Seventeen: Endgame

The van pulled up to the perimeter, the four passengers all staring stolidly ahead. All wore various leather jackets and a selection of caps, beanies and a sun visor. The armed guard peered at the men-and woman-with a jaundiced eye, audibly sighing. The Boss had called in every man who worked for him, in even a nominal capacity and they had already had a variety of men rock up who were so useless even a meagre pick-pocketing ring would be ashamed to claim them. This van looked like another group of that sort of quality.

Tiredly, he rapped his knuckles on the window and the driver laboriously wound it down.

"Where did you come from?" he asked wearily. The husky man wearing the tweed flat cap gave a small embarrassed smile.

"Out in Bonkers," he said self-consciously. "We were assigned to guard a warehouse...which the Boss never really used. But when he asked for everyone to come...well, it's not like we were guarding anything of value and at least it will be interesting..."

Peering in, the guard saw a pair of lanky blondes who were wearing identical grey beanies and who were nudging and elbowing act other. A stocky man with raven hair seemed to have fallen asleep, his sun visor having slipped down to partly cover his face. Shaking his head, he waved them in and with a bright smile, the husky guy gave a small wave and drove on. Shaking his head and hefting the machine gun in his arms, the man turned back to the gate...

...right into the bullet that blew his brains out.

oOo

The van screamed into the garage and screeched to a halt. Heads turned as the driver sat motionless at the wheel, even as his three companions leapt out of the cabin.

"What's happening?" A heavyset man walked forward at the newcomers. The male with long blond dreadlocks was almost bouncing with excitement.

"Did you see that? That dude's head just exploded!" he said as the guard glanced out of the door of the garage-and saw the guard outside go down, blood spraying from his chest.

"SNIPER!" he yelled as another man fell. The garage door slammed shut and the men in the garage raced to their places-while the newcomers sped into the main part of the house...then Snotlout paused, wrenched the door open, grabbed Fishlegs' arm and dragged him from the van.

"Come on, Fishface," he grumbled as he almost pushed the husky agent forward. "We've got a job to do!" The twins were waiting for them in the passageway, both of them bouncing with excitement.

"Look-this is awesome, guys-and we have to make sure we do what we promised," Tuff said, fidgeting under his bulky duffle coat-which was packed with explosives and detonators. "In the words of our third cousin once removed, Sad Larry..."

"If you see a sheep on a hill, it's not worth the struggle," Ruff finished solemnly. Fishlegs blinked and then stared at them.

"What does that even mean?" he asked.

"It means you're back with us, handsome," she leered and winked unsettlingly at him. "Try not to get yourself killed and I promise I'll buy you the best coffee ever!"

"Yeah-not like that poison Snotman there had us brew," Tuff added.

"Hey-that was guaranteed caffeine free!"

"And taste free...and certainly enjoyment free..." Tuff added.

"You know-that's a date," Fishlegs found himself saying and smiled goofily at the female twin. She winked and elbowed her brother, who was suddenly scowling at the husky agent.

"C'mon, butthead-we've got explosions to cause. You know that always cheers you up..." she said sympathetically and Tuff brightened up somewhat.

"You're not serious about the lardass are you?" he asked in a concerned voice.

"He's funny, nice, sane and hasn't tried to kill you yet so he seems perfect," she explained as they walked away from the others, who turned and headed in the opposite direction. "And he's willing to have a coffee with a Nut so if you mess this up, I will leave you. Permanently. Forever."

"Wow. You're serious," her brother said as they reached the intersection. She nodded. "Okay-you put up with the chicken, I put up with the large guy. Deal?" He spat on his palm. Unhesitatingly, she mirrored the action and they shook hands and then head-butted. Both staggered.

"Right-you wanna blow something up?" she asked and Tuff grinned.

"And I already know where to start," he said.

oOo

Astrid was scanning the perimeter with a small high-powered pair of binoculars so she saw the men emerge from the half-concealed side entrance before Hiccup. Tapping him lightly, she indicated the gate they emerged from and he swiftly swing the muzzle of the rifle round, the sights locking onto the men, the buzz of their motorbikes faint in the clammy morning.

He took out the first couple but they were spreading out and moving too fast for him to get them all. Bouncing to a crouch, Astrid snatched her gun.

