Chapter 10
Connor and Alex went to the PTA room, which was next door to the staff break room. Looking similar to the neighboring room, except for posters and sticky notes posted on a board near the back, the area stationed some PTA members. Usually, they came after school, but considering the dance was coming up, the volunteers were expected to plan the event perfectly.
"There she is," Alex gestured to the woman in the corner of the room, who was talking to some parents revolving around fundraisers. "Nice gal but she gets a little touchy when talking about her family. Keep that in mind when you talk to her."
"And where are you going?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Oh! I forgot to tell you, I'm going to volunteer to monitor for the 'Once In a Lifetime' dance in a few weeks," the tutor admitted, causing a look of surprise to flash across the other's face. "Yeah, decided it would be cool, you know, watching over a bunch of kids in case they don't do anything illegal."
"... Really?"
"Okay, there's this girl that's going to be there chaperoning and I thought I could try to move onto her, you know?" Connor snorted as he shook his head in amusement. "What? I have a plan and everything… Hey, maybe you can convince-"
"No," he immediately interrupted. "I will not. I haven't got to know her, I am not attracted to her in that way, and she hates androids. If you haven't noticed, I am indeed that."
"Whatever, man. Be lonely forever, that's your problem," Alex shook his head. "Go interview her, I have to check something out. Tell me what's up when you finish."
Connor watched him leave before he walked up to Mrs. Striker, who by that time had been working on her recording the expenses of upcoming events. He cleared his throat which gained the wanted attention from the woman. At once she recognized him and smiled softly, extending her hand so he could shake.
"Oh! You must be the new guard, Connor, right?" She guessed. "I've seen you around but I could never go up and talk to you."
"And you must be Mrs. Striker," he nodded politely. "It's a pleasure."
"The same goes for you. I've had my fair share of androids, but you sure seem one of a kind," said the woman confidently, sending a subtle flirtatious look his way. Her comment made the deviant tilt his head.
"That is because I am the only operating RK800 model prototype." She nodded in astonishment, seeming to be attracted to him the more he spoke. "Excuse me, but I would like to speak to you privately. It is quite important."
"Of course, lead the way!" She exclaimed a little too happy for someone who had two criminals in her family. Connor awkwardly led her into the hall and to a different room to have as much privacy as possible, much to her delight. The married woman hopped on one of the desks and stared up at the android, who was in no mood to be playing in her games. "So you wanted to talk?"
"Yes, this matter concerns your son and husband." At once, her attitude changed. She looked like she was about to rip Connor's head off (why does everyone look like they want to kill him?) just because he mentioned her family, which took him by surprise. "I know that you might not want to speak about them but I need information so they can be brought to justice."
"You mean arrest them?" A sadistic smile graced her soft face.
"If everything works accordingly, then yes." Mrs. Striker crossed her ankles and placed her hands neatly on her lap.
"Okay, what do you want to know?"
Connor left the room an hour later, having gotten all the information that he needed, if not more. He met up with Alex in the next room and told him the important details, which caused a shock to course through the tutor. The ginger-haired android suggested that he'll keep an eye on Santer until the security guard could make a proper statement for the precinct, which he agreed to. The deviant left for his office once again and was about to start working on the case when he received a surprising call from Captain Fowler.
"Captain Fowler, I didn't expect a call so soon regarding the case," Connor spoke with a hint of surprise in his voice.
'Connor, you're off the case,' he was instantly told. There was a small pause.
"S-Sir? I don't understand, I have everything we need to put the Strikers behind bars."
'That doesn't matter. Listen, remember what I told you? You are off the deviant division, so that means you're not a detective anymore. Only a security guard. And they don't investigate assaults,' Fowler snapped. 'You are not permitted to work on this case, I'll have Gavin take over.'
"Gavin?! Captain, you have to listen. I just need another day and I-"
'That's ENOUGH! You are to stand down, that is a direct order,' the man shouted. 'Disobey and you'll be suspended. Do you hear me, Connor? I don't want you to investigate this case.'
