AlonAI Law
So Isadora's been working hard, Meine's been working hard, it's time to see the aftermath of their actions.
A little action last chapter. Not a lot, but we can see how dramatically different Isadora is in her gear. There's a lot going on there and it will be explained as the story progresses. Hope you guys enjoy. :)
Remember to read, review, fav, alert, or whatever you wanna do! Let me know if you guys like it, want more, or how you feel the story is going. I'm very interactive with readers and am happy to talk at length if you have any questions or suggestions!
A loud beep, beep, beeping snapped her awake from her slumber. It was the intercom calling her, someone in the house was trying to rouse her. Isadora, having only been asleep for a few hours, groaned in exhaustion.
She had to make it back home, get inside without alerting Connor, and then shower and act like nothing happened. No one was hurt, save for perhaps those cops who got a shock and were knocked out. Everything went how she wanted it to go. No one died, no one injured for life; she walked away like everyone else did. Meine and her rode back in peace, sleeping along the route as the autonomous car made the two hour drive out.
Meine kept an eye on her, replaying the path to Jericho in his mind and what they found at the end of the line. It was not what he hoped, Isadora knew he was disappointed. There was no way to change what was, they had to live with it.
She wished it was better, that there was more for Meine, Theodosia, and Mia. It was a disappointing realization to see Jericho was not the android haven they hoped it would be. It would be a place to hide if Isadora was ever found out.
Lazily slapping her hand onto the intercom, she mumbled some nonsense that only she understood. Theodosia's voice rang through. "Uh, yes, well... Connor is requesting your presence. An incident occurred last night near the Detroit Police Department. You, Connor, and Lieutenant Anderson have been called in for the investigation. Connor is redressing in his suit now."
Isadora's eyes opened wide. "I'll be down in a moment. I need to get dressed. Will you please bring my uniform up?" Her voice was louder than she wanted, panicked. She shot out of bed, still internally exhausted, but woken hard by the cold realization of what happened the night before. Isadora sucked in air through her teeth creating a clear hiss as she jumped up and raced to her closet.
Her feet thumped against the shag carpet, the doors to her closet slid open and she entered, tearing through the closet for underwear. Strapping her bra in place, she took up a travel make up bag Theodosia prepared for her, and left the closet in the same rush she entered with. Yanking a brush from the travel bag she began running it through her hair fast.
Theodosia heard the urgency in her voice so she hurried up to calm her friend down. She knew the human well enough to understand her moods. Human emotions were wild, Theodosia wondered what it was like to experience full force emotional bewilderment at all times with no control over it. She knew it was not like that for most humans, but certainly for this one.
When she opened the door, she saw Isadora in her underwear viciously brushing her hair through. Her head turned, "Dosia! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She rushed up to the android, taking the uniform from her hands, leaving the brush hanging in her long hair.
Alarmed, Theodosia helped her get dressed. Pulling Isadora's undershirt together, snapping the clips in place while Isadora brought her uniform pants up. "Come on, come on, no time!" Isadora raised her arms to go back to brushing her hair while Theodosia finished the snaps and waist belt. "Fuck me, why didn't I think about this, I just passed out when I got home. I completely fucking forgot!"
She threw the brush across the room. A loud thunk! as it hit the wall, Theodosia remembered to grab it before Isadora left knowing she would need it. "Arms down, jacket." Theodosia pulled her jacket over her shoulders, crossing the front until it snapped into place. "Done. Hair piece."
Isadora's eyes glanced around the room before settling on the vanity in her closet. "Right, right!" She ran to the closet, grabbing the tie. Theodosia would put her hair up for her, so she took a seat at the vanity letting the android woman do her work.
Downstairs, in the laundry room, Connor was entirely oblivious to the panic going on. Theodosia had shown him to his clothes which were hanging in the laundry room beside the machines. She left in a hurry and he assumed that meant get dressed. The door was closed, so he did just that.
He had changed the odd material pants they had given him, he was not sure how he felt about them. Especially the turtleneck, it was not a CyberLife standard for androids. His hands deftly buttoned his dress shirt without looking, mindlessly eyeing the laundry room and the sheer amount of clothing hanging there. Mens, womens, childrens; he was confused as Isadora said there were no children here. Then he saw something else that caught his attention.
Behind a large number of clothing was six hangers all holding android uniforms. Now Connor knew that there were three androids functioning as Isadora's property. There was a WR400 named Mia, an AX400 named Theodosia, another android he did not know the model of that Isadora called Meine. No others that she mentioned anyways.
