The Contract

13: The New Plan

Thirteen: The New Plan

The emergency services were clustered around the smoking ruins of the Berserker Compound as Astrid Hofferson walked up, waving the Press ID she always carried and asking the typical questions any reporter would. She glimpsed some of the faces they had picked out through surveillance but there was no sign of Heather-and she knew that Dagur probably wasn't within thirty miles of the place. Now she could get a clear view, she could appreciate just how effectively the twins had paid Dagur's gang back for hurting their friend and she paused, then picked out the Watch Commander, standing by the leading fire appliance and walked up to him.

"So what happened?" she asked. The man frowned until she flashed her Press ID again.

"Jormundgandr Magazine? I'm really not familiar with..."

"Independent publisher-we cover anything," she told him confidently. "The house?"

"Looks like a gas explosion," the fireman told her with a shrug. "But the degree of collapse in such a sturdy old house is...remarkable." He leaned closer. "We suspect they had serious ordnance in there...which is why the place fell..." he added. Her eyes widened in appreciative surprise.

"Really?" she managed. "That's amazing..." And not at all related to demolitions experts blowing the place up...though they almost certainly had a large armoury...

"I can't let you get any closer because of the risk of additional explosions," he told her.

"Was anyone hurt?" she asked sympathetically. He sighed.

"A couple of staff are missing as well as a house guest...but the owner's sister is safe and has been taken away already to be with her family. The rest of the staff are trying to recover what they can from the rubble." Her azure gaze trailed over the Berserker gang members and she knew they had probably missed their chance...because they were leaving Berserk.

But where was Dagur?

She nodded thanks to the Watch Commander, mimed a couple of pictures using her phone-which was still non-functional-and then headed back towards the hotel room. She hoped Hiccup would be showered and capable of moving so they rejoin the others and regroup. And find out how Dagur uncovered Hiccup.

Returning to the optimistically-and inaccurately-named 'Hotel Splendid', Astrid gave a jaundiced look at the desk. The concierge was missing and the sounds of a football game were blasting from the room behind the desk, explaining his dereliction of duty. Shrugging, she headed up the stairs to room 15, her supplies clasped in her arms, her steps almost silent. She listened but the shower wasn't running any more so she assumed he would be resting-because, Gods, he needed it. She had thought that she was driven but meeting Fury had made her realise that she really had no clue what true obsession was. The man had thrown himself into the mission, performing feats she wouldn't have thought possible, going undercover without proper provision at the risk of his life...and she got the distinct impression that didn't feature especially highly on his radar. In fact, the soft words he had spoken in the sewer came back to her in a rush.

I was hurt long before we ever met. I was broken beyond repair...

If I fail...I want to give everything in the effort, Astrid. Grant me that chance. Because there is nothing else left.

She closed her eyes. The words were probably the most truthful he had spoken, his true feelings leaking from under his practiced mask of sass and sarcasm...and they hinted at a man who was beyond despair.

I am not sure your family would want you to die if you had a chance to live on.

Maybe I don't want to live on with them gone?