Aporia

Chapter 8

It took less than two minutes for them to get down to the evidence locker.

The only delay had been an encounter with Detective Reed in the hall right before the stairwell. While that had been inconvenient, thankfully it had been brief. After that, it had been a simple matter of guessing Hank's password.

"So, what's the plan?" Simon asked him, curiosity bleeding into Connor's thought process. It was mildly distracting.

"You told me to slow them down," Connor answered, while his systems tried to calculate what Hank's password would be. "If there isn't enough evidence to learn a location, it'll certainly buy us time."

"So, you're going to destroy evidence? Your programming will allow that?"

"My programming will allow me to do anything required to accomplish my mission, legal or no. So, yes."

"That's convenient."

"CyberLife seems to think so."

After some thought, Connor entered fuckingpassword into the terminal and he felt the warmth of Simon's amusement as they were granted access.

That amusement faded as soon as the evidence from the Deviancy Case slid into view.

The center shelving unit held smaller pieces of evidence, like the encrypted journal and the sculpture made my Carlos Ortiz's android. On either side of that shelving unit were-

Androids.

Three of them, all deactivated and all just as much of a mess as when Connor saw them last. The left side held Daniel. The right had Carlos Ortiz's nameless HK400 and there in the far corner-

There was Simon.

An error flashed across Connor's HUD as his thirium pump stuttered in his chest. Something within him cracked when he saw Simon's body suspended on the wall like a hunting trophy.

Wasn't he though?

Every android on this wall was here because of Connor. This was Connor's mission after all, to hunt deviants. This was what he had been created to do.

He told himself that this wasn't really Simon, not anymore. Simon was securely tucked away on his own hard drive. He was safe. This was little more than an empty shell.

Somehow, that didn't help at all. That didn't make it any easier to look at.

But Connor found couldn't turn his eyes away. Couldn't stop that broken feeling within his chest, anymore than he could identify its source.

He hadn't realized he had moved until he was standing in front of the empty chassis, staring at the uniform that mislabeled him as a JB300. His fingers brushed over the letters, coming to rest over them.

For one horrible moment he was back on that roof. Vaulting over metal and grabbing, probing. The cold barrel of a gun against a chin, searching for information, and racing against the pull of the trigger. Once more he found himself lost in the overwhelming tidal wave of fear and the repeating mantra of-

I don't want to die!

SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^

His vision blurred. Errors were blaring at him, but he couldn't become focused enough to care. His thirium pump was beating too fast, and his regulator was overheating under the sudden stress of being overworked.

He should breath to cool his systems down, only to find that he couldn't.

Why couldn't he breathe?

"Connor? Connor, focus on me. You need to calm down. I'm fine, we're fine. I'm here, I'm right here . . ."

He blinked, stumbling back away from the body.

This was his fault. If Connor had interrogated the androids waiting in the kitchen instead of investigating the roof, then Simon wouldn't have ended up here. He could have remained hidden, waited until it calmed down and then slip away.

Simon wouldn't be . . .

Somewhere a request was flashing across his HUD, accompanied by Simon's voice, pleading. "Connor, we don't have much time. Let me help. Please!"

His response was automatic.

ACCESS TO MOTOR FUNCTIONS: granted

And suddenly, he was breathing, deep and steady. The cool air of the evidence locker helped to stabilize his core temperature.

"Okay. Connor, I need you to focus. Is it possible for them to reactivate my body?"

Another breath. Two.

His eyes focused on the empty shell that once housed Simon. He scanned, analyzing.

"They would need biocomponent #3983v for reactivation, but it would be temporary at best."

"Okay."

And then he was moving. Swift and sure steps across the room, to the other deactivated PL600.

"I'm sorry Daniel," Simon murmured, where only Connor could hear him.

Next thing Connor knew, he had the corresponding biocomponent in his hand.

It was then that Connor fully realized that he wasn't moving, it was Simon. Simon, who was keeping true to their mission while Connor fell apart.

His fingers squeezed, polymer and plasteel cracking until it shattered completely. Simon let the component fall forgotten to the floor as he moved on. He grabbed the tablets containing video evidence, snapping them in half. He pocketed the encrypted journal, clearly intending to dispose of it later.

Seemingly satisfied, Simon turned for them to leave, but Connor caught one more thing out of the corner of his eye.

"Wait! The sculpture!"

Connor felt no resistance as he turned back to grab it himself. Simon wasn't fighting him for control, he was simply occupying the same space. Connor tipped the sculpture in his hand, immediately taking note of the slight shift of weight within its core. With a twist, the clay cracked in half revealing a slip of paper hidden within. He pocketed that as well before discarding the rest.

Mission completed, Connor turned on his heel to leave.

Just in time to see the door slide open to reveal none other than Gavin Reed.

There was a long moment where the they just stared at each other, and then Reed's eyes darted to the mess behind him, his face twisting as he took in the scene. "The fuck you think you're doing, tin can?" Reed snarled.

It was the same tone he used in the interrogation room, and Connor was suddenly painfully aware that he was not the only one at risk here.

If Connor gets shut down, then so does Simon. They'll be nothing more than another piece of evidence hanging on the wall. And while there was a chance that Connor would be uploaded to a new body, it would mean the end of the road for Simon. There would be no do overs, and no way to ever recover him.

It was imperative that Connor walked out of here intact.

A new objective made itself known, appearing in the corner of his HUD, and placing its priority just below his primary mission.

PROTECT SIMON

Reed reached for his gun.

Connor struck. He hit hard and fast, utilizing his vast knowledge of human anatomy and pressure points to his advantage.

It three precise hits, Reed was rendered unconscious and Connor was dragging his limp form to the other side of the terminal where he would be hidden from view.

"We . . . We should probably leave now," Simon said, sounding oddly timid.

"Agreed."

With that, Connor fixed his jacket, straightened his tie and strolled out of the precinct.

Author's Note: Short chapter, I know, but if I continued on to the next scene than it would have felt too long in relation to previous chapters. This is it, the next chapter we start going off the rails! Hope you guys keep enjoying the ride!

Thanks to PlzHumorMyShips and Pineapple for the lovely reviews!

And to Pineapple: Everyone starts somewhere! This isn't my original profile on . My first story was posted here back in 2003, and I was still in high school back then. Projects come and go, but if you enjoy writing, write. Even if it's been a while. One of my longest fics was written over a period of six years. I used to write for others, but that was exhausting, especially when I was working on a project that no longer appealed to me. Now I write for myself, but I still enjoy sharing what my muse brings me. Do what makes you happy! 3 -Shadow