CHAPTER XIV:
To separate Robin and Mike, Nancy asked her parents if it was alright if she and Robin had dinner at the local diner. They agreed it was fine, but no staying out late this time. Karen received a call from Robin's mother, telling her someone would be here in the morning to pick up Robin. She needed her daughter's help to resolve an unforeseen complication with work. Robin had mouthed to Nancy. I told you D.V.A.S work fast.
So here, the two teens were sitting at a booth across from one another. Robin with a cheeseburger in front of her. Nancy, the chicken salad sandwich. Each had a saucer of ketchup as they shared the French fries on the table.
"So, he wasn't dreaming," asked Nancy. She dangled a fry. "Your mom hotwired his..." She took a bite of the potato. Robin nodded with a laugh. "I just… He's had that car forever. I wouldn't be surprised if he thinks your mom isn't some angel sent from God to make sure he still has it."
Robin laughed a good proper laugh at that. "No, I think it's fine with the mental image of my mom under his hood and messing around with his wires." She laughed at her lewd joke.
Suddenly Robin began to slouch down in the booth. She saw Nancy's face. "This has nothing to do with you," she said in a loud whisper. "Even band has a douche nozzle or two."
A teenage boy meandered over. He paused at Robin and Nancy. Pulling a nearby chair to the table.
"Robin, Robin, Robin. So, the rumors are true. Not only are you friends with Steve' the hair' Harington." The teenager's tone is mocking. "But you've decided to upgrade the girls, too. Never pegged you as a Nancy Wheeler fan."
Nancy glowered at him. She wished they were Upside-Down or this fellow student was a Russian because it would give her the excuse to punch the boy in the face.
"Upgrading your friends to fit that fancy college of yours," he smirked again, enjoying his own' jokes.'
Robin groaned. She wanted too severely to dump her drink on his head. "Don't be a dick, Dick. Keep talking out of your ass like you know things." She smooshed a fry into her plate. "Then maybe you could have gotten into the schools you applied for."
The teen glowered at Robin and smirked at Nancy. He decided the two were not worth his time and sauntered to the diner's exit.
"Sorry, Robin," said a lanky boy, surprisingly taller than Mike. He gave Nancy an apologetic smile. "He just showed up and hadn't left since he saw all of us eating in the corner." He motioned to the group of band kids exiting the space. Vickie was with them.
Robin smashed another fry. "Not a problem." Nancy could see it was a problem. "Like I said. Dick is just being a dick."
The teen nodded. "See you at school on Monday." He exited the building with a few from the corner group.
Vicky walked by, and she eyed the two. Attention mainly on Nancy. "Hi, Robin. I'm sorry about that. You know how Richard is. Just ignore him, yeah?"
Robin straightened herself as Vickie spoke to her, and she nodded. "Yeah, thanks, I'll remember that."
Nancy watched Robin and eyed Vickie with the same amount of concentration. She wrung her hands in her lap, hidden under the table.
"See you Monday, Robin." Vickie smiled. She laughed as another girl in the group pushed her playfully along to the front exit.
"You too, Vickie," Robin's voice cracked slightly. She noticed Nancy's behavior change once out of her Vickie haze. "Well, that was fun. Thank God, I was almost done because that made me lose my appetite."
Nancy nodded. Her plate was primarily empty too.
"You okay over there?"
Nancy blinked back to reality. "Yeah, sorry. So that's Vickie?"
Robin paused. "What do you know about Vickie?"
Nancy waved away her response. "Nothing. I've just heard Steve talk to you a lot about a Vickie, and they are a few Vickies at school. I should have realized he was referring to the one in band."
"You heard that? I always tell him he's so much louder than he thinks." Robin blushed at the idea that others could know about her crush.
Nancy laughed. "If it helps him at all. I've only ever heard it during the Dungeons and Dragons games. I don't think he's said anything out in public." She looked at the clock. "We better get home. We don't need you to witness one of the rare times my parents get mad at me." She rose from her seat.
"Not possible. I don't believe it."
Robin looked herself over in the half mirror which hung above the waist-high dresser drawers. It was fifteen after seven in the morning. The last time she put this much effort into what she wore was yearbook pictures. So, Robin tried to look at least presentable, like she cared. To avoid any ire from the woman, no doubt, already at the Wheeler's door.
