Chapter Five: ...in which serious progress is made but later Sergeant Hofferson's boobs get in the way

The bartender with the extraordinary chin tattoo lifted an eyebrow when he noticed the young man from last night casually walking up to the counter. Eret Eretson could easily recognize shady persons or questionable intentions and he was often able to exchange this ability to good money, but somehow he could not put a label on this one, he was a glitch in his matrix. He pretended not to notice Mr. Fury yet, he continued to wipe the glasses in front of him, but he used the time he gained to observe him.

He seemed very different the night before when he was constantly blushing, quavering and just generally seemed out of place. But now he was patiently waiting to be served, not looking like a deer in the headlights, but like someone who belongs to this place. Eret was aware that good sex was the best way to boost someone's confidence and judging by the way the young fellow looked and behaved today, Miss Stormfly must have worked her best magic on him. There was no point in denying the obvious, he envied him. Of course, he did, Miss Stormfly had the face of an angel and the body of a Greek goddess, yet there was nothing shallow about her - apart from the fact that she sold herself for money, which still felt a bit out of character. Well, there was no more time for lamenting on fading morals or increasing self-esteem, so he put down the glass in his hand and directed his attention to the lad who was glancing at his golden watch, probably counting the minutes until the object of his desires would make an appearance.

"Mr. Fury," he greeted him cheerily, successfully hiding his doubts about him, "so good to see you again. Can I offer you something? You are a whiskey drinker as I recall."

"Sure, Eret, surprise me with something. I trust your taste," he answered without hesitation.

Yep, he sounded more collected today, almost smug, and Eret wondered if he was the sore loser of their cock-measuring contest or Mr. Fury just happened to have a good night's sleep. The behemoth Mr. Savage didn't say a word about the Champagne Room when they closed the club at the wee hours of the morning, but he hardly ever opened his mouth, let alone initiating small talk and Eret didn't want to seem curious. Curiosity could easily raise suspicion and that was the last thing he needed, he wanted to lay low, to be out of sight, especially when it came to his boss and Lady Leather. He couldn't put a label on them either, they were just generally strange and intimidating, even for Eret, who had seen a thing or two in his life. But for the time being, he had to keep his job.

After deliberating for a moment, he poured a glass of Talisker for Mr. Fury, who shook his head when he offered him ice.

"Good choice, Eret, I like the taste of Skye on my tongue. Have you ever been there?"

Eret shook his head. "No, unfortunately not. They say it's beautiful."

Mr. Fury tasted the dark golden amber-colored liquor. "Well, they are not exaggerating..."

Eret frowned and bit his lower lip before he gave a piece of his mind to this new, puffed-up version of his auburn-haired companion. He had to remind himself that he was the customer.

"Speaking of beautiful things, are you planning on...?" Eret started, but he knew there was no need to finish the sentence.

"Yes. If it's okay with her."

"I can ask Miss Stormfly after her performance, but I must warn you, we don't encourage regular pairings here. For the safety of our ladies."

"Don't worry Eret, I mean no harm," stated the young lad and Eret had no other choice, but to believe him.

"They say Mala, the Merciless is fun company too," he tried one last time and the ridiculous stripper name curved Mr. Fury's mouth into a smile.

"I bet she is, but I'd rather keep exploring the great unknown with Miss Stormfly. And as for your concerns regarding her safety, I'm only here to seal a business deal. In a few days, I'll be as good as gone, moving on. "

Eret watched the lad's face as he took another sip from the whiskey, but his expression was unreadable, yet the thought of him leaving soon lifted the spirit of the tattoed bartender.

Everything went as they had planned. Sergeant Hofferson danced (and she might or might not have given a half-smile to the young man who was eagerly watching her every move), Officer Haddock asked for her, Eret bargained, took his commission fee and led him to the club's private room, guarded by the silent brute and then the door shut behind him and he found her already sitting at the dressing table with her "make-up bag" on its top.

