10:25am
Kara waited for Alice to finish bathing and getting dressed in the Motel's bathroom. Trying to keep herself occupied, she turned on the TV, switching from the kids cartoon Alice had been watching and across the other channels until she found…. a picture of herself on the news station.
"Thanks Michael", the presenter said. "I'm joined today by Corktown resident Todd Williams who was violently attacked by his AX400 around 11pm last night. Todd, can you tell us what happened?"
Kara stared in shock as she watched the news report which claimed that the Detroit Police Force were searching for her!
"I was having dinner, I was minding my own business... damn thing jumped on me", Todd's voice came from the TV as he lied about the events of yesterday evening. "I managed to defend myself, but it went crazy…I thought it was gonna kill me, but luckily it ran away", he continued, putting on the voice of a traumatised victim.
"Thank you, Todd. This incident brings disturbing news for android owners everywhere, police have launched an investigative search to find the rogue android-", Kara quickly turned off the TV, unable to hear anymore. The only thing that could be deemed as lucky, was that there was no mention of Alice on the news, so luckily, they'd both be a little bit better at staying inconspicuous.
Alice emerged from the bathroom fully dressed.
"It's not true! He's lying! He's the one who tried to hurt us!", she cried, obviously having heard the TV report. "What are we gonna do, Kara?", she ran into the young woman's arms, as the two shared a comforting hug.
"That android yesterday, he gave me an address, said we could get help there", she explained to the little girl, as both agreed to head off to the location immediately. The sooner they moved the better. While Alice put on her shoes, Kara pulled back the curtain to the motel room.
She had no sooner done this, before instantly regretting the action. Out in the rain, there were many police cars, and two were pulled into the Motel's car park. Kara saw three people walk into the reception, one was a grey-haired slightly overweight man, the other was a young male android that she had never seen before, and the third…
Kara gasped in horror, seeing Lily with them. Of course… she did work at the DCPD, she had explicitly told them last night. The last thing Kara wanted was for the kind girl who helped herself and Alice last night to be the one to arrest and catch them.
"Alice, we need to leave now!", Kara grabbed the raincoat and beanie she'd reluctantly taken from the Laundrette's last night and yanked them on. Alice had only just finished putting on her shoes when Kara had hurriedly taken her hand and practically ran to the motel room door.
"Kara, what's wrong-"
"We need to go NOW!", she cried, as she and the young girl ran outside, and Kara locked the room's door, hoping it would slow down the police if they believed them to be inside. The pair then quickly dashed down the steps to hide.
XXX
The car ride was quiet, aside from the usual Heavy Metal CD that played on the stereo in Hank's car. Connor thought he understood why Hank put on the loud music; it stopped anyone from having to talk in the car. Nevertheless, he still tried to make conversation, after spotting a sports billboard which they passed.
"You're a Detroit Gears fan, right, Lieutenant Anderson?"
"What makes you say that?", Hank asked, already irritated.
"The basketball cap at your desk", he explained. "Do you like the sport, Miss Dover?". Lily turned to look at him from the front seat.
"Er, no. I wasn't ever really interested in basketball", she shrugged. "You can just call us Lily and Hank though, you know that, right?". Connor nodded, his robotic interior feeling warm and pleasant.
"Denton Carter scored 53% of his shots from the three-point line yesterday", the android recited some statistics from the "DetroitWeekly" sports magazine (which he had read while waiting for Hank earlier in the morning). "Did you see the game, Hank?", he asked politely, feeling proud that he was on a first name-basis with his new partners.
"That's what I was watching at the bar last night", Hank's usual sarcastic reply came from the driver's seat. Lily watched Connor, feeling her heart burst as the android let out the cutest "oh" she had ever heard anyone say.
Sadly, she didn't have much time to think about it, as the car stopped; indicating that they had arrived at the motel the deviant had last been seen at. Lily got out of the car and looked around; they were in Camden, in the Ravendale District. She had been here just last night, when she had shopped at the convenience store down the road and met that lovely woman and her daughter. Lily pulled up her hood due to the rain, as she examined the motel. It was the average, crappy cheap place anyone could get, but she remembered that she had pointed it out to Kara and Alice the night before.