"... Yes, sir," he begrudgingly answered. Captain Fowler hung up on him after that. The deviant groaned loudly before slamming his fist onto his desk in anger, essentially busting a hole through it. Connor cursed under his breath and moved a book over it to hide the damage. The android grumbled things aloud as he lay his head on the desk, taking a large unnecessary deep breath in to lower his stress levels. If only he was still a detective, then he wouldn't have this prob-
Wait a minute. At once, his head shot up. Connor, the android originally designed by Cyberlife, had been committed to doing what he was built for. On his official records, he was permanently registered as a certified negotiator and detective. Sure, it was a technicality, but androids who were originally signed to a career choice are forever assigned to it, no matter what anyone says. So even if Captain Fowler told him he couldn't investigate because he wasn't a detective, he has proof that he is one.
Connor found a loophole.
But then another question popped into his mind: how was he going to deal with Gavin without the obnoxious man informing the Captain of his investigation? For all he knows, the young detective could pull out a gun at him again. He has to think about this analytically. He and Gavin aren't the best of friends but aren't completely rivals either. The officers at the bullpen refer to their relationship as "frenemies", a combination of both.
"Hey, asshole!" A voice brought him out of his thought process. To his surprise, he found Ms. Meyers in his office. He never heard the door open. Before he could answer, she continued with a snappish tone and scowl on her face. "There's this staff party in a few minutes, Jefferson wants everyone to join a 'social experience', whatever the hell that means. Told me to come to get ya, so move your plastic ass."
"I will not be able to attend. I have important matters to tend to," Connor declined. Meyers stepped further into the room so she could stand directly in front of his desk and tower over him.
"Yeah, me too, but like I said before Jefferson wants everyone there. So it's mandatory," she crossed her arms. "So let's go or I will drag your robot body outta here."
He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and narrow his eyes in playful mockery. "Oh really? I'd say that you should try, but I don't want you to hurt your weak human bones," he smirked.
But unexpectedly she did the same. "Oh yeah?" She challenged before lunging forward, catching the deviant off guard, and tapped his blue L.E.D twice. Connor's body reacted at once, shooting up from his chair as he stared at the smug woman in disbelief. "What were you saying?"
"H-How did you…?" He trailed off, only fueling her amusement more. Meyers began walking out of the office with the android following against his will. "What did you do to me?"
"Every android has its activation points," she answered vaguely, much to the deviant's frustration. "Thank goodness I won't have to injure my weak human body, right? Guess who's gonna be my bitch now."
"You are a monster," he hissed once they entered the auditorium. The room that was normally filled with students for a rally was instead occupied by numerous teachers and staff members, some of whom are chatting while the others are eating and talking near the food. The security guard and gym teacher looked at the "party" in disinterest. Meyers took them both to an isolated spot so they wouldn't attract any conversationalists. "I've never been to a party before, but I assumed that it would be more… entertaining than this."
"This sure is a sad excuse for one," she agreed. "I've been to better baby showers than this."
"How long will we have to be here?"
"Quit it with your complaining," she snapped. "You might bring some people over and the last thing I need is to talk to people and force myself not to be insulting."
"That sounds like quite a challenge," he muttered loud enough so she could hear. In retaliation, the woman stepped on his foot, which did not cause him discomfort in the slightest. In a louder voice, he continued. "But why would you avoid your fellow teachers? I know you must want to talk to any of them!"
"Keep it down, will ya?" She harshly whispered. But when he smirked deviously her way, she had to keep herself from punching him. "Oh, you sonofa… I swear to god you better not or I'll make sure to send you to an early shutdown."
"Good thing there's no android heaven," he grinned before he shouted to the most talkative person in the room. "MRS. TENSIN! Ms. Meyers here wants to know more about your eleven children!"
"Oh! Liliana, I knew you'd come around!" A large friendly middle-aged woman ran over to their safe corner. Once she made it, she grinned ecstatically at the seething teacher and cocky security guard. "I have to say, I knew I couldn't give up on you! Sure you seemed to stay all quiet and mysterious but once good ol' Bertha talked to you, you sure came around."
