Chapter 6

Peculiar. That was indeed how he described the feeling when he held his new guitar. Yet, the moment he sat down in the living room after being dragged around all day to buy his new equipment, Connor couldn't help but feel comfortable. His fingers traced each cord and groove, traveling from the neck, in between each fret, and down to the body. His eyes shined with pleasure as he gazed at the appealing dark red. He flicked a cord and the vibration picked up to emit a sound.

That was an A cord, his processors analyzed.

At once, he felt a surge of excitement coursing through his veins. He had never experienced such a jolt before, but he liked it.

It had been three days since the incident at the mall and when he learned his passion for music. His three teenage friends explained it to him the moment they went home. They described his reactions when he would be able to spot melodies surrounding him. Thankfully, it was the weekend so all of them were off the clock. That considered, the teens took the liberty to kidnap Connor from his research on the Zen Garden and took him to a music store to choose his very own guitar.

To their surprise, he chose the blood-red electric guitar.

So there he sat on the brown couch, staring at his new and only possession in admiration. It was his first time even touching a guitar yet it felt like he had held it for years. But then a thought struck him. And his friends, who were also in the room with him, seemed to come across a similar bump in the road.

"Do you even know how to play guitar?" Anthony seemed the first to react.

"Being an android, we don't necessarily learn how to do anything," the deviant admitted with a small sheepish shrug. "We are programmed to accomplish what we were designed for. As such, I was programmed to analyze crime scenes, not play music."

"So then can't you just… install guitar playing skills?" Audrey questioned in curiosity. The android answered her question by cycling his L.E.D to yellow then back to blue. He then looked down at his guitar and clutched his guitar pick before letting out a chorus of tones, all combined in perfect sync and depth. They all stared at the android in awe, their jaws dropped to the floor and their eyes lighting up with glee. When he stopped, he stared at his friends expectantly.

"... Holy shit," Rex finally responded before breaking out into a grin. "Dude, you're amazing! What the hell? I've never heard that one before."

"You like heavy metal?" Audrey giggled in disbelief. Connor shrugged a shoulder, feeling a smirk replace his worried expression.

"Hank introduced it to me when I worked as a detective. I like the energy, it's unique."

"Oh my god, we have our own Mr. Roboto!" Rex laughed. The deviant did a quick research on the name and smiled brighter once he understood the connection. "Con, you can totally make your own album and become famous."

"I think I'm famous enough because of my reputation," he smiled uneasily. To change the subject, he titled his head and stared at the three humans. "May I ask how you knew the owner of the music store we purchased the guitar from?"

"You're not the only one to have musical talent," Anthony winked before standing up and moving to the closet in the corner of the move. When he opened it, the deviant's eyes widened in surprise at the stacked drums, a silver bass guitar, and an electric piano settled inside. The teens dragged their respective instruments out and positioned them so they've formed a circle. "We used to play for our middle school talent show. It was awesome. We won a few times even."

"Totally," Rex grinned as he struck out a few chords with his guitar. "Sucks that we stopped when we got to high school. Not many people went to talent shows anymore."

"So we disbanded," Audrey shrugged as she sat right by her piano and tapped a few keys to feel the music. "Hey, why don't we show Connor a little of the past, for old times sake?"

"You bet!" At once, the future technician tapped his sticks together before drumming intensely. Rex followed in suit, displaying his musical skills with his fingers as he adjusted to the drums and now playing piano, courtesy of Audrey, in the background. Connor smiled as he listened intently, taking note of each vibration the instruments produced. His entire world zoned out, blocking out everything else except for the head-banging music playing in front of him.

His fingers itched to play and when there was a small pause for the drumming solo, Connor jumped in and ferociously strummed his dark red guitar. He let himself get lost in the music, his grin becoming wider than ever. The teenagers froze for a split second at the sudden action before sharing similar expressions and began tuning accordingly for the lead guitarist.

The tempo was fast-paced and extremely motivating for the four. After a few more minutes, Anthony ended with another drum solo before they all stopped to catch their breath. Silence settled over them for a millisecond before the teens cheered and high-fived while Connor looked down at his tingling hands in awe.

"Haha! That was the best session ever!" Audrey squealed before throwing herself to give Connor a side hug. She raised her fist in the air and cheered. "That was amazing!"

"Me? You three are… great!" Not being able to express his emotions in words, Connor just laughed with them. It was the first time they ever heard his laugh and it was contagious. The other three paused before bursting out laughing. The deviant felt heat rise to his face and a light blue blush formed on his cheeks.

"Dude," Rex slapped Anthony's arm. "We should totally get the band back together. Mr. Roboto will be a perfect new member!"

"Yeah!" His eyes lit up before Anthony turned to the deviant. "Con, this could help you loosen up!"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh come on," Audrey rolled her eyes playfully as she pulled away to look at him directly. "You are seriously stressed out. You freaking out in the alleyway was one thing, but not sleeping and looking around every corner like a monster is going to pop out is worrying. You need a break, my friend."

