Fifteen: Monster

Time slowed and for Hiccup Haddock, former First Lieutenant in Berk Special Forces (Blacks Ops Division) and now the hitman known as Night Fury, every detail sharpened to crystal clarity. He could almost count the stubble on Savage's chin and where he had once worn a moustache, he could see the sweat suddenly beading Snotlout's broad and shocked face; he could hear the slightest creak as Astrid tensed, her fists balling as she took a sharp intake of breath, ready for action...and he could smell the burning of meat on the barbecue and the acrid scent of smoke. And he could see Dagur's men tensing their fingers on the triggers of the weapons.

"And why should I come with you?" he asked dryly. Savage lurched forward, his pale brown eyes furious.

"Because you made me look like an idiot and I want to make you scream before you die," he hissed.

"Not really selling the dream there," Hiccup deadpanned back. Savage almost jabbed the muzzle of his gun in the hitman's still-bruised face.

"And I won't kill your friends if you come quietly," he breathed. "In fact, we'll bring them along so they can watch..."

"Not sure I really want to watch..." Snotlout muttered, earning a kick from one of the henchmen.

"Not sure I want an audience either," Hiccup added. Savage sneered at him.

"I can kill them now-starting with her..." he threatened, swinging the gun round to point right between Astrid's eyes.

Astrid's beautiful sea-blue eyes, almost the mirror of Cami's...

"No!" he jumped in too quickly even for his ears. "No-I'll come...just leave them alone..." Deliberately, he brushed his hand against hers, pulling her close and wrapping his arms around her. "Play along," he murmured under his breath, one hand digging into her hair an the other pressing her body hard against his, kissing her firmly as her hands slid down his back-and finding the gun in the back on his waistband. He felt her slide it out as he kissed her, his arms wrapped tightly around her, obscuring the small motion as she slid the gun into her own clothing.

Savage hauled her back and grasped her face in his hand, staring into her shocked eyes and leering.

"Hmm. Maybe I can have a piece of you myself, girl...once Dagur's killed him," he breathed. She head-butted him.

"I'll neuter you first," she spat as Hiccup leapt forward.

"Whoa...very feisty, Milady...but we don't want to do anything rash. I need you with me," he said in a firm voice, his emerald eyes locking with hers. There was a silent plea-play along-and she lowered her eyes slightly in acknowledgement that she would help him. Then she plunged forward, wrapping her arms around him again and pressing a quick kiss on his mouth.

"Be careful," she murmured. "We'll come for you." He smiled.

"Take care," he said as Savage gestured with the pistol..and as Hiccup walked past, he cracked the hitman over the head with the weapon. As he collapsed, Astrid gasped before she and the others were rounded up. Fish, Toothless, Snotlout and Ruffnut reluctantly exited the room but when the henchman opened the shower room, all they found was a barbecue with some burnt ribs, incinerated onions and a thick cloud of smoke, billowing in their faces. There was no sign of anyone else.

Spraying the room with his machine gun for good measure, the man emerged with a nasty grin and followed his friend with their prisoners...

oOo

The van roared along the roads of Berserk, seemingly deliberately hitting every pothole. Snotlout was sitting with his back to the cab, grumbling while Ruffnut was staring at the door, an unreadable expression on her face.

"Where is he?" she muttered, the tone tight with worry. Watching her, Astrid realised how close the pair were and she leaned forward.

"They didn't find him," she reassured the female twin. "They would have brought him otherwise..."

"I know that!" Ruff snarked. "But he's an idiot and he'll likely get himself killed if I'm not there to stop him..."

"Or he could be following us to rescue us," Toothless suggested.

"Yeah-in a camper van packed with weapons and explosives...and he drives like an idiot!" Ruff finished glumly. "He'll probably end up spread over three counties!"

"Fish-at least you could try to unlock the door," Astrid told him in an exasperated voice. The husky agent gave her a panicked look.

"I'm having a moment here!" he squeaked.

"Fish-I know you've got your tools on you. You carry them everywhere-even to bed!" Astrid told him sternly.

"How-how do you know that?" the big agent squeaked.

"I have my sources..."

"Snotlout....!"

"Hey...you know that's not normal, right?" the stocky agent commented superiorly.

"I could have left it on the bench when we were captured..." Fishlegs protested.