"Nice to see you, Mr. Fury," she said brightly then stood up and raised her arms for a hug. Hiccup quickly walked up to her and pulled her to his chest. Her lips brushed the shell of his ear. "I think we have a few minutes to look around before I start the tape," she whispered and she pushed him a little with the heel of her hands when he forgot to let go of her.

"Right," he whispered back and rapidly erased the feeling of her lithe body pressed to his because it was not helping at all. He turned around and looked at an empty wall that was a few feet to the right from the sturdy bed. It was covered with floral wallpaper and he ran his gaze up and down at the crimson roses of various forms and shades for a brief moment. He noticed the other night that the floor in front of the wall had some darker marks on it and it was time to pay attention to them.

Meanwhile, Sergeant Hofferson placed the lipstick-recorder on the richly ornamented nightstand next to the bed, then she turned towards him, trying to grab his attention before pressing the play button, but it seemed that he was completely lost in his thoughts, crouching next to the wall, fixing the wooden floor in front of it. Holding his left index finger an inch above the marks, he started following the outline. Yes, just as he thought, they were faint shoe prints, but there was something wrong with their directions, it looked as if someone had walked right through the wall... He leaned closer, his nose almost touched the wall, he squinted his eyes, and then he found what he suspected to be there: a thin line running among the sea of flowers. He placed his finger on it and started to follow it, slowly straightening up from the crouched position.

Astrid cleared her throat to grab his attention. He looked back at her, still holding his finger on the line. She gestured at the recorder and he nodded back at her. She pressed play and their voices filled the room. Normally, it would have been very uncomfortable to hear his own voice, but Officer Haddock was completely swallowed up by his finding, so he turned back to the wall and raised his finger further up, along the line. She took a few soft steps to get behind him, not understanding just why he found that vibrant wallpaper that exciting. His finger was a good ten inches above his head when he stopped.

"Open Sesame..." he whispered and he pressed a spot on the wall with two fingers. The hidden door opened with a small click and Astrid had to put her hand on her mouth to suppress a startled sigh. Hiccup reached up and lightly touched the small magnet that held the door shut, then turned to her with a proud grin on his face.

"Nice..." She whispered back and with a few hasty strides, she was at the dressing table, reaching for her fake make-up bag. She unzipped it while walking back to him and handed him a pair of rubber gloves in condom wrappers. She tore hers with her teeth, which made his eyes blink and triggered an unintentional swallow.

"Quick, put them on," she rushed him, slipping on the gloves, "we don't have much time."

While he fiddled with the wrapper, she took out a torch, also disguised as a lipstick and opened the door wider. A silhouette of a semidark passage unraveled in front of their eyes.

"May I?" Without waiting for his permission, she entered. Finally, he managed to glove up and was ready to start the journey to the unknown.

The unknown turned out to be a corridor, with damp walls and a light smell of mold. It was roughly 30 yards long and at the end of it, the outlines of another door were clearly visible. Sergeant Hofferson took a few steps then something on the floor grabbed her attention. She handed the torch back to Hiccup, who took it from her and directed its light to the floor. She took out a Q-tip from her bag, bent her knees, leaned down and swabbed the dark wet stain. She straightened herself and the light of the torch revealed a conspicuous red substance on the cotton bud.

"Blood?" he asked uncertainly.

"Could be. The lab guys will tell us," she shrugged and carefully placed the swab into a plastic container that looked like a tampon holder.

"Shall we check the door, Sergeant?"

She nodded in agreement and continued her way. There were quite a few stains on the floor, but they didn't have time for them now.

As they got closer, the outlines became sharper. Now they both saw that the door's top panel was made of glass and there was some source of light behind it.

"Oh, fuck," she groaned disappointedly. There was a padlock on the door. It was neither big nor seemed sturdy, but when she lifted it and tugged at it, it became painfully clear that this was the end of the road for the time being.

