12:16am Saturday 6th November
Lily stood in the middle of the crime scene, her head buzzing with all the new information from the investigation.
"Ok, let's go through it one more time", Hank said to Lily and the other detectives who were all stood in a circle, trying to figure out what had happened. Connor stood behind them, out of the way.
"We still don't know how the killer escaped, so let's go through everything again". A few groans emerged from the team, as Hank glared at them. "Look, I don't want to be here in this creepy dump on my Friday night, having to examine every fucking detail, but we've gotta at least come up with something for the report".
Hank turned to Lily. "What's the first thing that happened?". The young lieutenant explained what the likely chronological turn of events was.
"It all started with a struggle, hence the mess in the kitchen. It likely began due to the effects of red ice on the victim, as Connor found traces under his nose", Lily nodded at the android, who looked back at her with fascination. "We already know the effects of red ice, it makes the user violent and unpredictable. I think the victim, Carlos, attacked his android with the bludgeoned metal bat".
"It definitely lines up with the evidence", Hank confirmed. "Well done", he smiled at Lily, feeling proud of her that she was becoming a great detective with the cases.
"What's next?". One of the officers in the investigation stepped forward. "Go on, let's get this over with as soon as possible", Hank urged.
"The android was being attacked, this was when it experienced its emotional shock, and it began to disobey it's programming", he explained. "The android slashed at the victim with the kitchen knife from the wall-rack, trying to get the oncoming attacker to leave it alone"
"So the android was trying to defend itself, right?", Hank questioned. The officer nodded. "Okay, then what happened?". A member of the forensics team spoke up.
"From what we can tell by the traces of the victim's blood on the kitchen chair and the broken wood that juts out from the doorway, the victim fled to the living room".
"And he tried to get away from the android", Hank nodded. "Alright, that makes sense. What came after?"
"It was there in the living room, that the android murdered the victim with the knife". Connor spoke up from behind the circle, making every police member turn and look at him with either irritation or fascination.
"The android began to stab the victim, Ortiz, and by becoming overwhelmed by the emotional shock it had previously experienced, it lost all control until it had stabbed the victim 28 times", Connor explained. He noticed Lily watching him with curiosity, and the two locked eyes for a moment before both looked away simultaneously.
"It then proceeded to write on the wall the message 'I AM ALIVE', which leads me to speculate that the owner had treated the android badly over time, causing the emotional trigger to release strong feelings of resentment and anger"
"Wait wait wait-" one of the detectives interrupted. "How can we be sure that it was the deviant who wrote the message?"
"One piece of evidence, is that the writing is in CyberLife Sans. This is the only font that androids know in their programming", Connor said professionally as he faced the detective. "Secondly, if the deviant was in fact experiencing abuse from the victim, then it would make sense for it to write a kind of personal, revengeful statement after committing the murder"
"What about the shrine in the bathroom shower?"
"Yeah, and the demented scrawls all over the wall?"
"Ok, the theory isn't totally ridiculous", Hank said, hushing the group before standing in front of the android. "But it doesn't tell us where the deviant went". Connor thought, his LED light turning yellow as he processed everything.
"It was damaged by the bat, and it lost some Thirium"
"Lost some…what?", Hank questioned.
"Thirium", Connor repeated. "You humans like to call it 'blue blood'. It's the fluid that powers androids' bio-components", he explained to the group of DCPD officers who were all looking at each other; some feeling intimidated by the RK-800's knowledge, while others hadn't understood much of what Connor had said.
"Yes, but doesn't it evaporate after a few hours and become invisible?", the forensics officer from earlier spoke up.
"Correct"
"But I bet you can still see it with your scanner-thingy, can't you?", Hank grinned.
"Correct", the android repeated again.
Connor looked around the room, analysing for Thirium traces. The police force watched as the android made his way to the kitchen before bending down and examining something in the doorway.