She wondered if she would meet them this morning.
As the trio headed inside, they were met by a man at the motel reception. "Lieutenant Anderson, Detroit Police", Hank said as he held out his holographic badge. "We're looking for a female android, she was seen at a store down the road and stealing clothes from the local laundrette. You see anything?".
"An android? No, I don't take any damn androids here", the man behind the counter smirked, looking at directly Connor.
"Have you seen anyone that looks like this?", Connor held up a photo of the AX-400. Lily hadn't seen the picture, they had made their way to the trail so quickly she hadn't had time, but she recognised most android models so she initially didn't find this to be an issue. The guy behind the counter reluctantly checked the photo Connor held, before the sudden look of realisation hit him.
"Fuck… I knew there was something weird about her", he said. "She came in last night; she was dressed normal you know? There was no way I could tell", the receptionist explained.
"Is it still here?", Hank asked, looking about the room.
"Yeah, probably. Room 28", the guy pointed to the block of motel rooms outside the reception windows.
"Thanks", Lily said politely as they went back outside. Hank immediately grabbed his radio, calling Detective Collins at the DCPD station.
"Ben? Yeah… it's still at the motel. Send some uniforms and cordon off the area, me and Lil are going up now", he told the detective. Putting down his radio, Hank immediately turned to Connor.
"You wait in the car", he demanded, as Lily pulled out her gun, checking the ammo.
"I think it's best if I go with you", Connor diplomatically tried to reason with the lieutenant.
"Listen", Hank snapped. "I'm tired of you talkin' back to me. You're a machine, so shut the fuck up and do as I say"
"All I want is to accomplish my mission, I'm sorry if that upsets you", Connor said sarcastically as he crossed his arms. Lily smirked, the android was already copying Hank's stubborn nature.
"Let him come, Hank. He can help us", she walked over to the two of them.
"You wanna see the end of your mission? Stop bustin' my fucking balls", he snapped, poking Connor in the chest. "Come on, Lil".
As Connor was about to turn back to the Lieutenant, Lily nodded upwards to the hotel room, signalling that it was alright for him to accompany them both. After all, her and Hank had the same status, meaning that she was able to undermine him sometimes. The android followed her up to room 28, where Hank stood outside the motel room door, gun in hand. He gave the two of them sarcastic looks, but didn't say anything and instead put a finger to his lips. Lily pulled out her gun, as she and Hank stood outside the room.
She reached out and slowly opened the handle, as the three silently entered the motel room. Creeping around, they examined the place, checking the bathroom, under the beds, in the wardrobe, but nothing to be found. Hank rolled his eyes.
"Great, it's already gone", Hank sighed, putting away his gun.
"Let's still check to see if we can find any clues", Lily shrugged, holstering her own gun. Connor walked into the bathroom, finding locks of cut hair, a pair of scissors and a torn-off LED. He came back into the main room to show his findings.
"There is an LED and cut hair in the sink, as well as uneaten sandwiches in the bathroom bin", Connor explained.
"It must be a deviant", Hank examined the android's findings. "No human would waste perfectly good cheese and ham sandwiches like these".
Lily looked at the food wrappers, the feeling of dread starting to swirl in her stomach. She spotted something on the floor, so she crouched down by one of the beds, wide eyed. Lying next to the bed was a stuffed animal, an orange fox, and she was certain she had seen it before. Looking at the toy's label, she saw "RALPH" written in black ink.
It was Alice's toy.
"Connor", she said suddenly with a worried tone as she called over the android. "What does the deviant look like again?". He held up his hand, showing the electronic picture which appeared on his palm.
"Oh my god", Lily's blood went cold.
How could she have been so stupid!? All the evidence matched up! She had even thought she recognised Kara at the time. However, she wasn't worrying about how much this would probably cost her job and her brand-new promotion, but that Kara and Alice were on the run, and they could be in serious danger! Lily thought it strange at how there was no mention of a little girl, only a rogue android, but she didn't have time to think about that now. Rushing to the motel door, Hank suddenly called out to her, making Lily stop in her tracks.
