Chapter Four
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Do It For America, Erica

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            Just as the gang discussed the day before, Olivia and Dustin went back to the roof and successfully managed to spy on the Russians the next morning without getting caught. They were now back in the break room of Scoops with Olivia standing besides Dustin, while Robin and Steve sat across from each other at the table, listening intently to what the Henderson siblings were recounting what they discovered.

            "That keycard opens the door but unfortunately, the Russian with this keycard also has a massive gun, Dustin explained.

            "Whatever's in this room, whatever's in those boxes, they really don't want anybody finding it," Olivia added in.

            "But there's gotta be a way in," Robin pondered, who already seemed to be forming a plan in her head.

            Steve mindlessly twirled his hat and blowed in it. "Well, you know," He said slowly. He leaned in and folded his arms on the table as a smug look formed on his face. "I could just take him out." He suggested.

            "Take who out?" Robin asked Steve with amusement written in her tone.

           "The Russian guard," Steve shrugged. Robin folded her arms and looked at him in disbelief. "What?" Steve questioned her. "I sneak up behind him, I knock him out and I take his keycard, it's easy." Steve explained as if it were nothing.

            Olivia shook her head at him, and Dustin seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Did you not hear the part about the massive gun?" Dustin quipped.

            "Yes, Dustin, I did," Steve retorted. "And that's why I would be sneaking."

            "Ah," Dustin said sarcastically. "Well, please tell me this, and be honest: have you ever actually won a fight?" He remarked. "Because if I remember correctly, Liv saved your ass from Billy last year."

            Robin widened her eyes at the new information, having a hard time believing that the gentle, soft spoken Olivia Henderson, actually fought someone. "Woah, woah, hold up. You," She pointed to Olivia, "Miss Saundra Dee, you got into a fight?"

            "Billy wouldn't stop beating up Steve," Olivia explained. "I couldn't just stand there and watch Steve continuously get hurt."

            "Wow," Robin said in disbelief. "I just, I can't believe it."

            "What?" Olivia shrugged her shoulders. When Steve, Dustin, and Robin all stared at her for a minute, Olivia frowned. "Why is that so hard to believe?" She queried.

            Dustin patted her shoulder as Steve spoke up. "Because your probably the sweetest person in Hawkins and everyone knows you wouldn't even hurt a fly," Steve explained. Olivia let out a sigh of defeat, knowing that was true.

            "But back to what we were saying. I only lost a fight one time," Steve defended himself.

            "Uh, twice," Dustin corrected him. "Jonathan. Year prior."

            Steve scrunched his nose. "Listen, that doesn't count. How do you even know about that? Liv, did you tell him-"

            "I didn't need to tell him, the whole town knew about the fight," Olivia scoffed, not wanting to remember that awful day. She was there that day in the alley. Steve called The Byers family screw ups, which resulted in Jonathan punching Steve. That was a different Steve back then, he was a complete douchebag then. Olivia cared deeply for the Byers family, they were some of the most important people in her life. What Steve said that day fueled her, and he kind of deserved that punch from Jonathan. However, she was so proud of Steve for how much he has grown since, for the man that he has become. He was now the Steve that she adored and was hopelessly in love with.

            "Yeah," Dustin nodded at Olivia's statement. "And why wouldn't it count? Because it looks like he bit the shit out of you," Dustin said matter of factly. "You're lip was swollen and there was a lot of blood."

            "Dusty's got a point," Olivia sided. "I mean, you don't really have the best of luck when it comes to winning a fight."

            Steve furrowed his eyebrows. "Seriously, you're siding with Dustin on this? You don't believe I can take out the Russian guard?" He asked, slightly offended, which made Olivia almost feel guilty.

            "It's not that I don't believe you can do it, Steve," Olivia sighed, rubbing her forehead in frustration. "What I'm saying is that those Russians are dangerous. They're armed with massive guns, it's not safe to just go and sneak up behind them."

            "Yeah, but-" Steve paused when Robin suddenly stood up and walked over to the counter to grab some cash out of the tip jar. "Robin, what are you doing?" Steve queried.

            "I need cash," Robin shrugged.

            "Well, a third of that is me and Liv's!" Steve pouted and turned to Olivia, who looked just as confused as Steve. "Where are you going?" He questioned.

