The temporary headquarters were surprisingly in the building of the FBI field office. The moving stress was gradually lessened when IT techs from the bureau had helped set up the systems the day before.
"Haddock,"
"Grimmel," the two said as they passed each other in a hallway. Grimmel noted the two mugs of coffee in his hand and said "Ask Griselda where she keeps her stash of the good stuff. You'll need it," before walking away. Hiccup found the entire interaction so weird as he walked back to his new desk. All the while wondering if that was Grimmel's icebreaker.
"Here you go," Hiccup said as he handed a mug to Astrid, who was now seated in the cubicle next to him.
"Sweet Nirvana," Astrid uttered as she guzzled her jet fuel. Hiccup wondered what she had been up to as she had come in earlier than him and had been busy clicking away at her computer.
Come midday the productivity in the new bullpen was at an all-time high as officers wanted to nail the bastard that hit them. It was at that time that Hiccup excused himself.
"Yo Haddock where are you going? I thought you were on desk duty?" Thuggory asked as Hiccup passed his desk which was filled with a mountain of interview reports.
"Just a lead that I need to run down." Hiccup stated while putting on his coat. "Don't eat all the donuts while I'm away,"
"Hardy har har," Thuggory just rolled his eyes but went back to his task.
Hiccup's beat-up silver Honda ended up being parked at an abandoned warehouse near the pier. He joined Astrid and Gobber who were already waiting there in the cold.
"I thought ya be coming lad," Gobber said. "You got any idea why the Captain sent us texts to come incognito?"
"I got some idea," Hiccup uttered just as a creaky door to one warehouses opened up to reveal.... "Dad?" Hiccup curiously questioned when he spotted the man. The group walked over to that particular warehouse and was let in.
"Stoick," Gobber greeted while Astrid gave a polite greeting of "Chief," followed by a salute.
The warehouse was dusty but a section of it had been cleaned and cordoned off to house a quite impressive computer setup. The Captain and the twins were also already present.
"Greetings, now that everyone is here we can begin," A female voice stated as she came out of the small abandoned office.
"Heather,"
"Hiccup," She uttered.
"You two know each other?" Astrid asked confused.
"Heather was in the Narcotics division of the BPD a few years ago before she got recruited by the NSA. We've worked on some cases together." He revealed. "She's also Dagur's sister and the Cap's in-law."
"Ookayyy...." Astrid nodded at the revelation. She looked around and then asked, "So, why isn't Dagur here?"
"He's a good brother but he talks too much and I would rather not have the FBI get involved," Heather sighed. "I would like to avoid a bureaucratic nightmare." Here she looked pointedly at Stoick who had the grace to look sheepish.
"Daddd..... What did you do?" Hiccup asked pointedly.
"Now don't you use your mother's tone with me lad," Stoick warned.
"Do you want me to get mom involved then?" Hiccup asked with a raised brow. "You know how she feels about you playing nice with the other heads of department."
"Your mother does not need to know!" Stoick shushed Hiccup and then changed the topic by saying "I'm sure Heather is getting impatient."
"Oh no, this is really entertaining," Heather just smirked which caused Stoick to groan. "But anywho let's continue."
"This is Fishlegs," Heather introduced as a portly blond man came out of the office behind her. "He's my technical specialist and one of the best White hats in the biz,"
"White hat?" Tuffnut asked as he looked curiously at the duo.
"To put it plainly it's a hacker that respects the law and uses their skills to test for vulnerabilities in the software systems," Astrid surprisingly explained.
"As a show of good faith, I will disclose that I have another operative on my team. They are currently acting as a lookout while we have this meeting." Heather declared as the group all took a seat.
Fishlegs took a seat behind the monitors and began pulling up pictures while Heather talked. "Yesterday a facial recognition search got red-flagged in the NSA database. It was traced and my team and I were on the next flight to Berk." She announced. "Meet Furious Drake," A picture of a man with a short beard popped up on the monitor. He had a military haircut and a scar on his cheek. "He was an NSA operative but the agency lost contact with him four years ago near the Albanian border. He's been tagged as a rogue agent and is currently wanted for questioning."
