Dove was hunched over her desk, filing through paperwork when she noticed Danny's sudden shift of attention. He nudged her arm and pointed toward the food court with a grin. "Hey, check out these weirdos in the food court."
Dove glanced up from her work, following Danny's gaze, spotting Steve and Dustin. The two were crouched near the edge of the food court, holding binoculars, their heads swiveling like they were in some sort of spy movie. Steve tried to duck behind a trash can, while Dustin was half-hidden by a potted plant, both failing spectacularly at looking inconspicuous.
A smile spread across Dove's face. "One of those weirdos is my brother," she said, laughing softly.
Danny's eyebrows shot up. "Wait, that's your brother?" He leaned closer to get a better look, then chuckled. "What's he doing?"
Dove shrugged, unable to hold back a laugh. "Honestly? You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
Danny smirked. "Come on, try me."
Dove looked at her brother and Steve again, now somehow tangled in the binocular strap and whispering furiously at each other. "Let's just say it's something.. top secret," she said with a playful glint in her eye, shaking her head before turning back to the paperwork. "You get used to it."
"Top secret, huh?" Danny teased. "Aren't you worried he'll get in trouble?"
Dove smirked but didn't reply. The truth was, shewasworried. After everything that had happened last year, she was extra cautious when it came to Dustin. There were things going on in Hawkins that no one outside their group could ever understand. And if her brother was getting wrapped up in something dangerous again, she was determined to make sure they were all safe this time.
Dove and Danny barely managed to get through a few files when the door to the firm swung open, catching both of their attention. Danny's lighthearted expression vanished in an instant. "Oh boy, it's the mayor again." he muttered.
Dove's gaze followed Danny's, and her stomach flipped slightly as Mayor Kline strutted in, the usual smug grin plastered on his face. A familiar figure towered behind him, the Russian man with an unnerving, cold presence that immediately filled the room everytime he entered.
"Good morning, Mr. Kline," Dove greeted, keeping her tone polite and professional. "And Mr. Volkov." She nodded respectfully at the Russian man, who barely acknowledged her.
"Morning," Mayor Kline replied with a dismissive wave, already making a beeline for the conference room. Grigori followed silently, his icy eyes sweeping over the office as he ignored her.
Dove's boss appeared in the doorway to the conference room, beckoning them inside before closing the door firmly behind them.
Danny let out a low whistle as soon as the door shut. "That guy freaks me out," he muttered, glancing toward the now-closed conference room. "What's his deal anyway?"
Dove didn't answer right away. Her eyes widened as she stared toward the closed conference room door. The Russian man who seemed to loom like a shadow in the background of every important meeting, and the strange message Dustin had been obsessing over. Her mind raced. It couldn't be a coincidence.
Danny noticed the shift in her expression and frowned. "Hey, you good?" he asked, his tone laced with concern. "What's wrong?"
Dove blinked and quickly shook her head, trying to dismiss the sudden rush of thoughts. "Nothing, it's.. nothing," she said, forcing a smile.
Danny gave her a skeptical look, but eventually shrugged it off. "Alright, if you say so."
As the day wore on, Dove found herself lingering near the filing cabinets, scanning through client files when no one was looking, hoping to stumble upon something—anything—that might give her more information about Grigori. There was nothing there, not even a file with his name. But there had to be a connection somewhere.
Dove paused, her gaze drifting outside. The sky had darkened considerably since lunch, thick clouds gathering low on the horizon. The air looked heavy, and she could almost feel the pressure of an oncoming storm through the glass.
Her thoughts shifted back to the Russian man who always shadowed the she couldn't find anything on him, maybe there was something on Mayor Kline. He came in regularly, always with Grigori by his side or trailing close behind. Her fingers trailed across the file marked 'Larry Kline' and something in her gut twisted. She thought back to the last few meetings Kline had with the Russian man. There was always something off between them—the cold way they exchanged glances, the way Kline's demeanor shifted when Grigori was in the room. It wasn't just professional; it was something darker.
Flipping through the papers, Dove's brow furrowed. The file was pristine. For someone who came in weekly, there should've been notes, details, even routine checkups. But there was nothing. That same gnawing feeling returned, and she made up her mind. Something wasn't right with Mayor Kline, and whatever this Russian guy was doing with him, it wasn't good.
Dove frowned, a knot forming in her stomach. Why would the mayor need to come into the office so often if everything was so.. ordinary?
Her instincts kicked in, Kline's file was too perfect. It didn't match the man she'd seen week after week, nor the shady presence of Grigori at his side. Something was missing.
Without thinking, Dove glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching. the office was nearly empty now, save for a few coworkers finishing up. With careful movements, she slid the file over to the copier, feeding in the pages one by one. her heart pounded as the machine whirred quietly.
