Nineteen: Pawn

Astrid flashed her ID to the warders and stood with barely-concealed impatience as they patted her down. She reluctantly handed over her weapon but refused to relinquish her ID.

"ID's mine," she growled, her azure eyes glittering so ferociously that the shorter warder backed up a step. "Special Agent Hofferson, Berk Homeland Security and Archipelago Intelligence Services. Now open the damned door!" The man-a short hairy man whose name-badge read MULCH-saluted with an amiable look on his face.

"Just doing me job, Special Agent," he said without rancour and Astrid felt a pang of guilt at her temper-but she hadn't been able to see Hiccup for two days and she was worried for him. She forced herself to calm down. His partner-a tall man with a long blonde beard and a simple expression with a badge proclaiming his name was BUCKET- nodded, looking worried.

"I know-and thank you," she said clearly. "But I need to see the prisoner." Mulch smiled and led her to the cell, through four sets of locked gates before they finally reached the cell. With a nod, Mulch opened the door and let her in.

"Just knock or call when you want to get out," he advised her as the door slammed behind her.

It was strange to see Hiccup in prison orange, the short-sleeved coveralls loose on his lean frame, sitting on the single metal-framed bed, his bare feet flat on the floor. And then he looked up and his face lit as he saw her, a smile lifting his lips and emerald eyes sparkling.

"Astrid!" he said and there was definite relief in his voice as he rose to greet her. The weight lifted off her chest and she walked forward and hugged him, feeling him stiffen for a fraction before wrapping his arms around her and hugging her back. "Are you okay?" he asked roughly and she nodded.

"I should be asking you that," she admitted, looking up into his face as he gave a small smile.

"You know me-can't manage to keep my mouth shut," he reminded her.

The Special Agents closed on them, both exhausted and caked with mud, their guns trained on them. Hiccup could see Astrid was starting to shake and he lowered his hands slightly, taking a small step towards the agents.

"Let's all be sensible and not lose our heads," he suggested in a very even voice. "Special Agent Hofferson needs medical help..."

The nearest man swung and the pistol cracked across his head, stunning him and dropping him to the damp ground. A quartet of guns levelled at his prone body and he groaned, tensing and expecting to be shot-but in that moment, Astrid growled.

"Lower your weapons!" she snapped. "Special Agent Hofferson, BHS. We have just completed our mission and dismantled the Berserker Crime Empire. My colleague here has executed Dagur 'the Deranged' Oswaldson for treason and terrorism offences. This was a high level mission authorised by the Director." Then she lowered her hands. "And we're on live coms here, gentlemen-so anything you want the whole of BHS to hear?"

The lead agent walked forward, a tall, buff man with slicked back jet hair and a rugged face with a traditional tattoo on his square chin. She saw her reflection in his mirror black shades as he paused-and then gave a curt nod.

"Eretson, Archipelago Secret Service," he said curtly. "We were informed that there was an illegal attempt on a valued asset..."

"Obviously, you were misinformed," Astrid told him sharply. "Dagur was wanted for hundreds of deaths, the whole range of gangland crimes and multiple terrorist attacks against the people of the Archipelago. I am certain even ASS could find the warrants on the system..." And she folded her arms, her incredibly dishevelled and dirty appearance not detracting one whit from the sarcasm in her voice. Special Agent Eretson holstered his weapon, nodding to his men to stop pointing their weapons at her.

"But that man is the wanted assassin Night Fury," he said grimly and she nodded.

"He has been contracted by BHS to assist in the mission-and he has completed his contract," she admitted as they closed on him. "And our deal includes a no jail time clause."

"Forgive me if I have to clear that with my superiors," he said as the man dragged the stunned hitman up and cuffed his hands roughly behind his back. "I believe you do need medical assistance, Special Agent Hofferson. Allow us to return you to your team and then we can clarify the position of this criminal."

And though she had argued, they had bundled Hiccup into the other car and swept away as she was returned to the others. And as the day had caught up with her, the world had spun and everything had faded to black.

"I should have found you sooner," she said guiltily as he gently lifted her chin with a finger, his eyes kind.

