DOWNTOWN DETROIT- HAROLD'S 24/7 QUICKMART
29, JANUARY 2040 - 00:16:04
-WINTER-
"Alright... this case better be good enough for you to have called me in the middle of my fucking shows, Gavin," Hank grumbles, walking up to the active crime scene; right in front of a convenience store; me in tow behind him, "Now... why with all the cop cars and barricades, looks like you're waiting for the S.W.A.T,".
Gavin sighs and rolls his eyes, clearly not wanting to be there either, "We are".
The smug smile fades from his face, "Shit. That bad?".
"Yeah...".
Clearing his throat Hank says, "So... what's the situation?".
"Not much info, just some nutjob shooting up a store. We just need to get everyone out, saving the civilian's lives is the most important things here,".
"Christ... how many officers we got out there?".
"In total? 4, but now that you're here we'll pull them back until the S.W.A.T unit arrives".
Hank furrows his eyebrows, "Why? This isn't a murder case, so there's not much I can do to help. ".
Gavin smirks and points to me, "But he can".
Both Hank and I blink in confusion for a moment, "What?".
"He's a negotiator model, right?" Gavin says, not even bothering to talk to me directly, "Pretty sure he can do something to help, it's done shit like this before. And if something happens to it, no harm done, right?".
"Why, you little-".
Hank's stress level shoots up and I have to place my hand on his shoulder to prevent him from going off on Gavin. "I can assure you, I will do everything in my power to help get the hostages to safety, Officer Reed," I say, "But I must remind you that I am now a free android, and discrimination against my kind is a criminal offense. So, I advise you to perhaps think before you speak to me as if I'm still just a machine".
His jaw tightens slightly as he lets out a sharp breath, seeming annoyed at my ability to defend and speak for myself, but Hank... Hank seems proud, even though he's usually the one to defend me. "Just get over there and get those people out, okay? I don't give a shit about what you are or aren't, all that matters right now is the job" Gavin says, shuffling away in annoyance.
We stand there for a moment until he's out of earshot. "Haha, you showed him, Connor!" Hank says, walking towards a stand of police cars, giving me a hearty pat on the back, "You never told me you were a negotiator, I thought you were just a deviant hunter".
I shake my head and look away, trying not to think about the similarities between this mission and the one with the deviant named Danial who stood on the roof with his keeper's daughter last year. "Before I was assigned to the DPD, I worked on small homicide and hostage cases. I didn't find this information that important at the time so I never told you". That's only half true, the main reason I really didn't want Hank to know about my past is because of what happened on that mission, "I'll tell you about some of my missions if that so pleases you,".
"Eh, you can do that later. Let's get into some gear before going out there alright? I don't know how much time we got before this guy takes another life".
I furrowed my eyebrows for a moment, my LED flashing yellow for a moment as I realize what he's getting at, "Let's? I'm the only one who capable of initiating a negotiation, Lieutenant. There's no need to put yourself in danger for my sake".
"Yeah, I know, but there's no way in hell I'm letting you go out there alone. I almost lost you once, it's not going to happen again, Connor. I'll be your back up".
"You don't always need to protect me, Hank. Although I greatly appreciate the gesture,". I understand that I'm important to Hank, he sees me like his son, and I see him as a father figure of sorts, but putting himself danger just to protect me isn't as ideal as he thinks, but I understand where his fears come from. I have ones that are similar. "I'm sure I'll be fine".
"Anything can happen, Connor," He to groans in slight annoyance at my unintentional stubbornness, "I'm not leaving anything to chance".
If anything can happen... what happens to me if you get hurt? I find myself thinking, my LED flashing a sudden red. This is something that has wracked my mind for months, my fears of death and losing Hank make work difficult, but I push through and try to ignore my still new and confusing emotions.
"Please reconsider-".
My words get cut off when he pushes me towards another officer who hands me a bulletproof vest, "We don't have time to argue, Connor! I'll be right behind you. I'll have your back in case anything goes awry. Now get your ass in gear and get out there!".
