All right y'all, it's been a while and I sincerely apologize for that. I uploaded that first chapter just before I graduated high school and didn't look at it again until after I dropped all my in-person college classes and went home to get my life and mental health together again. If you read the original version of this fic I started back in 2018 you know the last 4 years haven't been easy but I managed to actually get enough college credits to graduate early, joined some clubs, made friends, am trying to find some work but for the first time in a long time I'm finally happy with my life and who I am so I hope my new writing reflects that.

I lost all my original work when my email got hacked back in March so, just like I did with my life, we're starting this from scratch again! It's been a wild ride and hopefully it won't take 4 years to get my shit together and get this written in a way that doesn't reflect my angsty 15-year old depressed ass writing. Anyways… hope you enjoy chapter 2!


Connor looked over the case file on his computer screen again as well as the file Lieutenant Reed sent him about the missing girl, Emily. She was a 12 year old runaway whose family was under investigation for abuse and neglect, her Spanish teacher had been the one to report her as missing after she'd missed a week of class and gotten no response from home. As far as Connor could tell, Ralph was the only one to have seen her in the week since she'd run away. Lieutenant Reed thought the girl had likely now become another victim of the human trafficking crisis and sent the case to the Human Trafficking Task Force, but Connor felt like something was missing.

He went back to the files he had on the missing androids and looked back at Emily's file, comparing the two. He looked up at Lt. Anderson, "Lieutenant?" The police Lieutenant tilted his head towards Connor but didn't look away from his screen, "Yeah what's up?"

"I found which android Ralph was telling us about, his description matches the one of the last android that was reported missing, an electrical android that was working in the area. Oddly enough, he was last seen in the same alley where Ralph saw that girl, Emily get taken. What do you think of that?"

The older man finally looked up from his computer screen and over at Connor. The android could see the Lieutenant mulling the question over in his head, "I think maybe we should check over the CCTV footage from those nights again."

Connor nodded and pulled up the only cameras he could find, a camera across the street that had a view of most of the alley. As he started to go over the footage, Lt. Anderson stood up and began to stretch, "You can download that stuff and look it over in your head right?"

Connor looked over at the Lieutenant and nodded, he took it as his sign to continue, "Awesome, you think you can download the footage and watch it on the way? I wanna go get something to eat that isn't this shitty cafeteria food." Connor looked over at the man, "Lieutenant, you do know I'm not allowed to leave the precinct with case evidence right?"

The Lieutenant looked over at the android with something akin to exasperation, "you can delete it after you watch it, it's not like anyone's gonna know, they can't look inside your head anymore. And besides, it's not like other cops don't take case files and such home to look them over."

The android looked back at his screen in thought, his LED light flashing a warm yellow before he touched his finger to the side of the computer screen, his LED a rotating blue as he downloaded the files, "If captain Fowler finds out about this, you're taking the blame." Hank snorted and shut his computer down, "Don't worry about it, just take notes on the videos while I drive and delete them as soon as we get out of the car, that way the videos never leave DPD property."

"This still doesn't feel right…" Connor trailed off as he looked anxiously back at the dark computer screen. Hank waved his hand dismissively, "Hey, the regulations say 'DPD Property' not 'DPD Precinct' so that includes the car, you'll be fine." Connor looked back at the Lieutenant and again at the screen before apparently making his mind and turning towards the parking lot.

The two entered the car and Hank drove down towards that food truck that frustrated Connor so much. As he drove, he looked over at Connor, who had his eyes closed, likely reviewing the CCTV footage. He thought about how far the android had come since that first day they met at the bar and Connor bought him that drink. It had been 7 months since Connor had broken all those androids out of Cyberlife and Marcus had negotiated rights and citizenship for the androids, he was now overseas advocating for android freedom in Europe and Asia.

Connor had decided to stay and 'make sure androids in Detroit were still safe' but Hank thought he had just gotten attached to Sumo and didn't want to leave; whether he'd admit to that or not was a different story. The android had been staying in Hank's house on the couch for the first few weeks, until Hank felt brave enough to let him take Cole's room, which had been empty for years after his ex-wife took most of Cole's stuff when Hank had started drinking. Connor wasn't the type to own much, just the bare necessities. He always kept the room organized and never touched any of what Cole had left, such as the stickers on the dresser or the scribbles on the closet door. He also left the bottom nightstand drawer, full of photos and old toys alone, letting Hank sit in the room going through them whenever he needed to.

It was unnerving for Hank at first, how sometimes Connor seemed so much like a human but ultimately wasn't. Hank knew he didn't sleep, he didn't really need to unless he got hurt or overheated, but he often does that thing where he looks like he's sleeping but isn't really, it's scared the shit out of Hank on more than one occasion. He also didn't need to eat but tried to cook once for Hank as a thanks, the fire department was almost called that day.

Overall the experience of the android living with him hadn't been all bad, Connor's strange sense of humor and apparent obsession with dogs was both amusing and entertaining, especially when he was learning to actually take care of a dog. A job which, admittedly, Connor was better at than he was.

Hank saw the distinctive awning of the truck and the neon "Chicken Feed" sign and pulled up to the curb. He looked over at Connor, who still had his eyes closed and debated whether he should disturb the android or let him finish reviewing the footage. Ultimately Hank decided on leaving a note on the dashboard saying to wait by the tables while he ordered food in case the android… woke up? while he was getting food.