"What does this have to do with the Red Death?" Stoick asked.
"Drake was part of a task force that protected high-value assets. There was a 'complication' with the asset transportation and the team had to divert to one of our safehouses in the area. That's where he met this woman. I'm sure some of you already know her," Now a picture of a woman with glasses and her red hair braided to one side popped up on the monitor. For those that don't know this is Roxanne Deluca, a.k.a the inventor of the Red Death."
"Deluca was held at the secure facility. After Drake and his team arrived with the asset they were transporting, communications went dark. After 24 hours of no communications we sent in a recon team but everyone in the facility was dead and neither Deluca nor Drake were found." Heather explained. "Over the last few years, there have been sightings of both of them though nothing conclusive. This is the best lead we have had so far as to their whereabouts. From the intel we've gathered, it seems that Drake has become Deluca's right-hand man."
"What would she be doing back in Berk?" Hiccup pondered aloud.
"My best guess is that Deluca is looking to expand her drug empire," Heather announced. "In the countries where we've had sightings of the pair, there was always an increase in street violence either involving the controlling gangs or the regional mafia families. After the fighting settled it seemed that a lot of the enforcers, lower grunts, and monetary assets disappeared into thin air."
"And you think that she had something to do with it?" Astrid questioned. "Isn't that a bit farfetched?"
"She managed to turn an NSA operative. I wouldn't underestimate this woman," Captain Mala declared.
"And you shouldn't," Heather announced. "Our analysts have classified Roxanne Deluca as a person with sociopathic tendencies as well as borderline narcissism. She will do anything to reach her goals,"
"There's still something you aren't telling us though," Stoick muttered. "Like what actually happened six years ago? The NSA swept everything under the rug,"
"I'm sorry but I am not at liberty to discuss that," Heather revealed. "I can only tell you that the agency wants Deluca and Drake alive, as of now,"
"So you're not going to tell us what the Red Death drug actually is?" Hiccup raised a brow.
"I can't tell you," Heather sighed. "But if you were to conduct your own investigation......"
"Well that won't take long," Tuffnut declared. "Sis over here was super paranoid when she couldn't conclusively identify the drugs in a case. So she saved a sample in her office."
"Haddock was this what you made Ruffnut withhold yesterday?!" Mala asked angrily. Hiccup looked somewhat sheepish though Astrid came to his defense.
"Captain, I think it's a good thing he withheld that info." She uttered. "We have very good reason to suspect a mole in our department. The people that attacked the station targeted this specific case, probably to get their hands on any evidence of that drug. If it becomes known we still have samples we could be attacked again. Should we risk more casualties?"
"Fine," Mala admitted and then turned towards Heather and Fishlegs. "You heard them. Start telling us what you know. We'll know it in a few hours anyways,"
"Very well," Heather stated. "Ten years ago the NSA funded a research project called Tangerine,"
"Wait wait wait...." Ruffnut spoke up. "Did the government seriously call it after a fruit?"
"Yes, don't ask how. I'm not the one making up the names for these things," Heather sighed. "Anyway, the project was to develop a drug that would turn people more docile and suggestive. Deluca was at that time a research assistant on the project and quite a good one from the reports I've read. The research team came up with a drug based on long-acting cannabinoids that targeted the amygdala and thymus of the brain. However, the drug had the exact opposite effect. It showed an increased aggressiveness in the animal test subjects. Deluca advocated for human test subjects but the NSA denied that request. Three years in, the project was shut down but not before Deluca managed to steal most of the research."
Everyone was looking at Heather in either shock or horror. Gobber had to elbow Stoick to close his mouth at one point.
"One year after that, thus six years ago, a new drug hit the streets of Berk. It was highly addicting and caused mass aggression and hysteria in the populace." She explained. "This was Deluca's human test run. The dealers on the street came to call it The red Death because of its side effects."
