Chapter Ten: Closed for Construction

Robin looks on in shock as they lead her through the mess of police cruisers sitting scattered and dead in the parking lot.

Dr. Brenner is waiting for them at the entrance. "Where is the woman she was with?"

"No one else was in the vehicle with her," the officer reports.

"The cameras clearly show the woman getting in the car with the girl, sir," an agent to his left disagrees.

"Where did she go?" he asks Robin, curious.

"I want to call my parents," she says, ignoring his question.

"Bring her downstairs."

"You can't do this!" she shouts as they drag her into the mall, towards the elevator that doesn't exist. "Let me go!" The wall starts to move and the elevator doors appear. They drag her inside, Brenner right beside them. She must know something. He'll find out soon enough.

#

At Hawkins Middle:

"Where do you think you're going?" the substitute repeats, when all of a sudden Max skates down the hallway.

"Oh, hey guys!" she calls to them behind him.

He flips around, wildly pointing his finger at her. "Hey! You can't ride that inside!"

"Huh?" she says, pretending she can't hear him, continuing to skating around.

"You can't do that!" he shouts at her.

El and Mike are able to sneak passed him because he's so focused on trying to stop Max, and then the fire alarm goes off. Down the hall, Lucas gives them a thumbs up from in front of the handle he just pulled so they can run outside before everyone else does.

#

They ride their bikes up to the gates of the mall. It should be open by now, but the gate is still locked and they can see several police cruisers scattered around the parking lot. Something is definitely going on here.

Steve drives up beside them.

"What are you doing here?"

"I got a cryptic message from Robin. What are you two doing here? It's a school day!"

"We're looking for our teacher."

"Here?"

"Can you help us get in?"

"I mean, the mall should be open…let me see what I can find out first, okay? Hang back here."

Steve hops the fence and goes to talk with one of the officers. "Hey, officer. What's going on here?"

The man looks him up and down. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Yeah, umm, I got a call from my manager asking me to come in and help out. I work at Scoop's Ahoy…so, yeah. Is there a reason the mall isn't open yet?"

"Let me get this straight. When you came here and saw that the fence was closed, your first thought was to jump it and come inside?"

Steve holds up his hands defensively as the officer steps towards him. "Hey, I'm not looking for trouble, sir. I was just confused."

The officer receives a message on his walkie. He listens and then looks at Steve. "Get out. The mall is closed for construction."

"What construction?"

"Do I need to tell you again?" he asks, reaching for his cuffs.

"No, no, sir, sorry," Steve stutters, backing up.

He finds El and Mike hiding in the bushes near his car. "Get in. We have to go."

"We can't just leave if we know that people are in danger," Mike argues. "What about your friend?"

"Well, how do you plan on getting in? Closed down, this place is a fortress."

"Leave it to me," El assures him.

#

Underground:

Robin bangs on the door of the interrogation room. "Let me out of here! My parents are going to sue you for this!"

Dr. Brenner enters the room. "Why don't you sit down, hmm?"

"Let me out," she demands, standing her ground.

"I can't do that. Not yet. The woman you helped escape. How do you know her?"

"I don't."

"If you don't know her, why run from the police?"

"I don't know. It seemed like the right move. Considering you're interrogating me inside the basement of a mall, I guess I was right."

"Before you fled, we caught you on camera following one of our men. Why did you do that, if you weren't looking for her?"

"I heard a noise. I was just curious."

"I'm curious too—curious why she chose to appear to you."

"I told you. She needed my help. I wasn't going to just let her get caught by mall goons."

He nods, considering this. "What happened to all of the batteries in the police cruisers?"

"How the hell should I know?"

"Did she do something when she was in the car with you?"

"No."

"She didn't say anything to you?"

"No."

"I find that hard to believe."

Robin shrugs, pursing her lips. "As long you believe that my parents are going to sue you if you don't let me out of here right now."

"Your parents aren't coming for you, Robin. No one knows you're here. Maybe you ran away. Young people so often do. It's an epidemic."

"You're not serious…"

He raises an eyebrow and waves at someone on the other side of the two way mirror. Two men enter the room and grab hold of her arms.

"Let me go!"

"Now, these men are going to bring you to your room so that you can think things over."

"No!" she screams as they drag her out and down the hallway. She manages to elbow one in the eye, and she shoves him off her, but the other one wraps his arms around her chest, pulling her back. Her legs kick out wildly as the one she knocked down gets up and grabs his taser. He holds it up to her neck and clicks it on, so that it only misses her throat by a fraction of an inch.

"That's enough," Brenner commands. "I think she's learned her lesson, yes?"

Her breathing is ragged as she nods, rocking back against the man holding her. "Yes," she says in a small voice, and they take her away.

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COMING SOON - Chapter Eleven: Return of the Jedi