Chapter Five: Unauthorised investigation

Dark fell quickly and the temperature dropped quickly over the Berktown. The lights along the harbour reflected in the flat black water and the reflections of the AI6 HQ rippled as the currents swirled. From his tenth floor office, Stoick glanced across the bay towards the warehouses at the unfashionable end of town and sighed.

"He hasn't reported in?" he checked.

"Not since he left here yesterday," Heather confirmed. "Though, to be fair, that is par for the course for VA1. Not a big respecter of protocol or operating procedure. He's probably in bed with some floozy he picked up on the way." Stoick nodded and turned back to his contemplation of the harbour.

"VA1019 showed me a text Eret sent him, claiming to be in trouble. Some cock and bull story about a deadline of the 17th involving the President, military and the banks. He used Code Black," the Commander stated calmly. "I gather you assessed it as a hoax."

"It was sent by Eret's com-even Hiccup wouldn't make a mistake that basic," Heather confirmed. "But I cannot see any reason why Eret would contact him. It's well know he despises your son. And he was partnered with Snotlout at the time who also considers your son his personal target. That's no secret! I can see the two of them cooking up a cruel joke-which Hiccup fell for." Stoick shook his head disappointedly.

"He's very gullible," he growled. "No sense of scepticism or circumspection. No wonder he failed me so badly..." His fingers drummed on the window as he made his decision and then he turned back to the slim jet-haired woman. "When Eret gets back in contact, please remind him not to use Code Black in his puerile games. It's supposed to be for damned emergencies only!" Heather nodded.

"Anything else, sir?" she asked clearly. His eyes crinkled as he smiled at her.

"Continue to monitor all Alvin's communications and see what eyes we can get on him. 24/7 surveillance on him. Send me Spitelout so we can confirm the rosters," he asked and she made a note, then nodded. Stoick watched her go and then turned back to the harbour.

"Oh Val," he murmured. "I know he was your precious boy but there's nothing more I can do with him. He's just such a disappointment! For his own good, I'm gonna have to let him go."

oOo

Fishlegs was grumbling all the way as he and Hiccup walked down towards the warehouse district overlooking the harbour. Berk's general cliffy geography meant that the nearest usable land to the waterfront and moorings was a hundred feet away-vertically up. Warehouses clustered round the east side of the harbour with a variety of winches, elevators and cranes to transport the cargo to its storage depots. The warehouses were interspersed with bars, greasy cafes and trader offices where middlemen and Captains bartered for their wares. The criminal underworld operated pretty freely here and the area was poorly lit and dangerous. Fishlegs was wrapped warmly in his thick coat, bobble hat and scarf and was hunched up and muttering while Hiccup walked along with an exasperated expression in his light jacket, his hands stuck in his pockets and scarf wound around his neck.

"Couldn't we catch a cab?" Fishlegs grumbled. "My feet are hurting." Hiccup rolled his eyes, regretting bringing the other man along. Fishlegs was a good friend but he was ideally designed for indoor pursuits...an aversion to cold, heat, sunlight, rain, fog and wind and skill at flower-arranging, indoor botany and computer hacking meant he was really unfit at the very least. He also tended to panic, complain and ramble. But Hiccup needed a partner and the only other person in the entire universe he would have even briefly considered asking would be Astrid...but he would have probably self-combusted from embarrassment during the process. Nope, Fishlegs it was.

"Yeah, nothing says 'secret mission' as much as a cab to the spot you then want to put under covert surveillance," he replied sarcastically.

"I don't have to come!" Fishlegs reminded him shortly.

"Yeah...but if I get killed, who're you going to talk to?" Hiccup shot back. The big husky boy opened his mouth...then shut it again.

"That's a low blow!" he replied stiffly.

"Fish! You work in a florists, you spend every evening all evening on a computer and you have a room full of carnivorous plants and a slobbery dog named Meatlug! You're never going to get a girlfriend!" He paused. "And as you're my best friend, that probably means I'm never getting a girlfriend either!" he added despondently. They walked along silently for a few yards.

"I've met someone online," Fishlegs began, his blue eyes sparkling.

"Oh, do NOT say this to me," Hiccup groaned.

"And she really likes the carnivorous plants..."

"Thor, you're really enjoying this, aren't you?" Hiccup muttered.

"Well, I thought you had that girl who works in the Gym..." Fishlegs said with no guile whatsoever.