"Find something?", Lily asked, walking up to stand next to the Connor. He looked up at her, and nodded. The police followed the android as he quickly followed an invisible trail, which led him to stand just outside the bathroom. He briefly touched the wall in the corridor.
"What is it?", Lily asked confused at why the bare wall would be important.
"A ladder used to be here", Connor explained. "But it's moved".
"Why would the deviant want a ladder?", one of the detectives grumbled. Connor looked up, following the spattered trail of blue blood. He saw a small, closed trap-door in the ceiling; it had a thirium handprint by the handle.
"I think I've found where the deviant went, Lieutenants", Connor turned to face Hank and Lily. "The thirium trail leads to the attic"
"Oh Jesus, that's fucking perfect. How the hell are we going to get up there?", Hank grumbled. Connor turned to walk back down the hall. "Hey, HEY! Where the hell are you going?", Hank called after him. Seconds later, Connor returned with one of the kitchen chairs.
"I better be the one to take a look, just to be safe", he said as he positioned the chair under the trap door and climbed up. Connor tried to reach out to grab the trap-door, but it was too far out of reach. "Can anyone give me a boost?", he questioned the police squad.
"Hank's the burliest", Detective Collins said, grinning.
"Woah woah woah, wait a second", Hank put his hands up in defence. "I know I might be the strongest here but I'll fucking keel over if I try to carry Connor. He's an android! He's made of metal and shit! I can't carry all of that!", he exclaimed, gesturing to Connor's plastic, robot body.
"I think that's just you finally playing the old guy excuse", Lily joked. Hank glared at her.
"I never said I was old", he crossed his arms stubbornly. Connor examined the trap-door.
"It's quite narrow, I'm not sure you would fit through it anyway, Lieutenant", Connor observed.
"Wait, so first I'm getting called old, next thing I'm being called fat!?", Hank glared, glancing between Lily and Connor.
"Don't take it personally, gramps", Lily nudged him teasingly. Hank just rolled his eyes.
"Anyway, so if you can't reach it", he turned to speak to Connor. "And if I can't fit… who's going to go up there?"
"We'll need someone who is small and light", Connor explained. It wasn't even a few seconds after speaking did the android realise who was going to have to investigate the attic. He watched as all eyes turned to face the smallest, youngest, and also the only girl at the crime scene.
Lily sighed, knowing what she had to do.
"Sure thing, I'll check it out"
XXX
"No, NO. Absolutely not!", Hank didn't even hesitate in disagreeing.
"I'm just checking out the top floor, I'm not volunteering as a tribute for the Hunger Games or something", Lily rolled her eyes at his overprotectiveness.
"I don't care, we'll just wait for a bigger ladder or something and get Connor to investigate", Hank dismissed her words. He refused to back down.
"Good grief, it would take ages for someone to bring all that equipment down from the station!"
"Excuse me, Hank. But my scans indicate I won't fit through the hatch", the android explained.
"See? Connor won't make it through anyway", she argued.
"You're not going up there, that's final. And as your partner I fucking forbid it!", Hank yelled.
"I don't need your permission, Hank! Only the Captain has the authority to tell me what to do", Lily shot back. She didn't like getting in arguments with anyone, least of all Hank (especially not in front of half the DCPD department!); but this time, she wasn't going to let her partner's stubborn nature interfere with an investigation that they were so close to cracking.
"There is no way-"
"I have to agree with Lieutenant Anderson", Connor said softly.
"For god's sake, stop interrupting me-", Hank turned on Connor, before his eyes widened at the android's words. "Wait… what?"
"I agree with you", he nodded to Hank in an understanding manner. "It's likely that the deviant is still in the attic. It could very well be unpredictable and dangerous, and it isn't worth risking your life when a smaller android could be sent", Connor explained. Lily was shocked for a moment, feeling a little bit upset that he was siding against her, but the emotion soon subsided and it was replaced with the determination to prove that she could and would do her job.
"It's not fair making an android go instead", she argued. "Besides, if all this really happened over 3 weeks ago, then the deviant's probably long gone by now"
"But you can't be sure-", Hank implored.
