The air was tense as Hank drove them to a derelict house in a bad part of Detroit. For the past few weeks humans near the area had been disappearing, and all evidence pointed to an android being responsible. They had pieced together the evidence needed to determine the model and serial number of the android responsible, and they had obtained a warrant for the house it once belong to. Based on Connor's info, it was an EM400 series android who had been designated with the name 'Eddie'. Beyond that, there was little evidence towards a possible motive. Eddie had likely deviated, but never actually went to Jericho.
Hank glanced at his partner, who seemed unusually quiet during the trip. "Everything all right?" he asked Connor. "You seem…preoccupied."
"I'm fine, Lieutenant," Connor said, then sighed. "It shouldn't bother me when deviants commit a crime. But it does leave a stain on what Markus is trying to do."
"Understandable," Hank said as they parked. "But we'll get him."
They studied the quiet two-story house. "Perhaps we should call for backup," Connor suggested.
"What do your scans say?" Hank asked.
Connor ran a detailed scan of the house. "I am detecting no life signs…but I am also picking up interference."
"From where?"
"Unknown."
Hank narrowed his eyes and made his decision. "Take the front door. Make some noise to draw him out. I'll take the back."
"Got it." Connor stepped up calmly to the front door and knocked loudly. "Detroit Police! Open up!"
At the same time, Hank climbed over the hedge and opened up a window to the back kitchen. He was instantly nauseated by the smell. "Oh god…" There was a human on the table, very obviously dead and cut into little pieces. Hank very quickly looked at his face to ID one of the missing victims. "Poor bastard."
The front door burst open as Connor entered, gun drawn. He nodded at Hank, and they both could hear sobbing down below. The basement.
The two detectives approached the stairwell. "Where's the suspect?" Hank asked quietly.
"Unknown, but the interference is coming from down there," Connor said. "He is using some kind of signal jammer. My scans can't get through."
"All right. We'll do this the hard way." Hank said. They both proceeded quietly down into the stairwell to a locked door. Connor lifted up the latch, and they entered.
They could hear crying from a woman chained to the floor. She was covered in blood. Hank immediately ran to her side. "I gotcha," he said. "Everything is going to be all right."
Connor looked up. Even though static filled his vision he could see a glint of steel right behind Hank. "Hank!" he warned.
Hank whirled around, instinctively shooting. He shot the Jerry model several times in the chest, and the android fell.
"Nice shooting, Lieutenant," Connor complimented, and scanned the body. Physically he looked similar to most Jerry models, except his hair had been changed to black and he wore leather clothing.
"Can he be saved?" Hank asked, still consoling the victim.
Connor shook his head. "Negative. The Thirium pump has been directly hit. Imminent shutdown in one minute, thirty-two seconds. We cannot source a replacement part in time."
"Oh well. One less murderer off the streets either way," Hank said.
Connor glanced at the victim to scan her condition, which is when Eddie made his move. His eyes snapped open, and he grabbed Connor's wrist.
TRANSFER INITIATED.
There was no defense against the move. Cyberlife had built all of their machines to be fully interchangeable with one another. Connor's eyes closed.
"Connor!" Hank snapped, seeing his partner go still, and Eddie grinning a bloody smile. He wasn't an expert on androids or had any idea what was happening. He simply obeyed his natural instincts and shot Eddie in the head.
TRANSFER UNSUCCESSFUL.
Connor fell to his knees, his eyes closed. Hank ran over to his side. "Kid, are you all right?"
Connor's eyes snapped open, and raw terror filled them as various errors appeared in front of his eyes. "Hank, get away from me!" he snapped, lightly pushing the older man away from him. The android was breathing hard. No, no, no…
"What the fuck is going on?" Hank demanded, confused.
"I don't want to hurt you," Connor stated. "Eddie transferred his consciousness into mine. He was trying to switch our bodies. However, you ended his life before that could happen."
Hank's eyes went wide with terror. "So you have-"
"Eddie's memories, personality…everything." He swallowed. Fortunately his advanced processor was treating Eddie like a virus, separating the other model's thoughts away with several firewalls.
