[2] A Game Of Survival ➳ ST (S2) 💙

|09| Extremely Top Secret Spy Mission

Chapter 9!

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NANCY'S POV

To say that Nancy did not get a good night's sleep would have been an understatement. Honestly, she wasn't sure she'd gotten a good night's sleep all year. If it wasn't nightmares, it was guilt, if it wasn't guilt, it was drunkenness, and last night, it had been pure terror that kept her awake, her brain wired and noisy as she stared at the ceiling.

Was she actually going to do this?

Yesterday, it had seemed like a good idea. A brilliant idea, actually. They just had to get into Hawkins Lab, get the scientists to incriminate themselves, and then release the tape to the media. Public outrage would force the government to shut down the lab, and all the people responsible would be put away. What happened to Barbara Holland would never happen again.

At least, Nancy hoped.

Now that she'd spent hours thinking it over, she was more skeptical. They would be going up against the government, and Eleven had called them the Bad Men for a reason. Even if Nancy could find a journalist willing to take the story, someone who wouldn't be paid off, there was no telling what kind of strings Hawkins Laboratory would pull the scenes. Evidence could be planted to ruin their reputations, actors hired to explain away the inconsistencies. Hell, this was the federal government. They could stage the destruction of the laboratory while all the scientists and agents and doctors moved to a new, quieter town where people were less suspecting.

And even if Nancy's plan did work, after this was all over and the lab was gone, the Bad Men would know exactly who was responsible. They would come for her, then Jonathan. Disappearances would raise eyebrows, but the government had faked deaths before.

"That'll be us," Christine had said. "Two girls that crashed their car on a road trip. Case closed."

Nancy stared solemnly down at her bedspread. It was true. There was every chance that the men from the lab would come after them, and...that would be it. She'd be dead or locked away, and her parents would never know the truth. Holly would never know the truth. The only one who would know was Mike, and what would he be able to do? Would he round up the rest of the party and try to find her? Would he end up another body in the quarry? Or would he grow up scared, knowing what would happen to him if he ever tried to fight back?

But that was exactly why she had to fight: for Mike, who'd lost one of his friends, the first girl he'd ever had a crush on. For Barb, who'd died scared and alone while Hawkins slept. For Christine, who was living under surveillance because she dared to stand up to the police chief. If they did nothing, the Bad Men won. And Nancy wasn't going to let that happen.

Steeling her resolve, she grabbed her bag and headed downstairs for breakfast.

Meals were usually quiet in the Wheeler house—it wasn't like they actually talked to each other—but today was quieter than usual. Her dad talked aimlessly about some car chase he'd seen on the news in Chicago, and how he couldn't understand why anyone would want to live in a "big, dangerous city." Her mother nodded politely and responded at the appropriate times, focusing most of her attention on little Holly. Mike picked sullenly at his bacon. He wasn't really eating, just using it to push his eggs around his plate. If Nancy wasn't so worried about drawing attention to herself, she might have asked him what was wrong.

She had to wait for the opportune moment. When her toast popped out, she got out of her seat and carefully cleared her throat.

"Hey Mom," she said casually, "just so you know, I'm staying over at Chrissy's tonight. Her dad's going away again, so we're gonna do our usual girls night."