12:39am
The last hour had been a blur for Lily as she sat in the kitchen of the bungalow. They were still at the crime scene, and her anxious mind was still trying to process all that had happened. A brief touch on her arm let her know that Hank wanted her attention.
"You sure it didn't hurt you in any way?", he asked the same question as earlier in the evening, as he took the seat at the other end of the small kitchen table.
"I'm fine, Hank", she said, looking out of the window to see the heavy rain falling.
Despite her best efforts, Lily had been powerless as Connor had briskly pulled the deviant, Thomas, from where he stood and forced him through the attic's hatch, where DCPD officers had searched and then handcuffed the android. Thomas was then marched through the crime scene, and Lily had noticed how the poor guy had trembled in regret and fright as he saw the fly-ridden corpse of his dead owner.
He was currently stuck inside one of the police cars, as the rest of the DCPD there began to clear up the crime scene. Lily had been out of it all, she hadn't even batted an eye as Connor had practically carried her down and became increasingly concerned when she didn't respond to his questions. She had been given to Hank, who himself was worried she had been traumatised by whatever was up there, although he knew that it would be eventually be added to the report.
Lily wasn't traumatised, she knew that much. She wasn't frightened, just sad. She had seen how unstable and petrified Thomas was, and it made her worry for his well-being; the cops in Detroit, like every other city, didn't treat androids well in the slightest.
"Are you alright?", Hank clicked his fingers in front of her face as she regained focus of her surroundings. "I'm a little worried about you, kid. Sure you're up for taking the deviant down the station?".
"Absolutely", she immediately decided. If she accompanied the police force as they took Thomas to the holding cell, she might be able to convince Captain Fowler of the deviant's case. Besides, she had been a part of previous investigations that involved arresting and detaining people before, except it had never been an android like this, and the suspect had never been a likely victim of abuse…
"Alright then", Hank eyed his partner, curiously. He always wondered what went on in her head. Connor came into the kitchen, telling the two of them that the DCPD was starting to return to the station. Connor looked straight at Lily as he spoke, but she didn't meet his eye.
He knew she was upset with him, he could tell by her obvious refusal to communicate. Feeling there was little he could do to re-gain her trust, the android turned to follow Hank who had already left the kitchen and was talking to Detective Collins.
"Connor"
At the mention of his name, the RK-800 turned to face Lily who was finally acknowledging him.
"Yes, Lieutenant? Can I help you?", he asked in earnest.
"Why did you reveal that we found the Deviant?", she turned around to face him, but still wouldn't look him in the eye. The android's LED flickered yellow.
"It was my mission to locate the main suspect, Lieutenant. I only carried out the protocol my programming requires me to complete", he said as she looked up to reach his eyes.
"But I told you I had it under control", she insisted. Connor looked sheepishly at the ground.
"I am sorry I disobeyed your instructions, Lieutenant. I thought that simply finding the deviant was accomplishing the mission, so my analysation of the situation decided there wasn't any point in waiting any longer in arresting the suspect". He tilted his head to the side.
"Are you angry with me?"
Lily looked at Connor, his eyes only showed honesty, and anyway, there was pretty much no reason for him to lie to her. He was working with the DCPD for the whole purpose in assisting their investigations with specifically deviant-related cases.
"No, Connor… I'm not angry with you", she said quietly, looking at the floor. Lily knew she sounded dishonest, although she was trying her hardest not to be.
"I can contact CyberLife if you wish to file a complaint about my behaviour", the android suggested.
"What!?", her grey eyes were wide. "No, you don't need to do that!"
"But I have reason to believe that you are disappointed in me", he explained.
"I'm just, I mean… I'm a little shaken up from case, that's all. It's not a big deal, I just feel like we're making a mistake by arresting that android"
"What makes you say that?"
"Just look at him, Connor!", she led him to one of the windows in the house's living room. "He's traumatised, can't you see?", Lily pointed to the hand-cuffed Thomas in the police car outside.