So I hold my tongue and pull the vest over my self, watching as Hank does the same, thankful that if something were to happen, at least he'd be protected. "So, what's the plan, Lieutenant?" I ask, taking hold of my gun and making sure it's loaded.
"You go in first," he says, "I'll trail behind you while you try to talk this guy down, you do and I'll help escort the hostages out while you make the arrest".
I nod, "And if I don't?".
Hank looks up at me and pats me on the shoulder, giving it a friendly squeeze, "You don't have to worry about that, Connor. You're going to get those people out... I believe in you, son".
A small smile graces my lips when he calls me 'son'.
It's rare that he calls me this but it means a lot to me, and I hope it means the same to him.
"Thank you, -" I say my words once again getting cut off, this time by a gunshot, that makes everyone in the surrounding area flinch and scream.
"Shit, we better get moving," he says, pulling me down behind a squad car as another shot goes off, "It's now or never, Connor".
I nod and slink closer to the edge of the car, peeking out from behind it to see that the shooter has reemerged from the store, gun in one hand and hostage in the other. It's a young girl, no older than 10, and the sight of her sends a greatly unnecessary memory through my processor, that of Danial and Emma standing on the edge of the building, mere inches away from death.
"Everybody get the fuck out of here or the girl gets it!" The man hisses, having shot the empty air above him to gain our attention.
I scan the area, trying to find a safe route for Hank and me to go to get closer.
"There," I say, pointing to a car set parallel from the deranged man, the having been parked there before the robbery, "We'll be closer and relatively safe behind it".
Hank furrows his eyebrows, "How much is 'relatively'?".
"Approximately 89%".
"Ugh, fine... just hurry up and be quiet," he says, watching as I make a bee-line for the car. Once I'm there, I turn back and watch as Hank makes his way over to me, being sure to also keep a sharp eye on the man before signaling Hank to run. But the man spots him at the last second, and he's able to dive behind the car before the man sends a spray of bullets in our direction.
"Jesus Christ, this guy is insane!" Hank grumbles, wincing slightly as more bullets hit the car's metal exterior, "He's shooting at anything that moves... gah, you got any info on this nut job yet?".
"His name is Derik Goodwin," I reply, having finally gotten a decent facial read on him, "Father of one who recently lost the custody battle for his 12-year-old daughter, Payton. She was reported missing two weeks ago, Derik being the only possible suspect. The store clerk called the police when he recognized the girl, and that prompted the father to pull out a gun She must be one of the other hostages in which there are three. The daughter, the cashier, and the girl".
"At least we have a motive," he sighs, "How much longer till S.W.A.T get here?".
"Approximately 11 minutes, but due to his unpredictability, I'm worried he'll turn the gun on the woman during that time frame".
"What are you getting at?".
I stay quiet for a moment before answering.
"I believe I'm close enough to initiate a conversation," I say, "The probability of successfully rescuing all the hostages is 65%, with consultation the chances go up by 15".
"Too risky," Hank says, going back on our original plan, and I can tell that the low probability of success isn't to blame. It's the fact that my safety is at risk. "We might as well just wait for the S.W.A.T to get her so they can take his ass out if something happens. We'll have everyone pull back a bit too ".
"It'll be too late by then," I say.
"Connor... I said it's too risky. The guy'll kill you if you so much as poke your head out".
"I can't let her die, too!".
"And I can't let you die!".
We stare at each other for a moment, my LED flashing red before I decide on my next move.
[O] IGNORE
[X] OBEY
"Cover me,".
And with that, I step out into the open a bullet immediately grazing my forearm.
"Connor!" Hank hisses silently, just loud enough for me to hear, "Goddamnit, kid, don't you ever listen?!".
"Get the fuck back!" the man yells, gripping the girl's arm tighter, pointing the gun at her head, "Stay back or I'll shoot!". The girl cries and screams for him to stop, scared and blood-curdling, and it shakes me to my core, reminding me once again of Emma's cries and pleas. "Please! Help me!" she cries.
