Detroit Become Human: Deviants Rise
Next chapter of the Detroit story, enjoy.
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Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Detroit Become Human or its characters, all belong to Quantic Dream.
Partners
November 5th 2038
11:21 PM
The surroundings of the office were admittedly drab, but that was only a minor thing. Being present here meant only one thing to Connor: a new mission. Turning to face the desk, Chloe sat there again, the same serene smile, the same soft voice.
"Welcome back, Connor... Yes, it does seem a bit drab in here." Chloe remarked. "Cyberlife has already fixed things up. Next time, we'll have more...aesthetically pleasing surroundings."
Connor nodded. "Very well. So, what has happened?"
"A homicide. A man has been found dead in his home, his Android missing, presumably the murderer." Chloe explained. "Detroit PD are already at the scene, but the lead investigator, Lieutenant Hank Anderson, is not yet present. Cyberlife has already ensured that you will be part of the investigation. You are to liaise with Anderson and investigate the crime scene. Ensure that the Deviant is apprehended and we will arrange for it to be returned to us so that we can investigate and find the cause."
Connor nodded in acceptance. "Understood."
Chloe smiled again and Connor returned to reality, ready to begin the mission.
XXXXX
The rain came down heavily, drenching the streets, but Connor remained undeterred as itcasually flipped the coin, the same one from the previous case it had dealt with. It was a tool used by Connor to sharpen focus before a case. Satisfied, Connor pocketed the coin and approached the building ahead: a small but brightly-lit bar named Jimmy's Bar. There was a sign on the door that said 'No Androids Allowed'. But Connor ignored it, the mission came above all else.
Entering the bar, Connor walked around, ignoring some of the comments being sent its way, or the muttering between the patrons. Using facial recognition software, Connor looked for the person it was to seek out. The instructions were clear.
'Find Lieutenant Hank Anderson, investigate the murder nearby, find suspected Deviant Android, and take it into custody.'
Connor continued to scan the customers of the bar until turning to the last customer, seated at the bar right in front of the bartender. The face scan brought up a positive result. Connor had found the person that was being sought.
Hank Anderson was a man of fifty-three. Despite being a Lieutenant of the Detroit Police Department, he had a rather unkempt appearance. He had shoulder-length scruffy-looking grey hair and a similarly scruffy grey beard and moustache, brown eyes, fair skin, and typical clothing for a police detective, albeit also unkempt. He was nursing a whiskey glass with the intent of a man who regularly drowned his sorrows in alcohol.
Having identified the target, Connor approached.
"Lieutenant Anderson, my name is Connor. I'm the Android sent by Cyberlife." Connor said by way of introduction. "I looked for you at the station, but nobody knew where you were. They said you were probably having a drink nearby. I was lucky to find you at the fifth bar."
"What do you want?" Anderson replied in a monotone voice.
Connor explained, "You were assigned a homicide case earlier today, a homicide, involving a Cyberlife Android. In accordance with procedure, the company has allocated a specialized model to assist investigators."
Shaking his head, Anderson replied, a bitter edge to his voice, "Well I don't need any assistance, especially not from a plastic asshole like you. So be a good lil' robot and fuck off."
With that, he drank from his glass, showing no signs of moving.
Trying to be reasonable, Connor spoke. "Listen, I think you should stop drinking and come with me. It'll make things easier for both of us."
Anderson nodded, took another drink, and did not answer.
"I understand that some people are not comfortable in the presence of Androids, but I..."
Anderson then cut him off. "I am perfectly comfortable, now back off before I crush you like an empty beer can."
Connor pondered for a moment, then an idea struck. "Tell you what, I'll buy you one for the road. What do you say? Bartender, the same again please."
The bartender turned, looking startled, but went to oblige as Anderson smirked.
"See that, Jim? The wonders of technology. Make it a double." he remarked.
After that, he downed his drink and let out a small noise of satisfaction. He then turned to Connor.
"Did you say a homicide?"
Connor nodded as Anderson stood up and they left the bar.
There were already a crowd of reporters outside a rundown home in the suburbs. A police cordon had been set up, with a heavy police presence in the area. Hank Anderson's car pulled up, blaring heavy rock music inside. Stopping the car, Hank turned to Connor.
"You wait here, I won't be long." he ordered.
Connor replied. "My orders are to accompany you, Lieutenant."
He just glared. "Just what you're told. Stay in the car."
With that, he got out of the car while Connor was stuck between two conflicting orders. Selecting the priority, Connor exited the car and began to follow Hank. Connor reached the police cordon and the officer on guard held out his hand.
"No Androids past this point."
Hank sighed and turned. "It's with me."
So the officer let Connor pass and Connor walked up to Hank.
"What part of 'wait in the car' didn't you understand?" Hank growled.
"Your order contradicted my instructions, Lieutenant."
Shaking his head, Hank spoke again. "You don't touch anything, you don't say anything, you stay outta my way. Got it?"
"Got it."
With that, they approached the house where a grey-haired heavyset police detective stood, waiting. He was identified by Connor's scanners as forty-nine year old Ben Collins, a veteran officer of the force.
"Hey, Hank. I was beginning to think you weren't gonna show." he remarked jovially.
Hank scoffed. "Yeah, that was the plan, until this asshole found me."
Noting Connor's LED, Ben raised an eyebrow. "So, you got yourself an Android."
"Yeah, very funny. What's the situation?" Hank snapped.