"Can't you even let me look around!? I'll just check it out and if I see anything weird, I'll call for help, I swear", she promised. Hank looked unmoved.
"Just let me do my job, please?", Lily gave Hank puppy-dog eyes, something that had almost always worked before. She didn't like having to ask others just to get something done, but Lily knew, from examining the hatch in the ceiling, that there was no way she could ever climb up there without the assistance of either Connor or Hank.
The grizzled lieutenant looked up at the attic door and back again to his partner's pleading face. He rolled his eyes so hard Lily could've sworn she saw them swivel backwards 360 degrees.
"Fine", he eventually relented. "But you've gotta make sure you'll call at the first sign of anything weird or dangerous".
"We're the city's police force, Hank", Lily grinned at him, trying to make up for their argument. "Danger is meant to be our middle names".
"I can't even comprehend how you still make jokes at times like this", Hank stared at her incredulously. He nodded at Connor. "Make yourself useful Connor, give her a boost".
XXX
The android felt torn. He couldn't go against a direct order by the humans he was working with, yet the last thing he wanted was to put Lily's life in danger. Connor tried to use his scanner to analyse the situation, but he found that it was almost impossible to get a result, because it completely depended on whether or not the deviant was actually still at the crime scene amongst many other factors.
*Chance of deviant presence: 53%*
He knew that the odds could be better, but his programming told him that he couldn't disobey Hank's clear instructions. Reluctantly, Connor watched as Lily climbed on the chair. He stood in front of her, holding out his hands and locking his fingers together to make a foothold for her.
He himself had no need for standing on the chair, he was much, much taller than Lily in the first place, but as he helped hoist her up, he felt small…insignificant. It was like his opinion didn't matter, because he couldn't disobey.
*Software Instability: Corrupted Drive at 15%*
XXX
As Lily jumped up quickly on the chair, she felt her face flush a little as she leaned her hand on the android's shoulders. He placed his hands, locking them into a foothold in front of her, making a place she could step up on. It was at that moment as Connor stood in front of her, did she come to comprehend just how… fit he was.
The RK-800 was pretty tall, she had acknowledged that one detail when they first met earlier in the evening, but what she hadn't noticed was how strong his arms were, that his shoulders were broad and masculine, and he was not only taller than most of her co-workers at the DCPD, but tall enough to a point that he was actually the same height as Hank (who had been known to be a big guy- especially back in his day).
There was also something about Connor; he had this air of mystery and formality. He looked a little intimidating to some, with his height and build, but from looking just once at his face, more specifically his eyes, it was easy to see that Connor didn't look like he could hurt anyone. His innocent, warm chocolate-brown eyes looked curiously at everything around him; it was almost in a child-like manner, and impossible to not adore.
"He's like a lamb in a wolf's clothing", was all she could think as the android pushed her up so her head could see into the house's attic. It was dark, and dusty. The air smelt thick with it, as great clouds of dust flew up into the air while Lily climbed up and disturbed the stillness of the attic.
"Lily", a soft voice from behind her called her name. Connor's head was just barely visible through the hatch, and the lieutenant could see he was standing on the wooden kitchen chair so he could see and communicate with her (even if he couldn't quite reach the tall trapdoor).
"Yes Connor?", she blushed slightly as she whispered down to him through the small hole in the floor.
"Hank wanted you to have this", Connor held up a battery-powered torch as high as he could towards her. Lily slowly kneeled down to the attic floor, careful of where she stepped so as to not break any floorboards. She didn't know how old the house was, but the thin ground between her and the rest of the building didn't look particularly reliable.
"Thank you, Connor", she smiled at him in gratitude as she reached for the flashlight. Ever so slightly, their finger's brushed when the android passed the light to the lieutenant. Lily could feel her face heating up despite the chilly attic.
"Lily", Connor said to her again. He leaned forward as close as he could to her, before speaking quietly, making sure that the police squad in the house below couldn't hear him. "Be careful", he whispered, his intense stare following her.
