Hopper ran his hand through his hair, deep in concentration, and glanced out the window, too immersed in his thoughts. He felt like a stranger in his own life, observing but not acting. It was almost as if it wasn't his anymore. He was uncertain about how to handle the situation and found it hard to make up his mind.
The sound of the car door closing jolted him out of his trance."I feared you weren't coming," He said as Joyce sat down, rubbing her hands together to warm them.
"Well, this place is quite far," she defended herself, keeping a wary eye on him. "And your phone call... it was really mysterious." It was unusual for her, but her curiosity got the better of her, and she accepted his invitation, not sure what to expect.
"Yes..." He exhaled. "The feds are all over Hawkins searching for you. They've already been through here this morning, so I'm guessing they won't return, at least for now."
She nodded, shocked but hopeful. "So... We good?"
Hopper rested his arms on the steering wheel, still unsure. "Ahh... I've been thinking about it," he explained, shaking his head. "I don't know. I think you're right."
"Are you going to help us?" She gazed up at him, hoping for a reaction.
Uncomfortably, Hopper returned his gaze to the lake. "Joyce, you were right. My wife died because of me."
Her hope vanished in an instant. "What? No, I didn't mean it! I was confused and didn't know what I was saying!"
"Yes, you knew what you were saying, and I know what I'm saying as well." He exhaled deeply. "Yeah, I've been thinking, and the simple solution to all of this is to stop you. Both of you. Decipher the stupid cylinder and leave the rest to the feds."
She gulped. "But... but you're not going to do that, are you?"
"No, but I'm going to do something worse," he confessed. "We'll draw Brenner's attention if I arrest you. He's not going to give up the cylinder, so I'm sure he'll send his thugs all the way to Hawkins to investigate."
Joyce started putting the puzzle pieces together at that point. The headline on the old newspaper in his house made it clear what had happened - Hopper had fled New York, taking his daughter with him, to find a place where he could start over and escape from Brenner. He was hiding!
"I see. That would blow up your cover, wouldn't it?"
"Brenner and I have unfinished business," he said rashly. "I'll get even with him if it's the last thing I do. But I don't want him anywhere near Hawkins right now."
"You want to keep Jane safe. I understand."
"No. You don't..." Hopper couldn't finish the statement because he didn't want to put his terrible thoughts into words. "Fuck."
Joyce also stared out at the lake. "Ok. You're worried. You don't want to hold me back because of the ramifications, but you also don't want to let me go with the cylinder because you're scared I'll tell Brenner about you."
"Oh!" Hopper exclaimed in shock. "You're smarter than I imagined."
"Or you're more stupid than you realize." Despite the circumstances, she took advantage of the chance to mock him. Too tempting. "But, If you haven't made up your mind and still don't trust me. Why did you call me?"
"Because there's only one way to end this, and it's not good for either of us."
Her eyes widened in fear. "Oh no…"
"Oh no, what?" He seemed perplexed.
She hesitantly pointed her finger at him. "You want to kill me!"
"What?!"
"Yes! You plan to kill the witness. This way, you secure my silence and that no one finds out what happened. As in gangster movies!"
"What?!"
"That's why you phoned and asked me to come by myself! To murder both me and Murray separately!"
"WHAT?!"
"Quit saying what!" She shouted, annoyed yet desperate to flee.
Joyce attempted to open the door quickly, but the lock was promptly lowered. She looked horrified at him, who stared at her puzzledly.
"Why would I do that?! Brenner would come in any case, to investigate what had happened and reclaim his cylinder!"
Hopper raised an eyebrow. He wondered how long she had been considering this possibility and why she hadn't brought it up until now. "Do you honestly believe I'd want to kill you?"
"I don't know!" She exclaimed, her voice rising.
Hopper cautiously lifted his hands, concerned that she was in distress. "We wouldn't be having this discussion if I wanted to do that."
"Who knows! Perhaps we're talking because you are a cynic or a sadist, or both!" She screamed at him.
"You're insane!" He scolded her, losing his patience.
She groaned somewhat but nodded. "So, why did you actually call me?"
"Because I was curious whether I could trust you, but you know what?" He tilted his head wryly. "Forget it."
She sighed and rested her forehead on the car window. "Could we please skip this part?"
"Which part?"
She sighed deeply and closed her eyes. "The part where we rage at each other, say things we later regret, and then, for some strange reason, we attempt to talk again because deep down, deep inside," she pretended. "We both know we're condemned to understand each other; whether we like it or not, we're both in the same mess." Joyce rubbed her temples, expecting sarcasm, but Hopper remained silent. "Hey, I'm thinking this..." she remarked, pointing to each of them. "It's your try to find a way out for both of us. But if we keep mistrusting one other, we'll never go far!"
Her words hung in the air as they both stood still, with a mix of emotions - fear, hope, confusion.
Hopper slumped back in his seat. "And what are your plans?"
"I've already told you. You hand us the cylinder, and we vanish. I swear, you and Jane will be safe. We won't say anything to Brenner. I promise!"
"Aha..." He wanted to trust her, he wanted things to be so simple, but she clearly didn't know that son of a bitch as well as he did.
"You know, I'd like for this to be over as well. I," she hesitated for a bit, unsure whether she should continue speaking. "This's just a temporary situation. I never imagined I'd end up doing this, but... I even had a decent job, you know?"
This piqued his interest, and she proceeded. "Yes. In a clinic, I worked as a physiotherapist. But the office belonged to my ex-husband, Lonnie, and when things between us began to go bad, I had no choice but to leave. The idiot believed that by making my life difficult, I would return to him. What an idiot! So he told his colleagues not to hire me at any treatment room in New York, not even in the neighboring town!" She stopped, uncertainly pushing her lips together. "I was certain of one thing: I wasn't going back to him. And I wasn't going to give up custody of my child because I couldn't support him," she stated with a lost expression as if it were a distant memory."I got a job as a saleswoman at a shop, but the pay was short; living in the big city is quite expensive,"
"Yes, I know."
