ROBIN RETURNED THIRTY MINUTES LATER.

After a half hour spent waiting for her to reappear, a half hour in which Carla spent sat at the Scoops counter watching her boyfriend serve customers, she rushed into her place of employment, sheets of paper in hand.

"It's fascinating what 20 bucks will get you at the Country Recorder's office."  Robin spoke as Carla, Steve and Dustin followed her to the backroom, crowding around the small table as she set down blueprints, "Starcourt Mall. The complete blueprints."

Dustin sent an approving look, "Not bad."

"So, this is us, Scoops—" The Buckley pointed out where they currently sat on the map, moving her fingers up towards where they were trying to go, "—and this is where we want to get."  Her fingers sat on an area in which the group wouldn't be able to get into.  

Steve stated the obvious, "I mean, I don't really see a way in."

"There's not." Robin replied, flipping the inside-the-mall blueprint over to reveal another set of blueprints, one which consisted of air ducts and vents instead of doors and other obvious openings, "If you're talking exclusively about doors."

"Air ducts." Dustin exclaimed.

"Exactly." Robin smiled, proud of herself for figuring out a way inside.  She then walked away grabbing a dry-erase marker before returning, drawing a line that led from Scoops to the secret room using the air ducts, "Turns out, this secret room needs air just like any old room.  And these air ducts lead all the way here."

While not totally onboard with the whole Russian idea, Carla was proud of the girl for moving them one step closer to solving this case.  Crossing around the Buckley, she squeezed the girls shoulder, "Robin, if I wasn't in a relationship, I would totally kiss you right now. You are a genius."

As Carla passed, the blonde girl gave a genuine smile, becoming slightly flustered at the girl's words, "Really? —I mean, thanks?"

"Wow, and I thought you were a loyal girlfriend." Steve fondly rolled his eyes at his girlfriend, acting as if he was generally offended by her comment. He knew that she indeed was loyal, and wasn't anywhere close to leaving him for anyone—girl or boy.

"You know I love you." Carla shook her head, leaning down to place a quick kiss to his lips. 

"Alright, lovebirds, wrap it up." Dustin huffed, causing the couple to pull away from each other and look at the boy,  "Let's get this going."

At Dustin's words, the group began investigating the air duct.  Steve found a ladder and set it up against the wall so he could reach the vent, unscrewing the screws that held the louver in place.  Handing the item down to Carla —who stood to the side of the ladder, keeping it steady—he took a small glance at the thing before looking down below.

"Flashlight?" he requests, Dustin who stood on the other side of the ladder, handing him one from his bag.  Muttering a small thank you, Steve turns on the item and shines it inside, the light reflecting off the metal walls. "Yeah, I don't know, man. I don't know if you can fit in here. It's like.....super tight."

Dustin confidently replied, as Steve stepped down the ladder,  "I'll fit. Trust me.  No collar bones, remember?"

Robins brows furrow at the statement, "Uh, excuse me?"

"Oh, he's uh....yeah, he's got some disease." Steve makes an attempt at explaining why Dustin was missing some of his bones, "Chry, uh....It's chrydo , um—"

He was quickly interrupted by Carla, who recited the name with ease to the other girl, "Cleidocranial Dysplasia."  After years of babysitting the boy and having to go over his records in case of emergency, Carla knew the disease from front to back—she'd done all the research she could.

 "Yeah, what she said. He's missing bones and stuff. He can bend like Gumbo."

Robin gives a look, "You mean, Gumby."

"I'm pretty sure it's Gumbo."

Robin sends the Wheeler another, 'I can't believe you chose to date such an idiot' look, to which she responds with a small shrug.  Sure, Steve wasn't the sharpest tool in the box, and maybe he could be an idiot at times, but he was her idiot.  Carla had enough smarts for the both of them, anyway.

Dustin interrupted the small conversation, his voice slightly echoing because of the tight, metal space, "Steve, just shut up and push me!"

"Okay," Steve replied, climbing up a step of the ladder to better reach the boys feet, "I'll push ya."

As the two girls watched with slight amusement, Steve grabbed a hold of Dustin's ankles and began to try pushing him inside.  Carla could hear the eye roll as the Henderson spoke again from inside the duct, clearly annoyed with his elder companion, "Not my feet, dumbass. Push my ass."

