Mysterious Guest, who's house is this? You shall see...
11.30PM Thursday 11th November 2038
Paul pulled away, wiping his face clear with his hands. The tears had run what was left of his makeup and he left to find the bathroom so that he could clean himself up. The bathroom mirror was cluttered with post it notes, but he didn't dare move them.
He splashed water on his face and scrubbed with his hands, the eyeliner and foundation coming away. He left his hair as it was; an absolute mess. The mirror was too cluttered to do anything about that efficiently.
He left the bathroom and started down the hall, only to freeze in his tracks.
He could hear that a car was pulling up outside.
In less than a second all possible options appeared. He could get out the way he came in no problem. Megan was small enough to do the same with some help. Oscar was too big. There must be a back door.
He rushed to the living room, where Oscar turned to him with an alarmed expression. His mouth has half open to say something, but Paul beat him to it.
"Back door!" he hissed, helping Megan up. "We'll go window."
Oscar nodded and headed to the back off the house as Paul and Megan went to the kitchen. They had to be quick. The window was almost in direct line of sight of the door.
This was the moment the dog chose to wake up.
The dog blearily blinked awake and immediately clocked the strangers. It stood up and started barking, easily allowing Paul to see the tag, which read 'Sumo'.
"Shh, shhhhush," Paul tried to calm the dog, but it wasn't happy with the strangers in its house. "Easy Sumo."
"Down Sumo!" Megan interjected, halfway out of the window by this point. She was sitting on the sill, legs out in the freezing air. She could hear the owner of the house mumbling to himself as he walked up the path.
"Jeez, what's gotten Sumo all riled up?"
There was a jingle of keys and Megan jumped out of the first floor window, turning around to try and help Paul through. He was halfway through when the front door opened.
"What the fuck?!" the owner of the house cried, Megan couldn't see what he looked like. Paul was blocking her view.
"We're leaving!" she called out to him before pulling Paul through. The android landed with a splat in the snow, but was quickly up again.
He grabbed Megan by her good arm and they ran away from the house, scanning the area.
"Where's Oscar?" Megan asked, looking towards the back of the house.
"The back door might be locked. Stay here," Paul insisted, and before Megan could protest he let go and ran to the back of the house.
Megan huffed in irritation and followed him, going slowly. Any faster than a walking pace was going to jostle her arm.
Paul made it around the back and found that his initial thought was correct, the back door was locked. Oscar looked through the window, expression panicked as he turned back inside to face the no doubt furious house owner.
He turned to see Megan walking towards him, blanket wrapped around her shoulders.
"I told you to stay put!" Paul hissed, and Megan scowled.
"Yes, alone, in the cold, with one arm useless, with a revolution happening. Didn't sound like the safest idea."
Paul opened his mouth to retort when the back door suddenly flung open. A man in his rough fifties looked at them with lank grey hair and matching stubbly beard. He wore a thick winter overcoat speckled with snow and a pretty pissed off expression.
"Get in," was all he said, and Paul and Megan looked at each other. They could run at this point, but it would mean leaving Oscar behind.
They went inside.
They followed the man inside, listening to him grumble to himself. Oscar was back in the living room, being liberally sniffed by Sumo.
"Sumo!" the old man barked. "Leave him be."
The St Bernard enthusiastically greeted the old man before returning to his spot in the kitchen to go back to sleep. Out of the corner of his eye Paul noticed Megan looking wistfully at the dog. Before he could ask why the old man turned to them.
"Alright you three. What the fuck is going on here?" he stood with his arms folded, expecting an answer. Oscar, Megan and Paul looked at each other. How the hell were they going to properly explain this?
"I'm waitin'" the old man prompted. "Or how about I call the police for tresspassin'?"
"It's, a long story," Oscar elected himself to explain, and the old man snorted.
"I'd be surprised if it wasn't," he suddenly squinted at Megan's face, now that she was in the light. "Weren't you on the news?"
