Connor was at his desk working on a new case that had been assigned. Several androids had been kidnapped only to find a few days later killed in some varied location with biocomponents missing. It was a worrying case for Connor and it definitely stressed him that he could not easily detect anything with the evidence they had. His LED spun amber as he analysed the pictures again, like last time he found nothing. With an exasperated sigh, he lowered his head to the desk in an unsaid word of defeat.
"Hey, Connor. Take a break, it'll help ya. You've been at that screen for about five hours now. Haven't seen you get up once." He looked up and saw Hank was the one talking to him, a look of concern was on the humans face.
"I'm...I'm fine. I've only been doing this for three hours and forty-two minutes. Five hours is a little bit on an exaggeration Lieutenant.." Connor made sure to call Hank by his title at work, it seemed right to him. He needed to maintain professional attire after all. Even if Hank said it wasn't needed, it felt wrong to him to ignore the work setting and the expectancy of how officers should act. Given the environment, he worked in though...He shouldn't hold too close to those ideas. The place was fairly lax after all.
The android sighed as he sat back up, looking at the pictures of the lifeless androids. "It just doesn't make sense. All victims have nothing in common, all different models, different biocomponents taken and even then not all of them are taken. If it's someone selling them, why leave some behind? They all happen at different times and different areas..." He trailed off with a frustrated groan.
"Sounds to me you're overthinking things. Take a few minutes, no one's going to care. If you don't, I'll drag your ass out of that chair myself." Hank paused and tapped on the table a little. "You might be the state of the art prototype or whatever, but you can't work yourself to the ground like this. You'll burn yourself out and then what can you do? Just...take five minutes away from this at least."
Connor didn't want to take a break, he was a machine. He was meant to be able to handle a job like this. He should be able to keep working, to not let anything distract him but he found himself frustrated and unable to think. The android was tempted to throw the computer at something but restrained himself, he needed to keep himself together and avoid being suspended this early into his new career. So because of this, the android was resigned to his fate and stood up, heading to the break room and sat at one of the empty tables. Wanting somewhere close to relaxing in so he can quickly resume work after his short break.
Connor shook his head and took out his phone that Hank gave him, mainly so he had the choice to contact him if he didn't want to use his own inbuilt systems but he mainly used his phone for music. The android put in his earphones and selected the song he wanted, from an old musical and closed his eyes, tapping to the song. He had chosen 'Good Kid' from the Percy Jackson musical that was around 2017. He was interested in many things and mythology was on that list. He also loved musicals, more so the old ones, because they had so much energy and so much emotion and character. It fascinated him also how they were timeless, well to him anyways.
He had the song on loop, being lost in the song and the emotion behind it that he barely realised two minutes passing to five, then to fifteen and so forth. He was in his own little space. He sighed in contentment, as he leant forward and rested his head in his arms and kept his eyes closed. He wasn't asleep, just resting his eyes as humans would say and the deviant could not lie. He needed this. Connor always wanted to deny it because, in the back of his mind, he was still an android. A machine. Most androids took it out of their lives and identified as human and the rest kept the title but took advantage of those human needs as they should. Yet Connor kept some of his past mentality, it wasn't easy when it was in his own coding.
Connor pushed those thoughts away and just focused on the music. Well, he would have if it wasn't for a hand roughly tapping his shoulder, so with a repressed sigh he turned off his music and took the earphones out. As the deviant turned to see who was interrupting him, he felt his annoyance surface. He was not in the mood to handle Gavin today.
"May I help you, detective?" Connor spoke, trying to remain as polite and formal as he could.
"What the fuck are you doing here Tin Can? Aren't you supposed to be on a case or whatever? You're a fucking android, you don't need breaks." Gavin huffed, giving Connor a glare. The android wished Hank was here to help him but it seemed he was off getting lunch for himself, this was apparent given the lieutenant's absence.
"If you must know detective, the case provided us little evidence and I am making do with what I have. I needed a break as even when I was following CyberLife's orders, it was mandatory I took at least a half hour break at some point during the day for optimal efficiency." The android put his phone in his jacket pocket and stood up.
"Well, it shouldn't be hard for a plastic prick like you. Didn't you say you were like a prototype or whatever? Some stupid android case should be nothing. Unless you really are just defective, maybe that killer is onto something." The human laughed. "Who knows, maybe the killer is just another one of you pricks wanting attention."
