CHAPTER SEVEN
operation child-endangerment
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"Hmm...Yeah, I don't know." Erica said stepping back down the ladder after checking in the vent.
"You don't know if you can fit?" Robin asked.
Erica scoffed, "Oh, I can fit. I just don't know if I want to."
"Are you claustrophobic?"
"I don't have phobias." She sassed back.
Robin was right, Erica was a piece of work. Her brother Lucas was far more agreeable.
"Okay, well, what's the problem?" Robin asked, patience wearing.
"The problem is, I still haven't heard what's in this for Erica." She emphasized, placing a hand on her chest.
Azalea turned around to Steve and eyed his ice cream scooper.
Eventually, the group got Erica over to a booth in the store, surrounded by various sundaes, milkshakes, and ice cream scoops.
"More fudge, please." Erica demanded, pushing one of her many sundaes back towards Steve, "Go on."
Steve looked like he was about to lose his mind, but he got up to do it anyway.
"All right." Robin said turning to Erica, showing her their outlined blueprint, "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."
Erica raised her brows, stirring her milkshake, "Then you find out what's in those boxes?"
"Exactly." Robin confirmed.
"Mm-hmm." Erica cocked a brow, "And you say this guard is armed."
"Yes, but he won't be there." Dustin interjected quickly.
"And booby traps?" Erica asked genuinely.
Robin and Azalea both snorted, asking in unison, "Booby traps?"
Erica continued, "Lasers, spikes in the wall?"
"What?" Azalea gawked, "This is real-life, not some spy movie."
Erica ignored her, "You know what this half-baked plan of yours sounds like to me? Child endangerment."
Robin tried to assure her, "We'll be in radio contact with you the whole time—"
"Ah, ah, ah!" Erica interjected, emphasizing every syllable, "Child endangerment."
"Erica?" Dustin tapped her. He shrunk away slightly from her sharp glare, "Hi. Uh...We think these Russians want to do harm to our country. Great harm. Don't you love your country?"
Erica smirked, "You can't spell 'America' without 'Erica'."
Azalea shared a flabbergasted look with Robin. She was good.
"Uh, yeah, yeah. Oddly, that's, uh, totally true." Dustin muttered. He then tried to reason with her, "So, don't do this for us. Do it for your country. Do it for your fellow man. Do this for America...Erica."
"Oh that was bad," Azalea whispered under her breath. Robin snickered and gently kicked Azalea's leg under the table.
"Ooh! I just got the chills." Erica expressed with a grin. Dustin smiled wide, but Erica's face hardened, "Oh, yeah, from this float, not your speech. Know what I love most about this country? Capitalism. Do you know what capitalism is?"
"Yeah," the three all rolled their eyes.
Erica continued anyway, "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."
"She's good," Azalea muttered. Robin nodded beside her.
"So, you want my help? This USS Butterscotch better be the first of many." She negotiated, taking a deep sip from her root beer float, "And I'm talking free ice cream for life."
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"It's not too late to call if off," Azalea told the other three as they headed to the roof, leaving Erica in Scoops at the air duct, "We could walk away right now and forget we ever saw anything. And not endanger any children."
"Aw, but what fun is that?" Robin jested, nudging Azalea with her elbow.
Azalea sighed deeply and shook her head. For better or worse, she was about to see what was in those boxes. She just hoped it was Chinese food and they were all completely off base.
"Erica, do you copy?" Robin spoke into the walkie as the group all crouched by the ledge again. Azalea was grateful it wasn't down-pouring this time.
"Mm-hmm. I copy." Erica responded, "You nerds in position or what?"
"Attitude," Azalea mumbled.
Dustin heard and laughed, "Right?"
"Yeah, we're in position." Robin told her, "It's all quiet here, so you've got the green light."
"Green light, roger that." Erica's voice came through the staticky radio, "Commence 'Operation Child Endangerment'."
"Can we maybe not call it that?"
"See you on the other side. Nerds."
They just had to wait for Erica to get through the air duct now.
Azalea backed away and started pacing around the roof while they waited.
There was a tightness in her chest and a voice in her head telling her that this was all a terrible mistake.
She was obviously super worried about what would happen if they were caught, or what it would mean for her dad, but now, even more, she was worried about what she was going to find out about her dad.
What if it's bad, and she can never look at him the same again?
Robin was standing in front of her, a mixed look of worry and knowing, "Okay, I know we haven't been friends very long, but I know that something has been bothering you. Do you want to tell me what's really going on?"