"Woah cowgirl, where's the stampede?"
"You know when we came here yesterday?", she explained as quickly as her mouth would let her talk. "Well I saw the AX-400 last night! It was at the store with a little girl, and-"
"Wait a minute, if you were in the store, why didn't you get identified on camera? We saw the deviant, but there wasn't any mention of you, or the deviant being with a kid!"
"I… guess I had my hood up or something, I don't know!", she rushed out the motel door and down the steps as her two partners followed her. "But that's not what's important now-", Lily cut off as she saw Connor walking to a corner of the car park, near a digital vending machine.
"Connor, we don't have time for snacks", Hank said as he rolled his eyes. The android bent down and picked something off the floor, he held it up, beckoning the lieutenants over to him.
"What's that?", Lily asked. It was some sort of white card.
"It's the key to room 28", Connor said, looking at the fire escape next to the vending machine. "The deviant came through here recently; I scanned the car park before we went up to it's room, and this wasn't here before".
Lily and Hank simultaneously understood as all three looked at the door to the motel's ground-floor fire escape. A noise came from inside. Hank pulled out his gun as Lily and Connor quickly snuck up to the door. As it was pulled open, the trio saw it was some very small room which contained cleaning equipment like mops and brooms, and the door which led to the outside street was swinging shut.
The deviant had just left.
They all broke into a sprint, flying out into the street as they spotted a confused police officer at the other end of the road. Connor and Lily ran up to him first, with Hank not being able to keep him with their speed.
"Which way did they go?", Lily asked the DCPD officer quickly.
"That way - they're headed for the train station!", he pointed down the street. Taking off, Lily and Connor raced down the street, with the android managing to take the lead due to his size and stamina.
Lily was glad she had worn appropriate footwear; her brown ankle boots were useful as they didn't have high heels or any other difficult feature that made them hard to move in. She splashed through puddles passing lit-up shops, as she gave chase.
"Move! DETROIT POLICE!", she shouted at the top of her lungs, sending the scattered pedestrians to part, creating a clear path through the crowd. Unfortunately, one tubby man carrying his shopping didn't move in time. Lily tried to stop herself but the wet pavement only made her slide and slip about.
She closed her eyes and braced for impact as she slammed into the man, toppling over and landing hard on her rear end which hit the pavement. Connor stopped, skidded to a halt as he stared in her concern. He was about to run over to her and help before she called out to him.
"Don't worry about me! Go after them!", she shouted to the android. He reluctantly nodded and raced after the deviant. Hank ran after him as well as a several DCPD officers.
Lily shakily got up, checking to see if the man who had tripped her up was alright, before she managed to follow the trail. She looked over herself quickly, her ankle hurt but she could still run fine so she sprinted off again; hoping to catch Kara and Alice before they were in any harm.
XXX
Connor raced ahead, when he reached the end of the street near the train station, a police officer whistled to get his attention.
"They're over there!", he pointed down an alleyway between the shops and train station. Connor took off down the backstreet, spotting the deviant and the little girl climbing over the wire-mesh fence. He jumped over a discarded shopping trolley as well as other litter with incredible agility, finally reaching the end of the alley.
Connor saw the female AX-400 through the fence, she stared at him with scared eyes, as suddenly a DCPD officer appeared behind Connor, pointing his gun at the deviant.
"Don't shoot, we need it alive!", Connor told him. As soon as he took his eyes off the deviant, she ran, sliding down the muddy slope on the other side of the fence with the little girl she was with, as they both ran towards the highway.
Kara held onto Alice tight, as the frightened little girl held on to her guardian. Getting across the highway was their only chance of escaping the police; Kara was certain none would try to follow.
Hank finally caught up to Connor, as Detective Collins joined the group amongst many other members of the DCPD, all staring in awe as the situation unfolded.
"Jesus christ…", the detective swore, turning white.
"Oh fuck", Hank wheezed, out of breath from the chase. "That's insane"
"I can't look", a female officer covered her eyes. Connor began to climb the fence.