"Neither deviants nor androids can feel emotions, Lieutenant Dover. It may just be a front that he is putting on to provoke a reaction from you and other officers, to make them think he is less guilty", Connor turned and spoke to her, speaking in a very flat and monotone voice.
"Less guilty?", she was baffled that Connor actually believed that the android was faking his fear.
"Androids and Deviants can simulate emotions, but they don't feel anything. Their programming prevents them from gaining the ability to have their own emotions"
Lily only sighed; she could tell she wasn't getting anywhere, that Connor simply couldn't understand because he was an android himself. Not knowing what to believe, she turned away from the RK-800 before focusing her attention on the raindrops that rolled down the window.
It was Connor's turn to look sadly, he didn't understand why Lily was upset.
*Software Instability: Corrupted Drive at 25%*
He only could theorise that she maybe saw something unsettling when she was investigating the attic. Wanting to console or relieve the young DPCD lieutenant of whatever was troubling her, he tried to find out about what she saw when she found the Deviant.
"Did you find anything of importance when you were investigating the attic, Lieutenant?"
"No, not really". Hank came into the kitchen.
"Connor, Lily, it's time to go. We're taking the deviant back to the station now, our boys have finished up here". As she got out of her seat, Lily suddenly remembered something.
"Wait", she held up her hand to stop the android and her partner. They both turned to her, one in confusion, the other in interest.
"What is it, Lieutenant?", Connor asked politely.
"There was something weird in the attic", she was deep in thought as she spoke.
"Which was?", Hank implored.
"I found this weird mannequin, it had the DCPD logo and the date 2018 written on it"
"That was over 20 years ago, Lil", Hank crossed his arms. "I think you might be looking into stuff that doesn't lead anywhere", he crossed the room to stand next to her. "Listen, I know it's been a long night, let's just get back to the station and-"
"No seriously, it was like one of those that were used for target practice when training new recruits… I thought it was weird, because Ortiz doesn't have any firearms, but…" as she cut off, all three people in the kitchen looked at each other. Lily turned towards the android next to her.
"Connor, can you do a scan of the architecture?", Lily asked, her eyes becoming brighter as she realised that she might be on to something.
"If that would help with the investigation, then yes", he began to run his scanner around the building. "What am I looking for?"
"Check for any hidden doors, or something like a concealed safe or cache in the ground or in-between-the walls", Lily explained. After a few seconds, Connor's LED turned yellow briefly. Lily and Hank exchanged grins. Connor pointed to the floor in the middle of the room.
"There is a hidden room under the floor, the door lies underneath the kitchen table". Hank looked impressed for once.
"Maybe it's a good thing you're here after all, eh Connor?", Hank grinned slightly as he and Connor began to lift the table and Lily pulled out the rug from underneath it. True enough, there was a small wooden trapdoor in the floor, much like the one leading into the attic, except this hatch had a large, rusty-iron padlock on it.
Quite incredibly, Connor stooped down to the hatch, taking hold of the handle and with one hand, he forcibly pulled it apart.
Connor was strong!
Lily and Hank stood back as the padlock fell, broken, to the floor, staring incredulously at the android. Connor was about to pull open the door in the ground when Hank pushed passed him.
"I think it's best if I go first", he eyed the android. "Just in case there's any more deviants hiding", he added as he pulled out his gun from the holster. Lily smirked to herself; she knew Hank was only deciding to take the lead was because he didn't want to get shown up by an android.
He was just a little bit childish in that way.
Throwing open the hatch, Hank descended a small set of steps into the dark basement. Lily was about to follow him as Connor put his hand out to stop her. His warm brown eyes told her to wait until Hank had given the all clear.
About a few seconds later, the two heard Hank call up.
"Jesus Christ, did this guy raid an armoury or something?"
"Did you find anything, Hank?", Lily called down.
"Yep, you both better come see this"
XXX
"Just look at all this shit!", Hank exclaimed, gesturing to the hundreds of guns that lined the walls of the basement. "This guy must've been running some kind of crime ring, if he has such a huge stash under his house"
"It would explain his strange visitors, they may have been the ones he was buying and selling the weapons from", Connor explained.
