This story is dedicated to Beth
One of the sweetest, loveliest and most amazing people I've ever met. I'm lucky to have her as one of my closest friends. She's also a dedicated Connor fangirl like me, and the first person to have read this story when it was first being created in the early summer of 2018. So this is for you Beth :3
I love ya, fellow deviant ;)
EM
xoxo
XXX
10:39pm Friday November 5th 2038
Lily leaned back in her chair with a yawn, stretching her tired muscles.
"Remember, remember, the fifth of November", she thought while looking at her computer's calendar.
It was a rainy Friday night and she had told Captain Fowler she wanted to stay late for some paid overtime, although the real excuse was much more meaningful. The truth was that she stayed because she wanted to keep an eye on Hank, her co-worker, although that was proven to be more difficult than expected, seeing as he had wandered out of the department earlier that evening without her knowing.
The last few days had allowed Lily to keep a watchful eye on Lt Anderson, as she had been very recently promoted to his rank and he was told to give her a helping hand with her new responsibilities as a lieutenant in the DCPD. Despite working closely with Hank, such as taking the desk nearby so they could discuss case files more easily, Lily had clearly noticed he had been a lot more down and irritable lately.
Although, he was sarcastic and grumpy a lot of the time, she could only hope it had nothing to do with the extra work he was tasked with; the last thing Lily wanted was to wear her partner down. Truth be told, Lily had known Hank for years. He had been an old family friend, and Hank was the one who had helped the young lieutenant through her parents' messy divorce and her Father's unfortunate accident shortly after.
Now, it was Lily's turn to help him out. She knew about Hank's own grievous relationship with his wife, who had cheated on him before leaving Hank and his son, Cole, completely alone. It had been hard on the big guy, although Lily had made certain to help out whenever she could in taking care of the 6-year-old boy.
She could remember the night Cole died. It had been 3 years ago and Hank had never fully recovered from it. Lily could still remember her reaction when he called her up about an hour after dropping her to her apartment block, telling her that they had been in a car accident, and Cole was hurt badly. She had spent the night in the hospital with Hank, comforting him, talking to him, making sure he was okay.
He had mostly been in denial, and after leaving the hospital it had only gotten worse. Hank's squeaky-clean work record was trashed, as he would be caught secretly drinking at his desk and showing up to work at all hours.
"I guess the only reason Captain Fowler hasn't fired Hank yet is because the two were classmates back in the day", Lily thought to herself as she yawned again and chewed her pencil, looking back over the case files.
But through thick and thin, Hank and Lily had had each other's backs for years. Their relationship was similar to that of a loving uncle and niece. Sure, Hank could be cranky and annoying like a grizzly bear that had woken up from hibernation too soon, but Lily always remembered the loving, cheerful jokey Hank that she knew years ago, and by hell she wasn't going to give up on him any time soon.
So, Lily was more than surprised when a shadow fell over her desk and a polite but calm voice softly spoke to her.
"Excuse me, Miss?"
Lily looked up from the case file in her hands and she could've sworn she felt her own heart dance and flutter around inside her ribcage. Before her stood a dark-haired, distinguished young man with the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. They were deep brown and resembled melted chocolate, warm and inviting.
A strong jawline, a chiselled chin that could've been sculpted by angels, and a smart knowingness in the stranger's bright, shining eyes which sparkled as if there was no one he wanted to look at more than her. Lily's eyes flickered down quickly to get a better look at him; the guy wore a neatly pressed dove-grey jacket, smart black trousers with matching shoes and a spotless white shirt accompanying a silk grey tie.
Whoever he was, it was certain that he was absolutely gorgeous.
"Does he have a girlfriend?", Lily first thought involuntarily, before her senses returned. "Stop staring! You'll weird him out. Anyway, I can't judge him based solely on his appearance; he could be like, a total creeper or something".
Lily's eyes met with the stranger's gaze again, as she knew it would be rude to do nothing but stare at him when he had tried to talk to her. "He seems too genuine to be a creeper, he doesn't look like he can hurt a fly". Putting on a polite smile, knowing it was proper manners, Lily cleared her throat before speaking.
"Hello, can I help you?", she was hoping maybe he was a new recruit, then she could find out more about who he was. The handsome guy straightened his tie professionally, his eyes never leaving hers, glimmering brightly with fascination.
"My name is Connor. I'm the android sent by CyberLife; I've been assigned to work alongside the DCPD", he spoke very clearly in a polite, professional tone.
In her head, something clicked. Lily did remember the Captain mentioning that a prototype android was being sent to help out with the recent spike in criminal cases relating to deviants.
Deviants. Rogue androids that supposedly became crazy and violent for no apparent reason. The knowledge of deviants - and the fact that many times she had been forced to help detain and capture them - had left Lily a little wary of the android workers around the city. Still, most of them were very helpful and kind to humans, or as far as she had seen, but it didn't stop her hearing about the occasional horror story about mad, killer androids that lured away children and murdered innocent people.
She felt a little bit embarrassed at not realising that the newcomer was an android, suddenly also noticing the LED processing unit on Connor's right temple and the glowing blue band above his right elbow.
Lily simply did not know how to react to knowing that this handsome stranger was actually an android. "I guess it explains why he's so perfect-looking", she thought sadly to herself. But, she knew it was unfair to treat him differently just because he was a man made out of wires and plastic, despite it being controversially debateable about whether or not androids were actual people.
"Nice to meet you, Connor", Lily got up from her desk with a smile, and held out her hand to him politely. "I'm Lieutenant Dover, but you can call me Lily".
