around Hiccup's legs, then jerked the young man to his feet. Hiccup resisted, kicking the man away, then diving towards the door-to be taken down by a swift elbow to the back. Hookfang slammed him to the ground and dragged him up by a handful of his shirt and by the hair, jerking his head back to face an angry Toothless.

"What do you want me to do with this one?" Hookfang asked, his voice sharp and cruel. "You want me to dispose of him?" Hiccup flinched, emerald eyes flicking to Toothless in a silent plea.

"Get off him!" Astrid shouted, struggling.

"Meatlug-watch them!" Toothless ordered as he cut Astrid's legs free and grabbed her by the arm. "This one's feisty enough to bring as well..." She gave a roar and spun free, her foot expertly slamming into Toothless's chest and throwing him sideways. As he staggered against the wall, she flicked the knife up, spun to catch it and cut her hands free-then spun to face the Dragons, her fists raised in a fighting stance. With a grin, Meatlug instantly ran at the blonde girl-but thought she was half as wide and half a head shorter than the powerful woman, Astrid was much faster and far more skilled. Trapping the other woman's hand, she snapped the wrist back then rolled back as she threw Meatlug hard. The heavyset woman smashed the dining table and as Astrid bounced to her feet, Hiccup slammed his foot down into Hookfang's instep-and as the man bellowed and released his hair, he slammed his head back twice, seeing stars but feeling the grip on his shirt vanish as well. He broke away and slammed a foot sideways, throwing Hookfang sideways to collide with Meatlug. The crash of the two Dragons colliding had the twins roaring with laughter and whooping in excitement. Hiccup spun to try to find Toothless, who rolled his acid-green eyes.

"You know, if you want something doing..." the Dragon sighed and the butt of his pistol creased Hiccup's skull. The young man folded, senseless as he twirled the gun and pressed the muzzle against Astrid's temple. "One more move, blondie, and you get it-and then the boy." She froze, her eyes wide-and then he clubbed her unconscious as well.

"Can we kill them now?" Hookfang growled thickly, his nose bleeding. Toothless shook his head.

"No," he sighed. "Watch the others. I need to talk with these two."

oOo

Hiccup awoke slowly, his head pounding and something sticky on his temple. He was lying cramped and uncomfortable, his hands still bound behind his back and his cheek resting on something soft which was gently rising and falling.

His mind screeched to a halt as he realised his head was comfortably snuggled against Astrid's chest. He stiffened and tried to recoil but he was cramped and his head was spinning. He just prayed that Astrid wouldn't find out-or kill him. Admittedly, she was supremely soft and warm and comfortable and...

NO! You can't think like that! Any more thinking and you'll be dead. Literally. I mean Astrid floored that huge Dragon and she will snap me in two if I think things like that. I mean, she can read my face like a book and...oh Thor...

"Glad to see you back in the land of the living," Toothless said calmly from somewhere behind him. Hiccup stiffened, his astonishingly painful head a reminder of the brutal impact that laid him out.

"Feels like I'm still in Helheim," he snarked back hoarsely.

"Hmm...you actually look like you're in Valhalla," Toothless teased him smugly and Hiccup tried to lift his head, but his vision swum and he rested his head back down, eyes closing.

"Nope, pretty sure I'm about to die," he said wearily.

"I'm not about to kill you," Toothless assured him but Hiccup gave a shudder.

"No, Astrid will," he sighed. There was a low chuckle from the unseen captor.

"She's a fine combat practitioner," he commented. "I've never seen anyone floor Meatlug before. That was very impressive. You can understand why I wanted her?"

Hiccup swallowed. Any response was probably fraught with peril-especially as he could feel Astrid begin to stir and he feared she would hear his words. He leaned into her just for a second because he would never get the chance again.

"Astrid is one of the best agents in AI6," he said clearly. "And she unjustly denied her opportunity to go operational. She could kick all of our butts. But you presume we have a relationship which is not true. She is a friend."

Astrid stirred and her eyes fluttered open, the briefly disorientated azure gaze meeting his.

"Hiccup..." she murmured. "Get off of me!" He swallowed and sighed.

"Can't," he murmured. "Thor knows I've tried and..."

A hand grabbed his hair and hauled him off her, dumping him very hard on the metal floor of wherever they were. But now he was moved, Hiccup could see it was the back of a van, with a bank of monitors and computers taking up the space directly behind the driver-with Toothless lounging behind them in the seat.

"OWW!" Hiccup protested. Astrid managed to elbow him in the side, further adding to his discomfort. Toothless's eyes narrowed as he watched the gesture.