"What?"

"Touch my butt! I don't care!"

As Steve lightly put his hands on Dustin's ass, the boy screamed at him to push harder over and over again to the point where Carla was looking outside to make sure no one was listening in.  "Come on! Harder! Push harder!"

"I'm pushing!"

"You're playing with my legs!"

"I'm not playing, I have terrible footing."

Carla bit her lip to stop from laughing at the two and looked towards Robin, who had a similar expression on her face, "Should I make sure no ones about to, like, call your manager or something because they think you guys are doing it?"

"No, this is honestly amusing to me." Robin shook her head, crossing her arms as the scene continued, Steve still attempting at shoving the boy inside despite the multiple failures they'd gotten.  As she watched Steve put Dustin's feet behind his neck, she turned to look at the Wheeler, "No offense to you, but you seriously picked Steve out of all the people at Hawkins High?"

Carla nodded, "It's a long story, believe me."

"Come on!" Dustin called.

"I'm just gonna shove you, okay?" Steve stated.

"Just shove me?"

"One, two—"

"Shit!"

"That work?"

"One more time."

A voice that caused the two Scoops employees to shudder at the thought of her then sounded, "Ahoy, sailors, ahoy! All hands on deck! Ahoy!"

Taking a glance at Erica Sinclair —the bane of Scoops Ahoys existence—who stood impatiently ringing the bell, then back at the small duct that Dustin was still trying to fit through, Robin sent the girl beside her a look, "Do you think...."

"Oh, I'm sure she could." Carla caught on to what Robin meant.  Was it probably illegal? Yes.  But could it work? Also yes.  Speaking her thoughts out loud, she looked to the Buckley, "It's probably a form of child endangerment but it could work....that is, if you can convince her."

"Oh, we will." Robin turned back towards the impatient girl at the counter, a sly smile on her face.

So, that's exactly what they did.

After a few minutes of explaining to Erica what exactly they needed her to do, they led her to the break room, handed her a flashlight, and allowed her to check out the ducts herself.   Everyone looked at her, watching as she stepped off the ladder with a shrug, "Yeah, I don't know."

"You don't know if you can fit?" Dustin questioned.

"Oh, I can fit."  Erica replied, "I just don't know if I want too."

While normally, Carla adored the sass and strength that Erica held, right now was not the time. She was their last hope of getting into this secret room.   Letting out a sigh, she looked at the young girl, "What do you mean?"

"Are you claustrophobic?" Robin asked.

Erica shook her head, "I don't have phobias."

Steve was getting rather annoyed with the girl—he already disliked her and her attitude enough.  The fact that she was just messing with them wasn't helping, "Okay, so what's the problem?"

"The problem is, I haven't heard what's in this for Erica." 

Knowing exactly what she wanted, Steve and Carla left the break room and began scooping all kinds of flavors into cups.  The Wheeler knew Erica well enough that if they wanted her, they'd have to give in and give her what she wanted—even if it was breaking company policy.

Robin and Dustin had escorted the Sinclair girl to a table, and soon enough, it filled up with all of her favorite flavors and treats from the parlor.  Carrying the last of it out—some sort of float—Steve takes a seat next to his girlfriend, sliding the dessert over to the demanding girl with a rather annoyed look on his face. 

 Taking a mere glance at it, Erica slides it right back over to him, "More fudge, please."  

At her words, the four at the table with her stared at the dessert with deadpanned expressions, almost regretting their choices of bringing her in in the secret room.  Steve's fists clench under the table as irritation floods through him, and Carla places her hand over his in  an attempt to relax them. 

"Go on," Erica shoos him away.

Carla places a reassuring kiss to Steve's cheek, muttering, "She's just a ten year old." under her breath afterwards.  While Erica might look just that, Carla knew—and now the rest of them as well—how irritating she could truly be.

Steve puts on a passive-aggressive smile and takes the float back to the counter, leaving the others to explain more in depth where she was going.  Robin picked up the blueprints and showed the younger girl, pointing out the route she'd be taking, "You see this? This is the route you're gonna take.  Then we just wait till the last delivery goes out tonight.  Then you knock out the grate, jump down and open the door."

