Time After Time (a Stranger Things fanfiction)

Sharp Dressed Man

"Sharp Dressed Man"

When I step out I'm gonna do you in

- ZZ Top

Joyce and Murray trudged across the tundra behind Yuri. She wasn't sure which was more miserable—the feeling that the clock was ticking, precious minutes wasted while they walked halfway across Siberia, or the terrible cold that was more painful the longer they took.

By the time they stopped on top of a hill and looked down at a tiny little town, which Yuri proudly proclaimed to be Kiryan, or something like that, Joyce was practically frozen solid and near tears from pain and frustration.

"You see that gray steeple over there? That is Yuri's warehouse."

"It looks like a church," Joyce said, her words sounding as frozen as her brain felt.

"Let's see what miracles it holds, yes?"

Yuri led them down the hill and into the town. It felt better to know there was a destination in sight, gave Joyce's legs and feet a new determination.

The church was filled with boxes and crates. Smuggled goods, no doubt. Yuri was beaming as he led them in, but the smile faded from his face and he frowned at what looked like evidence that someone had been in here.

"Someone has been in my peanut butter." He grinned at them. "Very popular, as I say, eh?"

Murray seemed even more affected by the cold, and even more annoyed with Yuri, than Joyce was. "Weapons," he snapped. "Where are the weapons?"

Yuri pointed at a crate. Joyce managed to warm her hands enough to pry it open, and they all three stood there staring down at the guns packed into it. "Oh, Jesus," Murray breathed.

"Hey. Not in a church." Yuri laughed again. God, that guy was irritating. "You like all this, eh? Wait until you see my flamethrower."

This was all very nice, and Joyce would feel better storming a Russian prison with an arsenal, but time was wasting. Time Hopper might not have. "We don't have time for show-and-tell. We need to get going."

Over her head, Yuri said to Murray, "She's always this bossy?"

Somewhat to Joyce's surprise, Murray didn't agree. Or complain. "You heard her." He cocked the gun he had taken from the plane. "Keys. Map. Let's go."

"Yeah, yeah, I get them. Keep your pants on." Yuri showed them where to dig around, whistling, until finally Joyce found a map and slapped it down on a handy crate. "So. Prison is here." He pointed with his nose, since neither Joyce or Murray had been tempted in the least to untie his hands. "Between these two mountains. Approximately two-hour drive."

Two more hours? Joyce felt panic like a lightning strike through her body.

Murray was frowning at the map. "I don't see anything."

"Because it's not on the map. But it is there."

"Well, how do we know you're not leading us into some sort of trap?" Joyce asked.

"Because I do not need to." Yuri grinned. "You want to break into deadliest prison in all motherland. It is suicide."

"Who said anything about breaking in?"

"Oh! You just expect to knock? 'Oh, hello, let me in, I'm friendly American with a big beard.'" Yuri looked between the two of them, wheezing with laughter.

Murray wasn't laughing, though, and neither was Joyce. "Something like that, actually, yes."

"You were planning to turn us over to the warden. Today, if I'm not mistaken," Murray explained.

"Ah, I see now. I bring you in as prisoners and then set you free inside walls. It is risky, crazy, you will still probably die, yet I like it. But for this to work, Yuri cannot be tied. Hey. It's hard to turn over prisoners when I'm a prisoner myself. Hey. I think the warden might find that suspicious."

"Which is why, from here on out, you're gonna be Murray." Joyce poked him in the chest, not gently, for emphasis.

Murray grinned. "And I'm gonna be Yuri."

"I don't follow."

"Don't worry." Murray shoved the gag back into Yuri's mouth, to both of their relief. "It's a silent role."

They both laughed, and then left him standing there, fuming, while they gathered supplies and prepared to assault the deadliest prison in all the motherland. Joyce took a fair amount of pleasure in breaking open crates that didn't need to be broken open, just to watch Yuri's eyes widen in outrage.

True to Yuri's prediction, Murray did love the flamethrower. In fact, it was all Joyce could do to keep him from testing it out and blowing them all to smithereens in the process.

In the midst of it, Joyce found tears sliding down her cheeks. She shivered violently. Whether it was a reaction to the plane crash, the bitter cold, or the continued fear that they were going to get there too late, she didn't know. Murray stopped what he was doing and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Hey. It's going to be okay."

"You don't know that."

"I know Jim was alive this morning. We know that because this bastard betrayed Jim when he betrayed us. And the Russians don't do anything quickly. He's alive, Joyce. Trust me on this."

"He's alive," Joyce repeated shakily. "And we're going to get him out. We are going to get him out, right?"

"Yes. Yes, we are. You've dragged me all this way—I don't intend for it to be for nothing."

Joyce nodded, wrapping her arms around herself to get the shivering under control, and Murray moved away to grab some more guns. Yuri made a stifled noise through his gag, and she turned to glare at him. "I don't know what you're laughing at. This is all your fault, you greedy pig, and if something's happened to Hopper because of you, I will take very great pleasure in killing you myself."

Maybe he believed her, maybe he didn't, but at least he kept quiet.