"Wait, hold on. That doesn't match," Astrid spoke up.
"What?" Hiccup questioned.
"The case they specifically targeted," She uttered. "Don't you remember Hiccup? The body they stole belonged to a guy that was found dead in a run-down apartment. Absolutely no signs of a struggle. If this was the Red Death drug then he should have been aggressive, possibly even breaking stuff in the apartment. Yet according to the police report, his neighbours hadn't heard a peep from him. It just doesn't add up,"
"It does if it's an improved version of the drug," Ruffnut stated as all eyes turned to her. "If the drug's original purpose was to make a person docile then she could have improved it over the last few years. If this was version two and it wasn't ready to be tested en mass yet then the reason they stole the body and evidence would be..."
"To stop us from analyzing the drug!" Tuffnut finished.
"There is something I need to confirm though," Hiccup then said and looked directly at Heather. "Did the NSA take custody of this woman just so that they could further the research?"
"Yes," Heather deadpanned which caused outrage from all the others. She held up a hand to silence them for a minute. "My bosses' bosses want this woman brought back alive so she can continue her work."
"That is way too dangerous!" Stoick shouted while leaping off his chair. "I will not allow it!"
"What do you want us to do? Execute her when we do catch her? If she doesn't resist then it's against the law."
"Do not argue ethics with me Hiccup!" Stoick grumbled. "I will not have this woman wreaking havoc in my city again!"
-0-
Two days had gone by after their talk with Heather and both Hiccup and Astrid were frustrated. They weren't the only ones. The entire precinct suffered from a drop in morale. There had been absolutely no leads and no new witnesses. Stoick had held a press conference the day before, putting to rest several of the rumors without revealing what they knew. Hiccup looked around their new office at his colleagues. 'Did one of them really betray the oath they took to protect and serve?' Hiccup wondered. If he ever got his hands on the bastard.... And then suddenly it hit him. "Grab your coat," Hiccup told his partner as he stood up.
Astrid who had been filling out paperwork from the tipline gave Hiccup a questioning look. "Come on," Was all her partner said before heading for the exit.
"Where are we going?" Astrid asked once she entered the car.
"I just thought of something." Hiccup said. "Heather told us the local mafia families fought in each of the areas Deluca was sighted. If that's true then she must have played them against each other. I say we get ahead of her this time."
"How so?" Astrid questioned.
"We're going to buy Lapskaus!" Hiccup declared as he drove out of the parking lot. All the while Astrid was wondering if her partner had lost a marble.
Hiccup parked near a Norwegian restaurant. "Hiccup what are you planning?" Astrid asked with a frown as they walked into the establishment. Immediately she was on guard. The restaurant was busy yet it seemed to be somewhat strange. Astrid noted at least three armed men near the walls watching them and she was pretty sure she saw several eyes of the patrons directed at them as well.
"Excellinor," Hiccup greeted as an old lady came to the counter. "Two Lapskaus please and we'll be needing to have a chat with your son."
"He's busy," The old woman uttered with a thick accent.
"You got him peeling potatoes again?" Hiccup asked with a raised brow. "Look, it's important."
The elderly lady gave Hiccup a look that was anything but friendly before she just sighed. "Through the back door," She muttered.
"Alvin!" Hiccup greeted as he barged into the back room. Several people immediately moved their hands to the holsters that lay hidden. "Call off your hounds. I'm here for a social call." Hiccup stated as he saw Astrid with her hand on her weapon behind him just in case. The burly man behind the desk just shot the pair a dirty look before he sighed. "What do you want Haddock?" Alvin growled.
"This time I'm bringing you some info," Hiccup smirked as he pulled out his phone and brought up the pictures of Deluca and Drake that Heather had provided them. "Ever see these two around?"
"No," Alvin grounded out.
"Oh come on. You didn't even look," Hiccup rolled his eyes.
"What do I get out of it?" Alvin asked.