"You were all in," he reminded her, absolving her of any blame. "You had been knocked out and buried alive. You were cold and wet and hypothermic. I presume they got you to hospital?" She nodded.

"Discharged myself," she admitted dryly. "And then spent the next day and a half finding out where they had stashed you." He chuckled.

"Can resist all...this?" he teased her, pulling back and gesturing to his lean shape.

"Trying my best," she retorted and looked into his eyes. "I'm sorry," she blurted out. "I mean-this isn't the deal we made and you shouldn't be here..." He shrugged and walked slowly back to the bed, sitting down heavily and running his hands through his dishevelled auburn hair.

"Yeah...but the moment ASS caught up with us, it was obvious they weren't happy I'd killed off their man," he said. She walked over and sat beside him.

"Oh?"

"Agent Eretson said they were there to stop 'an illegal attempt on a valued asset'," he reminded her as her eyebrows raised. "I was stunned but not unconscious. And it seemed sensible to stay down and not give them an excuse to execute me out of hand."

"I'm not sure they..." she began and then reran the episode in her memory. "I think the only reason why either of us are alive is because I said the com to the team was open...so there would be witnesses if they shot us." He nodded.

"I think you're right," he admitted. "These guys don't care a damn about our Contract. They were sent to protect Dagur and if they had found us and he was still alive, they would have disposed of us to save him. When bodies are found riddled with bullets and there is a convenient terrorist to blame, no one is going to bother who actually fired the rounds." Staring at the floor, she nodded slowly.

"I hate this," she murmured. "Who was protecting Dagur-and why?" She looked up. "Why would you want to protect a terrorist?"

"He either has some hold over you-or provides something you want," Hiccup said thoughtfully, idly picking at a seam on his coveralls. "So who gained from Dagur being...Dagur?" She smiled.

"I'll have Fish and Toothless look into it," she promised. "And I'll get Spitelout to have you put under our custody..." The hitman gave shrug.

"No offence-but I can't see your stick-up-his-arse boss making an effort to get me back from ASS when he's involved in a deal that has him paying me 400K and letting me walk free," he pointed out.

"Unless I find out your middle name first," she reminded him and he shrugged.

"Well, I have already completed the Contract so I'm not sure you can really guess any more," he suggested but she gave him a small nudge with her elbow.

"I think until this is sorted out, the Contract isn't completed," she reminded him. "I mean, how can you deny yourself the amusement of me making all sorts of stupid guesses for your middle name, Mr Night Fury?" He chuckled.

"It is pretty funny," he admitted, nudging her back slightly.

"Oh is it?" she challenged him playfully and he nodded.

"Yup!" he smirked

"Oh, it is so on!" she said determinedly, though she was still smiling. "How about...Hjalmar, Hagbard, Herko, Hugo or Hilarius?" He burst out laughing.

"None of them are my name-but it is hilarious," he admitted as she inspected his face, seeing his eyes twinkle with amusement. Giving a small, self-conscious smile, she rested her hand on his.

"Are you alright?" she asked him gently and he looked into her eyes, the smile dropping from his bruised features. He shook his head.

"I killed him...but it hasn't changed a thing," he admitted. "My family are still dead, I'm a fugitive and am in prison and ASS...well, they want to talk to me about my previous clients and who helped me..."

"Again...why?" she murmured. "I mean-that is definitely the realm of AIB. Dagur's antics were BHS territory. Why are they interested in what you know, Hiccup?" He looked up.

"Maybe they're worried if I've found out who was backing Dagur?" he suggested, concern entering his gaze.

"Fish could find that out," she murmured, chewing her lip. "He's downloaded everything from Dagur's system before he wiped it and the twins blew it sky high. And no-we didn't tell the Director or anyone that tidbit of information..."

"I'm not sure they're going to be that civilised," Hiccup said quietly. "I mean, I am facing centuries in prison for my crimes, I don't actually exist because as far as everyone is concerned, I died two years ago and I messed up whatever they're embroiled in. I don't trust them." She looked at him and heard the inflection: this was the young man she had seen play pool in Gobber's bar, the young man who 'knew' the Night Fury and who had finished off the biker gang without hesitation...the same young man who had been saved by her and saved her in equal measure. And this was the closest she would get to an appeal for help from him.

