[ 𝚃𝚠𝚒𝚐𝚜 & 𝙳𝚒𝚛𝚝 ] ~ 𝙳𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗 𝙷𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚡 𝙾𝚌

XXVII - Green Light

"Erica, do you copy?" Robin calmly asked into Lucy's TRC, they had given Dustin's to Erica so they could properly talk to her where she was. 

"Mhmm. I copy."  Her words rang through the walkie, her ever present sass shining through in her tone. "You nerds in position, or what?" 

"Yeah, we're in position. It's all quiet here, so you've got the green light." Robin said, her voice quiet and smooth. 

"Green light. Roger that. Commence Operation Child Endangerment." 

"That's a terrible name-" Lucy huffed with a smile, her head resting on Dustin's shoulder. 

"Can we maybe not call it that?" Robin asked the 11 year old. 

"See you on the other side, nerds." Was Erica's only response. 

"You think she'll make it?" Lucy questioned, pushing herself up to sit with her legs crossed. 

"She kind of has too. How are we gonna explain it if we have to call the Hopper to come get her out of the damn air vents?" Russell quirked a brow, carefully tilting her head as she looked down at the unguarded door. 

"Alright, nerds." Erica cut through the group's makeshift conversation. "I'm there."

"D- Do you see anything?" Robin asked into the walkie, perking up. 

"Yeah, I see those boring boxes you're so excited about." 

"Any guards?" Russell asked.

"Negative."

"Booby traps?" Robin follows up.

"If I could see them, they'd be pretty shit traps, wouldn't they?" Erica sassed, getting a small snicker from Lucy and a shrug from Dustin.

"Thank you for that." Robin smiled passive aggressively.

There was a shout on Erica's end and then some clattering before she called, "I'm in." 

Steve groaned, bringing his hands to run up the front of his face and through his hair. "Oh, god-" 

The doors to the secured room opened and Erica stepped out, her headlights shining up at the group.

"She did it-" Russell laughed."

"Free ice cream for life." The middle schooler yelled up at them, her hand on her hip.

The five of them got to their feet, small smiles of mixed amusement and relief on their faces as they went toward the door to the stairs. 

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"Where did you even-" Russell spoke, watching Steve pull a box cutter from his pocket. 

Steve smirked in response, gliding his thumb along the lever and pushing the blade up. He drags the blade through the brown tape on the box labeled Imperial Panda. Once he cut through the top part of the tape, he pulled the tabs of the box up and ripped the remaining tape. He gave Lucy his box cutter, which she slid into the pocket of her white overalls.  Inside the box was a case, marble lid with iron lining the border and a turn handle on the top. It hissed, clicking open. 

"Woah-" Lucy marveled, her eyes wide and excited. Steve turned the handle, air hissing as the airtight seal was broken. As soon as he lifted it, steam raised out of the box to reveal 4 smaller handles of the same metal material. These ones, however, stuck up out of the top instead of settling inside the surface.