AN: Hello again! Here we are with chapter two. We are finally getting into some action with this chapter and a bit of character development. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

"Shit," John muttered as he finally broke free. Dorian was right behind him to check out the back of the car. Eveline's door was ripped off its hinges and the princess was no where to be seen.

"John, are you alright? We got a signal from your car." a voice from the office spoke in his ear.

"There was an accident on the corner of Fox ave and Braker street. Our car was flipped in an explosion. No civilians were harmed, but the princess was abducted."

"Damnit, Kennex!" was shouted in the background.

"John, you need to see a doctor, your head is bleeding." Dorian observed.

"I'm fine. We need to find her before whoever it is kills her." The light on Dorian's face was lighting up blue and he was quiet for a moment. "What?"

"She was picked up by three men in a large black van heading south on Treethirst blvd, ID number 35467."

"Are they armed?"

"I can't tell, if they are, they aren't keeping the weapons in street camera view." Sirens were sounding in the close distance. Dorian sent out the ID number of the van to the station and more cars were set out to find them.

"Find that girl, god knows that they'll do to her." captain Maldonado said to her officers on the oddly quiet day.

John was seen by a medic on the crash site and was given the all clear before he and his partner headed out to find the van.

"Who knows where they were headed with her." Kennex sighed to himself. He thought this would be an easy enough job but already in the first hour, he was sorely proven wrong.

"The file said that she was wanted outside the country so they would be attempting to fly her out as soon as possible." John nodded.

"We need to find somewhere that an aircraft could take off without being noticed." They were speeding on the thruway until Dorian noticed a small craft trying to land on the outskirt of the city.

"John, there." John called it in right away and took the next exit heading straight for the empty parking lot of a broken down warehouse. As they turned in, both of them drew their hand guns and crept up on the black van that was facing the small craft that was refueling. Pressed for time, they didn't wait for backup.

John looked over to the small group of people waiting for the craft to finish. There were four men with guns, one with his arm wrapped around the princess's. From where John and Dorian were it was hard to tell, but John was sure that she was handcuffed and bleeding from her face. These men weren't being gentle with her so there was a possibility of them killing her.

Sirens were screaming in the distance and this made all the men hurry along. The two that were standing next to the princess left to help the others get the craft ready for takeoff when John gave Dorian the signal to start shooting from behind the van. Three of the men went down but the last one went right for the princess with a gun held at her head. He turned Eveline around to face the two shooters.

"Keep firing and shes dead!" he howled as two more men came from inside the craft. The partners didn't drop their guns but they did stop shooting. They were just about to haul Eveline into the craft when she ripped from their grip and elbowed one in the face then kicked him to the ground. The other two went to grab her when she ducked out of the way and bashed one in the gut with her shoulder then took the chains that were binding her hands and wrapped it around his neck for just a moment. That moment was enough. The man was unconscious within seconds then she moved to the last one, but before she could do anything, he wacked her in the head with the butt of his gun then handed her to a hidden person inside the craft then jumped in himself.

Three more cars pulled into the lot as the engine of the craft roared to life then started to pick up off the ground, Eveline inside.

With no time to react thoughtfully, Dorian shot at the engine compartment of the craft.

"What the hell are you doing?!" John barked.

"We can't let them get more than ten feet off the ground. She'll be lost to us by then." Dorian was right. They would have almost no chance of getting her back if they successfully managed to take off. This was it and she should be able to survive the crash of ten feet.

"Ground that craft!" John yelled to the backup which finally arrived. They all shot at the engine compartment until it was smoking and finally started to fall from the quickly darkening sky. As it crashed two M.X.s and Dorian ran up to the quickly burning wreckage and dug into the cabin. The M.X.s found the two men in the craft and dragged them to the cars in cuffs along with everyone else who'd taken part in the kidnapping.

"Eveline?" Dorian called into the heated cabin that was full of toxic gases. Her chances of survival were being calculated in his head. They was shrinking with every passing second.

A full two minutes had passed by since the craft had crashed and not one sign of life was shown making everyone watching believe that the crash had killed her, or at least one of the assailants had.

"Dorian, come on back. It'll blow soon." one of the officers called out to him. Just then he jumped into the overturned capsule. "Dorian!" John yelled.

"Dorian," a small cough came from inside. He was there in less than a moment and jumped back out of the craft and ran towards the cars with something bundled carefully in his arms. Then the craft exploded behind them. Everyone jumped behind their cars and Dorian was on the ground, protecting the smaller warm body beneath him.

When the blast was gone and the heat had died down some, John and two medics rushed to Dorian. He was slowly getting off the ground. His back was burnt in some places and his clothes torn in others.