"Get up," she said, rising to her feet. He raised an eyebrow.

"Okay," he said, rising and looked at her. "I trust you," he added as she grabbed his hand and hauled him to the door, then hammered on it.

"Open the door!" she yelled. There was a pause.

"Wow-I should have thought of that myself," he commented sarcastically. There was a pause and the key turned in the lock and the door opened. He stared.

"You know-all you need is more...Astrid," she told him with a smug smile and walked through. "He's coming with me," she told Mulch. There was a pause as the little man stared at her in shock.

"I don't think we can allow that," he said amiably. "He's a prisoner of ASS and they have explained that he is an enemy of the state and needs to be explicitly debriefed..." Beside her, Hiccup stiffened and Astrid glared at the small man.

"He is a prisoner of BHS. I captured him and I am taking him for interrogation," she snapped. "Have the papers ready at the door and I can sign then while your friend fetches his things..." Mulch looked ready to protest but Astrid leaned forward and glared into his eyes. "Are you arguing with me? Because this prisoner is mine and I am not having ASS mess around in BHS matters. Their job is solely Presidential Security and not debriefing the players in a Homeland Security mission to end a known terrorist and dismantle his organisation!" The little man backed up a step and then looked over at Hiccup.

"I wouldn't cross her," he advised the warder. "She doesn't ever give up." Mulch gave a sigh.

"I wouldn't want to be in your shoes, then," he commented as he led them through security. Hiccup shrugged as he walked self-consciously through the prison, his bare feet soundless on the concrete floor and goosebumps rising on his pale, lightly freckled arms.

"I'd just appreciate shoes," he commented.

oOo

"What in Thor's name do you mean by bringing that murderer here?" Director Jorgensen yelled as Astrid sat at her desk, finishing her report. "And why is there a request for a money order for $400000 made out to Hiccup H Haddock in my tray?"

"Sir, I have every reason to believe that the mission is not over," she said firmly, seeing Fishlegs and Snotlout look up from their desks. Snotlout looked like he was playing online gaming while Fishlegs was surreptitiously typing into two separate computers and was clearly still trying to hack Dagur's encrypted files. "The presence of ASS is highly anomalous and it is clear that Dagur had close contacts within the topmost echelons of the government. It is likely that he would not emerge from their care alive...and we had a deal."

"What deal?" Spitelout sneered, pacing back and forth, his hands folded behind his back and pallid blue eyes nailing her uncomfortably.

"The Contract we took with Night Fury to end Dagur," she reminded him.

"The mission I vetoed?" he asked her sarcastically. "I seem to recall ordering him sent to the Hopeless jail."

"Is that why he was sent in completely the opposite direction...towards Freezing to Death?" she asked him. "Either you were sending him away from the appropriate place to a secure location where enemies of the state rot off any Human Rights radar...or someone intercepted your orders and snatched him. And none of that is at all reassuring."

"I make the decisions about what is going to happen in this department, Agent Hofferson!" Spitelout growled as she stood up. "And I distinctly recall telling you he was being locked up and the mission was dead."

"I obtained higher authority," she told him clearly. He paused in his pacing and stared at her.

"You did what?" he hissed. She looked up.

"I felt that you dismissed the mission out of prejudice without proper evaluation of the operational parameters and the probabilities of success-so I requested a review by the Security Minister," she said calmly. "She agreed with my plan and accepted that it was the best option we had left when every other mission failed. It seems her instincts were correct because Dagur is now dead. And thus we owe Night Fury his fee."

"Unless she guesses his name," Snotlout piped up as she winced and then swung her head round to glare at him.

"How the Helheim did you...?' she muttered.

"Not such a muttonhead, am I?" he snarked back. "It was obviously more than a game. What's the H stand for?" She face-palmed.

"Now he has to show some glimmer of intelligence," she muttered.

"What?" Spitelout snapped. "Can't you just look up his service record?"

"Sanitised," Astrid reported. "And the hard copy is missing."

"So what was the deal?" Spitelout demanded. There was a pause.

"He completes the contract and ends Dagur for us...and we pay $400K," she revealed. "If I guess the name, however, he gets nothing and we get to arrest and lock him up for as long as we desire for his crimes." Spitelout nodded, his eyes narrowing.