As she looked herself over, Robin could not help but loth herself just a little. She sat at the edge of the made bed, rolled her jeans to her ankles, and tied her Converse sneakers. After one last look in the mirror, she fluffed her hair quick. Robin released a breath and opened the door. Hopefully, Nancy would be up and her door unlocked.
As she exited the guest room, the hallway bathroom door opened. Nancy, still with bedhead, appeared in an oversized 'purple' shirt and a pair of loose black shorts, most likely spares she once used for gym. She was wearing socks. "It's sitting on my desk chair," said Nancy.
Robin gave a thumbs up as she opened Nancy's door. How many people had Nancy ever let see her room in such disarray? Robin chuckled, 'Nancy Wheeler disarray.' Her bed was unmade. She must have only woken up. Her shoes were carelessly thrown about on the floor. God forbid the askew jacket that covered the top of her desk chair. Robin grabbed her bag.
Nancy stepped to the side, her back against the door, to let Robin pass.
"I'm really sorry you had to do this last night."
"It wasn't a problem. Not like I haven't had to do the same thing with Mike before."
The doorbell rang.
Robin grabbed Nancy by the arm with a hardly-there grip. She looked into Nancy's eyes, her gaze stern. "I can handle myself with her. Wait until we're gone, and don't make whatever you think of doing obvious, please." Robin let go and made her way to the stairs.
Nancy shook her head. An attempt to stop the gazing as she watched Robin walk away.
Robin watched Mrs. Wheeler answer the door at the halfway curve of stairs. Revealing a woman, taller than she remembered but still stiff. She wore a similar outfit to what her mother wore the night she dropped her off at the Wheelers. 'It caused fewer questions.'
"Friend? More colleague, but yes, I am the one who is going to accompany Robin on this sudden errand. We should not be long." O-Rin smiled at her answer. Robin had vague memories of that smile when she visited her mother. While they still lived in Orleans, France. If her memory was correct, it did not end well. She could not remember in their house.
Robin finished the stairs. "I'm right here. We can get going."
O-Rin looked in Robin's direction. "You are a lot bigger than I remember."
"I was seven," answered Robin.
"Of course," O-Rin agreed. "Silly me, Mrs. Wheeler. I will make sure to have Robin here call you when we finish, right? I must return to Los Angeles as soon as possible, so this should not take long."
Robin was at Karen's side. "I'll have her drop me off at Family Video. Steve should be there. We had an early-hour inventory check today."
"You're sure," asked Karen.
Robin nodded. "Yes, I'll be fine."
O-Rin stepped to the side, and the two began their walk down to the dark car, where a man stood by a door, ready to open it when O-Rin was close enough.
Listening in the hall at the top of the steps. With the front door shut, Nancy rushed to her room to prepare for the day. She rubbed her hands along her face to wake herself again. Nancy opened her closet and grabbed the closest matching sweater to pair with the pants she had set aside. Nancy did a quick pass of makeup.
"That should be enough time."
Nancy rushed to her bedroom window. She glanced behind the blinds. No car at the house. She slipped into her shoes and shut the door behind her. She rushed to the opened door. Mike must have woken up.
"Do you have clothes on?"
"Yeah, why?"
She pushed the door open. Mike was in a Star Wars shirt and boxers.
"Hurry and get dressed. We are going to have breakfast. Get Lucas."
"What?"
Nancy rolled her eyes. "Get dressed. We are going to go eat breakfast with Lucas and Erica," she repeated, her speech slow, her tone condescending.
Mike blinked, about to ask what she was on, then realized what she meant. "Right. Yeah, give me a minute. I'll be downstairs."
Nancy nodded. She made her way to the kitchen. Her mother was at the toaster, the butter and jam waiting at the table. "Good morning." She smiled.
Karen looked at her, and she smiled. "Good morning, sweetheart."
Nancy meandered in the direction of her designated wall hook. "Mike and I are going to the diner for breakfast. Is that okay? He's asking Lucas if he and his sister would like to come."
"Really? Your brother's up this early," asked Karen. She was at the table now, buttering her two pieces of toast.