While he looked at the uniforms he was even more confused.
On the breast of each shirt listed the models they belonged to. AX400, he thought of Theodosia. WR400, he thought of Mia. A military uniform, dark digital camouflage with Myrmidon on the chest. Then the last three... KL900, MP500, and a VB800. Three models with entirely separate fields. Connor approached them while he tucked in his shirt.
He scanned them, noting the damage on various sections of the clothes. Connor whipped his tie around his neck, settling it below the popped up collar. Multitasking was not too difficult for androids anymore, not since the early days of the first androids. A few spots of the clothing had thirium splattered across a sleeve or up the chest. It was old, definitely more than a few weeks at least.
Searching for a reason, he remembered Isadora telling him she had restored Mia, the WR400 sex android. She was damaged and Isadora repaired her, putting her back to work. As a CyberLife employee she had extensive access to damaged android parts, it was likely that she had recovered these androids the same as she had recovered Mia. It would explain why there were android uniforms in her laundry room stained with thirium.
He finished his tie, closing his collar around it as he went back to the hanger for his suit jacket. He did find it strange to be without his android markers on. Something about their request to remove his clothing to be cleaned... Though programming told him this was a proper thing for an android owner to do, he also knew that this was the only way he would not be walking around the DPD covered in mud.
Taking his suit jacket off the hanger, he eyed the RK800 model marker and the reflective blue android markers. His eyes narrowed for a split second before he swung the jacket around and slid it up his arms and back into its rightful place. Holding his tie, he straightened it and his jacket.
Seating himself beside the washer and dryer, he bent over to slip his shoes on. As he was doubled over, he spotted a white shirt. It rested crumpled underneath a set of hanging laundry hampers. Forgotten, it had been collecting dust. Connor's head tilted as he reached for it, reaching to drag it out from its hiding place.
Lifting it up as he sat up straight, he inspected the piece of clothing. It was a long white shirt, silk, reflective. He saw why it appeared to not be missed. The front of the shirt had a long tear crossing the chest, leaving gaps in inappropriate places. One sleeve was hanging on by a thread, the rest of the shirt well beaten and frayed from abuse. That was not the most concerning part.
Lining the largest torn sections was red stains. Human blood. Around other spots were more splatter marks of dried and faded thirium.
This shirt was clear sign of a struggle. His detective programming kicked in. The tears, blood, and quality of the shirt told him very little. Something happened here, a fight that resulted in injury to a human, to a lesser extent to an android. A handmade silk shirt was not cheap, showing him that the owner was able to spend money on it. Being in Isadora's massive private home he could come to the conclusion that yes, Isadora was wealthy.
Hesitating for a moment, he set the shirt down beside him and finished putting his shoes on. Standing from the seat, he took up the shirt. His eyes darted over the ruined garment, inspecting it as if it would reveal anything more to him. He put his fingers to the bloodied stains a rubbed them together, picking up flecks of dried blood. Raising his fingers to his mouth, the information appeared to him.
Dried Blood
DNA Analysis: Saxon, Isadora
Sample date: 3 months
He moved to the dried thirium stain, pressing his fingers to it, rubbing them together to work the dried blue blood off and then brought his fingers to his mouth again. A rinse and repeat detective feature he found coming in handy despite the humans around him finding it uncomfortable.
Blue Blood
MODEL TR400 #992 312 001
Disassembled by CyberLife 03/10/2038
The blood was Isadora's which he had already assumed correctly. The thirium belonged to a labor android, a TR400 model noted for their large stature and strength. Judging from the information given, and the android's disassembly date, it appeared the android attacked Isadora and was promptly destroyed. Connor's LED flickered. Isadora was attacked and injured by an android, likely a deviant, he could not see how else this happened.
His LED flashed yellow before it began to spin and additional information reporting on the incident at the DPD began to filter through. There was no time to spend on this piece of clothing. Setting it on top of the laundry counter, he left the room.
The moment he stood outside the laundry room, he saw Isadora hurrying down the staircase. Her eyes caught his and she paused. "Connor..." She panted, clearly having been rushing to prepare for the investigation. Connor watched her chest heave, a fraction of a second and he saw the silk blouse torn and bleeding on her. It was not reality, he was thinking about what caused that shirt to be damaged.
