Episode 408: Resin, Part Two

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Joshua: If she can disarm, you can disarm. If she can change, I can change—oh, sorry. I was watching that on the Cortex the other day …

The humor falls flat with everyone but the message is clear. Disarm. Nika rolls her eyes, takes several steps forward, and sets her rifle down.

Nika: Arden.
Arden: What?
Nika: Give me your pistol.
Arden: I’m not holding my pistol. It can stay in my belt.
Nika: Give me your pistol.
Joshua: Arden. It doesn’t work unless everyone disarms.
Arden: I’m not holding a weapon.
Rina: Don’t make me hurt you.
Joshua: (to Arden) We know how to handle it. We do.

Nika’s eyes narrow and her tone drops several degrees.

Nika: You’re carrying a weapon. Give it.
Arden: Take two steps and pick up your rifle, you’re carrying a weapon again.
Nika: Arden—.

And Nika says it with her patented Nika Stare.

Joshua: (off her look) Whoa! Whoa. Okay, that weapon is legally certified.

Nika walks over and literally takes the weapon off Arden’s belt and walks away. She puts it on top of the pile of weapons on the floor. Arden comes up behind her and she straightens and snaps at him.

Nika: Give me a good reason.

She’s livid and mad and in his face and Arden kisses her on her nose. Which only makes her madder. She turns around and stalks away.

Outside, Kiera’s surprised when a figure appears sixty feet away. It’s a man in work pants, work boots, no shirt. He’s not built like a super lumberjack or anything, but has the looks of someone recently hardened through physical labor. His arms and hands sport little nicks and cuts, his face is unshaven. He’s got an axe handle in his hand, a nice solid piece of wood in a nice solid grip. He’s startled, not by the sight of Kiera so much as by her automatic shotgun. After all, in a fight between a stick of wood and a shotgun, it’s the shotgun that usually wins.

Kiera lowers the muzzle of her shotgun to make it less threatening, so she’ll be shooting him in the stomach instead of in the head. She addresses him all friendly-like.

Kiera: So, you know how to open this door?
Man: (a beat) Uh … I think I’m supposed to tell you to put your gun down.
Kiera: With what?
Man: Your hands, I’m guessin’.
Kiera: No, I’m thinkin’ with what and what army did you plan to tell me to put my gun down with?
Man: Well, your friends are captive downstairs.
Kiera: All right.
Man: And they’ll be killed if you don’t do as we say.
Kiera: How many of them are there down there?
Man: All of them.
Kiera: All of mine or all of yours?
Man: All of yours.
Kiera: Well, all’a mine is like, four people. They’re all downstairs so you gotta have more than four people right?

The man sighs. Obviously he wasn’t expecting a debate.

Man: All I’m sayin’, and don’t shoot me cuz I’m just tellin’ you this.
Kiera: Uh-huh.
Man: But you are to put down your gun.
Kiera: Uh-huh.
Man: And give up. Or …
Kiera: Mm-hm.
Man: Your friends might die and I might—what?

He claps a hand to his ear and looks aside. He’s got an ear comm on and someone’s talking to him over it. He listens.

Man: What?! (listens some more) Or I will have to use this axe handle on you.

Kiera bites down on her laugh and watches as he turns around and throws an incredulous look up into the forested slope. Kiera repeats, just to be clear.

Kiera: I am to put down the guns or you will kill all my friends and/or you will beat me senseless that axe handle?
Man: (sighs) Yeah. That seems to be the plan.
Kiera: Or we can all negotiate.
Man: (hefts handle) These things hurt. I’m not kiddin’. And you’re probably pretty close to out of ammo on that thing and I’m … pretty spry.
Kiera: (unimpressed) And wet.

Because it’s still raining and she’s under cover in the doorway while he’s standing in the downpour like a fool. He throws a wide gesture at the camp.

