(Ep. 4: The Sauna Test)

"That keycard opens the door, but unfortunately, the Russian with this keycard also has a massive gun," Dustin paced back and forth as the older teens tried dealing with the new revelations. 

So much for an ordinary summer.

"There's gotta be another way in," Robin's mind started running a mile a minute as she was one hundred percent certain no place only had one entrance. There had to be another, maybe for emergencies or something. 

Gwen rested her chin against her hand, frowning at the sudden need for them to discover what was inside those boxes. Why couldn't they just let it go for once? Not everything strange that happened in Hawkins needed to be inspected.

"Well, you know," Steve leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. He looked at each of them before suggesting, "I could just take him out."

Here he goes again.

Gwen didn't intend to, but she couldn't refrain from laughing at this absurd idea. Sure, he may have fought monsters from another dimension, but when it came to fighting people, he tended to have a losing streak.

Steve narrowed his eyes at her, "What's so funny?"

"Oh, I don't know," she shrugged and leaned back against her chair. "Just the thought of you fighting an armed guard."

Don't get her wrong, Gwen admired his bravery and loved that when it came to protecting those he loved, he was willing to do anything. What she hated was constantly seeing him get hurt, so she wasn't willing to let him go through with this. 

"What? I sneak up behind him, I knock him out, and I take his keycard. It's easy," he nonchalantly explained as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

"Did you not hear the part about the massive gun?" Dustin pointed out, eyebrows raised and arms folded.

Steve rolled eyes, "Yes, Dustin, I did." He glared at his younger friend and tiptoed his fingers across the table, "And that's why I would be sneaking."

Dustin recalled all the stories Gwen had told him, especially about the fights lost. Something that would definitely go against Steve. "Well, please, tell me this, and be honest. Have you ever actually... won a fight?"

Steve frowned ever so slightly, "Okay, that was one time-"

"Twice," Dustin held up two fingers to prove a point. "Jonathan. Year prior."

"You fought Jonathan?" Daphne's eyes widened, but not for the obvious reasons. "I would've expected it from Gwen, but Jonathan?" 

Offended, Gwen glared up at her with her mouth hanging slightly agape, "Why me?"

Daphne only stared at her as if it were obvious, "You hated Harrington with an extreme passion, and let's not forget all the fights you started."

"I didn't start them," Gwen tried pleading her case, but knew it was useless once everyone stared at her with a deadpan look. She merely scoffed in defeat and sunk into her chair, "Okay, sometimes I did, but it's not like they didn't deserve it."

"And also, Byers doesn't count," Steve retorted.

She lightly chuckled, "Yes, it does."

"Why wouldn't it count?" Dustin teased, "Because it looks like he beat the shit out of you."

"It doesn't because it was things that added all up-"

"You got a fat lip, crooked nose, swollen eye, a lot of blood," Dustin continued listing out as many injuries as possible as if he had been a witness to the fight himself. Of course, Gwen gave him all the details, so that might be it. "And don't even deny it, because she told me everything," he said, and pointed at his sister. 

"Of course she would tell you," Steve wasn't even surprised. Given their history, it made perfect sense why she would spread his failures to everyone (even if they didn't attend Hawkins High). 

She faintly nodded, "I mean, I didn't like you back then, so obviously I was going to tell everyone that Jonathan beat your ass."

Steve only rolled his eyes, not wanting to partake in a conversation that involved dark times. Not because of his fighting streak, but due to wasting time attempting to convince himself that he disliked Gwen. 

"That just might work," Robin suddenly dashed out of the back room toward the front of the counter, where she reached into the tip jar for all the money. "You're coming with me," she firmly said, grabbing Daphne by the arm and dragging her out of the shop.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked. 

Nearly out the door, Robin glanced back around and gave an indifferent shrug, "I need cash."

"Yeah, well that's ours too," Steve gestured to him and Gwen. The pay wasn't much, so they had to rely on the generous tips from their customers, which surprisingly ended up being more than what they earned in a day. "Where are you going?"

"To find us a way into that room, a safe way," Robin hollered from outside the shop, "And, in the meantime, sling ice cream, behave, and don't get beat up. We'll be back in a jiff!" 

And just like that, both she and Daphne run off to who knows where, leaving the three of them alone like the olden days.

__________________

After what seemed forever, Robin and Daphne made it back to Scoops with blueprints of the mall. It seemed money really could get you anything. Even what could be classified information.

They placed the long piece of paper over the table, excitedly showcasing their proud achievement, "Starcourt Mall. The complete blueprints."

"Not bad," Dustin nodded approvingly.

"Now this is incredible," Gwen added.

"So, this is us, Scoops," Robin pointed to their location by the food court, "And this is where we want to get."