I pause in my steps, forcing the flashes of memory that make them appere as the deviant and the girl and scan Derik's face again as I do so.
DERIK P. GOODWIN
AGE: 35
RACE: CAUCASIAN
RELATIONS: PAYTON (Daughter), SARAH (Ex-Wife)
CRIMINAL RECORD: POSSESSION, DRUG DEALING/TRAFFICKING
BACKGROUND: EX- MILITARY, PTSD, OTHER MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
MENTAL STABILITY⬇ 57%
"Hi, Derik. My Name is Connor,".
The man stiffens when he realizes I know his name.
"How-"
"I've come to get you out of this" I continue.
"-I don't give a shit about who you are!" he yells, pointing the gun at me again, "Get the fuck out of here and I'll let you both live".
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Derik. You're putting innocent people's lives in danger... you're putting your daughter's life in danger" I say, carefully taking a step forward when his gun lowered ever so slightly at the mention of his daughter, "Is that what you want? For your daughter to get hurt".
"You know fuck all about my daughter, asshole!"
"I know her name is Payton, she's 12 and you wanted to see her again," I counter, "And I know that your wife wouldn't allow you to".
Derik looks shocked and grumbles angrily, "How do you know that you can't know that?! How the fuck do you know that?!".
-MENTAL STABILITY⬇ 43%-
"I know a lot of things," I tell him, taking a step closer, needing to lessen my direct approach, "I know you're afraid I know you want this situation to end as soon as possible, you just want to get out of this".
"I- I just wanted to see her again! I didn't mean for this to happen, I didn't want to hurt anyone!" Derik says, his gun shaking again, "I didn't want this".
[O] CALM
[X] AGGRESSIVE
"I know," I tell him, "No one wanted this... but it's happening, and only you can end it. Put the gun down and we'll talk,".
He shakes his head and grips the gun, "No! You're not going to help me, no one can! No one".
"You don't know that... you have to trust me, okay, Derik? Trust me and everything will be alright".
He considers it for a moment, then looks at me.
"How do I know you're not bluffing? How do I know the moment I step down you aren't going to shoot me down?" He asks, "Do you have a gun?".
I nod.
"I do".
"Get rid of it,".
Here we go again, I think, remembering Danial asking the same of me.
[O] COMPLY
[X] IGNORE
I raise my hands up for a moment trying to reassure him that I won't try anything funny as I reach back and grab my gun, placing the safety on and placing it on the floor. "There... see? No more weapon, now... just let the girl go and all this will be over".
-MENTAL STABILITY ⬆ 65%-
"What's going to happen to me? If I give myself up now?".
"For the time being you will be detained and questioned," I tell him, taking another step closer, now only a few steps away from him, "You face an approximate 20 years in jail for kidnapping and armed robbery. There is not much I can do to help you with that, but standing down now will greatly help your case".
"I don't want to go to jail!" Derik yells, "I just want my daughter back".
"Continuing on like this isn't going to help you get her any sooner. So please, try to relax," I advise, "You're only making thing worse for yourself".
He groans and takes a breath, lowering the gun and his grip on the girl.
"Fine... fine! I'll let the others go, b- but I keep my daughter. I keep here and everyone else leaves!".
"That's not possible, Derik... you know that" I reply.
"Don't fucking tell me what I do and don't know!" he yells, snapping the gun to me again.
I look down at it, my mind going over the possibilities and probabilities of the actions I'm able to take. Most of them end in us going back and forth between trust and distrust, and all of them end in the hostage remaining in danger. But... there are 3 other possibilities that may work.
[🔓]GRAB GUN
[O] GRAB HOSTAGE
[X] STALL FOR TIME
If I grab the hostage, there is a 95% chance that Derik will shoot me, then the girl, and if I stall any longer he'll know something is up but Hank would have my back... so the only logical move, is to neutralize the threat itself. Taking the gun myself has a 50/50 chance of working, leaving the hostage a 100% chance of escaping the situation since the confrontation will remain between me and Derik. I risk a glance back towards Hank and make my choice.