Nancy's hand was on her keys. "Yeah, Robin wasn't as quiet as she thought she was. Woke both of us up. Now we're hungry." She eyed her mother carefully.
Mike lunged his way down the stairs. He was in jeans and a T-shirt.
"All right, but don't be gone too long," concedes Karen.
Nancy and Mike wave at their mother and say in unison. "Thanks!"
Robin holds her knees, the Hawkins High bag in her lap. Her gaze drifted to the homes they passed.
"You look more like your mother now," speaks O-Rin.
Robin turned her attention to the woman sitting next to her. "We don't need to have small talk."
O-Rin let off an oddly large sigh. "Thank god." She focused on the front, silent.
"Ma'am, a station wagon has been following us for five blocks. Would you like me to stop so you can take care of it," spoke the man driving the car.
O-Rin turned to Robin. "Do I need to take care of it?"
Robin's knuckles turned white as she gripped harder to her knees. The mental image scared her. "No, no, they are just my friends. They aren't trouble, just overprotective."
"Fine. Keep driving for now," spoke O-Rin. "Your mother mentioned you had nosey friends."
"Just protective."
Nancy internally screamed as her brother argued with an eleven-year-old girl, tempted to throw herself from the car and walk the rest of the way just so she could rid herself of the unnecessary argument.
Lucas was not faring much better as he dramatically rolled his head at his friend. He made eye contact with Nancy in the mirror.
"You need to drive closer. You're going to lose the car if you stay back too far," rushed Mike. He shifted in the front passenger seat.
Erica leaned forward in the backseat. "Have you lost your mind? Do you watch 'Miami Vice' at all? She needs to stay at least three or four cars back, so they won't pay attention to us."
"It wouldn't help us either way. I'm pretty sure they already noticed us," sighed Nancy trying to stay at the speed limit at least. She saw a maroon BMW turn onto the street with about two cars behind. In the front seat, Nancy could see Steve focusing on the road as Dustin manically pointed in different directions, no doubt trying to direct his driving. She wanted Max back with them as severely as the rest, but she could not wait for college to start in September. No more carpooling with her brother.
The black sedan pulled to the side. To its right was a modest two-story home, painted greyish blue with dated window treatments and shutters. There was a covered garage. In it sat a simple four-door car and a chipped black Ford truck, hidden between a wall and an overgrown tree, a yellow van with a 'Surfer Boy Pizza' logo.
The man at the front exited the car. He opened the door at O-Rin's side. She left the car, and Robin followed, green bag in hand. O-Rin gripped the handle of a metal case.
O-Rin's location at the door was strategic, far enough to escape but close enough if she needed to strike. She rang the doorbell. Robin stood awkwardly next to the woman.
"I've got it, Mom. No, I don't know who it could be this early." It was the voice of Will.
The lock shifted, and the door opened, revealing Will Byers wearing sweatpants and a graphic t-shirt. He blinked momentarily, dazed from the bright morning light, confused as to why she would be at his house so early. "Robin, what are you doing here…." Will trailed as he watched Robin motion with her eyes to the woman next to her.
"How many people know about this," asked O-Rin. She tried to ignore the sounds of two cars parking a few houses in the distance. At least they had the sense to not exit their vehicles yet.
Robin shrugged. "I didn't think that was a big deal when I called yesterday."
"We are here to speak with Jim Hopper," stated O-Rin.
Will paused. "Oh, right… Um…" He turned to the open space. A couch, coffee table, and television sat in the otherwise empty room, about to yell for Joyce when Jonathan and Argyle appeared from around the corner.
"Everything okay," Jonathan asked.
"I'm not sure," answered Will.
O-Rin sighed.
"Where's Hopper," blurted Robin. This needed to move fast.
Joyce appeared. "He's in the back with Murry. Can I help you?" She looked at O-Rin and Robin.
"We need to speak with Jim Hopper and the girl," O-Rin answered as she eyed Eleven, who appeared on the stairs.
"I'll get him." Eleven disappeared into the kitchen.
O-Rin sighed again. "How many people know about this?" She was annoyed.
"Um…," Robin thought for a second. "Everyone in this house and the two cars."
She opened her mouth to speak when Hopper and Eleven, followed by Murry, entered the room. "Wonderful."
