There wasn't much talking on the way to the airport. Jonathan felt uneasy. He liked Hopper, but he wasn't sure he approved of how much his mum seemed to like him. As if reading his mind, his mum reached over and touched his leg.
"I have to do this Jonathan. You know that, right?"
Jonathan sighed and then shrugged. He went to speak, but couldn't think of the right thing to say. He caught sight of Nancy staring at him through the rear-view mirror and tried again.
"I guess" he said. It sounded lame. He glanced at his mum. "Do you love him?" He hadn't meant to ask such a personal question at such a bad time.
"Don't answer that Joyce." Nancy glowered at Jonathan. "Seriously, Jonathan. How old are you?"
Jonathan sighed again and gripped the steering wheel tightly. He noticed his mum was still staring at him.
"I think I do" she said finally, quietly. "I mean, I know he's rude and he's incredibly arrogant…"
"That's an understatement…" Jonathan sunk down lower in his seat, so he didn't have to see Nancy glaring at him anymore. He was beginning to think she and his mum would make a formidable team.
Joyce smiled at her son. "He makes me laugh" she said. "He cares about me and he's…misunderstood…"
"I understood Bob" Jonathan said. "After dad, he was someone who could really take care of you."
"I agree" Nancy said nodding. "And I loved Bob, but…" She took a deep breath. "He was safe and well, if I'm really honest with myself and believe me, it's taken a long time to get to this stage, but you should know, that I think I've always loved Hop."
It was suddenly very quiet in the car. Nancy shifted in the back seat feeling awkward.
"I like him" she said eventually. Joyce looked over her shoulder at Nancy and smiled. Nancy smiled back. "I do. He has a great moustache and there's something about him…" She trailed off. Jonathan's reflection suddenly appeared in the rear-view mirror again. Nancy laughed.
"Thank you" Joyce said. She was beginning to really like Nancy.
Jonathan finished his coffee and sighed. He was sat in his car outside the airport with absolutely no chance of driving away. He had been parked in. He had been sitting there for fifteen minutes and had decided to wait another ten before taking any action. Surely it wouldn't come to that, he reasoned. He was in a 'drop-off' area only and he had already exceeded the time allowance.
He glanced at the clock and thought about his mum and Nancy.
"Poor Russians" he said to himself.
He tried to relax. There really was no point in getting up tight.
He watched the people coming and going and then he saw Nancy in his wing mirror. He sat upright and turned to look over his shoulder, but there was no sign of her. He must have been mistaken. He sat back around and kept his eyes on the mirror. There was a group of men, all in dark suits and they were moving to a line of cars; he watched them. Despite the suits, they didn't much look like businessmen. He saw other people glancing their way and instinctively giving them a wide berth.
He watched them carefully.
Something was wrong. He fought with his desire to get out of the car and investigate.
Then he saw Nancy. He was certain! Her face was pinched and pale. She looked scared. And then he saw the dark hair of his mum, just behind her. The group of men had surrounded them and were moving them to one of the parked cars. Doors opened and they disappeared.
Jonathan felt his heart racing. He turned the key in his ignition. He would follow them.
The car drove by, followed by three other cars, but the windows were blacked out and he hadn't seen them. Perhaps they had looked at him though. He wiped his clammy hands down his trouser legs and then remembered he was trapped. He thumped the steering wheel in anger and let out a growl of fury. He would need a tin opener to get out of the spot he was in.
Mike picked up the phone and was blasted by garbled panic on the other end. He held the phone away from his ear. Everyone else turned to look at him. They heard the alarm too. They crowded around the phone.
"Calm down" Mike shouted. "I don't understand. What's happened?"
There was a moment of silence and then talking. It was quieter now, but still edged with fright. Dustin had his ear pressed as close as possible to the receiver.
"Who is it?" Lucas whispered.
"Jonathan" Dustin replied.
"Shh" Mike hissed. He closed his eyes, concentrating. "Not you Jonathan, carry on…" He put his hand over the mouthpiece. "Joyce and Nancy have been taken somewhere." He moved his hand. "Sorry. Say that again…" His eyes grew wide in his face and he looked around the assembled faces. He stayed staring at El. "Okay, okay" he said. He looked at Steve. "You need to go and pick Jonathan up."
Steve went to speak. He opened his mouth and closed it again. Then he shrugged and walked up the stairs from the basement. He was thinking about leaving Hawkins sometime soon and never, ever going back there.
Mike hung up the phone and looked at Will. No one said anything at first and the silence was loaded with tension.
Mike cleared his throat. "Jonathan was outside the airport. He was parked in and there were these men…"
"What men?"
"I don't know Lucas. Men. In black suits."
"Russians" Dustin said.
Mike sighed. "I don't know Dustin, just men in black suits…"
"The Russians are one step ahead…"
"Shut up!" Max yelled, glaring at Dustin. She looked at Mike. "Tell us" she said.
"And these men had Joyce and Nancy and was walking them to a car. He said that Nancy looked scared, but he didn't get a chance to see them after that."
"Why didn't he try and follow them?" Will's heart was racing, but he was keeping calm for all their sakes.
"He was parked in. Two cars, either side of him. He said he thinks it might have been on purpose. And now he's been towed because he went over the time limit…" Mike trailed off. "You okay?" he said to Will.
Will nodded and sat down. "Now what?" he said. He looked at them all and felt a tingle of irritation. Everyone had been so determined to help Hopper. "How are we going to find my mum…?"
"And my sister" Mike said. He went and sat down next to Will, putting his arm around his shoulders.
"Sorry" Will said, feeling ashamed.
"We'll find them" Mike said. He looked at them all. "We wait for Jonathan and then we make a plan. We split up if necessary and we find Joyce and Nancy." He looked at El. "And we still try and find Hopper."
"How?" El sounded cold and distant. "How are we going to find Hopper if they're watching the airport" she said.
No one had an answer for her. She waited, but silence filled the basement.
"I need to be alone" El said.
Mike stood. "What are you going to do?"
She looked at Will and a small smile flickered over her face.
"I'm going to find Joyce and Nancy" she said.
AUTHORS NOTE:
Sorry this has been a long time coming. I'm hoping to be much more regular with my updates for a while, especially if I know you guys are liking the story! Happy reading.