"That is… so nice of you to say," Meyers gritted out with a forced smile. Connor had better control of keeping his smile from breaking out into a hysterical grin.
"I heard that you went to Hawaii last week, I bet that was fun!" Bertha happily continued, never stopping to breathe. "You know I took my family there once and whoo! You should have seen what mess my children had made. Taking eleven children on a trip is no picnic, just like they were firstborn. Oh, and my husband was getting on his nerves at one time but when little Jimmy gave him a cute little drawing he made himself, the old pops never stood a chance, and out went the waterworks. Speaking on which, I also took my family to the water park and-"
As the old teacher continued, seeming to cancel out everyone else just so she could focus on her story, Liliana shot Connor a furious look before turning to nod at Tensin. The android leaned forward so he could whisper in her ear and not disrupt the talking woman.
"I guess we both are going to be stuck here whether we like it or not," he chuckled softly. He began to lean back but she grabbed him by his tie and yanked him back. A feeling coursed through his artificial veins when he gazed at the hazel irises looking directly at him.
"You are going to get it. And I'm going to enjoy every second of your misery," she growled, but he spotted a hint of giddiness past the irritation. "You're lucky there are a lot of people here or I would have committed your murder."
"Is that a threat, Ms. Meyers?" He smirked.
"Nope. It's a promise," she smiled innocently before extending his tie to full length and tightening it to its limit. Connor choked back a sound, a mix between a pained laugh and a gasp, as he scrambled to loosen his tie that managed to cut off his ventilation airway. Despite androids not needing to breathe, their ventilation systems prevent their thermal regulators from overheating. But when it's cut off, it is indeed uncomfortable. Liliana's smug look made him glare.
INCOMING CALL…
FROM: Alex
ANSWER?... Y/N?
… YES
'Alex? Is there something wrong?' He cybernetically spoke into his head, his eyes gazing around only to notice that the ginger-haired android didn't attend the festivities.
'Connor! Hel-' The line suddenly disconnected. The deviant felt his Thirium pump skip a beat.
'Alex? Alex! Please answer.' Connor never received one. The deviant tried to move his legs but then he remembered the gym teacher altered his programming. "Liliana, I need you to let me go."
"Ha! If you think that I'm going to"
"This is serious! Alex is in trouble and I need to find him," Connor gritted out so he wouldn't attract any unwanted attention. The woman stared at him for a minute and understood the seriousness of the situation. Despite her bitterness toward androids, she knew she couldn't leave someone in trouble. So she reached up and tapped his L.E.D twice, freeing him of his lock. They shared a quick look before Connor sprinted out of the room.
"Oh! I wonder where he's going," Mrs. Tensin chuckled. Liliana frowned for a moment as she continued to stare at the exit.
Connor ran as fast as he could, connecting to every security camera he could, and tried to call Alex back. He couldn't find anything useful, but until he reviewed the last ten minutes of the footage, he spotted the tutor being led to the back of the field by another student. The deviant screeched to a halt before sprinting in the other direction. As he did, he called in an android ambulance along with the police.
He spotted something moving and he heard a commotion as he grew closer. Connor reared to the back of the small warehouse where equipment was stored to see Alex being beaten by none other than Santer and two more teens.
"Stop!" Connor demanded as he stood in front of the gang. Santer slowly turned around and scoffed once he saw the deviant. The teen was massive for his size – going up to 6'7" with pure muscle for body mass. He stood taller than the android and was much stronger, but Connor stood his ground.
"Well well well, if it isn't the robot police," Santer's deep voice rang through his ears. "What are you gonna do? Arrest us?"
"Let. Him. Go," the android growled with a deep glare on his face.
"Hey, boss!" One of the teens exclaimed as he pointed at Connor in recognition. "Isn't that the stupid android that we beat up a few weeks ago?"
