Chapter 9
Hank was feeling a lot of things. For one, he was pretty pissed off to be woken up so early in the goddamn morning (8 am, actually) by none other than Captain Jeffrey fucking Fowler. But when he received the call, he was informed of two missing deviants.
Connor and Markus to be exact.
At once his bad mood was replaced by worry. Hank quickly hung up on his superior before feeding Sumo in a hurry and drove to New Jericho Tower, knowing that he'll have to head to Snowstreak afterward. Once he met up with North, the one who reported the disappearance of her lover, the woman told him what's wrong.
"Markus was with me checking security after you guys broke in unsuspectedly. Suddenly one of the residents here had a full-blown panic attack and we had to deal with that for a few hours. Everyone was tired as hell, but we had to keep working. Then when we were done, Markus said that he needed to take a walk. He never came back after that," North explained. She was alone as they stood in front of the tower. Simon and Josh had to go take care of their usual chores, which meant no time to discuss the disappearance of their leader. "I tried calling him, but they all didn't go through."
"Did anyone see him?"
"No. No one even knows he's missing. Only Simon and Josh know," she admitted. Hank nodded before he hopped into his car and started the engine. To his surprise, North followed him and sat in the passenger seat. He opened his mouth, but she threw a death glare his way. "If you think I'm going to let a human find Markus alone, then you're more stupid than I thought."
"I was going to say that I could use the extra pair of eyes, you asshole," Hank snapped, not in the mood for anything else. He drove away from Belle-Isle to the school not too far away. "Connor's gone too and I know a kid that can track him down."
"Oh really?" She crossed her arms defensively. "Who?"
"Sorry, but I need to speak to Anthony Castillo, Audrey Burns, and Rex Pane. DPD," Hank showed the teacher his badge. The students immediately stared at the teenagers in the classroom, but the three ignored them before rushing out to greet the man but were also surprised to see North there as well.
"This is the kid who can track him?" The woman pointed at the boy wearing glasses, her skepticism as clear as day.
"He can track both of them," Hank nodded in reassurance before turning to the teens. "Connor isn't the only one who's missing. Markus is too."
"That's not good," Rex stated the obvious.
"How do we know that they just went out by themselves? Or that they're not in any danger?" Audrey questioned.
"Because Connor would have come back, he's always punctual and never once missed a day of work," the man explained.
"And Markus knows he has tons of meetings today, he wouldn't just up and disappear," North snapped.
"Well, I can't locate them from the installed tracking device, since it stops working once they have deviated. Does Markus carry electronic devices?" Anthony asked as he pulled out his phone to work.
"Androids are walking electronic devices, kid," Hank crossed his arms.
"No, I mean does he carry a phone? Or something that has a certain malware on it?"
North huffed in frustration. "Markus didn't want to carry a phone even though I told him it was better for emergencies in case his cybernetic communications were disabled."
"How about new updates?"
"Yeah, there was one a few months ago. Cyberlife's last update was just to finalize androids of their incomplete programs, but I don't think there's anything you could use."
"You'd be surprised. Considering that this was a large update, I assume that Connor downloaded it too," he noted before he began typing away at his phone. It took a minute but finally, he found some results. And shocking ones to be exact. "... They're together at an android bar."
"Son of a bitch."
"That mother fucker."
"Well come on, let's get going," Rex declared as he ran ahead to the front entrance. Hank didn't want to bring the children along but he seemed outnumbered. "At least we know they're not in danger."
"I'm going to beat his ass when I see him," North seethed as they all entered the car and drove to their destination by Anthony's navigation.
"That fucking plastic sonofabitch… telling me that I have to cut off… gonna tie him behind my car," Hank grumbled.
"I think you spoke too soon," Anthony whispered to the oldest teen about his earlier comment, who nodded in response. After practically breaking every road law, the Oldsmobile screeched to a halt in front of the small android bar. North had already stormed out of the car but before the teens could exit, Hank spoke up.
"Stay in the car," he ordered until he followed the woman inside. His eyes scanned the room before the piercing blue orbs spotted North standing by the booth in the back. Hank stepped forward and immediately his heart sank.