            "To find us a way into that room. A safe way," Robin clarified. "And in the meantime, Liv is in charge. Sling ice cream, behave, and don't get beat up. I'll be back in a jiff!" She said hurriedly, racing out of the parlor.

            Steve and Olivia shared a look of confusion. Turning to Dustin, she wrinkled her nose in disgust when Dustin took her ice cream scooper and started licking it.

            "Dusty!" Olivia scolded, swatting his shoulder. "Not my scooper." She snatched her scooper from Dustin and walked over to the sink in the back to clean it.

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            As Olivia, Steve, and Dustin waited for Robin to come back, it was Olivia's turn to scoop icecream as Steve and Dustin lounged in the break room. Olivia stood behind the counter with her hand resting on her chin. She started to doze off until she heard footsteps approaching the counter.

            "Hi," She yawned. She tried her best to perk up, but still sounded sleepy. "Welcome to Scoops Ahoy, what would you-" She paused when she looked up at who she saw. "Nancy?" She beamed, running to the other side of the counter, embracing her best friend into a hug. "What are you doing here? I thought you were working today?"

            "I just- I really needed my best friend," Nancy exhaled, her voice cracking as she spoke.

            When they pulled apart, Olivia looked at her friend worriedly. Nancy looked like she had a bad day, and it broke Olivia's heart to see her look so distraught and dejected. "W-what's wrong?" Olivia asked the raven haired girl.

            "I..." Nancy seemed to have a hard time getting her words out as she wiped a tear away from her cheek. "I got fired."

            "What?" Olivia asked in shock. "How were you fired? You are such a gifted writer Nance."

            "It's kind of a long story," Nancy shrugged.

            "I have time," Olivia said gently. "Let me just go get Steve to cover the counter."

            About ten minutes later, Olivia and Nancy were sitting in one of the booths as Nancy recounted what happened. Olivia gave her a bowl of ice cream, hoping that it would cheer her up. Nancy explained that she was working on a story she was really passionate about, but her boss Tom shut it down and fired her when she wouldn't give up on it. Olivia sighed, wishing that she knew what was happening with Nancy all this time. She hated that she didn't know what was going on and that she wasn't there by her side.

            "Maybe Jonathan's right," Nancy sighed. "To be honest, I wasn't thinking about him. I wasn't thinking about anyone, really. I just..." She paused for a moment. "I wanted to be right. I wanted to be right so badly."

            "Well, maybe you were right," Olivia comforted her.

            "What?" Nancy queried, taken aback by Olivia's comment. Nancy felt so embarrassed and humiliated from what happened, it was nice to hear Olivia say that maybe she was right after all.

            "I think you should finish your story so that you can show Tom and those other shitheads that you were right." Olivia said honestly. It fueled her to learn that Nancy was working in that shithole, she deserved so much better.

            "Olivia!" Nancy giggled at Olivia's language. "I can't believe you just said that. Dustin must be a bad influence on you," She teased.

            Olivia smiled, happy that she could make Nancy's mood lift up a little. "What? They're shitheads for treating you so harshly." She said soothingly. "If you really believe in this story Nance, you should finish it. Who says you need those shitheads to do it? Finish it and sell it to The Indianapolis Star or whatever, and... I mean, can you imagine their faces when they read a story about their own town in a big paper like that?"

            Nancy smiled at Olivia's little speech. Nancy didn't know how Olivia did it, but she always seemed to know the right thing to say. "That would be... pretty amazing," Nancy sighed.

            "So then, why not finish it?" Olivia encouraged her.

            "Thanks Liv," Nancy pulled her into another hug. "I don't know what I would do without you."

            "I've really missed you Nance," Olivia admitted. "To be honest, it's kind of lonely without you. It just feels like I haven't seen you at all this summer."

            "I know," Nancy sighed. "I've really missed you too. How has it been working here with Steve?" She said, gesturing to the parlor.

            "Scooping ice cream is defiantly not the most exciting job," Olivia shrugged. "But I love that I get to work with Steve everyday."

            Nancy gave Olivia a knowing look. "What?" Olivia asked innocently.

            "Oh come on, we both know you like him," The raven haired girl smiled. "It's only a matter of time until you guys end up together."

            "Everyone keeps saying that," Olivia pointed out. "You, my mom, even Dustin. He said his dream is for me and Steve to end up together."