"Oh yeah. What? Are you ready for round 2?" Santer chuckled while he cracked his knuckles menacingly.
"The police are already on their way. I suggest you surrender before your criminal charges extend to another assault to an officer," Connor warned. But his response is only a mocking laugh. Alex cracked open his eyes and tried to lift his head, but the security guard noticed that he had ten minutes until shutdown.
"Look, it thinks it's an officer," the large teen laughed. "You are nothing but fancy plastic, you freak. So why don't you go run to whatever store you were bought from and leave."
"Who are you calling a freak? You look like you can't even fit through a door," Connor provoked. Santer growled before charging at the android, but he had already preconstructed his next course of action. The deviant swiftly dodged to the left and stuck his leg out, but the teen saw it coming. He jumped it and swung his fist to Connor's chest, knocking his gyroscope off course. With the android temporarily stunned, Santer punched him again.
But he wasn't going down easily. Connor fell down but immediately kicked Santer's stomach which staggered him back enough so that the deviant could stand again. The teenager snarled before lunging once more, yet Connor jumped over the teen and punched him into the shed. With his advanced android strength, it sent the teen through the flimsy wall.
"Get him!" One of the teens roared as they both charged at Connor, but he easily disarmed them from their weapons and tied them up, along with a dazed Santer, with rope supplied from the shed. Connor immediately turned his focus to Alex and pressed down on his injuries to stop as much blood as possible.
"You'll be okay, Alex. The technician will be here in 4 minutes and 32 seconds," Connor stated calmly, even if his L.E.D was flashing yellow and his stress levels began to climb. The bloody ginger-haired tutor smiled at him. "Alex, run self-diagnostic."
"T-Thirium pump regulator and thermal regulator c-compromised," he strained. "Central processing unit damaged. Thirium levels dropped to 54%... T-Time to shutdown in… 5 minutes and 6 seconds."
"Don't worry, help is on the way."
"What does it matter?" Santer suddenly spoke up. "It's going to die anyway, stupid piece of plastic is broken-"
"He's broken because of you!" Connor snarled. "Now shut it or I'm going to break you much more than just your ribs."
"H-He's right, Con," Alex gasped. His eyes darkened as his optical units and ventilation systems were disabled to preserve as much energy as possible. "By the time h-help arrives, I won't make it."
"You will. Quit talking like that," Connor snapped as he felt his suppressed emotions rise to the surface. "Shut down as many unnecessary programs, reserve your battery."
Alex just sighed but complied. Connor in the meantime checked the estimation until the technicians arrived, but there seemed to have been a delay. They would arrive a minute too late and he knows Alex doesn't have that much time.
"I'm not going to let you die, my friend. You've helped me and I'm going to help you," Connor whispered. Alex opened his eyes and weakly grinned.
"... That's the f-first time you called me your f-friend," he spoke with a now static reverberation behind his voice. Connor smiled softly. "That's a start. T-Too bad I won't make it to 'b-best friend'."
"Connor!" The deviant turned to see Liliana skidding to a stop beside him and Alex with a case in hand. Once her hazel eyes landed on the dying deviant, she became serious. "Holy shit, you don't look too hot."
"Liliana, what are you doing here?" Forgetting formalities, Connor watched in awe as she opened her case to reveal sets of tools and blue blood inside. "What are you doing?"
"Move aside," was all she said. Connor did as told as she began to help stabilize the android. "ETA of the android ambulance?"
"1 minute and 21 seconds," he reported.
"Hey, Ms. Meyers! You're siding with those plastic wannabes?" Santer sneered. "I thought you knew better!"
"Hit him for me, will ya? I'm a little busy," Liliana muttered as she glanced at the teen with a glare then back at Connor.
"My pleasure." The deviant stood up and approached the large teenager, who shriveled back when the android cracked his knuckles. With a mighty fist, he struck the teen causing a tooth to fly out. Connor glared at the boy. "Don't ever threaten anyone again, or I'll be sure that you never survive my next hit. Do you hear me?"