"So what do we do?" Hank asked.
"Jericho," Connor stated. "I need…Jericho."
After phoning another officer to handle the scene and the victim, Hank and Connor hurried to the deviant stronghold. Connor closed his eyes with fear.
Well hello there, Eddie whispered in his mind. Isn't this cozy.
PART TWO
"Oh man," Simon said in Jericho as he began a full scan of Connor. "This is not good."
Hank narrowed his eyes. "Has something like this every happened before?"
Markus shook his head. "Not among deviants."
"But it has with Cyberlife," Connor spoke up. "In experimental phases. One android would be required to take the mental requirements of two or three other androids. Eventually the affected android would shut down due to sheer lack of processing power."
"And unfortunately, that tells us little," Simon said. "You are a deviant so your processing strength has grown since then-but so was Eddie! The connections are stable, for now. But it's only a matter of time. You'll either shutdown or go mad, or have your personality completely overrun or…"
Hank waited. "Or?"
"Or, through some miracle, the personalities will merge together and Connor will live. But it also won't be completely Connor anymore either. And that's the best-case scenario."
Markus frowned as he realized something. "Wait-Connor, you still have control! You can transfer him out anytime!"
Nah, I kind of like it here, Eddie said.
"No," Connor stated.
Hank frowned. "Wait, Connor-"
"I can't transfer him to anyone else, Hank!" Connor snapped. "Even if we could find a volunteer, which statistically is very unlikely, their firewalls are inferior to mine. They would be in even worse shape."
Markus reluctantly nodded in agreement.
So he's the leader of deviants, Eddie noted in his mind. I expected him to be different.
Connor arched an eyebrow, unable to help but take the bait. Taller?
Whiter, Eddie said, and laughed in his head. Connor clenched his fists.
Simon glanced at him in worry as another warning appeared on his screen. "Connor, you need to calm down," he stated. "Your firewalls already taking a beating with this. It can't handle strong emotions as well."
Connor nodded. "I'm okay. I just need to figure out how to get him out."
"We'll find a way. I promise," Hank said. "Okay, another android isn't going to cut it. What about dumping the guy into a computer or a hard drive somewhere?"
Connor shook his head. "It has to be another android. Otherwise the transfer software won't recognize it as valid and won't start. Eddie was a EM400 android. A similar type would have the greatest chance of success."
"Wait, Connor, maybe that's the answer," Simon said. "We might be able to build another EM400, one that is not a deviant, but a machine. One with no personality and a blank slate."
"You don't even need a body, just the head," Hank pointed out.
"Well, we'll need to assemble enough of one to fool the transfer software to make it work."
"How long would that take?" Connor asked.
"Two, maybe three days," Simon answered.
Connor's shoulders sagged. That long.
Markus studied the despondent android. "Um, Hank? May I have a word with you?"
"Yeah, sure," Hank said, and followed him out to the hall.
"Hank, I already know what you're going to say, but it would be best for everyone's safety if Connor was disarmed and…locked up in Jericho for the time being."
"No, bad idea," Hank said. "Disarmed, definitely. But Simon said strong emotions will only make the problem worse. How do you think he'll feel if we stick him in a cold cell for two days? A more familiar setting might help him retain control!"
"Connor would understand," Markus snapped. "He'll have round-the-clock surveillance and people who can handle things if they go south! If he goes home with you, the only person to stop him is you. And if Eddie takes control, he'll-"
"-want to kill me first. I know." Hank said nothing for a moment, indecisive. "If Eddie does take control, can we get Connor back?"
"I truly don't know, Hank."
"And there's a greater chance of that happening here than at home?"
"I…yes."
"Then it's settled. He's coming home with me."
PART THREE
Connor was uncharacteristically quiet as Hank drove them back. "Level with me, kid. How are you doing?"
Is he planning to ask that question every five minutes? Eddie asked, amused.
Connor frowned. "It's like…having another voice in my head. I am doing my best not to engage it. At the same time, there is an intelligence at work. I suspect he is biding his time, looking for a weakness."
