How Not To Drive Home for Snoggletog

8: Three letters and 50 miles from home

Night was falling as the green and white truck glided through the unfamiliar streets of Berserk. The twins drove on without a care in the world while Hiccup and Astrid shared a worried look: the last thing they wanted was getting involved in a vendetta between the twins-who were crazy-and Dagur, who sounded very dangerous. Hiccup felt a definite surge of alarm because he knew a little more about Mayor Oswald and his son from his father...and he knew they were a very unforgiving pair of opponents.

As the truck sped round a corner, the passengers stared up at a huge billboard showing the massive figure of a man with a neat goatee and short greying carrot hair, his pale green eyes kindly...while at his side was a very buff man in his mid twenties, with the similar pale green eyes and cropped carrot hair. The younger man had three car marks tattooed over his left eye and cheek in woad blue. The banner headline read "MAYOR OSWALD-STABILITY AND PROSPERITY FOR BERSERK".

"That makes me feel...bleurgh..." Astrid commented. There were other billboards now they looked, all showing Oswald's picture and bearing similar slogans.

"Classic cult of personality," Fishlegs announced. "Used most commonly in fascist and communist dictatorships..."

"Say what?" Snotlout exclaimed, his eyes bugging out.

"Oswald has been Mayor of Berserk for over thirty years," Hiccup murmured. "No one ever stands against him...well, a guy named Knut did about twenty years ago...but he vanished and all they found was his big toe..." Everyone stared at him. "Dad works in local government, remember?"

"So his son is in charge of the trucking company you want to get back at...in the town where his Dad is basically Odin Allfather..." Snotlout mused aloud. "I'm out..."

"Okay-we'll pull over and you can get out and ask if anyone else will take you to Berk," Astrid snapped. Snotlout paled. 

"You can't do that!" he protested. "Tuff!"

"I have to agree with Astrid," the male twin said seriously. "This is a whole-gang mission..."

"So what about him?" Snotlout protested, pointing at Hiccup.

"Hey-he knew about the big toe! He's in!" Ruff exclaimed. "And he is hot hot hot!" 

Snotlout's scowl make Hiccup groan audibly.

"Mine," Astrid growled. "Ruff-we talked about this, remember?"

"But he looks so good in leather..."

And the weirdness continues, Hiccup sighed. Aloud he said: "Guys, you're not going to put Dagur out of business by driving to his lot and unhooking a couple of brake cables..." There was a stiff pause and the twins both looked at him.

"You're joking!" Tuff snapped.

"How did you know our super-secret masterplan anyway?" Ruff said suspiciously "Did Miss flappy-mouth tell you?"

"What?"

"Ruff...you are about to die if you call me Miss Flappy-Mouth!" Astrid growled.

"LOOK AT THE ROAD!" Fishlegs squeaked. Tuff grabbed the wheel and wrenched the truck away from the wall it was heading for. Reluctantly, they pulled over and the twins sighed.

"So what're we going to do?" Ruff asked. "We Thorston-swore that we would make him pay for trying to kill us..." Hiccup paused and his eyes narrowed. 

"So he undercuts other competitors and runs opposition out of business?" he asked. Tuff sighed and nodded.

"We only got the Berk Lumber contract because of the Snotdude," he admitted. "And almost every trucking company across the Archipelago is ruined by Dagur..." The auburn-haired man frowned, his fingers tapping unconsciously on his left knee. His emerald gaze flicked to the husky man by his side.