"You keep your guys alive for one," Hiccup deadpanned. "If you associate with them you'll end up on the NSA's radar,"
"Is that a threat?" Alvin asked as he was getting angrier and angrier at Hiccup's presence.
"It's a fact," Hiccup stated. "You're a smart guy Alvin otherwise I'd have already caught you. I'm sure you'll warn your business partners."
"And what do you want for this.... Info?" Alvin asked. "I doubt you did this out of the goodness of your heart Haddock,"
"Just a name," Hiccup smirked as he casually leaned against Alvin's desk. By this time Astrid was just watching the whole exchange with a WTF expression. "I know you have cops around the city on your payroll Alvin," he said and then held up his hand to stop Alvin from refuting that. "All I want is a name. Someone that's been acting shiftier than usual. You don't want me to start combing through all the personnel files right? Maybe get I.A. involved? How would some of the guys explain their extra income?"
"You're a smart man Alvin. One name and I leave you alone." Hiccup smiled. The elder lady came into the room carrying a take-out bag with two containers. She placed it in Astrid's arms before yelling at Hiccup "You go now. Leave my son alone,"
"Alright, alright," Hiccup held his hands up in surrender. "We'll go," He then turned towards Alvin. "You got until tomorrow to give me a name otherwise I start cleaning out the rat infestation." With that said both Hiccup and Astrid left the restaurant.
"Hiccup are you crazy?!" Astrid yelled once they were back in the car. "Did you seriously come all the way here just to threaten a mob boss?!"
"No, I was hungry as well. The Lapskaus is to die for." He deadpanned causing Astrid to groan.
"Only you would threaten a mob boss and order food at the same time," She muttered as the duo now apparently went on their lunch break.
-0-
"How sure are you?" Astrid asked as she looked through the lens of a camera.
"Alvin wouldn't lie," Hiccup muttered. "He'll have too much to lose if we get his rats off the street."
"Why do you even make deals with him?" Astrid asked. "How can you negotiate with a criminal like that?"
"This is Berk Astrid. Even the good cops toe the line." Hiccup muttered. "The whole city is a den of corruption. If we get rid of Alvin then what do you think happens next?"
Astrid gave her partner a frowning look. "Someone else just fills the power vacuum. Someone potentially worse like Deluca," Hiccup elaborated. "The Treacherous family has 'allegedly' had the underworld in the palm of their hands for generations."
"Still..." Astrid frowned harder.
"Look, I know where Alvin stands." Hiccup stated. "He's a low-life but he has morals. I doubt he too wants a repeat of six years ago."
"Let's hope you're right," Astrid stated. Though she didn't agree she let the matter drop for now. "Look, there's Thuggory," Astrid pointed towards a man leaving their temporary precinct.
"You approach him from the back. I'll take the front." Hiccup said and Astrid nodded. Both exited the car and made their way to corner the man.
"Thug!" Hiccup called out to the man after he had crossed the street. Thuggory stopped and stared at Hiccup with widened eyes. "You got a minute?" Hiccup asked as he continued to approach. Thuggory turned slightly to see Astrid approaching from behind him. He made a motion to run but by that time Hiccup was close enough to the man to close the distance easily and yank his arm behind his back. "We just want to talk Thug," Hiccup said as he slapped the handcuffs around his wrists while Astrid reached into his coat to take his service weapon.
"What the hell is this?!" Thuggory yelled causing several bystanders and officers to notice the scene. "What is your deal Haddock?!"
"Why don't we have a nice little chat as to why you sold us out," Astrid remarked.
"Like hell!" Thuggory shouted as Hiccup and Astrid started to drag him back to the precinct. Just then a black SUV peeled away from the curb and raced towards them. It was but a split second but Astrid saw the gleam from the back passenger seat as it approached.
"GUN!" Astrid shouted while ducking for cover. Hiccup ducked as well but Thuggory, who was cuffed, had a slower reaction and got several bullets to the chest. The officers nearby fired on the car as it peeled around the corner and several patrol cars sped out of the parking lot to chase after the SUV.
