Chapter One-Hundred-And-Two: "Bribing" Erica

(The Sauna Test, Pt. 2)

***

After getting Dustin unstuck from the vent where the curly-haired boy said immediately, "Don't say anything," to Rowan while she just smirked, Erica took his place as she peered into the vent while they waited for her verdict and see if she could fit into it.

The ten-year-old scrutinised the air duct before she turned around and said, "Yeah, I don't know."

Valerie threw her head back and muttered, "Are you kidding me?" while Rowan glared at Erica—she should have guessed the younger Sinclair would be resistant against this ever since they first asked her to do this.

"You don't know if you can fit?" Dustin questioned, while Steve shook his head, looking exasperated with Erica—not that Rowan could blame him.

"Oh, I can fit. I just don't know if I want to," Erica responded in an incredibly sassy voice that would have Rowan smirk if not for the situation.

"Are you claustrophobic?" Robin asked.

"I don't have phobias," Erica replied right back with a smirk.

"Wow. You must be so fearless," Rowan snarked with an eye-roll. 

"Damn straight I am," Erica returned.

"Okay, well, what's the problem?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, and it better be a good reason, you little twerp," Valerie muttered—the Martinéz girl was never getting over how incessantly Erica asked for ice cream samples instead of buying a proper ice cream.

"The problem is, I still haven't heard what's in this for Erica," Erica revealed.

The five of them gave each other looks, knowing exactly what they had to do to get Erica Sinclair to do this.

***

Nearly ten minutes later—and several cans of whipped cream and a bottle of fudge sauce—Rowan, Dustin, Robin and Valerie sat in a booth looking at Erica right in the middle as Steve slid a sundae over to Erica after giving her several ice creams and a large ice cream float and milkshakes. Their only hope of bribing Erica into doing this for them.

Erica gave it a cursory look before pushing it back to Steve. "More fudge, please."

Steve gave her a disbelieving look, but Erica only waved her hand and said, "Go on."

Steve glared at Erica before he gave a long-suffering sigh and grabbed the sundae and walked away to douse the sundae in even more fudge, Rowan giving him a sympathetic look before the rest of them turned back to Erica.

"All right," Robin began as she held up the blueprints marked with the route so Erica could see. "You see this? This is the route you're gonna take. Then we just wait till the last delivery goes out tonight. Then you knock out the grate, jump down, and open the door."

"Then you find out what's in those boxes?" Erica asked.

"Exactly."

"Mm-hmm. And you say this guard is armed?" Erica pressed, looking right at Dustin.

"Yes, but he won't be there," Dustin assured, Rowan nodding as she added, "And if he is, I'll handle him."

Robin and Valerie gave matching skeptical and confused looks at Rowan that she ignored as their ticket into the room inquired, "And booby traps?"

"Booby traps?" Robin repeated, her voice as incredulous as her face.

"Lasers, spikes in the walls?" Erica elaborated.

"What?"

"Erica, this isn't gonna be like Indiana Jones or that bullshit. It's just gonna be a room," Rowan said dryly.

"Then how come there's only one guy guarding it?" Erica pressed.

"Jesus Christ, you're being way too paranoid about this..."

"You know what this half-baked plan of yours sounds like to me?" Erica questioned, giving them all a glare as she said in answer to her own question, "Child endangerment."

"We'll be in radio contact with you the whole time—" Robin started, but Erica interrupted, "Ah, ah, ah! Child. Endangerment."

"Oh my God," Valerie muttered, looking like she wanted to strangle Erica. Rowan looked at the ten-year-old and said, "Look, if this was dangerous for you, we wouldn't be doing this. And if you are in danger, trust me, I'll be there."

Erica gave Rowan a skeptical look while again Robin and Valerie looked at her in confusion. The dark-haired girl sighed—this wasn't working. They were losing Erica, and fast.

"Erica?" Dustin said, and she looked over to him as the cap-wearing boy went on, "Hi. Uh... We think these Russians want to do harm to our country. Great harm. Don't you love your country?"

