Season 1, Episode 4 - The Microwave XII - "The Fist Bump"

“Come in,” Captain Jacob Kelb said, rather absent-mindedly, deep in thought while looking out his window, his hands hard at work peeling an orange.

Sergeant Nikolai Dimitrij entered Kelb’s office at Military Police 802nd Battalion district headquarters, a small complex located in the center-west side of Elizabeth Pond, not far from the Academy at the western edge of the district. Kelb supposed that the headquarters were built there for precisely that reason - as a way for the military to keep an eye on Chairman Stockham and his Academy, especially as Stockham's men built the walls that both literally and figuratively separated the district from the rest of the capital.

Yet the Military Police battalion assigned to the Pond - and the 14th Military District of the New England Army stationed there as well - possessed a surprisingly good relationship with the Academy. Stockham himself wasn't exactly the cleanest man when it came to money, but in general, he, Kelb, and Colonel Vanderbilt that headed the local army contingent were honest men who wanted what was best for the district's inhabitants. Developing an Academy-led paramilitary force would be expected for a district trying to assert its autonomy, but Stockham dragged his feet, keeping his Technical Servicemen small, instead allowing the Military Police and army to patrol and protect his streets.

The biggest benefit of this was that the Academy saved all the money it would have otherwise needed for defense. Combined with its deal with the Presidential Administration for cheap energy supplies, Elizabeth Pond rarely saw the rolling blackouts that affected the rest of the capital. Thanks to the Academy's finances, the inhabitants of the Pond kept their lights on, had food on the table, rode effective public transportation, and enjoyed other social services. And those benefits made their way back to the military - not that Kelb or Vanderbilt would ever accept bribes, but their men got to serve in a quiet, pleasant little district, away from the chaos and curfews and riots that could occasionally grip the rest of the capital.

The obvious flaw in the situation was that the 802nd Military Police Battalion and 14th Army District were under the command of the Presidential General Headquarters, not Stockham himself. So, if it ever came down to it, should the top generals turn their soldiers against the Academy, there was little Stockham could do to prevent them from seizing the district. The Technical Servicemen served more as police officers than soldiers. Maybe the Rddhi users could even the fight - but a mass Rddhi formation had never been deployed against the military before. No one knew how that would go.

But that was all a hypothetical, Kelb reminded himself. The only time the military ever needed to do something in the Pond was busting the smuggling ring earlier in the month, and all things considered, Kelb and Vanderbilt felt impressed by the level of cooperation displayed. They hoped it would lead to good things in the future.

But that would be later on. The soft thud of Dimitrij shutting the door behind him as he entered the room brought Kelb out of his thoughts. Kelb took a look around his office, trying to collect himself, but that only brought him back to thinking, thinking that quickly grew rather abstract.

On the flip side of things, Dimitrij expected his boss to be lost in thought. To be fair, Kelb did run a tight ship, a fact reflected by the layout of his office – a no-nonsense little room with scarce decorations on the walls. The only extravagance, if you could call it that, was a framed black-and-white photo of Kelb’s proudest moment – shaking hands with Commandant Hill, the overall head of the Military Police, upon his assignment to lead the 802nd Battalion.

While other offices might have piles and piles of paper stacked around the room, Kelb kept his office clean and pristine, always on top of his paperwork. Dimitrij played a huge role in that, serving admirably as Kelb’s unofficial right-hand man. Kelb appreciated Dimitrij’s role and the two placed a great deal of trust in another.

Thus, Dimitrij knew that Kelb could have his...odd moments.

When Dimitrij took a seat in a chair, Kelb stared at an orange in his hand, light from the windows reflecting off of its shiny peel.

“Uh...sir?” Dimitrij asked.

“What do you think makes an orange...an orange?” Kelb wondered, looking deeply at the fruit.

“What do you mean?”

Kelb spoke in a deadpan, serious matter. “Oranges are made of atoms. But what turns those atoms...into oranges?

Dimitrij shrugged. “Not sure. You should ask the scientists at the Academy.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Kelb jotted a quick note down in a nearby notebook. He set the orange down on his desk and brought his thoughts back to the task at hand - some lingering elements from the bust of the smuggling ring that brought New York contraband to New England.