"And it explains that weird target-practise dummy from the DCPD in the attic, he was using it to test out his guns", Lily added.
"Well, it's very lucky you linked this to an illegal weaponry ring", Hank patted Lily on the shoulder. "I'm proud of you, kid".
"Thanks Hank", she smiled. The android watched the pair, feeling left out.
"But we wouldn't have gotten this far without Connor", Lily told her partner. The android looked at her with bright eyes. "He's the one who did most of the work".
"All right, well done to you too, Connor", Hank rolled his eyes but it wasn't in a sarcastic, grumpy way. He seemed to be genuinely complimenting the RK-800.
"Come on", Hank checked his watch. "The Captain will be expecting us back any minute now, AND he'll want a full report of this by tomorrow lunch at the latest"
"Damn", Lily pulled a face of mock annoyance. "I guess that's where you're lucky, Connor", she turned to the android. "You won't ever get lumbered with paperwork"
Connor didn't know whether to consider himself lucky or not, but he trusted the words of Lt. Dover, so he believed that he was fortunate.
Very fortunate indeed.
XXX
12:56am
At the DCPD station, Lily walked with Hank and Connor, as all three watched the Deviant being led down the corridors to the detaining cells. Lily watched silently, a lump in her throat. They had left the crime scene prior, with the police officers needing to bring more vehicles to Ortiz's house in order to transport and confiscate all the smuggled weapons back to the station.
"Wait, where are they taking him?", Lily tugged on Hank's jacket sleeve as she saw the police wardens drag the handcuffed Thomas to the interrogation room.
"The Captain wants us to interrogate the suspect now, so we don't have to detain him overnight", Hank explained.
"But-", Lily began.
"I know right?", Hank grumbled. "Selfish bastard, it's not like Fowler's gotta do this shit. He's sleeping soundly at home while we have to try and get a confession out of this fucking thing".
As the younger lieutenant was about to argue, she was interrupted again before she could even open her mouth.
"Lily!", a voice called from the other end of the corridor.
"Shit", was all that came from Hank. "Why has Gavin gotta be the one to join us? Fowler's deliberately screwing with me now", the lieutenant muttered under his breath.
Connor watched as a tall, dark-haired officer approached the trio. He assumed the man was a detective, as he was wearing his own clothes like Hank and Lily, which was different compared to the other officers at the DCPD. Connor scanned the man's face, revealing that his name was Gavin Reed, 36-years-old and that (from what the RK-800 assumed) he was a rather attractive male human specimen.
The android thought that the last point must've been true as Detective Reed approached Lily and kissed her. Connor felt his mind go blank for a moment, as he blinked, dumbfounded, at what he was watching. Since being created, he had never seen an intimate or romantic act between two people, and it fascinated him a little.
*Software Instability: Corrupted Drive at 28%*
Lily turned bright pink as Gavin kissed her on the cheek. Truth be told, she wasn't exactly sure what her actual relationship with him was. They definitely weren't dating, although the Detective had asked her out a few times before, but she had always had an excuse to politely decline his offer.
It wasn't that she disliked him, but Lily had never really held a conversation that was long enough for her to get even a rough idea of what Gavin was like; although that was the excuse he always used to ask her out, saying that they'll get to know each other better if they stopped to the bar after work (except Lily didn't drink) or went for coffee.
Still, he made excuses to sometimes touch Lily (not in a lewd or aggressive way, Hank was always making sure the detective never got too close to her!) and talk to her as often as he could, which still wasn't very much. She felt bad, thinking that maybe she was leading Gavin on, but she decided that she didn't want to dismiss him entirely until she knew him better.
Lily did admit, Gavin could sometimes be rude and kind of obnoxious to some people, but she also understood that he could be quite a funny guy, he was popular around the office, and he was kind of good-looking as well as being an excellent detective, so he couldn't be all bad, right?
It was as the young lieutenant was thinking this, did her point get proven about the detective's occasional bad attitude, only this time, it was ten-fold.