Connor froze for a second. "Can...you repeat that detective?" Connor paused then held his finger up. "Without any snide remarks about me or my systems."
"Maybe the killer is just another one of you pricks wanting attention?" Gavin repeated, slightly confused but he shrugged it off. "Whatever, just fuck off back to your stupid case and leave me alone." With that though, Connor did not need to be told twice.
"I am...such an idiot, thank you, detective!" Connor spoke aloud as he darted to his desk, ignoring the confused look from the others. He pulled up the evidence again and with the thought in mind started piecing it together. "No fingerprints, parts removed with precision...But it doesn't explain why it attacked different models in different places...unless…"
"Connor! The fuck you doing, I thought we agreed you took a break." Connor turned, startled by the lieutenant's sudden arrival.
"You don't question me, and I won't question the fact you had food from the Chicken Feed again...I assume that's where you went anyway." Connor didn't leave more time between it as he turned around and uploaded his new findings to his databanks. "But I believe I cracked the case."
"What? You serious Connor?" Hank pulled his chair to sit beside Connor, curious how he did it. "Guess that break really did give you wonders."
"Detective Reed actually gave me the idea. I was in the break room and he wanted me gone as usual...but he brought up the case and I think he was trying to insult me but still..." Connor tried to piece together his thoughts as he felt a rush of joy and excitement from cracking the first stage of the case. "What if, we aren't looking for any anti-android humans? What if it's an android doing these?" Connor could not keep the excitement out of his tone.
Hank was silent for a bit and Connor could not tell what he was thinking, and it did bring him down a little. Was he wrong? Did he make a mistake somewhere? Did he take Reed too seriously? The thoughts came to him in a stream and it brought his mood down considerably, and it showed as he fiddled with the cuff of his jacket. "But...it could be an error on my part. I apologise for making assumptions lieutenant, I'll just look over the case again."
"No, don't just take it back, son. If it's what your gut tells you then we're sticking with it. More than what we have now anyway." Hank reassured the deviant with a small smile, ruffling his hair. In response to this, Connor smiled a little but still felt doubt in his idea from that. Why was he quiet before that? Why was he trusting Connor on this? No, he knew he couldn't keep focusing on these thoughts. The android knew these thoughts meant nothing as he knew Hank would never discard him like his thoughts kept telling him. Hank was not like CyberLife. He wasn't Amanda.
"Okay…" He trailed off, looking to the side. He still felt the need to explain himself though, despite the fact he knew he didn't have to. "It just makes sense. No fingerprints at the scene and we know androids don't have them, the biocomponents have been removed with precision so it would have to be done by someone who knew what they were doing. However, what catches them out more as an android is...A human would take bigger biocomponents." Connor grinned as he continued, feeling a bit more confident.
"The culprit leaves bigger parts such as the Thirium pump and even leaves a lot of Thirium left in the body so it isn't being used for Red Ice so what use would a human have for minor parts that would barely make any money?" As Connor finished his explanation, his confidence was back up, there was enough to back up his thoughts. Even if it could easily be disproven. What if it was a human, just one who wanted to make a point? A former CyberLife worker who cleaned their tracks well an-
"Whatever you're thinking, stop it." Hank's voice interrupted his thoughts from going back to negativity. "So, our lead is some nutjob android going haywire? Well, sounds like a typical Tuesday morning for us."
"A typical Tuesday morning for us is trying to get you out of bed and to the Precinct though...And maybe looking into a case file. We don't usually go on a suspect chase in the early morning." Connor reviewed with confusion and given Hank's dead stare, it clicked. "Oh...it was a figure of speech wasn't it?" With a nod from the human, Connor felt himself flush a shade of blue from embarrassment.
"You really need to work on that son." Hank laughed. "I swear I need to make a sign for you or something. State of the art android and yet a lot of things go over your head." Connor couldn't fault his logic behind that though, he was dense at times and he knew it well. It did annoy the deviant as it made it harder to fit in when a lot of sayings or jokes went over his head.
"Don't think about it too much though. A lot of humans struggle with these things." That did help his nerves a little though, he hated to think he may be the only one. Connor wanted to blend in, to fit in with everyone but he couldn't. He guessed that was what being alive was but it also drew him to his favourite musical from a good time ago. Dear Evan Hansen. A boy with anxiety trying to fit in. Sure, he never agreed with what he did, but he could relate to how he felt in the situation and even before he got himself into that mess in the first place.