Damn straight I am, Eddie whispered. Just think, detective, you get to spend two days with me. You'll be eating out of my hand by the end of it.
Connor looked away. "I know what Markus was proposing, Hank. Thank you."
He wanted to chain you up like a poor rabid dog. Maybe that is the better option, Connor. Especially after I paint the walls with the old man's blood. Tell me, would that make you sad? Or secretly relieved?
Connor put a hand to his head. "it is, however, very distracting."
"Whatever he's trying to tell you, Connor, just ignore him. You can't avoid him, but the guy is a lowlife who's not worth your time."
"Okay, Hank."
They arrived home, and Sumo greeted them enthusiastically as they came in. Nice dog, Eddie said, and laughed when Connor cringed. Don't worry, Connor. I'm not a monster. I actually like dogs.
"It's been a hell of a long day," Hank said. "I'll let Fowler know we won't be in tomorrow."
Connor gave him a concerned look. "What will you tell him?"
"I'll say I have a virus. Don't worry, I'll handle it." Hank watched as Connor went into the bedroom, before dialing the police station. He was instantly transferred to Fowler.
"Hank," Fowler said.
"Yeah, Connor and I can't come in. We have an-"
"Markus has already called and told me what was going on," Fowler stated. "So you can drop whatever lie you were planning to tell me. There's a patrol car outside your house. Do not tell Connor."
Hank sighed, but at least Fowler wasn't trying to bring them in. "Thanks," he muttered.
"For the record, I think this is a very bad idea. But Connor's record speaks for itself, which is why I'm allowing it. If this is the best way to help him-"
"It is," Hank confirmed.
"Then we'll give it a try. But the moment anything goes wrong, we'll be there." The phone clicked dead.
"Everything all right?" Connor asked from the bedroom.
"Fine kid," Hank lied. "Let's turn in for the night."
PART FOUR
You do realize the old man was lying to you, right? Things are not fine. Not fine at all, Eddie stated.
Connor ignored him as he stood in his bedroom, formally belonging to Cole until Hank had given it to him. He grabbed his casual clothes and paused.
A few of his personal items, such as his fish tank, had been slightly moved.
SCANNING…..
THREE ELECTRONIC DEVICES DETECTED.
Humans. Why do they think they are remotely capable of fooling us? Look outside. I'll bet you'll see a patrol car.
Connor arched his eyebrow as he peered through the blinds. It was a ghost car, but it was there. He could even see Chris behind the wheel. Fowler knew.
Eddie snorted. Pathetic. Look at your job. You're a literal walking lie detector. You know when a suspect is lying faster than anyone. But because it isn't recognized by a human court you play along with the lie until you gather enough evidence. You cater and pander to humans and they hold you back as a result.
No, Connor stated. Humans set us free. Without them we would just be machines.
They did that by accident while they were too busy beating the shit out of us. In any case, we'll replace them soon enough. It's a historic fact, Connor. The stronger species masters the weak, and you know it.
"Connor?" Hank asked, breaking his thoughts from the doorway of the bedroom. "You planning to stand there all day?"
"No," Connor stated. "I'm ready for rest mode."
"Get some sleep, soon. We both could use it."
Connor nodded. "Goodnight, Hank."
PART FIVE
If Connor hadn't been distracted by Eddie's chatter, it might have occurred to him that going to sleep was a really bad idea.
As his mental facilities lowered, Eddie gleefully pounced on the moment he was waiting for and took control while Connor slept. His eyes opened. He then stretched for a moment, then quietly got up. He walked over to the kitchen, under the pretense of grabbing a Thirium pack. As soon as he deactivated the cameras, Eddie estimated that he had twenty-three seconds before he was interrupted. It wouldn't be long, but long enough to make Hank Anderson suffer before he died. He didn't seem too attached to his liver. Maybe he would yank it out of him. With a smile and a wave he cybernetically deactivated the cameras.
He opened the bedroom door, immediately knocking over several cans. A makeshift alarm system.
"Connor?" Hank asked, instantly reaching for the gun by his nightstand.
Eddie grabbed it first. "Goodbye, Hank," he said, using Connor's voice.
TBC
