Linda Bryant's home was a modest one-story cabin, approximately 45 minutes off the main road from Hawkins. Its simplicity took El by surprise - Lab employees were well-off in terms of salary and benefits, yet there was nothing flashy about Linda's residence or her 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit parked in her dirt path driveway. Her lawn was decorated with hundreds of flowers, neatly arranged in boxes and pots. A windchime hung from her porch, the metallic butterflies producing a high-pitched symphony as it floated and swerved in the breeze.

Mike studied their surroundings as he stepped out of the car. ''I don't know what I was expecting from Brenner's personal assistant, but this wasn't it.''

''I know. I was expecting some sort of dark witch's den, yet here we are,'' muttered Hopper.

They made their way towards the porch. Eleven glanced sideways at Mike, and he gave her an encouraging nod. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

They waited. El knocked again. She pressed her ear to the door, listening closely for footsteps or any other sound that may indicate Linda was home. She heard nothing. ''Come on,'' she urged, knocking several more times.

''The patrol car could have freaked her out... should we just go in?'' asked Mike.

Hopper made a face at him. ''You can't just enter someone's house without a warrant. That's basic cop knowledge.''

Mike knew this, of course, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and he figured it was worth a shot.

After several more minutes knocking and waiting, they knew it was pointless to keep trying. Mike proposed they wait outside for her, while Hopper argued they should go home and try again the next day. But as far as Mike was concerned, going home meant giving up, and he wasn't about to give up on El. Linda was the key towards finding a solution, and he wouldn't wait another day to hear what this woman had to say. He was tired of waiting. Hopper pointed out that they could wait for hours, with no certainty she'd even show up at all.

''We're not leaving until we talk to her,'' repeated Mike, following after Hopper as he walked back to his Jeep.

Hopper pinched the bridge of his nose, meaning he was about two seconds from losing his shit. He took a deep breath, trying to muster up every ounce of patience left in him. ''Kid, there's no way we'll just sit on someone else's property for hours.''

''You don't know that! She might come home soon!''

''May I help you?''

All three of them turned on their heels instantly. A woman appearing to be in her sixties stood before them wearing a sunhat and overalls. She was holding a bucket of water in one hand, and some sort of gardening tool in the other. The blood drained from her face when she recognized Eleven.

''Jane,'' she whispered, eyes wide.

''Linda...'' Eleven took a tentative step towards her. Linda stood still, blinking at El.

''I… You... You're.. so grown up.. You're...'' she stammered as she deposited the bucket of water at her feet, not taking her eyes off Eleven.

''It's good to see you, Linda,'' offered El, unsure what to do or say next. She was glad when Linda made the first move, closing in the distance between them to pull her into a big hug.

''I'm so sorry, Jane. Please forgive me,'' she begged with her eyes shut, holding her tightly.

''It's okay, Linda. I know it's not your fault...'' replied El, giving her a few awkward pats on the back as the older woman wept in her arms.

''But I let it happen! I should have quit sooner. I should have reported him to the police, I should have…I...'' Linda trailed off, interrupted by her own sobs.

Eleven gently freed herself from Linda's embrace and grabbed her by the shoulders. ''Linda, I don't blame you. I promise, okay? But I do need your help.''

This seemed to snap Linda right out of her agonizing guilt trip. She wiped the tears from her face, giving El a serious look. ''What? What is it? What can I do for you, honey?''

''Ma'am, do you think we could go inside?'' interjected Hopper. ''This may take a while.''

''I'm in,'' declared Linda after taking a sip from her coffee. She had brewed a fresh pot for her guests, and to El's surprise, Mike had actually taken her up on the offer. He was still feeling groggy and tired after last night, and quite frankly needed the pick-me-up. He figured some caffeine wouldn't hurt. Plus, with a ton of cream and sugar, he actually enjoyed it.

''Really?'' said El, breathing a sigh of relief.

''Of course. There's nothing I wouldn't do to bring those sick bastards down, once and for all. Especially after what they did to you, and how you could be.. Well, how the tumor could…'' she trailed off in a shaky voice, the fresh tears in her eyes threatening to fall down her cheeks.

The news of El's predicament had hit her pretty hard. She had burst into a dramatic fit of sobs, and El had spent several patient minutes trying to calm her down. Mike thought it was absolutely ridiculous that El was the one comforting Linda, and not the other way around, but kept his mouth shut about it. Linda seemed like a nice enough woman, and he was grateful she was willing to help. She obviously felt terrible about her past involvement with the Lab, which as far as Mike was concerned meant that, unlike the others, she was actually a real human being capable of feeling remorse. But he needed her to get a grip.

''So. One more time,'' said Hopper, glancing at the three of them as he leaned forward in his chair. ''We get to the lab, we find Owens. We steal his pass, take him with us. Linda takes us to the classified administration section of the lab and where Eleven's file is potentially being held. And then we get the hell out out. El's job will be to keep the guards at bay, without harming them. No trace of assault. The worst that will happen is we'll be charged for breaking and entering. They won't be able to pin us with theft, since El and I have the legal right to her medical file, and they're the ones withholding the evidence.''

Linda nodded her head, seemingly pleased with their plan. It didn't seem to bother her one bit that she'd be breaking the law. ''Sounds good.''

''Thanks so much again, Linda,'' said El, offering her a warm smile as she placed her hand over Linda's. Linda beamed at her in return.