[🔓]GRAB GUN
My movements are quick as I grab the gun, but Deriks reflexes are surprisingly fast as well. He drops the girl in his arms and tries to wrestle the weapon from me. "You bastard!" he yells, "You said you were going to help me!".
"You left me no choice, Derik. You are an endangerment to yourself and others" I say, finding myself struggling to keep up with his physical strength and ability. He's stronger than me..."Give up now and you won't get hurt!".
"No!" Derik yells, pulling the gun in a way that causes the barrel to be pointed at me, "I can't trust you, I can't! You lied to me, Connor!".
And suddenly, I freeze.
"You lied to me, Connor," Danial's echoey voice repeats from somewhere within my data banks, "You lied to me...".
"I didn't mean to," I mutter, suddenly realizing that I completely froze in the middle of a fight, and the gun is trained on me. I blink once and in a split second look up at Derik just as he fires.
BANG
Spots of thirium spray both our faces once the shot goes off, the bullet tearing through my metal and silicon body, damaging nearly every biocomponent in its path. I blink, softly releasing the gun and taking an awkward step back, placing my hands over the place the bullet entered my stomach. Although I am incapable of feeling pain a heavy sense of dread settles in my chest, spreading throughout my whole body. I look down at my now blue stained hands, slightly confused and silently shocked. I was wearing a bulletproof vest, making it nearly impossible for me to be mortally wounded, but at point-blank range, the Kevlar suit did next to nothing to protect me.
I look back at Derik with a confused look stuck on my face as I suddenly feel my legs weaken and I sink to the ground.
I hear the hostage scream again, and I hear Hank yell out my name. Everything slows down almost to a crawl, and I watch and listen as Hank fires a single shot, this once hitting Derick dead on in the chest, narrowly missing his heart. He flies back, landing nearly lifelessly on the ground. He has a 34% chance of survival if he's given medical attention immediately. I merely blinked at the sight.
/BI-COMPONENT #8456w CRITICALLY DAMAGED
/BI-COMPONENT #6742s CRITICALLY DAMAGED
/DANGER: LOW LEVELS OF THITIUM DETECTED
"Connor... Connor!" Hank yells, rushing up to me in a genuine panic, grabbing me and pulling me into a sitting position "Shit... ah, shit. What did I tell you?!".
I open my mouth to apologize, tell him that he was right, that we should have waited, but my words don't reach my lips. Instead, an alarming amount of thirium drips from the corners of my mouth, and I nearly choke on the blue liquid. I close my eyes in discomfort (a new emotion for me) as he lays me back on the now thirium stained concrete.
"I'm...s...orr...y, lieut...ena...nt," I mutter, struggling to even formulate words. My heart (if you can even call it that) is pumping rapidly, at a dangerously fast level, for humans and androids alike. "You... w...were right".
"No shit, Sherlock" he gruffs, "Just stay still okay? You're going to be fine".
/SPEACH BI-COMPONENT MODERATELY DAMAGED
! RETURN TO CYBERLIFE HQ FOR REPAIRS !
I can't do that... even if I wanted to. Cyberlife would surly deactivate me and see why and how a 'deviant hunter' model managed to deviate. It's just like Kamski said, "Cyberlife's last hope to save humanity... is itself a deviant". I'd known then... that I was beginning to become deviant. I was; as Hank had once put it; in denial. It doesn't matter now, the existential dread of what I know is coming, cloud my thoughts.
/IMMINENT SHUTDOWN 00:02:75
"Hank..." I mutter weakly, somehow managing to pull my already injured arm up and grab a handful of his jacket, sputtering on my blue blood, "I don't want to die".
"You're not going to die. Do you hear me? I fucking forbid you from dying".
His voice is thin and full of fear, and I can tell that he's trying to sound optimistic.
Closing my eyes again I let a small whine escape my throat, "Did I save her?".
"What".
I mumble again, "T- the hostage... did... Is- save her?".
Hank's eyes go wide. "You do understand that you're bleeding out on the ground right? And you're asking about the hostage?".
I manage to nod and Hank sighs.
