In The Archipelago's Secret Service

5: Unauthorised Investigation

Chapter Five: Unauthorised investigation

Dark fell quickly and the temperature dropped quickly over the Berktown. The lights along the harbour reflected in the flat black water and the reflections of the AI6 HQ rippled as the currents swirled. From his tenth floor office, Stoick glanced across the bay towards the warehouses at the unfashionable end of town and sighed.

"He hasn't reported in?" he checked.

"Not since he left here yesterday," Heather confirmed. "Though, to be fair, that is par for the course for VA1. Not a big respecter of protocol or operating procedure. He's probably in bed with some floozy he picked up on the way." Stoick nodded and turned back to his contemplation of the harbour.

"VA1019 showed me a text Eret sent him, claiming to be in trouble. Some cock and bull story about a deadline of the 17th involving the President, military and the banks. He used Code Black," the Commander stated calmly. "I gather you assessed it as a hoax."

"It was sent by Eret's com-even Hiccup wouldn't make a mistake that basic," Heather confirmed. "But I cannot see any reason why Eret would contact him. It's well know he despises your son. And he was partnered with Snotlout at the time who also considers your son his personal target. That's no secret! I can see the two of them cooking up a cruel joke-which Hiccup fell for." Stoick shook his head disappointedly.

"He's very gullible," he growled. "No sense of scepticism or circumspection. No wonder he failed me so badly..." His fingers drummed on the window as he made his decision and then he turned back to the slim jet-haired woman. "When Eret gets back in contact, please remind him not to use Code Black in his puerile games. It's supposed to be for damned emergencies only!" Heather nodded.

"Anything else, sir?" she asked clearly. His eyes crinkled as he smiled at her.

"Continue to monitor all Alvin's communications and see what eyes we can get on him. 24/7 surveillance on him. Send me Spitelout so we can confirm the rosters," he asked and she made a note, then nodded. Stoick watched her go and then turned back to the harbour.

"Oh Val," he murmured. "I know he was your precious boy but there's nothing more I can do with him. He's just such a disappointment! For his own good, I'm gonna have to let him go."

oOo

Fishlegs was grumbling all the way as he and Hiccup walked down towards the warehouse district overlooking the harbour. Berk's general cliffy geography meant that the nearest usable land to the waterfront and moorings was a hundred feet away-vertically up. Warehouses clustered round the east side of the harbour with a variety of winches, elevators and cranes to transport the cargo to its storage depots. The warehouses were interspersed with bars, greasy cafes and trader offices where middlemen and Captains bartered for their wares. The criminal underworld operated pretty freely here and the area was poorly lit and dangerous. Fishlegs was wrapped warmly in his thick coat, bobble hat and scarf and was hunched up and muttering while Hiccup walked along with an exasperated expression in his light jacket, his hands stuck in his pockets and scarf wound around his neck.

"Couldn't we catch a cab?" Fishlegs grumbled. "My feet are hurting." Hiccup rolled his eyes, regretting bringing the other man along. Fishlegs was a good friend but he was ideally designed for indoor pursuits...an aversion to cold, heat, sunlight, rain, fog and wind and skill at flower-arranging, indoor botany and computer hacking meant he was really unfit at the very least. He also tended to panic, complain and ramble. But Hiccup needed a partner and the only other person in the entire universe he would have even briefly considered asking would be Astrid...but he would have probably self-combusted from embarrassment during the process. Nope, Fishlegs it was.