CHAPTER 42
SCOOPS TROOP

JACKIE Wilson's Higher and Higher rocked through the speakers of the Toddfather. Steve drove as fast as he could, pushing against the speed limit just the tiniest bit. Veronica's hair blew from side to side, almost whacking her in the face a few times, as Steve took a sharp turn onto a deserted road. He squinted his eyes and turned his high beams on to get a better view of the path, but there wasn't another person in sight. "Jesus, how far is this place, man?" He asked.

"Relax," Dustin replied, "we're almost there."

Veronica turned around slightly to meet Dustin's agitated stare. She tilted her head to the side. "So why did you set up this satellite again?"

"To talk to my girlfriend," he said in an obvious tone, "Suzie."

Her brow shot up. "Wait, she's real?" Veronica shook her head. "But you said she was hotter than Phoebe Cates, and, like, super smart. How does a person like that actually exist?"

Dustin grinned big. "You'll see when we talk to her."

"So then," Robin continued, trying to understand the situation, "Suzie must be pretty special. I can't imagine being so committed at twelve –"

"I'm fourteen."

"– But, I mean, you built this thing and lugged it all the way to the middle of nowhere just to talk to her. She means a lot to you, huh?"

Dustin shrugged. "I mean, no one's scientifically perfect, but Suzie's as close to being perfect as any human could possibly be."

Veronica spun back around in her seat, glancing towards Steve when she felt his dark eyes on her. They twinkled against the midnight sky as a smile hinted at his lips. His hand lingered on the gear stick, itching to lock his fingers around her own, but neither of them moved. Veronica looked away, trying to hide her smile. She became such a softie around him. It was so disgusting.

"She sound made-up to me," Erica added, pushing herself forward to talk to Steve and Veronica in the front seats. "She sound made-up to you guys?"

Steve looked to Erica, mouth opened slightly, but he didn't say a word. He quickly turned his head back to the road.

Dustin narrowed his eyes. "Why are you hesitating, Steve?"

"I'm not! I'm not!" Steve exclaimed. His eyes flickered over to Veronica's, begging for help. She stayed completely silent. "I think she sounds real. You know, totally, absolutely real."

Veronica released a snort. "Who do you think you're fooling with that one, Harrington?"

Dustin rolled his eyes, hooking his arm around the back of Steve's seat. He could just see the turn coming up through the darkness. "Left. Turn left," he instructed.

"There's no road here," Steve quipped.

"Turn left now!" Dustin hollered.

Steve screamed, whipping the wheel to the left so hard that Veronica's body almost fell on top of him. She latched her arms onto Steve's shoulders as he sped the car through an empty field, highlighted only by their high beams. Steve still couldn't see past ten feet. The grass was getting thicker, and Veronica was pretty sure that the path was slanting upward. "Where the fuck are we going, kid?!" She shrieked in Steve's ear.

"Up! Up!" Dustin shouted. "Keep going up!"

The car was swerving to the right. Everyone was screaming as it flew up the hill, almost threatening to fall back the higher they went. Jackie Wilson's voice seemed to get louder as the seconds ticked on. Veronica felt like shrieking multiple obscenities, but the car was coming to a sudden stop. The terrain had gotten heavier, making it harder to drive threw. Mud stuck to the rims and wet grass turned against the wheels. "Steve," Veronica whispered, "you better stop this car right now or I'll –"

"We'll make it!" He thundered back, tapping against the wheel. "Come on, baby! Come on, baby!"

"Stop talking to the car!"

The Toddfather rolled to a halt, almost propelling them forward. Steve slammed his palm on the dashboard and revved the engine again. "Come on!" He groaned, pressing his foot harder on the gas pedal, but the car simply wouldn't move. They were stuck in the middle of an open field.

"Guess the Toddfather has its limitations," Robin muttered.

"Doesn't matter," Dustin smiled, already hopping out of the backseat. "I know where we are."

Steve and Veronica exchanged a glance before sliding out of the car. Veronica quickly unlatched her arms from him, but not without Steve noticing the embarrassed blush that crept up on her cheeks. Steve watched her walk behind Dustin with a large grin on his face. He shut the driver's side door and patted his own back before running up the hill to keep up with the group.

Mud collected into the soles of Veronica's combat boots. As much as it bothered her, she knew they were already scuffed from her adventure at the Russian base. She trudged on with a permanent frown on her face. A sheen of sweat collected on her forehead and she wiped it away with the back of her hand. Some flyaway hairs still stuck to it. Veronica hung her head back and groaned, "How far up is this thing?"

