Downside Up [W.Byers]

041

"Hey, I'll be right back, okay? I'm going to the washroom." Ruby says as she gets up from her seat. "Yeah, Yeah. Just come back soon." Dustin dismisses.

On her way out, she spots a familiar faces leaving the jewelry store. She smiles, quickly running over. "Boo!" She shouts as she creeps up behind Will.

Will jumps, then spins around. "Ruby!" He smiles, wrapping his arms around her. "Hey. I didn't know you were coming here." She states as they pull out.

"Yeah, Mike wants to find something for El. What have you been doing?" He asks. "Some top secret business with Dustin, Steve, and Robin. I'll tell you more at home." She chuckles.

"Alright. I'll see you later, Rube."

"Bye, Will." She quickly pecks his cheek, before heading off to the restroom.

"Hey, Steve. How's slinging ice cream?" Ruby asks as she returns. "Boring. How's the translating?" He asks. As if on cue, Robin opens up the windows. "We've got our first sentence." She says proudly.

"Oh, seriously?" Steve turns around. "Yeah." She nods. "The week is long." She says in a russian accent. "Well, that's thrilling." Steve sighs.

"I know. But, progress. Ruby, you coming?" She asks. The blonde nods. "Ruby?" Max asks. Ruby turns around, a wide smile spread across her face. "Hey! Are you guys here with Mike, Lucas, and Will?" Ruby asks cheerfully.

"They're here?" Max raises her eyebrows. "Yeah.. Will said Mike was- oh um. They were just bored. Are you not with them?" She asks again. "No." El shakes her head.

"You have got to be kidding me." The red head rolls her eyes. "Well, it was great seeing you two. I'm gonna go back to Dustin. Should I tell him you say hi?" She beams. "Yeah." El nods.

"Alright. Bye, you two."

"Bye!"

She enters the room, resuming her seat beside Dustin. "The whole crew is here. El, Max, Will, Lucas, Mike. Max and El say hi." Ruby states. "Like I care. They didn't even give a shit about me yesterday. Except you and will." He rolls his eyes.

"Anyways, we've got business."  Dustin motioning towards the tape.

"Dustin, it's getting late. The mall's already    closed." Ruby yawns as she slouches back in her chair. "Ruby, we've just got it. Hold on." Dustin says. They all look up at the board, their eyes scanning the words.

"The week is long, the silver cat feeds, when blue meets yellow in the west." They read. "That makes absolutely no sense." Ruby shakes her head.

They walk out of scoops, licking it down as they close it. "I mean, it just... it just can't be right." Steve states. "It's right." Robin argues. "Honestly, I think it's great news." Dustin comments.

"How is this great news?" Ruby groans. "Yeah, I mean, so much for being American heroes. It's total nonsense" Steve adds.

"It's not nonsense. It's too specific. It's obviously a code." Dustin rolls his eyes. "What do you mean, a code?" Steve questions. "Like a super secret spy code." He replies.

"That's a total stretch." Ruby cuts In, leaning her head on Dustin's shoulder as he wraps his arm around her. "I don't know, is it?" Robin comments as they continue to walk towards the exit.

"You're buying into this?" Steve says in disbelief. "Listen, just for kicks, let's entertain the possibility that this is a secret Russian transmission. What'd you think they were gonna say, 'Fire the warhead at noon?'" She explains.

"Exactly." Dustin nods. "And my translation is correct. I know that for sure, so... 'The silver cat feeds.' Why would anyone talk like that unless they're trying to mask the true meaning of their message?"

"Exactly." Dustin agrees once again. "And why would anyone wanna mask the true meaning of their message unless the message was somehow sensitive?"

"Exactly!"

Steve rolls his eyes as Ruby forces her eyes to stay open. "So I guess that confirms your suspicion." Robin states. "Evil Russians." He nods.

"I can't believe I'm about to agree with this strange child, but, yeah, totally evil Russians." She laughs. "So how do we crack it?" Ruby asks, raising her head from Dustin's shoulder.

"Well, I guess we translate the rest and hopefully a pattern emerges." She shrugs. "A pattern. Right, like maybe 'silver cat' is a meeting place?" Dustin suggests. "Or a person." Robin adds.

"Or a weapon."

"Or a spaghetti noodle." Ruby mutters, causing them to curiously turn to her as they walk. "Did I mention I was hungry? Oh, and tired." She nods.

"It's probably gonna take a super genius to crack it, but..." Robin pauses, stopping in her tracks. "Where's Steve?" She asks.

They all turn to face Steve, who is rummaging through his pockets in front of a mechanic horse ride. "Hey, Steve." Robin calls.

"What are you doing?"

"Uh, it's a quarter. I need— do you have a quarter?" He asks. Robin chuckles, running over along with Dustin and Ruby. "Sure you're tall enough for that ride?" She teases.

"Quarter!" He shouts. She passes him the coin, which he quickly inserts into the money slot. The music begins to play as he crouches beside it. "You need help getting up, little Stevie?" Robin smirks.
Ruby and Dustin let out short laughs.

"Shh! Would you three just shut up and listen?" Steve rolls his eyes. They pause for a moment, carefully listening. Dustin's expressions drops. "Holy shit."

"The music." Ruby says, watching as Dustin pulls the tape out of his bag. "The music!" Dustin repeats. He plays the tape, the music sounding in the background. It's identical.

"I don't understand." Robin squints her eyes.  "It's the exact same song on the recording." Dustin explains. "Maybe they have horses like this in Russia." Robin suggests.

"Indiana Flyer? I don't...I don't think so." Steve shakes his head. "This code, it... didn't come from Russia." Steve begins.

"It came from here."