"Ok, Dog," Connor told the cat excitedly. "I think I've got it."
Connor tweaked the final wire before letting the plastic paneling fall back into place. Immediately, plush white fur spread across the form. Dog made a small brrp noise before hopping down off Connor's lap and promptly giving herself a thorough bath.
He smiled, proud of himself for his little achievement. He wasn't a technician by any stretch of the imagination, but for once his tiny fingers actually served as a positive trait.
It also helped that he had the cat's schematics. He had come across them when he was still connected to CyberLife's system. Back before he was deviant. They intrigued him, so he had downloaded them to his memory banks. After all, he had reasoned, it pertained to his mission. It seemed that every prototype they had made of them had deviated almost immediately. Such is the nature of cats.
Hank would probably tease him that he had downloaded the cat's schematics but not his own. That would be nice. They would laugh, he's make up some technically accurate excuse, Hank would give him that look…
Connor held back his tears and stroked the kitten's new fur.
At least working on the kitty's repairs had given him something to do besides wallow in despair of his inevitable fate. There was nothing really else to do in the dingy cell.
He didn't even have the nickel that he had found in the park to play with. He had left that in yesterday's pants pocket. It was probably going to go through the wash. It would fall out mid cycle and get stuck in some crevice. Lost forever. Just like he was.
Dog sniffed at his hand and nipped him when she noticed that he had stopped petting her. "Sorry, Dog," he apologized, giving her a good scratch under the chin. He could feel the purr through his fingertips. "I get a little lost in thought sometimes. I just miss my dad."
The cat didn't care, she just wanted attention and Connor was happy to give it. She was the only brightness he had in this dark prison.
"You'd like dad," he continued, preferring the one sided conversation to the silence. "He can be a little rough around the edges before you know him, but that's just because he doesn't want people to know how nice he is."
Dog's purr continued and Connor pretended that it was because she liked the idea of meeting Hank. "Maybe…" he mused sadly, trying not to choke up. "Maybe dad will let me keep you."
"Wouldn't put money on that bet," a voice interrupted from behind him.
Connor turned, pulling a now growling Dog close before registering the speaker. Nate stared down at him with a careful, disinterested neutrality. He would have preferred the look of hatred Eric usually wore.
"Come on," Nate instructed, unlocking the cell door and not waiting for Connor to respond. "On your feet, we're ready for you."
Connor's eyes dashed to the hallway as the door opened, a surge of adrenaline coursing through him. Like a shot, he was in motion the second the opening was big enough for him to fit through. Dog still a writhing ball of hatred in his arms, he made his escape.
He actually made it two glorious steps towards freedom before Nate's hand clamped around his arm.
"No!" Connor shrieked in dismay. His momentum knocked him off balance leaving him dangling from the larger android's grasp.
Dog fell from his arms, landing feet first and running before her feet hit the ground. A sickening wave of abandonment ran through his system as he watched her little fluffy tail disappear up the steps that should have led to their conjoined freedom.
"Seriously? You didn't think I was ready for that?" Nate scolded him. Connor could almost hear him roll his eyes. "Let's just get this over with, alright. I promise, you won't feel a thing."
That wasn't the least bit comforting. Regardless, Connor was helpless to resist as Nate dragged him the other way down the hall and into the lab.
Eric was there waiting impatiently for them. "Help me get him on the hook," he ordered, gesturing to the object of his doom. "Carefully, we don't want this fucking thing to break again."
Nate did as he was told, helping his companion secure him to the arm of the assembly hook. It felt odd, the cold metal clicking into the port on his lower back. Data surged through him as soon as Eric booted up the accompanying computers, but he couldn't access what any of the programs were doing to him.
Connor pulled, testing how tight the connection was and trying to dislodge himself from the machine. To his surprise, there was a soft creaking as it began giving way under the tork.
"Stop that," Nate swatted at him as though that would be enough to dissuade him from attempting to flee.
