Smoke -- Jim Hopper

5. WHAT, JEALOUS?

Im still really shocked how fast this book is getting reads and votes! y'all are amazing! Please comment though, let me know what you guys think! :) I promise I don't bite haha

I hope you all enjoy this chapter ;) it is also unedited and pretty long!

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Natalie drummed her fingers on the dashboard to the beat of Pulling Teeth by Metallica and bobbing her head to the imaginary beat. She glanced at Hopper from the corner of her eye and noticed his hands tightening around the leather steering wheel. She pushed back a grin and drummed her fingers harder and started humming the music.

"Would you stop?" he asked her with a clipped tone.

"I'm just bored," she groaned and looked at him again.

He rolled his eyes, "how old are you again? 16?" he scoffed.

Natalie hit him lightly on the arm, "for your information, I'm 27."

"You sure don't act like it," Hopper mumbled under his breath.

"You're just old," she shot back at him.

Hopper turned his head to look at her, "me, old?" his lips curling up into a grin, "I've only got 12 years on you, kid."

Natalie bit back a smile, but then started laughing. This was the first time she had seen him smile, and she liked it. "you should smile more chief, it looks good on you."

Hopper looked at her out of the corner of his eye, "yeah?" he said with another grin.

Natalie swallowed thickly, she just realized she was flirting with Hopper, not what she was intending to do. She picked at the end of her flannel, "um, yeah," she felt her face grow hot.

Hopper let out a deep chuckle and slowed the car to a stop. He turned off the car and looked at Natalie, "okay we're here-" he began.

"What's going on?" Natalie asked him with wide eyes.

Hopper ran a hand over his beard, "We need to get into Hawkins Lab. Last night I found a piece of fabric that was part of a hospital gown."

Natalie ran a hand through her hair, "so you think Will is here then?" she took a breath, "why am I here?" she asked.

Hopper leaned back against his seat, "you're a veterinarian," he paused a let out a groan, "this is a stretch, but your a doctor and we need to get into this lab." he told her firmly.

Natalie scoffed, "a veterinarian in an energy lab? I don't think that's gonna pass, Chief."

He turned the car back on, "we'll make it work," with that, he drove to the entrance of the lab and stopped by the entrance.

A soldier looked at them skeptically, "hi, can I uh help you?" he questioned.

"Um, yeah," Hopper looked at Natalie, "we're here for a tour," he paused and glanced at Natalie, "she's a doctor..." he trailed off.

Natalie rolled her eyes, "smooth," she said quietly to him, which earned her a sharp glare from Hopper.

"Listen we don't give tours," the guard said firmly.

"A quick look around?" Hopper asked.

The guard leaned forward in annoyance, "you have to get clearance for that, you can contact Rick Schaeffer with the Department of Energy."

Hopper pinched the bridge of his nose, "maybe you've seen it on T.V, but we have a local kid missing, and we have reason to believe he might have come in here."

The guard rolled his eyes, "like I said you have to take it up with Rick Schaeffer."

Hopper surpassed a groan of annoyance, "what's your name?" he asked the guard.

"Patrick," the guard said slowly.

"Patrick," Hopper began, "I have a panicked mayor, reporters breathing down my neck and I've got a very upset mother. I know the kid is not in there, but I have to check off this box." he told him.

Natalie leaned forward in her seat, "Patrick?" she asked him, and Hopper looked at her with wide eyes, "would you do me a favor?" she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and Patrick leaned forward in his seat, "would you speak to your boss to see what you can swing for us? I would really appreciate it," she asked him lightly with a small smile, "just ten minutes tops, I promise." she twirled a piece of her dark hair around her finger.

Patrick gulped and nodded, "uh, yeah ill see what I can do." he pulled out his phone and spoke to someone over the line, "Okay ten minutes," he told them and the gate opened.

Hopper rolled up the window, "what the hell was that?" he snarled.

"That was me getting us into the lab." she retorted.

Hopper scoffed and parked the car, "don't do that again," he told her as he got out of the car and slammed the door.

Natalie quickly got out and walked next to him, "what, jealous?" she shot back at him in a snarky voice.

Hopper glared down at her, "watch it," he said in a dangerously low tone.

Natalie rolled her eyes, "so jealous," she muttered under her breath and Hopper glared at her again. A man, who she was assuming was Rick came out to them and Hopper led them to the pipe that Will might have crawled through.

Rick looked at them, "so you think the kid crawled through there?" he asked in disbelief.

Hopper nodded, "Well that's the idea."

Rick shook his head, "I just don't see how that's possible. We've got over 100 cameras, every square inch is covered, plus I've got my guys. No one breaks in here, certainly not some kid."

Hopper's eyes lit up with curiosity, "those cameras, you keep the tapes?" he asked Rick.

"Of course," Rick told them and led them into the lab. Natalie couldn't help but gape at all the technology around them. Army men littered the halls, all carrying big guns and wearing scowls on their faces.

Hopper spoke up, "If you don't mind me asking, what do you guys do around here?"

Rick laughed, "you are asking the wrong guy."

Natalie stopped in front of a large yellow biohazard block that led to some door at the end of the hall. The two soldiers glared at her as she looked down the hall.

"C' mon sweetheart, nothing to see there," Rick called out to her.

Natalie bit the inside of her cheek in anger. Nothing irritated her more than men looking down on her because she was a woman. She folded her arms and walked next to Hopper and tapped her foot loudly while glaring daggers at Rick.

"Cool it," he whispered in her ear, causing her to shiver slightly. Hopper stood back up to his full height as they entered the camera room.

"Who's in charge here?" Hopper asked.

"That would be Dr. Brenner," Rick replied as he typed away on the computer, pulling up the tapes.

Hopper narrowed his eyes at the tapes, "this is the nights of the sixth and seventh?"

"Correct," Rick told him.

"Is that it?" Natalie asked as she watched the tapes roll.

Rick looked at them both, "like I said we would have seen him." he said with a shrug.

Rick then escorted them back out to the car and they thanked him for his time. As they got into the car Natalie let out a scoff, "that was bullshit."

"I know." Hopper said as he started the car, "do you remember the sixth and seventh?" he asked her.

"It was raining cats and dogs," she told him.

"Exactly." he nodded as they drove away, "they're hiding something."

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