something_incredible | (no subject)

Hopper still has a lot of shit to deal with. He knows he has a lot of shit to deal with, stuff he pushes aside and pretends doesn't exist or numbs under alcohol, because that's a hell of a lot easier than actually trying to face it. For the most part, this works for him, because he has other distractions, things that make him happy, things that make it easy to overlook the other shit he's never dealt with.

There's Beverly, of course, and there's Lucy, but there's also being a cop. As much as he'd treated his job in Hawkins like it was mostly just an office to take a nap in after he had a beer in his truck, he knows it's something he's good at. There hadn't been much to do in Hawkins until the lab started screwing around with things, but in New York he'd been a good cop and when it had come down to it, he'd helped Hawkins, too.

Darrow gives him a lot more to do in that sense. He's not a detective or anything, but the precinct knows he and Bobby are good cops, better than a lot of the new kids they get in, so they tend to get better and more interesting cases. Corralling drunks usually isn't assigned to them and Hopper's grateful for that, because he's pretty sure he'd end up getting himself into trouble with obnoxious college boys.

Right now they're in an unmarked car, watching a small convenience store down the block. Nothing is supposed to happen, as far as they've been told, it's really just surveillance, watching who comes and goes. There's talk of it being a front for some sort of drug ring and they need a bit more information collected before anyone will be able to go further with it. Hopper doesn't mind being the one to do it. He likes the work, he likes Bobby, and being paid pretty damn well to sit in a car and eat a burger isn't such a bad way to spend the evening.

"Fries?" he asks, passing the bag over to Bobby.

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"Yeah," Bobby says after a moment, his expression a little more solemn as he nods. "Yeah, it does seem weird." Back home, he wouldn't have thought twice about it. Twin Peaks had a handful of late-night hangouts, but they were like small pockets of activity in an otherwise quiet town, the place seemingly shut down by this hour. He's been in Darrow long enough to know that things are different here. There's always of some kind. Twenty-four hour stores like this always have customers coming and going.

Maybe it wouldn't be all that noteworthy if they weren't here to keep an eye on things, but they can't see who comes and goes if no one is doing so. They already have reason to believe that something is going on here, and the lack of people seems like it very well might drive that home.

"There's no way there wouldn't be anyone going in for this long, right? Even on a slow night."

"Even on a slow night," Hopper agrees thoughtfully. Their job isn't to go in and investigate. Their job is to sit here and see what they can see and report back on it, but Hopper's not always great at following the rules.

He's thinking, trying to formulate a plan, even though he's always been more of the run in now and think later sort. When he's on his own, that's okay, because his ass is the only one on the line, but with Bobby here, he's not about to risk both their careers just because he's got a bee in his bonnet about this place.

"What do you think?" he asks. "I might need some cigarettes."

"And what do you know? I just finished my drink," Bobby says, picking up his cup from the fast food place and shaking it a couple times so the ice cubes audibly rattle. He's got a bottle of water — this could easily be a long night — but it's as good an excuse as any on his part if they want to go check this out. And while he knows they're just supposed to be watching, that this is about surveillance, not action, he has a hard time just sitting idly by when there's a chance that something might actually be going on here.

"I mean, shit, we can't tell 'em anything if we can't see anything."

"What do you know," Hopper echoes with a grin. Chances are they're going to catch hell for this, but at least he's not heading into it alone and at least he's not throwing Bobby into anything he hasn't decided for himself. Hopper knows he's not always the best guy to be partnered with, not when he has a tendency to act without thinking, but if Bobby didn't want to do this, he could say so.

He pockets the keys for the car and climbs out, careful to shut the door without slamming it. At the moment, they're just two guys heading into a convenience store, but he doesn't think they need to draw attention to themselves.

"One of us ought to go around and come at it from the other direction," he says in a low voice. "Makes it less likely we'll be noticed as a pair of cops if we don't enter together."

"Good call," Bobby says with a short, decisive nod, keeping his own voice low in turn. If they're going to go off-book like this, then they at least ought to be smart about it. Doing otherwise would just defeat the purpose, and they'd be better off staying in the car all night. Glancing down the block, he gestures ahead with his chin. "I'll circle around that way, come in from the other side right after you."

Timing might be the trickiest part of this. They probably shouldn't go in at exactly the same time, or their approaching from opposite directions probably won't make any difference, but he's not sending Hopper in alone, either. Hopefully staggering it by a few seconds will keep them from raising any suspicions.

Hopper nods and he can't help the flicker of a grin that twitches at the corners of his mouth. This feels more like the sort of police work he used to do back in New York and while he would have said for a long time that he preferred the quiet life in Hawkins, he has to admit he missed this.

He heads for the store, going at a slightly slower pace to allow Bobby time to get around from the other side. As he opens the door, a little bell above the frame dings softly, signalling his entry, but no one greets him. No one even looks to be in the store.

The cigarettes are kept locked up behind the counter, which works as a perfect excuse for Hopper to lean against the counter, waiting for someone to come help him.

Bobby waits a few seconds, letting the door close fully between them, before he follows Hopper into the store. Though he doesn't really have the first idea what he'll be walking into when he does, it's surprisingly quiet inside, the register unmanned. Under any other circumstances, he would just assume the late hour and the lack of customers prompted someone to go on break, assuming that they'd have time for it. As it is, though, it mostly seems suspicious.

Walking over to the refrigerator against the wall, he pauses for a moment as if contemplating the drink options inside, really using the reflection from the glass to glance back at Hopper. Then he swings the door open, takes two bottles of water out, and goes to wait in line by the counter. Someone's got to realize that there are people here before long. The two of them will be ready when that happens.

"They need a bell to ring or somethin'," Hopper comments when Bobby comes toward the counter as well. He says it in the same casual tone anyone talks to a stranger, not letting on that he knows Bobby at all, and he leans over the counter as if he's looking into the back room to see if anyone is coming to give them a hand.

"Hey," he calls. "Anyone home? Just lookin' to buy some smokes out here."

There's silence in the back, then a sudden flurry of movement, and a door slams. Hopper frowns a little, then looks to Bobby and shrugs.

"Well, at least we know someone's here," Bobby says, likewise casual in turn. No one has come out yet, but he doesn't want to give too much away just in case, knowing they can probably be heard and guessing the odds are about even that there's some kind of camera here. Stores like this usually seem to in case of theft, but if there is something more going on here, and he's really starting to think there is, they might have a different use for that sort of surveillance. And for the moment, the two of them still need to seem like strangers.

Voice a little louder, he says, "Hey, come on, don't keep us waiting all night."

"I'm lookin' to buy some smokes," he calls. "Gonna take my business elsewhere if I have to wait much longer."

It's a stupid, idle threat. One to make him look like just a regular guy, but whatever they're doing isn't working. The moment before someone emerges from the back with a knife, Hopper senses a change in the atmosphere. It's a cop thing, something developed with years of experience, and he doesn't have time to stop and see if Bobby feels it, too, only trusts that he does. It gives him a moment of advantage and he pushes himself up and over the counter at the same time the guy rushes out of the back and launches himself in Bobby's direction.

They're going to hear about this from their boss, but first they have to make sure they get out of here in one piece.