"Astrid? If you tell ANYONE I 'have' her, they'll be fishing my mangled corpse from the harbour," Hiccup told him sharply. "She's turned everyone down-especially Eret, who keeps chasing her and really annoying her. Look, she should be an agent on active duty right now except that mutton-head Snotlout ruined both our chances...though of course, I got the blame and I know she blames me as well, though to as much as Snotlout, thank Odin or I'd already be dead. I know she's applied again and I really hope she goes through the selection interviews this time..."

"You haven't applied again?" Fish asked him, his tone more gentle.

"No point," Hiccup told him grimly. "I am probably gonna get ejected from AI6 for gross incompetence. No one would put me through to the interviews where I supposedly nearly blew up HQ!"

"How did that happen anyway?" Fishlegs asked him curiously. Hiccup had referred to the incident so many times but it was clearly a very painful subject and the husky young man hadn't really wanted to pry. Hiccup's phone beeped and he peered at it.

"Over there," he said. "I've logged in and downloaded the trackers from Eret's tech...and it's all over there...by that warehouse in Thorstonby Street." They two shapes walked through the gradually thickening mist, hanging in lazy skeins between the orange street lights, carefully crossed the road and walked cautiously down the uneven street, approaching the warehouse marked OUTCAST TRADING AND STORAGE CO. Hiccup peered up.

"Lots of surveillance cameras," he commented, checking his phone.

"Latest models, fully wifi and enhanced night vision and wide angle," Fishlegs suddenly piped up. "Pretty advanced models for a warehouse..."

"But not if this wasn't just a warehouse," Hiccup murmured, heading past the warehouse main entrance and alongside the side, his emerald eyes narrowing as he scanned the area...and then he saw the pile of trash. Swiftly, he crouched down, his hand sifting through the debris...and then he lifted a piece of opaque plastic. He pocketed it...and then he leaned forward...

"HEY!" a man shouted from the side-door, erupting into the narrow alley between the warehouse and the adjacent building. Hiccup looked up with a start as the tall, heavyset man rushed him and scrambled up-straight into a fist. Fishlegs backed away in to the shadows at the entrance of the alley, unseen as the man and another, even bigger and uglier man hauled the stunned Hiccup up and threw him hard across the alley. He went down with a loud slam, curling up as they closed on him. Boots thudded into his unprotected body, the noises loud in the silent, misty alley.

"What are you doing here, runt?" the other man growled. He was a tall, built man with a lot of facial tattoos and horrible breath that Hiccup got whiffs of as he leaned over the grab his auburn hair and punch him again. He went down with a grunt of pain. The first man kicked him hard again and he whimpered and waved an arm pathetically.

"Please..." he begged, reaching for his phone. "I-I'm just looking for Toofury..." The first man grabbed him by the jacket, hauling his sagging shape up and glaring into the bruised and bleeding face.

"WHAT?" he shouted, throwing Hiccup back against the wall. He hit hard, the breath slammed from him again.

"I'm...I'm hunting Pokemon!" Hiccup gabbled, his green eyes wide with anxiety. He was a hopeless liar but these men weren't the sharpest weapons in the armoury. "Toofury was in the alley...but he g-got away when you..."

The first man crashed his fist into his face again and watched him sag to to the floor. "Private property!" he sneered. "Get outta here before we give you a really spanking!"

"And this wasn't?" Hiccup shot back automatically, earning himself another three vicious kicks. He curled up, biting his lip against any more groans.

"That mouth'll get you into trouble, boy!" the first man sneered, backing away and spitting at the crumpled shape. The second man helped himself to one final kick and followed him back into the warehouse, the door slamming and the sounds of bolts sliding in loud in the silence. Slowly, Hiccup uncurled and dragged himself to his knees, his head spinning from the blows and his vision blurred...but his eyes were fixed on the pile of trash to one side, crawling over to pick out the smashed phone and wrecked flash drive. Then he flinched as steps approached...but it was only Fishlegs. The husky hacker was trembling with shock.

"Are-are you alright?" he squeaked. His voice was shaking. Hiccup glanced up. Despite the fact most of him was screaming protests, he was feeling an unfamiliar sense of triumph.

"He's in trouble," he said roughly. "His com and the flash drive...we may be able to get some data off them..."

"You...you went through all that to get two pieces of smashed equipment?" Fishlegs said in shock, helping Hiccup to his feet. The tall, lean shape stumbled and almost fell, gratefully leaning on his friend. He nodded.

"Why would a couple of warehousemen race out and a kick the crap outta me unless they had something big to hide?" he muttered. "Eret is in trouble, Alvin is hiding something in there and we're the only ones who know."

"You know," Fishlegs said thoughtfully, "that really wouldn't fill me with confidence. We need to get you home." Hiccup nodded wearily.