"You needed me," Hopper asked confusion on his face.
O-Rin's slipping demeanor perked. "Yes. You and the asset, the girl."
Joyce eyed fury behind her eyes. She considered Eleven one of her own now. "Asset?"
Eleven saw Robin's tensing look of fear. She cleared her throat. "She is still my guardian."
"Oh?" O-Rin stepped further into the house. "Fine, she stays. You four," she waved, indicating Jonathan, Will, Argyle, and Murry. "Leave."
Murry's face perked. His beard, though back, was unable to hide a full face of emotion. "Leave?"
Robin laid a hand on Will's shoulder. "Yes, it's best you leave before she decides it's time to use violence." She eyed the others. "Please."
Jonathan took the hint. He pushed Murry out the door, and Argyle followed. Will looked back at Robin. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"We'll be fine," reassured Robin.
Will shut the door as he exited the house.
The sudden silence was palpable. Joyce stepped forward. "I… um…," she waited for O-Rin to give her name.
O-Rin did not.
"Right, um… over here," Joyce motioned to the dining table and chairs. "You'll have to forgive the mess. We're still moving everything, updating what we can with the house. You know how it goes when you buy old homes."
"No, I can't say I do." O-Rin sat at the table, Robin next to her. Eleven and Hopper sit in opposite chairs.
Outside, Will, Jonathan, Argyle, and Murry lingered uncomfortably on the front porch. Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Erica walked the sidewalk to Byers's new home. Steve and Nancy followed close behind. "Where's Robin," yelled Steve.
Murry made a face, motioning with his hands to cut the volume.
No one spoke till the others reached the porch.
"Where's Robin," repeated Steve, his volume normal.
Jonathan shifted to a more comfortable lean against the porch post. "She's inside with a woman, Mom, Hopper, and Eleven."
"Would any of you adorable kids like to share," snarked Murry?
"My guess is that's the woman they sent to give Hopper the rest of the information Robin was handing over," replied Dustin.
Murry stretched, releasing his hand from the porch rail. "A secret service agent and a fourteen-year-old girl have information to give Jim?"
"Eight-teen, Robin's Eight-teen," corrected Nancy.
Murry simply shrugged.
"How do you not know she's military," asked Mike.
Murry yawned again, sitting on the wooden stool used for wiring the porch light. "Oldest trick in the book. The average person responds more positively to someone in uniform than a black suit."
A dark blue Chevrolet Caprice strolled to a stop across the street. The man inside never exited the car.
"I am a liaison for the D.V.A.S. Robin here represents her mother, who is currently away on assignment."
Hopper huffed a laugh. "The D.V.A.S. is a made-up group to scare military officials into falling in line. They aren't real. I heard old war' buddies' talk in hushed tones in bar corners. The D.V.A.S. is not real." He crossed his arms, eyeing the woman next to Robin.
Robin rubbed the back of her neck. This was such a bad idea. Whoever thought it was a good idea to send O-Rin here should be fired.
"Really? Interesting." She looked at Robin. "Do I need to show him an example?"
Robin slouched. How could she become small? "Please don't. I'd like my friends' family not to need the hospital."
Joyce spoke up. "You're a friend of Beatrix's?"
O-Rin smirked. "Why does everyone keep asking that? We are colleagues. Robin and I both have information only meant for the eyes of Jim Hopper." She stared the man down once more, daring him to clap back. She stayed seated.
Robin took that as her signal. She leaned forward. She pushed the Hawkins High bag into the middle of the table. Hopper eyed her, and his mouth tightened. "It's all I had on me." Robin unzipped the bag. She removed the Ziplock bag of fifteen-millimeter tapes and set down the Hawkins Lab labeled files.
Hopper eyed Robin. "I had all those files destroyed. I did it myself."
She wet her lips. In her hands, she held one of the large manilla envelopes. "If that's the case, then I can only assume those files are about what caused the gate to originally open," Robin addressed to Eleven.
"Most likely," agreed Eleven. She pulled the file to her. She ignored Hopper's pouty face.
O-Rin eyed the file name. "Eleven. That's what they called you? Interesting, I will have to remember that."