Connor and Markus were both passed out on each seat, the table covered with dozens of shot glasses and ultimately an empty bottle of vodka. And there in the middle of the table was a silver revolver.
It took less than a second to realize that the two androids were playing Russian Roulette.
"Fuck," Hank whispered, his voice slightly shaking in horror. Was this how he looked? So helpless and… depressed? The man approached Connor and shifted the android so he wasn't falling back against the wall. He gave him a hard slap, snapping him out of his stupor. "Wake up, Connor."
"... Hank?" The android slurred as his eyes squinted in a desperate attempt to see the blurry image. "What da hell are you doin' here?"
"I can be asking you the same thing," Hank spat angrily as he snatched the forgotten revolver and waved it in front of his face. "What the fuck is this?"
Connor cracked a lopsided smile. "I wanted to tezt my luck… Guesz it didn' work." He lazily turned to Markus, who had been woken up and was ultimately being scolded by North. The deviant leader didn't seem to be paying attention as he held his head in slight pain. "Hey look, Markuz… we're in trouble."
Markus chuckled unevenly as he looked at his friend through half-lidded eyes. "Hank is gonna kill you."
Connor grinned and flipped him off.
"He's got a point," Hank growled as he helped the drunk deviant to stand. Before he could get far, Markus snapped his hand and latched onto Connor's forearm. Their synthetic skins retracted as they shared a direct link. The two sober ones looked at each other in confusion while the drunker ones seemed to decide something privately. Finally, Connor and Markus pulled away. They shared a nod, their eyes softening before they were separated.
"I can't believe you would do something as stupid as this," Hank gritted out as he pushed the android outside. The deviant tripped over his feet, nearly falling to the floor if Hank hadn't grabbed his arm.
"Oh, like you're all innocent," Connor wobbled in his place. "You tried to kill yourzelf too!"
Hank dangerously narrowed his eyes.
"Can I ask you somethin'?" The android turned to him. He took a clumsy step forward. "Are you proud? Because… you don' look like it. You're mad. Mad mad mad. Iz it because I didn't die? Iz okay, Hank… I will die and I won't be a machine anymore. I'll be gone like Cole-"
He was interrupted when Hank punched him square in the jaw. Connor spun around, stood for a second, before crashing into the car door. The man took a deep breath to calm his anger before he dragged the deviant up from the snow and practically threw him into the passenger seat, then slammed the door right after.
Connor groaned as he lifted his pounding head, feeling everything around him spinning until his eyes landed on the three silent teenagers in the back seat. Once he sees their eyes, something in him sobers him up just enough so he could process his decisions last night. The deviant adjusted himself in his seat and frowned in regret. He screwed up. He screwed up badly.
When Hank angrily entered the car and started the engine, he opened his mouth, but the experienced detective held up his hand.
"Don't you fucking dare talk," he snarled, making his mouth snap shut, as his hand gripped the steering wheel tightly to pull away.
Connor simply sighed through his nose, closed his eyes, and leaned his head against the window. His L.E.D pulsed a lazy yellow.
The car was filled with heavy tension. Both awkward and dangerous. The teens had no idea what to do or think, but it hurt to see their best deviant friend resort to alcohol. It shook them. He always seemed to be indestructible, serious but friendly. Strong and hard-headed.
Not sad and… broken.
Hank, however, wasn't just angry. He felt betrayed, he was hurt, he was shaken. The revolver felt heavy in his pocket. He wondered how long it was until the bullet was released. He questioned why Markus was playing with him and was in the same drunken condition. Yet as his thoughts weaved through his mind, he grew more afraid of the answer. Was Connor just as suicidal as Hank had been? Did he feel the need to bury his fears by drowning himself in a whiskey bottle?
Before he knew it, Hank was back home. He hadn't realized he had already dropped the kids back at school, he didn't realize that he had driven away from the rented house but to his own home where Sumo awaited them.
Silence settled in the car until Hank slowly exited the vehicle and circled it to help the deviant from the passenger side. He was unconscious and wouldn't seem to wake up so easily again. Hank noticed the dried blue blood leaking from his nose, most likely caused by his punch. The man winced as he scooped up the surprisingly light android in bridal style, he awkwardly unlocked the door and walked inside. Immediately Sumo happily greeted his masters but stayed away seeing the deviant act not like himself.