"They're after you," she said. "Keep Dagur's men busy...I'll see what I can do." And she rose and ran through the bracken, leaping over a gully and catching sight of the first man. He was charging towards her but she fired at him hitting him twice in the chest and he went down, the bike pinwheeling free. Bullets whizzed around her and she ducked, glancing towards the direction of the shots. Two more men were zipping up the slope, guns raised, She crouched and threw herself backwards into the gulley-as one man was slammed off the bike by the impact of a sniper round...but the other man was almost on her. She erupted up out of the depression and knocked the rider off the bike, both of them rolling in the dry, dead bracken.

The man was fumbling for his gun as Astrid threw herself forward, carrying him to the ground again and slamming his helmeted head against the ground. He punched at her and she just ducked, rolling off and grabbing his head, ripping the helmet away. The man punched her and she collapsed down, rolling and her hand finding her gun. But he grabbed her before she could turn and locked his arms across her throat, cutting off her air. Panic washed over her and she gasped, almost clawing at his arm-but the portion of her that was the agent fumbled with the gun, thumbed off the safety and slid her hand around her side as her vision faded, the muzzle suddenly jabbing into the man's body. And then she pulled the trigger.

The pressure on her throat eased and as he staggered back, she spun. pressing the gun against his chest and emptying the clip. He dropped, dead as she fell to her knees, coughing and rubbing her bruised throat. She was still gasping as the next man came at her-and went down as the Valkyrie took him out cleanly. She glanced up and saw Hiccup lowering the rifle.

"You okay?' he asked her, concern in his eyes. She nodded.

"I got sloppy," she admitted.

"Still impressive," he complimented her. "I wouldn't want to go up against you in a fist fight!" She smiled at the compliment and got to her feet.

"I think you've caused enough mayhem," she smiled. "I think it may be time to pay Dagur a visit." He nodded and lowered the Valkyrie to the ground, casting around for the nearest motorbike. "Aren't you...?"

"It's not a close quarters weapon," he said. "And I won't need her after this is done..." Then he headed out towards the nearest bike, lying on its side in the bracken. Pausing, she darted forward and slung the weapon across her back.

"Well I'm not planning on dying," she muttered, "and I'm not planning on letting you die either." Then she headed for the bike of the man she had tackled and dragged it up, restarting it and revving the engine. Hiccup was already heading down the slope and with a grimace, she accelerated after him. "No matter what you want."

oOo

It took Fishlegs less time that he had expected to find the surveillance office-because he knew the kind of mind that would run Dagur's Criminal Empire would site all his computerised functions in one area-which would include access to all his IT and records. The two men inside looked up as Snotlout popped his head round the door and glared but the stocky agent seemed unflappable.

"This isn't the kitchen?" he asked blithely.

"No. Go away!" one sneered.

"Hey-you can see everything that's happening from here!" Snotlout exclaimed, walking into the office with no self-consciousness at all. "Cool-look, that guy's got a hamburger!"

"Will you get out of here?" the second man growled. "This is a restricted area. We're in charge of all of the Boss's security and..."

"Oh thanks-that was what I was looking for," Snotlout said with a nasty look and shot both of them with stunner darts. The men stared at him and slumped over their consoles. "Come in, Fishface! Time for nerd stuff!"

"That nerd stuff is the whole point of the mission!" Fishlegs huffed, locking the door behind him. He and Snotlout cast around and found a back door which they checked was open before they barricaded the main entrance with a desk, two chairs and an angle poise lamp. Then, cracking his neck and stretching his hands, he pushed the unconscious man aside and logged into the open console. Snotlout made to pull up a chair but the husky agent stared at him in shock. "What are you doing?'' he asked incredulously.

"Duh! Sitting down!" Snotlout told him superiorly. "I've already worked hard in dealing with those two and..."

"And you know you have to tie them up now and guard the exits and check no one is getting in?" Fishlegs told him sharply.

"And what will you be doing? Updating your status on BerkBook?"

"What? You think hacking a system and stealing all of Dagur's secrets is just sitting on my backside?" Fishlegs snapped.

"And you're saying it isn't?" Snotlout retorted.

"You want me to com Astrid and ask her what she wants you to do?" the husky agent retorted and there was a brief look of panic in Snotlout's pale blue eyes.

"You know...I think that I will check the escape route...not that I am in any way worried about what Astrid would say but because I, as senior officer on this part of the mission, deem it necessary," Snotlout announced and got up to cover the back door.

"You do know I outrank you?" Fishlegs murmured.

"I heard that!" Snotlout yelled as the husky analyst checked the cameras and saw the twins running up and down a corridor waving a pan of stew. He shook his head and continued accessing all of Dagur's most sensitive systems.

oOo

The twins found it was easier to be those guys who were new to the base but had been sent to help as the perfect excuse to cause mild chaos and deposit a selection of very powerful explosives at critical points in the base. Of course, they had needed to help move some armaments to help the defence-though Tuff had stolen all the firing pins from the pistols and Ruff had carefully left the wrong size ammunition.