"Y-Yeth, thir," Santer frantically nodded with his newfound lisp. Meyers was surprised to see such rage in Connor as he returned by Alex's side, but she decided not to mention it for the time being.
Soon enough, a blue and white version of an ambulance arrived on the scene. Not a second later so did the police. Technicians rushed over to Alex and pulled him on a stretcher. Liliana informed them of his damages and her work to stabilize him, which was accounted for by the technicians.
Connor stood to the side and watched the interaction until Hank walked up to him.
"You okay, kid?"
"... I'm fine," he nodded while he kept his eyes trained on the tutor. Hank looked down and caught sight of his friend's bleeding hand. Before he could point it out, the deviant spoke again. "Those three are the ones who have been assaulting androids at school for the past few weeks. I have already sent the information regarding Mr. Striker and his role on the school board. That should be enough to arrest all of them."
"Nice work kid," he nodded in approval. "What's up with your hand?"
"Hm?" Connor looked down and observed his hand like it was the most interesting thing in the world before putting it back down. "Oh. It's nothing important."
"Right," Hank narrowed his eyes but said nothing more. "You'll need to come down to the station to give a statement and Fowler wants to have a word with you when we get back."
"I had a feeling he might." Connor looked at Liliana walking away from the scene after reporting to the officers about everything she saw. The android told Hank he'll meet up with him later before catching up with the woman. "Thank you for your help, you saved Alex's life."
"Yeah whatever," she muttered. He furrowed his eyebrows. "Nice punch, you scared that kid."
"May I ask how you knew what to do? For someone who claims not to like androids, you do know a lot about them," he noted. Her stress levels spiked as she glared at him.
"Fuck you," she hissed.
"Why are you defensive? I'm just trying to thank you for saving my friend's life and it's like you don't even care!" He exclaimed.
"Why should I care? It's just another android, nothing special about it or you," the gym teacher snapped. Connor stopped walking just so she could do the same. His frown made the teacher furrow her eyebrows. "Don't give me that look. Listen, I don't want to talk about it. And why should I?"
"Would you prefer if we got to know each other better so you would feel comfortable enough to tell me?" Connor offered as his eyes softened. "I'm sure you and I hold much more information than we are curious to know."
Liliana stared at him for a long moment, seeming to bite her tongue in case she made another retort. Instead, she sighed and slumped her shoulders. "Fine, whatever… Meet me at that Trembling coffee shop place over at 3rd, heard it's human and android friendly."
"Does tomorrow at 7 work for you?"
"Yeah, sure." Connor smiled brightly before he began to head off.
"I'll see you then, Ms. Meyers." The woman glared at the back of his head before shaking her head and retreating to her classroom sanctuary. At least she was able to leave Bertha's story earlier.
Hank had taken Connor to the DPD as promised. When they entered the precinct, some officers smiled kindly when they saw the familiar deviant while a certain obnoxious detective flipped him off. After shortly greeting them, they entered the glass office where Captain Fowler was. The man sat behind his desk as usual and glared at Connor disapprovingly.
"Hank, get out," he ordered. When Hank opened his mouth to retort, the superior held up his hand. "Don't make me say it again, Anderson. I don't want to hear your bitchin'. I'm not in the mood."
"Asshole," he grumbled before leaving the office to return to his desk. Hank watched from his station as the Captain began asserting Connor, who stayed quiet until he needed to speak. Despite not knowing what they were saying, he could understand through body language that the conversation was getting tense.
During the middle of the scolding, Connor had finally stepped in and he looked quite upset, unusual behavior toward their superior. His L.E.D flashes between red and yellow until they were both cyclings at once. Now everyone inside the bullpen stared at the office in interest, wondering how the argument would go out.
But then Fowler stood up and slammed his hands down on his desk, which shook the entire glass room as he shouted at the deviant. Connor seemed to have quieted down as his eyes fell in shame. The man extended his hand expectantly. The android stared at it in loss before digging into his pocket and placed his badge on his awaiting hand. The bullpen grew quiet as Connor left the office in silence. Hank shot out of his seat and blocked him from leaving.