"Hey! Where you goin'?" Hank demanded, grabbing hold of the android's jacket.
"I can't let them get away", he insisted.
"They won't", Hank shook his head with solemn certainty. "They'll never make it to the other side"
"I can't take that chance", the android tried to climb up higher.
"HEY! You will get yourself killed!", Hank pulled the RK-800's jacket down, keeping him in the alley. "Do NOT go after 'em Connor, that's an order! And the same goes for all of you!", Hank pointed to the crowd of police officers.
XXX
As Lily raced down the alley, she saw the group of DCPD members, including Chris, Detective Collins as well as Hank and Connor. She was near enough to see what was on the other side of the fence; a highway. Lily felt her heart stop momentarily through fear.
She could tell Hank wasn't letting anyone give chase, judging by the way her partner held on to Connor's jacket, keeping him confined to the alley. Luckily, she wasn't asking for Hank's permission. She wasn't going to let Kara and Alice die because no one else had the guts to go after them!
Speeding down the alley, Lily took the crowd by surprise (as none had noticed her approaching) as she free-ran, jumping up on some huge discarded crates in the backstreet giving her enough height to leap across the wire fence, shouting "Dibs!" as she flew past Hank.
"LILY!", she heard him roar her name as he grabbed at her jacket, letting go of Connor. Luckily, she slid out of her short, hooded coat allowing her to leap over the fence and out of his grasp.
"COME BACK! IT'S SUICIDE!", Hank screamed at the top of his lungs.
"But they'll die if I don't catch up to them!", she shouted back to the alleyway and everyone who watched from there. The lieutenant slid down the slippery mud slope on the other side of the fence, getting some mud on her jeans but miraculously, none on her white blouse.
The lieutenant raced at top speed over the side of the highway, right into the oncoming traffic that travelled across the wide road at furious mileage. She chased after the young woman and little girl, dodging, jumping and sliding over cars as they sped past her.
Connor didn't even wait a second to go after her.
"CONNOR, GODDAMIT!", Hank shouted after the android who leapt over the fence.
*Software Instability: Corrupted Drive at 43%*
Reaching the middle part of the highway between the two lanes going in opposite directions, Lily had nearly caught up with the ones she was chasing. As the deviant tried to escape with the little girl, Kara got hit by a car. It was as the vehicle rushed past her quickly, pushing the female deviant forward and sending her to her knees, although she was luckily unhurt.
"Kara!", Alice cried as she ran towards her - in the direct path of a huge truck.
Lily felt the seconds blur, as she surged forward and grabbed the little girl, pulling her out of harms way by only a fraction of a second. Hank covered his eyes from the alleyway, unable to watch the terrifying scene.
"Alice!", Kara screamed, hurrying to her feet and rushing over to the lieutenant and little girl.
"Don't do this Kara! You'll both be killed!", Lily shouted above the incredibly loud roar of traffic around them.
"I'm sorry", Kara grabbed hold of Alice's hand, a tear rolling down her cheek. Lily was shoved backwards, the little girl torn away from her reach as she fell back into the road.
"LILY!", Connor shouted at the top of his lungs, he had just reached the middle area between the lanes as he surged forward to reach her. He felt his heart beating madly, his veins coursing with what was the android equivalent of adrenaline.
It was at this moment, he felt his first real emotion; fear
Connor was scared, terrified even, for Lily. He watched as time itself slowed down, stretching a single moment into what felt like a minute, as he saw Lily try to scramble off the highway as a huge, heavy-goods delivery vehicle from CyberLife came charging towards her.
Seeing her in danger frightened him more than any criminal or investigation ever could. Connor knew how fragile humans were, if he died he would be rebuilt, have his memories transferred and it would take an hour or so for the new Connor to continue where the old one had left off.
But if Lily died, she was gone for good.
He analysed the situation, calculating her speed, the CyberLife carrier's average speed and the current most likely outcome; it wasn't good.
"No!", he thought desperately. "I can't let that happen! I have to save her!", were the android's last thoughts as he dived towards the lieutenant.
*Software Instability: Corrupted Drive at 49%*