"We've only been walking for two minutes, lady!" Dustin shook his head. "C'mon, it's just up here."

Steve appeared by her side and sent her a comforting smile, a gesture she didn't have time to notice once a familiar sound reached her ears. It was a voice echoing in the distance. "Scoops Troop, do you copy?" It bellowed. "Scoops Troop, do you copy?"

"Mike!" Dustin exclaimed, charging up the hill.

"Scoops Troop?" Veronica said at the same moment.

Radio static hissed in the air once they reached the top of the hill. Mike's voice vanished into the darkness of the night sky, and Dustin wasn't too sure on how to get it back. Veronica huffed, leaning down to rest her hands onto her knees. "I really gotta start working out," she panted, exhausted from the short walk. Granted, it was inclined. She really wasn't that much of a walker, especially if it involved hills. Veronica pinched her nose and wiped away more sweat on the bridge while Dustin sprinted for his radio setup.

Veronica almost didn't believe it when she saw it. Dustin had somehow rigged up a tall antenna with multiple wires and settings, all connected to a CB radio. She stared at it with her head cocked to the side, hands raised on her hips. She had to give it to Dustin; he must be really dedicated to this Suzie chick.

"Maybe she is as hot as Phoebe Cates," Veronica muttered to Robin, both watching the other three tune the radio to the right station. "I mean, a teenaged boy wouldn't set up something like this for just some average girl, right?"

"Yeah," Robin replied with a swift nod, "men really are pigs."

Veronica raised a brow. "That isn't what I meant –"

Dustin smacked the radio, engulfing the field in silence. He turned the radio switched in the opposite direction, igniting a ring of static, before raising the speaker to his mouth. "Bald Eagle, do you copy?" He asked, a giggle hidden under his breath. "Bald Eagle, I repeat: this is Scoops Troop. Do you copy?"

A second passed. It felt like a second too long.

"Yes, I copy," Murray Bauman's sarcastic tone filtered through the radio.

"Call sign?" Dustin reminded.

Another pause. "Bald Eagle."

"Please, repeat."

"Bald Eagle! This is Bald Eagle!"

Veronica began to drown out the voices as something caught the corner of her eye. She turned, approaching the other side of the hill with heightened curiosity. A bright light flickered across town. Veronica narrowed her eyes, attempting to get a better look, and noticed it wasn't just one light. There were several flickering all at once, as if they were performing a show. Veronica cupped a hand over her eyes, trying to pinpoint the exact location, before it hit here.

The mall. It was at Starcourt.

And then, the shadow came into view. It looked like a large blanket of darkness enveloping the entire building, penetrating the roof, but Veronica wasn't naïve. She knew it was more than that. She knew exactly what it was, and what it wanted, and how it was going to get it. Her breath hitched in her throat. It felt like she couldn't breathe as everything hit her all at once, as she realized once again that Hawkins would never be just Hawkins anymore, and she could never be just seventeen.

Now she had to be an adult. She had to be eighteen. She had to be a hero.

"He's in there," Veronica whispered. Her mind went blank. Only one thought ran through her brain: My dad's at the mall. Edward was beneath Starcourt, sneaking into the military base, with no idea that the Mind Flayer was currently hunched over the roof of the building.

The nightmares were coming alive. She couldn't pinch her way out of this one.

"Ronnie," Steve called, causing her to flinch, "are you okay?"

Veronica turned around slowly, meeting his stare with wide eyes. Her face went pale, drained of all color, as the moon shone down on her olive skin. "He's there," she whispered, "at the mall. My dad is there. Everyone is at Starcourt."

Steve blinked, trying to make sense of the situation. He trudged forward. "Yeah, we know. What does that have to –"

"Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop. Do you copy? Over!" Dustin shouted, tuning the radio to a different signal. He received nothing. "Griswold Family, do you copy?"

Their response came into the form of a monstrous roar, loud enough to make ears bleed.

Dustin looked to Steve, who then turned back to Veronica, but it was too late. She was running back down the hill at the speed of light. "Where the hell are you going?!" Erica shouted. Veronica could barely hear her over her own breathing.

"I need to get to them!" She hollered back. Erica and Dustin waited for her on the edge of the hill, shocked expressions on their faces. "I need to! You don't understand! My dad is in there! Tell him they need to get out of there now!"