They began to make their way inside as Ben explained the crime scene. Entering the building, the humans reacted to the stench. It was clearly the foul odor of a body that was decomposing. Connor listened in to the briefing while observing the dead body.
It was an overweight, greasy-looking man. The attack had been violent, almost certainly personal. Connor picked up the salient facts while listening to the briefing. The victim had not been seen for over two weeks until the landlord, seeking overdue rent, entered the building and saw the body. The door was locked and hadn't been forced, the killer had likely escaped through the back door, the victim had been stabbed, and the likely murder weapon, a knife from the kitchen, was on the floor. The place was a wreck and a dump, but that would not hinder Connor's investigation as Ben ended the briefing and left to get some fresh air.
Connor prepared to begin and started by analyzing the victim. Analysis identified the man as Carlos Ortiz, a man with a known criminal record. There was evidence on him of Red Ice and he had defensive wounds, as well as several stab wounds. Using this to visualize what happened, Connor was able to determine the sequence of events that had occurred to an extent and now had a lead: the attack started in the kitchen.
But there was something even more disturbing, as Connor noted. "He was stabbed...28 times."
"Yeah." Hank remarked. "Looks like the killer really had it in for him."
It was then that Connor noted writing on the wall. It read 'I AM ALIVE'. The letters were all regular and perfectly in line, an impossible task for a human. Turning away, Connor began to look around the crime scene for more evidence.
Across from the body, at the other end of the room, on a chest of drawers, was more Red Ice, Connor matching it to the Red Ice that the victim had taken through analysis.
"Red Ice?" Hank remarked, before turning to an officer. "Chris, I want full forensics on the drugs."
Connor turned to the apparent murder weapon; the knife lying on the ground. Kneeling down, Connor examined the knife and noticed no fingerprints on it, another indicator of Android involvement, since they had no fingerprints. Examining the blade of the knife, Connor touched the blood and put those two fingers in its mouth.
"Ugh, Connor, what are you doing?!" Hank yelled.
Standing up, Connor replied, "I can collect samples and analyze them in real time. I'm sorry, I should have told you."
"Ugh, just... Don't go putting any more evidence in your mouth."
"Got it."
Connor returned to analyzing the blood and deduced that it was indeed the victim's blood.
Continuing the investigation, Connor examined the rest of the main room, stepping through into the corridor. There were several bloodstains all leading to the kitchen. Connor decided to check something and opened the back door, stepping onto the back step and analyzed the soil. There were no footprint traces except those of Ben Collins, likely in his preliminary investigation.
"There are no footprints out here except for Officer Collins's size 10 shoes." Connor told Hank, who had stepped out next to him.
Hank shrugged. "This crime happened weeks ago, the tracks could've faded."
Connor did not agree, shaking his head. "No, this sort of soil would still leave a trace. Nobody has been out this way in a long time."
Returning back inside, Connor continued to investigate. Careful investigation, as well as crime scene reconstruction uncovered more activity in the kitchen, the source of the murder weapon, a steel baseball bat, as well as uncovering a strange statuette in the shower and, written on the wall several times in an obsessive manner, the letters 'rA9'.
With all of this information logged, Connor made its way back to Hank, who was standing in the main room, impatiently.
"Lieutenant, I think I know what happened."
"Oh really?" Hank remarked derisively. "Okay, shoot. Let's hear it."
So Connor revealed the theory that had been developed from the evidence, walking through the house as it explained each step, Hank walking alongside and commenting occasionally.
"It all started in the kitchen." Connor explained.
"There are signs of a struggle." Hank agreed. "But what happened here?"
Connor continued, "The victim attacked the Android with the bat."
"That lines up with the evidence. Then what?"
"The Android grabbed the knife and attacked." Connor continued.
Hank nodded. "So the Android was trying to defend itself."
"The victim fled to the living room where the killer caught up with him and stabbed him...28 times." Connor concluded.
Hank sighed. "Okay, your theory's not totally ridiculous, but it doesn't tell us where the Android went."
"It was damaged by the bat and lost some Thirium."
Hank tilted his head. "Lost what?"
"Thirium." Connor explained. "You call it blue blood. It's the fluid that powers Androids' bio components. It evaporates after a few hours and becomes invisible to the naked eye."
"Oh, but I bet you can still see it, can't you?" Hank replied with a smirk.
"Correct."
With that, Connor began scanning for traces of Thirium.
Sure enough, Connor found it. An easily visible trail to follow that soon led to the attic. A missing ladder made it clear that the Deviant had likely gone up to hide in the attic. Connor moved to collect a chair from the kitchen.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Hank protested.
Connor replied calmly, "I'm going to check something."
With that, Connor moved the chair and climbed on it to reach the attic. Climbing up, Connor paused, noting a shadow behind a hanging sheet ahead. Finishing the climb, Connor approached the sheet and jerked it aside, but it was just a mannequin. So Connor continued to move further into the attic before a shadow moved rapidly ahead. Connor moved even closer and then stopped as the shadow emerged and stopped, panicked.
It was the Deviant. A tall Android with a regular build, bald, with dark skin and eyes, clad in the typical Android uniform and stained with human blood.
"I was just defending myself. I had no choice. He was going to kill me." it said. "Please, don't tell them."
Connor did not reply, then Hank yelled up from below.
"Connor, what's the fuck's going on up there?!"
Connor made up its mind and replied, "It's here, Lieutenant!"
"Oh shit." Hank gasped. "Ben, Chris, get your asses in here now!"
The Deviant bowed its head, defeated.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.