The police car screeched to a halt in front of a large building near the port.
"There have been reports of screaming coming from a vacant home at 2001 Harrison Way. Possible shots fired." The transmission blared through the radio as two officers got out of the vehicle.
"Let's go." One of them said to his partner and they went forward, enter the building.
The officer on the front had his handgun drawn and held a flashlight in his other hand, while the other officer was equipped with a shotgun. With the possibility of a gun fight having taken place here, they didn't want to venture too deep without proper protection.
The dark corridors of the building struck an irre feeling in their minds. As they continued onwards, they noticed bullet casings, droplets of blood, and even bullet holes on the walls.
"Jesus,... what the hell happened here?" The other officer exclaimed, examining a bullet hole on the wall.
As they ventured deeper, they suddenly heard mummers and whimpers. Following the noise, they soon found themselves in a room, one side of which was a cage with many young women locked behind the bars. They looked scared and were murmuring among themselves that the officers weren't able to hear.
The officers rushed to the cage, wanting to help the women. The women seemingly got startled by that, some backing away, some even shrieking.
"Hey, hey, It's okay. It's okay." The officers reassured them as they approached. "We're gonna help. We're here to help."
The door of the cage was not locked. This surprised the officers as they couldn't understand why these women didn't run away by themselves if their captors had left them here like this. Maybe they were so afraid because of the punishments they must have faced when they first tried to escape? That sounded like a valid theory.
The other officer slid the shotgun back on his shoulder and went to open the cage to let the girls out, but suddenly, and surprisingly, one of the girls caught the door and closed it again.
Murmurs and whispers could be heard. "Th-the Devil","It saved us", "Is it still here?", etc were some of the sentences the officers could make out, which served to confuse them.
"We're gonna get you out of here. Okay?" The other officer said again, trying to calm them.
"The Devil..... It,... It saved us." One of the girls said.
Both officers were left confused by this, but they decided to hold their thoughts for now. One of them helped the girls to get out of the cage, escorting them out to safety, while the other one ventured deeper into the building.
Turning around a bend in one corridor, he suddenly stepped on a puddle of some liquid. Looking down at the puddle, he was horrified to see it was a puddle of blood. It seemed like the blood came from somewhere else, leaving a trail on the floor, and gathered up in one spot.
The officer followed the trail, desperate to find out where it came from. The trail led him to what seemed like another room. But when the officer entered, he stopped in his tracks. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates and he stammered and struggled to form any words.
The officer could only gasp in horror,"What the......"
...
"Astrid!"
Astrid's eyes shot open as she woke up with a gasp, scrambling on her desk to get her bearings together. She looked up at the person calling her, and saw Eret standing at the doorway leading inside her office and holding 2 go-to cups of what she assumed to be coffee, with steam still coming out of them.
"Eret..." She groaned, getting up from her seat and stretching her arms as she yawned, trying to get off the final embers of sleepiness.
"You were sleeping." Eret said, bringing forward one of the cups for her,"So, I thought I'd bring you some coffee. Was expecting that you would be up before I got back here. Though, gotta say, it's a bit too early to feel sleepy, doncha think?"
Astrid glanced at her wall clock and was surprised as she noticed the time, 7:48 AM.
"Damn..." She muttered, leaning against her desk as she rubbed her eyes to put off her sleepiness.
Eret noticed the piles of paper on her desk and then the whole office, which has become a mess with crumpled papers, folders and papers with notes scribbled on the laying everywhere. And just then it clicked in his mind.
"You didn't leave the office, did you?" Eret asked.
"Nope." Astrid replied, raising the cup Eret gave her close to her mouth,"I was up late trying to make heads and tails of this case."
She then took a sip of the warm drink and the next moment spat it out, her mouth contorting with how horrible it tasted. "What the hell is this?!" Astrid couldn't help but exclaim.
"Black coffee. Extra strong." Eret replied, sipping his own coffee with no problem whatsoever,"Didn't know what you like, so brought you what I usually get."
"Even if you didn't know what I like, at least you could have put some sugar in it." Astrid snarled, placing the cup back on her desk as she stood back up.
"Well, in that case, I'd really like to know what you like and more." Eret replied with a smirk.
Astrid just rolled her eyes at his attempt at flirting. She then went forward and picked up her coat, which was hanging on the back rest of her chair. "I need to go out. And probably get some actual coffee." She announced as she went forward, sidestepping Eret as she exited the office while slipping on her coat. Despite it being 4 days into April, the mornings in Berk are still quite cold.
"Mind if I accompany you, Miss Hofferson?" Eret asked with a cheeky grin as he followed after her, throwing his coffee in a nearby dustbin in the process.
Astrid gave him an annoyed look and was about to reply, when suddenly someone called out,"Astrid! Eret!"
They both looked towards the source of the voice and saw Stoick coming towards them.
"Sir!" Astrid stood straight as he approached them, but Eret on the other hand was more casual.
"How's it going, chief?" The older agent asked with a smile.
"I've been fine, Eret." Stoick replied to him. He then turned towards Astrid,"Astrid, how have you been progressing?" he asked.
"I'll be honest, sir. I haven't made much progress, but I'm trying my best sir." Astrid admitted.
Stoick hummed in response,"I have faith in you, Astrid. Keep going."
He then glanced between them,"Hmm, Am I interrupting something?"
"Me and agent Hofferson were heading out for some coffee, sir." Eret replied with a cheeky smile.
Astrid wanted to retort, but before she could, Stoick chuckled and said,"Alright then. Off you two." and with that he left, muttering something about young love.
"Man, he sure is stoic. Despite all that man has gone through." Eret commented.