            This caused the two girls to go into a fit of laughter. It made Olivia miss her best friend even more. When their laughter died down, Olivia spoke up again. "I'm so sorry you were in that shithole, Nance. I wish I would have known sooner so I could help. Do you want me to see if I can call off work today?"

            "No, I'll be okay, really," Nancy assured.

            The two friends chatted until Robin came rushing back into the parlor. "Liv, you're not going to believe what I found!" She said excitedly.

            Nancy furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm sorry, um, who are you?" She asked.

            "I'm Robin," The freckled face girl responded, waving politely to Nancy. "I work with Liv and Steve."

            "I should be heading back to work," Olivia stood up from her seat with a small frown, not wanting to leave Nancy. "You sure you'll be okay?"

            "I will," Nancy nodded, embracing the girl in another hug. "Thank you for everything."

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            Everyone was back in the break room gathered around the table, curious to know what Robin found.

            "It is fascinating what 20 bucks will give you at the County Recorder's office," Robin said, flattening out a big piece of paper on the table. "Starcourt mall. The complete blueprints."

            "Not bad," Dustin complimented as his eyes lit up.

            "Told you she was cool," Olivia whispered.

            "So, this is us, Scoops," Robin explained, pointing to where Scoops was on the blueprints. She then pointed to another location. "And this is where we want to get."

            Steve looked closely at the map, studying it. "I mean, I don't really see a way in."

            "I don't either," Olivia agreed.

            "There's not," Robin nodded. She threw the blueprints to the side, revealing another page of blueprints. "If you're talking exclusively about doors."

            Olivia and Dustin smiled at each other, thinking the same thing. "Air ducts," they said in unison.

            "Exactly, Hendersons," Robin nodded. 

            "Turns out this secret room needs air just like any old room," She grabbed a red expo marker from the white board and started to draw a red line, indicating the path that they would go on. "And these air ducts lead all the way... here." She drew a red circle around the secret room.

            A few minutes later, Steve is up on the latter as he looks inside the air vent, seeing if Dustin could fit. "Yeah I don't know man, I don't know if you can fit in here. It's like uh, super tight. Maybe Liv could fit?" He suggested.

            Olivia widened her eyes in shock. "What?"

            "You're short and tiny," Steve said, shrugging his shoulders.

            "No no, no," Olivia shook her head. "There is no way I am going in there." She did not want to be in that small, dark space by herself. "Besides, I think Dustin can fit."

            "Liv doesn't need to go in because I can fit. Trust me, no collar bones, remember?" Dustin reminded him.

            "Excuse me?" Robin asked with a confusion, being the only one who didn't know Dustin.

            Steve climbed down the ladder so Dustin could climb up. "Oh he's uh... yeah, he's got some disease. I forgot what it's called... Chrydo, uh... something, yeah I don't know."

            "Cleidocranial Dysplasia," Olivia corrrcted him and turned to Robin. "It's basically a rare bone disease."

            "Thank you," Steve said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "He's missing some bones and stuff. He can bend like gumbo."

            "You mean Gumby," Robin corrected.

            "I'm pretty sure it's Gumbo," Steve responded sheepishly.

            "No, Steve, it's Gumby," Olivia chimed in. As Steve started to looked a little deflated, Olivia kissed him on the cheek without thinking.

            "You sure about that?" Steve asked as a smile spread across his handsome features. Unbeknownst to Olivia, there was pure love in his eyes as he looked at the Henderson girl. Robin took notice of this, and shook her head at the two, wondering how two people could be so oblivious.

            "Steve, just shut up and push me!" Dustin shouted, interrupting their sweet moment.

            "Okay, I'll push you," Steve sighed, though a smile was still on his face. Turning back to Olivia, he lowered his voice. "How do you live with him?" He whispered.

            "I ask myself that everyday," Olivia heaved.

            Steve placed his hands on Dustin's feet and started to push him into the vent.

            "Not my feet, dumbass," Dustin scoffed. "Push my ass."

            "What?"

            "Touch my butt! I don't care!" Dustin shrieked.

            Olivia rolled her eyes at the two. She folded her arms and walked over to stand beside Robin.

            "Are they always like this?" Robin asked with amusement.

            "Yes," Olivia giggled.