Megan had a suddenly deer in the headlights moment. "M-maybe?"
"What was it, something about an illegal protest?" the old man prompted.
"Something like that," Megan mumbled, finding the floor fascinating.
Can't even answer a simple question
Not now!
"Our apologies sir," Paul stepped up. "We just needed some shelter for a while. We will be more than happy to go on our way."
"Shelter, huh," the old man looked critically at all three of them. "So it's got nothing to with the fact that you're an android, and your wanted friend there looks like they have a bullet wound in their shoulder?"
Paul froze in place and remembered the Thirium stain on his shirt. Had that not dried yet?
With a sigh the old man reached into his pocket and pulled out a police badge, quickly explaining how he figured it all out so quickly. "Lieutenant Hank Anderson. And you are?"
"Oscar Mannings," Oscar provided before mouthing 'oh fuck' to Paul, who barely registered it.
Seeing Paul was still frozen Megan mumbled out. "Megan Carroll."
"P-Paul," Paul managed to get out, recovering himself. This was bad. Lieutenant Anderson had been assigned the deviant android case with the RK800, and here he was, a clearly deviant android.
"So, if I have this right," Anderson adjusted himself, standing up straighter. "You two are on the run. You for the pro android protest yesterday," he pointed to Megan, "and you for being a deviant," he pointed to Paul. He then turned to Oscar, "and you just got roped in?"
"We're friends," Oscar corrected, and Megan felt something in her heart soar and twinge at that. Friends? Really? They'd barely said a word to each other before tonight. Not that Oscar was much of a talker anyway. Neither was she.
Anderson nodded, looking at each of them in turn, clearly trying to figure out what to do now.
"Ah fuck," he sighed. "I ain't so heartless as ta make ya leave. But once the sun's up I want you lot out. Understand?"
"Completely Lieutenant," Paul confirmed. Anderson shook his head and mumbled about 'it being too long of day for this shit' and made his way to the bedroom.
The three of them looked at each other, relief and apprehension on their faces.
"So, we've still got a place for tonight," Oscar tried.
"Yes," Paul agreed, "but of all the houses, we had to get Lieutenant Anderson's?"
Megan snapped her fingers as she remembered. "Wasn't he the guy that Julia said was on deviant case?"
"With the RK800, yeah," Paul shuddered. Oscar frowned.
"I thought he had a name."
"Connor," Paul remembered, "but, whatever. I don't really want to think about it."
"Let's just sleep," Oscar suggested. "It's been a mad few days and we're all tired."
"Agreed," Paul nodded. "Megan, do you need painkillers?"
"I'm fine," she said, and Paul raised an eyebrow.
"Uh huh. That was a yes or no question," Paul was already going to the bathroom to look through the medicine cabinet.
"Paul, I'm fine," Megan insisted.
"And I'm the Queen of France."
Megan glared at him. "I hate you."
"Love you too," Paul shot a massive shit eating grin at her before going back to rummaging. "If you don't take painkillers you won't sleep."
"... I hate it when you're right."
"Go get a glass of water."
Megan flipped him the bird as she left, and he rolled his eyes.
"You're being childish!"
"I'm nineteen! I am a child!"
"If you two keep arguing like an old married couple I'm kicking you out now!" Anderson roared from the bedroom. Suitably cowed Megan went to the kitchen to get the glass of water.
Well, I did say last time that uploads might be sporadic. Basically my laptop did a weird and wouldn't connect to anything, we've figured out the problem now, so hopefully updates will continue as usual. Hopefully.
In terms of story, hey, it's Hank! They don't know he's on their side. I'm figuring that's roughly when he comes back from the CyberLife Tower after the shit show there. We'll get to see more of him, don't worry.
Other Options Flowchart
(Paul) All go through back door. Oscar goes through the front. They all go through the front.
(Megan) Stay put.
(Paul) Run from Hank. (Oscar would be left behind)
(Paul) Full truth. Lie.