"Of course, how stupid am I. You also lived there." She was completely absorbed in her story and was startled that he stayed attentive."It was at that time that I met Murray. We did a few... things... here and there, nothing serious. It was easy money. And I…" She shrugged, a bit ashamed. "It was just transitory. Will is completely unaware of this. He believes I make a good living as a saleswoman. Ahhh... but I'll quit as soon as I have enough money to open a new treatment room in another place and start fresh. I swear I'll quit!" Joyce regretfully shook her head. "I even know the office's name." She held her palms out, obviously daydreaming, and exaggerated her voice. "The Joy room."
"Are you serious?" Hopper laughed. "It's the worst name I've ever heard."
"Came on, the name was a joke, but it's been good to make the iceman smile. I thought you couldn't." She, too, scoffed. "I really want to start over. It would be great, an office of my own. I'm quite good at it, you know? Ah... but then... Brenner showed up. I'm not sure how, but he'd heard about us. He offered me a substantial sum of money for this... work."
"Did you just say yes?" Hopper asked her curtly, tensing once again.
She frowned. "No way! I had heard of 'The Snakes' and wanted nothing to do with them! So I refused." She was filled with guilt and regret. "After that, Will vanished three days later."
"Bastard."
"Well, yeah... and you already know the rest."
He nodded but was immediately startled. "What the hell?!" They were alerted by the sound of sirens. She glanced back, expecting reinforcements to show up, but she soon realized that the cars were passing by.
"What... what's wrong?" She asked, her voice trembling.
"The feds." Hopper was as taken aback as she was. "Something has happened." As he started the engine, her heart began to race.
They'd been following the feds for a while when they all came to a halt near a park. Hopper parked the car safely away from them. There were far too many agents and too much noise. Great. It wasn't in his plans to be spotted with a fugitive as a co-pilot!
"I suspect they've arrested someone," he murmured, averting his gaze.
"Oh, god. Murray, it's Murray!" Joyce shouted in horror.
"Hey, hey!" He approached her and grabbed her shoulder. "Slow down!"
"I can't calm down!" She yelled fiercely at him.
"Hey! Panicking won't help you. You won't be able to help your friend if they arrest you too." He remarked, attempting to take charge of the situation. "Listen to me. They won't search for you in a police car. Hide here. I'm going to see what's going on." His grip on her shoulder tightened. "Don't you dare do anything stupid, ok? Then we'll come up with something."
She glanced at him, anxious and unsure of what to say, but eventually nodded.
It didn't take Hopper long to get close to the chaos. The sheer volume of profanity spewing from Murray's mouth astounded him.
"It appears you have finally located your fugitive." He spoke casually as he approached the head of the feds. "Wilson, right?" He had met him at the station the previous day.
"Hey, chief. Yeah, it hasn't been easy, but we had the whole town under vigilance. It was only a matter of time until they sprang up." Wilson laughed. "Look at him. He looks like Captain Haddock."
Hopper grinned as well. "How about the other one? The woman?"
Wilson crossed his arms as his agents crammed Murray into a car. "We'll get her as well. Hawkins' exits are all secured, and now that she's been left alone, she's going to make a mistake."
Hopper nodded, hoping the man was wrong. "Oh. With that many troops, they must be extremely dangerous..." Hopper mentioned this while looking for further information. That didn't look good. Murray had been arrested, and who knows what he could tell them!
Wilson smirked. "Orders from the top, chief. Don't ask."
"Sure, sure..." Hopper pretended to be joking. "You know... That asshole is the same one that jumped me at Newby's place the other day and nearly split my skull open. Do you mind if I thank him for my ongoing headache?"
Wilson shrugged. "As long as you don't go too far with him..."
Hopper wasted little time, and after obtaining Wilson's consent, he entered the vehicle in which Murray was being detained.
"You bastard son of a bitch!" Murray exclaimed as he struggled with the restraints.
"Yes, I'm glad to see you too." Hopper snapped, ensuring that they were alone in the car. "Be quiet and listen."
"Shut up?! It's all your damn fault!"
Hopper rolled his eyes and gripped Murray's lapel in irritation. Time was short. He muttered, "Joyce's safe," in an effort to soothe Murray. "She needs more time, though, to find her son. Do you understand? That means that whatever happens, keep your mouth shut!"
"That's a lie! You're also going for her. You want to take all the credit, right? I'm sure you're looking for a promotion to get out of this fucking town. Bad news for you, I'm going to tell them that you're playing both sides!"
Hopper laughed. "Who will they believe? A trustworthy police chief or a thief? You better keep silent if you want to save your ass."
"They could believe you, at first, but, it will make them question you. I'm very good at it..."
Hopper resisted the temptation to punch him. He made a short mental effort. Murray was Joyce's partner, and the two got along well. Perhaps they shared a similar level of paranoia.
"Ok." Hopper let him go. "But, if Brenner discovers you've been arrested, he may decide it's better to keep you... silent, permanently. You won't be very safe, in my opinion. So… It's best not to piss off someone who can protect you from the inside."
Murray gulped.
Hopper lit a cigarette and stood back to observe the federal convoy go. "This is just getting worse and worse." A flame was started, but it never touched the tobacco. He noticed his car door open "What the hell?!"
He dashed to his car. Joyce wasn't there. "Shit!" He searched his surroundings with his glance. There was no trace of the woman.
"What have you done, Joyce?" He cursed, restarting the engine. He had to find her before the feds did!
To be continued
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