Blinking a few times, the image in his head disappeared. Isadora continued down the steps in her usual CyberLife uniform with her hair lifted up this time. She ran her hands over her jacket, "Are you ready?" She looked over his attire, "Looks like Theodosia got the stains out."
"Yes, thank you." Connor did not much heed what she said, busy thinking to himself.
"It's still a two hour drive back, let's get moving." She nodded towards the stairs, heading there with him trailing behind her. Following them both was Theodosia with Isadora's make up travel bag in hand and the hairbrush she had cast aside earlier. The rest of her clothing already packed away in the vehicle.
Blazing a path straight to the front door, Isadora constantly checked over herself to ensure she was appropriate and collected all her things. As she stepped up to the front door she came to a halt, slightly alarming the android behind her. "Oh, I forgot my-!"
"Right here, Isadora." Theodosia smiled, holding the very items she was looking for. "The rest is packed in the car already." Isadora took the bag from the android, offering an appreciative smile.
"Thank you, Dosia. If you need me you know how to reach me, you know what hotel I'm staying at. If there is an emergency situation or you feel you are in danger, you know the drill." She tucked the back under her arm, pointing her finger at Theodosia. "Retreat to the panic room and report the incident to CyberLife then call the police."
The android did not give a direct response. "Anything else, Isadora?"
Taking a deep breath, Isadora shook her head. "Nothing, no. Stay safe, take care of yourselves. All repair and diagnostic tools are in the basement as usual. Goodbye!" She bid as the front doors opened wide, revealing the bright sun still far too bright for her liking. Her tired eyes a clear sign she had not slept well the previous night, already prepared with a hundred excuses as to why.
Checking the baggage, Isadora allowed Connor to get into the vehicle while she looked for her armament bag. It was a metal woven duffel with no markings. Sure enough, Meine had hidden it in the truck to the far back, behind the rest of her bags. Slamming the door shut, pathetically as it automatically slowed down, she jumped in the car and Connor told the vehicle where to go.
Isadora watched, finding interest as the skin on his hand faded a moment to interface with the car console. It only took a second and it was back to normal, the car reversing from the driveway.
Connor watched her fiddle with the make up bag, popping it open and pulling down the sun visor's mirror. Her fingers pulled at her skin, before she ran her hands over her face roughly and patted her cheeks. He found this odd action interesting to watch.
She began to apply powders and foundation to her face and he realized what he was watching. He saw her focusing heavily on the spots decorating her face. She seemed to keep inspecting the area, making small growling noises before applying more makeup to the area. A small plastic tube with concealer printed on the side was used often, almost exclusively around her eye.
"Son of a bitch." She muttered, the small tube of concealer no longer showing anymore product. "Of fucking course." In her frustration, she flicked the tube onto the car floor while searching for something else in the bag.
Curious, Connor's head turned more directly to her. "Is everything alright?"
Isadora dropped her hands flat against the bag, her jaw jutting forward. "Yeah, yeah. Just fine." She returned to searching, finding a small round container with mineral powder written on the top lid. She unscrewed it, removed a brush, and began to use the powder on her face.
Now, he knew she was not telling the truth. Her tone was sarcastic, short tempered. She was not in a good mood and having some struggles with the make up bag in her lap. He knew what makeup was, of course. There were plenty of sites explaining it and he did not realize there was so much difficulty in something considered vanity product. He continued to watch her, finding her spending a lot of time trying to cover the spot on her face.
"May I ask what is wrong?" He tried to insist, seeing it was obvious Isadora was bothered.
"You just did." She quipped.
Sensing the negative tone, Connor backed off. He sat back in his chair and kept his eyes to himself. Isadora bit her lip and turned to Connor, dropping the supplies back into the travel bag. She thought of Meine, how he would look at her the moment she said that. Meine would have taken the bag from her and give her an expectant look. He often treated her as if she was a little sister, needing to be disciplined when she acted out.
She knew he was right though. He's always right. Isadora closed her eyes for a moment, still feeling empathy for his disappointment regarding Jericho.
"Connor, I didn't mean that." She explained, though it did not excuse her shortness with him she did not want him to feel he was responsible. Connor looked at her, signaling he was listening. "I am tired, I did not get a good rest last night, and now I'm out of the only thing that works for my face... Ugh, but Theodosia tells me something happened with the department? I'm just not a morning person."