"Ronnie! Ronnie!" Steve called out, following her down the grassy path. He looked back at Dustin. "Stay here and contact the others! I'm not letting her go alone!"

Robin shook her head. "Shit," she huffed, grabbing one of Dustin's walkies before dashing off to follow her friends. Robin raised the radio as she ran by. "I'll keep in touch!"

Veronica was already cranking the ignition when Steve and Robin reached the car. Steve patted his pockets and realized he left the keys in the car. It took a few tries, but after a solid thirty seconds of her twisting and turning the key, Veronica finally got it to start. She turned the headlights on, almost blinding her coworkers as they hovered in front of the car. "Well?" She quipped, hands tightly gripping the wheel, "are you gonna stand there or get in?"

Steve jumped into the passenger seat before she could finish her statement. Robin hauled herself into the backseat and muttered, "Jerry better give us a raise for this."

•••

Edward was thanking his lucky stars that he was able to fit in one of the uniforms that they stole from a group of Russian soldiers. It was a little big around the shoulders and the pants were a bit too long for his short stature – but he really shouldn't be focusing on that right now. He basically just had a near-death experience with three Russians pointing their big guns in his face, and he was worried about clothing. He had to admit, though, shooting a Russian with his tiny pistol that he got his first day on the force did feel great.

They stood outside a winding corridor, waiting for Murray's signal after he killed the switch. The kids had given them a pathway through the vent system for him to take. His plan was to, and I quote, "Yank the cables like I'm pulling weeds and set off the alarm." That would give the other three an opening to retrieve the keys from the vault, follow the map to the observation room, turn off the main key and close the rift.

If everything went according to plan, hardly anyone would know they were there, and Edward could get back to his daughter. She could go to college, have a normal experience for the first time in years. Maybe he could get a winter home to get out of Hawkins throughout the year – God knows it would be wise for his safety. He could do all these things if they just survived the night.

Edward tried to distract himself from his racing thoughts the best he could. He played with the red lapel of his uniform, pacing in front of the door, armed and ready in case anyone found them. "I don't think I'm cut out to be a Russian soldier," he muttered.

Hopper looked up from his place beside Joyce. They sat on the metal steps leading to the corridor, while Murray was probably venturing through the vent system right underneath their feet. "What do you mean?" Hopper asked, face sullen.

"If someone finds us," Edward continued, flicking the uniform collar, "what are they going to think when they see a Colombian man in a soldier's getup?"

Joyce laughed softly, but still kept her eyes pinned to the floor. She was focused, staying inside her head, repeating their plan over and over again until it was completely drilled in there. Hopper shook his head and stood, swinging the rifle he also stole towards his back. He placed his hands on Edward's shoulders, "Eyes on the prize, Moreda."

Edward raised a brow. "What are you talking about? Eyes on the prize, my ass." He stifled a chuckle. "You've been doing the opposite of that, Chief."

"You got a problem with how I've run this operation, Deputy?"

Edward raised his hands, allowing a smile to pull on the corners of his lips. His mustache twitched. "Not a problem. You know I love calling you out on your bullshit. Terrible liar, remember?" He flicked the brim of Hopper's cap and lowered his voice to a whisper, "You, my friend, have been flirting with Joyce nonstop for days now."

Hopper's face twisted. "I don't know what you're talking about. We've been fighting this whole time."

"And that's how I know that you like her." Edward shrugged casually. "And I also know that I was right this whole time."

The chief shushed his friend, brows furrowing into a menacing expression, but it didn't scare Edward one bit. He'd know Hopper for too long.

"I know Murray was really out of line when we were in the car a while ago," he said, scratching the back of his head. "You know, with that 'pull over, tear off those clothes –'"

"Yeah, I remember, Ed."

"Okay, okay, just checking." Edward raised his hands in surrender for a moment. "I just don't understand why you both can't shut up and admit your feelings for each other. I told you to do this weeks ago! I need to start charging you for advice, like a therapist or something."

Hopper narrowed his eyes. "Are you really arguing with me about this while standing in a secret Russian military base? There are so many other things to be worrying about right now ­–"

The alarms began to blare, piercing Edward's ears. Lights flashed across their eyes and covered their faces in a sheer blanket of red. The three adults finally stood their ground as Murray's voice came through Hopper's radio, "Bald Eagle has landed."

•••

A/N: THE ACTION IS A-COMIN' FOLKS

( made by JustSav )