"No-you have a spare!" Astrid told him. The husky agent looked self-conscious.

"How did you know that?" he protested.

"Open the bloody door!" Astrid snapped. "They're taking us away from Hiccup-and they're going to kill us. Hiccup will be taken to Dagur and executed-and he asked us to help him..."

"But..." Fishlegs protested as she hauled the gun out from under her blouse.

"Look-Fury is a man who wants to avenge his dead wife and child...do you think he would be eating my face if he wasn't sending me a message?" she snapped. "Open the door-I'll do the rest. Because I made a promise." Ruff and Toothless shared a look and nodded.

"You get us control of the van and we can track Fury," the handler reminded her, his bright green eyes narrowing. "He's tagged with a tracker and I made sure knows it..."

"Hey babe-I still want you if that skinny murderer doesn't want a relationship..." Snotlout put in-and Astrid was shocked as Ruff punched him out. Giving a whine of protest, Snotlout slid down to the floor and passed out. In moments, Fishlegs had the door open and Astrid was out, looking up and grasping the door frame, then swarming up and crawling precariously along the roof of the van...until she reached just above the driver. Suddenly, she threw herself sideways as a couple of bullets punched through the roof of the cabin-but she was already swinging round, slamming feet-first through the window and knocking the driver sideways. He crashed into the passenger, who jerked into he door, bursting it open. Before either man could try to grab her, a brace of shots rang out and the henchmen stopped resisting. Deliberately, Astrid lifted a foot and shoved the driver and passenger through the open passenger door, then turned sharply left then right and caused the door to slam closed.

She drove along for a few minutes, checking the mirrors and finally, she pulled over. They were in an evergreen forest, spruce and fir rising up into the grey, damp sky above them, the air heavy with the scents of damp earth and bracken. Pulling to a halt, she slammed her fist on the metal plate behind her, letting her friends know it was safe. She heard the door creak and they appeared at the window, Fishlegs' face relieved, Snotlout's annoyed and Ruff and Toothless looking impressed.

"I think you could give Fury a run for his money," Ruff commented as an engine approached and the camper van screeched up. "That was seriously badass, Astrid!" Tuff jumped out and hugged her fiercely.

"Are you okay?" he asked and his twin nodded, trying not to look relieved.

"And you didn't crash the van," she replied gratefully.

"Yeah...sorry, I can try harder next time...but I had to focus because I stopped to grab your computers and things..." he explained as Toothless and Fishlegs shared a relieved look and dashed into the camper van, finding all their equipment-plus the barbecue-in there, safely stowed.

"How did they know?" Toothless demanded, his face dark with anger-and then he advanced on Snotlout. "You! You told them!"

"What? No-I didn't tell anyone!"

"Except your Dad," Astrid snarked.

"Well-of course...but then, he's the Director so he needs to know where we are..."

"Except...no one has ever got near to Dagur...almost certainly because he has a direct line into the Security Services that are trying to trap him and is always one step ahead..." Toothless commented, rebooting his laptop.

"And we should have moved, once we realised we were compromised..." Astrid said savagely. "It was my fault...I mean, I was in command. Hiccup was injured, Snotlout is a muttonhead, Fish wouldn't consider operational factors and you...trusted to your anonymity..."

"Harsh, Ast," Tuff commented, folding his arms.

"But pretty much on the money," Ruff reminded him.

"Well, yes, but..."

"And she did call Snotlout a muttonhead," the female twin reminded him.

"Well, anyone can see that..."

"And Fishlegs-gorgeous though he is-isn't really an outdoorsy type and a field agent," Ruff commented, winking at the suddenly-blushing husky agent.

"Gorgeous?" he mouthed. She grinned.

"Yup-lardass alarm went off over there," Tuff admitted.

"And we don't pay much attention..."

"I was perfecting my smoky marinade..." Tuff protested.

"And NF was hurt," she reminded him.

"And now he's captured..." the male twin replied. There was a pause.

"Got him," Toothless commented. "I...oh Gods..."

"What?" Astrid was instantly on alert at the horrified tone. Toothless looked up.

"Fenrir Wood," the handler said and the twins gasped as well.

"What?" Astrid demanded. There was pity and anger in the dark-haired man's green eyes.