He tilted his head down slightly, "I understand. Many humans find early morning activities difficult." She was momentarily sad to hear CyberLife script. Out of everyone she wanted to talk to, she wanted someone human. Underneath all that programming he was there, Connor as an individual. She wished that Connor was here.
Isadora nodded dejectedly. "Remember what I said last night. If I snap at you please, make me aware of that behavior. I will correct it." She offered him a trying smile, "I do not want to abuse you, Connor."
Many thoughts washed through Connor's mind. His LED turned to a smooth yellow, but did not flicker. He saw the HK400 that murdered Carlos Ortiz, the bloodied blouse with thirium stains. CyberLife scripts appeared to him and he collected all this date into one conclusion. "Thank you, Isadora. Though we have seen multiple deviants cause harm to their human owners, I will not do the same. You have nothing to worry about."
She froze a moment. Does he think I'm trying to be nice... so he won't kill me? Her eyes went wide. "Ah, no, Connor. I was just trying to express respect. We work together, CyberLife entrusted me with your well being. You do not deserve abuse, especially since you have done such good work. I value your company, Connor."
His LED flickered blue, he was thinking but not conflicted. He had a small smile on his face, something she hoped was genuine. "I value your company too, Isadora. I appreciate your hospitality. CyberLife documents legalize your ownership of me and my progress as a prototype. Do you have any suggestions for me to improve on our investigations?"
It was still so dull, so well written by CyberLife. "You have performed excellently, so far I have been impressed with your progress and your efficiency."
Connor's head raised, it was a human emotion she was seeing there. That was unabashed pride. "Thank you, I'm pleased to have impressed you."
Isadora kept her smug grin to herself, seeing how praise always made it far with androids. Letting him bask in that, she returned to her struggle of covering up the discoloration in her face. Without the proper items she would no longer be able to cover the large markings around her eye. For now it would just remain. Disappointed, she ran her fingertips over the discolored area, her brows raised in a sad expression.
"You never told me what is wrong." Connor poked. She turned her head to him, surprised he would be so brave. He was insisting on an issue, one he knew upset her and, even though it was redirected, he returned to the original point.
Not really amazing since androids were able to carry multiple conversations for some time now, but his determination and understanding of the context was impressive on its own. Isadora nodded, "My eye, the vitiligo on my face, it is visible. I do not like it being visible if I can avoid it. Unfortunately, I'm out of the product I have that can cover it so I was frustrated."
Connor, rather glad he got an answer, was also confused. "Make up is used for formal functions, to impress another, or for personal gratification." Another railed off statement duller than the last. "Why do you use it to cover the vitiligo?"
She felt her face heat up. A sting of embarrassment and her defensiveness kicked in. Her nose crinkled, her fingers tapping the palm of her hand. "I- Well, it's complicated. There's a lot of people that do not like it, some people find it unsightly. I try not to make people uncomfortable or attract unwanted attention, so I cover it with products capable of making me look, ah- making me look normal."
"I see." His response was expected, he acted inside his parameters. He did return with another CyberLife positive note though. "I think it should be perfectly acceptable for you to go without covering. It is not a contagious skin condition and has no negative medical side effects."
Isadora gave him a lame slow blink. "Uh... thanks, but it's not that simple. "
He made no further attempt to break into a sensitive topic. It already appeared as though he would not be making any headway. Connor kept this in his mind, remembering to later down the road approach the topic again. For now, he dropped the discussion and let her finish her face.
Glancing between the mirror and Connor, she said nothing and took out removal wipes and cleared her face. Removing all the cover up she had done so far she was left with bare skin, the pale splotch over her left eye, some barely visible around her neck, mostly hidden by the CyberLife uniform's high neck. While she would give up covering her vitiligo, she did not want to stand out too much. Taking the noir mascara she covered the stark white eyelashes and touched up her brow, making her appearance a bit more even.
Vitiligo removed pigmentation of anything in the area that had coloration. Hair was one of those. Part of her left eyebrow was pure white, the lashes pure white too. There would be streak, but she continually dyed the section whenever the roots began to show or the color faded. Taking a deep sigh she recalled Gavin's comment to her the day before.
He saw her remove the makeup and knew she had listened, even if she said nothing. His social programming kicked in and Connor felt... pleased. "I like it." He offered that short sentiment.
Isadora looked at him, her fingers still resting on her face. Even though she had worn no coverage yesterday did not mean she liked it. It felt like she was naked and walking around in public. She was uncomfortable and nervous. Hearing Connor's soft tone, Isadora's lips curled to a gentle lopsided grin. "Thanks. I'm glad someone does."