They had visited the garage again, carefully rigging the gasoline stores with mini-CavernCrasher Mines and then headed via the kitchens, where they both located some very nice cakes. Mouths and hands full of strawberry gateau and Changewing Plastic Explosives deposited on the workings of the huge walk-in freezer for good measure, the twins swung out of the kitchen-and almost ran smack first into Savage. The man had escaped with Dagur from the forest and was yelling obscenities at the men when he saw the twins.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" he yelled. "We're under attack and you're raiding the larder?"

"Fridge actually," Tuff mumbled through his mouth full of cake.

"Do I know you?" he asked suspiciously, peering at the twins...though their faces were smeared with cream.

"Got one of those faces," Ruffnut mumbled, deepening her voice.

"You're a boy, right?" Savage asked her and she nodded.

"Yeah...definitely..." she said in a deep voice.

"Well-go and defend the perimeter!" he yelled and they saluted, then ran off.

"Do you think he noticed we planted a mine in the main oven as well as the freezer?" Ruff murmured as they ran off.

"He will soon," said Tuffnut.

oOo

Hiccup raced down the hill, the bike jolting over the uneven ground with the buzz of Astrid's bike sounding in his ears. Eyes locked onto the door where the bikes emerged, he almost missed the guard manning the fence and he ducked as the shot whizzed past his head. Astrid fired from behind him and the man fell. He gunned the engine and shot through the gap and into the garage, his pistol in his hand. The first two men went down and then he threw himself from the bike, watching the speeding missile plough down three men men before Astrid blasted into the garage and zipped round the perimeter, taking out a couple more. Ruthless, he finished off anyone who was still moving and checked his magazine before Astrid joined him.

"You ready?" she asked him and he gave a grim smile.

"Are you?" he asked her. "I'm not sparing anyone. Are you okay with that?" She looked into his emerald eyes-now flat and glittering with determination and nodded.

"It's the only way to finish this," she reminded him and he nodded.

"T? You got any clues?" he murmured over his com and there was a pause.

"I've hacked some surveillance satellites and the information suggests that he's towards the back-the northern aspect of the house," Toothless murmured over the com. "It certainly looks more heavily defended and has several escape routes built in. Any clues, Fish?"

"There is surveillance all over the house except the suite at the northern part of the ground floor," Fishlegs confirmed. "I agree-that's gotta be his rooms. And there are about a dozen men outside, suggesting he's still here."

"Lock him down," Hiccup growled. "Can't have him making a break for it."

"And...done..." Fishlegs murmured. "Getting some resistance here, though. The encryption is military grade...and the systems and configuration looks like our military."

"Can you download it and decrypt it somewhere safer?" Astrid asked, peering down the hallway.

"Already on it...but I have to ensure that I get all the log of coms with connections with external servers and that is taking time..." Fishlegs explained.

"Will you shut up!" Snotlout griped.

"Fish...get all his records in preference and if you can get his correspondents, go for it...but not at your expense. There will be enough in his records and emails to give us what we need..."

"I can see you," Fishlegs said suddenly. "There are guards hiding in the intersection up ahead, to the right..."

"Got it," Hiccup said, his eyes narrowing. "T-watch out for any vehicles approaching! Whoever is backing Dagur may not want us to get away with completing the mission!"

"On it," the handler confirmed as the auburn-haired hitman dived forward and gunned down the men waiting to ambush them and then sped on, every sense on edge. A figure lurched at them and Hiccup's hand swung up before Astrid leapt forward and grabbed his gun. Ruff raised her hands.

"'sme!" she said, still chewing.

"Why is there cream all over you?" Astrid asked and Ruff shrugged.

"Gateau," she explained as if it was obvious. "Tuff's just finishing modifying the transformer..." Hiccup lifted his gun and shot at her, the man behind her dropping.

"Finish the explosives and get out of here," he ordered roughly. "This is going to get nasty very fast..."

Nodding, Ruff dashed off as Hiccup and Astrid headed along the main hall towards Dagur's suite.

oOo

"I'm under attack! I was promised that no one would come at me-and that you would protect me and mine!" Dagur's voice was angry and petulant as he almost shouted into the phone. There was a pause.

"They are operating beyond my command," a gruff voice growled.

"Strange. I thought pretty much everything was in your command," the gangster sneered.