"We can't open it without a crowbar or a hacksaw," he agreed, "and there's no use in breaking the glass either. Probably would be too loud anyway."

She became upset and hit her head against the door lightly, the evil padlock chimed when it touched its attachment on the door.

He placed a soft hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. "While we are at it, we might as well peek inside," he said quietly and directed the light to the glass panel.

The place inside looked like a storage room, there were high shelves packed with boxes and all kinds of junk probably no one needed anymore and the floor was also littered with worthless trash. The source of the light was a barred window, slightly open, near the ceiling, which was roughly 15 feet high, so they were well below the ground level.

Astrid still felt defeated. "Great, now we can write a nice report to Gobber about how we managed to find the dumping ground of the club."

Hiccup mumbled something, but it was incomprehensible. He started to spiral into the same trance he was in when he discovered the secret door. Astrid turned her head to look at him. His face was only a few inches from hers, yet he was intensely staring at the rubbish inside as if he was searching for something. The sergeant was just about to warn him that the minutes were passing by quickly when raised his finger and pointed at something inside.

"There!" His excited voice was just above a whisper. Astrid turned back to the glass and narrowed her eye, Hiccup was pointing at an old bathtub in the far left corner of the room. She didn't get it, there was nothing unusual about it, it was just a worn-out tub, probably twice as old as she was.

"Hiccup, that's just an ancient bathtub, we really should..." She tried weakly, still feeling downhearted.

"Just look at it for one second," he interrupted her, "can you see the bottles around it?"

"What are those? Some kind of cleaning supplies?"

"Exactly!" He confirmed triumphantly. "Drain cleaners."

She was still utterly puzzled, not being able to comprehend why those throwaway bottles were of any importance.

"Acidic drain cleaners contain sulfuric acid at high concentrations," he explained to her, "and sulfuric acid can practically dissolve hair, fat, bones, everything in a few short days."

Still holding the torch up, he glanced down at her and their gazes locked.

"John Haigh..." she muttered, it all made sense now. She had to admit, there was much more to him than what she had first assumed.

"Yep, the 'acid bath killer'". He sounded almost happy. "He used the very same method to get rid of his victims."

She looked at him with pure adoration. "You are a genius..."

He was considering a humble reply but was disrupted by a swift peck she put on his cheek. He was glad they were standing in the darkness because he was sure he was blushing from head to toe.

"I..." he started not knowing how to react, but luckily, she interrupted him.

"Hiccup, we must get inside. I'm sure that the tub contains all the evidence we need for a solid case."

"Probably. But now we have to get back, time is ticking," he warned her.

She bit her lower lip, she was too excited about the new turn of events, but her partner was right, there was no place for reckless behavior or hasty mistakes.

"Okay, let's go back," she said and gently pushed him forward.

They had the next day off from office work since they have been doing a lot of overtime during the past days. They both needed some rest, especially after their eventful evening, but they agreed to meet early afternoon in a downtown park to discuss their next steps.

Hiccup arrived early, he brought Toothless with him and the black mongrel was more than happy to play fetch in the open field, surrounded by the pink sea of the freshly blooming magnolia trees. Astrid noticed them as she walked down the concrete path leading to the spot they had agreed on. She stopped a few yards away from the pair and enjoyed the view for a few minutes because the way he gently scratched the hair on the dog's head every time he returned with the tennis ball was adorable. They changed directions and Hiccup saw Astrid. He waved her, stretching his long arm, flashing a darling smile, which she returned before she loped towards them. She didn't know why, but his closeness always felt upliftingly safe and cozy.

"Toothless, sit," commanded Hiccup when she got to them and the dog obediently dropped the ball and sat down. "Thanks, bud, now you can greet her, she is Astrid, a friend."

The black dog stood up and casually walked to Astrid. He sniffed the hand she was holding out and finding her smile agreeable, he let her pat him.

"Hello, Toothless, you look like a well-mannered big puppy."