Hank got out of the car and walked towards the line, eyeing the people surrounding the truck for anyone that might cause him trouble. Sure, he won't arrest anyone while they're eating but he doubts some people have the same 'respect the mealtime' attitude towards him. Besides, the only illicit activity happening here is betting, and Hank would be a hypocrite if he tried to call anyone out on that. Seeing no one, Hank waits his turn in line until he reaches the front.

"Hey Gary." The man turned around and smiled "Hey man! What can I getcha? You betting on those horses again this time?"

Hank shook his head, "no, not this time, I got Connor with me and you know how he gets. Just getting my lunch, the usual, thanks." Gary looked towards the car, Hank turned around to find the android still in the passenger seat. "Sure thing man. How's Connor? Noticed he didn't even get out of the car this time."

"He's fine, just paranoid about taking evidence out of 'DPD property.' Took me forever to convince him to even leave the station with it." Gary nodded in agreement, turning around to start making Hanks meal, "I hear ya, I tried to hire an android a couple months back to help me out, kid needed some money under the table while he got set up but was too nervous about all that health license shit. Good kid but he's better off working at a legit place, and either way I got my own system here so hiring anyone is just a pain in the ass. Here's your stuff by the way, tell Connor I said hi."

Hank took his food and looked towards the tables, finding Connor standing at the one closest to the car. He thanked Gary again and walked towards the table, setting his food down as he eyed Connor. The android had his eyes closed again with his brow furrowed, his LED shining a pale red. The android looked up once he set his food down and eyed the food. "You know, there is a cholesterol risk that comes with eating those so often." Hank laughed and took a bite, "I'll worry about that when it comes around. Now, tell me about the footage."

Connor looked down again at the table and frowned. "Frankly, there isn't much to tell. Emily was taken around 2100 hours on June 25th while the electrical android, Anthony, was taken around 0400 on June 22nd while he was walking towards the construction site that was down the block where he was working. You can see a figure of the same height and build grab both of them but they get pulled into the section of the alley the camera couldn't catch. There is some evidence of a struggle from Anthony that the camera caught but none for Emily, at least that the camera caught."

Hank mulled the information over in his head, it was likely that the same person took both of them, and probably had less trouble with the girl than with the android, this could've been experience from the android or just the fact that the girl was smaller. But what about the times? The android, Anthony? makes sense, getting taken on the way to work likely means the kidnapper had been watching him for a while but Hank didn't know what to think about the girl, the timing seemed random, she could've just been in the wrong place at the wrong time but why kidnap her? Did she see something? Or did she pass that alleyway often and she was a target? Hank looked back at Connor, who was looking at him like he was waiting for him to say something, "Did the girl pass by that alleyway often? Or do you think she saw something she wasn't supposed to?"

"From what I saw in the footage, she did pass by that alleyway, at least for the three days prior around 2100 hours, my guess would be she was headed towards where she spent the night, but runaways rarely spend the night in one place, unless they're staying with a friend, which she wasn't judging by the fact that it was her teacher who reported her missing and not a friend." Connor looked around, stopping on two boys who were eyeing the police car and looking around, likely looking for its drivers, before they started to poke at the tires. Hank turned around and eyed the two, then turned towards Connor. "I doubt they'd be stupid enough to steal the tires in broad daylight, but if it helps, we can finish this conversation on the way back to the station." Connor looked up at the Lieutenant, then back at the car as Hank tossed his trash and began walking towards the car. "We should be getting back to the station anyways, your lunch hour is almost up."

The two made their way back towards the car, watching as the two boys ran off at the sound of them approaching. Hank got into the driver's seat while Connor took his usual spot in the passenger's seat. The android looked out the window as Hank drove. Hank thought about the information he had on the girl whilst driving back to the station. Connor had mentioned she passed by that alley for the two previous nights, meaning she was likely also a target and not taken out of circumstance. But why a human girl? All the other kidnappings had been androids so what made this girl different? From what Hank knew she was a runaway from a neglectful family but that didn't explain what would make her a target. Maybe Reid was right and she really did just become another statistic in the human trafficking crisis. Hank would need to look at the footage himself to see if there's anything Connor may have missed.

As Hank pulls into the parking garage he sees Reid running out to another cruiser. He steps out and calls out, "Hey Reid? You headed somewhere?" Lieutenant Reid looks over at Hank and Connor, "Where the fuck have you two been? You know what, I don't even care,' he nods in Connor's direction, 'you know that girl you told me about? Someone just found her. You're not gonna like it." Hank and Connor glanced at each other before getting back into their cruiser.


Hope y'all enjoyed! I know it's been a minute and I will try to work on updating this more often. I did touch on some topics in this chapter, particularly human trafficking and car theft. If you ever suspect someone is being trafficked, call the national hotline at 1 (888) 373-7888. For info on human trafficking check out the human trafficking hotline website (fanfic won't let me add the link but you can find it in my bio)

Idk how car theft is in the US but I know it's a pretty lucrative business where I grew up, so make sure to stay safe in your cars and lock your doors. If your car, any of its parts or anything inside gets stolen, make sure you report it so it doesn't happen to anyone else in your area. Trust me it's not fun to have your windows smashed in and literally half your life stolen in the span of 30 seconds. Happened to me in January when I was moving.