Robin placed the first overstuffed envelope next to the file. The magic marker blared at Hopper, reading, 'For Jim Hopper's eyes only.' She then placed the second envelope, magic marker with the same message written in large block letters. Finally, with a deep breath, Robin removed the VHS tape labeled 'Hawkins Lab Security November 5th'. She sat back down.
He took one of the envelopes.
"You referred to the D.V.A.S. as boogeymen. Even boogeymen can be thorough at their job," spoke O-Rin. She rose from her seat she opened the metal case. She removed two fifteen-millimeter tapes. Another set of files and a videotape. "All of the documentation filed on the asset." She looked at Eleven. "And the Byers family while relocated to California."
"She was spying on us," Joyce said, a slight disappointment in her voice. She liked Robin's mother.
"No, not Beatrix. Per her agreement, she does not travel far without the ability to relocate her daughter. It is not suitable to relocate until Robin is eighteen and/or has graduated from high school. Her goal shifted to keeping an eye on the leftover children, and until further notice, a mutual colleague of ours by the name of Vernita Green. Would take over the role of observation and protection in California," O-Rin stated as if she were reading directly from a dossier. "The video is directed to Joyce Byers. Had she known Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan bugged the police station, she would have chosen a different route for Dr. Sam Owens and the asset to make contact."
Joyce sighed as she looked at Eleven. "Please stop calling her that. She's not a thing."
O-Rin raised her brow, shut the case, and pulled out the chair. She looked at Robin. "Do I actually need to call that woman?"
Robin followed O-Rin and rose from her seat. "No, I can handle it."
O-Rin nodded and made her way to the front door ignoring Joyce and Hopper's looks of shock and confusion.
Eleven stood behind Robin as they all walked for the front door. "She likes my' name,'" asked Eleven curiously.
"Yeah, I wouldn't take that as a compliment," answered Robin.
The door opened. Out walked O-Rin ignoring the teenagers and bearded private investigator. To her, they did not exist. She stopped at the car. Her driver with the door open. She eyed the man who rested against the dark blue Chevrolet Caprice. "Budd."
"O-Rin," responded the man. He tipped his hatless head in her direction.
She entered her car. The driver shut the door and headed to the driver's seat.
The man tipped his Ray Bans, his blue eyes the same as Robin's and her father's. "You know, I'm happy I followed you. Even with your mother's notes, it would have been a hassle to find that video store with those ridiculous ravines directing this town's traffic now," he yelled to Robin from his car. He did not move until the black sedan was gone.
Robin leaned her body forward, hands on the porch railing. She observed the man. He had one arm hidden inside his suit jacket but could still grab both large duffel bags from the trunk of his car. He set them down in the middle of the street. "How many did she break this time," Robin yelled.
"Only two, but one of them was the thumb," the man yelled back. He lifted his hidden arm. It's hand bandaged. His index, middle, and ring fingers were the only ones exposed. "Gunna be a while till I can hang loose, but I digress."
He shuffled his walk back to the car. He opened the door, resting his good hand on the hood of his car. The other lay atop the car door. "Everything should be there like you asked. Bag option B."
Robin pulled away from the rail, still holding on. She righted herself and decided that since no one else was, she would gather the duffels. Robin stopped at the bags. This day was already too surreal. She might as well since he was here. She walked over to the man and hugged him in front of everyone. The type of hug a niece gives to her irritating, although loving, uncle.
"Thank you," whispered Robin.
The man rustled her hair. "You call me at Christmas this year. You don't. I might just come back here to visit, yeah." The man squeezed her tight.
Robin nodded into his chest.
He dropped down into the car and shut the door. Robin hit at its top. He rolled the window down as he drove away and flicked her and everyone else off with his bad hand.
Robin turned back to the duffel bags that lay in the street. She looked at her friends and their parents and adult friend. "You've seen weird dog creatures, creepy sucker-bats, a 30-foot creature made of human flesh, smoke monsters, and a man covered in tentacles." Robin motioned to the bags. "And this, this is when you all decide to disbelieve." Robin shakes her head, attention back on the duffels. She attempts to pick one up.
There is a hand on her back. She looks to her left. It's Hopper, and at her right, Murry. They each grab a bag and walk with her back to the house.