"You only say that, because he hadn't used your favorite shoe as a chew toy or eaten the book you were just about to finish," said Hiccup cheerily, "I hope you don't mind I brought him."

"Not at all, he is beautiful," she complimented truthfully.

"I think I've managed to wear him out a bit, so he won't mind if we sit down. Shall we...?" He gestured to a bench, which was away from the path, half-shaded by a chestnut tree.

They walked up to it in a comfortable space. Toothless found himself a mossy spot near the bench, where he lay down and occupied himself gnawing at his tennis ball, keeping an eye on his master and the blonde girl.

"I've checked that window. It opens to the alley at the back of the building. You can't see anything from up there even with the window open," he started unceremoniously right after they sat down.

"Yeah, I've seen it too. We can't climb down because of the bars, they are quite sturdy. The padlock on the other hand..."

"That's doable. But how could we smuggle a saw in?"

She chewed on her lower lip, trying to figure something out. "I'm not really good at tinkering with things, but we could find someone who can alternate an electric nail drill kit. I could smuggle that in."

His face broke out into an enormous grin as he laughed wholeheartedly.

"What?" She asked back perplexedly, feeling a bit awkward.

"It's just funny that there is a female gadget for everything."

"Yep, but we are benefiting from them, you knucklehead," she said and lightly punched his shoulder relieving her embarrassment.

"Well, I'm actually good at tinkering. I used to drive my father mad with my "inventions", but hey, guess who had the first smart home in Berk with an intelligent dog feeder. Until my dad's mastiff destroyed the cover and ate his weekly portion."

"That's not a very good reference, I'm afraid," she said grinning, "but I trust your abilities."

"Thanks, milady," he answered simply flashing a lopsided smile at her and the term of endearment turned Sergeant Hofferson's cheeks a shade pinker.

"Okay... So let's say we get in, how can we get a sample from the tub?" she asked, trying to sound neutral when she felt anything but.

"If our assumptions are correct, the tub is filled with well... for the lack of a better word, sludge."

"And how can we take samples?"

"It's safe to use a glass pipette and a glass container. Glass is non-reactive to sulfuric acid."

"I hate to tell you, but face serums come with glass pipettes and containers. Women were born to do secret detective work!" she exclaimed joyfully, which made him giggle.

"We might stir the sludge a little, there should be bone fragments. We can use tweezers for them. Yes, even I've heard about eyebrow plucking," he added cheekily.

"And when shall we ascend to the gates of Hell? I'm free today and tomorrow as well. I'm not popular enough to be on stage on Fridays and Saturdays. I mean, I'm glad I only work on weekdays, there are less of a crowd of creeps."

"I know..." he said in a somewhat more serious manner, her being exposed on the stage was still an uncomfortable thought. "How about Monday then? I heard the club is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays."

"Yeah, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are off and Monday sounds good. I'm the second act."

"I have a hunch that Eret is a bit suspicious," he admitted.

"Or just jealous," she retorted, which earned her a questioning look from Hiccup.

"Well, he hinted at being interested in me and I completely shrugged him off, claiming I'm not that type of girl. But then came the tall, dark stranger with the handful of cash..."

"I'm sorry if I hurt his manly pride."

"You know what they say. Make a woman jealous by finding a younger one and a man by finding a richer. He'll get over it," she declared self-assuredly.

"I hope you are right and he is just envious. He warned me about no regular pairings rule."

"And what did you tell him?"

"That I was only here for business and would leave in a couple of days."

"Good. Then I just tell him we agreed on one last Monday session. I think that doesn't sound too shady, but I..."

A chime interrupted her. "Oh, it's my 'work' phone," she informed him and lifted her hip to pull it out from her back pocket.

"Speaking of the devil..." she mumbled with a frown. "A text from Eret. Drago wants to see me in his office as soon as possible."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why would he...?"

"I don't have the faintest idea... We have never even talked. When I was hired, Lady Leather negotiated with me and he was just sitting in a dark corner, intensely staring at me." She sounded troubled, which made him uneasy.