"I mean, I don't really see a way in," Steve furrowed his brows and tried seeing the silver lining of what these blueprints could offer.

"There's not," Daphne moved the paper away, revealing another underneath it that clearly showed the underground workings of the mall, "If you're talking exclusively about doors."

That's when it clicked for both siblings.

"Air ducts," they said at the same time.

"Isn't she amazing?" Daphne praised her, earning a shy smile from Robin who tried shaking the butterflies from her stomach away.

She quickly walked over to grab a dry erase marker to circle where Scoops Ahoy was located, "Turns out, this secret room needs air just like any old room. And these air ducts lead all the way..." she traced down towards the wanted room, impressing everyone with her genius brain on finding an easier and safer way inside, "Here."

All of them looked up at the air duct right in front of them, realizing this was their way in and no one had to fight anyone or risk themselves.

"Let's open our door," Gwen declared.

After retrieving a screwdriver from the hardware store across the mall, Steve unlatched the metal frame and tossed it aside, barely missing from hitting the Henderson siblings.

"Watch it!"

Steve chuckled, "My bad."

Annoyingly, Gwen smiled deviously and shook the ladder, causing Steve to hold tightly onto the vent.

"Watch it!" he repeated back and glared down at her.

She chuckled and gave a careless shrug, "My bad."

Rolling his eyes, he turned back to the vent and replaced the screwdriver with a flashlight. Right away, he was able to notice the small duct wasn't big enough to fit any of them. "Yeah, I don't know, man. I don't know if any of us can fit in here. Not even you, mini Henderson. It's super tight."

Dustin shrugged him off, "I can definitely fit. No collar bones. Remember?"

Robin and Daphne's eyes widened as they turned to each other in utter confusion, "Uh, excuse me?"

"Oh, he's, uh..." Steve climbed down the ladder, letting the young boy take over his spot as he tried to explain, "Yeah, he's got some disease. It's chrydo, um... something. I don't know."

"It's cleidocranial dysplasia," Gwen corrected him as she held the ladder much more carefully.

Steve nodded at her, "Yeah, that. He's missing bones and stuff. He can bend like Gumbo."

"You mean Gumby," Robin corrected him this time.

Gwen laughed without removing her gaze from her brother, "Did you just mistake Gumby for a popular dish from New Orleans?"

"Of course not," he laughed boastfully, but took a pause to reconsider if he actually did make a mistake. "I'm about ninety percent sure I'm right."

"Steve, just shut up and push me!" the youngest yelled, his voice echoing throughout the duct.

Not even choosing to fight back, Steve headed over to the ladder and started climbing up. He grabbed his sneakers delicately and began pushing him as hard as he could. "Not my feet, dumbass! Push my ass!"

Steve paused, "What?"

"Touch my butt! I don't care!"

Gwen couldn't help but silently laugh at the exchange happening right before her eyes. She turned back to the other girls, who were definitely not finding the humor in this as they were just watching in disbelief the most popular guy had fallen to this level.

"Come on! Harder! Push harder!"

"I'm pushing!"

Daphne walked over to her friend and whispered, "You're seriously dating that guy?"

"You're damn right I am," she took a step back and watched the sight from afar, earning a chuckle from her friend as they waited for some miracle that Dustin would be able to fit. But as they kept watching, it was very clear this wasn't going to work. "He's not going to fit in there. We need someone smaller."

"Yeah, but who?" Robin asked.

Like a gift sent from heaven... or hell, the bell started to ring and the voice of their feisty customer was heard. "Ahoy, sailors! All hands on deck! Get over here and serve some samples!"

Gwen and Robin turned to each other. Both thinking the same thing that Erica Sinclair would most definitely fit. All they needed was to be able to convince her, which was not going to be an easy task.

__________________

With the promise of endless free samples and bargaining, Erica was on the verge of considering listening to what they needed their help in. 

"Yeah, I don't know," Erica said, and jumped off the ladder. 

"You don't know if you can fit?" Gwen asked, hoping this conversation wouldn't lead to the sassy ten year old denying to help them. 

"Oh, I can fit," she blatantly said. "I just don't know if I want to."

Gwen wasn't even surprised. 

"Are you claustrophobic?" Robin tried finding some reason for her reluctance, but already knew it was simply out of her refusal to help. 

Erica nearly scoffed, "I don't have phobias."

"Okay, well, what's the problem?"

"The problem is, I still haven't heard what's in this for Erica," Erica snapped, causing the group to groan in frustration at needing to find another way to bribe her into agreeing. "How about you explain why I need to risk myself you," she pointed at Steve, "Sailor Man, make me a banana split."

Steve only glared at her.

Erica gestured her hands toward the front, a demand for him to scurry off to prepare her dessert. "Go on now."