Hopper stops at the door. "Well, are you coming," he's addressing the teens. Eleven was already back in the house, like Joyce, after the odd reunion. "You're all going to tell each other everything anyway." Hopper shifts the bag on his shoulder. "Well, come on before I change my mind." He walked into the house.
They all sit or stand in random places around the living room. Each noticed the dining table covered in photos most likely dating as far back as the first time the boys met Eleven and hid her in the Wheeler basement. There were loose sheets of paper covered in black lines of redacted information.
Joyce shimmied through her boys and set an answering machine on the coffee table. She motioned to the extension cord. Will handed it to her. She plugged the device in. "This is all we have that will play a fifteen-millimeter tape."
Hopper nodded and opened the bag. He looked to Eleven. "In order or just as I grab them."
"In order, please," said Eleven.
He acknowledged his daughter's request, rummaged through the tapes, and found one with the labeled date of March 1980. He placed it in the answering machine and pressed play.
The voice of Dr. Sam Owens echoed throughout the room. The group and the adults sat in silence, listening.
August 1980:
"It's not every day you find out the boogeyman to the U.S. Government is actually real." It was Owens. He sounded younger. There was a laugh in his voice.
"I don't do this very often," responded Robin's mother.
"I know," Owens responded back. "I had my own contacts do their own research."
There is a pause in the audio. Robin's mother must have been observing Owens very thoroughly.
"They told me the last time you pulled a switch-a-roo like this, played turncoat."
Robin's mother sighed. "Turncoat would imply I'm working for another government, Dr. Owens. I can assure you I'm not."
"That's good. I guess. Considering the last time you did this."
"Only time."
"The Only time you did this put you in a coma for almost four years."
She sighed again, she expected this type of wordplay, but it still irritated her. "Different extenuating circumstances this time. I haven't been that reckless in twelve years."
"Fair enough, fair enough. What do I call you? I'm guessing Arlene Machiavelli isn't your real name?"
"No, no Arlene Machiavelli is not my real name."
The sound of paper flipping could be heard. "Andera? Mia Wallice? Noelle? Pamela Isley, even I know that's the name of a comic book character."
There is a tapping at the table as a bracelet slides across it. "You'd be surprised. Those names tend to last longer than most."
"And Cecile de Volanges."
"Cecile," there's a fondness to her voice as if she's remembering. "She lasted a while."
"What should I call you?"
"Beatrix Buckley. Will be fine, or just Beatrix."
"Alright, Beatrix, why are you offering to keep an eye on a little girl."
"I don't kill children."
The tape was cut off. Everyone looked from Eleven to Robin, her mother's stand-in for the time.
Hopper looked genuinely stunned. All his interactions with Eleven play through his head. He grabbed a tape labeled. November 1984.
November 1984:
"You let that man have files!" Robin's mother's voice was furious.
"I haven't even spoken to this Hopper. I only know what you've told me. That he took in the girl. I had no idea he got his hands on files. Explain it to me." Owens's voice, much calmer.
"Not much. Whatever those powers of hers can do broke my equipment. Eleven found files about her mother. I believe. Hopper has been lying to her, of course, and that didn't go over well."
There was a momentary pause. "The girl's missing?! Why didn't you lead with that?"
There was the tale-tale sign of the fast-forward button on tape. Hopper stops it and starts it again.
"I spoke to her aunt," stated Robin's mother. A metallic clanking and a fan can be heard in the background. She must be at a motel or hotel relaying information to Owens.
"I hope it was just talking, Ms. Buckley."
"Of course, it was. I'm not violent unless I have to be. Apparently, Eleven stole from her, so she was more than willing to let me look around the home. She's on her way to Chicago. I plan to leave in the morning."
More scrubbing this time. It was Eleven.
"I dropped her off on the outside road to Hopper's cabin. I heard an overwhelming amount of screaming. I hope everyone is all right. She should be on her way to you soon. I'll be by the lab once Eleven and Hopper have left."
"Good," Owens's voice had a rasp. It fades in and out. "If you can. It would be helpful to the girl and us if you could eliminate any evidence of those things."
"I have something that should work. See you soon."
Hopper shook his head with a smile. "Strange man, huh? She brought you home."