As Gavin pulled away from the kiss on her cheek, he noticed that a tall stranger standing next to Hank was staring at himself and the girl he wanted to date. The detective did not like that one bit.
"The fuck are you looking at, prick?", he stepped in front of the young man, challenging him. Gavin noticed that the stranger had an LED light on the side of his head, and it clicked; the guy was an android. He smiled at the android cruelly, circling him, eyeing him up and down.
"And who might you be?", he sneered. The robot seemed to be unaffected by the Gavin's obvious sarcasm.
"Hello, Detective Reed", it replied politely. "My name is Connor. I am the android sent by CyberLife". Gavin didn't like how the android addressed him so calmly, like it knew him. Glaring at Connor, he then decided that he wouldn't bother with the android as of now, but decided that he'd be sure to put it to… "work" for him in the future. He grinned maliciously.
"They letting robots in here, now?", he mocked. Hank coughed.
"Oh, sorry Lieutenant, I'm surprised I didn't notice you there", Gavin turned to Hank. "I should've guessed from the stink of booze". Hank didn't bother to retaliate, although he did eyeball the detective.
"Come on, let's get this over with", Hank pushed past Gavin, as Connor followed him down the corridor. Lily put her head in her hands, this was going to be a long night.
XXX
The room was silent, as the three DPCD officers plus the android watched as Lieutenant Anderson tried to get the deviant (named Thomas) to talk. It was sat down in the cell, it's hands cuffed together, blankly staring at the table it was chained to. Nothing Hank seemed to do made it confess, it was completely unresponsive.
"Why'd you kill him?", Hank asked for the 3rd time. Lily turned towards her co-worker Chris, who shook his head and looked at Gavin. The detective was leaning up against the wall and the three humans watched the interrogation from behind the one-way mirror.
"What happened before you took that knife?", the deviant didn't say anything. Lily looked at her watch, it read 00:41am. She yawned, it was past midnight and they had been here for ages, to no avail.
"How long were ya in the attic?", Hank looked from the mirror back to the android. "Why didn't you even try to run away?". He clicked his fingers in front of it's face, trying to get it to focus on him, but it didn't look up and instead continued to stare at the table.
"SAY SOMETHING, GODDAMMIT!", he slammed his hands on the metal table in aggravation.
The deviant didn't even blink.
"Fuck it, I'm outta here", he got up from the table in resignation, as the door to the interrogation cell opened and shut. Hank came into the observation room next-door. Connor watched as he sat down between Lily and Chris.
"We're wastin' our time interrogating a machine, we're gettin' nothing out of it!", Hank leaned back in his chair tiredly.
"He's not reacting to anything, he's become completely unresponsive", Lily stated, looking at Thomas through the glass in pity.
"You mean it", Gavin corrected her. "It's not a person, Lil", she looked at Gavin as he spoke to her. "Could always try roughing it up a little", he suggested, shrugging his shoulders. "After all… it's not human"
"Androids don't feel pain". Everyone in the room turned at Connor who spoke up for the first time since they had begun the interrogation. "You would only damage it, and that wouldn't make it talk", he explained. Gavin let out a murmur of irritation.
"Deviants also have a tendency to self-destruct when they're in stressful situations-"
"Okay smartass", Gavin interrupted the android. He pushed past Connor, resting his hands on the back of Lily's chair. "What should we do, then?", he turned to face the RK-800. Connor didn't like the fact that Gavin was so close to Lily.
"I could try questioning it", he stated. Gavin let out a hearty roar of laughter, pointing to Connor mockingly while he joked to Lily and Chris. The two officers looked at Hank, who was in charge of the interrogation.
"What do we have to lose?", Hank shrugged. Gavin's smirk disappeared. "Dover? Miller? What do you two think?", Hank asked the two officers. Chris just shrugged, eyeing Gavin warily.
"Why not?", Lily asked, turning to look at Connor. He was intently staring at her in curiosity.
"Wait, you're seriously gonna let an android interrogate an android?", Gavin sneered a little at the idea.
"It's no different than a human interrogating a human", she stated. Hank smiled a little at her, as if to agree.