''I'm so glad I can help, Jane. This is my chance at redemption. God has answered my prayers,'' she added quietly, lacing her hands together in a prayer gesture and glancing upwards at the ceiling.

''We go in tonight,'' said Hopper. ''Owens is working the evening shift.''

Mike nodded. He felt the tingly sensation of adrenaline course through his body. Even under the unfortunate circumstances, he was excited to be breaking into the Lab again. It felt like old times - minus the life-threatening hordes of demo-dogs and ominous menace of an open gate to the Upside Down.

''Tonight,'' Mike said, looking sideways at El. She nodded firmly at him, taking his hand in hers.

They stayed over at Linda's for dinner. She'd insisted several times before Hopper finally agreed that it would be much simpler for all four of them to leave for the Lab together. Hopper, El and Mike all had the same unspoken intention, which was to shift the conversation towards lighter, more pleasant subjects in an effort to distract Linda from more tears and melodrama. They asked her about her life after the lab, her family, her hobbies. Linda, as it turned out, was a widow. Her husband had passed from lung cancer two summers ago. They had sold their house in the city after she quit her job at the Lab eight years ago, in exchange for a more quiet and peaceful life at their cabin where Linda could entertain her gardening hobby to her heart's content.

''Keeps me busy, keeps my mind off things,'' she had told them. She'd also taken up a part-time job at the hardware store, about 10 miles from the cabin.

''Never thought I'd be returning to that dreadful place,'' Linda said as they were finishing up desert, a piece of her homemade lemon meringue pie. ''Just thinking about it gives me the creeps. I had nightmares about Martin Brenner for quite a long time after I left the Lab. The kind of nightmares you wake from screaming, covered in sweat.''

''You and me both,'' replied El quietly.

Linda offered her a weak smile and sipped on her tea. ''Whatever happened to him, anyway? Brenner?''

''Demogorgon got him,'' informed Mike through a mouthful of lemon pie.

''Demo-what?''

''Do you remember the creature from the other dimension, the one I'd have nightmares about?'' explained El. ''I used to draw it, too. Tall, ugly…''

''Faceless?'' Linda shuddered at the thought. ''Well-deserved fate, if you ask me. You mess with the supernatural, that's what you get. I tried to tell him he was going too far, but he wouldn't listen. He wouldn't listen to anyone.''

''Brenner was bat-shit crazy,'' said Hopper. ''Owens isn't like that. He's still not a good person, but at least he's not a complete psycho.''

Linda nodded in agreement. ''At least.''

They finished up the rest of their tea and lemon pie in silence, which Mike was thankful for. Quite frankly, he didn't feel like they had the time nor the energy for such extensive small talk. He just wanted to get this over with. A few minutes later, Hopper checked his watch.

''Well, thank you for dinner, Linda. It was lovely. But we should get going.'' Eleven glanced down at her wristwatch. It was 7:00 PM. She was nervous, but ready.

''Of course,'' said Linda, rising from her seat. She motioned to the dirty dishes. ''I'll just clean this up real quick.''

''Let me help you with that,'' offered El politely.

Linda reached over and touched her face. ''You're far too kind to me, honey,'' she replied, and Mike silently agreed with her. When El and Linda had gone to the kitchen, he turned to Hopper.

''You think she can pull this off? She seems a bit…''

''Fragile?'' said Hopper, glancing in the direction of older woman. ''I know. Let's hope she pulls through...''

Mike nodded. Hope was all they had.

''Hold,'' ordered the man at the Lab entrance gate as they approached in Linda's rabbit. They'd avoided using Hopper's patrol jeep to avoid any suspicion.

''Okay, everyone take your positions,'' instructed Hopper through gritted teeth. Everyone sat up a little straighter. The plan was in motion.

''State your business,'' demanded the gate employee as Hopper wheeled down the window.

''Good evening,'' greeted Hopper cheerily. ''I'm Sheriff Jim Hopper. I came by earlier today to meet with Dr. Owens. My daughter used to be a patient here.'' He gestured to Eleven in the backseat. The man shifted his attention to El, who waved back at him innocently.

''I forgot my wallet at the reception when we registered. We were going out to the movies for a family outing when I realized I didn't have it.'' He laughed jubilantly. Mike stifled his own laugh at the glaring contrast between the goody-two-shoes persona Hopper was projecting and his true personality.

The gate employee frowned as he studied them closely. Hopper could sense his suspicious lingering. ''This is my son. Robert,'' he said, gesturing towards Mike. ''And my mother, Susan.'' They did their best to appear like a normal, happy family.

"We'll be in and out, I promise you, son - wouldn't want to be late for the movie. They're expecting us at reception - you can call them to confirm if that makes you more comfortable," proposed Hopper, taking a huge risk. The man said nothing as he circled the car and inspected the license plate.

"Sir, could you pop the trunk?" he eventually said. Hopper glanced at Linda.

''Sure thing,'' he replied casually.

After inspecting the trunk, the man laid down on the ground to check under the car. Mike and El exchanged a nervous glance. They had nothing to hide, but he was being overly suspicious. This wasn't good.

"Okay. 5 minutes," he said after his check-up was completed, and went to open the gate. El wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but held it in.

"Thank you, sir. In and out," affirmed Hopper, offering him a friendly hand gesture as they passed the gate.

When they had cleared the gate area, Mike took a deep breath. "That was way too close."

"That was the easiest part," said Hopper. Seconds later, they had reached the parking lot. He detached his seat belt and turned to face them.

"Let's do this."