            As Olivia and Robin shook their head at Steve and Dustin's childish behavior, Erica was behind the counter, ringing the door bell persistently. Olivia and Robin both looked at each other, having the same idea.

            "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Olivia asked, nodding her head towards Erica.

            Robin nodded with a knowing smile.

            Erica could fit.

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            Robin, Steve, Olivia, and Dustin were all leaning against the window as Erica looked through the vent with the flashlight. "Yeah, I don't know," She said, climbing down the ladder to face the gang.

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

           "Oh, I can fit," Erica retorted. "I just don't know if I want to."

            "Are you claustrophobic?" Robin asked.

            "Oh, Erica doesn't have any phobias," Olivia answered for Erica. As Olivia was Erica's babysitter, she knew the girl well, and she already knew what Erica was going to say. Olivia knew that if they wanted her to go inside the air duct, she was going to want something in return.

            "Girl, you know me so well," Erica nodded approvingly.

            Steve, Dustin, and Robin all glared at Olivia, annoyed at how good she was with kids and how easy she made it look.

            Steve glanced at Olivia and sighed. "Okay well, what's the problem?"

            "The problem is, I still haven't heard what's in this for Erica," Erica emphasized her name, pointing to herself.

            Olivia crossed her arms and sighed. "Okay then little Sinclair, how about free ice cream for life?" She suggested.

            "Yes!" Erica responded eagerly. "That is why you are my favorite, Liv. But don't call me little Sinclair. I am Erica!"

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            The gang sat in one of the booths with Erica, with Olivia sitting in between her and Dustin. All eyes were on Erica as just about every flavor of ice cream Scoops offered surrounded her on the table. Erica happily took a bite of her banana boat, while Olivia eagerly waited for her to say that she would help.

            "More fudge please," Erica demanded to Steve. "Go on," She gestured.

            Olivia gave Steve an apologetic look. "Sorry," She whispered before he left to go get more fudge.

            "Alright, 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, open the door." Robin explained to Erica, showing her the blueprints.

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

            "Exactly," Robin confirmed.

            "Mmhmm. And you say this guard is armed?" Erica asked, almost sounding concerned.

            "Yes, but he won't be there," Olivia assured her.

            "And booby traps?"

            "Booby traps?" Robin repeated.

            "Lasers, spikes in the wall?" Erica explained.

            "What?" Robin laughed.

            "You know what this half-baked plan of yours sound like to me? Child endangerment," Erica stated dramatically.

            "We'll be in radio contact with you the whole time-"

            "Ah, ah, ah!" Erica interrupted Robin, waving her hand in the air. "Child endangerment."

            Olivia turned to face Erica. "Erica? Hi sweetie. Uh... we think these Russians want to do harm to our country." Olivia paused for a moment, letting Erica take in the news. She noticed a glimpse of concern in Erica's eyes, though it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

           "Great harm," Olivia continued. "Don't you love your country?" She questioned the small girl, hoping that might help persuade her.

            "You can't spell America without Erica," Erica quipped, taking a sip of her root beer float.

            Olivia and Dustin shared a look and she couldn't help but giggle.

            "Uh, yeah. Oddly, that's uh, totally true," Dustin said slowly, processing what she said. Erica continued to sip her drink a little too loudly as Dustin continued to speak. "S-so, as Liv was saying, don't do this for us. Do it for your country. Do it for your fellow man. Do this for America..." Dustin grinned cutely. "Erica," He finished.

            "Ooh, I just got the chills!" Erica exclaimed. When Dustin grinned proudly, Erica spoke up again. "Oh yeah, from this float. Not your speech." She scoffed as Dustin looked slightly offended.

            Olivia patted his shoulder. "I thought it was good," She whispered.

            "You know what I love most about this country?" Erica quizzed the three, looking between them. "Capitalism. Do you know what capitalism is?" She continued to speak once everyone nodded. "It means this is a free market system. Which means people get paid for their services, depending on how valuable their contributions are."

            Olivia and Dustin looked at each other with raised eyebrows as she spoke. Erica, the young and witty girl who always called Olivia and Dustin nerds, seemed to be a nerd herself. Olivia smiled to herself— Erica was a secret nerd, whether she liked it or not.

            "And it seems to me, my ability to fit into that little vent is very, very valuable to you all," Erica went on. "So you want my help? This USS Butterscotch better be the first of many. And I'm talking free ice cream for life."