How do you even go about your new friend (who you really like and care about their opinion of you) that your dad is working for the evil Russians they're are trying so hard to catch?
"I—No, I'm okay,"
"Bullshit." Robin shook her head, "You've been acting weird for the past two days about all this Russian stuff. You're obviously not okay."
"Robin, I—"
"All right, nerds. I'm there." Erica said through the walkie.
Robin gave Azalea a pained look before going back to the edge of the roof with the two others. She spoke into the radio, "Do you... Do you see anything?"
"Yeah, I see those boring boxes you're so excited about." Erica said condescendingly.
"Any guards?" Robin ignored the tone.
"Negative."
"Booby traps?"
"If I could see them, they'd be pretty shit traps, wouldn't they?"
Robin's lips pursed into a straight line, "Thank you for that."
There was a lull and then Erica came back on the radio, "I'm in."
Steve ran his hands through his hair, a wave of relief hitting him, "Oh, God."
Then the door opened, revealing Erica and the piles of boxes behind her.
She walked out of the room, placing a small hand on her hip, "Free ice cream for life."
"For life," Steve muttered under his breath.
Robin was first to run off the roof, quickly followed by Dustin.
Steve waited for Azalea who was trailing behind a bit, her nerves making her hesitant. A mix of curiosity and guilt was hitting her all at once.
He placed a hand on her back, letting her go in front of him down the stairs.
Once they got to the tiny room full of boxes, they all crowded around the table in the middle.
"So, do we just—open it?" Dustin asked, gesturing to the 'Imperial Panda' box in front of them.
"Yeah, I'll do it." Steve said straightening, hands on the box to pull off the tape.
Azalea whispered to herself under her breath, "No going back now."
They had opened Pandora's box.
Every one of them leaned over the table and peered in at the metal contraption in the cardboard box, some sort of smoke pouring out from it. There were four separate places to pull from the metal container.
"That's definitely not Chinese food." Steve noted. He went to grab one of them, but paused, "Uh, maybe you guys should, you know, stand back."
Unsure of what was about to happen, Robin, Erica, and Azalea didn't hesitate to step away from the box.
"No." Dustin fought, getting closer to Steve.
Steve tried to push him away, "Just...Just step back, okay?"
"No!"
"Step back. Seriously."
"No! No!" Dustin stood his ground, "If you die, I die."
Drama queen.
Steve blinked before replying lazily, "Okay,"
There was a metal click and hiss as Steve pulled out a small container of some neon green goo. He held it up, everyone staring at it with the same look of terror and confusion.
Steve narrowed his eyes at the liquid, "What the hell?"
"What is that?" Robin asked, staring in horror and intrigue.
Azalea watched the liquid swirl and bubble inside the container, "I don't know, but it can't be good."
Suddenly the ground seemed to lurch and the whole group stumbled.
"Was that just me," Dustin questioned, hand on the table, "or did the room move?"
"Booby traps." Erica breathed with wide eyes.
"You know what? Let's just grab that and go." Robin told everyone, snagging the green goo container from Steve and sticking it in Erica's 'My Little Pony' backpack.
Steve and Dustin went to the door. Dustin was frantic, "Which one do I press, Erica?"
"Just press the damn button, nerd."
"Which one?" Dustin asked. Azalea ran up behind him, watching his repeatedly slam the 'open door' button, "I'm pressing the button, okay?
"Press 'open door.'"
"I'm pressing 'open door.'"
Azalea felt anxiety bubble in her chest. She knew everyone else was feeling it too,
"Just open the..." Steve expressed with annoyance, pushing Dustin out of the way, "Press the other button!"
"Hey, let me see," Azalea tried.
The sound of mechanical whirring just got louder and so did stress levels.
Robin's hands went through her hair in stress. She yelled at Steve, "Out of the way so she can push the button—"
"Would you stop?" Dustin hip-checked Steve.
Steve pushed Dustin off, staying in front of the panel, "I'm trying."
"Would you let me just do it?" Azalea begged, trying desperately to get to the panel. If they would just let her try.
But Steve and Dustin kept pushing and yelling at the other.
"Would you stop?"
"Just open the door!"
A loud noise caught their attention, and the room jerked hard.
And then Azalea's stomach lurched. The lights around her were flickering. She felt as if she was free falling. She looked at the wall, watching lights pass them quickly. They were free falling.
The room they were in was some dangerous, hellish Russian elevator, and they were falling miles and miles under the ground at a rapid rate.
Steve seemed to notice, gripping Dustin's shoulder tightly, saying what they were all thinking:
"Oh, shit."
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