"It was the place where it all happened," he said in a dead voice. "It was the place where his wife and child died."

oOo

His eyes snapped open but remained still as he had learned over long hours on surveillance, watching and waiting for his shot. His hands were tied firmly in front of his waist and he could feel the plastic ties biting deep into his bony wrists and he took a deep breath, realising there was no way he could undo the ties.

"Welcome back," Savage sneered, his eyes sweeping over the prisoner from the rear view mirror. "Thought you'd sleep the whole journey." Blinking to clear his vision, Hiccup fashioned a lazy smile.

"Better than the company," he commented. "I mean-you guys are really the most uninteresting people in the history of bad guys..."

"Hey!" the driver protested. He was an average man, relatively buff with jug ears and thick brows. "I play the flute and am an ornithologist."

"See?" Hiccup sassed, his eyes locked on Savage. The man was scowling.

"What do you mean by bad guys?" he snapped.

"And I work in the Berserk animal shelter and help visit the homeless at nights," the big bald buy sitting next to Hiccup said, his high-pitched voice grating. The man had bandaged wrists and hands-presumably from the explosion the twins had caused in the Berserk Townhouse. Raising an eyebrow, Hiccup spared him a brief glance and categorised him as simple but obedient-and thus easy to outwit but dangerous in close combat.

"Shut up, Berthel!" Savage snapped. "Why do you think we're the bad guys when you abused our trust?"

"Oh, let me see...you people shoot and kill anyone who opposes you, you demand protection, you planned to kill the other gangs who tried to move in, you force women into prostitution and hold them captive, you deal in drugs and guns, you corrupt politicians, you cheat your taxes, you steal and threaten and are a complete blight on society!"

"Apart from that?" Savage persisted.

"You tortured me," Hiccup said in an icy tone.

"You abused Miss Heather's trust," Savage retorted.

"And Dagur abused mine," the hitman shot back.

"Well, you're getting your wish..." Savage sneered, pulling out his knife and toying with the blade. "Dagur is going to meet you. In person. In fact, we're almost there..." Glancing out of the window, Hiccup felt his stomach flip: they were in the middle of a spruce forest, the trees rising into the grey sky, the dying bracken and brambles and memories flashed back across his mind...

"Dagur -you leave them alone!" he had grunted, earning himself another blow. "I'm the one you want. Deal with me..."

"I intend to," the Berserker sneered. "You killed my father. You attacked my family. It would be rude not to repay the favour."

"You bastard!" He barely recognised his own voice, hoarse and filled with hatred.

"Any last words, murderer?" Dagur taunted him.

"Let them go! Leave them alone. For the Gods' sake-your problem is with me! Keep this between us... They aren't involved! They're innocent..."

"Then after this, no one will ever dare cross me again," Dagur breathed. "How does it feel, knowing you caused this? That all these deaths will be on you?" He nodded. "Do it."

"NO!"

And then the shots sounded and amid the screams that abruptly cut out, he heard his own voice as the bullet ripped into his back...and it all went dark...

"We're here..." Savage said and Hiccup forced everything from his mind. He was running out of time, deep in a forest and restrained. And though all he needed was one shot, two seconds of time and a clear view of the man...he had a sick feeling he wouldn't be granted even that. And though he was resigned to dying on this mission-he was on borrowed time anyways-he didn't want to perish without making Dagur pay for his crimes.

But as they pulled off the road onto a muddy track, he felt his pulse accelerate and all he could feel was despair.

oOo

"Dad? It's me."

"I know who you are, boyo." Spitelout's voice was impatient. "Why are you calling me now?"

"Well, I kind of hoped you wanted to hear from your only son..." Snotlout's tone was hurt.

"Of course I do, boyo-but I do have other things I need to do. Got a department to run, threats to foil, criminals to catch, traitors to stop..."

"Yeah, I get it, Dad-but we've got a bit of a situation. Dagur's people bust into our motel room and captured us. We're being taken somewhere-it looks like a forest-and we think we're going to be killed. We will try to get away...but we need to know how they found us."

"That will be that damned murderer you took on the mission..."

"Hey! That was Astrid, not me!" Snotlout's protest had risen above a hiss and he cupped his hand over his mouth, hunching to try to look as if he wasn't phoning the Director of BHS. "But I don't think he gave anything up, Dad. He's an ass-but a brave one."