Hank carefully moved the android to the couch and laid him down, then layered the deviant with a blanket and put a bucket to the side. Finally, he placed a new bottle of Thirium on the coffee table until he began his usual routine. It was obvious he wouldn't get to work.
The detective shrugged off his jacket but felt the silver revolver caress his hand. He flinched, yet he got the courage to pull it out and inspect the bullet casing. To his surprise, he found all the slots to be filled with blanks. No actual harmful bullets.
He let himself sigh in relief. Anyone who owned this gun had the right mind not to use actual ammo unless he would be planning funerals. But then another question entered his mind: why would they still use the gun?
Hank decided that the only way he was going to get answers was from the unconscious deviant on his sofa. "What am I going to do with you?" He whispered before he moved to his recliner and waited. Sumo plopped down in his usual corner, also expecting the android to rise.
It took almost three hours of intense watching until Connor stirred from his restless sleep. The deviant only took a moment before he looked sick. His body turned and he aimed into the conveniently placed bucket. His violent hurling filled the silent house. It took a while but the deviant finished and let out a human groan as he plopped back on the couch. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, not caring much about the unsanitary action but rather the pounding headache that pulsed his synthetic skull.
"Shit," he hissed to himself. The android squinted past the blinding nonexistent light. His optical units weren't the only things that didn't seem to recalibrate, his gyroscope couldn't readjust properly and his CPU couldn't process anything too complicated. All he could see was Hank staring at him with a somewhat amused yet irritated expression. "Hank?"
"I didn't expect androids could get hangovers." The deviant sighed before he slowly sat up and eyed the sitting Thirium on the table, wincing as he reached to grab it.
"... Neither did I," his late response time didn't go unnoticed by the man. Connor took a few long sips of the essential liquid, seeing a pop-up inform him of his intake. "Luckily it doesn't last long. Hooray to plastic bodies I guess."
Hank frowned at the sarcastic yet casual response. It took a long moment, waiting until the deviant finished the Thirium until he spoke again. "What happened, kid?"
Connor measly shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. Went out for a drink. Met with Markus. The rest is a blur."
Hank didn't like that response. He decided to pull the revolver from his pocket again and placed it on the coffee table, watching the android look at it with a blank stare. "What about that?"
He took a long time to respond. "I wanted to know if I really would have pulled the trigger. Markus suggested the blanks and we both played," he whispered with a haunted look in his eyes. His L.E.D flashed a quick yellow as his hand, which shook out of his control, raised; his two fingers tapped the glowing circle until the brown scared eyes traveled up to Hank. "... We couldn't even get through one round."
Hank frowned as he sat in silence.
"I don't know how this is possible," Connor chuckled humorlessly, but his voice wavered as fresh tears collected in his eyes. "I am a machine. I wasn't even supposed to have emotions, now I have to worry about not killing myself! It used to be so easy - just follow orders, accomplish my mission, and never question anything. But now all I do is think about everything! It's overwhelming. I now have Amanda breathing down my shoulder again and she's going to use me to kill everyone I care about and destroy my life because I couldn't just stay obedient…"
Hank couldn't take it anymore. He shot out of his recliner and wrapped the silently crying android in his large arms, engulfing him in a hug. Connor latched onto the man like a lifeline and finally released his pain. All the months of doubt, fear, anger, and confusion poured out into his loud continuous sobs. The experienced detective soothed the android by rubbing circles on his back and hushed reassuring words into his ear.
It took a long ten minutes, but the android calmed to just the occasional whimper. Hank hated to see the deviant so vulnerable. He decided not to say anything until Connor was ready and he didn't dare pull away. The young android (oh how similar does this remind him of Cole) had shifted earlier so that he lay against the man's chest while the human wrapped his arms around his shoulders. Neither mind the position so they didn't move.
"How do you do it?" Connor finally squeaked, making Hank wince. "How… How can I make these feelings stop?"