Hoping to get off this odd subject, she redirected her attentions to the emergency they were called in on. Granted, she already knew exactly the purpose they were called for she could not reveal she knew that. A dead giveaway. It was time to show off her acting skills. "Why are we being called in? Theodosia said something happened last night at the DPD. Do you have any information to tell me or do they not know yet?"
Connor switched from the human social software back to the report he had been issued. "At approximately 12 am last night the Detroit Police prepared the HK400 that murdered Carlos Ortiz for transport to CyberLife's disposal facility. The transport left the station at 1 am." He read excerpts from the file he could see in his vision. Isadora kept straight faced. "Shortly after the transport left the DPD received an alert from the officers escorting the HK400, reporting that an individual had attacked the vehicle."
"Attacked a transport? How slow was it moving?" Isadora tapped her nail on the armrest, ready to rattle off nonsense questions she already knew the answer to.
"The transport was heading towards the CyberLife facility on a junction highway. The assailant hijacked the vehicle, knocked the officers unconscious, and stole the transport taking it off the highway heading to downtown Detroit before officers could arrive." He was looking at the prisoner transport's security footage, seeing a mysterious person wipe out the cops inside and take over without ever directly engaging them.
She peered at Connor's expression. He's just checking for clues right now. Nothing he can get from looking at the camera. Completely unconcerned, Isadora stared out her window while they rode together. "So the cops are alive? No one was hurt?"
"The officers were unconscious when backup arrived. EMT's assessed both of the officers and found no serious injuries to either officer. So no, no one was hurt." Isadora grinned, she knew they would get out with nothing more than a sore spot and a period of black out.
"Do they have an idea of who did it? Or any leads so far?"
Connor looked over the footage before returning to the filed reports. "The assailant wore an outfit covering their entire body, mask, and the reports say there was nothing left at the scene. The Lieutenant is already on his way and should arrive before us."
"Hank actually answered the DPD?" That's the most surprising thing I've heard in the last month. She snickered, imagining Hank grumbling to himself.
"No. He answered my call." Connor looked at her, "I called him fifteen separate times. On the sixteenth he answered." Isadora laughed unrestrained, finding Connor's harassment of Hank hilarious. She could not wait to see the look on his face when they got to the station. Not understanding what made her laugh, he simply went along with it and forced a smile.
By the time they arrived, Isadora was thoroughly entertained by Connor's confusion. He had not the faintest clue as to what was going on. She made a collection of jokes at the Lieutenant's expense. None of them particularly insulting, just having a giggle thinking about the older man getting tired of Connor calling him.
She stepped out of the car, straightening her jacket, a final subconscious touch to the left side of her face. She brought her hand down and rubbed her fingers together, finding no foundation there reminded her she had opted not to wear any at Connor's polite insistence.
Flashing red and blue lights broke her thoughtfulness. She and Connor approached the scene of the hijacked transport still where she had left it. It was crooked, parked in the middle of the lot directly in front of the old train station. The driver side door was damaged, the device she had used still hanging from the door completely blown. The back doors wide open and the prisoner long gone.
Such a good, clean job. She admired her handiwork, proud of the effectiveness of her attack. This was a unique moment, she had never before returned to the aftermath of her attacks. Seeing it now she was bathing in pride. It was perfectly executed and she got away. Well, maybe. She pursed her lips. This investigation would tell her she truly got out with no suspicions.
Her eye caught sight of the transport's camera. The only part of this operation that could compromise her was the camera. Before attacking the transport she made extra certain her body was entirely covered. Not that it was a concern for her, the gear was always covering every inch of her body, but she did like to be certain.
In a moment of confidence, she crossed her arms, smirked at the camera and winked.
"There you two are." Hank interrupted her gloating. He sauntered up, followed by the faint smell of the black label. "What the hell happened here? These cops were bringing that android to CyberLife... then this shit."
"We don't know who the person was." Another detective approached them, holding the file in his hands. It was the same man who was at Carlos' home when Connor found the deviant. "They showed up out of no where, jumped the truck, and took over. Whole thing was over in two minutes. Whoever this person was, they were ready. By the time the boys knew what was going on they got knocked out. Came to after paramedics arrived, didn't need to do anything the cops were fine."