"Then you must have been careless," the Director told him briskly. "I'll send back-up to get you out of there. Where are you?"

"We're heading along a little road just east of the village of Neurosis towards Delirium," Snotlout reported. "I think I can see a big house in the distance...looks like we're heading there."

"On it," Spitelout said. "You keep your head down, boyo and let the others get in the way. They're expendable-my son isn't..."

"We're all agents," Snotlout protested, his thick brows dipping.

"But you're marked for greatness, son-so you keep your head down and let the other cannon-fodder take the bullets. I will come for you-okay?"

"Thanks, Dad-see you soon?"

"On my way. Keep your chin up, boyo-Jorgensens don't know the meaning of fear!" And he rung off.

"Or loyalty," Snotlout muttered, glaring at his phone. "At least you don't...these are my friends..."

"Did he buy it?" Astrid asked, folding her arms. Snotlout nodded.

"He says he'll send back-up," he reported sulkily. "And he asked me to hang back and let the rest of you get shot. He thinks I'm too important to take part in any fighting..." Fishlegs stared at him but Snotlout was curiously angry. "I mean, I know he thinks I'm a muttonhead..."

"Like everyone else in the Archipelago Lands," Ruff commented.

"...but I am an agent and I can look after myself! I mean, I may not be as smart as Fish or have such anger-management problems as Astrid but I am strong, great at unarmed combat, an awesome shot..."

"...though not a patch on Fury or Astrid," Fish added.

"...and I am a proper agent! I mean, I even passed the entrance exam for the Academy!" Snotlout's voice had risen in indignation.

"Only because they dropped the pass mark to 18%" Fish told him.

"WHAT?"

"Yup-usually the pass mark is 51% but when you applied, they dropped it to 18% once you sat your paper and only scored 18%," the husky agent told him with a malicious smirk.

"WHAT? But they must have seen my other scores compensated for it...so they had to have me, right?"

"Nope. Your other scores were average-except your fitness, which was definitely in the top 5%..." Fishlegs continued. There was a pause.

"So what do we do?" There was a steel in the stocky agent's voice.

"Well, if we're right, there won't be any back-up...but they will expect us to be killed by our captors before we can do anything," Toothless said firmly. "There is a leak in the department. So we use that to our advantage..."

"And first...we go get Fury," Tuff said, his arms folded. Everyone stared at him. "What? Wasn't that the point? The poor guy has suffered enough and he wanted Astrid to rescue him. He doesn't think he'll get the chance at Dagur now...and we have his weapon for him."

"Weapon?" Astrid frowned.

"A Valkyrie Sniper Rifle," Ruff explained with a nostalgic smile. "Odin, he's so good with that thing, he can shoot the antennae off an ant at a hundred metres!"

"Gods," she murmured, recalling the images they had seen of his antics during the car chase. "Where is he?"

"East," Toothless said.

"We'll take the van," Astrid said. "They may allow us closer, assuming we're friendlies..." Toothless nodded and scrambled into the back of the Camper Van.

"What the Helheim is this chicken doing in here?" he yelled as the door slammed shut but Astrid was already sprinting for the van. Fishlegs was running more slowly, holding his laptop open while Snotlout was bringing up the rear, looking as if he was thinking hard.

"Can you find him?" she asked as the husky agent scrambled into the middle of the driver's cabin.

"T gave me the frequency and access codes," he reported as Snotlout got in and slammed the door.

"Why does no one like me?" the stocky young man demanded. Astrid rolled her eyes as she started the engine and accelerated away, slewing the van round and roaring back up the road they had come, the Camper Van bouncing along after them.

"Because you're lazy, entitled, selfish, arrogant, stupid and you don't respect the chain of command or more experienced and skilled officers," she told him bluntly.

"Oh. Apart from that...why does no one like me?"

"Oh Gods," Astrid muttered.

oOo

The car stopped in the middle of the forest and Hiccup found himself hauled out and shoved along, covered by guns wielded by three jumpy henchmen, convincing him that any false move would end him. He needed to bide his time. But even that thought left his mind when he was pushed into a horribly familiar clearing, facing a shape that haunted his nightmares, flanked by four men.

"You're looking good for a dead man," Dagur said.