"Your guardians are on their way-they will dispose of the irritations," the gruff voice said as Dagur gave a sarcastic laugh.

"Really? The attackers are agents! And they have that damned hitman that I disposed of two years ago. They're in my house..."

"My men are on their way-and they will stop them...by any means necessary..."

"You know, I may need to take care of this myself...and if I do, then you're gonna have to explain how those agents ended up dead."

There was a cool silence.

"Occupational hazard..." the gruff voice said. "A deal is a deal." As the click of him hanging up sounded, Dagur was already on his feet, two shiny pistols grabbed in his fists. He looked over to Savage and Vorg-his lieutenants, then glanced at Alvin, seeing the big man armed and ready to fight..

"Okay, men-looks like we'll need to deal with this ourselves..."

oOo

The men outside Dagur's rooms were heavily armed and alert...and definitely a different calibre to the rest of his men. Hiccup and Astrid ducked back as they shot at them and the hitman frowned.

"This could be a problem,' he murmured as the blonde frowned.

"Fish-is this the only way in?" she asked softly. There was a pause.

"There is a bathroom at the back of the suite...it may be possible to get in through the dry riser if you go through the cellar..." She looked up and smiled.

"On it," she said with a determined smile then glanced over to the hitman. "You wait here, Fury." Then she handed him the Valkyrie. "Just in case," she added as he grasped the rifle automatically.

"You can call me Hiccup," he reminded her quietly. "Night Fury was my call sign as a sniper..."

"...and the deadliest man in the Archipelago," she reminded him. "Take care." He gave a small smile.

"And you," he told her seriously. "This is my mess, Astrid. And if anyone has to die to stop him, it's me." She winked.

"We'll see about that," she grinned and raced back down the corridor, murmuring in her com to Fishlegs to find the nearest route to the cellars. Snapping the Valkyrie into his grip, he retreated down the hall a little and edged over, covering the door and loading the rifle. He leaned into a doorway and heard bullets impact above his head-before he lowered the muzzle and locked onto the man shooting badly at him. One shot and the man dropped, a large smear of blood sprayed onto the wall behind him. He heard yells behind him and reloaded, peering down the corridor and taking down another of Dagur's men who was trying to flank him. As soon as the man hit the deck, dead, the twins popped their heads out of a doorway and gave him a thumb's-up.

"How's it going, NF?" Tuff asked cheerily. He stared at them in shock, then raised the rifle and shot another man who was running towards them from the far end of the hallway.

"Well, everyone in here wants to kill me, the man who annihilated my family is hiding behind the door and we still have no idea who in the government is backing him," he said. "How's your day?"

"Awesome!" Tuff enthused, walking happily towards the man, oblivious to any enemies. Hiccup leapt forward and carried him to the floor as bullets exploded above his head. "I mean you told us to blow this place up and we have had the absolute most fun in trying out all our most powerful bombs and explosives...all tied to a Night Terror switch."

"A what?" Hiccup groaned, rolling over and shooting the man sprinting towards them. Ruffnut shot another man in the back and Hiccup finished him off.

"A detonator that masters a huge number of separate explosives through micro slave units-so the whole thing detonates simultaneously," Tuff explained, suddenly focussed. "No serial detonations or delays-every unit of explosive is detonated at the same second. It will be beautiful!"

"Just please wait until we're all out before you do that," Hiccup growled and rolled to his feet, reloading his pistol and grabbing the Valkyrie, then scorching back to his position. Ruff appeared at his shoulder.

"Ah...a conundrum wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a leather jacket," she said in his ear and he jumped.

"Gah! One day I will accidentally blow your head off if you do that!" he warned her, resting a hand over his racing heart.

"Nah-you're too good for that," she told him confidently but he shook his head, frustrated.

"I need to get Dagur out-or get past those men and head in," he said angrily. The twins shared a look and then handed over a couple of small flat discs the size of hockey pucks.

"Skrills," they said in unison. He frowned and looked.

"Concussive explosives with a nasty twist-a blast of electricity," Ruff explained as he weighed up one in his hand.

"And how do I avoid electrocuting myself?" he asked pointedly. Tuff grinned.

"Duck," he said. "or is that chicken? I don't know...or do I?" Rolling his eyes, Hiccup scooched back into his doorway and peered down the sight for the Valkyrie, seeing the reflections of the men patrolling and crouched outside the door in the framed photograph of Oswald. A thin smile lifted his lips at the thought of the traitor and murderer helping him bring down his son-whoever unwittingly.

"Cover your ears," he murmured and then touched his com. "Fish, Snot-time to go. Finish up and get out of here. Astrid-we're going in..."