"Kid, what happened?" He quietly questioned, but everyone heard it considering how still it was inside the large bullpen. Connor opened his mouth but nothing came out, he couldn't even meet his friend's worried blue eyes as he slowly trudged out of the precinct.
"What did he do? Never seen the Tinman so down in the dumps before," Gavin commented to Tina, who simply shrugged in response. Hank glared at Captain Fowler as he exited his office and stormed up to him.
"What did you do to him?"
The Captain sighed heavily before answering. "Connor is serving a two-week suspension, no pay."
"Damnit, Jeffery, what the hell for?!" he roared. "That kid has done nothing wrong. He solved a case, saved any more androids from being hurt, and allowed us to put those sorry criminals behind bars!"
"He disobeyed direct orders and assaulted the suspect," Fowler retorted. "He needs to learn that his actions come with consequences. He knows this and so do you."
"What the fuck," he whispered before resuming the hard glare at his former friend. "Connor has enough problems already. Burying himself in his work is the only thing keeping him sane. You can't do that to him."
"The decision has already been made," the taller man frowned before turning to everyone eavesdropping on the conversation. "Now get back to work! I'm not paying you all for you to sit on your asses all day."
Hank growled as he returned to his desk and snatched his car keys from it before storming out of the precinct, not acknowledging anyone who tried to stop him. Just as he began to make his way to his car, he spotted Connor leaning against it almost like he was waiting for him.
"I predicted that you would have questioned Captain Fowler and left the area not too long later," the deviant answered his unasked question as he turned to look at the man. He then shrugged. "But you also do owe me a drive back home."
Hank grumbled something under his breath as they entered the vehicle. As he pulled the car away from the station, the man glanced at the quiet android. Once again, before he had the chance to speak, the deviant beat him to it.
"I'm okay, Hank. It's just a suspension."
"You've been saying that a lot lately and I have a hard time believing it," Hank deadpanned. "So why don't you just tell me how you feel."
"How do you think I feel?" Connor sneered, taking the man by surprise. "I have been suspended because I didn't follow a stupid order! How could I not investigate when my people are getting hurt under my watch again and I couldn't do anything about it. Humans get only a warning and a slap on the wrist, but we androids are being seen as the bad guys because we decided what we wanted it's no else expected. It. Isn't. FAIR!"
"I agree."
"... What?"
"I agree with ya, son," Hank nodded as he kept his eyes on the road. "It ain't fair. All you were doing is your job Jeffrey should have praised ya. I don't know what's going on with his mind, but I can promise you that everyone back at the precinct would say the same thing - what you did was right. You saved lives Connor, both androids and even humans. Sure you disobey an order, but I do it all the time! And you did it because it was the right thing to do. So, morally, you didn't do anything wrong."
Connor stayed quiet as his L.E.D slowly went back to blue.
"I agree it wasn't fair, you have a right to feel upset, but don't let this little setback ruin your work. Let it fuel you to do better deeds," Hank smiled softly. "I'm proud of ya, son. You're more of a hero than all of us sometimes, even fucking Jeffery."
"I wouldn't want to be considered a hero... But thank you. Your words are encouraging," Connor smiled a little.
"When aren't they?" He smirked. "So, how's that guy I saw back at the school? He doing okay?"
"Yes, he's reported to make a full recovery in a few days," the deviant answered. "Though his technicians encouraged him to enlist in therapy at a few locations since that experience could cause emotional trauma. But I suggested Alex should go to New Jericho where he could feel more comfortable and make new friends. He tends to force social interactions with others."
"I guess that's what he did to you?"
"Yes, at first I did find his presence to be… annoying," he admitted with a slow nod. "But I now enjoy his company. He is technically the only friend I have at the school that is an android like me."
"What about that girl you were talking to earlier? She seemed pretty pissed off," Hank noted.