"Then what are you doing here?" he demanded. "We will keep him on ice while you find out the answer." He paused. "But I have a deadline. In two days, the President wishes to speak with the man who has rid the Archipelago of the scourge of the Berserker terrorism." Astrid looked over at Fishlegs and the husky agent gave a slight nod. She had been thinking about the last avenue open to them and hoped that she was right. She knew that none of his friends would betray his secret to her...though she had a suspicion that his nearest and dearest would inadvertently lead her to the answer.

"I'll have the answer by then," she said. "And I know where to find it."

oOo

It was the third and final cemetery in BogThorpe but Astrid was showing remarkable patience as she entered the quiet space, noting the neat rows of pale grey stones, lined uniformly and the caretaker, hoeing a flower bed quietly by a mausoleum. She nodded and the greying woman nodded back, then returned to her ministrations. Quietly, Astrid walked along the line of stones and then back and forth, checking every one for the name she was seeking-but not finding it. Then she sighed. It had been a hunch, that Bertha would bury her daughter back home but it seemed that Astrid's instincts had been wrong. Sighing, she paused on the neat white gravel path and looked across the quiet place, willows and yews framing the manicured space. It was a beautiful spot to rest and she had been sure...

"You look lost." The caretaker's voice broke through her reverie and she looked up and smiled at the older woman. She was dressed in dungarees, a plaid shirt and work boots, her gnarled hands strong around the hoe and face half-hidden under a floppy hat.

"I was looking for someone and I was sure she would be buried here," she admitted, failing to keep the disappointment from her voice. "She and her son and husband all died a couple of years ago..." The old woman paused and then her face cleared.

"You could try the old section," she suggested, indicating to a fenced off area behind the mausoleum. "Some of the oldest families are still allowed to bury family members there." Astrid's head snapped up.

Bertha Bogby is the last of the ancient ruling line of BogThorpe.

"Thank you," she said quietly, keeping her excitement from her voice. It was her last chance but it felt right. Then she looked at the woman. "I wanted to pay my respects-she did something that really helped someone very close to me." The caretaker nodded and turned away as the agent walked slowly to the fenced off area and the first stone she saw read 'ELSIE VIOLET BOGBY'. She smiled: finally, she was in the right area.

Suddenly, she was in front of three newer stones and her throat froze as she stared at the central one:

CAMILLA BOGBY HADDOCK

BELOVED WIFE AND MOTHER

To the left was a very poignant stone:

SAMUEL STOICK HADDOCK

AGE 18 MONTHS

And, holding her breath, she looked at the third stone and gave a shuddering sigh.

HICCUP HORRENDOUS HADDOCK III

BELOVED SON, FATHER AND HUSBAND

All the dates ended two and a half years earlier and Astrid crouched down and stared at the third stone.

Honestly, my middle name is Horrendous and you'll never guess it.

"You smug bastard," she said softly and smiled. "Your name is 'Horrendous'. You told me knowing I would imagine it was something terrible and I would make all the most ludicrous guesses under the sun." And then she reached out. "They know you're alive because there was no body. You're alive, Hiccup-and now I have your name, we don't have to pay your ludicrous price for the Contract." She sighed. "And the Director will be determined that you go to jail for your crimes. That was the deal."

And then she turned to the central stone and reached a hand out to touch the words.

"Camilla-I wanted to thank you," she murmured softly. "I know you set the Sanctuary up when you were only eighteen with your Mom and I know you did it because you wanted somewhere safe for abused and terrified victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence. And I want to thank you because...my sister benefited from your help. I doubt you would have recalled Beth Hofferson, but she was desperate and at breaking point when you helped her...after she got away from him. I know you were a counsellor and you still helped in the Sanctuary when she was there. Thanks to you and Bertha, she's safe and happy, living under a different name on the mainland. And that was why I always support the Sanctuary, how I knew where to take those women, that first time and more recently." And then she sighed.