Man: Have you seen all the … crazy stuff here? I mean, think about that. There could be somethin’ crazy up here. Do not … We, we could be crazy people and you don’t want to mess with us.
Kiera: (still unimpressed) Yeah, cuz gosh, when I was a kid—
Man: And I’m pretty sure I’ve got prion disease so if you shoot me, you’ll probably get blood on you and—and die.
Kiera: (supremely unimpressed) Uh-huh.

Cuz, really, he seems to be just going through some sort of playbook. One he didn’t particularly read all the way through.

Kiera: Or I have an idea. Why don’t you come stand at the door and open the door, and … I’ll try not to shoot you cuz I got a really bad trigger finger. Cuz there’s a wall and it’s got holes in it, and we’ll assume that my friends aren’t going to be hurt downstairs.

The man’s ear comm pings him again and he scowls and claps his hand to his ear.

Man: (to Kiera) Hold on a second. Hold on a second. (listens)
Kiera: And the voice in your head will make more sense.

The man half hunches, half turns away and mutters into his comm. Kiera can’t make out everything he says, just bits and pieces.

Man: (muttering) … I know she …. (looks at Kiera) …. yeah! … yeah … (nods) Okay.

And he takes off like a shot around the rear of the bunker. Kiera goes to the corner and peers around it just in time to see the man take off running up the slope into the woods again.

What the hell?

Kiera gusts a sigh, rolls her eyes, and shoulders her rifle. Cupping her hands around her mouth and breathing deep, she bellows into the woods where the man disappeared.

Kiera: Olly, olly, oxen free!

A bullet bounces off the concrete bunker behind her. It misses her wide by a considerable distance and from the woods above a voice drifts down through the rain: throw down your gun …

Kiera cups her ear and pantomimes deafness and hollers again.

Kiera: Wha-aaaaaattttt?

And turns around to the other side of the bunker and hunkers down in the doorway again. Either the goons out there will run out of ammo or they’ll get more of their friends and come on down and tell her she needs to put down her gun. Either way, she’s got some time to kill.

Meanwhile, down below her friends are still hashing out the terms of surrender with Dr Schweiss.

Joshua: Okay, so all the guns have been put down.
Dr Schweiss: All right. Scoot back. Away from the guns.

Dr Schweiss reaches into his pocket and pulls out a device and holds it up. It’s a lighter, a trigger-and-wand type useful for lighting candles or Bunsen burners. The doctor steps over to the pile of weapons on the floor.

Joshua: (softly) Don’t burn the guns. Those cost us plenty.
Arden: Those guns cost money.
Dr. Schweiss: I’m not going to do anything to them.
Arden: Yeah, and I’m just making sure you’re not doing anything to them. Now back off.
Joshua: Wait. What are you doing with the lighter?
Dr. Schweiss: If you don’t back away, I’ll blow us up.
Joshua: Oh, okay. You weren’t clear.
Dr. Schweiss: I’m not just going to let you beat me up. I got plenty of that back at the Academy.
Joshua: (backing away) We’re backing up. We’re backing up.
Nika: … Fine …

We all back away from our weapons as ordered. The stench of the still we’d found aboveground drifts from the lab end of the room and it’s been getting stronger the entire time we’ve been down here. It’s that horrible mold smell. If the odor alone is the volatile compound Dr. Schweiss threatens, there’s enough in here to blow us to the moon. Schweiss bends over and pockets one of the pistols and picks up the other. Now armed, he puts his lighter down and drags the rifles by their straps across the floor back towards his side of the room. The rifles get locked up in a locker. The pistols stay on his person.

Nika watches him. She knows he thinks he’s got the upper hand … but she knows she’s still got a pistol on her in a concealed carry holster. Unless he frisks her, he’s never going to know and she’s never going to tell him. And of course, Rina only gave up her firearms. She still has her combat knife tucked in her boot under her coveralls and all her standard pocket tools. Finding those would require a frisking too, and she keeps her mouth shut about them. Arden’s wondering just how much experience the doctor has with firearms in general. As far as he can tell, the good doctor hasn’t even disengaged the safety on the pistol he’s aiming at them.