"That's what Connor told me. No injuries, nothing. So this person managed to attack a moving vehicle, got the door open, incapacitated the officers, broke the android out and left? Why?" Isadora was sure she would sell herself. Not that they would ever get the idea it was her, but she did take immense satisfaction out of watching them try to break down what she did.
I've never been this involved before. She controlled herself and her excitement. It's like fantasy; watching them study my work. She was greatly attached to her combat abilities. Many individuals seeing the capability for violence a negative trait, Isadora saw it as an art form. Looking at the police taking pictures of the scene... it was hard not to be completely intoxicated.
"No idea." The man was entirely uninterested. "They stole an android then hightailed it to the train, don't know where they went. Trail's cold, but we've been waiting for Hank to get here since this is his case."
"Yeah, yeah." Hank grunted. Sinking his hands into his pockets, he nodded to Connor. "Go on, you can have a look around. Don't screw up the scene... Not that it matters. The guy who did this left nothing behind as far as forensics go. Only that damn recording of them getting away with it."
Connor took the offer immediately and started scanning the area. Not wanting to miss a moment of this investigation, Isadora was sure keep an ear to the conversations involving her. I don't think I've ever had this much fun. Keeping herself outwardly calm, Isadora looked around the crime scene. Cops scoured the area, taking pictures, samples, and trying to put together the device on the door.
That was Connor's first focus it seemed. He spotted it from afar; wanting to know what it was he leaned over to take a closer look. He would not find any information on the device as she had filed off all information a long time ago. The serial number, designer, any identifying markers were ripped off, filed with rough metal. He could gather nothing but the device's purpose.
Hank, convinced there was nothing to gain here, just shook his head. "We already tried to find information on that damn thing. The attacker used it to bust the door open. From what we know of similar stuff like it, once it's used it burns itself inside and out just from the fire or whatever it uses."
"It's electronic." Connor stood up straight, "There are no markings on it because they have been intentionally removed. It is a small device that relies on the metal of its hook to be stronger than its target. Once it pierced the metal, the assailant attached that disc to it." He turned around to see the moderately sized disc device laying on the ground, one officer overlooking it now.
"So it does what, blows the door open?" The Lieutenant did not want to admit the android was useful, but he did provide more information faster than the average detective.
"Not quite. It uses a powerful electric current to short the door's internal mechanism. In order to do so the device shorts itself out; it can only be used once. Which is why the assailant did not bother to retrieve it. Without model or manufacturer details, there is no way to accurately track the purchase. I'm willing to bet this is a commonplace product." Mostly he was voicing the information he was processing, letting Hank know what was going on.
Nodding, though technology often confused Hank, he agreed with Connor. "So he gets the door open. Camera shows that he didn't even face the cops, just fired wildly."
The android looked inside, seeing damage on the seats. "The officers were armed... if the assailant did not have a lethal weapon, it would not be smart to face them head on. They stunned the officers using a shock bullet from a handgun that can fire live ammunition. So why didn't they use live rounds?"
"Maybe they didn't want to kill anyone? The attacker stole the android, right? What purpose would it serve to kill the cops driving?" Isadora directed the investigation, a little help would not harm anyone. Though their information was good, they were miles from ever knowing she had anything to do with it. That and she still needed to appear as though she was a part of the team investigating.
"For an android?" Hank echoed, "Why go through all this for an android? All it did was murder a man, it didn't have anything on it."
Connor's brow furrowed, "I don't know."
Hank adjusted his heavy jacket, moving towards the back of the truck. "Nothing used back here, just scanned the knocked out cop's fingerprints and unlocked the door. The android's cuffs are inside. Nothing else to look at other than the security recording... Whoever this was, they had this planned out. In and out, nothing left behind but that weird device hanging off the door."
Scanning around the area, Connor was searching for anything at all that could help their investigation. Isadora leaned against the side of the truck, totally captivated at so many people trying to figure her out.
Looking down to her uniform and back up to the crime scene investigation, she smiled. Look at them scrambling for anything. There's nothing out there guys, we went into the train station not the parking lot. Cops were scouring the area for any signs, anything that could serve as a clue. They were desperate and this investigation would go no where. Early morning she had forgotten about Connor staying with them, forgotten about the events of the night before. She wanted to be here as soon as possible and she had been excessively nervous.
Upon arriving and seeing how little they actually had, she felt a cool wave wash over her. One that allowed her to bask in their struggle to catch her.
It fed her ego.
Connor stepped into the vehicle, reaching inside the cab. Isadora watched, he seemed to be interested in something. When he came back out he was holding a small black object between his fingers. Expressing silent interest she stood near him.
