Chapter 14: Rebuilding Bridges

11 0 0
                                    

Three individuals were standing at the foot of a certain bed in a room in the hospital.

"So as you can see, my son here was shot in both knees. He won't be able to walk for months, and likely not as well as he could before this happened at that," stated Helga. "I do hope he'll be able to tell us who did this to him."

"Likewise," muttered Hiccup. "Do you know where it happened?"

"At the soap factory where the Outcast prisoners work, according to Frode and Ulf; the paramedics who found and brought him here."

"Alright. Well, rest assured that I'll arrange for an investigation to begin first thing tomorrow, Mrs Ingerman."

"Drop the formalities, Hiccup. You know you can call me Helga, especially with how long my son and yourself have been friends."

"I let this happen on my watch, to my friend while he was on Berk and I don't know who did it, or even that it had happened until you called me. If I did, then I could talk to you as a family friend."

Helga simply sighed. "Classic Hiccup. Putting blame on yourself for things you can't control. It's quite frankly fucking stupid. To hel with that, you hear?"

"Whether it is or not, I don't care. Now, if you don't mind bringing Cami and I a chair? I'd like to stay with Fishlegs until he wakes up."

Helga sighed. "Cami, keep an eye on him and my son for me please? I'd love to stay and chat, but I am of course meant to be working right now."

"Got it. I'll make sure he won't blame himself more, Mrs Ingerman."

"Thank you. Now, I'll go have someone bring you both chairs." She said before she left.

When the door to the room shut and they were alone, Hiccup took out his phone and unlocked it, turning to face an unconscious Fishlegs with his legs cast and suspended in the air. Then he selected the camera app on his device.

"What are you doing?" Cami wondered.

"Making a reminder, since clearly I've been screwing up as of late." He responded, lining up the device and taking the picture.

...

Cami glanced at Hiccup as he drove the Humvee they were in. "No better time to discuss the mole, right?"

He paused, looked her way, and sighed. "Do we need to? I mean, Finn is in our custody and Fishlegs is in the hospital. Our mission is done. If we open that new can of worms, who would get hurt next?"

"There's just as much chance of that happening if we don't open it."

Hiccup sighed. "I was hoping you wouldn't say that. Alright. Who do you think it is?"

"Mildew. It's the most likely reason why he ran."

"What if it's a trick? What if he ran in the hopes that we would go after him, and the real mole could remain hidden?"

"That's a disconcerting thought, Haddock."

"Hey, you brought it up. We should be thorough, though, because doing otherwise gets people killed, as we've seen."

"You're right, so what do you want me to do about it?"

"Hold that thought," said Hiccup, pulling over before taking his phone out and glancing at the screen.

9:30 am, NC: On my way to see you and whoever's left in your squad today, Hiccup Haddock. It'll be nice to see you again after so long.

Hiccup paled and quickly stuffed the device into his left pocket again. "So, where were we?"

The Gentle SniperWhere stories live. Discover now