Stranger Things: Rebuilding
Chapter 36 of my Stranger Things story, enjoy.
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Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Stranger Things or its characters.
Conspiracy Theorist
Approaching the park, El couldn't help but feel anxious.
'Why is it that every crazy thing that's happened to me so far these past couple of months, have happened here.' She thought to herself.
She was jolted out of her reverie by Mike.
"El, we've got a problem." He said.
She looked up and saw what he meant. There were at least eight homeless people currently present in the park.
"How do we know which is...the real one?" She gasped.
Mike bit his lip. "We...well, we can narrow it down, do you still have the note for the second task?"
She nodded and pulled it out, handing it too him. Mike read it again and looked over the homeless people.
"Right, first of all, it says homeless man so that means those three ladies aren't part of this. It also mentions him having a trolley, so those two without aren't part of it either." Mike mused.
El nodded and felt some relief returning to her, it was starting to look more hopeful, they had gone from eight potential informants down to three, simply by process of elimination.
"The last part said something would make the right one stand out…" El mused as she looked over the three trolley bearing men.
Mike suddenly spoke. "There El, that's him."
She followed his gaze to the man sitting by the fountain. She was about to ask how he could be so sure when she saw what he had seen too, those shoes were far too clean and expensive for a homeless man.
Grimacing El looked over at Mike.
"I'm sorry but...I don't know if they'll react well to us working together...could you, wait here?"
Mike bit his lip. "I don't like it, but sure, I'll wait."
Appreciating his understanding, El approached the man. He gave no sign that he even registered her presence, until she took out the disk from her bag.
"Take it." He grunted, pointing to a slip of paper resting on top of an object in the bag.
She did so and looked at him, but he just shook his head. So she returned to Mike who was waiting anxiously.
"So?"
"Got the next task, but he didn't want me to hand over the disk." She explained as she unfolded the note and read it. "Ah, this explains why."
Mike moved around and read the note over her shoulder.
"Eleven
You are doing well, now you must keep following orders, that disk serves only one purpose to us. We do not care what is on it, but it will be sufficient for providing you with a cover story for your next task. This one is of far greater importance to us.
You are to go to the address noted below, the home of Murray Bauman. He has acquired a folder on us that you are to retrieve and bring back to the contact in the park in exchange for the fourth task and an object that will be of us to you after you have finished all tasks, if you get that far.
Now hurry, time waits for no one, least of all Eric Gibson."
El scowled at the ending of the note. 'As if I need reminded of it.'
"Murray Bauman?" Mike remarked, his face scrunched in confusion. "He's a local conspiracy theorist crackpot, why do we even need to-"
"It says it right here." El explained. "We're retrieving a folder he has on them, it likely has incriminating information."
"But who are they?" Mike asked. "Is it...them, the lab?"
El shook her head, she knew she couldn't tell him, not yet anyway. Even though he was right, she'd have to wait. Instead she immediately started heading for the address, so Mike followed, becoming even more worried now than ever.
Reaching the address El bit her lip, looking around at the house.
Mike spoke gently. "El, this guy isn't quite right in the head. He can be a little weird, just...try not to let him get to you, okay."
Nodding she reached out and pressed the doorbell.
"Who's there, what do you want?"
She was startled by this and looked around, Mike drew attention to the camera fixed above the door.
"Murray Bauman?" He queried.
"What's it to you?"
Mike nodded to El and added. "We have something that might interest you…"
At Mike's signal El held up the disk and Mike explained.
"Information, secret information...from the house of the Volkov family."
At once they heard a buzzing noise and then Murray's voice again.
"Well, what are you waiting for, get inside quick."
They entered and closed the door behind them and were soon met by a tall, slightly portly man in his forties with brown hair, going thin on top, a brown beard and brown eyes. He was fair skinned and dressed somewhat like a slob. His house looked just like Mike said it would and she guessed he'd more than earned his reputation around the neighbourhood.
"So, you are sure this disk has information?" He asked, a manic gleam in his eye. "I knew there was something not right about them, from the moment they got here. Why come here of all places, they have to be up to something, or hiding from something?"
El glanced at Mike and he nodded, confirming her thoughts, this was indeed what he had warned her about.
She had spotted it however, what she needed, a folder was on Murray's table next to where he stood, it was marked by the letters, DOE. She knew just what they stood for and knew that was what she needed. She just needed to distract Murray. She pulled out the disk and held it up.
"Okay, this is it." She said. "I'll be honest, I don't know exactly what's on it, but it was hidden away, so it must be important."
Murray nodded. "Logical assumption, here, let's take a look."
He took the disk and began to approach his computer, but then, before El could even try and approach the folder, he gestured her closer. Biting her lip she did so and watched as he set up the computer and inserted the disk. It took a moment but soon the contents of the disk were displayed on the screen and Murray growled.
"Dammit, of course...should've guessed that." He grumbled. "Russian, all of it. I'll have to get to work translating it...sorry, was hoping for some big reveal and…"
El shook her head. "It's fine. Well. I hope this helps you out, but I really should get going."
Murray nodded and turned to watch her. "Fine, fine...drop by any time and I'll let you know how I've got on."
El nodded but again had to keep her fear down, she'd failed. The folder was right there on the desk but there was no way she could get it without Murray seeing it and if she used her powers, it would just make things worse. Dejectedly she left the building with Mike and shook her head.
"Urgh, we were so close, we-"
"El…"
She felt her anger building and tried to contain it. "If only there was a-"
"El." Mike finally got her attention. "We need to get back to the park, we've got it, see."
With that he reached into his bag and held up several documents and photos bound together with an elastic band, clearly the contents of the folder.
"Mike...you…?"
"I saw you looking at it so I guessed it was what you needed. I emptied the folder out while the two of you were at the computer, left the folder there just in case he noticed it missing." Mike explained.
El almost wanted to laugh at that, but nodded and they hurried back to the park.
El's joy only lasted until she had retrieved the fourth task and read it on her way back to Mike. Now she was in a tense state again which worried Mike.
"El, what is it, what do we-?"
She shook her head. "No Mike, not we. I'm sorry, I have to do this one myself."
"What, but El, that's, I-"
"Please Mike, don't...just...I have to, okay." She replied firmly. "School will be finished, go and find the others, tell them what's happened so far...I promise, I will find you guys after I'm done."
Mike hesitated but then sighed sadly and nodded before making his way back to the school.
'I'm so sorry Mike.' She thought sadly.
As she did so, she touched the radio device in her pocket, when she finished the fourth task it would give her the fifth and then, if she finished the fifth, it would give her the location of Eric. She then recalled what she had read for the fourth task. The location it gave and its simple instruction, the one which made her send Mike away and still made her blood run cold.
'Kill Shane'.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.