"Keep him still," Eric demanded, not taking his eyes off of what he was doing. "Thank RA9 we got this damn thing working again."
Connor had never really been one for deities, but if there was one out there for androids, he had a hard time believing it would condone this sort of thing. No, it was far more likely to be his own rotten luck rearing its ugly head. Hank often teased him about it. He wished he were here to tease him now.
He felt more data surge through him like ice coursing through his thirium lines. What it contained, he could only guess, but a sharp pain behind his eyes led Connor to conclude it was trying to access his memory files.
There had to be something, some way out. There was always a way. But panic was gripping at him mercilessly. He wasn't thinking clearly, wasn't able to focus. Everything and nothing caught his attention as Connor scanned the room, frantically looking for something that could help him.
But what hope was there, really? What could one small child do against two armed adults? He wanted to cry. There was really no reason not to at this point, but the tears didn't come. His eyes prickled, blurred, but didn't spill over.
He wanted his dad.
Connor pulled again, but Nate grabbed his arm to hold him still. If he was going to do anything, it would need to be sudden, unexpected, with a clear course of action. And he would need to do it quickly.
"Yes!" Eric declared triumphantly. "Finally. Got through his firewalls. In just a couple minutes, we'll be in the clear."
He really didn't need the percentage readout to confirm what he had said, the pain shooting through his processor was enough. The world seemed to melt together into undefinable shapes before his swimming vision. The only things still visible were the flashing lights from various machines.
And a panel on the wall.
Connor blinked the world back into focus, a surge of hope coursing through him for the first time since he had been taken. That was a security panel, a direct line to emergency services. If he could get to it, activate it, the police would be there in no time. Maybe not soon enough to save him, but surely they would arrive in time to catch them in the act.
If he was lucky, it was possible they could arrive before they… finished destroying the evidence.
Wipe 33% complete.
If he was really lucky, maybe his dad would be one of the ones that came to get him. He wanted to go home. Even if he wasn't alive to do so.
38% complete. Connor needed to act.
Eric fiddled with some of the settings and adjusted one of the wires. Whatever had happened to the assembly hook, it wasn't in good repair. The connection was unstable, but it was holding.
42% complete. He needed to act now.
The assembly arm was loose, he was confident he could break free with enough tork, but Nate could be a problem. Connor would need to hope he could catch him off guard and pull away long enough to reach the panel.
46% complete. Pain shot through his processor again and he cried out automatically in response.
The sound startled Nate, who's grip loosened just enough for Connor to take that as his signal.
He threw himself to the side violently. Both Nate's grip and the damaged connecting clamp of the hook released, the latter with a rather satisfying pop. His vision blurred again for a moment in pain as the cord connecting him to the computer for the wipe finally pulled free. Connor was running as soon as his little feet hit the floor.
Eric and Nate swore in tandem. Both of them grabbed for him, but he dodged to the side, narrowly missing their grasp. The panel was close, so close. Connor dove for it as Nate made another try to catch him. His captor was too slow. He felt a thrill of triumph course through him as his tiny hand made contact with the call button.
But nothing happened.
"What?" Connor gasped to himself. He swatted it again for good measure, but it yielded the same results. A quiet, devastating, nothing.
All at once, the world was on fire. Electricity surged through his system in a steady, agonizing pulse and he collapsed to the floor in a heap.
Eric was laughing. At least he thought it was Eric. He could barely hear it through the static in his ears, much less tell the two men apart.
"For fuck's sake. Fuck. I was actually worried for a minute there," one of them, the one who wasn't laughing, said.
The one who was laughing paused only to respond. "Good thing that piece of shit never worked. Not even when Zlatco was alive."
Connor would have dissolved into despair at the failure of his last hope, but he didn't have the energy for that. As he drifted into unconsciousness, surrounded by muffled bickering, he couldn't even bring himself to ponder the likelihood that he would never wake up.