We watch the doctor go to the lab table and pick up a communicator and hail someone.

Dr. Schweiss: So where are you now? You got the other one? (listens) Uh-hn. (listens) Uhhn-hn. These all of them? (looks at us) Which is … ?

He claps the comm to his chest and raises his voice.

Dr. Schweiss: There was another one in your party. She was with you, right?
Arden: At least one.
Joshua: (biting back a laugh) Not laughing at you, but might want to understand that you won’t want to let her to come down with the gun in hand. Cuz the trigger finger on that one is a little bit excessive. I almost got my head shot off outside. It’s a big freakin’ gun, too, like … I mean …
Nika: (shut up now!) Thank you, Joshua.
Joshua: I’m just saying, negotiation in faith.
Dr Schweiss: I won’t be able to open the door because your friend hasn’t disarmed herself yet.
Joshua: Oh, that’s not going to happen.
Nika: Do you want me to talk to her?
Joshua: You’ll still have three hostages.
Arden: Why don’t you let me go out and tell her what’s going on?
Dr. Schweiss: How would I do that without opening the door?
Arden: I don’t know.
Nika: He could go alone. You could open the door, he can go alone, and the three of us will stay with you.
Dr Schweiss: And the door opens and she comes in with a big shotgun.
Joshua: And blows us all up?
Nika: And blows us all to hell?
Dr Schweiss: That doesn’t sound like a good plan to me! Does this sound like a good plan to you?!
Nika: Precisely.
Dr Schweiss: (points to Joshua) He says she’s got an itchy trigger finger! I don’t want some maniac coming down here and killing us all!

Nika prays for patience.

Nika: Tell you what. Are your guys close enough to talk to her?
Dr. Schweiss: Close enough to shoot her.
Nika: If you’re close enough to talk to her, give her a radio, I can talk to her from here if you’ll let me borrow yours.
Dr. Schweiss: Hmmm.
Nika: You can stand right next to m—
Dr. Schweiss: All right. No funny business.
Nika: No funny business.

He calls to his men on the comm.

Dr. Schweiss: Send someone down to the— (listens. Sighs.) Well, then, throw a headset or something … (listens some more) I know she has a shotgun … (listens further) … I know … I know. We knew. We knew this might happen. That there might be guns involved … (a beat) I got all their guns. I do.

Nika looks at Rina and her expression makes it absolutely clear: we’ve been captured by idiots. Joshua shouts helpfully toward the comm.

Joshua: He does! He does have all of them!
Dr. Schweiss: (to the comm) No. … no … I didn’t ask you to do that. You don’t—no! (ducks aside and whispers fiercely) You guys just—desperately in need of a good manager!

Joshua leans over to Nika.

Joshua: (undertone) These guys really do need a good manager.
Nika: (with a look) Ya think?

Dr. Schweiss: (still arguing) Now listen. This is all going to work out fine—no! Yes, I know they have a ship. (resigned) Yes. No. No. I’m telling you … (listens some more) … Okay. O— All right, all right, all right! Next ride? That is outrageous. No. That is—no! Arhhhhgh, half—? No. Hold on a second.

He claps the comm to his chest and looks at Nika.

Dr. Schweiss: You ever have to deal with insubordinates?
Nika: Wow. Yeah. All the time. Sounds like you have the same problem I do.
Joshua: Yeah, I’m the insubordinate.
Dr Schweiss: These are the worst set of —

Schweiss turns back to his comm.

Dr. Schweiss: (listens) Yeah? … Okay ... You can—Yeah! Send him. Yeah. Oh, he’ll be fine. (listens) … She’s not going to shoot him … Yeah, no. Don’t give him a gun. Don’t give him a gun. I’m sure she won’t …
Joshua: She’s not a killer. Well… unless she’s provoked. Or she’s hungry.
Dr. Schweiss: (still listening) Okay, well … let’s see if she can buy it …

Arden leans over to Nika.