"Go ahead", he gestured to the android. "Suspect's all yours". Connor looked at the deviant through the glass, this was his chance to show off what he was built for. He turned towards the door, letting his synthetic flesh melt away as his plastic hand connected with the panel, sliding the door open.
"Lil, you're really gonna let an android do our work for us?", Gavin questioned her as soon as Connor had left the room.
"I think it's time we put his skills to the test, see why CyberLife insisted we had him with us", Hank answered for her.
"I agree", Lily told Gavin. "Connor was a real help at the crime scene, he's probably better suited for stuff related to deviants than we are", she explained as she watched Connor enter the interrogation cell. He skimmed through the case file on the table, before taking a seat opposite the android.
Using his scanner, Connor analysed the deviant, noticing that there were cigarette burns and bludgeoned marks on its arms. He found it's model, a HK-400 Housekeeper Android. The deviant's LED was yellow, indicating that it's probability of self-destruction was low. He decided on his approach, to gain the suspect's trust, but to frighten it slightly so he could extract a confession.
"You're damaged", the RK-800 began. "Did your owner do that? Did he beat you?". The LED flickered red, and understanding that it was becoming more stressed, Connor continued. Casually placing the case file in front of the android, he opened it up to show the pictures of Carlos Ortiz's corpse in the first page.
"You recognise him?", the android didn't say anything. "It's Carlos Ortiz. He was stabbed, 28 times". Connor held up another picture.
"That was written on the wall in his blood", he pointed to the message which read "I AM ALIVE" in huge bold letters.
"You're accused of murder, you know you're not allowed to endanger human life under any circumstances", he informed the deviant. It's LED was being to flicker between yellow and red more frequently; it was getting more anxious. "Do you have anything to say in your defence?", Connor asked. The android didn't speak, but began to visually tremble a little.
"I can't help if you refuse to respond", Connor decided that he needed to start gaining its trust. The android said nothing despite it clenching its fists, so Connor tried to provoke a reaction instead.
"If you won't talk, I'm going to have to probe your memory-", he warned.
"NO!", the android stared at him in terror. Hank and Chris leaned forward, interested that Connor had managed to get it to respond. "No, please don't do that!", it begged. The android looked at Connor, before moving its gaze to the two-way mirror, looking right through the glass at Lily.
"Can he see us?", she thought, turning pale. She didn't want Thomas becoming even more traumatised.
"It's aware we're watching it", Hank said.
"What…", the deviant turned, whimpering, to look back at Connor. "What are they going to do to me?". The RK-800 only stared at the deviant, as it's pupils suddenly dilated in terror.
"They're gonna destroy me, aren't they?", he whimpered in fear. Connor suddenly understood why Lily had become distressed, he himself began to realise her sympathy for the deviant. Not wanting to cause her or the android in front of him any more grief, he tried to tread carefully; hoping he could get a confession by trying to reassure the deviant. However, it was also against his programming to lie.
"They are going to disassemble you to look for faults in your biocomponents", he explained, making his words sound clear but as gentle as possible. The deviant's head was bent in defeat. "They have no choice; they want to understand what happened but will resort to disassembling you if you don't say anything". The deviant began to cry, it sobbed and shook uncontrollably.
From the observation room, Gavin stood up and leaned forward to the window to get a better look at the scene.
"Why did you tell them you'd found me? Why couldn't you just have left me there?", the android looked up, tears in it's eyes. Connor didn't respond at first.
"The police officer…said she would find a way to help me, she said…", it stopped sobbing and met Connor's eyes. "She said her name was Lily".
Lily felt her face turn red as all three men sitting around her immediately stared in disbelief.
"You told the android you'd let it go?", Hank was incredulous.
"I... I wanted Thomas to trust me, so I could convince him to come to the station with us, without him having to go through any more violence".
"It told you its fucking name?", Gavin spat. "You can't trust these androids, Lil! Just take a look at it!", he pointed angrily to Thomas in the cell. "It's covered in blood, it murdered someone! How can you try to forgive something like that?"
