Chapter Seventy-Four – A New Start
"Katie! You know what I said about running in the shop!" John called as he watched the brunette whizz across the large open floor, giggling as a YK800 unit ran after her. John did a double take to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Only a few of those units had been released before Cyberlife's production shut down just over a year ago now. The children both stopped, both out of breath. John couldn't help the small smile on his face. He was pleased Katie had made a new friend today.
"Dr John!" The girl gasped as she dragged her young friend over by the hand. His LED was glowing yellow, perhaps a little nervous of John. Or perhaps it was the tall Asian, who slipped in behind the blonde. John's eyes fluttered as he accepted the kiss that was pressed to his temple. "This is Richard." Katie introduced, the boy seeming somehow familiar. He looked around ten years old, but held himself much more like an adult. He had dark brunette hair kept neat except a single lock that seemed to curl out of place on his forehead, and he had the most adorable hazel eyes.
"Hello Richard, did you come with anyone today?" John asked kindly, knowing that YK units rarely went anywhere unsupervised. They had been designed to remain childlike, and the development of deviants hadn't changed that. Child units still believed and acted as if they were real children. The boy shook John's hand politely and waved somewhere over his shoulder.
"I came with Chloe." He replied, John's eyes looking around in surprise to see Chloe talking on the phone near the shop doors. Looking around John very much missed his old little shop, but Elijah had insisted. He wanted John to run the main Cyberlife store in this area. The place was huge. The shop floor was a wide open space with empty podiums still in place. He hadn't decided what he would put on them yet, but Lin had agreed to help him think of something.
Despite it being a Cyberlife store John had placed his own stamp on it. Around the walls were canvases of his own photos, including a reprint of the portrait of himself with his sister and Donald. A new addition was an image of the GT300, smiling softly at the counter in the old shop. Lin had stored a backup of John's photos internally. He was lucky, only the most recent shots and his camera had been lost in the fire. Everything else was either on the internet or Lin's memory.
John was also ahead of the times somewhat where he had android and human staff working alongside each other, though he had to admit it was mostly android staff. David had agreed to join him, and there was another teen in his first year of university, Arthur, who came in twice a week. Lin worked with him, along with an RG600 called Peter and an AX400 called Julia. David, Julia and Arthur ran the front of the shop while John, Lin and Peter were the mechanics, or doctors, in charge of procedures.
"Hello John, I see you met Richard…He's a sweetheart. He was injured and turned up at Cyberlife main office without a registered parent." The blonde explained as Katie dragged the boy off to explore more of the shop. John watched with a smile. The boy was certainly affectionate, his hand automatically reaching for Katie's at any opportunity. She was content to drag him around. Chloe had clearly dressed him, settling on trendy dark grey jeans, a white shirt, silver tie and blueish grey jacket. John let Katie pick all of her clothes, so she was running around in a pale pink dress with long sleeves for the winter weather.
"So you adopted him." John observed, Chloe nodding her response.
"The house was quiet without Katie." She excused, noting the slight pinch of guilt across John's brow. He hadn't really thought about it when he asked Katie if she wanted to come with him. He'd assumed she'd been stopping Chloe from working and getting under her feet, but it seemed the blonde had formed strong maternal instincts over the eight months they were staying with Elijah.
"Katie! I heard John warn you about running already." Lin scolded lightly as he peeled himself away from John to join the two younger models. The tall android was the worst influence, poking and prodding the girl until she ran away. Lin fended off Richard as the boy stepped in to distract the larger man, easily ducking away from Lin's fast hands.
"He's very good with children." Chloe praised as she watched the trio playing.
"Yes, he's actually more popular with them than I am. He gets a lot of requests." John replied affectionately, glancing down at the order form in his hand. He'd just been checking their stock to replenish supplies. "What brings you all the way down here?" He asked curiously, knowing it was rare for Chloe to leave Detroit. Cyberlife was heading in the right direction, but that meant Elijah and Chloe was usually extremely busy.
"Just checking up on our new stores in the area. It looks like you're doing well." She praised, appreciating the individual touches John had added. His artistic side was really quite beautiful, and it made the store more approachable to nervous androids who didn't quite trust Cyberlife yet. Not that she could blame them. It was almost closing time, so John let Chloe look around as she pleased while he finished off the stock order and Lin entertained the children by letting them do as they pleased under his supervision.
"John, we'll be late if we don't leave soon." Lin called after a while, turning around with Katie hanging from his back and holding Richard upside down, the child looking somewhat indignant at his hanging position. John looked at his watch in surprise as he realised it was almost six thirty. "We need to stop home and change first." Lin added, John nodding his agreement. They were both currently wearing black trousers and shoes with neat white high collared tops that looked like a cross between a nurse's dress and a dentist jacket. They were crisp and neat with the Cyberlife logo embroidered along with their names. John would often wear a lab coat as well, but he was quite warm from moving so much stock.
"Do you have a date this evening?" Chloe teased as she pulled away from the computer terminal, purse slung over her shoulder. She huffed her amusement as she watched Richard still trying to shake free of Lin's grip.
"Just seeing some old friends." John replied, though his excitement wasn't hidden very well. Chloe took her leave, Richard clinging to her waist affectionately as they left. Lin and John closed up the shop and headed down the street. It felt strange to have a shop and not live in it. With John's inheritance and their jobs they now had a large apartment in the city, three bedrooms. It was enough for the three of them and guests. They walked ten minutes up the street before heading into the bright marble building. The non-deviant security guard greeted them politely, as he did every night.
They lived right at the top, giving them a view of the city from the living area. It was a wide open space, with an open plan kitchen overlooking a large dining table. The place just flowed right into the living area. Katie's room and the guest room, both ensuite, were off to the right while Lin and John had the bigger room to the left. It was a good thing too, John didn't want to keep the younger unit up at night. Katie was a surprisingly light sleeper.
They changed quickly, dressing in casual clothes while Katie waited in the living area. Lin ended up in jeans and a white top while John opted for jeans and a navy blue top made of a soft woollen material. They pulled on their coats, both actually feeling the cold now thanks to some new software upgrades, and hurried out into the street. It wouldn't take long to reach the café.