"It's not easy, son," Hank blew out a sigh. "It's hard to handle, I get it. It is sometimes so hard to manage that the only thing you think is best is to push these feelings away, but that's what makes it worse. It bubbles and boils over until you can't control what's what anymore… This is what it's like to be alive, but it's also like to understand. To understand issues and problems all around us, whether it's alive or not. If it's easy to spot or hidden… Listen, Connor, I've been in your place before – to not want to feel anything anymore so you think the best choice is to take the easy way out. A once smart but goofy kid taught me something, he told me that I should move on because it's best for me and everyone around me. I want you to do the same. Don't think about every possibility, don't think about every doubt, don't be afraid of what has already happened. Think about now because today you are here and you are okay."
"I don't feel okay," he mumbled as his eyes began to close and exhaustion was catching up to him.
"You will in time, son. You have me to look after ya. Your friends are with you too," Hank encouraged. He noticed the deviant's eyes slowly drooped to close. A faint smile graced his lips. He slowly slid out of Connor's grasp and laid him down on the couch, readjusted the blanket, and called Sumo to lay on his legs. The dog happily hopped up and nuzzled the android, getting a subconscious pat from him.
"Get some rest, kid," Hank whispered before he walked away. Yet he did catch a sleepy mumble from the deviant. His words crash into the man's heart, making him freeze in place. Hank tossed a shaky glance at the android to see if he knew what he said but Connor was already asleep. The detective retreated to the bathroom to take a shower but the same two words couldn't seem to leave his mind. It kept repeating until it was engraved into his memory. Yet he didn't seem to mind.
'Sorry, dad.' After all, he felt a warmth grow in his heart. Dad. Dad. Dad.
"It's okay, son, I forgive ya."
"Okay, so what are we doing?" Connor sighed once he was asked the same question for the tenth time of the hour. His eyebrow raised as he looked at the ginger-haired tutor sitting across from him in his office.
It has been about a week since the security guard was reported "missing" and everyone has moved on. He had respectfully apologized to his friends and the administrators for slipping work for two days. Yet as he was getting better each day, now not having his emotions the prime reason for his minor depression, the deviant still wanted to make it up to everyone somehow. And he decided to start at Snowstreak High.
"I want to catch my attackers from when I started working here," Connor explained again. "But that isn't the only attack. Three more have occurred only recently. One near the cafeteria, the other in the janitor's closet, and the final out in the field. Whoever they are targeting students for their associations with androids."
"Okay… but why am I here?" Alex tilted his head. "Don't get me wrong, I love to hang out with my best bud, but, er, I'm no detective."
"You are correct," the security guard nodded. As he stood to walk around and lean on his desk. "However these attacks have been targeted at your students."
He gasped.
"As much as it pains me to say this, but I need your help," Connor begrudgingly admitted, making Alex's eyes light up again. "I am the only security guard in this school and I need eyes on the inside. Principal Jefferson doesn't permit me to do such investigations, rather keeps me focused on petty schemes than a larger mystery. I know I cannot enter or interrogate students without him knowing, so that is where you come in. I need you and your popularity status with the students to inform me of any leading suspects. I want to catch these troublemakers before anyone else gets hurt."
"You got it, boss!" Alex exclaimed as he gave him a salute, as loyal as ever to Connor. "But what will you be doing?"
"I'll investigate the crime scenes and question the teachers the victims had. If there's any luck, we'll be able to apprehend these menaces before Jefferson even notices."
"A-Are you sure we should hide this from Principal Jefferson?" Alex suddenly didn't look so confident. "I mean, he is technically our boss. And he said to report to him if any other things go wrong."
"He's our boss to a certain extent," Connor crossed his arms. "Furthermore, I am in charge of the students and their safety, just like everyone here if not more. It is my responsibility to eliminate the threat and I intend to accomplish my mission."
Alex seemed to think it over but after a second was counted he agreed to the plan. While the android tutor went off to do his part of the plan, the security guard/temporary detective worked his way to the cafeteria where the first fight began. Coincidentally it was the same place where he was attacked.
Since it was class time, it gave the deviant a perfect opportunity to investigate without being spotted.
There was shade blocking the back of the cafeteria, so the blacktop was cooler than when he last came here. This first attack compared to when he was the victim had over four weeks. Taking this into consideration, he knew for a fact that any blue blood around had long since evaporated. But thanks to his advanced optimal units, Connor was able to see the dried Thirium.