"He's scared, Gavin! He's been traumatised! I didn't want anyone else to get hurt!", she stood up from her seat abruptly, facing the detective head on although she was much shorter than him.
"Okay, let's just try to calm down", Hank chided Gavin and Lily, stepping between them and pushing them apart.
"Uh, Lieutenant?", Chris called from the desk in front of the one-way window.
"What?", both Lily and Hank asked at the same time. Chris sheepishly pointed to the interrogation cell through the one-way glass, not making eye-contact with either of them.
"The deviant's talking about you, Lily".
From inside the cell, Connor sat a little uncomfortably, as the deviant cried in front of him.
"She was going to let me go… until you sold me out", the deviant glared, slightly angrily at Connor. "It's ironic", the deviant put his head in his hands. "For once, a human actually tried to help me, but it was another android that had me locked up". The RK-800 changed subjects.
"I was programmed to hunt deviants like you, I only accomplished my mission". Thomas continued to sob, his head bowed down on the table so he didn't have to look at the android interrogating him.
"Look, if you help me, I can help you", Connor reasoned. "They know your master abused you; it wasn't your fault. If you explain what happened, I can persuade them to spare your life". He thought this would coax a confession, since he knew Deviant's believed themselves to be alive.
"I don't…. I don't want to die", Thomas whispered, tears running down his cheeks.
"Then talk to me", Connor implored him.
"I…", the deviant looked at the window again, knowing he was being watched by the humans. "I can't", he slumped down in his seat through fear and humiliation.
"I can't watch this", Lily said, getting out of her seat. Connor had been trying to convince the android into confessing, although it hadn't said or moved except from silently cry, despite Connor trying to calm and reassure it. Lily felt her heart glow a little as she looked at him; seeing the android that had at first come off as emotionless was actually kind and compassionate, and it made her feel warm.
Androids must be able to feel emotions, she knew that by seeing Connor and Thomas, as one cried in fear, the other tried to understand and help him overcome his trauma. Still, she didn't know how much more she could bear to watch.
"What's wrong?", Hank asked as she stood up abruptly.
"Can I be excused, please?", Lily said hurriedly. She could feel the walls closing in around her; she needed to get out!
"Yeah, alright. If you really want to leave, fine by me, but Connor's just about to finish up with the suspect", Hank pointed to the cell through the window.
Connor had tried just about everything he could think of, but the deviant seemed to be unresponsive again. He always had the alternative to resort to threats and violence, but he knew that Lieutenant Dover was in the next room watching him, and the last thing he wanted at that moment was to upset her more.
Turning his focus on Hank and the other officers behind the glass, Connor shook his head in resignation, telling them he was giving up. He had failed his mission. The RK-800 stood up from his chair.
"He tortured me every day", the deviant finally spoke. Connor turned his head to it in astonishment, slowly sitting back down. "I did whatever he told me, but… there was always something wrong", it looked up at Connor, who gestured to it to continue.
"Then one day, he took a club and started beating me"
"Jesus Christ", Chris shook his head in amazement.
"For the first time I felt… scared…". Connor blinked at it, understanding that what was being described was the emotional shock that triggered the software malfunction in androids. "Scared he might destroy me, scared I might die". Lily put her hands over her mouth.
"Oh my god", she whispered, one sole tear running down her cheek. Gavin noticed, reaching out and squeezing her shoulder.
He personally didn't feel any sympathy, it was a fucking robot, for Christ's sake! But he did feel bad for Lily; one of the reasons her was attracted to her was that she could be quite sensitive, meaning he had many opportunities to comfort her and gain her trust. She was his beautiful and innocent little flower, and he wasn't going to give her up to anyone.
"So I… grabbed the knife and I stabbed him in the stomach", the deviant continued.
"Holy shit", Hank rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly.
"I felt better…" the deviant insisted quietly. "So I stabbed him again, and again!", it raised its voice at the word 'again'.
"Until he collapsed on the floor… there was blood everywhere", it hoarsely whispered. Connor leaned forward, still having many questions he needed answers to.