"I'm fine," he urged John who was helping him up. Everyone was looking at what he'd been covering. Eveline was covered in soot and blood that was pouring from three open gashes. He picked her up again and carefully carried her to the ambulance that was parked by the cars.

"Will she be alright?" a few officers asked the medics after she was loaded onto a stretcher and closed into the ambulance.

"She suffered a few lacerations to the head and neck from what we've seen so far, but she is fully responsive. I think she'll be fine. We'll run a few tests here to know for sure." Everyone drew in a breath of relief, but none as much as captain Sandra. After she heard the news she turned and headed right to another van where Dorian's back was being looked at by their technician, Rudy alongside John. John saw her moving hastily towards them and sighed through his nose as a light rain was starting to fall around them.

"Listen, before you blow off my head, know that there was no sign of an attack at the airport all day. This caught us by surprise." John explained. "If we had known-"

"I know." captain Sandra said in a softer tone than expected.

"You do?"

"Yes, we checked every camera in a ten mile radius for any sign of an attack but they all came off clean. And all the usual suspects were already in custody. I want you two to be at the safe house tonight. Make sure it is clear and safe before you leave her for the night."

"Wait, you still want us on the job? After that?" John motioned towards the wreck that was being taken care of by firefighters.

"You did everything right, maybe not to code, but you got the job done. Eveline is safe and being taken care of." John looked surprised at his captain. "Why did you think I chose you two for the job in the first place? I trust that after today, you won't under estimate the amount of danger this girl is really in. You've got this." She headed off to car after having a quick word with a medic.

"Is he good to fight another day?" John asked Rudy who was in the middle to fixing up the burnt skin on his back.

"He'll need to replace his upper back plate in the next few days once I can get another one made, but other than that, hes done." Rudy took off his gloves.

"Thank you, Rudy." Dorian nodded at him.

"Don't mention it." Rudy said in his heavy British accent.

"How is Eveline?"

"Doctors say she should be fine."

"Good,"

John and Dorian headed over to the ambulance and waited for her to be released. Eventually the doors opened and two medics helped Eveline down. Cleaned up the only damage that was really done sat as a gash on her forehead and a scrape on her nose.

"Fill this out tomorrow and take one pill every six hours." the female medic told her and Eveline nodded, taking the script in hand out into the now pouring rain.

She saw the cops waiting for her at the car and the smile she had given the medics vanished. She almost sulked her head as she got into the car and they took off for the safe house.

"You don't look happy to see us." John said in a light, joking tone. Eveline looked up at them and made eye contact in the rear-view mirror. "I know we did a pretty terrible job of getting you back, but-"

"That's not it." she said softly then dropped her eyes. When they got to the safe house, Eveline stayed in the car while John looked over the closed in porch then gave the signal for Dorian to bring her in. He took off his coat, quickly covering the princess to shield her from the rain.

"Stay here, we're going to make sure its safe." Dorian said before following his partner into the house where they quickly scoped out all the rooms, closets, and halls. When everything was clear, they went back down to help get her stuff in.

All her things had been moved to the new car while everyone was being assessed by the medics. John took three bags while Eveline took one of the heavier ones herself.

"I'll take that one for you." She turned to see Dorian with the last of them already in his arms.

"Are you sure? I can carry it." He gave her a slight smile then carefully piled it with the rest then followed her back up the stairs to her room where everything was set down.

After she was settled and the house was armed, the partners met Eveline in the den to say goodnight.

"I've gotta hand it to you. Those were some pretty nice moves." John brought up.

"Detective Kennex, you learn how to defend yourself when you've had a bounty on your head from birth."

"Is it always like this?" Dorian asked. She nodded then reached up to point out a missing piece of skin on Dorian's jaw that Rudy had missed. "You bleed blue light. What are you?"

"He's a bot," John answered. She looked at him with questioning eyes.

"I'm an android. A robot made to look human, like the M.X.s." Dorian reiterated.

"The ones that were on the plane with me, the ones that all look alike?" They nodded at her. "No, you're different. You feel. You can't be a robot."

"I was built with a special program called Synthetic Soul. It gives me emotions." With the very little amount of information Eveline knew about this countries technology, she understood what made Dorian Dorian. She understood then and there at he wasn't human but he thought and felt like one.

"Well, its getting late. Tomorrow at eight, two M.X.s will be here to check up on you. We have this whole building under surveillance. We can see if anyone will be here with you, so goodnight." He turned to head back to the car. "Do I have to drop you off at Rudy's or the station?" John asked Dorian.

"Actually, I'm going to stay here tonight. I don't think she should be left alone after today." Dorian said.

"Don't you need to like plug in or something?"