Eleven simply shrugged. "She said to keep it to myself. She said she does her job best when no one knows she is doing her job."
Hopper looked at Eleven. "You trust this woman?"
"Always. You heard Beatrix. She does not kill children. She protects them." Eleven rummaged through the tapes. She found one labeled July 1985.
July 1985:
"Out of the question. You know my parameters. I am not leaving Hawkins until September of next year. My daughter will be in college, and relocating will be easier to manage. I will not ruin Robin's education by moving close to Eleven and the Byers family. Wherever you place them." Robin's mother was more than angry. She was annoyed. Owens obviously knew her limits.
"There's nothing I can do to convince you. Maybe I can pull some strings…." He was cut off.
"No. My daughter has worked too hard to have anyone else meddle in her hard work. Do you understand me?" There was a pause. "I will look into one of my contacts. If she agrees to help, It will narrow your relocation area to California."
Joyce noticed a tape labeled two weeks ago. She handed it over to Hopper. He removed July 1985, placing the most recent tape in the answering machine. He pressed play.
Two days before Robin's mother called the Wheeler's house and spoke to Karen:
"I hope you don't mind me recording or that we have to do this in my office here." Robin's mother was with someone in her Hawkins Middle School Library office. "If you are as worried as you sounded on the phone. I think it best we record, just in case."
There is a second of silence and a shift of a chair. Someone sat down. "It's fine. If it helps, you can record us." It was Eleven.
"You found your way here without a problem? I know those canyons have caused more issues than anyone here in Hawkins knows, but between you and me causing the town to have LA-like traffic, that is the hell Number One put on this earth."
"Joyce brought me here. I asked if I could look at the books. She likes you. She says you let 'the boys' play their games in the library during lunch.'"
"I did, and you are more than welcome to look at the books if you like later. What happened to have you so worried?"
"Police are following us who are not Hawkins police."
"Describe how these police look, what they are wearing, and the cars they are driving. Everything."
Eleven took an audible breath. "They are dressed in all dark blue, with funny hats. The cars say, 'Indiana State Trooper.'"
"All right, so they are Indiana State Troopers. That's sadly not enough to cause any worry. The troopers have been in and out of the city for weeks because of the 'earthquake.'"
There was a huff from Eleven. "They look larger than the Hawkins police, harder, not soft. Besides the hair color, they all look identical, same haircut, same sunglasses, same walk."
A moment of silence passed like in all the other tapes, but this silence was different. It's a rage-filled silence.
"This is not good, is it."
Robin's mother sighs. "No, sadly, I'm relatively sure it's not. Eleven, you gave me a perfect description of a man driving a car Robin mentioned to me the other day. She thought she saw someone. Who has not been around since she was a child, watching her at Family Video. How long do you think you have been followed?"
"Since the papers about the Lab started, I don't know if it's the same, though."
"That's debatable, yes. More importantly, if the individual Robin saw is involved, she's watching her as closely as Robin is convinced. She is … I will need to go dark for Robin's safety and possibly yours. Elle could be working for the U.S. Government. That means nothing. She could be planning to take you in but, in reality, sell you off to the Russians, possibly even North Korea, if she wanted."
"What is going dark?"
"I'll have to disappear for some time. It will help weed out Elle and whomever she might have working for her. These police, you saw, I wouldn't be surprised if they were mercenaries."
"Is it safe?"
"As safe as it always is. If I do decide to go dark. I won't explain it in depth, but I will tell Robin you're why we moved here. Is that all right?"
"Yes."
"If I'm gone, and you are worried about anything. You tell Robin, and she will get a hold of me. Since she was very young, we have used a system to stay in contact. If I had to leave for longer than the weekend."
The tape was cut off.
Nancy grabbed Mike before he could say something he would regret later. She shook her head, not the time.
The silence was intense. The last bit, however, was a lot to take in. Robin's whole reason for living in Hawkins was the Upside-Down. Her mother was here to fix the Government's 'Dr. Martin Brenner problem'. Whoever assigned her this 'mission' left out a few critical details, angering Robin's mother and causing not only her but the D.V.A.S. to turn on who employed them. She had been aiding the group's efforts with the Upside-Down since the beginning, intentional or not. Robin's mother, like Robin, was on their side.