"You can't spell America without Erica," Erica declared as she grabbed her ice cream float.

Rowan blinked, her mind doing the spelling and coming to a complete shock when it was in fact correct. Looking at Robin, Valerie and Dustin, she saw similar looks of realisation as Erica began to loudly drink her float.

"Uh, yeah, yeah. Oddly, that's, uh, totally true," Dustin said, turning to look back at Erica, a chance at hooking her back in now apparent. "So, don't do this for us. Do it for your country. Do it for your fellow man. Do this for America... Erica."

He grinned as a final clincher as Rowan, Robin and Valerie eyed each other, wondering if that speech really could convince Erica by calling out to her patriotism.

Erica gave a large slurp before she set her drink down and grinned. "Oh! I just got the chills."

The grin Dustin wore crashed when Erica deadpanned, "Oh, yeah, from this float. Not your speech."

Rowan scoffed and muttered, "Should have guessed. At least you tried, menace," as Valerie gave Dustin a sympathetic look, but Erica wasn't done.

"Know what I love most about this country? Capitalism. Do you know what capitalism is?" Erica said.

"Yeah," came the unanimous response, Rowan accompanying hers with an eye-roll and a muttered, "Though we have very different views about capitalism, Erica."

"It means this is a free market system," Erica bolstered on like she hadn't heard them and Rowan rolled her eyes again as she thought, Yeah, we know. We're not five fucking years old, while the younger Sinclair went on, "Which means people get paid for their services, depending on how valuable their contributions are. And it seems to me, my ability to fit into that little vent, is very very valuable to you all."

Again, Rowan, Dustin, Robin and Valerie looked at each other, at Erica immediately pegging just how important her ability to get into that room via the vent was.

"So, you want my help?" Erica said, making them all look back at her, as she finished off, "This USS Butterscotch better be the first of many. And I'm talking free ice cream for life."

Rowan stared at Erica as she finished off her bargain with eating a cherry, stunned—and kind of impressed—how quickly the tables turned from them trying to bribe Erica to her now bargaining with them for it. If her aunt was here, Rowan knew she would be bursting with pride and immediately trying to counsel Erica in the ways of swindling. 

... Okay, now that Rowan thought of it, that image was honestly terrifying.

But as she looked at Robin, Valerie and Dustin, she knew that this was their only option to ensure Erica's help. And from the displeased look on Valerie's face, it was one her friend was not looking forward to in accepting.

But Rowan hadn't been raised by a shitty con artist. She turned back to Erica and said, "Okay."

The girl perked up, opening her mouth to speak, but Rowan continued, "But, the free ice cream only stands if you actually agree and get into that room. If you can't or keep trying to worm out of it, then it's off. No deal."

Erica stared at Rowan, obviously taken aback by Rowan's counter-offer. She scowled, before saying, "Fine. I'll do it."

Rowan grinned; she had Erica now. "It's a deal."

She stuck out her hand and Erica reluctantly shook it, Rowan saying with a chipper smile, "Pleasure doing business with you, Sinclair. Your contribution is going to be very valued—and rewarded if you actually do it."

Erica's scowl intensified and Robin, Valerie and Dustin looked at Rowan with impressed looks.

It was at that moment Steve returned, holding the sundae newly drowned in fudge sauce, his exasperated look twisting into a puzzled frown.

"What did I miss?"

***

Short chapter, I know. But I'm promise the next chapter will be much longer—and filled with much chaos >:)

Again, I had so much fun with this. I love Erica and I love writing her interactions with Rowan. The Scoops Troop is now complete!

Yeah, Rowan "raised by a con woman" Leonora Graveswood would DEFINITELY make sure Erica didn't squirm out of her end of the deal by making it clear that free ice cream for life would be off if she didn't do it. But yeah, Aco would be VERY proud of Erica Sinclair in this moment (and trying to teach her in the ways of conning)

Next chapter will be soon! And it's going to have more chaos >:)

Please read, comment and vote!

GhostWriterGirl out!