"Look, I was sent to protect you-but I am not wholly sure of my own team," he said urgently. "Snafflefang pulled me aside and indicated her probabilities indicated that there was at least one traitor in the gang. And while the Red Queen is fierce and intimidating, she isn't always aware of all of the subordinates. She eats her own, of course..."

Hiccup heard Astrid's gasp and smiled. "Meaning she kills any traitors as well as any opponents," he translated gently. "At least, I assume she doesn't resort to cannibalism..."

"Not to my knowledge," Toothless confirmed, "but Alvin pays extremely well and he has been seeking for allies from all factions for the last few months. His plan clearly affects all corners of the Archipelago so he needs agents everywhere." He sighed. "And he needed AI6 out of action..."

"But if he was so determined to destroy the service, why capture Eret and Snotlout?" Hiccup murmured. "All he had to do was to let them poke around-because with Snotlout involved, they wouldn't find anything." He frowned. "All he did was draw attention to himself..."

"Though not enough for the Chief to believe you," Astrid added. Hiccup sighed.

"If it had been someone else, he probably would have listened," he said defeatedly. "But because it was me-his disappointing screw-up of a son-he instantly dismissed the report."

"Which indicates he's not fit to lead," Toothless growled. "He allowed personal feeling to override his training. From what my people report, the agents are still at the warehouse, though Alvin has relocated to his estate in Nortlund..."

"He has an estate on Berk?" Astrid asked irritably.

"Yeah-because he is apparently a legitimate businessman and counts most of our political leaders among his friends," Hiccup replied sarcastically. Toothless grabbed his shoulder and flicked a knife open, cutting the rope around his fists. With a groan of relief, Hiccup massaged his wrists and finally, painfully got to his knees, his fingers ghosting the sticky area on his temple: as he expected, it was blood. The Dragon nodded.

"You can release her," he confirmed as the young auburn-haired agent untied Astrid. The girl glared at him and Hiccup offered a small, self-conscious smile. "You need to rescue your agents because you need all the help you can get to prevent Alvin executing his plan-whatever it is," Toothless added as the two agents tried to rub some life back into their cramped limbs.

"Though they'll probably blow us off like Heather and Thuggory did," Astrid noted with a scowl.

"I doubt Heather will tolerate Snotlout's brand of incompetence and arrogance," Hiccup added dryly. "She'd like Eret, though. Everyone does." His tone was despondent.

"Not everyone," Astrid reminded him more gently. "He's an ass."

"With skills and experience we need," Hiccup reminded her. She huffed at him and folded her arms.

"Are you serious?" she asked him and met his steady emerald gaze. "You are serious," she concluded. There was a pause. "Fine. Okay. He's the biggest ass in the Archipelago. Maybe us rescuing him will cut his massively bloated ego down to size!"

"Precisely what I was thinking," Hiccup deadpanned. He stared up into Toothless's face. "We'll need the others..." Toothless raised his com to his mouth.

"How are they doing, Hookfang?" he asked over the channel. There was a pause and an irritated huff.

"Are the two identical ones certified insane?" he asked. "They're enjoying being tied up-and complaining the ropes aren't tight enough!" Hiccup and Astrid shared a long-suffering look as Hookfang continued in a pained voice. "And the big guy is alternating between panic attacks and complaining. Moan, moan moan. I mean, does this guy never shut up?"

"Not when he's complaining, no," Hiccup murmured. "We'll take the twins-but Fish is the best to run your computers..." Toothless's expression was especially unimpressed. "Hey, he can hack anything. And make sure we aren't double-crossed..." Toothless rested a hand to his chest.

"Hey, I'm wounded at your lack of trust..."

"You hit me over the head and threatened to shoot Astrid," Hiccup told him shortly. Toothless shrugged.

"You need my help," he said simply. "Do you want it or should I just leave you tied up for Dagur to find?" Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck with a self-conscious look.

"Astrid?" he asked and she stared at him in shock.

"Why are you...I mean, you're in charge," she told him firmly. He started.

"And I-er-I value your opinion," he admitted. She glared at him, seeing the light blush and smiled. She gave a heavy sigh.

"You think we should take their help?" she asked. He nodded.

"There are only six of us left," he sighed. "We can't afford to leave them there. And...I guess I should try to get Snotlout back since he is my cousin." Astrid scowled at him, all traces of friendship erased.

"That pig cost me my chance of operation status!" she spat. "How can you...?"

"He cost me as well," he told Astrid, "except it also was going to cost me my job and the last chance I had of winning any sort of approval from my Dad. I mean, all he wanted for his only child was to become an agent like him and Mom but no....I had to have Snotlout for a cousin and I chose saving everyone's life over winning the challenge. And now he won't even speak to me, not even when I save his life and..." He ran his hands through his hair. "You know what? Forget it. I'll do it myself. You won't have to bother about either of them." He looked up at Toothless. "Let's go!" he snapped.