Arden: Are we really going to put up with this guy? He’s an idiot.

Meanwhile, topside …

Kiera’s still leaning in the doorway, her rifle held loosely in her arms, when she hears footsteps approaching. Up comes her rifle. She aims toward the sound. Something goes sailing through the air and rolls to a halt in the grass a few feet away.

Grenade!

Kiera hustles herself around a corner of the bunker, putting it between her and the grenade. Nothing explodes. She peeks around the corner to see what it is. It’s a handset radio.

Kiera calls out to the trees.

Kiera: You threw a handset radio at me?

And from a distance the response drifts down: Turn on the radio…

Kiera: (yells back) Are you serious?

Response: Yes-sssss!

Kiera walks slowly out and picks up the handset, then scoots back to the safety of the doorway. She turns the handset on and speaks into it.

Kiera: Can you hear me now?

Down in the bunker, Kiera’s voice comes through five by five over Schweiss’s comm. He holds it out to Nika. She takes it and thumbs the send button.

Nika: Kiera?
Comm: (Kiera’s voice) Yeah? Huh?
Nika: Hey.
Comm: Hi … There’s like, the weirdest group of … crazy peole who want to beat me with an axe handle if I don’t drop my shotgun.
Nika: They want to—what?
Comm: Well if I drop my shotgun, then he is going to capture me with the axe handle.
Nika: (eyeroll) Eh-heh.
Comm: And if I don’t, you’ll all die. If I don’t drop my shotgun.
Nika: Yeah, that sounds about like what’s goin’ on on our end too.
Comm: Ah, ha. So, y’all aren’t dead yet.
Nika: No, oh no.
Comm: Yeah. Cuz he said y’all are being held hostage and y’all’re going to die.
Nika: No, no—well, yeah. Some of that is definitely going on.
Comm: Uh, all right.
Nika: So, here’s the thing. Can you …(looks to Schweiss) lock your shotgun back up in the ship if you want to keep hold of it instead of lettin’ them have it?
Comm: That might be an idea. I can do that.

Nika verbally telegraphs the rest for Schweiss’s benefit.

Nika: Okay. Why don’t you go ahead and do that and then come on back to the door. And then once you don’t have any weapons anymore, the crazy man down here will open the door.
Comm: (catching on … ) Ah, ha. All right. Well, tell him I’m going to go to the ship.
Nika: And you might be interested in what he’s workin’ on down here and you might be able to help him out so we can all get out of here sooner.
Comm: Ohh, is he doing medical stuff?
Nika: No, he’s doing perfumery stuff.
Comm: (delighted) Oh! Well, see? I would love to do that. That’s completely up my al—
Nika: Yeah, no joke. So by all means, yeah. Go. Make sure the ship’s locked up, though, cuz you know, I don’t like the crazy people who are tryin’ to get axe handles and shit?
Comm: Yeah. Well just let them know that I am—
Nika: I’m going to call about it all. Just keep your hands where they can see’em because they’re a little bit touchy.
Comm: I will the shotgun out and when I come back, I will hold my hands out and I’ll walk to the door. Once I’ve locked up.
Nika: That works nicely.
Comm: Okay. So tell them not to take a potshot at me, cuz I’m goin’ to the ship.
Nika: Okay.
Comm: I’m going to let you go now so you can see what you can get done.
Nika: Okay.

Outside, Kiera turns off the comm and yells toward the trees.

Kiera: I’m gonna throw it out back in the middle! And they’re goin’ to tell you what I’m gonna do!

And she flings it back out into the rain and the mud. Splash!

