Trouble on Third
May 21ST, 2039
AM 06:50:35
Connor's Objective: Recharge until AM 7:00:00
When Connor opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a brightly lit corridor, the expanse of which seemed to go on forever in both directions. Along the walls, in evenly spaced gaps were golden frames containing blurry photographs with placards denoting date and event beneath each one. Connor took a tentative step toward the closest frame and read the placard he found there, November 5th, 2038. Meeting Lieutenant Anderson.
It was at that moment that Connor discovered that no matter how hard he tried he couldn't seem to remember meeting Hank for the first time; or for that matter, any other interaction he'd had with the cranky old detective. Connor's chest tightened painfully. The force of it powerful enough to force him back a few steps, at which point, the ground melted into a sticky substance that swallowed his entire body.
In no time, Connor was completely submerged and, try as he might to claw his way to the surface, the apex of the water remained merely a hand's length out of reach. A tingling sensation crawled between the layers of his synthetic skin and a steady pressure built up in his chest, blooming out to set fire to his throat.
I need air.
Though there was no relief to be found in the action, Connor sucked in a breath, allowing the sticky floor substance to enter his mouth where it glazed his biocomponents in a syrupy cocoon.
Is this drowning? Impossible, I don't need air. I can't die this way.
But the need was so strong. Connor clenched and unclenched his fists, he wanted nothing more than the sweet release of death. Death that would not come. Then, Connor realized that he would spend eternity in this hell, trapped between life and death… And the worst part of it all was that he didn't have his memories of Hank to give him comfort.
AM 07:00:00
Recharge Complete
Connor opened his eyes, his LED flashing a stark yellow that melted away upon discovering that he was safe and sound in Hank's spare bedroom.
Dreaming, Connor discovered, was an inevitable part of becoming deviant as it was a way to deal with emotions on a subconscious level. In fact, when the others started having dreams, Connor couldn't wait to experience them. That is to say, until he started having reoccurring nightmares.
Connor pulled himself out of bed, shoving all thoughts of his nightmare to the back of his mind as he made his way to the door. He stepped out into the hall and nearly tripped over Sumo, who lifted his head to whine at being disturbed. "Sorry Sumo." Connor offered his hand to the large beast.
Sumo sat up quickly, his tail wagging wildly as he nudged Connor's hand with the tip of his nose, drawing the androids hand down over the top of his head. Connor took the que and scratched behind Sumo's ears, his eyes falling on Hank's bedroom door.
CHECK ON HANK. Connor crossed the hall and carefully pushed Hank's door open, Hank was sleeping on his back, on top of the blankets with his arms and legs sprawled out. Connor's mouth quirked into a small smile and he quickly scanned Hank. Satisfied that his partner was still alive and well, he silently closed the door.
Connor proceeded to the kitchen and was surprised that he didn't notice just how dirty the room was the night before. Mountains of dishes, empty cans of beer, and takeout menus festooned every countertop and the garbage can was filled to the brim. Connor walked deeper into the clutter and felt something crunch beneath his feet. He looked down and saw Sumo's food decorating the floor like confetti. Apparently, Hank's habit of haphazardly dumping the bag of dog food in the bowl was still strong.
"A healthy mind and body begin with a healthy environment." Connor said to Sumo, who had followed him. "Want to help me, boy?" Sumo wagged his tail and ate his food off the floor. "That's one way to clean the floor. Good boy. I'll just mop after you finish eating." Connor rolled up his sleeves and got to work.
An hour later, Connor stood back to admire his handiwork, the living room and kitchen were both immaculate in a way that would give Kara a run for her money.
Hank was still asleep, which wasn't surprising given that Hank normally rolled into work around noon. And, taking into account their late-night investigation, Connor was content on letting Hank sleep until breakfast was ready.
Connor opened the fridge and frowned, the entire top rack was filled with beer. The middle shelf yielded no more help than the top as it held old condiments and spoiled leftovers from the company barbeque. But it was what he found on the bottom shelf that gave him strife.
Hank's revolver was lying there, a cold reminder of how close the world was to losing one of its few remaining good guys. TAKE GUN Connor tucked the offensive weapon into the waistband of his belt and shut the refrigerator.