That was one thing Astrid can agree on. Despite having lost his wife over 2 decades ago, and his son, who had also passed away in an accident a few years back, Chief Stoick held strong. It was honestly surprising how he still held such strong will and was managing an organization such as B.S.D.I after everything he has been through.
Eret then turned towards her and grinned,"So, shall we go now, princess?"
And with that Astrid's mood soured a bit again. Astrid let out a frustrated sigh, but not wanting to keep this banter going, she walked forward. "Alright," She said, giving Eret an angry side eye,"But don't try your luck, Eret."
"As you wish, princess." Eret laughed as he followed after her.
...
Soon they found themselves sitting face to face at a table in 'The edge'. This was the first time in a long while Astrid was accompanied by someone to this cafe.
"For a person like you, his place is quite,....dim." Eret commented, looking around the cafe.
Soon they were served with their orders, Astrid having her usual coffee, and Eret having an extra strong black coffee. The waiter even looked disgusted as he handed Eret his drink.
"I am a woman of simple taste, Eret." Astrid replies, sipping on her drink.
"Ha, come on. You're telling me the great Agent Astrid Hofferson likes to drink her coffee in a dim place like this?" Eret joked.
"Well, yeah, I do actually." Astrid replied,"Besides, I'm more reserved regarding spending money. Unlike you."
"What do you mean?" Eret asked, confused.
"That coat of yours. It's pure silk. That stuff is pretty costly. I know B.S.D.I pays its agents well, especially well established agents such as yourself. But even then, that's pretty expensive for you."
"Heh, what can I say? I like to treat myself lavishly every once in a while." Eret smirked,"How about I treat you too? A lavish dinner, just you and me, what do you say?"
"No thanks, Eret. As I said, I'm a woman of rather simple taste." Astrid leaned back on her chair.
"Oh come on, princess. Just tell me what I should do to have the honor of courting you?"
"Cheesy, Eret. Real cheesy." Astrid said, smirking a little at his flirting.
Just then, her phone rang. Pulling out her phone, Astrid received the call and placed it against her ear. "Hello." What the person on the other side said was probably not good as her expression hardened, turning into a scowl.
"What!?" Astrid exclaimed before hastily getting up,"I'm getting there right now." Shoving her phone back into her pocket, she turned to Eret,"Sorry Eret, but can you please handle the bill? I'm in a hurry." And then, without waiting for a response, Astrid practically dashed out of the cafe, leaving the older agent dumbfounded.
And then, as if on cue, the waiter who served them came up to the table and flashes him the bill.
...
Astrid was back in her office, her mind racing over the details of the recent handiwork of the Nightfury. Behind her, her friends were also present in her office, discussing the matter too.
"Two gangs in the span of just a few days. Can you believe it? It would have taken us several weeks, or even months to take them down." Fishlegs commented.
"That's because we're trying to bring them to justice and maintain law and order. Not shoot every criminal we come across." Ruffnut argued back.
"Well, it certainly was effective." came Tuffnut's sarcastic reply.
Snotlout, all the while, was munching on a rather large donut, preferring his snack over the conversation.
Astrid meanwhile was staring at the board. New notes and pictures were added on it. The Scavengers, more commonly referred as Scavs, though small, were a notorious gang, with their fingers dipped in crimes like kidnapping, human trafficking, forced prostitution, and even selling organs of their victims.
With their clever connections they've always managed to stay out of any big trouble with law enforcement, even B.S.D.I wasn't able to get their hands on them due to lack of solid evidence.
That was until Nightfury got his hands on them. With the massacre she has witnessed, she was fairly certain that the gang was no more, or at least severely crippled to continue to function anymore.
But why? The question lingered in her mind. Why the Scavs? Why all the other gangs before them? Just why....
"Next what? He's going to go after the Outcasts?" The off handed comment/joke from Snotlout suddenly caught her ear.
Hearing the comment, Astrid's eyes widened slightly as something clicked in her mind. She rushed over to her desk, surprising her friends with how she practically almost lunged at it. Scrambling through her notes, she quickly pulled out the folder containing every recorded act of vigilantism by Nightfury.
She flipped through it, focusing on every criminal organization that was the victim of this vigilante.
The Crimson gang...
Voodoo syndicate...
The War thugs...
Bloodvile syndicate...
The Hunters...
The Falcon cartel...
And many more......
"I got it!" Astrid excitedly announced.
Fishlegs looked concerned. "Astrid..."
"What got you so excited, girl?" Ruffnut asked.
"A lead." Astrid looked at them,"What's common between, all these gangs?" Seeing her friends couldn't answer that, Astrid continued,"They all had some relation to The outcasts. He's going after the gangs which are working for or with The outcasts."
"You jinxed it, my guy." Tuffnut said to Snotlout, patting the latter's shoulder.
"He's targeting them, or, if my hunch is right, he's targeting the Outcasts."
"But why would he do that?" Fishlegs asked,"Outcasts are one of the largest gangs in the city. Their influence is so strong, that despite being on B.S.D.Is list for so long we've been able to do nothing to them. Their ruthless boss, Alvin the treacherous, is still out. And rumors are that Alvin isn't even the actual mastermind, the real guy is hiding in the shadows and pulling the strings."
"Yeah, so why would he, a lone man, target them?" Tuffnut added.
"That's what we've gotta find out. Because I believe that holds the key to catching him." Astrid replied.
"And how do you plan to do that?" Ruffnut asked, leaning forward in her seat as she watched her friend.
Astrid turned towards them, with her eyes practically beaming and a smirk plastered on her face. "Well, I'll start by looking where it all began."