A fight had occurred a little deeper from where he was attacked. Connor eyed the small amount of evidence and looked back on the injuries the victim endured before he reconstructed the scene. The suspects, three of them based on the previous attacks, had attacked the deviant from behind and continued to hit them, based on the mass amount of dried blue blood near the beginning. The victim tried to flee but they were struck to the side, most likely the cause for damaging a bicomponent. The suspects attacked the android once more until they fell unconscious then left them there for someone to find.
Connor processed the evidence once more and concluded that there were no apparent injuries from the suspects, so he couldn't identify them appropriately. Showing nothing but determination, the android decided that it was best to revert to his analytical personality, such as before the Revolution, to solve the private investigation with promising results.
Once that was over he moved on to the next location – the janitor's closet. Considering that it was such a small space, there wasn't much room to fight in. Yet the suspect (there was only one this time) managed to do it. This attack occurred last week. Once again, it was located in the blindspots of security cameras.
Inside the room was covered in invisible blue blood, making him involuntary shudder. He couldn't even tell where the victim started, it was too hard to see past anything but glowing blue. The second victim was left in critical condition and now that he could see a glimpse at what the android went through, Connor could understand why. Just as he turned to leave for his next scene, he spotted a speck that was different compared to the Thirium.
Connor kneeled and observed the stain before he dragged his fingers down in the substance and tapped it on his tongue.
SYNC IN PROGRESS… SYNC DONE… COLLECTING DATA… PROCESSING DATA…
DRIED BLOOD
DNA Analysis: ROSS, Kevin
Sample date: 8 days
Finally, he has a possible suspect. Connor stood back up and left the closet, already hacking into the school network to locate the student's class schedule. A few seconds waiting gave him the answer he wanted to see. His L.E.D flashes yellow as he cybernetically makes a call to his partner.
'Yello?'
'Alex, I need information on Kevin Ross, he is currently in gym class and will be leaving shortly to his scheduled doctor's appointment,' Connor hurriedly explained as he began his trek to the main field.
'Kevin?... Kevin. Kevin… Oh yeah! This kid hasn't had the nicest history,' Alex began. 'Has gotten constant detention, disrupts class daily, and, get this, is part of Santer's group. Remember him?'
Connor outwardly hummed in conformation.
'So since he is a part of Santer's club of misfits, he gets away Scot free with everything. Last I heard, he's been trying to get a little payback to some androids who did him dirty with a girl he liked.'
The android mentally scoffed. "Humans are unbelievable sometimes," he mumbled aloud before he continued cybernetically. 'I have investigated one of the locations where a student was attacked. Kevin's blood was found in that room. I need you to try to find anything pinned against him while I try to talk to him.'
'Uh… did you say he was in gym class right now?'
'Yes, why?' Connor turned the corner and immediately understood what the tutor was talking about. The Hispanic woman, who wore a pair of red gym shorts and a white t-shirt, turned and stared daggers at the android.
'Well, you see, the one who teaches that class is Ms. Meyers. So if I were you, I would try to avoid her as much as possible. Good luck!'
'Thanks for the warning!' He hissed into the line before disconnecting the call. The android stayed stone-faced as he approached the gym teacher, making her scoff. "Hello, you must be Ms. Meyers."
He extended his hand toward her, but she glared even harder which made him retreat to safety. He wouldn't want to explain to anyone how his hand got bitten off just by trying to introduce himself. "I'm Connor, I work as the security guard until the end of the year."
"Yeah, I heard," she spat, both literally and figuratively. Connor wiped away the saliva from his face and smiled politely. "What do you want?"
"I need to speak to one of your students if you don't mind."
"And why would I want to do that?" She crossed her arms defensively. "I know campus security guards aren't allowed to take students unless permitted to be an escort."
"This student may be involved in a serious situation. I need to speak to him before he leaves," he insisted.
"'Him', huh?... No way. Now leave me, I need to make sure these little puberty weirdos don't make a mess," Ms. Meyers sighed as she turned to the students with a look of disdain. Yet Connor couldn't help but notice a slight hint of worry hidden in her features. "...What kind of situation is the student in?"
"He may be involved in recent android attacks around school," the deviant ultimately confessed. "That is all I can supply."
