episode thirtythree

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merry-go-round

.·:*¨ ¨*:·.

   SITTING UP BY THE WINDOW, SAM WATCHED AS ROBIN PACED BACK AND FORTH

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SITTING UP BY THE WINDOW, SAM WATCHED AS ROBIN PACED BACK AND FORTH. The tape played again and again, as the Henderson girl flipped through the dictionary she'd bought.
"Okay, that last part, just one more time." Robin spoke calmly to Dustin as he rewinded the tape again.
"Okay, that word!" The Buckley teen informed quickly, causing Dustin to click off the tape. "Uhm, it's pronounced...dly-nna-ya."
"Dly-nna-ya..." Dustin nodded along, glancing to his sister. Sam flipped through the book, trying to find the word.
"Which is spelled.." Robin jogged over to her blonde friend, looking over her shoulder as she thumbed through the pages.
"Oh, it's the chair! The chair...the chair looking thing." The curly haired boy called, staring at the board intently. Robin then moved to the notepad and smiled in triumph.
Sam pulled the window open, alerting Steve to her presence.
"We have our first sentence." The blonde wiggled her eyebrows with a smile. Steve looked back, shock written over his face as he moved closer.
"Oh, seriously?" He wanted to clarify. Sam cleared her throat dramatically, pinpointing her best Russian accent.
"The week it long." The Henderson girl recited. Steve's face faltered slightly.
"Oh, that's thrilling." He deadpanned.
Sam shrugged, running a hand through her hair. "Yeah, but yaknow. Progress!" She then glanced over his shoulder, briefly locking eyes with Max and Eleven.
"Oh, hey Sam." The redhead waved. The blonde smiled kindly.
"I like the style, El. It suits you." She sent them a thumbs up before turning back to her older friend. "Anyway, I've got work to do. Bye." She winked before slamming the window closed.

-

AS THE DAY WENT ON, THE SCOOPS GROUP TRANSLATED THE REST OF THE TAPE. And by the time all the shops were closed and the entire center was empty, the four friends finalized their findings.
"The week is long, the silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west." The group reads simultaneously.
"That's weird." Sam crossed her arms. The Harrington teen scoffed, grabbing his things dramatically.
"Let's just go." He motioned them out.
As they left the shop and turned out the lights, Steve pulled the grate closed swiftly, moving to lock it with his keys.
"I mean, it just can't be right." The Harrington teen sighed, shaking his head in annoyance.
"It's right." Robin told him firmly, proud of her abilities.
Dustin shrugged lightly. "Honestly, I think it's great news."
"How is this great news?" Steve chuckled humorlessly as he spoke. "I mean, so much for being American heroes. It's total nonsense."
"It's not nonsense." Sam rolled her eyes while moving slowly next to Robin and her brother. "It's too specific, so it's gotta be a code."
"What'd you mean 'a code'?" The brunette grumbled after them.
"Like a super secret spy code." Dustin glanced back as if it was obvious.
"That's a total stretch." Steve huffed his frustration.
"I don't know...Is it?" Robin glanced back as well, just glad to be part of this mystery.
"You're buying into this?" Steve rolled his eyes. Robin sighed.
"Listen, just for kicks let's entertain the possibility that is is a secret Russian transmission. What'd you think they were gonna say, 'Fire the warhead at noon'?" She made a point.
"Exactly." The curly haired boy motioned to her in agreement.
"And our transition is correct. We know that for sure, so..." Sam trailed off. "'The silver cat feeds'. Why would anyone talk like that unless they were trying to mask the true meaning of their message?"
"Exactly." Dustin nodded along.
"And why would anyone mask the true meaning of their message unless the message was somehow sensitive?" Robin bounced off the blondes statement.
"Exactly." The Henderson boy looked at Steve pointedly, who made a face mockingly at them.
"So, I guess that confirms our suspicions." Sam looked at her brother with a proud smile.
"Evil Russians." He nodded along.
Robin shrugged. "I can't believe I'm about to agree with this strange child and her brother, but, yeah, totally. Evil Russians."
Dustin laughed lightly at her words. "So, how do we crack it?"
"Well, I guess we translate the rest and hope a pattern shows up." The Henderson girl shrugged.
"A pattern, yeah." Dustin brainstormed. "Like, maybe 'The Silver Cat' is a meeting place?" He suggested.
"Or a person." Rubin shrugged.
"Or a weapon." Sam pointed at them absentmindedly. "But it'll probably take a super genius to crack it so..." She glanced back before faltering. "Where's Harrington?"
The trio turned to find the teen in question digging through his pockets frantically.
"Hey, Steve. What're you doing?" Robin called over.
"Uh, it's a quarter. I need - Do you have a quarter?" He rambled as they jogged over to him. Sam dug in her pockets without hesitation.
"Sure you're tall enough for that ride?" The Buckley teen teased with a laugh. Steve groaned loudly.
"Quarter!" He rushed them. Sam tossed the coin in her hand quickly.
"Jesus, okay." She glanced at the other two as Steve put the coin in the machine, crouched on the ground.
"You need help getting up, Little Stevie?" Robin taunted, enticing a laughed from the Henderson siblings.
"Shh." Steve waved them off. "Would you three just shut up and listen?" There was a beat of silence when Sam's face fell.
"Holy shit." She turned Dustin around quickly, digging in his bag for the tape before crouching down with Steve. Hitting play, the music matched up perfectly. Dustin's jaw dropped as he listened, catching on easily.
"I don't understand." Robin shrugged in confusion.
"It's the exact same song on the recording." Dustin motioned from the tape in Sam's hand to the ride next to them.
"Maybe they just have horses like this in Russia." The Buckley teen tried to dismiss them to no eval.
"'Indiana Flyer'? I don't..." Steve cut himself off with a shake of his head. "I don't think so. This code, it didn't come from Russia...It came from here."
Sam's knee buckled, sending her to the cold ground quickly. "Well, shit." The Henderson girl began tracing over the long scar on her leg, visible only because of her shorts.
"Sam, you okay?" Dustin looked worriedly at her, his eyebrows furrowed.
"We have to figure out what this means. Like, now. I have a horrible feeling."

episode thirtythree
merry-go-round

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