"That was Drake!" Astrid remarked as she had seen the man partially.
"Shit!" Hiccup said as he looked to where Thuggory's body lay lifelessly. "Looks like they're cleaning up loose ends."
-0-
It was quiet in Mala's office as Hiccup and Astrid sat opposite her. She had heard their account of the incident and just rubbed her forehead in frustration.
"Thuggory?" She questioned, more to herself though than to the duo. He had been one of her best detectives.
"We checked his financials before confronting him," Hiccup stated. "There seemed to be massive debt there. The account he was steadily paying off belonged to The Paradise Casino downtown."
"Three days before the attack on the precinct his account received a 200K deposit from an offshore Cayman account," Astrid stated.
"And how did you two get this info so fast without a subpoena?" Mala asked with a raised brow.
Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other before Hiccup answered "We had a subpoena,"
"We asked Heather," Astrid added. "Then Fishlegs pulled up the info for us quickly,"
"Of course you did," Mala muttered as she was trying to stave off a headache.
"You two take the day off," She then ordered.
"Wait, what about Drake?!" Astrid questioned.
"Patrol is holding down the fort. They've cornered the shooters in a downtown abandoned apartment building. We're waiting for SWAT right now." Mala told the two.
"We should be down there," Hiccup muttered. "This is our collar. What if they target Cami next?!"
"Both of you are going home," Mala ordered. "You two just got shot at and I already have a detail guarding Cami's hospital room."
"But..."
"No buts Haddock," Mala stated. "Honestly, why did you have to inherit your father's stubbornness," She grumbled. "Go home, get some rest."
Hiccup who didn't agree with the decision stormed out.
"I know this is unfair but go talk some sense into your partner, please," Mala groaned. Astrid was sulking as well but right now she was the more rational of the two. She left the room to go chase after Hiccup.
"Hiccup! Hiccup! STOP!" Astrid said as she rushed after her partner who was swiftly walking through the car park. "You can't just waltz in there guns blazing!"
"Why not? It's what they did," Hiccup shot back as he fished for his keys in his coat pocket. "They waltzed in guns blazing and we couldn't do anything!"
"But this isn't the solu-" Astrid's sentence was cut short as Hiccup clicked his keys to disable his alarm. Only it didn't just disable the alarm it triggered an incendiary device causing Hiccup's car to blow up and send the duo careening back due to the force of the shockwave.
Astrid moaned as she got up. Her vision was blurry for a moment and her head hurt. She could still feel the heat from the exploded and burning car and looked around quickly, brushing off debris as she tried to stand up on shaky legs. Then there on the ground she saw her partner.
"HICCUP! HICCUP!" Astrid rushed to check up on him as he lay there unconscious. "For Thor's sake, Hiccup don't you dare die on me!" She yelled as she searched for a heartbeat.
-0-
"Why does my head hurt so much," Hiccup mumbled as the painkillers started to wear off. He looked around and noticed that he was in what appeared to be a hospital room. His vision was still fuzzy though he could make out a shape sitting in a chair next to his bed. "Hey," he uttered.
"Hiccup Haddock do you know how frightened I was!" Astrid exclaimed upon seeing Hiccup finally focus. Hiccup winced as his ears hurt as well. "Sorry," Astrid said a bit more quietly. "The doctor says you have ruptured eardrums from the explosion, as well as three broken ribs along with a broken ankle," Astrid informed him. "Luckily no concussion but you'll probably be sporting a headache for a while and your memory might be fuzzy."
"What's the last thing you remember?" She then asked.
"Uhm...." Hiccup frowned. "Arresting Thuggory?" And then he thought more. It took him a minute before he exclaimed "THEY BLEW UP MY BERTHA!"
"You named your car?!" Astrid asked with a raised brow.
"Astrid what happened to the standoff?!" Hiccup suddenly asked. His partner however didn't look him in the eye. "Astrid," Hiccup pressed this time. His curiosity was killing him.