Lily thought she would melt under his gorgeous, trusting gaze.
"I will", she reassured him as the android climbed back down, lost from sight. Turning to examine her surroundings, Lily turned on the torch.
Guiding the beam of light, she stood up and began to explore the place. The rain beating on the roof was the only sound that disturbed the thick silence that hung in the air, as she was careful not to let her footsteps release any noise.
"SHIT!", she yelled as the floorboard she had been standing on give way, letting out a loud, splintering crack. Grabbing onto an old umbrella stand, the lieutenant managed to quickly pull herself away from the danger; stopping her from falling through the floor.
"Lily!? You alright?", Hank's concerned voice yelled up at her.
"I'm okay, the ground's just a bit shaky up here", she called down after re-gaining her composure.
"Oh thank god", she could hear Hank's relief. "What the hell are you doing up there? You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"I just accidently stepped on a weak point and the floor broke, I'm fine though, seriously", she felt bad for frightening Hank.
"Well, have you found anything yet?"
"Not yet… this place looks pretty big", she shone her torch through the attic, peering into every crack and crevasse. "It might take me a while to search through it all"
"Gimme five minutes", Lily said. "I probably won't be able to hear you when I'm at the far end, but I'll shout if I need any help"
XXX
Hank anxiously paced around the hallway. He was restless, wondering if his partner was walking into some kind of death trap. His distrust of androids left him reluctant to know anything about them, including deviants for that matter, so he had very little knowledge about why or how androids went rogue.
The group of police investigators began to disperse, becoming bored with standing around as one by one they walked off to examine other details around the crime scene, until only Hank and Connor were left.
Connor wasn't feeling much better than the lieutenant. It was unusual for him to be experiencing anything like this, but he felt inclined to do something, instead of just standing around as Hank paced back and forth irritably.
"I'm sure she's capable of investigating on her own, Lieutenant", he tried to reassure the grizzled DCPD officer.
"Of course, she's capable! She's a damn good detective", Hank snapped at the android. "I can't help but worry about her though", he mumbled quietly.
A loud creak, followed by the sound of splintering wood and a scream jerked both of them to attention. Connor could feel his heart jump at the sound of Lieutenant Dover's frightened shout.
"Lily!?", Hank yelled, trying to shout through the trapdoor. "You alright?". Receiving no answer at first, Hank tried to get up on the chair and stick his head through to see what was going on, although the hole to the attic was too high up for him to reach.
"I'm okay", came her distant response. Relief flooded through Connor, and from the chair he could see Hank breathing out his own sigh of reassurance. As Hank began to get details out of Lily, Connor felt his heart-rate go back to normal. He looked at his hands in concern and confusion.
"Why am I reacting this way?", was the only thought that went through his head as he noticed something appear on his monitor.
*Software Instability: Corrupted Drive at 19%*
XXX
After nearly falling through the floor, Lily was certain that if there was a deviant up here, it would definitely be aware of her presence by now. Creeping slowly through the attic, she noticed that there were a few holes in the rotted wooden roof, leaking water that dripped silently into the dingey chamber. A few moth-eaten, white sheets that appeared to have never seen the light of day hung about the loft like silent spectres, and she carefully ducked under one making sure to brush off the dust from her hoodie and jeans.
Pointing the torch at the top of the ceiling, a dozen tiny beams of light reflected off the raindrops that clung to cobwebs. She shuddered at the thought of how many spiders were up here with her. Lightning flashed through the cracks in the roof, making the old bits of furniture under sheets cast eerie shadows on the walls and floor.
One shadow made her heart momentarily shiver. Illuminated by the lightning, a figure's silhouette was visible from behind one of the dirty sheets that hung from the rafters. Silently stepping closer, Lily could feel the rushing sound of her own blood pounding through her ears as she reached out to the sheet. Closing her eyes and counting to five in a desperate attempt to calm herself down, the DCPD lieutenant steadied herself before quickly pulling away the sheet.