"Then you find out what's in those boxes?" Erica asks.

"Exactly."

Erica continues, "Mhm. And you say this guard is armed?"

"Yes, but he won't be there." Dustin reassures.

"And booby traps?"

"Booby traps?" Carla raises a brow.

Erica names off a few, "Lasers, spikes in the wall?"

"What?"

The Sinclair girl leans forward, looking at the three older teens, "You know what this half-baked plan of yours sounds like to me? Child endangerment."

Robin shakes her head, "We'll be in radio contact with you the whole time—"

"Ah, ah, ah."  Erica wags her finger in front of the Scoops girl, cutting her off, "Child endangerment."

While Carla didn't like thinking of their plan that way, Erica had a point. They were throwing a young child into a possibly armed air-duct system to enter an elevator with God knows what inside for the sake of their own curiosity.   It wasn't the smartest idea, and could totally land them all in a jail-cell if Erica ended up injured—Carla hated to admit it, but it was a totally child endangerment. 

"Erica? Hi, uh....We think these Russians want to do harm to our country.  Great harm.  Don't you love your country?" Dustin plastered a fake smile on his face, trying to get Erica onboard.

Erica shrugs, "You can't spell 'America' without 'Erica.'"

Everyone goes quiet a moment, thinking over what she just said.  Carla nodded, "I mean......she's not wrong."

Dustin continues, talking over loud slurping coming from Erica's direction,  "Oddly, that's totally true.  So—so, don't do this for us.  Do it for your country.  Do it for your fellow men.  Do this for America, Erica."

Erica finally sets down her slush, causing Carla to let out a sigh of relief as the slurping finally ends.  She looks towards Dustin, "Ooh! I just got the chills."  As Dustin gives a proud smile, her face falls, "Oh yeah, from this float.  Not your speech."

As everyone looks at each other, she continues, "Know what I love most about this country? Capitalism.  Do you know what capitalism is?"

"Yeah." all three of them reply.

"It means this is a free market system.  Which means people get paid for their services, depending on how valuable their contributions are.  And it seems to me, my ability to fit into that little vent is very, very valuable to you all." Erica eyes the three, trying to get her point out, "So, you want my help? This USS Butterscotch better be the first of many.  And I'm talking free ice cream for life."

"Steve is literally gonna kill you." Carla sighed, looking up at the clock that hung at the entrance of Scoops.  Noticing the time, she stood up and looked towards Dustin and Robin, "I gotta go."  She eyed Erica, who stirred her straw around in the empty cup she'd previously been slurping, "Good luck with her."

"I heard that." Erica snapped back.

Carla replied, "You were supposed too."

As the other two sent a small wave her way, she made her way to the Scoops where her boyfriend was.  He had to be done pumping fudge by now, and was more than likely just trying to hide from the Sinclair girl a little longer, "Steve?"

The boy in question's voice came through, "Yeah?"

"I gotta head out. My mom wants me to watch Holly at the pool for a little bit." the Wheeler rocked on her heels, watching as her boyfriend came from the break room holding the float in his hands.

"Oh, okay." Steve replied, setting the dessert down upon the counter. 

Carla leaned forward pressing a quick kiss to the Harrington's cheek in a goodbye, beginning to walk off.  "Love you, bye—"

"Wait." Steve quickly walked around the counter, causing his girlfriend to stop in her tracks.  She turned back to face him, watching as he brought his hand to her chin, pulling her in for a real kiss.  After a moment, he pulled away with a smirk, "Were you seriously gonna leave without an actual kiss?"

"Thanks for reminding me." Carla smiles sarcastically, fondly rolling her eyes.

"I love you too, by the way."

"I know." 

"I'll see you tomorrow," Carla sent a final smile before walking out of Scoops and into the hot summer heat of Hawkins.

mara's misc!

carla indeed will not see steve tomorrow.

this is kinda a short chapter, but oh well.  i think it turned out fine, it took me two days to write but i just really wanna get to the next chapter which i'm finally at....... i've just had an scene for carla since forever ago and i finally get to write it out.

i won't say anything else.

anyway, hope you enjoyed<3 see you back with chapter eight!