"Your home," he said roughly. "I need you to see what you can get from these..." He patted his pocket and groaned as he limped painfully, helped along by his friend. Fishlegs nodded in agreement as they made the main road then peered into the thickening fog.

"Now can we get a cab?" he whined.

oOo

"Who were they?" Alvin growled, pacing back and forth in his command centre, a room high up in the warehouse above the main space. The room was divided into the main office area-with wide stone-topped desk, several filing cabinets and a bank of monitors along one wall-and the lounge areas with enormous red leather couches, a massive fully-stocked bar and sheepskin rugs all over the floor. One of Alvin's men handed him a crystal tumbler filled to the brim with bourbon, which he took a huge slug from with a grimace.

For a man who was in charge of a criminal empire that bestrode the Archipelago, he wasn't having the best of days. In fact, it had been immensely trying: profits were down 0.7%, his men were getting more mutton-headed by the day and had managed to lock themselves out of the main weapons depot on Outcast again and now he had two AI6 agents in his basement cells here in Berk. Neither had volunteered any information and the shorter one had started screaming like a girl at the mere sight of the blowtorch so much that Alvin had needed to leave because he was getting a severe headache. Not that either had been seriously harmed anyway: Alvin knew the men had value and more information that could be teased out by more professional means than allowing his idiotic men to act like medieval torturers.

"Couple of nerds chasing Pokemon," Madguts reported, his ugly face twisted in a smile at the welcome they gave them. "Big one cowered away...but the skinny one was a sarky little twerp. We taught him not to come around here again!" The Crime Lord frowned, not satisfied and turned to his trusted second, Savage.

"Show me?" he demanded. The rat-faced man scrolled back the surveillance video and ALvin's dark eyes narrowed as he watched the two shaped arrive in the alley, the skinny one peering at his phone and sorting through some trash...until Madgut and Halitosis Hal burst out to give him the kicking. Alvin nodded and turned away. "Get me pictures of their faces!" he commanded. "Let's see if our guests recognise these two..."

oOo

Eret had quartered the cell and at the moment, he had nothing to work with. Alvin's men had been pretty efficient in removing all his tech and one had stolen his flash modified Rolex, wearing it obviously as he patrolled outside the cell. In fact, the cells were properly set up and manned and good quality. It confirmed everything they knew about Alvin-but didn't offer much of a prospect for escape, at present.

The other problem was Snotlout. Everything Eret had heard about the younger man had turned out to be true...and an underestimate. He was self-centred, arrogant, painfully stupid, completely oblivious to everything around him and not as brave as he pretended. He had, in fact, explained what they were doing when just shown the blowtorch-while screaming like a girl, of course. If-when-they got out of here, Eret made a silent vow to Thor that he would get Snotlout kicked off active duty and relegated to maintenance, even lower than Hiccup. He shook his head: the talent really must have skipped a generation in that family.

The door slammed open and the huge shape of Alvin stomped in, flanked by men bearing raised machine guns. Eret ran his hand through his black hair, sweeping it off his face and giving a cocky smile.

"Alvin 'the Treacherous'," he grinned. "Back so soon?" The crime lord scowled, advancing rapidly at the agent.

"Enjoyin' the 'ospitality?" he sneered. Eret shrugged.

"I'm used to better," he commented. "View's poor, accommodation basic and food hardly cordon bleu. If this is all you got, you're not gonna take anything over!"

"It ain't!" Alvin growled, jerking his head. Snotlout was brought in, his blue eyes wide, though he assumed a cocky expression as soon as he saw Eret. Eret rolled his eyes. "I thought I'd bring Squealer here in so that when I ask a question, I know someone will answer!"

"Hey!" Snotlout protested. Eret rolled his eyes and tried not to sigh. Snotlout wasn't a partner, he was a handicap! Savage walked forward and flashed the pictures under their noses.

"These two men were seen in the alley just now," he announced. "Do you know either of them?" Eret's dark gaze flicked over the strange round-faced young man...and then a shadowed version of Hiccup's face, fresh bruising and blood visible at his mouth and chin. He gave no sign...but he didn't need to because Snotlout's finger stabbed at Hiccup's image and he pulled a face.

"Useless! What the Hel is he doing here?" he exclaimed. Alvin snapped round and loomed over the stocky young man.

"You know 'im?" he growled. Eret shook his head slightly, trying to get Snotlout to shut up...but his mouth was already running and his brain had long since switched off.

"Of course-that's my cousin! Hiccup Haddock...he's useless because he flunked active roster exams...but they had to keep him on because he's the Commander's son..."

"He's AI6?" Alvin roared. Snotlout nodded.