"Great. Now I'm taking orders from a nine year old," Steve rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the wall. 

"I'm ten, you broke ass-"

"We're not doing this," Gwen interrupted, preventing Erica from continuing her insult and giving Steve a chance to leave unscathed. "Fine, you'll be getting your banana split."

Erica grinned, "Now that's more like it."

The group then headed to one of the booths and waited for Steve, but it seemed the feisty child was now choosing another person to torment. 

"I'm disappointed to find you're not as cool as you say," Erica addressed her cousin, who only shot her a look from the opposite side of the booth. "Hanging out with these losers? I thought you were better than that."

Daphne leaned forward, but Robin pushed her back to prevent things from getting out of control. 

To their luck, Steve arrived and handed Erica her banana split, "Here you go."

Erica inspected the ice cream for perfection, but it seemed it didn't reach her standards. She pushed it back to him and shook her head, "More fudge, please. Go on."

With an aggravated sigh, Steve did as he was told and scurried back to the counter. 

Gwen leaned further into her seat, already losing her patience, "Just explain the route she has to take."

Robin began explaining the plan to her, following her earlier traces that indicated the clear path that would lead the young girl successfully inside. 

Erica shrugged off the entire explanation, "You know what this half-baked plan of yours sounds to me? Child endangerment."

Gwen was visibly getting impatient, "Look, kid. We'll be in radio contact with you the entire time-"

Erica scoffed in offense, "Okay, first of all, I'm not a kid. Second, this is still child endangerment."

She slowly nodded, "Great way to contract yourself then. You say you're not a kid, but then claim this mission is child endangerment. Maybe you're just scared."

Erica shot her a look, "I don't get scared, miscreant."

"Look, Erica. We think these Russians want to do harm to our country. Great harm," Dustin chimed in to try and prevent the situation from worsening. "Don't you love our country?"

"You can't spell America without Erica," she stated, and took a sip from the float Steve made her.

Dustin paused, "Oddly, that's, uh, totally true. So don't do this for us. Do it for your country." He raised his voice slightly once she started slurping her drink loudly, "Do this for America... Erica."

She finished the last remaining contents of her drink and smiled, "Ooh, I just got the chills!" Her smile was then replaced by a deadpan look, "From this float, not your speech."

Gwen had to admit that her sassy attitude was starting to grow on her. It seemed her brother had finally met his match that she couldn't help but hope this "bickering" went on a little longer. 

"Know what I love most about this country?" Erica leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand. "Capitalism. Do you know what capitalism?"

"Who doesn't?" Gwen muttered. 

"Yeah," Dustin and Robin said. 

Daphne said nothing. 

"It means this is a free market system, which means people get paid for their services depending on how valuable their contributions are."

All of them exchanged annoyed glances from knowing where this was headed.

"And it seems to me, my ability to fit into that little vent is very, very valuable to you all."

"Cut to the chase," Gwen interrupted, causing Erica to glare at her. 

"You want my help? I'm talking free ice cream for life!" 

__________________

Nightfall had approached, meaning the plan to get into that room was set into action. It had been an hour and half since the mall closed and it was just the Scoops Ahoy group remaining.

All five were huddled on top of the mall roof listening to Erica, who was adamant in naming this mission Operation Child Endangerment. Pressed together uncomfortably, they waited for the youngest to make her way through the vents.

"Do you see anything?" Robin asked, surprised at how quick she managed to reach the location.

"Yeah, I see those boring boxes you're so excited about," Erica pointed out, causing everyone to celebrate that she didn't make a wrong turn and ended up somewhere else.

"Any guards?"

"Negative."

"Booby traps?"

There was a slight pause, "If I could see them, they'd be pretty shit traps, wouldn't they?"

"She's got a point," Gwen blurted out to then regret it when Robin glared at her with a deadpan face.

Robin rolled her eyes and sarcastically said, "Thanks for that."

The sound of banging metal was heard through the walkie-talkie along with a grunt. The radio turned silent, making all of them wait for any sign that the youngest Sinclair was safe.

"I'm in!" Erica declared.

Steve sighed in relief and turned to Gwen when he suddenly noticed she was not wearing her sailor uniform anymore. How and when did she acquire a less ridiculous outfit was unknown.

"Where did you get those clothes?"

She shrugged, "Snuck into The Gap and just took whatever I could find."

Daphne chuckled, "So you stole it."

Gwen turned silent for a second, unsure if she should admit to it or just deny it. "Umm, I guess? It's not like they're going to miss it anyway."

Not even a second later, the doors to the loading dock opened. Everyone smiled proudly at the young girl as she walked out calmly and hollered, "Free ice cream for life!"

Following Steve's lead, they quickly ran down the staircase toward the room. A part of Gwen hoped there was something valuable inside those boxes since that would mean their time wasn't wasted, but the other part of her worried that it did contain something important. If that was the case, they had gotten themselves involved in another mess. 