"Erm, she's one of the teachers there at Snowstreak, but she seems to have a negative bias toward androids," Connor awkwardly explained. "Though she seems interesting, and my curiosity has peaked when I've seen her handling technological equipment with ease. So I made a compromise and decided to talk to her personally tomorrow over coffee."
"Wait, hold up," the man cracked a grin. "You're going to talk to her tomorrow, on a Saturday, for personal matters."
"That is correct."
"So what you're telling me is that you're going on a date."
"No, you misunderstood me-"
"Wow Connor, I thought you would never go out with anyone before but this is like an achievement!" Hank exclaimed, completely ignoring the previous interruption. "So where are you going? What are you wearing? You better not be wearing that Cyberlife jacket. Christ, Connor, it's been months and you're still wearing the same uniform. Do you even change to anything else?"
"What's wrong with my clothes?" He whined a little as he looked down at his uniform. He then shook his head when he realized that he was going to be unnecessarily criticized. "No, Hank, I'm not going on a date. We are simply going to talk."
"Connor?"
"Yes?"
"Look up the definition of the word 'date'." It only took a moment and when Connor sighed heavily, Hank knew he won. "So, you said you're going for coffee? That's a great first date location, but when you're going remember to pay for her drink. Women always like a paying gentleman."
"Hank. It is not a date," Connor groaned, which the man instantly compared him to a moody teenager. He took a mental note that the deviant seemed to pick up Hank's sassiness and the teenagers' awkward attitude (but he technically had that anyway). "This is merely a meeting. No romantic strings attached."
"That's how it all starts," he mumbled under his breath. Just then they arrived at the shared house. Connor exited the Oldsmobile just as Hank peered at the deviant through the open window. "Tell me how your 'meeting' goes, will ya? And hang in there, suspensions will go by faster than you can say 'Thesaurus.'"
Connor watched him drive away before sighing heavily to himself and turned to the house. "Thesaurus," he whispered. The deviant trudged inside and moved to the kitchen, noting that no one has arrived home yet. He decided to use this time to prepare a meal for the arriving teens, having learned a few things from Rex.
After washing the vegetables, preparing the protein, and searing everything he left the food under the cover before walking to his room to change into more comfortable clothing. The deviant laid down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling filled with glow in the dark stars and planets. Anthony had snuck into his room and stuck them there to "make it nicer", but Connor didn't mind.
His mind suddenly wandered to the mysterious door in New Jericho. What was behind it? The curiosity was killing him, but he knew that whatever it was had to be dangerous if Amanda considered it as a weapon. Markus, during their night at the bar, informed him that he planned on creating a temporary safe lock. It would open the door for a few seconds before locking it back up once again. That should give them enough time to analyze the area without activating whatever was inside. Connor had agreed to the plan, which has yet to be informed to any others.
Markus volunteered to go inside the room with Connor while the rest of the New Jericho leaders waited to let them out. It was a risk they had to take for the sake of human and deviant life. They just hoped their friends could agree as they did. Whatever Amanda had planned, they needed to be prepared for the worst.
Speaking of, Connor hasn't heard much from her. She's been silent and he hates it. Despite not wanting to speak to her again, the deviant wants to know what she's been doing inside of his programming. Knowing that she could alter his CPU by the snap of her digital fingers sent a chill down his spine.
But he shook his head and cleared his mind. Now is not the time to worry about that.
Connor let out a loud human sigh and began making different sounds in his mouth to fill the empty silence.
"So this is what it's like to feel… bored," he said aloud. "I can't believe how much I want to talk to someone, or rather hear something other than my voice."
He looked around, almost expecting a response but none came. (He would be a little spooked if he heard someone speak.)
"I don't like this." Connor's sigh turned to a groan as he hoisted himself out of bed and looked around the room. When he found nothing of interest inside, he decided to poke inside of Anthony and Rex's shared room. Nothing interesting in there, but he couldn't help but tidy up the clothes belonging to the oldest boy. Messiness was something he doesn't tolerate.