"Rigor labs EMP." His eyes squinted. "It was used, burned out. On the footage there was a moment where the truck's recording blacked out. If the assailant used this EMP device it would explain the thirty seconds that was lost."
"Can you track it?" Her heartbeat skipped. She knew he could not do so effectively, still there was that fear.
"Rigor labs sells multiple handheld EMP models. This specific model has five hundred thousand recorded sales last fiscal year as part of a larger set. Tracking this individual one would not be possible. The capsule is too small for additional print, the serial codes listed on their site state the serial codes are listed on the set, not the parts." He set the device down onto the chair, leaving it behind. "We will not be able to use it unless we can find the set it came with."
Faking her disappointment, Isadora gestured to the scene around them. "We have nothing at all? All of this, the attack, hijacking, and stealing an android set for destruction... we have no information at all."
"Not entirely." Connor curbed her complaint, even if it was false. Her joy at nothing being left behind was cut short by his statement.
"What do you mean?" Her voice betraying her. To suggest she failed, to imply that she slipped up was insulting.
Ignoring the annoyance in her tone, Connor lead her to the back of the truck where Hank was. Looking inside, Connor explained himself. "We know the assailant came for the android and we also know the android was nothing more than a housekeeper model, an old one at that." Turning to Hank, he pointed to the file in his hand. "Hank, can you replay the security footage from the transport?"
"Yeah, give me a minute." Hank pulled through the report, bringing up the recording. "This is right before the attacker showed up."
"This is on the same street as the DPD." Connor started his explanation. The trio leered over the file recording, faint audio coming through. There were three camera positions, in front of the vehicle, inside the cab, and behind the vehicle.
Hank, unimpressed, shrugged. "We know where the attack happened."
Connor held a hand up, watching the recording closely. "Right there." He tapped the screen, pausing it.
"It's just a blur." Isadora kept an eye on Connor's expression.
"Yes, that's the assailant. The recording shows a blur before a clear shot of the assailant's mask. The truck swerves into the right hand lane to avoid it." He moved the video frame by frame, bringing their attention to how the the figure appears in front of the vehicle. "They dropped down directly into the path of the transport. To do so they must have dropped from ahead and above."
"There's no way." Hank dismissed, "Unless they jumped from a fire escape or from out of a window... Why the hell would they jump into the path of a moving truck and walk away?"
"I don't know." Connor admitted reluctantly. He switched to the cab camera, "We can see the assailant never engaged the officers." The audio caught the officer demanding the assailant stop, threatening to shoot. After a few seconds, the camera cut out.
Hank blinked, his eyes traveling from the file to Connor who waiting anxiously until the camera came back. It showed the assailant was now in the driver seat switched the vehicle to manual and drove it off the highway, the other officer out cold. "That was fast." Hank commented.
"Efficient." Isadora added.
"Incredibly." Connor agreed oblivious to Isadora's eyes lighting up when she heard that. "The assailant had the vehicle under control within one minute and forty seconds. They showed up, knocked out the cops, and took the vehicle off the highway. They drove here and went to the HK400 in the back." Connor switched to the back camera, viewing the individual as they rushed to the back dragging an unconscious cop with them.
Hank eyed the person's clothes. "The hell are they wearing?"
Connor paused the recording again. "I don't know, I cannot find any information about clothing that looks similar to it. Whatever it is, it has been crafted privately."
"So this person drops from the sky, jumps a moving truck, takes out two cops, and is wearing some kind of get up they made just to do this?" Hank's voice raised an octave. "I mean, what the fuck are we dealing with here? This person is either a psychopath or fucking batman... jesus, probably both."
"Here." Connor played the recording of the individual opening the doors.
"You... you're freeing me?... They're going to find me again, I have no where to go."
"Come with me."
"Who are you?"
"Do you want to live?"
"Y-yes."
"Take my hand and come with me."
"They used something to disguise their voice." Hank looked to Connor, "You have a way to uh, figure it out? Y'know, decode it or whatever." Technology did not agree with Hank well. Isadora knew Connor could not, the device was not a generic one bought from some cheap store that sold novelties. It was developed by CyberLife to remove the risk of their androids working against them.
"I..." Connor blinked, his LED spinning yellow as he attempted to. "I need more time. I can't seem to get through the corruption." His LED faded back to the smooth blue.