With the copy in hand, Dove neatly placed the original back where she found it. She slipped the copy into her bag, making sure no one noticed as she zipped it closed. Just as she was about to sit back into her desk chair, a sharp "psst!" from behind her made her jump.
She turned quickly to see Dustin crouched near the door, his arms flailing wildly as he beckoned her over. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she instinctively glanced over her shoulder. Danny had looked up from his desk, his brow furrowing in confusion. Trying to keep things casual, she forced a smile and mouthed, "Be right back."
Dove hurried over to her brother, her expression immediately switching from surprise to frustration. "What are you doing here? You can't just show up like this! I'm at work," she hissed.
Dustin, however, seemed completely unbothered by her scolding. His face was lit up with excitement. "You're not gonna believe this! Robin figured it out! She cracked the code!"
Dove grabbed Dustin by the arm and dragged him away from the firm, checking again to make sure no one was watching. "What did she figure out?"
He started speaking quickly, his excitement making it difficult to follow. "Okay, so, Steve and I were staking out all day, right? We thought we found an evil Russian spy but—get this—it turned out to be some jazzercise instructor!" Dustin threw his hands up dramatically, like it was the most ridiculous thing ever. "But then Robin ran out of Scoops Ahoy and she looked around and she figured it out!"
Dove glanced behind her again, seeing Danny still eyeing her curiously from his desk. "Wait here. I've been working on something too. I'll grab my bag and we can go."
She rushed back inside, her heart racing. As she collected her things from her desk, Danny stood up, his curiosity now fully piqued. "Dove? What's going on? You okay?"
Dove flashed him a tight smile, trying to keep her voice steady. "Yeah, I just.. something came up. Can you cover for me for the rest of the day?"
Danny blinked, concern etched on his face, but nodded. "Of course, but—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Dove grabbed her bag and rushed out of the office, giving him a quick, grateful nod. "Thanks, Danny. I owe you one."
Without another word, she hurried out the door, finding Dustin pacing impatiently. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him through the food court.
Between whatever shady dealings were happening at the law firm and Dustin's cryptic Russian code, it felt like the pieces were falling into place.
As Dove and Dustin rushed into Scoops Ahoy, Robin was already pacing back and forth like a woman on a mission. The table in the back room was covered with scraps of paper—handwritten notes, doodles of the mall layout, and Robin's various guesses at what the code could mean. She waved a piece of paper dramatically as Dove walked in.
"Finally!" Robin said, barely taking a breath before launching into her explanation. "Okay, you're not going to believe this, butI cracked it. It all makes sense now—the code isliterallytalking about places here in the mall. Look at this!" She spread the papers across the counter in front of them, pointing out various clues she had pieced together. She grinned as if she had just discovered treasure. Robin had clearly become just as obsessed with cracking the code as Dustin was, and the intensity in her eyes was infectious.
Robin stopped pacing and turned, her tone serious now. "Who has two thumbs and is about to be an American hero?" She grinned, jabbing both of her thumbs toward herself. "This girl."
Dustin, who had been bouncing on the balls of his feet, finally exhaled in awe. "I knew it! I knew we were onto something huge."
Steve, still leaning against the counter, let out a deep sigh. He ran a hand through his hair, looking half-amused, half-concerned. "I hate to rain on this parade, but just because we know the code, doesn't mean we know who's behind it."
Dove smirked and shook her head. "Actually.. we might." She reached into her bag and pulled out the file she'd copied earlier.
Dustin's curiosity piqued instantly, and before Dove could explain, he snatched the file from her hands, flipping through it quickly. His brows furrowed in confusion. "Uh.. Mayor Kline isn't Russian."
"No, he's not," Dove said, her voice low with gravity. "But he's in the firm every week, meeting with this huge Russian dude. And that guy? There's nothing about him in the files. Not a single thing. Plus, Kline's file is way too clean. I mean, how is the mayor meeting with some random Russian guy all the time without leaving any sort of paper trail?"
Steve straightened up, the nonchalance fading from his face as he turned toward her, intrigued. "So, Kline's wrapped up in something shady with this Russian guy?"
Dove nodded, feeling the weight of her discovery settle in. "Exactly. There's no mention of this guy in any of our records, but he's there, every week, meeting with Kline. I mean, it can't be a coincidence, right?"
Dustin's eyes lit up as he closed the file and handed it back to Dove. "You're saying the mayor's in on some massive Russian conspiracy?"
Steve crossed his arms, frowning as he thought it over. "Okay, so we've got a secret code, some Russian guy hanging out at the mall, and a mayor who's clearly up to no good. It's like we're in a James Bond movie."
Dove looked around the room, her thoughts racing as the implications hit her. "So.. what now? What do we do?"
Dustin grinned, leaning forward with a gleam in his eye. "Isn't it obvious? We catch the bad guys."