"Barely!" he sneered. "Dunno what he's doing here, though..."

Eret face-palmed as Alvin pushed Snotlout back.

"Savage-get me Deranged on the line," he growled. "I need to speak ter 'im urgently. AI6 are after us...so we need ter move the timetable up..." He gestured to Snotlout. "Take 'im back ter his cell!" Eret watched him taken out and heard the door clang. There was only one verdict.

"Mutton-head!" he growled.

oOo

Hiccup was sitting in Fishlegs's apartment, a bag of frozen broccoli pressed against his battered face. He was downing a beer as well and watching the husky man deftly interrogate the flash drive and the com. He had confirmed that the device had texted him from a manually entered number, confirming the accident theory in his mind. His head was pounding but Fishlegs had a First Aid kit most Emergency Departments would be envious of and he had taken two aspirin and some bandages to treat his wounds.

"Why broccoli?" he asked as he slumped down on a chair. "I mean, almost everyone has frozen peas or corn in their freezer. Why broccoli?" He shuddered: the vegetable wasn't his favourite. Meatlug was curled oblivious in her basket, snoring very loudly.

"High in antioxidants, confirmed 'superfood', far better than most other alternatives," the hypochondriac told him. "Hmm...he's got more here, especially on the drive. It's encrypted so I'll need to leave the algorithm running. I'll have your answer by tomorrow evening."

"I may not have a job by then," Hiccup told him despondently, trying not to breathe too deeply. His chest and stomach were badly bruised and he suspected he had at least one cracked rib. Fishlegs frowned.

"But if you tell them what you found..."

"I'll be instantly dismissed," he sighed. "I was ordered to drop this!"

"But you were right," Fishlegs said in an outraged voice.

"And no one cares," Hiccup sighed...then looked up. "Well, someone might. If I could get her to help me..." Fishlegs gave a small grin.

"Your girlfriend?"

"My not-girlfriend," Hiccup corrected him. "But as a friend...maybe she can help me...and Eret." He pulled a face. "Yeah, two of her least favourite people," he mused. "I just hope her desire to be an agent is greater than her desire to see Eret's downfall."

oOo

Alvin folded his arms and stared at the hard face of Throk, the enforcer of the Defender Syndicate. The man's slightly reddish hair was shaved at the sides and in a long, swept back mohawk but his fanatical eyes were calculating.

"Queen Mala will speak with you," he said and the image blurred to resole to the calm and elegant face of a woman with short strawberry-tinged blonde hair, her cold green eyes calculating.

"Alvin?" Her voice was cool and accent less.

"I need a Zippleback by tomorrow!" he said without preamble. "I have a problem and it needs erasing..." She steepled her fingers and leaned forward, her form-fitting black satin dress shimmering in the candlelight of her black marble-lined office.

"That will cost you. Three." Alvin's bushy brows shot up into his wild hair.

"That's steep! One million!" he argued.

"You're on a timetable and desperate...or you wouldn't call me at this time and this notice," she reasoned. "Three."

"Yer s'posed ter come down with yer next offer. One point three," Alvin retorted.

"I don't need to sell tonight and I can get three all day long for this on the open market," she told him clearly, sipping her wine. Her long fingers drummed on the padded arms of her throne.

"I'm an ally and I'll be runnin' the Archipelago by Snoggletog. Two point five."

"So you're shooting for the crown. I look forward to dealing with you as an equal, Alvin," Mala said smoothly, lifting a small console. "Two point five it is." Alvin lifted his own console and then each magnate pressed their thumb to the console. The lights showed green, indicating the transfer of funds had been completed. Mala looked up and smiled. "Throk will have the device at your Berk warehouse by 0600." She broke the link...as the adjacent screen buzzed and flashed the Berserk symbol. Alvin laid the console aside and half-turned as the buff shape with mad pale green eyes and cropped carrot hair appeared and scowled.

"Al! What's burning your boats?" Dagur asked, grinning wildly. "You got some fun for me?"

"I need you on Berk," Alvin growled. "I got a problem with an AI6 agent."

"I hope he's more of a challenge than the last one was," Dagur whined. "He was barely any amusement at all!" Alvin scratched his beard loudly and gestured. Savage manipulated the feed and Hiccup's face was transmitted through to the assassin.

"He's a young agent, son of the Commander. Bio details-such as we have-are coming through. You can find the rest yerself," Alvin growled. "Usual fee-one million, no questions."

"Thor, are you trying to kill me with boredom?" Dagur huffed. "This will be the easiest mill I've ever earned! Any special instruction?" Alvin shook his head.

"Nothing fancy," he said grimly. "Find him and kill him!"