"First off, we figured out who planted the bomb," Astrid looked regretful telling Hiccup this part. "It was Thuggory. CCTV caught him placing something under your car when he came in for work this morning."
"But wait, we drove that car all day before we arrested him. How..." Hiccup frowned as he had trouble concentrating.
"The bomb squad is analyzing the components but they think that it might have been remotely armed after Thuggory died," Astrid explained. "The Captain thinks that they caught wind of us snooping around so the bomb might have been a message,"
"You're still not telling me about Deluca and Drake," Hiccup muttered while he winced.
"Word got around on dispatch about the bomb going off," Astrid told him. "I heard from the officers at the scene that SWAT backed off from the raid for a bit as they weren't sure if there were more explosives in the building. Drones with thermal vision were launched and as they were planning their entry multiple gunshots rang out,"
Hiccup's eyes widened as Astrid continued. "With shots fired SWAT entered immediately but all they found was Deluca unarmed with her hands up. All her men, including Drake, took their own lives."
"There was a lab inside the building and the twins so far have identified several other drugs besides the Red Death," Astrid explained. "We're still waiting on the tox screens to come back but so far we're thinking that Deluca used her own men as guinea pigs and injected them with drugs that made them open to suggestion."
"You're telling me she told them to die and they did?!" Hiccup shot up only to wince in pain as his ribs protested.
"Deluca was brought in for questioning and she all but confirmed that was the case until the NSA stepped in and took custody of her." Astrid sighed as she knew that wasn't what Hiccup wanted to hear.
"Are they crazy?!" Hiccup grumbled. "They're going to make her work for them, aren't they? Why not, I mean it's not like she'd proven she could mind-control a small army,"
"Fishlegs told me in confidence that they are planning to transport Deluca to a secure facility. The plane with the escort team should have left 30-ish minutes ago."
"Damnit," Hiccup exclaimed while Astrid's cell buzzed. She swiped and saw that she had gotten an SMS from an unknown number.
"Huh?" Astrid said as she read the text 'No thanks needed. Put on the news -H'
Astrid quickly turned on the small TV in Hiccup's room and chose a news channel. It didn't matter which one though as they were all reporting the same story. 'Terror at the airport, Unknown shooter strikes... etc'. Astrid turned up the volume to hear what was being said "-ere is Richard with live coverage. Good afternoon Susan, I am currently standing in front of the Berk International airport where all flights have been grounded after what appears to be a fatal shooting incident. There has so far been one confirmed death as the shooter targeted one of the VIP lounges of the airport. The BPD and FBI are currently on the scene and... Hold on, I'm getting new information. The shooting victim was 36-year-old Roxanne Deluca, a former government researcher. The FBI is currently looking into known enemies Ms. Deluca made through...." Astrid turned the TV off and looked at Hiccup. "She didn't, did she...." Astrid questioned aloud.
-0-
At the back of the airport runway, a black van with government plates was parked as a lanky figure scaled the wall and made it over the barbwire effortlessly. The figure grabbed the duffle bag they had dumped over the fence before and walked to the car.
"The target has been eliminated," A female voice uttered as they opened the back seat door.
"Good job Windshear," Heather, who was seated in the front passenger seat said.
"Aren't we going to get in trouble for this?" Fishlegs asked nervously. "Management wanted her alive."
"She's made enough enemies in Europe and South-East Asia to not point to us," Heather stated as she looked at Fishlegs who started the car and drove off. "I would rather not risk anyone getting their hands on mind-controlling drugs."
"So what now?" Fishlegs asked.
"We get our story straight and head to the next assignment," Heather stated.
She wrote one last text to Hiccup and Astrid before tossing her burner phone out the window of the moving car. The phone was later run over by a few other cars and on the broken screen just one message flickered briefly 'Until next time,'
The End (for real this time!)
-------------------
AN:
(Is K.O.ed after finishing the BPD series)
(Porg proceeds to Meep and pokes Vala with a stick)