Disclaimer: Isaac Asimov for the story and stuff, and the people in the movie for the characters. Except Nathan and Andrea, of course.

"Spoon, what are you doing?"

Spooner looked up at his boss. "Thinking." He smiled, trying to be charming. It didn't work on his boss - not anymore.

Lieutenant John Bergin sighed, and took a seat next to Spooner's console. "Spoon, the Press is clamouring for an update on the case, and I have nothing to give them. You know why?"

"No," Del sighed, "Why?"

"Because all you do all day is sit here and 'think', 'stead of working on the case."

"Yeah, well it's kinda difficult when some of the evidence was stolen."

This had John's attention. "Stolen? As in, taken by someone who shouldn't be taking it? And it wasn't returned?"

"Yup." Spooner held out two photos. "Before and after shot. Four robots. When I went there this evening, they weren't there."

Lt Bergin relaxed a little. "They're just robots, Spoon."

"So why steal them if they don't have something important to do with the case?"

"Probably some punk kids taking them for kicks," John shrugged.

Del's lips twisted sceptically, and he raised an eyebrow at his boss. "Between all that security on the first floor, and the blood on the level where the robots were, I think there would be a lot of discouragement. Plus, that place was monitored 24/7." He pointed to his computer console. "I'm watching the tape now." He grinned. "You bring any popcorn?" John, rolling his eyes, leaned over Del's shoulder to watch. Seeing as John was a large man, doing so blocked off the view of the console from the rest of the station.

Which was probably a good thing, given who appeared on camera.

"That had better not be what I think it is, Spoon."

Del swallowed. "I'm hoping it's not either."

With smooth fluid movements, a pale-face figure slid onscreen, heading for the doors. Halfway there, the figure stopped, as though sensing it was being watched; it looked around, but it did not see the camera. After a moment, the figure continued into the building.

Del pressed pause, and the view of the empty lobby held. John eased himself back; Del could feel Bergin's eyes on the back of his skull. "That had better not be…"

"It was." Del cleared his throat. He couldn't look his boss in the eye.

And John knew something was up. "Spoon, my office. Now."

The detective saved the data he'd been working on, then followed his boss. His co-workers, not knowing what had happened, made comments about Del getting in trouble again.

In a way, they were right.

John shut the door and soundproofed the glass-walled office. "Start talking, Detective."

Del sat down, and took a deep breath. "I would just like to say that if I didn't have warning, I would be seriously wettin' my pants right now."

John frowned. "Warning? From who?"

"Dr Calvin." Spooner said, shrugging. There was no need to let his boss know that Sonny was involved as well. The boss was now twice as paranoid about robots than Del had been. Any mention of Sonny would see Del suspended indefinitely. Not good. "You remember her, right? That woman who worked with Lanning?"

Bergin sighed heavily. "What about her?"

"She told me that an NS-5 was missing from the facility out at Lake Michigan."

Bergin slammed the palms of his fists on the table; Del jumped.

"Spoon, are you telling me one of those psychopathic robots is on the loose, and you knew about it?" A vein stood out in Bergin's neck. "Because if you are telling me this, then you could seriously be in danger of losing your badge!"

"Hey, at least now I have a lead on the Martin Case."

Bergin stopped. "Say what?"

"I found out that from… well, you know that the robot on the loose? He's interested in the 'Martin Massacres'. Hell, I'm thinking he might a: have something to do with the mass-murders, or b: he might just be protecting Ms Martin." He paused, then amended, "Sure, I know that robots have got to follow their programming, and the three laws, but NS-5s aren't exactly famous for that, now are they."

Bergin sighed. "Spoon, that's a real nice theory, but it doesn't hold water." He steepled his hands. "Do you even know what the Martin company was all about?"

Del shook his head.

"Then it's something for you to look into." He pointed to the door. "Now, get back to work."

As Detective Spooner reached the door, he turned back. "Thankyou, sir, I've learned my lesson, sir."

"Get out." Bergin sighed. He didn't care if whoever was listening thought Spoon was getting in trouble again.

But if anyone found out an NS-5 was at the scene of the crime, removing potential evidence, then there would be trouble. Trouble with a seriously big T.

Andrea sat back, wiping her face. Her hands were oily, and left a long black smear across her forehead. Nathan watched, curiously.

"What do we do now?" He asked.

Andrea looked up at him. "I don't know." She looked down at the robot she had repaired. "If you hadn't ripped out his CPU, he might be functioning."

Nathan looked hurt. "I was only trying to make him be quiet."

Andrea patted him on the shoulder. "Nathan, there are other ways to solve things. You don't have to hurt someone just to get them to what you want."

Nathan looked down at the robot on the tarp. Aside from its head, it looked brand new. "You should have told whoever killed your family that."

Andrea stiffened. "What?"

Nathan looked up, his green eyes wide and innocent. "Wasn't that why they died? Because someone wanted something from them and they wouldn't do what they were told to do?"

Andrea rose to her feet and hurried from the room, trying not to cry. She leant against the kitchen wall, a hand against her mouth, an arm defensively across her body. She screwed her eyes shut tight. Dad… David…

"Ma'am?"

"Go away, Nathan." She said softly, her voice shaking. "Just… leave me alone."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

She turned to face him. Standing in the doorway, silhouetted by light, he looked like one of those creatures from Encounters of the Third Kind. "Nathan," she said calmly, "Why would you say something like that about… about what happened to my brother and my father?"

Nathan dropped his head, like a guilty child. "I was trying to understand…"

"Murder is not something that needs to be understood," Andrea snapped, anger coming to her so much easier than grief. "Murder is senseless. Murder is pointless. And murder solves nothing." Tears started rolling down her face, and she turned away and started sobbing brokenly.

Nathan stood in the doorway, hanging back awkwardly. Slowly, he moved forward, until he was as close to the distraught Andrea as he dared. He put a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. She left the wall, whirling around to grip Nathan in a fierce bear hug, where she cried on his thin shoulders.

Nathan let Andrea hold him until she was calm again.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed when she finally broke away, "I just… I just don't know why this happened to them. All they were doing… was trying to help people."

Nathan stroked Andrea's hair, as he has seen a mother stroke a crying child's hair on television. "Your father and David did help people, Andrea," he said. "But perhaps the reason they died was not because they did not obey orders or threats was because they helped people. And someone who didn't like that wanted them dead."

Andrea looked up at him, wide-eyed with alarm. She licked her lips. "You think," she said, "That they killed my father and his company… because…"

"It's just a theory," Nathan said. He put his hand on her shoulder again, but couldn't think of anything further to say. He went back into the living room, and readied the next robot to be repaired.

Andrea stood in the kitchen, her eyes still red and puffy from crying. Her mind was on overdrive. Had her family been killed because of the money? Or because the company itself was… non-beneficial to those who wanted to make money of their own?

And Nathan had just called her 'Andrea'.

A/N: Reviews would be spiffy. But they aren't crucial to the story progression, of course.