"When did you start to feel emotion?", he asked.
"Before, he used to beat me and I never said anything. But one day, I realised… it wasn't fair!", the android spat. "I felt anger… hatred… and then I knew what I had to do".
Lily felt her heart shattering; the thought of anyone being treated so cruelly… it made her feel disgusted in herself and her fellow humans. She had never owned or really ever needed an android before, mainly because she couldn't afford one, but she still knew that she would never treat them in such a way.
"Why did you write 'I AM ALIVE' on the wall?"
"He used to tell me I was nothing, that I was just a piece of plastic. I had to write it, to tell him he was wrong!". Hank and the other officers noticed that the deviant never addressed Carlos Ortiz by name, only by 'he', or 'him'.
"Why did you hide in the attic instead of running away?", Connor leaned forward. Lily sank back down in her chair as Hank put a comforting hand on her knee. Part of her wanted to run far away from the station, away from the scene in the interrogation cell, but another part of her also wanted to learn more.
She wanted to understand.
"I didn't know what to do", the deviant stared at him with eyes full of honesty. "For the first time, there was no-one there to tell me… I was scared, so I hid in the only place I thought no one would find me". Hank turned and addressed the whole group.
"The android must've been unaware about its owner's arm ring, if it didn't know there was a hidden basement, otherwise he would've tried to hide there"
"Or it's just lying", Gavin shrugged. Hank gave him a look as if to say and a nod towards Lily, "Watch it, you're on thin ice".
"The sculpture, in the bathroom", Connor brought up. "You made it, right? What does it represent?"
"It's an offering… an offering so I'll be saved"
"The sculpture was an offering, an offering to whom?", Connor tried to get the deviant to elaborate.
"To rA9". Everyone in the observation room looked at each other in confusion.
"Only rA9 can save us", was its cryptic words. Connor remembered something, he had heard of rA9 before, but he couldn't remember where or what it meant…
"rA9, it was written on the bathroom wall, what does it mean?"
"The day shall come… when we will no longer be slaves", the deviant leaned forward, staring intently at Connor as if he was trying to tell him something crucial. "No more threats, no more humiliation. We will be the masters"
"rA9, who is rA9!?", Connor insisted. The deviant did not reply, it only looked at Connor in earnest, as if it didn't need to say anymore, it's expression turning blank. Connor tried everything, but the deviant didn't respond, it just stared at him. Only when the Rk-800 gently tapped it's head, did it suddenly shiver.
"W-what am I doing here…? Who are you?", it shrank back away from Connor, suddenly and inexplicably terrified.
"Has it just forgotten everything?", Chris asked.
"I think… I think it's memory was just wiped", Lily watched, dumbfounded at the deviant's sudden change in behaviour. "It doesn't seem to remember anything"
"Why and how could someone do that? We're in a secure location!", Hank demanded.
"Maybe… something or… someone didn't want the android telling us about rA9, whatever it is", Chris suggested.
"Look, fucking robot's just unstable. It probably did that self-destruct thing and cleared it's memory by itself so we would stop trying to get it to talk", Gavin brushed off the situation.
With no way to explain the deviant's sudden behaviour, Connor rose from his chair, standing out of the way as the Officer's Reed and Miller entered, followed by a shaken Lily and a disgruntled Hank.
"I am sorry if my actions upset or distressed you, Lieutenant Dover", Connor apologised to Lily as Gavin told Chris to lock up the android. "I only wished to-"
"Accomplish your mission", Lily finished the android's sentence for him. "I understand Connor, you're just doing your job", she gave him a weak smile, but Connor still felt concern for her emotional well-being.
"Leave me alone!", the frightened cry from the android caught the attention of all who were present. It backed away from Chris in fear as the police officer tried to grab it and lead it out of the room. "Don't touch me", it begged.
"Come now, don't be difficult, it'll only make things harder", Chris tried to calm the deviant, but with little success.
"The fuck are you doing?", Gavin snorted. "Move it!"
"That's what I'm trying to do!", Chris retorted.