“Do you have the Intelligence report?” Kelb asked.

Dimitrij nodded and handed Kelb a manila envelope with multiple documents inside.

“Based on our interrogation of the prisoners, we compiled an inventory of items they sold," Dimitrij explained. "A lot of the items were drugs, but there were a surprising number of common household goods.”

“Well, while New York makes better butter, we’ll make better guns.” Kelb didn’t look up from the document, instead studying it intently, as he made his commentary on New England economic policy. Elizabeth Pond's lack of defense spending certainly did not apply to New England as a whole.

Dimitrij continued his summary. “We suspect a decent amount of people in Elizabeth Pond, whether directly from the smugglers or indirectly through resales, have acquired smuggled goods. Not to the same extent as the rest of the city, but there’s still a large amount.”

“Hmm.” Kelb pondered the issue for a moment. Using smuggled goods – from the archenemy New York, no less – was a serious crime, with punishments ranging from a heavy fine to forced labor in the Piscataquis logging camps.

Kelb glanced out the window and saw people strolling by on the sidewalks outside, enjoying their Sundays.

The people of Elizabeth Pond...they're good people, he reflected.

Let them have their vices. It’s not like they’re hurting anyone. And it's not like the State Police could catch them. I couldn't tell you how, but Stockham's kept the Pond free from the State Police for years.

“We’ll just let them be,” Kelb finally decided. “It wouldn’t be worth the time and resources to go around the entire district collecting...an automatic coffee maker? Maybe we should be investing more in butter.”

Dimitrij nodded in agreement, then raised an objection. “We do have one issue, however.”

“What is it?”

Dimitrij pointed at the envelope. “Flip to the last page for the report. It appears that one of the smuggled microwaves was booby-trapped.”

“Booby-trapped?” Kelb repeated in concern.

“According the prisoner Stefano, the Rddhi users at the Hayman ring noticed a New York Minute had been booby-trapped by New York. The Alchemist ordered it destroyed, but apparently Stefano sold it on the side to a local high school student.”

“That’s terrible!" Kelb remembered Stefano, short in stature, found unconscious in the Bay Mart courtsey of a hot-dog fryer to the face. "Are we sure Stefano can be trusted, though?”

Dimitrij smiled. “He started singing like a bird after we placed him in a hotel at the Cabot Shopping Complex. For every floor he goes up, that’s another round of information he gives. Intelligence and I think his stories are credible.”

Kelb nodded. “Keep him closely guarded. He might be an easier target now that he’s away from headquarters.”

“Roger that, sir.”

Kelb scratched his chin in thought. “Do we know what the booby-trap is?”

“According to Stefano, the Alchemist analyzed the microwave and found that it contained traces from two different Rddhi users. One user made it so the trap would activate when it came into contact with a Rddhi power. New York Minutes only shave the minute off when somebody uses the Rddhi on it, making them perfect for an activation like this. As for the second user, they were the one to actually implanted the trap. Apparently, the microwave turns into a golem.”

Kelb looked up from the report. “A golem?”

Dimitrij pointed at a crude depiction of the golem he drew for the report. “I can barely believe it myself. Apparently, it sprouts physic legs and arms and just destroys things in its wake. I guess the golem is set to automatically find the nearest crowd and just go wild on them.”

“A terrorist attack, then?”

“It makes sense,” Dimitrij confirmed. “The Army Intelligence Corps recently shared with us that the Bronx Bombers recently became active again. I wouldn’t put it past them to smuggle in Rddhi traps to harm us.”

Kelb wasn’t old enough to fight in the First American War – but he was there during the chaotic aftermath of the postwar Occupation of Naugatuck River Valley by the New York military. With tensions boiling on both sides, the occupation came to a climax when renegade New York officers attempted to renew the war with New England using a false flag attack. The moniker "Bronx Bombers" was actually created by the New York newspapers to describe the faction, led by a senior New York general.

Kelb stood up and planted his palms on his desk. “We need to solve this immediately, then. Did Stefano give the name of the student he sold it to?”

Dimitrij shook his head. “After a few rounds of room service, he told us he never asked names. His best guess is a girl from the Academy. You need the Rddhi to activate the New York Minute, after all. She has long blonde hair and is medium height...and she never shuts up, apparently.”