Connor's eyes suddenly landed on the last door and he soon found himself holding the door handle. The android wanted to move, but he was dying to go inside. Audrey hasn't let anyone in her room. Maybe she won't notice if he takes a quick peek. Lockpicking the lock, the android slowly opened the door, which creaked loudly.
However, the moment he looked inside, he was surprised to see nothing out of the ordinary. There was an easel and a blank canvas in the corner of the room, but nothing more. Some paintings hung above the bed, demonstrating unique emotions he didn't think Audrey had.
But if there was nothing wrong, then why lock the door? Connor used his detective skills to answer the question. His eyes scanned the room, taking in every detail until his processors landed on a piece of evidence. The android bent down and tapped his fingers on his tongue after dragging them across the faint stain.
SYNC IN PROGRESS… SYNC DONE… COLLECTING DATA… PROCESSING DATA…
ASH
Origin: Sage
Sample date: 12 days
He tilted his head. Why would Audrey burn sage? As far as he knew, he didn't smell any smoke coming from the room a little over a week ago. Connor was about to stand when he spotted something peeking out beneath the bed. His hands carefully slid out the shoe box and slowly opened it.
Connor widened his eyes and his frown deepened as he gazed his eyes around the small skull of an animal (a House Sparrow, his processors told him) along with other objects inside. Just as he was about to look deeper into the box, his sensitive hearing picked up approaching footsteps nearing the front door.
Almost like the speed of light, Connor replaced everything where he found it and locked the door, leaving the room, and casually walked into the kitchen as nothing happened. He forced his L.E.D to return to blue as the front door finally opened to reveal three exhausted teens.
"Good afternoon. How was school?" He asked automatically as he began to reheat their meals. He was answered by three simultaneous groans and grumbles. "I see. Well, I have made dinner again so I hope you enjoy it."
"Anything interesting happen while we were away?" Rex questioned as they sat at the dining table to be served. Connor resisted the urge to look at the girl before smiling.
"Nothing out of the ordinary."
"Except for what happened to Santer and Mr. Alex," Anthony pointed out. "I heard that Santer finally got busted and Mr. Alex got the short end of the stick. Poor guy had to go to the hospital and almost died. Thank goodness to whoever saved him in time."
"Yes… that was very fortunate," Connor quietly agreed as he turned back to clean already spotless cups. The image of his friend being battered relentlessly until he nearly died left a haunting memory in his mind. Deciding to change the subject, he cleared his throat and continued. "Androids laws have been officially signed as of today in multiple states along with a portion of Canada. Now those who have hidden away are free to walk among humans without being arrested."
"That's good to hear," Audrey nodded as she took a bite of her meal. "So how was work?"
Connor took a long pause before clearing his throat again. He didn't know why he did that, he didn't even have any saliva to swallow. "I… won't be going to work for a while."
At once, everyone stared at him in disbelief.
"What? Why?"
"Because I disobeyed a direct order, as a result, I have been suspended for two weeks without pay," the android admitted with a sigh. Instantly the room exploded with complaints and unnecessary comments toward the precinct. Connor turned around and glared at them. "They might have called me off duty, but insulting them is childish. My Captain did what he had to do and I must learn to live with my mistakes."
"It's still unfair. They can't do that to you, I bet you were just doing what you had to do," Rex frowned while the deviant crossed his arms. "You should just quit, dude. If I had a job like that, I would have been out of there in a second. Fuck them."
"Rex, they are my coworkers and some I have gotten to know fairly well," Connor frowned. "Please, do not disrespect them. It's not their fault that I didn't follow my instructions."
"Whatever."
"So what did you do?" Audrey raised an eyebrow.
"That isn't important," he said once he dried his hands and left for his room, trying to do anything but continue the conversation. "I need to take care of some things. Please don't make a mess."
Once he left and they heard the door close, the three teens looked at each other.
"What was that about?" They shrugged before returning to finish their meal. Audrey frowned as she looked toward their rooms before shaking her head and sighing.
TBC...