"Fury-we have a problem," Toothless said. "Two cars closing. Both have blacked out windows, four occupants each and are registered to Dragon Exports..."

"ASS?" Hiccup murmured. "Okay team-time's up. Grab your gear and go. And that means you two, twins..."

"You know, I think we need to stay..." Ruff murmured quietly but the hitman shook his head.

"Get out...please?" he murmured and gave a small smile. "I need to know you're safe, okay? And can you make sure we have a way out? I'm not sure I trust Snotspleen to wait behind for me..." Tuff nodded.

"Okay-one escape route coming up," he promised as Hiccup handed him the Valkyrie.

"And look after her, okay?" he asked in a low voice, knowing what the twins would assume. Tuff nodded and handed the hitman his pistol.

"Promise," he murmured. "I'll have her loaded and ready when you rejoin us!" Ruff gave a curt nod and the pair raced off down the hall as Hiccup sank down in his doorway and peered at the Skrills.

"Okay," he murmured, peering at the reflection in Oswald's picture and waiting until the men were in position before he armed the Skrills and darted out, lobbed both at the men and dived for cover.

The whole corridor shook and the crackle of electricity mingled with the screams of the men as they were tossed around and jerked agonisingly in the scarifying current. And then there was silence.

Hiccup was instantly up, his guns in his hands and running towards the door. The remains of the six guards were strewn over the rubble and he shot the lock and kicked the door open, ducking sideways so that he wasn't silhouetted against the flames of the corridor. Bullets ricocheted off the wall by his head as he ducked down and peered into the room. The lights flickered and dimmed, casting deep shadows over the room, the windows shuttered closed.

"You really don't know when to give up!" Dagur's voice echoed through the room and Hiccup felt a surge of relief: he was tired of the chase, tired of the numb pain gripping his heart, of feeling every day, every breath was a failure, a betrayal of Cami and Sam and Dad and Mom because the man who killed them was still breathing, still taunting him. His hands tightened around the grips of the pistols.

"Always was stubborn. It runs in the family," he replied lightly, trying to locate the man from his voice and hoping he would continue talking.

"How are they by the way?" Dagur taunted him. "All dead?" Head tilting, Hiccup narrowed his eyes and ducked behind a large table made from a fallen tree trunk, gnarly and stunning.

"Well, I'm still alive so not yet," Hiccup called, belly-crawling in the shadows.

"Why won't you just die?" Dagur snapped and Hiccup gave a small smile at the irritation as he finalised his aim.

"Having too much fun," he said and fired. There was a yell and a curse and bullets slammed into the table above him as he crawled to a new location and shot at the sounds of cursing. The language got worse and the hitman gave a small smile as he threw himself into the space under the heavy curtains, glimpsing the shape...and seeing him dive for the door to the next room. The muzzle-flashes of the gangster's men lit the room but they were firing where he had been, not where he was and he silently smiled.

"You know you'll never succeed!" Dagur yelled. Rolling to his knees, the hitman saw the men against the lights in the next room-and shot them all. They were falling as he stumbled forward and dived through the doorway into the next room, a totally white living room with three huge black leather couches, a black lignum vitae table and a huge black Chinese cabinet at the back. The wall was dominated by a three times life size picture of Dagur and spotlights scattered across the high roof, abolishing all shadows. Pistols levelled, Hiccup froze as he locked on Dagur-and felt his heart lurch as he saw Savage stand by the man's side, Astrid held helpless against him with a gun jammed hard into her neck.

"Sorry-they jumped me," she mumbled, sounding dazed. "It was a trap."

A sick feeling flipped in his stomach as he saw Dagur-who had a hand pressed to his shoulder, which was oozing from a glancing shot-grin cruelly.

"Now who would have guessed that?" the gang boss taunted him as four men emerged from the doors behind him, their weapons levelled at the hitman. Emerald eyes narrowing, Hiccup levelled one gun on Dagur's head and the other on Savage's. "You can drop the weapons now or your girlfriend gets it."

"They've arrived," Toothless said over the com and the expression fell from Hiccup's face. He was out of time.

"Leave," he growled to his friends as the henchmen all sniggered.

"That won't impress anyone," Dagur sneered and grabbed Astrid, hauling her in front of him and jamming the muzzle of his gun under her chin. "Drop your weapon or I'll blow her face off." Struggling, Astrid growled and struggled but his grip was too tight and too expert for her to break. "I mean, you definitely seem to have a type. Blonde and blue eyes...predictable. Do you want to watch another woman die for you?"