The Dragon trailed his eyes over the seething Astrid.

"If you're sure," he said thoughtfully. "As soon as it gets dark, we'll head out..."

oOo

The twins had predictably voted in on the mission and had enthusiastically gone out for food before Hiccup could warn the Dragons that when the twins offered to 'get' food, they had no intention of 'paying for' food. Meanwhile, Fishlegs had been very diffident and it had taken all of Hiccup's powers of persuasion and-interestingly-Meatlug's to persuade the hacker to remain with them. Eventually, Fish had only been coaxed into joining the mission when Hiccup had made him hack the remains of the AI6 mainframe and located the file of Dagur the Deranged.

He had read it with a loud whimper, a few eeps and finally a scream. And then his eyes had rolled back in his head and he had fallen off the chair and onto Tuffnut. It had taken three people to move his dead weight and rescue the squashed twin-though Tuff had merely described being crushed as 'awesome' before he passed out. Once he had recovered from his faint, Fishlegs had agreed to stay with Hiccup and the others for protection.

Astrid had remained at the safe house because she had every right to do so and she had gratefully located spare clothes in the closets upstairs-especially when it was proper training gear. She had showered again, glared at Hiccup and tried to cook some soup, succeeding in setting the pan in fire. And then she had sat to one side with a large fruit juice and a sandwich, pointedly ignoring him and sulking. But, Hiccup noticed she was paying close attention to the briefing as Fishlegs gathered data from the local surveillance cameras and commercial CCTV. creating a schematic.

"The side entrance is here-where we tried to get in before and found Eret's phone," Fishlegs explained, demonstrating the area. "There are cameras that I can hack and blind." Then he tapped the screen. "There's a second garage entrance down here..." He demonstrated. "It may be worth going in that way..."

"Okay," Hiccup said, folding his arms and peering at the screen. "I'll take the back entrance. Twins-take the garage. Fish-you'll need to warn me if Alvin's men are around because last time, they totally handed my ass to me..."

"You do realise we have no information about the layout of the base or personnel numbers..." Ruff commented.

"I know," the auburn haired man admitted. "But we have to do something."

"Hey, no problem to me," Ruff noted. "Just wanted to put it out there!"

"Yeah-we're gonna enjoy watching your ass get stomped again, Hicc!" Tuff added. "I mean, everybody knows you're useless at combat!" His fists clenched and he spun to glare at the male twin.

"Good," he snapped. "Good thing you'll be with Ruff. Try not to get killed when we're in there..." And he stalked out to the van. Astrid growled and leapt to her feet.

"Well done, geniuses!" she snapped. "He passed his last assessment-against me! He's good enough. But you-like everyone-just has to be horribly mean to him!" She glared at the weapons laid out on the table grabbing a knife, two pistols and a machine gun-and then a pistol for Hiccup, who had stormed off without a weapon. The twins stared.

"Er...Astrid? Where are you going?" Tuff asked and recoiled as the blonde glared ferociously at him.

"On the mission-obviously!" she snapped. "You don't think I'd trust you mutton-heads to protect him?"

They all stared as she slammed out after Hiccup, a zip-up training top and leather fingerless gloves grabbed on the way out. The twins and Fishlegs stared at each other.

"It's obvious she has feelings for him," Ruff said superiorly. "She's just too stubborn to admit them!"

"Really?" her twin asked, looking puzzled. "I though he had some sort of problem...gambling, maybe? And she was helping him out..." Fishlegs sighed.

"He's got a crush on her as well-though he clearly turns into a stammering mush whenever he actually talks to her," he cut in. "Look-I'll be watching. Try not to mess this up?" The twins looked at him.

"Dunno why you're looking so smug," Tuff told the relaxed hacker. "You're coming in the van!"

oOo

Because the mission wasn't technically a Dragon operation, only Toothless came with them in the van, sitting quietly as the team emerged. Hiccup was still mad at Astrid but she glared back at him, making everyone feel intensely awkward. But once they arrived in the dim alleyway, Fishlegs killed the cameras and the team emerged. They all wore coms going via Fishlegs and Toothless was listening in as well. Hiccup stared at the doorway, pushing back memories of the last time he was here. Astrid leapt down behind him as the twins bounced down and vanished in the direction of the garage doors. For a moment they paused by the back door and Hiccup glanced over at Astrid.

"Why are you here?" he demanded and she glared back.

"Just because this is such a stupid plan doesn't mean I haven't got your back, Hiccup!" she hissed at him. "You're my friend, you saved all our lives at least three times and you are much better and more deserving than those mutton-heads understand. Now shut up and break in already!"