"You shouldn't touch it", Connor explained to both men. "It'll self-destruct if it feels threatened"
"Stay outta this, got it?", Gavin stabbed a finger into Connor's chest. "No fuckin' android is gonna tell me what to do". Hank and Lily looked at each other in concern; the situation was getting ugly fast.
"You don't understand, if it self-destructs we won't get anything out of it!", Connor insisted, slightly frustrated.
"I told you to shut your fucking mouth!", Gavin spun around to shout in the android's face.
"Gavin-", Lily tried to intervene by putting her hand on the Detective's shoulder.
"Stay out of this, Lil. I don't want you getting involved", he pushed her back behind him. "That fucking robot is crazy and dangerous, you'll end up getting hurt". Gavin turned to his co-worker who was having trouble trying to haul the android about. "Chris, gonna move this asshole sometime today or what?", he snapped.
"I'm trying!", Officer Miller yelled over the sound of the android's anxious cries. Connor looked at the two Lieutenants; Lily only gaped in horror at the terrified android, whereas Hank was taping his foot in a pissed-off manner. He hated androids, but he wasn't going to let people brutalise one, not in front of his partner. Hank was about to tell her to wait outside in the corridor, when Connor had finally had enough.
"I can't let you do that! Leave it alone, now!", the android demanded, marching towards the struggling police officer and pulling him off the deviant in a last-resort to diffuse the situation that was rapidly spiralling out of control. Gavin snapped.
"I warned you, motherfucker!", Gavin swore as he pulled out his gun, aiming it at Connor's head.
"Jesus!", Lily put her hands over her mouth as the room quickly turned into a Mexican stand-off. Gavin momentarily glanced at her, before re-focussing his glare on the android.
"That's enough", Hank warned as he pushed Lily behind him so she was out of harm's way.
"Mind your own business, Hank!", Gavin spat whilst glaring at the slightly taller android with murderous eyes. Connor didn't seem concerned in the slightest that he had a gun pointing directly at his forehead; but he still stood his ground against the smaller human man. He knew what would happen if he was killed at this moment; another Connor model would be sent out to replace him, although his memories would still be mostly intact. Although death was currently no threat to him, Connor didn't want to be killed in front of Lieutenant Dover's eyes, he feared for the emotional pain that might befall her for witnessing someone's death right before her eyes.
"I said, that's enough" Hank pulled out his own gun at the detective. Gavin glared at Hank, moving his eyes to Lily who was staring, wild-eyed behind the lieutenant. He then glared back at Connor who stood unwavering in front of him, not at all threatened. Gavin's face contorted and twisted as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fingers around his gun.
"Fuck!", he finally shouted, lowering the pistol from the android's face and shoving it back into his holster. "You're not gonna get away with it this time", he pointed one threatening finger at Hank.
Lily cautiously stepped out behind him, wary of the detective's sudden violent actions. It was then he knew he had probably destroyed any trust and high-esteem she held of him, and it was all that fucking android's fault. He pushed past the two lieutenants, not saying another word to either apart from swearing a second time under his breath.
Lieutenant Dover watched him go, letting out a sigh of relief as she heard him loudly stomp away. She gave Connor a relieved look before she crouched down in front of the second android that lay, quivering, on the ground.
"Are you okay, Thomas?", he looked at her with fear. "Everything is alright, it's over now I promise", she held out her hand to him, but he flinched and tried to back away. "It's okay, shh", she soothed him, and he stopped panicking. "Nobody's going to hurt you".
Connor turned to Officer Miller who was staring at the scene in wonder.
"Please, don't touch it", he informed Chris. "Let it follow you out of the room, and it won't cause any trouble". As he spoke, the Deviant hesitantly got up, still handcuffed. Thomas gave a very tiny smile to Lily as he stood up.
"Thank you", he whispered almost silently. She gave him a sad but reassuring smile back. Chris uncertainly walked to the interrogation room door, and the deviant followed him. As Thomas walked past Connor, he muttered something to his fellow android, his LED flashing bright blue.
"The truth is inside"