The rain poured down in sheets, soaking through Dove's clothes as she, Dustin, Robin, and Steve lay flat on the roof of Starcourt Mall. Their drenched hair stuck to their foreheads, and the cold seeped into their bones, but none of them moved. They had a clear view of the loading dock below, where a Lynx Transportation truck had just pulled up. The headlights cut through the storm, casting eerie shadows on the wet pavement.
Dove squinted through the rain, her heart pounding as she watched two armed gunmen step out of the dock, their black raincoats glistening under the dim lights. One of them scanned the area while the other motioned to the back of the truck, where the delivery guy was rolling out a dolly loaded with boxes adorned with the Imperial Panda logo.
Robin shifted uncomfortably to Dove's left, "What do you think is in the boxes?" she whispered, her voice barely audible over the drumming of the rain. "Guns? Bombs?"
Dove shivered, more from nerves than the cold, her eyes never leaving the men below. "Could be anything."
Dustin, lying on his stomach with binoculars pressed to his eyes, stared intently. "There's more inside," he muttered. "They're bringing in a whole shipment. The guy with the keycard—he just unlocked a door."
Steve, who had been watching without the luxury of binoculars, shifted closer to Dustin and made a grab for them. "Let me see," he insisted, his voice urgent.
"No way," Dustin hissed, yanking them away protectively. But the motion was too quick, and the binoculars clattered against the wet rooftop with a loud bang that echoed in the downpour.
Everyone froze.
The gunmen below snapped their heads toward the roof, their faces tense and alert.
"Duck!" Dove whispered harshly, her heart leaping into her throat. She ducked down immediately, pulling Steve with her. They were pressed close together now, the cold rain between them forgotten as their eyes locked in shared panic.
Steve stared back at Dove, his breath shallow. "We have to move," she whispered urgently, her hand gripping his arm tightly.
He gave a small nod, the seriousness in his eyes making Dove's stomach flip.
They barely had time to scramble back before the roof access door burst open behind them. One of the gunmen appeared, his raincoat flapping in the wind as he stepped out onto the roof, scanning the area where they'd just been.
Dove's heart raced as she grabbed Steve's hand, pulling him with her as they crawled back to the edge of the roof, keeping low and praying the darkness and rain would conceal them. Dustin and Robin were already ahead, their soaked bodies huddled in the shadows near the exit.
The gunman's boots thudded against the roof, getting closer. Dove's grip on Steve tightened. They had seconds before they were found.
Steve's body tensed, ready to bolt. They waited for the right moment, hearts pounding in their chests as the gunman walked dangerously close to their hiding spot.
Finally, when the sound of the rain grew louder than the gunman's steps, Dove gave a small signal. One by one, they slipped away from the rooftop, barely escaping as the gunman turned around, missing them by mere seconds.
Dove and Steve rushed down the metal stairs, their footsteps echoing in the stairwell. They still held hands, gripping each other tightly, the urgency of the situation keeping them moving in sync. Dove threw a glance over her shoulder, half-expecting to see the gunman following them down the stairs. The adrenaline pumping through her veins made her heart hammer in her chest.
They didn't slow until they hit the food court. Only then did they glance down and realize their hands were still clasped together. With a jolt, they quickly pulled apart, mumbling awkward apologies.
Before the moment could linger, Dustin, oblivious to the tension between them, turned around, his face lit up with excitement. "Guys, we did it! We found the evil Russians! We're like, actual spies now!"
Dove, still catching her breath, stopped dead in her tracks, placing a hand on Dustin's arm to get his attention. "No, Dustin, listen to me," she said firmly. "We need to tell Hopper."
Dustin's face fell immediately, his excited grin fading. "What? No, no way. We can't do that!"
Dove's frustration was evident as she shook her head. "Do you remember what happened last year?" She lowered her voice, glancing at Robin, who stood a few feet away. "We can't afford to keep this a secret, Dustin. Not this time. We need help."
Dustin, clearly disappointed, looked to Steve for backup. "Come on, Steve! Back me up here! You know we're onto something huge. This is our chance to prove it. We just need a little more time."
Steve looked between Dustin and Dove, caught in the middle. His brows furrowed, and he let out a long sigh, clearly conflicted.
Robin, finally catching her breath, spoke up, glancing between them. "Look, I get it, but Dustin's right. We don't have enough yet, and if we jump the gun, the police are gonna shut us down."
Dove bit her lip, clearly torn. She wanted to trust Dustin, to trust Steve, but the weight of everything they'd been through—everything they'd seen—still lingered at the back of her mind. After a long pause, she nodded. "Fine, but if things start getting worse, we're telling Hopper."
Dustin grinned triumphantly. "Deal!"
Steve glanced at Dove, his eyes soft with concern. "We'll be careful, I swear," he said gently, hoping to ease her worry. She nodded, but the unease still lingered in her chest.
As they started to make their way out of the mall, the rain still pouring outside, Dove couldn't shake the sinking feeling that they were stepping into something far bigger than they realized.