Downstairs, Nika explains to Schweiss that Kiera’s going to put her shotgun away, come back to the door with her hands up. That way he can open the door and everybody will be happy. All right? And oh, by the way, in case he didn’t catch it, Kiera works in the perfume industry and she might be able to help him get his stuff distilled a little faster.

Dr. Schweiss: That’s an interesting coincidence …
Joshua: (getting it!) No, no. (to Nika) You realize what you’ve just done, right?
Nika: I know.
Arden: I think he’s got his paranoid cap on just a little too tight.

Outside, Kiera slowly comes out from under cover and yells to the trees.

Kiera: I’m goin’ to the ship now. I’m gon’ put my shotgun away. And come back. And let y’all take me hostage.
Trees: Just go!

Kiera runs for Lagniappe. She doesn’t know if they’re good shots or bad shots, but why make it easy for them? Under the cover of the dropship, she stows her shotgun as promised along with one of her two pistols. The other pistol she stashes deep in her pocket. As she works, she notices that a Cortex message is waiting for us in the cockpit, calling for attention. She detours to check it.

Message: Alert, alert! Important message.

Kiera hits the receive button.

Message: You are in great peril. You need a robot servant. Robot servants can provide many services to people in need. Have you considered the benefits you can get from a robot servant?
Kiera: (eyeroll) Wow. This is obviously somebody else’s junk mail.

Still … She hits save. Just in case. Then she locks up the dropship and walks back to the bunker with her hands held high. She’s met with four guys.

Kiera: There was only four of you? Dammit.

One of them is holding a very big gun. A sniper rifle. He’s also in a hat with foliage stuck into it and is draped with a poncho similarly treated—an improvised gilly suit. The other three are in clothes much like the man with the axe handle, only two of them have rifles. They say they have to search her.

Kiera: Yeah, I’ll bet.

One of the men frisks her. He finds her pistol. Another man takes it and they search her again. They find her boot knives and her tranq patches. Damn. They take her syringes, too. Damn-damn. They lead her up to the bunker, call in, and the door slides open. Then they march Kiera down the stairs.

Downstairs we hear their boots on the stair treads and Schweiss releases a sigh of relief.

Dr. Schweiss: It’s probably poisonous. I didn’t know how much air we had. So we’ll see how this works out.
Nika: Well, aren’t you a bright boy?
Dr. Schweiss: It seems to have worked, though. I have your guns. My men have your friend.
Kiera: (stepping down) And an axe handle. Woo.
Joshua: So … can we get to the actual negotiation part of this now?

One of the men turns over Kiera’s pistol to Schweiss.

Man: She tried to get this down here. So you should probably search everybody else down here.

When the men get to Nika, she turns over her concealed pistol. Sorry, she says, habit. She didn’t even think about it. While the rest of us are getting frisked, Kiera asks Schweiss about the ‘gas’ that would explode if anyone fired a weapon—has he vented it yet? Schweiss points out that the bunker door is open.

Kiera: Oh. Okay. So … we could all run and they could probably shoot and those of us closest to the door would just keep on runnin’ while the rest of y’all explode. Right?
Dr. Schweiss: Perhaps you’re right. We should all go outside to discuss this.

They troop us up the stairs and Kiera leans in toward Nika.

Kiera: (low) Nika. You got an important message about buyin’ a personal robot.
Nika: (low right back) What?
Kiera: It was flashing and it said it was important and said we are in danger if we don’t buy a robot. Strangest thing I ever seen.

Nika’s face goes pale and it looks like her heart dropped to her stomach. Because it sounds like something Rick would have said. But Rick’s dead.

Kiera thinks Nika looks vaguely ill.

Nika: (thin) Okay … yeah.

Outside, it’s still raining. The wet weather has finally managed to put out the fire we caused and the building is still smoking. We’re led to one of the dorm buildings, the closest to the bunker. We’re motioned to sit on the bunks and Schweiss’s men spread out and cover us with their guns, should they need to shoot us.

Arden: I’m waiting to understand how this is a good idea.

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