"And if we know anything about music, which we do, this could be therapeutic," the drummer nodded in agreement. "Trust us, our instruments got us through a lot. Maybe it can make you forget some things as well."

Connor's L.E.D flickered quickly in blue before settling on a solid color as he thought about the offer. This would distract him from solving his mystery, but maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing. After all, Hank and even Captain Fowler told him that he should settle down to work things out. This could be a perfect opportunity. At least he can finally have a hobby.

Finally, to their relief, he smiled softly. "I suppose it would certainly be an experience I'd like to partake in with my friends."

"Yeah!" Rex cheered as he clamped onto Connor's and Anthony's shoulders. "We should celebrate. Do somethin' fun."

"We can go to the mall again," Audrey suggested with a shrug.

"Nah, we already did that," the bass player shook his head as he paced. "What about you, Tony? Got anything?"

"Other than the movies, I got nothing." There was a pause. "... How about Connor decides? After all, this is his free weekend too."

All eyes turned to the deviant, who straightened his posture (which he noticed he hasn't been doing at home recently) and widened his eyes. "I don't know what teenagers do to entertain themselves."

"Well we just hang out or get into trouble," Anthony shrugged. "Literally anything fun."

Connor's L.E.D spun in yellow as he thought about any interesting places he could take the teenagers to have some fun, or as entertaining as he could see it. Then a devious smirk slowly crept his face as he looked at his friends.

"I think I have an idea. But we may have to pick someone up."


"What the fuck, Connor?"

"I'm sorry, Hank. I didn't want to wake you, but I need your help." The older man looked into the autonomous vehicle and raised his eyebrows to see three teenagers already inside.

"I'm assuming these are your new roomies?" Hank guessed as he stepped inside the vehicle and allowed the door to close before the car began to drive again.

"Yes. This is Rex, Audrey, and Anthony. They are my friends," Connor nodded, receiving another surprised look from the detective.

"'Bout time you got a social life outside of the precinct and my house."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Anderson," Anthony smiled politely as they each shook hands with the man. "Connor talks about you a lot."

"Shit, he didn't talk about me, did he?" He chuckled, shooting a glance at the android. "He can't hold his tongue sometimes. Feels like I'm taking care of an all-too-honest 5-year-old sometimes."

"Nah, he's kept your image clear," Rex smirked.

"Now I know he's been lying," he barked out a laugh. He then shifted his gaze to his best friend. "Okay, Connor. You called me and woke me up at 11 at night and told me that you need my help. What is it that you need?"

"We are heading to New Jericho Tower," Connor simply revealed. "I have organized a little… joke for Markus and the other three leaders."

At once, the humans inside the car gaped at him.

"Oh snap," Audrey whispered.

"Wait, you're not talking about THE New Jericho Tower," Anthony widened his eyes to the size of dinner plates. "The main home of thousands of androids across Detroit and beyond. And you want us to play a prank on the deviant leaders themselves?"

"Don't you think you'll get into some nasty trouble with Markus?" Hank frowned in slight worry. "I mean, taking the first four humans into the tower uninvited is going to be a real bitch to explain to all of them."

Connor, who had a newfound sly smirk on his face, simply waved them all off of their concern. "We have a mission to complete: prank Markus, North, Simon, and Josh then leave peacefully. This is the fun you want, so you're going to enjoy it."

"Woah, you encouraged this?" Hank turned to the kids, who smiled innocently. The man sighed and shook his head, but he couldn't hide the smirk creeping upon his face. So he crossed his arms to look as disinterested as possible but failed miserably. "Alright, what's your plan? Throwing eggs at the tower isn't exactly 'fun' in my opinion."

"Oh of course not. I have researched previous pranks throughout time and have adjusted my plan accordingly."

"But what about getting caught?" Rex spoke up. "What if we get caught before we can set everything up?"

"Leave that to me," Connor nodded with confidence. The four humans shared uneasy glances, but they trusted their friend knowing what to do. Soon enough, they crossed the bridge to New Jericho Tower. After hacking into the controls, Connor was able to lower the barricades that allowed them to pass toward the building. The teens looked at the tower in awe once they stepped out of the vehicle. In actuality, this was the first time any of them entered the tower. This will be quite an experience indeed.

To their surprise, Connor pulled out a few boxes of materials from the trunk of the car. How he got it there without any of them noticing was a mystery. A mystery they didn't dare to ask.

"So what's the plan?" Rex asked as they entered the front sliding doors and helped haul the boxes inside. There was a large scanner that divided the two sets of security doors. Whoever or whatever passes it will immediately report to the main system. If it was anyone else, the alarm would go off.

"Um, we can't pass that without the alarms sounding," Anthony whispered, knowing perfectly well that android hearing is way greater than humans.