A gasp was emitted from her lips, as Lily stared upon the face of… a mannequin.
"Holy shit! Why the hell would someone have a fricking dummy in their attic!?", she thought, examining the wax model's face. It had bullet holes through its arms and torso, with a target painted on the front. "This was probably once used for practising shooting… Carlos Ortiz must've been kinda weird if he kept this in his house".
Lily was about to turn her back on the disturbing object… when something caught her eye suddenly. The faint logo of the Detroit Police was visible under the target on the mannequin's torso. The lieutenant reached out and rubbed off some of the dust around the logo; the whole mannequin was practically caked in grime! She could feel her blood run cold, as she compared the logo on the dummy to the one on her own hoodie.
"This came from the DPCD! How did he get a hold of it?", Lily wondered internally as she hesitantly rubbed the dirt off her hands with one of the discarded sheets.
Reluctantly reaching out and looking over the other side of the mannequin, she saw that the date it had been manufactured was imprinted on one plastic side: 2018. "This is 20 years old, but why the heck would he keep it up here? As far as we know, Ortiz wasn't keeping firearms".
Feeling very unsettled by the disturbing discovery, Lily went onwards; having to duck under hanging rafters. The house was in serious disrepair. Eventually, she found the back wall of the attic, touching the rotted wood carefully to make sure it was definitely the end of the room. It seemed she had covered the whole extent of the dark chamber.
"Wherever the deviant is, it's not here now", she shrugged to herself. Making her way back to the hatch, Lily was only about halfway across the room when a small squeak came from nearby. Locating where the sound had come from, she noticed a tall wardrobe that was on the other end of the attic. Just to be safe, she pulled out her gun from it's holster which hung on her hip.
Taking off the pistol's safety, she switched off her torch as she advanced near the wardrobe. There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary about it, until she looked at the floor. Sure enough, leading from the hatch to the tall cupboard, there was a small trail where the dust on the attic floor had been disturbed. It wasn't really footprints (although she was able to identify a few amongst the tracks) but more like scrape marks where something had been dragged.
Cautiously and readying for an attack, Lily advanced towards the wardrobe. As her fingers lightly touched its wooden frame, the doors suddenly flew open and something fell out and onto the floor.
The lieutenant jumped back in sudden shock, watching as a male android scrambled about on the ground.
She had found the deviant
It stared at her with huge, terrified eyes, as it crawled backwards until its back touched the wall. Lily examined it in wonder as it sat in the dark corner, but she didn't want to shine her torch on it as she feared she may frighten or provoke the robot.
The android didn't look particularly tall, average height, and it was wearing a black and white CyberLife uniform (which she guessed was the standard wear for housekeeper/cleaner androids). One thing that was obvious to notice, was that it's clothes were torn, dirty, and splattered with dried blood.
She observed that it's forearms were beaten badly, with its white plastic panelling exposed, showing off the blue wires that were sending out small electric sparks every few seconds. The android's LED was bright red, clearly due to it's fear from being discovered. Lily saw that across it's face and arms, there were cigarette burns.
Her heart melted at the sight of the poor android shivering in front of her, he was clearly abused by his owner, and she momentarily forgot that it had committed murder, as it seemed so harmless, just cowering in fear before her.
"Shhh… I'm not going to hurt you", she kneeled down in front of the android. He looked at her, then to the gun, trembling as he did so. She carefully put both her pistol and the torch down on the ground, before sliding them away out of reach.
"See? I only want to talk, to find out what happened to you", the android relaxed as soon as the gun was out of her hand, and the LED changed from red to yellow. "I'm Lily, I'm with the DCPD. I just want to talk". Lily knew that the deviant could very well be dangerous, but she found herself trusting her instincts; the poor thing looked harmless (despite the blood stains on its face on body).
"I'm…Thomas", he said so very quietly that she almost didn't hear.