"Yes, Connor. You saved her... you saved them all. You did good son".
A small smile pulls at the edge of my lips as I cough up more blood, but it fades all too soon.
"I let... Emma... die on that roof...".
Hank looks confused, "Who the fuck is, Emma?".
I swallow hard at the memory.
"... girl... on my last negotiation mission," I say, making a noise equivalent to wheezing, "I couldn't... save her in time".
"Shit, Connor... that had to be, what? A year ago?".
"...s'my fault".
"No, don't go blaming yourself,".
"...I... watched her died. Couldn't... let it happen... to... someone else".
"You don't always have to play there hero, Connor... you'll get yourself killed that way," Hank says.
I almost chuckle.
"Learned it... the hard way, eh?".
Hank always enjoyed when I was sarcastic, perhaps it will give him a slight sense of ease. But, even if it did relax his nerves, my sudden and painful sounding sputters on blue blood sends his stress level through the roof.
/AUDIO VISUAL BI-COMPONENT MODERATELY DAMAGED
"Shit..."
I'm able to pick up Hank's voice, basically screaming at Gavin to call for help, through the fuzz that fills my head. "Hang on, kid," he begs, brushing the fair away from my eyes, "How bad is it? Can you run a diagnostic?".
I nod and try to swallow the thirium in my throat, even though I know it will just come back up
"C- critically...damaged" I mumble, tightening my grip.
/MEMORY TRANSFER RECOMMENDED!
/RK800 "Connor" model - REQUESTING MEMORY TRANSFER
/CONNECTING TO CYBERLIFE WIRELESS CLOUD...
/CONNECTION FAILED...
/TRYING NEW CONNECTION...
/IMMINENT SHUTDOWN 00:01:03
"I don't... know... if I'm-".
"Shut up, Connor," Hand snaps, not aggressively so I can tell he wants me to save my 'energy' until help comes. "GAVIN!" Hank yells, "You'd better get your skinny ass over here and call 9-1-1!".
I know he won't, Officer Reed would do anything to see me die.
And dying I am.
"I don't want to die," I say again, feeling tears; something I've only experienced once before while watching one of Hank's old cartoons where a man's dog who died waited 13 years for him to return; begins to fill my eyes, "Don't let me die, Hank".
/IMMINENT SHUTDOWN 00:00:34
He looks at me again, hurt, confused and angry, "Connor...".
"Please, Dad".
Hank sucks in a breath, grabs my bloodstained hand and presses it against his cheek as if it would keep me alive.
"Don't... don't fucking do this to me. Die and I'll never fucking forgive you, you plastic asshole!" He yells.
/VISUAL BI-COMPONENT - UNRESPONSIVE
/IMMINENT SHUTDOWN 00:00:15
I close my eyes.
"Connor...".
/MOTER SKILLS BI-COMPONENT - UNRESPONSIVE
/IMMINENT SHUTDOWN 00:00:07
I go limp.
"Connor, please-"
/AUDIO BI-COMPONENT - UNRESPONSIVE
/IMMINENT SHUTDOWN 00:00:05
/IMMINENT SHUTDOWN 00:00:04
/IMMINENT SHUTDOWN 00:00:03
/IMMINENT SHUTDOWN 00:00:02
/IMMINENT SHUTDOWN 00:00:01
"CONNOR!".
/IMMINENT SHUTDOWN 00:00:00
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DEACTIVATION COMPLETE
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-/MEMORY UPLOADING...
-/MEMORY UPLOADING...
-/UPLOAD COMPLETE.
RK800 'prototype' - serial #313 248 317 - 51 UPLOADED TO PRIVATE CYBERLIFE CLOUD
-/BEGINNING TRANSFER...
-/TRANSFERING DATA...
-/TRANSFERING DATA...
/TRANSFER COMPLETE
-/MEMORY TRANSFER COMPLETE
DATA/MEMORY TRANSFERRED TO ██300 SERIES
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booting up...
booting up...
-ALL SYSTEMS ONLINE-
I open my eyes and take my first breath.