"Androids, huh?" Another pause. "... What does it matter if a few nuts and bolts get busted? They can just go and get repaired then act as nothing happened."
"If you haven't noticed, we androids are much more than a few 'nuts and bolts'. And even if we can get repaired, the amount of psychological damage could be just as effective as damaging a human," Connor stated defensively. Her eyes softened again. "And what matters is that they too are living beings and are targeted just because their blood is a different color from yours. If you care about your students, you would understand that."
"I do care about my students," she snapped. Ms. Meyers seemed to think about something conflicting for a few seconds, but her response soon came as a surprise to the deviant. "... Fine. Who's the douchebag?"
"Oh, that would be Kevin Ross."
"Sonofa… then again it's not a fucking surprise," she muttered before scanning the room. Her narrowed eyes locked onto the target, which was a tall jock, and then she blew the whistle, calling attention to everyone around. "ROSS! Get your sorry ass over here!"
Connor's eyebrows shot up while the kids around them began teasing the teenager. The tall kid strode up to them both with a disinterested look. However, when his eyes landed on the teacher, he sent a flirtatious look that sent the android in a confused spiral.
"Heyyy, Ms. M, looking as fly as ever," Kevin chuckled.
"Quit it or I'm sending you to the principal's, you creep," Meyers sneered before pointing at the deviant. "This android here wants to talk to you."
"What the hell? Why do I have to talk to this plastic freak?" Kevin hissed, sending a look of disgust to the android.
"Because I said so! Now beat it you brat or I can get you into handcuffs," the woman glared. The teen huffed as the deviant led him away so no one could eavesdrop.
"What is it, you asshole?" Kevin crossed his arms and stared at the android in disdain.
"Do you know who Devon Smith is?" Connor began. At once, he received a reaction. Kevin shifted in his position, hopping from one leg to another.
"... Nope."
"Oh, then let me enlighten you." Kevin's stress levels spiked. "Devon is a straight-A student. He has taken a liking to woodshops and was planning on joining the android basketball team…"
No reaction.
"Approximately 8 days ago, Devon was found by the janitor in his closet critically damaged and close to a permanent shutdown. Fortunately, the janitor was able to call for help and Devon was saved with only a few minutes to spare." His stress levels jumped to 64% when Connor took a step forward. "Let me ask you, Kevin, what happens when an android shuts down?"
He stayed silent, stepping back when Connor got closer.
"Answer the question, Kevin," the deviant hissed.
"I-I don't know," he whimpered.
"They don't wake up." Connor leaned forward so that he was face-to-face with Kevin, who was ultimately cornered against the wall. "I know what you did, Kevin. I know you hurt him. I also know that he managed to hit you, causing you a nosebleed."
{... Levels of Stress – 88%}
"You want to know something about me, Kevin?" He whispered, causing a chill to run down the boy's back. "I am a detective for the Detroit Police Department. I can tell when you are lying."
{... Levels of Stress – 92%}
"Just say it, Kevin. Just say that you attacked Devon! What do you think is going to happen? You have nowhere to run or hide. You are going to go to prison for assaulting and the attempted murder of another living being," he threatened.
{... Levels of Stress – 97%}
"Okay! Okay!" The teen finally exploded into a confession. Connor backed up to let the boy explain. "I hurt him. I know I did! But you gotta listen to me, man. I didn't mean for it to go far! I only wanted to scare him a bit after what he did to my girl, but he told me to kill him!"
"Who gave you that order?" Connor demanded.
"... S-Santer." The deviant, well aware that the student needed to go home, let him scamper away while he cybernetically filed a report and turned to look for Alex. What he didn't expect was to see Ms. Meyers leaning against the wall and staring at him intently. With her brown healthy hair and young face, Connor would have confused her to be a student and not a teacher. But his records of her did state that she only graduated from her teaching credentials last year.
"Wow. You really scared the shit outta him. I think I saw him piss his pants when you went up on him like that," she noted with a sly smirk.
"I do not appreciate you spying on our private conversation," Connor frowned as he readjusted his already straightened tie.
"Yeah, but you did kinda steal my student, whether he's a prick or not."
"Do you refer to all of your students in such a manner?"