Dustin's backpack was unzipped and the pocket knife was taken out. She reached for one of the boxes and carefully set it down. She was about to cut through the tape, but that's when Steve got the brilliant idea to intercept. 

"I'll just take that, thank you very much," Steve teased, shoving her out of the way. "Better me than you."

Gwen held a stoic expression, "Seriously, Harrington?"

Steve gave her that smirk that always got on her nerves, but his enjoyment disappeared once Robin shot him a look that could kill. He looked away and cleared his throat to begin, "Ready?"

"Just do it," Daphne complained. 

The tape was cut through very carefully and with an unhurried pace, Steve raised the lid as everyone got closer for a better look. To their misfortune, another box was inside, but it was no longer made out of cardboard. It was now made with metal, which meant the contents had to be of great importance. 

Steve edged his fingers around the latch and turned it. A clicking sound was heard and a strange fog was then released. Cold air soared through the room and got rid of the once warm temperature that summer had captured. 

"That's definitely not Chinese food," Steve stated the obvious. "Uh, maybe you guys should, you know, stand back."

"And I'll just take that," Gwen threw his words back him and shoved past him like he did with her. "Thank you very much."

"Seriously? I'm opening this, so stand back," Steve tried getting acquiring the container back, not wanting her to risk herself if this box were to hold something dangerous. "Come on, Henderson."

She shook her head, "That means you too, Dustin."

Dustin was quick to disagree, "No."

Steve shoved past him toward her and hastily got his hand inside the box, meeting hers in a jarring collision. He glanced past his shoulder at the teen and declared, "Just step back, okay?"

"No," Dustin argued back. 

Gwen sighed heavily, "Step back, Dustin. I'm not asking."

"No!" Dustin yelled, taking a step closer. "If you both die, I die."

The couple stared blankly at their kid, realizing it would be of no use to argue with him when he would just do as he pleased. 

Steve and Gwen nodded in defeat, "Okay."

At the same time, they twisted the latch and heard the same click from earlier. The same fog was released as they raised the contents into the air. It was now a cylinder shaped container holding a vibrant green substance. 

Gwen dropped her hand, eyes widening and mouth hanging open. She tried making sense as to why Russians needed this and why they were using the mall to transport it. Something was off and it was taking everything to not worry. 

Steve was distraught, "What the hell?"

Both Robin and Daphne stepped forward for a better look, "What is that?"

Before anyone could throw any ideas, the room suddenly let out a shake. They froze in place as if worried any sudden movements would worsen things. 

Steve held a firm grip of Gwen's hand and whispered, "Please tell me you felt that too."

"Booby traps," Erica declared, holding onto her cousin's arm to keep herself steady. 

The room shook again. 

"Okay, let's just grab that and go," Robin took the container and unzipped Erica's backpack to place it inside it. 

Gwen and Steve started tidying up the place to hide their tracks and avoid the Russians from learning unwanted visitors were here. While they organized, Dustin stormed to the control box and pressed the 'Door Open' button. Like a cruel joke from the universe, nothing happened, so he tried again. When that didn't work either, panic started to set it that the worst was starting to unfold. 

"Which one do I press, Erica?" 

"Just press the damn button, nerd!" Erica yelled. 

Dustin tried again, "It's not working!"

"What?!" Gwen faltered, and hurried to the control box. She moved her brother out of the way and pressed the blue button, but it seemed that they were officially trapped. No matter how hard or quick she pressed, nothing was working, which meant the Russians definitely knew about them. 

"We are so dead," she panicked. 

Steve hurried over and tried pushing Dustin off, but the teen was determined to get the door to work with pure luck. Something that definitely wouldn't be occurring. 

"Would you stop?" Steve chastised him, shoving him out of the way and being received by his stubborn hands. 

"I'm trying to get it open!" Dustin pushed him off, a wrong move that set them off to start fighting over who gets to press. 

Gwen paced and back forth, her mind running with millions of thoughts. This mission first appeared as something innocent, but like all things in Hawkins, missions like these always have a way to go completely south. They shouldn't have gotten involved, but their curiosity always got one step ahead of them. 

Steve and Dustin continued to argue back and forth. Lots of shoves and profanities were exchanged, which resulted in Dustin pressing all the buttons out of spite. 

"Stop fighting already!" Gwen scolded. 

To her surprise, her reprimand ended up working and made the pair stop their hassling. 

But, then, the room became filled with an odd silence. 

No one dared to make a move or a sound, worrying anything could set off more of the hidden booby traps. It was eerily still for the longest second, but nothing good ever lasted. Just when relief was starting to emerge, the room started dropping at the most rapid speed.