"I see…" The android smiled a little. He didn't know what he would do without Hank by him. "I guess it must be hard for you then. Seeing how you are much superior in that knowledge. We mortals bow before you, surely you must be rA9." Connor joked with a small laugh. He had picked up on the idea of humour and joking around from Hank.
"Nah, ain't him I'm afraid, you're being too kind. I'm just his messiah, bringing the joy of corruption to all. Humans and androids alike." Hank joked back with a laugh. "rA9 wishes he can be me."
Connor laughed with Hank as he turned off his screen monitor, having the information needed in a folder in his databank. "We should get going though lieutenant. I want to have a look at the crime scenes myself. Maybe I can find something to hint towards the android in question." The android was grateful to have Hank with him, as a machine his first thought was he was going to be a hindrance to the case. Now, however, he could not imagine doing a case without him.
"Alright Connor, but first." Hank pulled out a bottle from his bag and put it in front of Connor. "You haven't had any recently and we are not going anywhere until you had some." Hank used a voice Connor could only describe as a 'dad voice' and he knew he couldn't talk out of it. The android was confused why Hank cared for him so much and used these voices on him, they were just friends….right?
Connor sighed as he took the bottle and opened the cap and took a sip, leaving a metallic taste in his mouth. He knew what this was instant, Thirium. All androids needed it, whether be of blood loss or not. It was like their food but they didn't need it daily. It was recommended to have some fresh Thirium in their systems once every week but they can wait for three weeks maximum before the Thirium begins to lose its effect, leaving the same sort of symptoms to someone with anaemia. This is due to the fact that androids can't produce the blue blood inside them as humans can with red blood cells, so they had to keep up their intake of Thirium to make sure they stay healthy.
Connor finished off the bottle of Thirium and felt some strength return to him, he hadn't even noticed that before. He was glad Hank was paying attention at least. Once he was done, he put the bottle down and wiped some missed Thirium off with his jacket, glad that it is black but also because the Thirium will just evaporate after a while anyway. "So? Shall we head off?"
"Can't wait a second can you?" Hank laughed a little but nodded. "Yeah, we can head off to the crime scene. I know you'll be on my back if we don't."
"But I'm not on your…" Connor stopped himself as he got a look from Hank. "...Right." He merely said as he coughed a little, embarrassed. A habit he had picked up from seeing it around the Precinct. He stood up and not wanting to waste any more time he started to head out. Another reason why he wanted to leave was to avoid anything else going over his head.
The android got into the car, sitting in the passenger side as Hank got into the driver's seat and began to drive. As they drove, the human had put on an album from one of his Jazz albums and Connor hummed. He liked the music Hank listened to of course and he was always happy when he shared his tastes with him., but Connor did wish Hank let him chose songs more often. The last time he had suggested the idea, it was shot down by the logic of: "I drive so I have control over the car and that means the music." Connor didn't get the logic behind it but he knew better than to argue with Hank.
"So, anything you want after this?" Hank spoke up, turning the music down a little so he could hear Connor. "To eat." The human made it clear before Connor took the wrong idea.
"But Hank...I don't need to eat, remember?" He had switched to call Hank by the first name, due to the fact they were no longer in the work environment. Sure they were on the clock but there was less pressure to remain formal. This helped Connor as he couldn't deny that he loved the food he made though, giving this conversation some light, despite the irrelevance to the case they are working on. He may not need to eat, but he liked tasting the food made. "I guess I know some good recipes I would like to try and make. But we would have to go shopping for them after I looked at the crime scene."
"Nah, why not have something to eat out. On me. Know anywhere good? Knowing you, you won't want us going to the Chicken Feed would you?" Hank laughed, it seemed the elder man didn't care that Connor focused a lot on health. In fact, he was supportive of it and tried to work around his diet for Connor. Try being a keyword, but the deviant appreciated it nevertheless.
"I know this nice place that serves foods from around the world?" Connor suggested. He wanted to try other foods but also it would get Hank to try different things as well.
"Then we will go there then, straight after we looked at the crime scene. I don't know about you son, but looking at dead bodies all day works up an appetite." Connor could not think of the number of things on his mental list right now that did not concern him with that phrase.
"Hank...Can I ask you something?" He looked to the lieutenant who was just laughing at his deep concern. "Why?"