"I know," Connor acknowledged as he stared at the cameras surrounding the entrances and cybernetically hacked them to turn off before doing the same to the scanner. After another moment of his L.E.D cycling in yellow, it finally settled on blue. "... I have successfully changed the scanner's setting. Not only will it mask your identity when you pass, but it'll act like you were never here in the first place."

To test that theory, Hank cautiously walked up to the blue scanner and stuck his finger into the light. He turned his head as if he was expecting something to happen, but nothing occurred. The man shrugged carelessly before passing through, with the rest following close behind.

"Their living quarters are most likely found on sublevel 36," the deviant reported after running a quick scan of the building. "Their rooms are the only ones on that floor. Simon is the closest to the elevator, followed by Josh's, then Markus and North's shared room are at the end. We'll need to work outside of their rooms so they don't expect us, but their hearing is still fairly sensitive so be sure to stay quiet."

"You thought this through, have you?" Audrey raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"It gets quite boring during class periods when I have completed everything," the android said, getting a snort in response. "I feel it's necessary to prepare Markus before I meet him on Thursday."

"I never took you for a mischievous type, Con," Anthony mentioned as he shifted a box in his arms. He peered inside and caught a glimpse of whipped cream cans inside.

"I am an android of many surprises."

"Jesus Christ, now I have to worry you'll never do this to me," Hank muttered as they went to the elevator and stepped inside after Connor retracted his artificial skin and placed his hand on the panel.

"That cannot be guaranteed." They silently traveled up to their destinations before exiting at the desired floor. It was incredibly dark but Connor had no problem seeing. Unfortunately, that couldn't be said the same for humans. However, some light came from the window down the hallway, lighting up the silhouettes of the doors.

Before anyone could speak, Connor cybernetically sent them text messages to limit verbal communications. The humans read their instructions on what to do with the supplies before they began to build.

'I'll alarm the leaders themselves with an emergency intruder alert of the tower. They'll wake in 10 minutes.'

And 10 minutes was all they needed. With Connor and Anthony leading the team to properly set up their traps, the rest of the humans built the mechanism with little to no noise. Luck seemed to be on their side as they managed to finish on time.

The group hid behind the large table in the commanding center, which was direct across the rooms, and waited for the show to begin.

Like planned, Connor alerted the leaders of an intruder through New Jericho's security system. At once, they heard movement in each room before the doors opened simultaneously. The leaders scrambled to exit, missing the trip wires stripped to their doorway. Markus was the first to notice once Josh and Simon fell.

"What the…?" He trailed off, hearing mechanisms triggered by their pulls. The androids slowly looked up just as buckets above them poured gallons of honey on top of them. Then a bag from above ripped open and spread feathers all across them.

But it wasn't over just yet. The group shot up from behind the table and threw whipped cream pies at the leaders of New Jericho, who were stunned into place as the others burst out laughing.

"Oh my god, I can't believe we did that!" Audrey laughed as she took a photo of the shocked four.

"Dude, that was awesome! Best. Night. Ever," Rex grinned maniacally.

"Who the hell are you?!" North shouted at the snickering group as she wiped the combination of sweetness and feathers from her face. Her eyes glared at each of them before settling on the deviant and experienced detective. "You assholes."

"Connor?!" Markus sputtered in surprise as he wiped as much junk off of his face. "What… What are you doing here? Why did you do this?"

"I apologize for waking you, Markus. But I couldn't resist," the deviant security guard smirked as he walked over to the leader and plucked a feather off of his head. "I felt as though I needed to make my presence known in style. We will be working with each other, so why not have a little fun with it?"

"You? Fun?" North snorted. "That's the first. Always figured you had a permanent stick shoved up your ass."

"But Connor, who are they?" Josh gestured to the humans with his head, who were trying to hide their laughs as desperately as possible.

"I'm Rex, that's Audrey and Anthony," the oldest teen gestured to the others before clamping a shoulder on Connor. "We're his friends."

"So there is no intruder? This was all an elaborate scheme of yours?" Simon narrowed his eyes slightly.

"The only people sneaking around are us," Hank chuckled. "But we humans are just accomplices. Connor was the mastermind."

"Well, now that our work here is done, we should be off," the deviant smirked before he made his way to the door. Markus tried to follow them, but he realized that he was stuck to the floor. He couldn't move his legs at all. Simon and Josh tried to pick themselves up from the floor, but it was no use.

"Magnetic floors," Josh groaned.

"By my calculations, someone will come to check on you in 7 hours," Connor grinned crookedly. The humans burst out laughing again before they staggered to the door. "Good luck."

"Connor! You can't leave us like this!" Markus exclaimed to the retreating back of his friend, but he was never answered. However, his eyes sparkled with amusement. Never in a million years would he think that the younger android resort to pranking him. He shook his head and dialed someone cybernetically, but he realized all communication systems were offline. He groaned in frustration. "He disabled our cyber communication lines. It looks like we will be here for a while."

TBC...