"Pleased to meet you", Connor said softly before his eyes flickered over her outstretched hand, unsure of how he should respond. Not wanting to be rude but still hesitant nonetheless, he cautiously put his own palm against hers, feeling the lieutenant's warm skin.
"He has a very firm grip", she thought to herself.
"However, I would believe my superiors wish me to show professionalism and respect at all times to my human co-workers, so I must insist that I call you Lieutenant as long as that is fine with you, lieutenant", the android explained, his gaze never leaving her face. Lily sat back down stiffly, wanting to shift away from the slightly odd introduction.
"So, why are you here at this time of the night, Connor?", she asked, as the android awkwardly took his hand away.
"A case has been assigned tonight, a homicide, but I was however unable to locate Lieutenant Anderson", Connor stared deeply into Lily's grey eyes. "You two are partners, in a way, am I right?"
"Oh yeah, me and Hank have been friends since way back. We're sort of paired up right now cause he's just helping me out with getting used to my promotion", Lily dragged her eyes away to her computer screen and began to scroll through the case files again, but still making sure she was paying full attention on Connor.
"Very well, would you be able to help me find him then?"
"Sure thing, Hank is probs out…", Lily's voice quietened as she felt a lump in her throat start to rise, something that didn't go unnoticed by Connor before she put back on another smile and turned to look at him again.
"He'll be out having a drink, it is Friday night after all. Not everyone wants to be stuck in a stuffy old office all week", she tried to make light of the topic.
"Yet, you are here", Connor noted observantly.
"Yeah, but I guess I don't really have a social life, unlike the rest of the department", Lily tried to make a self-deprecating joke, but Conor just stared at her blankly as if he had no idea by what she meant. Shaking her head, she looked away from his warm, intense gaze.
"You'll probably be able to find him at Jimmy's bar, it's one of Hank's more frequent spots. It's on 17th street, downtown, you need any help finding it?"
"Thank you, Miss Dover, but I believe my software will allow me to locate the lieutenant perfectly fine on my own", Connor straightened his tie for what must have been the second or third time in that conversation. "Thank you again for your help". As he began to walk away, Lily called back to him.
"Don't you want me to come too? If there's been a case assigned it would explain why no one else is here", she gestured to the nearly empty office. "Besides, Hank is my partner and he can be pretty stubborn even on his good days. Even if the case doesn't need me, I can still accompany Hank"
The android's mechanical brain whirred for a second before he nodded his head.
"I don't think it could hurt to have you join the investigation", he spoke professionally, but his beautiful brown eyes shimmered (if Lily had looked closely) with hidden delight.
"Great", Lily smiled. "Just let me grab my stuff and finish off here, and I'll meet you at Jimmy's in 15 minutes, alright?". Connor nodded politely before turning to the exit, the sooner he could find Lieutenant Anderson, the quicker he could complete his mission.
Although… he couldn't deny the fact that he definitely wanted to get to know Lieutenant Dover more.
"Good luck finding Hank", she called from her desk, waking him up from his thoughts.
Connor stopped. He wanted to say or do something more to show his thanks; the young lieutenant was one of the first few humans he had met who had seemed to genuinely smile at him and speak kindly instead of the usual impatient and degrading tone he had come to expect.
"I very much hope we will work together in the future", he added quietly without facing Lily, before leaving the Detroit City Police Department in search of 'Jimmy's bar' and the Lieutenant Anderson that was hopefully there.
Lily watched as he left. "For a moment there, the last thing he said… I swore I could've heard… real gratitude there", she was deep in thought. "I know all androids are meant to be quiet and respectful and stuff, but I haven't ever heard an android ever say something with that much…sincerity"
Shrugging it off, she decided to call Hank before returning to her work; Lily and everyone at the office knew that the guy hated androids fiercely, and she didn't want Connor's presence give him any more grief.
Picking up her smartphone off her desk, she dialled Hank's number, but received no response. Giving up after about 3 tries, she thought she would let Connor handle the situation of talking to drunk Hank.
She only hoped the poor synthetic-human made through the night in one piece.
XXX
Connor approached the building; it's fluorescent neon letters reading "Jimmy's Bar" made a pattern of light across the puddles of water on the pavement. He absentmindedly played with the coin he always carried with him, making it spin gracefully on the tip of his index finger as he simultaneously analysed the establishment.
There was a clearly-marked sign on the front door, reading "STRICTLY NO ANDROIDS ALLOWED" in bold text. Connor knew that his mission was more important than any policy, and his current objective was hopefully somewhere inside. Tossing the coin into his trousers' back pocket, he straightened his grey tie and read the time on his internal clock.
"11:21pm"
The android pushed open the door and entered the bar, his scans of the room detecting the strong smell of alcohol and cigarettes.
"Shit, I thought androids weren't allowed in here", came a murmur from the back of the bar. If he wasn't an android, the remark would've gone unheard over Connor's head. But, unfortunately for him, he was. Analysing the people in the room, Connor's brown eyes searched for the Lieutenant Anderson, finally finding him at the bar with a scotch glass in hand.
Ignoring the glares and other scornful remarks from the irritated-looking patrons at the bar, Connor stood in front of the lieutenant expectantly. The police officer looked about 50 years old, and he was wearing a thick brown jacket that he hadn't taken off despite being inside, like he hadn't even noticed it. The officer paid no attention to Connor, so the RK-800 decided to initiate an introduction.
"Lieutenant Anderson, my name is Connor. I'm the android sent by CyberLife"