"That key card opens the door, but unfortunately the Russian with this keycard also has a massive gun," Dustin explained after being on look out duty all morning. "Whatever's in that room, whatever's in those boxes, they really don't want anybody finding it."
"But there's gotta be a way in," Robin said, already working on a plan in her head.
Steve twirled his sailor's hat on his finger. "Well, you know I could just take him out."
Kim scoffed, taking the hat from him and putting it on her own head. "Not to be a bitch or anything, but how exactly do you plan on taking out a Russian guard?"
Steve shrugged like it was no big deal. "I just sneak up behind him, I knock him out, and I take his keycard. It's easy."
"Did you not hear the part about the massive gun?" Dustin asked, crossing his arms.
"Yes, Dustin, I did," Steve said. "And that's why I would be sneaking."
Kim put her head in her hands and took a deep breath trying not to say anything too mean. "Well, please, be honest, tell me one time you actually won a fight?"
"Okay that was one time-" Steve started.
"Twice," Dustin interrupted. "Jonathan. Year prior?"
"Or the time I punched you before you started fighting Jonathan?" Kim reminded him. "I'm still pretty proud of that hit."
"Yeah, thanks," Steve said sarcastically. "I had a bruise on my face for like a month after that."
"Wait, you punched him?" Robin asked her friend.
"Yep," Kim said proudly.
"Yeah, it was super cool," Dustin agreed. "His face was all messed up and-"
"Okay, the fight with Jonathan and Kimmy doesn't count," Steve protested.
"Well, the fight with Billy definitely counts," Kim said. "And, I don't know, I might be remembering the details wrong, but I'm pretty sure I saved your ass, Harrington."
"Yeah, well you got beat up too," Steve pointed out.
Kim scoffed. "Well at least I was still conscious."
"But-" Steve started to protest.
Robin jumped up and dashed out of the breakroom, taking the whole tip jar with her and ending the brewing squabble between the couple.
Steve got up and watched Robin leave from the doorway. "Robin!" he called. "Hey, Robin! What are you doing?"
"I need cash," she shrugged, like that explained everything.
"Well, half of that's mine!" Steve yelled. "Where're you going?"
"To find us a way into that room, a safe way. And, in the meantime, sling ice cream, behave, and don't get beat up. I'll be back in a jiff!" Robin called back, taking off again.
Dustin stole Steve's ice cream scooper and stuck it into the chocolate flavor.
"Dude!" Steve exclaimed, snatching it back before Dustin could get another lick of ice cream. "Come on, man, not my scooper."
•••••
"It is fascinating what twenty bucks will get you at the County Records Office," Robin said, laying out the map she had gotten. "Starcourt Mall. The complete blueprints."
"Not bad," Kim smiled approvingly.
Robin pointed back down at the blueprint. "So, this is us, Scoops, and this is where we want to get."
"I mean, I don't really see a way in," Steve said, looking between the two points for something he might have missed.
"There's not, if you're talking exclusively about doors," Robin flipped to the next blueprint in the stack.
"Air ducts," Dustin realized.
"Exactly," Robin smiled, walking over to her white board to grab a marker. "Turns out, this secret room needs air just like any old room. And these air ducts lead all the way here."
"Okay, well let's try it out," Kim said. She looked at the air duct in the back room and then at Steve, "Find me a screwdriver so I can get that thing open."
"What, do I look like a repairman?" Steve asked, throwing his hands up in exasperation.
"Uh, yeah," Kim nodded.
Steve rolled his eyes and stood up from his chair. "I'll go find you a screwdriver."
•••••
Once Steve had located a screwdriver, and Kim had managed to get the cover of the air vent off, she looked nervously down the long, thin, space. Steve climbed up the ladder behind her, wrapping his arms around her to make sure neither of them would fall.
"Yeah, I don't know man," Steve said to Dustin. "I don't know if you can fit in here. It's like super tight."
"I'll fit," Dustin reassured him. "Trust me, No collar bones, remember?"
"Uh, excuse me?" Robin asked, having no idea what Dustin meant about missing bones.
Steve and Kim both jumped off the ladder, leaving it free for Dustin to climb. "Oh, he's, uh," Steve tried to think of what it was called. "Yeah, he's got some disease. Chry, uh, chrydo, um-"
"Crydo cranial dysplasia," Kim explained.
"Yeah, that," Steve nodded. "He's missing bones and stuff. He can bend like Gumbo."
"Gumby," Kim corrected again.
"No, I think I'm right this time, Kimmy. It's Gumbo," Steve said, very confident in his wrong answer.
"Would you two just shut up!" Dustin yelled, his voice vibrating strangely in the small space. "Steve push me!"
"Okay, okay, I'll push you," Steve muttered, turning back to the ladder to help the younger boy.
"I bet you ten bucks this doesn't work," Robin leaned over and whispered to Kim.
"You're on," Kim smiled. She laughed as Dustin yelled at Steve to touch his butt. "Even if this doesn't work, it was totally worth it. This is more entertaining than else anything that's happened all week."
Robin laughed as the two girls continued to watch the boys struggle. "Pay up," Robin said as Dustin got stuck.
Kim rolled her eyes, still laughing as she pulled a ten dollar bill out of her back pocket.
The sound of the bell dinging behind them made the two girls stop laughing and groan. Erica Sincalir.
"Ahoy, sailor. All hands on deck!" the little girl said sarcastically, still ringing the bell. "Ahoy! Come on! Get over here and serve me some samples."
Robin and Kim exchanged a mischievous look, both of them having the same idea.
Eica watched their faces, a bad feeling brewing in her stomach at the sight of their identical grins. "Whatever's going on in your head, I can already tell I'm not going to like it."