"How does he look like?"

"Well... big. Very big."

"Mr. Savage big?"

"Even bigger - I know it's hard to imagine. And something is wrong with his right arm, I didn't see it, but he hasn't used it when he signed my papers."

"Well, I'm left-handed..."

"Yeah, I have noticed that, but it was different. I had the impression that he can't use it. I don't know... could be broken, I couldn't see, he had a large coat on."

"I don't know, Astrid... I have an eerie feeling about it. Can't you just skip the meeting?"

"And risk everything we have worked so hard for? Hiccup... We are close, I know it, we only need one more chance to get the evidence. Maybe it's just some less serious stuff, like rescheduling my work hours or negotiating payments."

"There's nothing I can say that would make you change your mind, right?" He tried, but he knew she was persistent.

"I know we are close. I'd hate myself if I gave up," she argued and he had to admit, she had a point, but he still wanted to make sure that she was safe.

"I'm not happy about you going there all alone. That place has a bad vibe."

"I agree, but..."

"You are stubborn," Hiccup interjected.

"Guilty as charged, but it's not necessarily a bad thing."

"I know, I'm just... I'm worried about you," he admitted softly.

"That's really nice of you," she thanked him and put her hand gently on his arm where she previously had hit him.

"That's what partners do," he mused while taking a good look at her hand on his arm.

"Tell you what, I'll call you as soon as I'm finished," she promised.

"Okay."

"I better get going," she said while standing up from the bench.

"Please, do call me," he emphasized.

"I will. But I can take care of myself. See you soon, Officer Haddock."

He dazedly looked in the direction she left until he felt Toothless's enthusiastic licks on his hand.

His stomach was in a knot until roughly three endless hours later he finally got a text from her.

"Can you come over to my place?" It said.

"On my way." He answered back plainly and rushed for the door.

When some half an hour later he parked in front of her house the sun was already setting. She opened the door when she heard his car and Stormfly darted out and disappeared somewhere in the growing darkness. She didn't seem to care.

"Thanks for coming over," she said quietly and escorted him inside. To say he was feeling nervous was an understatement, but he obediently followed her. She went to the living room and stopped in front of the couch.

"So... I need your help with something," she deadpanned and her unemotional tone disturbed him.

"Ask me anything," he said and he truly meant it. He would do anything for her. He took a step closer to her and reached for her hands, they felt cold.

"They want me..." she started but stopped for a moment when her voice trembled. "They want me to take off my bra... I've tried to gain some time, but they gave me an ultimatum, I either dance half-naked next time or there won't be a next time."

He felt the anger build up in him. "I hope you quit immediately." She freed her hands from his and turned her head away from him.

"I couldn't quit," she admitted, "we are so close. We have to give our theory a chance. I just got the news from the lab, it was blood on the swab."

He took a deep sigh before he tried to reason with her. "But no one expects you to do it. I'm sure Gobber wouldn't let you..."

"I don't want him to know about it. For the time being."

"So you have already decided on doing it?" he asked again.

"Yes," she answered simply and raised her head up to look him in the eyes.

"What can I do for you?" He whispered a long and hard moment later.

"I know it's a bit awkward," she started, "but... the thing is, I've never undressed before strangers and I'm not a hundred percent sure I can do it... I know we are technically not strangers, but... in a sense, we are."

He didn't say a word, he couldn't, so she continued. "Can you watch me do my act? It's only a few minutes but I have to know for sure that I am capable of doing it."

He took another deep breath before he dared to utter his question. "You mean... right now?"

Just some quick notes: (0. hope you enjoyed the new chapter!) 1. sorry for the delay, life got in the way 2. I have to change the rating from T to M from the next chapter, it's going to be violent. 3. I'm not sure when I'll be able to post chapter 6, I'm aiming for two weeks from now 4. huge thanks for everyone who liked or reviewed it or reached out for me on tumblr.