Murray had yet to answer their question as Nancy badgered him for more help. The man silently stood and walked over to the kitchen. The three of them followed him eagerly, awaiting his response. He slammed a bottle of vodka onto the table along with an empty cup.

"I don't know where this is going, but I like it," Sloane said with a scoff as she crossed her arms and leaned against the counter. Still, they waited for Murray to speak. He began to pour the vodka to which Sloane asked, "Can I get some of that?"

Without a word, Murray pulled out another glass.

"What are you doing?" Nancy asked, sounding irritated.

Finally, Murray spoke, "Thinking."

"Let the man do his thing," the blonde shrugged off the girl and grabbed her cup, taking a sip of the bitter liquid. "Blegh, this is way too strong. Stupid Russians."

"You think with vodka?" the other girl scoffed as Sloane simply sat and attempted to drink. "Are you serious?"

Murray rolled his eyes, "Vodka is a central nervous system depressant. So, yes, with vodka."

He walked over to a collection of vinyl records and selected one, causing Nancy to guffaw and ask, "Music, really?"

"Do you have to be such a square, Nance? People are dying, let the man drink and listen to his music," Sloane argued as the three followed him into the living room. Placing her drink down, she gave up on, "That needs to be watered down or mixed with something because that sucks."

"Seriously, Sloane? This is what you're gonna choose to fight me on?" Nancy sighed as she looked over at her friend. Sloane couldn't help but remember everything she had overheard the previous night. As much as she wanted to, she refused to act on it. Not now, not yet. Nancy got increasingly more bothered as she turned to Murray, "How long is this going to take?"

"Longer if you keep talking," Murray mused, which caused Sloane to bite back a laugh as she simply sat back and enjoyed the music. Life was easy when there was very little personal stake.

Nancy groaned, "Is the tape incriminating or not? Just answer the question!"

Sloane stood from where she had been leaning against the wall in order to walk over next to the girl and place her hand gently on Nancy's arm. This was more protection from Murray than it was a comfort for Nancy if she was being honest.

Murray laughed outwardly before turning to look at Nancy, "There's nothing simple about it. Nothing simple about anything you've told me."

"You don't believe us, do you?" Jonathan asked, finally intruding onto the conversation after remaining silent for a few, blessed minutes.

The man scoffed, saying, "I believe you, but that's not the problem. You don't need me to believe you, you need them to believe you."

"Them?" Jonathan questioned.

"Them," Murray repeated, "With a capital T. Your priest, your postman, your teacher, the world at large. They won't believe any of this."

Nancy still seemed displeased. For just a moment before she broke free from Sloane's grip, she leaned into it. However, the moment was over as she pulled away and continue to speak with Murray, "That's why we made the tape."

"That's easy to bury, easy."

"He's right," Sloane interrupted, "Who's to say the government can't just murder us and bury the tape with stories of our mysterious disappearances? They would totally do that. Kinda bogus, but they'd definitely get away with it."

Murray nodded and pointed at the blonde, "She's got it."

"But he admits it! He admits culpability!" Nancy yelled, getting more and more ired up out of frustration.

"You're being naive, Nancy!" Murray yelled back. Sloane knew he was right so she simply shared a look with Jonathan, but both of them neglected to correct Murray. "Those people... they're not wired like me and you, okay? They don't spend their whole lives trying to get a look at what's behind the curtain. They like the curtain. It provides them stability, comfort, definition. This... this would open the curtain. And open the curtain behind the curtain, okay? So the minute someone with an ounce of authority calls bullshit, everyone will not their heads and say "See? Ha! I knew it was bullshit." That is if you even get their attention at all."

Nancy looked understanding yet utterly defeated as she reasoned, "You're saying we did all of this for nothing?"

"I"m saying, I'm thinking," Murray spoke pointedly and the three of them seemed to let out a collective sigh as the man returned to what he had been doing. He took a sip of the vodka and his face scrunched up, "Ooh. Sloane, was it? You were right this definitely needs to be watered down."

"This is ridiculous," Jonathan muttered as Murray traipsed off to the kitchen, but Sloane was holding out hope.

Sloane followed Murray into the kitchen with her drink, watching as he paused before pouring the water. "That's it. That's it!"

Nancy ran into the kitchen asking, "What's it?"

"It's just too strong. Too strong," Murray muttered as he poured the water into his and Sloane's cups and took a sip. He nodded before pouring more and taking another sip. "Better. Perfect."

The Wheeler girl picked up what he was putting down as she leaned onto the counter, making dead eye contact with Murray and saying, "We water it down."

"Damn, who knew I was onto something," Sloane shrugged, making eye contact with Jonathan who did the same. She smiled slightly, enjoying the non-verbal interactions they had been having. He wasn't so bad when he was quiet.

"Precisely," Murray encouraged as he looked at both those girls. "Your story. We moderate it. Just like this drink here. We make it more tolerable. Perhaps Barbara was exposed to some dangerous toxins."

"A leak from the lab. Like Three Mile Island or something," Nancy continued on as they ran with the story.

Murray nodded as he continued mixing the drinks, "Something scary, but familiar. Close enough that it hits the man right where it hurts."

He handed Nancy and Jonathan their own mixed drinks. Nancy grabbed hers first, saying, "And those assholes that killed Barb..."

"They'll go down."

They all took a deep breath before cheering and taking sips of their drinks. Now, they were getting somewhere. They had a plan and those assholes were going down. Seeing the satisfaction on Nancy's face warmed Sloane's heart to no end. Making progress in this area was all well and good, but part of Sloane wished she was making some progress with Nancy. She knew this wasn't the right time, she just didn't know when the right time was going to be. However, Sloane Andrews was not a coward and pretty girls were no exception. Maybe now wasn't the time, but Sloane was not going to wait much longer. If she couldn't find the right moment, she would make one.

"Stop thinking so hard," Nancy seemed to notice Sloane being stuck in her own head as she clinked their glasses together gently and took another sip. "Celebrate, we're going to burn Hawkins Lab to the ground if it's the last thing we do."

Sloane smiled and took another sip, "I'll drink to that."

this is so plot-heavy I'm sorry but I love this scene so much and I love that Sloane and Murray are just bros!! I'm sorry it's been almost two months since an update I'm working on updating more regularly I swear!