Despite being one of the best Blade Runners in the business, Kai lived in the same kind of cramped apartment housing just like the rest of the poor folk. The neighborhood was as shitty as it could get, the only streetlight that worked was always flickering, and hot water ran for only five minutes every day.
His place was just dusty from the grit that always came in through the cracked windows and dotted with empty beer bottles, rather than all-out filthy like most others were.
"Authorization?"
"Kai. Floor 80."
Kai shoved his apartment card into the slot and then took it out when prompted. The elevator started rumbling slowly upwards, and Kai's reflexes kicked in – the gun from his leg holster drawn up and cocked within a blink – when he heard a crinkle of fabric from behind him.
The muzzle of his gun was half an inch away from the face of Dr. Evie's Replicant assistant. The android hardly blinked at the weapon pointed at him. In fact, he looked entirely unconcerned and projected an air of harmlessness.
Kai lowered his gun, and then holstered it.
Kai knew for a fact that if this Replicant wanted to kill him, he would've done it by now or when he had pointed his gun at him. Instead, he just stood there as if he was like any bored human that was simply waiting for the elevator to stop.
The elevator doors slid open.
Without saying anything, Kai walked out of the elevator and towards the door to his apartment. His heart was racing, which was both unusual and not, given the circumstances.
"Despite what Dr. Evie may have told you, I'm not a Replicant." Hurk stepped out of the elevator with a grace more suited to a predator. The sharpness of his fine silhouette against the bright light and deep shadows coming from the barred windows was out-of-place among the graffitied concrete walls.
Kai swiped his card into the slot with hands that shook minutely. His voice was steady as he opened the door, however. "Take that up with her."
"She wouldn't answer."
Kai slammed the door in the middle of Hurk's sentence and leaned against the wood. After a moment and an uncharacteristic change of heart, Kai opened the door again.
Hurk's face had lost the blank neutrality that was typical of either the average Replicant or a professional assistant; instead, he looked… worried.
Kai shook his head and turned away. He left the door wide open, though.
When he reached his living room and dropped the kit onto the coffee table that was creaking underneath the weight of various gun parts and oil rags, the front door closed with a muted click. Deliberately heavy footsteps that made the wood flooring creak noisily followed.
"I have… photos. Of me, when I was younger." There was the crinkle of paper in uncertain hands as Kai poured himself half a tumbler of scotch.
He really, really needed a drink.
"Really." Kai leaned against the back of the couch and watched Hurk hover, almost nervously, near the windows. It was as if the bright lights were soothing and familiar to him, rather than harsh and unwelcome as it usually was for Kai. "Do you remember the time you and your sister sneaked into an abandoned building to explore, but a flock of bats scared you so bad you wet yourself? Remember that?"
Kai watched the tanned face grow pale.
"You ever tell anybody that? Your mother? Or, what about that time you saw a spider spinning a web underneath your window? One day, there was an—"
"Egg. There was an egg, and it hatched into a hundred baby spiders. They ate the corpse of their mother before flying away in the wind." Hurk had his arms crossed defensively, and the nervous look on his face had transformed into one of agitation.
Kai downed his glass of scotch and set it down on an empty spot on the overburdened coffee table. "Implants, from Dr. Evie's nephew. Those aren't your memories. They're someone else's."
There was silence for a long moment, and Kai immediately felt like an asshole. Well, more of an asshole than he usually was. Taking out his frustrations on some scientist's assistant he met a few hours ago was a bad call, even if he was an android. It was uncalled for, and a dickish move.
Kai ran his hand across his face. "You know what, just forget I said anything. I'm sorry. You're not a Replicant."
The Replicant straightened and the blank look returned, but he didn't meet Kai's eyes. The smooth baritone was now tense and restrained, as if he was holding back some emotion. "I… see."
Was there any way he could salvage the situation?
"You want a drink?" The other man's lips twisted into a frown. "I'll get you a glass."
Kai escaped to his kitchen and rooted around the dish rack for a clean tumbler. When he found one, he looked up and saw that the man was gone.
The front door closed with an echoing click.
Kai set the tumbler on the counter and stared at the brightly-lit area near the window that Hurk had occupied for a long while.