teenage tragedy (Max Mayfield)

3. nine

"Okay, clear. Clear, come on, let's go," Steve whispered.

They crept out from their hiding spot, running to another. They ducked behind a large metal garbage dumpster just as a guard walked past the main tunnel leading to the rest of the Russian lair.

"Okay, that was close," Robin whispered.

"Too close," Dustin whispered.

"Relax. All right? Relax. Nobody saw..." Steve trailed off as they walked to the entrance of the tunnel. The room it led to was enormous, overrun with Russians. "Shit." Steve shoved them all behind a red container to hide. "Jesus," Steve whispered.

"Red Dawn," Dustin said.

"I saw it. First floor, northwest," Erica said.

"Saw what?" Steve said.

"The comms room," Erica said.

Cammie frowned when she felt something touch her lip. She wiped it and saw blood. El was using her powers, then, wherever she was. Cammie just hoped it wasn't causing trouble with Max because she did not want to put Max in Hopper's bad books. Not when she was currently the favourite out of Hopper's daughter's partners.

"You saw the comms room?" Steve repeated.

"Correct," Erica said.

"Are you sure?" Dustin asked.

"Positive. The door was open for a second, and I saw a bunch of lights and machines and shit in there," Erica said.

"That could be a hundred different things," Dustin said.

"I'll take those odds," Robin said.

She and Steve shared a look and Cammie frowned.

"Let's just go, shit birds. I'll save our asses if I have to," Cammie hissed.

Steve sighed and nodded. They peeked out around the corner.

"All right. We're gonna move fast, we're gonna stay low. Okay?" Steve whispered.

"Okay," Robin whispered.

They crept to the end of the tunnel and waited for the soldiers to pass before running and hiding behind the next cover. Miraculously, nobody had spotted them yet, so Cammie considered this a success already.

"Shh! Move it." Steve motioned for Dustin and Erica to pick up the pace. The door to the Comms room opened and a man in a white lab coat walked out. "Let's go," Steve whispered.

They ran over and Steve held it open, ushering them inside. He closed the door and they smiled, turning to look at whatever was going on.

Cammie's heart stopped. There was a man talking Russian at the electronic station. He turned around when the door finally shut over and stood up, reaching for his gun. Robin jumped forward and the two started talking in Russian, Robin saying the code to him repeatedly. The man scoffed and Steve took that as his cue.

He let out an angry battle cry and charged forward, knocking the Russian back onto the electronics panel. The Russian threw Steve to the side and Cammie winced.

"Need a hand?" she said.

Steve dodged a punch and the Russian retaliated. He grabbed Steve and threw him onto the panel again. Steve grunted and got up, elbowing the Russian in the stomach. The Russian groaned and Steve slammed him in the face with the phone. The Russian collapsed and fell unconscious.

Steve ran a hand through his hair, looking up at them with a weak smile.

"Dude! You did it! You won a fight!" Dustin laughed.