"Hello Thomas, will you let me help you?", she smiled reassuringly as she held out her hand. The deviant looked up at her, and Lily almost could see tears in his eyes, as he cautiously took her hand and she helped him stand up.
"What happened?", she asked calmly.
"I…. I was just defending myself. He was going to kill me", Thomas began to cry, although it was something she knew androids were not programmed to do. She gave him a very soft pat on the back, trying not to startle him. She was shocked herself at seeing actual tears come from his eyes, were androids meant to do that?
"Lily, you all right up there?", Hank's voice called. Thomas instantly shuddered, his eyes wild.
"Please, I'm begging you… don't tell them about me!", he began to back away from the hatch. Her mind flipped over all the possibilities.
"I have to tell them that he's up here, I'll get fired or worse, put in jail if I lied about this. But I won't drag him downstairs. I'll see if I can calm him down first, before I do anything".
"Lily? What's going on up there?", Hank called again. She looked at the traumatised android, knowing what she must do.
"Everything's fine, Hank! Just give me a few more minutes"
XXX
"Lieutenant Anderson", Connor addressed Hank directly.
"What?", he asked. Hank was beginning to become bored by the second.
"How long is 'a few minutes'?".
"About two or three I guess", he stared up at the attic door.
"It has been over five minutes and Miss Dover has not returned", Connor folded his arms in a similar stubborn manner to Hank.
"Yeah, what's that kid doing up there? Place can't be that big", Hank marched over to the chair. "Knowing her, she probably found a stack of old CD's or something and she wanted to look at them".
"I can go look for her, Lieutenant", Connor suggested.
"I thought you said you couldn't fit?", Hank eyeballed the android.
"My height allows me to at least be able to reach the trapdoor, but I can't look over the top or see inside… I'll need your help", Connor's synthetic hand pointed to the ceiling.
"What kind of help?", Hank groaned.
XXX
"Connor, this wasn't what I was thinking of when you said you needed some help!", Hank snapped at the android who was now balancing on the Lieutenant's shoulders. "If I break my fucking back because of this, I'm going to sue your stupid creators at CyberLife!"
"I will be sure to make your displeasure known", Connor said with a little wit, as he grabbed either side of the trapdoor. As he did so, a little bit of the ceiling crumbled, making dust fall on them both.
"Connor what the hell you playing at!?", Hank tried to shake some of the dust and plaster that now had landed in his grey hair. As the android tried to climb up further, he leaned his leg on Hank's head, letting out an angry shout from the man.
"Get your fucking foot out of my face!"
"Sorry lieutenant", the android replied coolly, but with a clearly amused expression. Connor scanned the hatch; due to the attic floor breaking, he now had enough space to just about squeeze himself through the gap. Hauling himself up, the android was just able to get the top half of his body into the chilly chamber.
He first noticed how dusty it was, and that it was pretty dark. But as his eyes very quickly adjusted to the levels of light, he realised a very clear scene. Lieutenant Dover was standing next to... the deviant. Lily had her hand on its shoulder, and she seemed to be… comforting it. As soon as Connor had entered the room, Lily's gaze caught him.
The android followed her stare, as it saw Connor as well. Lily turned to it, trying to reassure the deviant that was quickly backing away from the RK-800.
"It's alright Thomas".
"Thomas? Did she ask for its name?", Connor thought.
"Connor, hurry up and get your fucking foot out of my face already!", Hank roared up at him. The shout clearly only made the deviant worse, as it dropped to the floor and started to shake. Following his protocol, Connor addressed the human in the house underneath him.
"Connor wait, let me handle this-", Lily tried to explain.
"It's here, Lieutenant!", he informed Hank.
"What?", Hank gave a dumbfounded reply. A slightly muffled "Holy shit..." came from under Connor's shoe. "Chris, Ben! Get your asses in here now".
The RK-800 met with Lily's gaze; she was staring at him incredulously, with a sad expression, as the deviant next to her could only look up at Connor, its eyes full of betrayal.
*Software Instability: Corrupted Drive at 22%*