"And now I know exactly what happened and what broke him," she added and sat back on her heels. "And he avenged you. He killed those who caused your death. Yours-and your son. There was no accident. It was an execution for your husband's service...and there is really only one person who has the access and the authority to order it. And no one-and especially not Dagur-should have been able to find out who did the deed...or who you were." She drew her hand back into her lap and then she pulled out a small posy of forget-met-nots from her bag, laying them on Camilla's grave. "I know to protect him, he had to make you invisible, to make the world forget you...but no one whose life you touched ever will...and I won't either...for Beth...or for him."

She got to her feet.

"But now I know his name...and that gives me a decision to make," she said quietly, staring at the stones-including the memorial of a man who still breathed. The man who had saved her life, whose arms had wrapped around her in despair when he had been tortured, whose emerald eyes had twinkled in humour as they had sparred...and who had kissed her. Then she turned away, carefully closing the gate to the fenced area behind her. "The agent in me says he's a murderer and really should pay for his crimes...but the human being...asks what I would do if I lost everything? How far would I go to avenge the crime?"

oOo

The meeting was set up in an out-of-the-way destination hotel, Caldera Cay, set ten miles north of Berk amid extensive landscaped grounds dotted with stone statues of dragons. The manager, Mala Queen, was waiting as the agents and their guests arrived in two sleek black service Mercedes. She was a tall, statuesque woman with page-cut strawberry blonde hair a calm face and cool green eyes. Her manner was reserved and regal as she inclined her head to greet her visitors, almost like a monarch deigning to acknowledge visiting inferiors.

Astrid stared at the four storey sprawling rust stone building, built in the gran Neo-Gothic style of Victorian Country Houses, with a large central house, containing the Ball Room, restaurants, kitchens, meeting rooms, offices and lounges and bars flanked by extensive wings that swept away, holding grand suites, boutique rooms and everything in between. The Spa, swimming pool and driving range were behind the hotel, signposted from the front as 'Throk's Oasis'.

Snotlout was already moaning-though not especially loudly since his father was with them, Director Jorgensen was grim and focussed, his pale blue eyes locked on the hotel ahead and watching the hitman in the mirror. Sitting next to him, Astrid noted that Hiccup was very still, his eyes focussed on Spitelout-who he didn't trust. Since she had retrieved him after he had completed the mission, he had been detained in HQ because the President had expressly demanded to speak with the man who had completed the daring mission and freed the Archipelago of the scourge of Dagur and his gang. As she observed him, she could see he was tense, being unarmed and surrounded by enemies-but Astrid had promised that she would ensure that he was treated fairly.

And surprisingly, he had accepted that, his green eyes inspecting her face and his lips tilting in a wry smile.

"I trust you," he told her, his tone cautious. "None of the others-except Fish, maybe-but I trust you. Please don't disappoint me, Astrid. It would be a real blow."

A Horrendous one, she thought treacherously and then nodded. In the end, they had resorted to completing their mission the old fashioned way and Hiccup had taken out the target-though not before his cryptic final words which Fishlegs had made a point of telling her when she had returned to the department.

"You can't touch me. I was promised..."

Promised by who? And what?

"Fishlegs-have you completed the search I requested?" Astrid asked softly. There was a pause.

"I have." The tone was guarded. "And the results, I suspect, are not a surprise to you."

"Have you brought evidence?" she asked softly.

"Of course," he said easily. "And eyes."

"A dragon would be a better bet," she commented and he chuckled.

"Just choose your moment," he advised her warily. She nodded and opened the door, exiting with one smooth motion as they pulled up, with Hiccup emerging warily from the other side. Of course, his wrists were handcuffed but he was smart in his brown leather jacket, boots, green shirt and jeans, his cynical face watching as Snotlout and Spitelout emerged-with another four agents along with Fishlegs clambering out of the second car. Mala walked forward, offering her hand to the Director and his firm grip enclosed hers.

"Welcome, Director," she said, her pleasant voice warm with precise diction. "The President is already waiting in the Ballroom with his entourage." Spitelout nodded and glanced over to his son.

"Bring him," he said. "Let's see what the President of the Archipelago makes of this murderer."

But as Hiccup was led forward, through the sumptuous surroundings of the hotel, all he could see were the agents walking with him-and the black-clad agents of ASS lining the passageway to the Ballroom...and the unmistakeable sensation that he was walking to his own execution...