wanted - Eddie Munson

commence operation

July 2nd, 1985

I woke this morning to the shrill voice of Lucas Sinclair. He was yelling through Max's walkie, persistently telling her to get up. I was hoping he'd stop soon but I knew that if he didn't, Max would give him an earful. I'd gotten ready and was about to leave when I heard max reprimand him through the walkie.

I muttered a 'bye Max' as I walked down the stairs. Reaching the dining room, I saw my mother and Neil in a deep conversation. Neil looked pissed and my mother looked more frantic than usual. Upon hearing me come down the stairs, Neil turned to face me.

"Have you seen Billy?" He grunted through an obvious slur. Wow, it's barely nine a.m. and he's already drunk.

"No, I haven't. Why?" I asked with a shrug.

He glared at me as my mother began speaking. "He just didn't come home yesterday after work. That's all, dear, nothing to worry about."

I nodded my head as I grabbed my keys from the kitchen table. "He's probably just at a friend's house or something."

I walked out the door before I could get stuck in an argument with Neil. It was early in the day and I could tell it was only going to get hotter. One of the few days that I was thankful to be working in an extremely cold environment all day. What better way to cool off from the heat than to work in an ice cream parlor?

The drive was short and traffic was easy, and from the looks of it, I arrived just in time. Dustin was walking in just as I was, clutching his binoculars close to his chest.

"Beth, you're here! Perfect because I have to tell you three what I found out." He looked across the three of us workers before we took our seats at the table, ready to hear what he learned. He paced around the room, still not speaking.

"Well, spit it out, dingus." Robin urged.

"Alright, alright! I figured out how to get into the room, but it's complicated." He started.

"Complicated?" Steve asked, taking off his hat.

"There's a keycard. And that keycard opens the door, but unfortunately, the massive Russian with the keycard also has a massive gun. Whatever is in this room, in those boxes, they really don't want anybody finding it." The boy explained.

Robin shook her head, resting her arms on the table as she held the scooper. "But there's gotta be a way in."

"Well, you know..." Steve stopped playing with his hat, blowing a harsh burst of air on it to fix it. "I could just take him out."

I snickered and Robin raised her eyebrows. "Take who out?"

"The Russian guard." She nodded at him sarcastically. "What? I sneak up behind him, I knock him out, and I take his keycard. It's easy."

"Did you not hear the part about a massive gun?" Dustin piped up.

"Or the part about the massive Russian?" I asked and Steve scoffed.

"Yes, I did. That's why I would be sneaking." Steve stated, growing frustrated with everyone's lack of belief in him.

Dustin hummed with a nod, "Well, please tell me this and be honest, have you ever actually won a fight?"

I couldn't hold back my laughter and Robin looked like she was fighting to hold hers. "Okay, that was one time-"

Dustin cut him off, "Twice. Jonathan. Year prior?"

"That doesn't count." Steve tried to defend himself.

"Why wouldn't it? Because it looked like he beat the shit out of you."