33

5.3K 180 384
                                    

(a/n: I'm adding this crossover plot line with Stranger Things {obviously} and it will be happening after the events of ST3 unfold, so if you haven't seen it, maybe don't keep reading :))

Richie pulled Eddie aside separately as soon as they were excused, giving the file to Stan.

"This was what Bowers was going on about. This mission," Richie said quietly.

"I know," Eddie hissed back, glancing up and down the hallway. "We need to read up on it. I'm not sure what the mission is, but it's gotta be some kind of lab or other illegal group if it includes a test subject. We're after a person, and if the Scorpions were after them, they may have allies on the task as well. It's going to be dangerous."

Richie nodded. He, by now, knew what he had signed up for. It was dangerous and deadly, working with the Hive. They hadn't had a full week without feeling like they were in danger, even hidden in their base.

It made Richie want to cry and hold Eddie tighter, to protect him from whatever danger the world wanted to throw at them. He knew Eddie felt the same. It wasn't a topic that they needed to discuss. Not after what they had been through.

"Hey! We're going to break down the file!" Stan called, running up to the pair.

Richie and Eddie shared nervous eye contact but followed Stan anyway.

•••

"What're we looking at here?" Richie asked, seeing a paper map on the wall as he and Eddie entered the Analysis Room.

"A map," Stan said, eyebrows raised.

"No shit. Has anyone opened the file?" Eddie asked, seeing it lying on the table in the center of the room.

"No. Richie should lead the analysis. He's one of the smartest people here and knows how to spot things that we miss sometimes," Ben said, handing the file to Richie.

Richie didn't say anything, waiting for someone to protest. To his shock, no one did. They all sat down and waited for him to open it and start going through it.

With a sigh, Richie opened the first page. "Okay, this project was started three-ish years ago in a lab. It's based in Hawkins, Indiana," he said, reading through the dates and locations. In front of the room, Stan put an X on the map, marking the town. Richie began to pull out pages of graph paper with lines on them.

Eddie walked over and helped Richie lay them out. "These look like... brain scans?"

Stan grabbed one of the scans and handed one to each of the teenagers sitting next to him. "They all have the number eleven in the corner. It says that was the test subject on the front, right?"

"Yeah," Richie said, pulling out another sheet. "Take a look at this."

He held up a paper with a picture of a bald person and a label at the bottom.

Test Subject: 011

"Eleven. That's the person's test number and the one we're supposed to find. Look, it says here that they shut down the lab about a year ago, due to some toxic radiation or some shit like that," Richie said, squinting at the print.

"I want to know what they did to her," Eddie said, looking closely at the image.

"Her?" Richie asked, grabbing the image.

"Yes, it's obviously a girl," Eddie said, rolling his eyes.

"He's bald!"

"It's not her fault you have shit eyesight, Richard."

"Don't call me that, Edward."

Eddie glared at Richie playfully. "It is a girl though."

"Maybe she's a subject for some kind of drug testing?" Bev asked, interrupting the bickering.

"I doubt it. Maybe we should take a trip to Hawkins," Stan said, taking the file from Richie and returning the scans to it.

"Isn't going into that lab illegal now, though?" Richie asked, arms crossed.

A silence went over the room as everyone stared at him in disbelief.

Eddie wrapped his arm around Richie's shoulders. "Did you forget what our job is, Chee?" he whispered, trying to keep from laughing.

Richie looked around the room, seeing how close they all were to bursting out in laughter. "In my defense, I'm recovering," he mumbled as everyone started laughing.

"I'm g-going to get p-permission to h-head to Hawkins," Bill said, snickering. Stan followed him as the others went to their rooms to gather their bags.

•••

For the first time ever, all seven teenagers sat together in the van, on a mission. They had been driving for ten hours when Stan switched with Bev so he could rest. They decided to drive in one shot, everyone taking turns resting so they could take turns driving if they needed to.

Richie and Eddie laid in the back of the van, cuddled up, thinking about the mission. Richie had been told he wasn't allowed to drive because of his recovery, and Eddie wasn't allowed because Stan told him he was a shit driver. Not that it bothered them, as they were allowed to get comfortable and think about the upcoming mission. Neither really wanted to go, terrified for the other. Unfortunately, it was the job and they didn't really have a choice.

"Are you scared?" Eddie asked in a quiet voice, trying not to wake up Stan who was sleeping near them.

"Are you?" Richie asked, not wanting to tell Eddie that yes, he was afraid.

"We're going to a lab that was closed down because of radiation and you're not fully recovered. What if it fucks with the drugs still in your system?"

"I'm going to be fine. Besides, the radiation story could be some kind of cover up or something, right? Especially if it was a secretive lab," Richie said with a smile, poking Eddie's nose.

Eddie gave Richie a weak smile, laying his head on Richie's chest. "Yeah, that's true. I'm worried about this person. I mean, what if there's something really wrong with her?"

"She must be important if the Scorpions are after her too," Richie murmured, closing his eyes.

"So you admit she's a girl?" Eddie asked with a snicker.

"We'll know when we find her, and I don't feel like arguing it because you don't back down from any fights."

"Yeah..." Eddie yawned, closing his eyes as well. "We'll know soon enough. I'm going to try to sleep, and you should too." 

"Mhmm," Richie hummed, holding Eddie tighter and occasionally pressing kisses to his forehead as they drifted off to sleep.

Breathe ⭐️ Reddie Where stories live. Discover now