"Because it's fun seeing you like this." The human responded with the amusement never leaving his tone. "All I'm saying is, lighten up a little. Don't think I never notice when you get in your own head and you've been doing it a lot lately. Relax a little, it won't kill you."
Connor loved how the lieutenant was worried over him like this. It did make Connor think where their relationship was, they were friends but Hank went above and beyond. Friend's didn't just let the other lives with them and expect nothing, they weren't so quick to defend and rush to their aid and certainly didn't guide them like a parent. No, he shook those thoughts out of his head. They were just friends. Androids couldn't have families after all.
"Connor, I can hear the gears turning in your head. Stop thinking or we ain't going to the crime scene." Hank raised a brow. "Look. one day kid...I want you to tell me what goes on in your head. I'm not a mind reader Connor."
"It's fine Hank...Honestly." Of course, that was a lie. The android just couldn't be too far ahead of himself and ruin everything he had managed to get so far in his new life. However, he knew Hank didn't believe him but never pressed further. This had caused silence for the rest of the ride, well the music was there but it still was almost uncomfortable with how silent it was in the car.
As they arrived at the scene, Connor got out of the car as swiftly as he could and walked to the police tape and past it. He scanned the area, almost going on autopilot, seeing Thirium still around. He walked to a small dot of it and knelt down, taking a sample on his fingers and pressing it to his tongue. However, by doing this he heard a remark from Hank that he knew was him protesting against it.
The sample detected the victim of the assault. "The Thirium shows it's from the AP400 model, his registered name was Samuel." Connor listed off with a sigh as he looked at the surroundings and did a scope of the empty ally. "Considering where the Thirium is...showing signs from the victim. He tried to fight back, but the culprit had an advantage over him." It always bothered Connor when he turned deviant how he could see the blood so strongly even after it faded.
He walked a little up to the ally and found something. At a skip tucked in the corner. He ran his hand on the edge and took a sample. "Hank!" Connor called out, the human rushing to his side with no hesitation. "I found something. Thirium. This belongs to another model...One that wasn't recorded in our log. It belongs to a TW400 model, registered name…" He trailed off with a sigh. "It says his registered name is just...400."
"You think this android did it then?" Hank asked, a serious look on his face. It was obviously going to be on the high end on the list given where this blue blood was and the fact they already suspected an android.
"Chances, I would say the odds are at 63% that this could be the culprit." Connor nodded as he filed away the information from the analysis to a set folder. "We should head back to the precinct though. If we do, I can store the information and back it up there." Hank looked at the android for a moment and gave a small nod. "We can always get dinner after I filed these onto the computer."
Once they headed back in the car, Hank had put his music and started driving back to the DPD. "So, that trip was a waste of time then." The elder man huffed as he slammed his hand down on his horn as some car was going too slow in front of them. "Fucking slow drivers."
"No, it wasn't. It may have been short but...if we never went. We wouldn't have this sample. The only question is...why there? What happened to cause the reaction as it did?" Connor thought out loud with a sigh.
"Kid, what did I tell you about the worrying. Stop. Just relax Connor, for once." Hank nudged him slightly as he started to speed up, the slow drivers having gone the other way. The rest of the ride was smooth also and more relaxing than the first. Maybe it was due to the fact Connor had his eyes closed, or maybe because he was focusing on the music? Who knew, all he did know though was he was shaken awake. He didn't realise he entered rest mode.
"You go on ahead Connor, just need to check up on something in the car quickly." Hank gave a look to the deviant who didn't think much of it and nodded back, stepping out of the car. Hank had parked a little away from the department and that confused him, why? However, he knew he couldn't dwell on these thoughts as he made his way to the department. His movements were slow though due to his recent rest. So much so, he didn't realise it until it was too late.
The deviant was grabbed from behind and before he could react, he was held in a hug like embrace, stopping him from moving or fighting back due to his arms caught in the lock and a blindfold was put over his eyes. Limiting his vision to nothing but black. He couldn't see, he was vulnerable and at the mercy to whoever had managed to catch him off guard and his LED flickered amber and red as he tried to assess the situation and figure out what to do. He refused to be a sitting duck in this situation, he needed to do something...but what? He was still in the hug like embrace which limited all movement, whoever held him was strong and he wasn't going to break the grip so easily. The deviant sighed, he couldn't get out of this one.