The man was as Hiccup recalled: a powerful, buff shape with muscular shoulders and arms, a broad chest and square face with Roman nose. The man's short hair was carrot red and spiky, shaved at the back and his pale green eyes were narrowed with anger. There was an unfamiliar scar all over the right cheek and his formerly manicured beard was rough and stubbly. The three wide 'claw mark' tattoos over his left eye, though, matched the man who had walked through his cross-hairs...and pulled the trigger, destroying Hiccup's family.

"Well, I guess that's down the the incompetence of the people trying to kill me," he said grimly, staring directly into Dagur's eyes. "I mean...your men...what can I say? Couldn't kill a fly that was taped down. And you...can't even shoot an unarmed man in the back properly."

"What the...?" Dagur said, his eyes confused-and then he walked forward and grabbed Hiccup's face in his hand, lifting his chin up and peering into the bruised features. "Gods..." he breathed and shoved the prisoner back, causing him to drop to his knees. "You!" he spat. "I'd know your face anywhere! Did you have ay idea how long I stared at your picture, memorising it so I would recognise the man who murdered my father..."

"I was authorised to take out a man who was plotting against the President, who had thwarted all efforts to arrest him..." Hiccup spat. "And you are the murderer. You've killed innocents just for fun!"

"Not for fun," Dagur snapped and then paused. "Well, not completely for fun. But the government ordered my Dad killed-so why shouldn't everyone pay? You don't mess with Dagur..."

"Well, your Townhouse is a smoking ruin and your record on killing me is really poor so...not impressed here," Hiccup sassed back, watching the man's face fold in fury. He leaned down and grabbed an item, tossing it at Hiccup. It was a shovel.

"Start digging," Dagur yelled.

"Why would I want to do that?" the auburn-haired man asked.

"Because I want you to dig your own grave this time-and believe me...this time, you won't escape it!" the gangster snarled.

"And if I refuse?" Dagur pulled his gun.

"Then I shoot your kneecaps off and continue to hurt you until you dig the hole," he snapped. "You really only need your arms to dig a hole..." Eyeing him warily, Hiccup grabbed the shovel and slowly got to his feet, then dug the tool into the damp, mossy ground, removing a shovelful of damp, black earth...

So he moved his arm, gradually teasing the grains of soil apart and worming his way up until his hand broke the surface. Time meant nothing as he slowly teased the soil away, gradually moving his other arm until he was pushing soil aside. Every motion tore at the wound in his back and even though he knew he was buried, he could feel his breathing grow more painful and harder. If he didn't get help soon, he was going to die anyway. And that was enough to give him a final burst of energy that had him pulling his broken body up, through the hole he had dug out of his own grave.

Dagur's men backed up a pace, their eyes watching him closely-even simple Berthel, who was holding a pump action shotgun, though Hiccup was certain he wouldn't be able to use it with his hand injuries. His back twinged with phantom pain, for the bullet wound had long healed-though it had left a scar. And he methodically dug the hole, a shallow grave that Dagur intended to put him in...permanently. The soil was wet and heavy, landing with a loud splat every time he heaved another shovelful out of the ground. The only sounds were the shovel cutting through the earth and his heavy breaths as he sweated over his task. Finally, Dagur looked up.

"Bored now," he said, passing his hand over his face and transforming his bored expression into one of infinite menace. "You've lived long enough. On your knees, murderer!" Hiccup slowly dropped to his knees, the shovel inches from his hand. He looked up flatly.

"You are the murderer," he said. "I was just following orders. If an opponent's man killed one of yours, you wouldn't go after his family-you would accept it as an act of a soldier in a war. Why was I different?" Dagur's expression flattened and went feral.

"Because my father wasn't to die," he hissed. "We were promised protection! We were promised...everything. You shouldn't have ever got close." Breathing hard, Hiccup looked up into his face, now suffused with rage and gave a small smile.

"And yet you cower back," he taunted the man. "You missed last time. Maybe you need to be a little closer to kill me? Or aren't you capable of avenging Daddy? Maybe we should get your sister to come in a do your job for you?"

Dagur lurched forward, almost standing in the freshly dug grave as he leaned forward and pressed the muzzle of his pistol hard against Hiccup's forehead.

"I'm not missing this time," he breathed.