Accidental Fiancé

14: Access Denied

Fourteen: Access Denied

Once Astrid was safely at training, Hiccup had Cami drop him off around the corner from the Police Station, waving her goodbye and brandishing the key he had been given to get back into the apartment. As the black Mercedes slid away, he felt a shiver run down his spine, as if he was being abandoned but he firmly forced himself to focus. Though he had masked it well when he was at work and able to focus on the job, Bella's ruthless picking at him had scoured out a lot of the foundations of his confidence and it was fragile and easily knocked down. But Astrid's warm support and her words-which he really truly hoped were genuine and not just politeness-gave him hope that somehow, he would be able to talk to her about this. Maybe in a decade or so...

Girding himself, he walked round the corner to the white concrete building with square barred windows and the array of cop cars parked outside. The logo of 'ARCHIPELAGO LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES' was emblazoned over the reflective sliding door and he paused and then walked in.

The lobby area was large, empty and white, with harsh spot lights from overhead leaving almost no shadows. A high desk had a stern-faced female with hard dark eyes, dark hair pulled back into a high bun and a pristine uniform sitting beside a computer screen. She looked up with little interest as he walked in and then her gaze flicked back to the screen. Feeling horribly self-conscious, he walked slowly towards the desk as the door behind him slammed open and two large cops erupted in, wrestling with a huge man with wild beard, scarred face and mean dark eyes. Hiccup scooted sideways at top speed as the cops hauled the resisting man to the desk.

"Got a live one here, Sarge!" the slightly older cop said. Both looked on their forties, one with a receding hairline and lined face, the other with buzz cut and huge bushy moustache.

"Resisting arrest, petty theft, damage to police property," Moustache added. The desk officer turned to lean over the insanely high desk and peer unpleasantly down on the large prisoner.

"Been causing trouble again, Alvin?" she said in a bored voice.

"Phlegma, me old friend-yer know I miss yer!" The man's accent was thick and his voice a little wheezy with forced cheerfulness. "If yer'd only come out with me, yer'd make me the 'appiest man around!"

"Alvin-you can't go round getting arrested all the time just to ask me out," the desk officer told him impatiently. "I've told you-I don't date criminals! So if you want to go out with me, you'll need to turn your life around!"

"But while I'm doing that, I won't get ter see yer," Alvin protested with perfect logic. He had stopped resisting once he was talking with the woman and in truth. Hiccup found himself feeling a little sorry for him. It seemed obvious that he was only getting arrested to see her.

"What did he take?" she asked the officers and they shook their heads.

"A bunch of flowers and a box of eggs," the older officer reported.

"Why?" Phlegma asked pointedly.

"The flowers was fer yer, me dear," Alvin said honestly. "And the eggs was fer pelting the police car so they'd bring me to yer!"

The tap of keys was the only sound for a moment.

"You'll get another caution," Phlegma sighed. "Go back and pay for the flowers and once you bring me a receipt, I'll accept them. But Alvin-I'm a police officer...I can't accept stolen goods. And I'm not sure I should be going out with the leader of the Outcasts anyway..."

"Former leader," Alvin corrected her with a grin. "I quit two weeks ago. Me second-in-command, Savage, is now in charge. He may live at Number Seventeen, Indigo Buildings, Dockside...if yer friends are interested?" The two officers shared a look and sprinted from the lobby as Alvin gave a broad grin. "Just you and me, me dear..."