He blinked at her words and took a slow breath.

"Okay," he sighed, turning his attention to the lock, prising the panel away and easily unlocking the door. He nodded and pulled-but it didn't budge... He glanced at Astrid and pulled with all his strength, teeth gritted at the effort. And then a treacherous memory wafted across his mind.

The second man helped himself to one final kick at the prone Hiccup and followed the first back into the warehouse, the door slamming and the sounds of bolts sliding in loud in the silence.

"It's bolted," he realised and slammed his fists against it. "Thor, how stupid am I?" Astrid paused, then frowned, seeing a small vent low down by the trash pile. She grabbed his hand and hauled him sideways until they reached the vent.

"Any good?" she asked and he groaned.

"It's always vents," he groaned and lifted the grille, then slid in, flipping his small LED torch on. Astrid slipped in behind him, her agile shape almost soundless as she manoeuvred after him. After a few moments of squirming and crawling, they reached a corridor and the two cautiously emerged. Both listened for a long moment then skipped into the shadows, peering up and down the corridor. Astrid frowned.

"Where is everyone?" she asked in a hiss. "It's completely silent!" Hiccup frowned and nodded, sneaking swiftly through the corridor, seeing an abandoned office and a trashed computer. Files were stuffed in the shelves but were worthless dockets. He frowned, then prised the console open and levered out the hard drive, pocketing it.

"Fish-how much power is this place pulling in?" he asked and there was a pause.

"Hmm-that's interesting. Records indicate substantial power usage-until earlier today when the levels dropped down to mean levels for a warehouse in this district." Astrid stared into Hiccup's worried eyes at the words over the com.

"When they moved out," he realised, shaking his head. "I think we missed..."

Astrid raised a hand sharply and he froze mis-sentence. There was a pause and the velvety silence was so loud Hiccup was sure she would hear his heart beating. And then he heard it as well: a metallic clang that was repeated three more times. And the echoes of a voice.

"This way!" she said and took off, drawing her pistol. Hiccup raced after her, his eyes wide and tried to keep up. he really didn't want her to go in all guns blazing because he recognised the voice. They sped down to the basement and ran into the twins, who had managed to grab a pair of wrenches as weapons.

"Awesome garage!" Tuff reported. "Plenty of room-but nothing there at all!"

"And no security to speak of either," Ruff added as the clangs sounded again and a plaintive voice echoed from closer by.

"Awww-come on, guys! This is a joke, right? I mean, no lunch and no dinner? You're coming right? Because I'm so hungry...." Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Spoken like a true Jorgensen!" he sighed and walked to the door, looked at it, then simply opened it by turning the handle. He peered inside and came face to face with the stocky, jet-haired shape of his cousin. Jet hair dishevelled, blue eyes wild, Snotlout almost lunged at the tall shape-and then recognised his cousin.

"USELESS?" he gasped. "What are you doing here?" Hiccup folded his arms and gave an unimpressed look.

"Um...let me think...rescuing you!" he commented sarcastically.

"Wow, I;m flattered-but where are the proper agents?" he asked, emerging from his unlocked cell and peering around. "Well, hiya, babe," he said smoothly, waggling brows at Astrid. "You come to see I was safe. Coz I am. And I think I could dow with some serious comforting after my ordeals. So what do you say we..."

Astrid punched him in the face and he collapsed back onto his ass, rubbing his nose.

"OWWW!" he whined.

"Snotlout-where is everyone?" Hiccup asked him sharply.

"I dunno," his cousin said sulkily. "I was waiting for them. They missed my lunch and dinner and I am completely starving. I mean, if anything's cruel and unusual, it's depriving a man of his sustenance and..."

"Shall we tell him his cell was unlocked?" Tuff asked very loudly.

"Nah-we can save that for later," Ruff replied and Snotlout stared at them in shock.

"Come to think of it," he said in a superior voice, "what are ANY of you losers doing on a field op?" The twins shared a look and sniggered while Astrid's scowl would curdle milk. Hiccup stared at him.

"Snotlout," he said, "AI6 are desperate so we came." He paused. "So we came for you and Eret." He leaned forward and glared at his cousin. "Where is Eret?" Snotlout stared at him-and started laughing. Hiccup glanced at Astrid but she was breathing hard and eyeing her pistol meaningfully.

"Can't we just put him back in the cell-but lock it this time?" she asked. There was a pause and Hiccup glared at his cousin before reluctantly shaking his head.

"Much as I want to-no," he sighed.

"Ha! You failed again-as usual, useless!" Snotlout sneered. "Eret's gone. Alvin took him!"