Kelb threw on his trenchcoat. “Get your coat, Dimitrij. We’re heading to the Academy. We need to get a name.”

A Rddhi user, Kelb thought darkly. I hope to God she doesn’t use her Rddhi on that microwave!

“Esther, come look! I’m gonna use the Rddhi on the microwave!”

“Sis…are you sure about this?”

Back at her apartment after the walk home from church, Audrey gave a smile full of reassuring confidence. “Of course!” Standing in her kitchen, Audrey tapped the top of her microwave and grinned. “This is a New York Minute. It can make a two minute burrito...in one minute! You make sixty burritos, that’s a full hour of saved time!”

Esther eyed the microwave warily.

“But you see, in order to use its halving powers, you gotta use the Rddhi on it,” Audrey explained. “I haven’t tried it yet because I was waiting for a special moment like this. But I don’t think it’s that hard. Just gotta zap it, you know?”

Esther didn’t like the idea of Audrey just zapping anything. “I don’t know, Sis. Improper use of the Rddhi can lead to utter catastrophe.”

Audrey stuck her tongue out. “You’re such a pessimist!”

“I’m just a realist.” Esther recalled one of the few movies the two had ever seen together so she could put it into terms Audrey could understand. “I don’t want you to Heavy Traffic this like you always do.”

Audrey didn’t understand. “Heavy Traffic this?”

A number of memories flooded into Esther’s mind. “You know why I don’t like that movie, right?”

Audrey laughed. “How could you not possibly like it? There’s kung-fu, comedy, that catchy song!”

Esther grew serious. “Because the two leads are rule-breakers who nearly got everyone killed, including that hostage little girl. The government had everything under control by the climax. They would’ve traded the money for the girl, and no one would have gotten hurt. But the two police officers just had to make a scence and interrupt things and not follow the rules. People could have been killed because they disobeyed orders.”

“But they saved the day!” Audrey pointed out.

“Because that’s a movie,” Esther corrected. “Real life doesn’t always work out that way. Imagine if they interrupted things at the climax and the girl immediately got shot. Or the lead hero falls to his death because of improper planning. The Rddhi still isn't properly understood. I've heard stories of people starting fires because they didn't use the Rddhi the right way on their Minute."

Esther wanted to add, "And you, of all people, should understand the consequences of failing to think your actions out," but she kept quiet.

Audrey giggled, her optimism shining through. “Spontaneity is the spice of life!”

“Not in the matter of life and death.”

Audrey waved her away. “It’s just a microwave. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Esther felt incensed as memories of all the times she bailed out Audrey back at their old house in Salem Slot resurfaced in her mind. “It was just a ‘building’ that you firebombed that turned out to be a fireworks factory. It was just a ‘nice boy’ that you dated that turned out to be an anarchist. It was just a ‘line’ that turned out to be fentanyl. You have a serious lack of foresight, Sis. You need to be careful in life. I won’t always be around to clean up after you.”

This time it was Audrey’s turn to grow incensed. “Clean up after me? Esther, I’ve always been there for you. I’m always there to support you. I was there at the science fairs, I was there at the awards ceremonies. But you? I didn’t see you at my band’s performance last month! You didn’t come volunteer with me at the community softball game either. Those might seem like little things to you, but they’re really important to me.”

Esther crossed her arms. “I support you by fixing your mistakes. Don’t forget that it was me who got us out of Salem Slot.”

“And who do you think protected you when we grew up there? Who skipped a year of school and worked all night to get money for your studies?” Audrey sighed. “We haven’t been close with each other for two years now. I invited you here to change that. I was so happy you said you’d come. We’re a team, Esther. You’re the brain and I’m the heart. Maybe instead of trying to see who’s done more, we should just work together from now on.”

Esther's eyes softened, and she found herself filled with a particular feeling she didn't know the name to. “…I’m sorry, Sis.”

Audrey raised a fist. “I’m sorry too.”

Esther smiled gently. She felt a little lost at the sight of Audrey's fist, though.

"This a fist bump," Audrey said, gesturing at her hand.

"...um..."

"You just raise your fist and bump mine."

"...um, alright..."

The two sisters connected with each other.