"There is an M.X. station in the back room. I can download anything I need there and I'm good on charge." John seemed to be as in the dark on technology as Eveline sometimes.

"I'll be alright here by myself if you need to leave. Now that I have my stuff I'll be fine." Eveline urged them to understand that she didn't need them if they had more important things to do.

John stood there thinking about it then Dorian gave him a look telling him to go.

"I don't mean to trouble you." she said politely. Dorian gave her a soft smile. "It's no trouble at all." The alert expression of fear vanished.

John left them and it was just her and Dorian in the room. "I'm going to put my things away then get cleaned up, detective Dorian."

"Dorian," he corrected gently.

"Oh, ok. So I guess you could- uh- make yourself at home? I saw a TV, if you watch TV? Um, maybe- umm-"

"Don't worry, I'll find something to do." Dorian was very calm in everything that he did. His voice was steady and his facial features were never aggressive or harsh in anyway, even with Eveline's nervousness bubbling up inside her. She wasn't sure how to react to him, never being around an android before.

Eveline put away her clothes in the dresser and closet. Then got out a clean change of clothes and headed for the shower when her stomach started to growl. She hadn't eaten much of anything all day, just a few peanuts on the plane and a small open-faced sandwich. Her nerves had been eating away at her and she hadn't been hungry until now.

After a warm shower washed away the real stress of the day, Eveline was a bit more relaxed. She changed into a warm set of night clothes, a long black gown and a set of lace pants that went along with it.

When her hair was done and she was ready, she headed out to the kitchen to finally feed herself. When she opened the door the smell of something savory hit her nose like a smack to the face. She followed her nose to the kitchen where she found Dorian behind the stove with a large spoon in hand and a pan in front of him.

"I could tell you were getting hungry by your movements." he explained himself without looking up.

"It smells amazing, what is it?"

"It's pasta." He filled a plate full with the food then handed it over. With a small smile, Eveline took the food and sat at the small counter on a stool and fed herself.

"You shouldn't have." she took a bite, "This is delicious." Dorian almost looked surprised by her reaction. "You are a very good cook."

"It was the first recipe I found." he tried to shake off the compliment.

"Do you eat? Do you cook for John?" He shook his head at both questions. "You should show him that you can. Show him that you are more than just a machine." She eat a few more mouthfuls. "Has he always been like that?"

"We've only been partners for a few months." Dorian admitted.

"Are you new?" Eveline wasn't sure how phrase the question better. "Were you recently born- made?" she corrected herself. She thought about what she had just asked and immediately apologized, "I'm so sorry, forget I asked that."

"No, it's fine." Again he was cool and collected. "My model, the DRNs, were built to be cops. The Synthetic Soul programing was used to make us better cops, but something went wrong with many of us and we were deactivated four years ago. They woke me not along ago to work with John as a cop again."

"How awful it must have been, knowing that they were going to shut you down. You must have been so frightened, knowing that you may never wake again." Dorian looked at Eveline, tilted his head slightly to the side and nodded slowly. "And worst of all, how terrible these people are to give you emotion, feeling, consciousness, then put you down like a sick dog, with no regard as to what you really feel. Surely there would have been a fix for the issue if any real thought was put into it. This is why my family never had robots. We thought they were too much like us to become slaves. I see how they make you work, risking your life for us."

"I don't mind the risk."

"You don't?"

"I want nothing more than to be a cop. Putting criminals behind bars, saving people, what more could I offer." He seemed very happy to have Eveline to talk to about this.

"You are very brave and have a hero's heart. In my country, that is worth more than all the money in the world." They smiled quickly at each other before Eveline took her dishes to the sink and washed them.

After everything was cleaned and put away, Eveline didn't bother watching TV. She was too tired. In the den beside the kitchen, she found Dorian on the computer, looking over files. "I'm going to bed now."

"All the windows are locked shut as are all the outside doors. If you need anything during the night, I'll be right here." His bright blue eyes comforted her. She already knew that if she needed anything, she wouldn't bother him, not after everything he'd already done for her.

"Goodnight," she turned towards her room, then after a moment went back to him as he went back over the files. "Dorian, thank you for everything." Before he could turn to look at her, she bent down and as customary a sign of gratitude, kissed his temple, then hurried to her room where she bundled herself in the bed and for the first time in a long time, fell right to sleep.

Out in the den, Dorian was still trying to figure out if any of this had been real or some sick dream that haunted him with such sharp tastes of reality.

AN: And now you have chapter two. I know it's kinda cheesy but it'll get better, I swear. Again, please leave me any comments; what you liked, what you didn't like. They all help me to become a better writer and I appreciate any feedback. Until next time.