𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐄! ✽ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻

58

❝𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆. 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐀𝐓 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐒 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐄 𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐒 𝐘𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓.❞ steve, sheridan, robin, and dustin read aloud in unison. they all shared similar expressions, their brows dipped and foreheads wrinkled, confusion clear. silence hung in the air like smoke.

"i don't understand," dani plainly stated, her gaze still fixated on the dry-erase russian alphabet before her. "you guys somehow manage to translate a secret russian code, but even then, what the hell is it supposed to mean?" the redheaded girl's arms crossed above her chest as she huffed in annoyance. she had been waiting her whole shift to find out what this transmission meant; it was the most interesting part of her entire summer so far. but all she felt was a tinge of disappointment. 

"i don't know..." steve began as he headed for the main lobby of scoop's ahoy. dani followed at his side, robin and dustin closely trailing. "are you sure you guys did it right?" he asked the pair behind him. 

"i'm positive!" robin whined, her arms flying out at her side and hitting her leg with frustration. the four exited the ice cream parlor and stepped out into starcourt. despite the closed grates, most stores' neon signs stayed on, lighting the kids' path. 

steve hopped to nab the bottom of scoop's security grate. sherrie nearly spat out a laugh, but her mind was too preoccupied. "i mean, it just..." the harrington boy began as he tugged the metal closure to the ground. he bent down to lock it up. "it just can't be right," he refuted once more.

"god, steve, if you're so sure they did it wrong, why don't you do it?!" dani fired back. as steve regained his normal composure, his brown eyes widened in shock at her sudden defensiveness. 

"hey!" he protested. "i'm just confused, okay? like the rest of us?!"

"honestly, i think this is great news," dustin interjected as they started towards the mall's employee exit.

steve's brows knitted themselves together, just as they had multiple times in the hours before. "how is this great news?" he let out a pathetic chuckle as he stuffed his key in his uniform pocket. "i mean, so much for being american heroes! it's total nonsense." he jogged up to sherrie's left side.

"it's not nonsense," dustin responded. "it's too specific. it's obviously a code."

"what do you mean a code?" steve questioned. dani sighed; it always did take steve a second longer.

"like a super secret spy code."

"that's a total stretch," steve brushed off. he loved to discount dustin's ideas when he didn't have any of his own. 

"i don't know, steve," dani started. steve rarely heard anyone out, and of course, sherrie was one of the only exceptions. "i mean, the code even sounds like it doesn't say what it really means, y'know? th-these things--the silver cat, blue and yellow--they gotta stand for something, right?"