"You want me to lie?" She snorted. "Plus I don't speak like that to everyone, only the ones who get on my nerves."
"Then I assume that Kevin has tested your patience more than once," he noted as he approached the woman. The deviant noticed that she wasn't acting too aggressively as before. Meyers shrugged but nodded.
"Serves him right." There was a small awkward pause. Both figures didn't see eye to eye, but it was ultimately cut off by the woman. "I have to get those freaks back inside. Nice work with Ross, he's a real bitch sometimes."
"I suppose 'sometimes' is an understatement," Connor smirked in amusement. "But I appreciate the gratitude. I have to say that I respect you for being able to handle hundreds of these children each day, it must be tiring."
The teacher gave him a look he couldn't place, but she nodded nonetheless. "You get the hang of it. Once you know one teen, you know them all. Little suckers are going to fail in the real world, but I guess as a teacher I have to work them up to that."
"We all have responsibilities in this world, some bigger than others and create a larger impact for the next generation," he thoughtfully agreed.
"Yeah. I gotta bounce. Later." Connor watched her leave and a small smile graced his face. But then he pushed away from the soft feeling in his heart to get back to work. After returning to his office and waiting for Alex to arrive, he decided to use the time to go over Santer's records and his father's. As the tutor had mentioned, the father, Pete Striker, has managed to cover his tracks fairly well but Connor decided to request a thorough background check in case he missed something. Not too long later, Alex arrived at his office. The tutor mentioned to him that Santer and some other teens were guarding the janitor's closet during the day of the assault. The identity of the other was also a part of the bully's group.
"Kevin admitted his contributions to the assault. I'll have him arrested and put into a holding cell at the station until Mr. Striker is dealt with accordingly, the same goes for Santer and his accomplice," Connor explained, receiving a nod from the android. "The gang, without its leader, would surely fall during his expulsion."
"Good luck with that," Alex rolled his eyes, receiving a surprised look from the other. "I mean, come on. Even if Santer would get caught again, his father will just decline any proposals to expel his son."
"Hm… Do we know anything about Mrs. Striker?"
"Yeah, she works in PTA. You can see her walking around here or talking to the staff, but she usually hangs around Jefferson," Alex leaned back in the leather chair casually. "I hear that she's trying to avoid her husband and son while volunteering. Honestly, I don't blame the woman. Heck, if she's trying to get back with Michael, then I wouldn't be surprised."
"She used to date Jefferson?" Connor questioned while simultaneously keeping note that the tutor seems to gossip quite a bit.
"Yup," he popped the 'p'. "I think a year before she went with the powerful Striker. I'm just sayin' that if she's having an affair, well at least something good could come out of her marriage."
"Being unlawful is anything but 'good'," the security guard sighed. "But I suppose adultery would give her some type of freedom in her life considering the knowledge she possesses. I may need to interview her first before I start with the teachers. Do you know where I can find her?"
"Yeah. PTA room in the multimedia building," he nodded. There was a small pause. "... So how did your talk with Ms. Meyers go?"
The question caught him by surprise, but Connor answered truthfully. "She is an… interesting character. How she addresses others is a little odd but humorous at the same time. Her attitude toward androids is uncalled for but I have dealt with similar people in the past, of whom I can state are now my friends. I'm sure if I have more time I can convince her that I, among other androids, are not as bad as we seem."
"Then why don't you ask her out?" The simple suggestion made Connor's L.E.D spin yellow before returning to blue. He couldn't think of a proper response, so he glared instead. "What? Don't give me that look. She's single, she's pretty, and is fisty. Who wouldn't want to be in a spicy relationship?"
"I don't," Connor turned his attention to his computer and began typing away, even though nothing important was displayed. "Besides, I prefer not to make any romantic moves on anyone, especially with people I haven't gotten to know. I want to keep my relationship with Ms. Meyers as professional as possible."
"It sounds to me like you don't know how," he wiggled his eyebrows. "I get it, you're shy. But let me give you some pointers. It can even help you increase your school cred."
"Alex. I don't want to take anyone out on a date."
"Famous last words."
"... Why did I agree for you to be my friend?"
"Because we are meant to be. Now come on, let's go solve the rest of this mystery!"
TBC...
