"Hey, you leaving, chief?" Cal glanced up at Hopper who was getting ready to leave the station that evening.

"Yeah, your mom's cookin for me tonight." Hopper smirked, teasing as he lit a cigar and blew a puff of smoke before walking out to his station wagon.

Was there still any point in trying? It's been months. This girl was most likely dead by now. The eggos in the box only disappeared every once in a while and it didn't mean Eleven was the one who took them. It easily could've been some wild animal or a hiker who just happened to find the box.

With a sigh, Hopper drove into the woods where he'd driven a bunch of times over the past six months. Getting out of the car, the chief walked over to where a small box was buried and opened it. It looked exactly the same as since the last time he put food in there. Dammit. Hopper dug around in his coat pockets and pulled out a couple of fresh eggos, switching them out with the ones with the box.

Hopper wished there was a way to know for sure if it was Eleven who had been taking the eggos out of the box. He wanted to know she was okay. After all if it weren't for him the Department of Energy would have no idea the kids were at the school and she wouldn't be wherever the hell she was right now. There were definitely some things he could've done differently but hey, he got Joyce her son back. That was his task for the entire week, right? Now it was still his task to find out where Eleven was, if she was even still alive, and to get to her before the bad men did.

Feeling done for the day, Hopper stood up from where he was crouched down by the box and headed back toward his station wagon. But was he saw wasn't what he was expecting.

A black government car was parked right next to his station wagon with two men inside, clearly waiting for him. Hopper paused, remaining calm as one of the government officials stepped out and opened the back door, gesturing for Hopper to get in.

"I think you better come with us." He told him, but Hopper knew the hidden meaning behind the words meant he had no choice. Hesitantly, he got into the car wondering what they needed him for this time. Did they know he'd been trying to contact the girl? Had they found her? If they actually thought for one second that he would actually help them track her down then they had obviously lost their damn minds.

About twenty minutes later, they arrived at Hawkins Lab and the men led Hopper into a room where Dr. Brenner stood waiting. As he took a glance around, Hopper got a sense of déjà vu. For this was the same room where they had Joyce in when they broke into the lab to try to get inside the portal. Hopper glared, wanting to get this over with. "What do you want?" He asked, sitting down in one of the chairs by the table.

"Eleven." The Doctor stated simply in his usual calm matter. "We know you've been trying to reach her."

Hopper simply continued to stare, waiting for him to get to the point. They couldn't have dragged him here at ten o'clock at night just for that. They must know something.

"You know the child is no one else's responsibility but ours." Brenner continued. "There is no need for you to continue searching for her. We can handle it from here."

The chief looked at him in disbelief. Did he seriously drag him down here this late just to tell him that? They probably did figure something out. No wonder Brenner was determined for him to back off. "Wow, if you needed to tell me that so badly then you must really have something to hide."

Dr. Brenner kept his face calm and collected. He knew Hopper wouldn't back off that easily but whether he wanted to or not, he would. They would find the girl. "This isn't your job. You can leave it to us and move on without any interference ever again. And we'll leave you alone."

Hopper glared straight at him, irritation plain all over his face. "So if that's all you needed me to know am I free to leave?"

With a small nod, Brenner drummed his fingers on the desk. "One more thing. If you do happen to be the one to find her, bring her here immediately. We do not need your involvement other than that."

With a look of disgust, Hopper stood up from the chair and stalked past the doctor. Brenner followed him into the hallway and lifted his hand up slightly, gesturing for two of his men to escort Hopper out.

"Keep him under surveillance." He ordered silently to his men as Hopper exited the government building as quickly as he possibly could.

Authors Note: so... this chapter took forever to finish i'm sorry I've been busy with school and I've had family in town so it was hard to find time to work on this chapter. Anyways, if you liked or didn't like it feel free to review and send in some constructive criticism so I know what I can do to make it better.