"So they didn't know each other, what else can we learn from this little interaction?" Isadora pressed for more information.
Pointing back to the individual, Connor looked to the clothing again. "The assailant's clothing... It's nothing that I've seen before and I cannot find anything about it. It does not look entirely handcrafted either, you can see there is armor plates barely visible under the loose material shielding the assailant. At least some part of their selected clothing is armor and it would have had to been constructed."
"Okay, and?" Hank was getting testy. The more they looked at the video the more they realized they had nothing.
Looking up from the file, Connor scanned around the immediate area behind the transport. Highlighting the drag marks of officer, the footprints of the HK400, he could not see a clear third track.
He stepped closer to the transport, eyes narrowing as he critically assessed the area. Drag marks, HK400's shoes, and... nothing else. He searched and searched, again, nothing appeared. It was two people, he knew for a fact that the assailant was here, so where were their tracks? The video recording clearly displayed the assailant standing at the back of the truck, stepping into it, and stepping out.
Connor took the file from Hank's hands and inspected it closely. "The shoes..." He pointed out, "They don't leave traditional tracks."
"What?" Hank inquired, immediately met with Connor showing him the recording.
"Look, the assailant wore large boots. Another part of the attire I have been unable to find information on, but the feet of the boots are angled. They do not leave footprints." He pointed to the bulky and hard to make out shoes. Isadora watched him piece this together bit by bit. Shoes would not be enough to give her away, though it would interest the department.
"Huh."
Connor scanned again, this time not scanning for footprints but any pattern on the ground at all. A few marks appeared all across the area, but one stuck out. Small divots that dug into the asphalt. "Here, these markings... they follow the same path as the HK400's footprints and come from the driver side to the back then into the train station. They have to belong to the assailant."
"Those are just dots in the ground, no one can walk like that." Hank, again, doubted the reality of Connor's investigation. He was not doing so to judge the android, he did it because there was no reason to believe any of this was rational.
Though he agreed, Connor had another theory. "What if... the assailant targeted this transport because it was carrying an android. What if the assailant is a deviant?"
"An organized, armed deviant android?" Hank crossed his arms, "You're just trying to fuck with me at this point, huh."
Isadora saw the opportunity and seized it. "What is more reasonable; a human attacking a DPD prisoner transport to free an android, or an android doing so?" Anything she could take to push suspicion off her trail. Connor already had figured out everything that could be taken from the scene. No other evidence was possible to squeeze from the short time she fought the cops, took the transport, and hopped the train.
"Alright, fine. An android jumped the transport. We have no idea what kind of android it is, where it went, or have any leads to find it. So what do we do?"
"I don't know." Connor hit a dead end, "I can look around the area, but we already know this train station is old and has no security cameras recording inside the station or the train cars. They could have left at any stop, checking them all could take weeks."
"Weeks? More like months. That old train goes out to the metro area, it has something like fifty stops." Hank growled, upset by the lack of progress. Understandable, Isadora would be sharing that hostility had she not been the target here.
"The train has forty one major stops. Without cameras there is no sure way of telling how long they were on the train or if they even disembarked during a stop." He put more theories forward. "If this assailant is an android and can survive jumping from a roof or window one or two stories above the transport and maintain control of the situation; it's not unrealistic to think they could also escape the train between stops."
Defeated, Hank threw his arms to the side. "Alright, so what do we do? There's no evidence, to way to know where to look."
It was not easy to face the music, but Connor did so gracefully. "We cannot locate the assailant without more information. I suggest alerting patrolling officers to keep their eyes open for this clothing. Issue an APB for the assailant and the HK400 to keep pressure up."
"Done. Now let's get the hell out of here, it's too damn early to deal with this shit." Hank passed them both, Isadora chuckling as she followed Hank.
"If we can't make progress here, I assume we're going to back to the DPD?" Isadora prodded, only to earn an approving grunt from Hank as he walked away. She smiled, glad everything had worked out well.
Connor glanced to the scene again, hoping for any signs. Without any new evidence this case would have to sit until later. He hurried to join Isadora and Hank already back to their respective vehicles. Something did not sit right with Connor, he did not like this feeling of not knowing, not being able to discover more. He felt unfinished. This would not be the last time he looked into this case.
ELLE:
I'm glad you're enjoying things! I like to try and keep things down to earth. I don't like going fancy and flowery with everything, I feel like that's only appealing to very few readers.
I hope you like this latest chapter! :)