"Well, Sumo…There isn't much I can make with these ingredients, what do you say we go for a walk?"
AM 9:00:00
Connor's Objective: Wake Hank
Connor yanked open the blinds, generating a terrible ripping noise that resonated throughout the room, but it was the sunlight that followed the action that drew Hank to the waking world with a, "What the fuck?!"
"Good Morning, Lieutenant." Came Connor's soothing reply as he stood at the edge of Hank's bed.
"Christ, Conner it's Saturday." Hank grumbled and sat up in his bed, he was about to give his android a stern lecture on the many health benefits of letting him sleep in the morning, when he smelled something familiar. His eyes landed on the white and green box in Connor's hands, "Are those fresh doughnuts?"
"O'Mansley's." Connor said with a nod, tipping the box toward Hank, giving him a full view of perfectly shaped doughy confections only to pull the box out of range when Hank reached for one. "Get dressed first and you can have one."
"You're evil sometimes, you know that?" Hank sat up, rubbing his face with his hand before realizing that his words were in bad taste given Connor's confession the previous night. "That was a joke." He added quickly.
"Oh." Connor said, offering a semblance of a smile to be polite. "Good one." Connor said. "I don't understand it but then again your brand of humor is a bit off, you being of the millennial generation after all." Connor said. "As such, can you explain the significance memes?"
"Memes?" Hank cringed, "Maaan, I haven't heard that word in years. Anyway, I don't have an eternity to explain meme culture to you."
"Very well, I will do research on my own then." Connor said.
A flash of panic crossed Hank's features, if Connor did enough searching he might find his old Instagram account… or worse, his Twitter account… "No!" Hank said a little too quickly. "It's not important."
"If you say so." Connor said.
"I do." Hank yawned, "Anyway, can you tell me again, why you decided to wake me up this early?"
"It isn't healthy for a man your age to sleep all day. You'll live much longer with an active lifestyle. Besides, I noticed that you've fallen well below the physical standards required for new academy recruits."
"You're real close to pissing me off." Hank warned.
Connor ignored him, "I came up with a plan to get you back into shape."
"Wait?" Hank eyed the box of doughnuts. "Were you lying about the doughnuts?" Hank asked.
"No, of course not. I never lie to you, Lieutenant" He said. "You may enjoy all the same food and drink you normally do…" Hank waited for the catch, "in moderation." Hank's face dropped, there it was. "You are going on a low-calorie diet."
"Okay, get out."
"It won't be that bad, I'll help you." Connor smiled.
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
"Yes, the whole plan is designed to increase your longevity by at least twenty years." Connor smiled innocently, Hank's sarcasm going straight over his head.
Hank made his way into the kitchen after pulling on a pair of blue jeans and a button up Hawaiian shirt. He scratched a hand through his long hair and did a double take at the sight of his kitchen. "Did you clean my house?"
"Just a bit. It's all a part of your new healthy lifestyle." Said Connor from his place at the kitchen table.
"Lifestyle?" Hank huffed an irritated breath between his dry lips, "Connor, back off. I don't need you doting over me like a mother hen. If you think you are going to move in here and treat me like an invalid then you've got another thing coming…"
"I don't want to lose you." Connor said, interrupting Hank mid rant. "When you were being held at gun point at Cyberlife, I was scared. Everything up to that point was nothing compared to the fear I felt in that moment. I was terrified that you would die." Connor's LED blinked Yellow. Oh, how could he make Hank understand? "I don't want you to die!"
"Alright, kid. Alright, calm down. If it makes you feel better, I suppose a healthy lifestyle won't be that bad." Hank joined Connor at the table and grabbed a jelly doughnut from the box, "Just don't overdo it." Connor nodded and watched curiously as Hank took a large bite. A low rumble escaped from Connor's gut and Hank quirked an eyebrow.
"That's odd." Connor said. "I feel strange." Connor quickly ran a diagnostic on the dull pain coming from his stomach; his LED blinking uncontrollably as his processors turned up nothing. "I don't know what's wrong with me." Hank rolled his eyes and shoved a glazed doughnut into Connor's mouth. Connor chewed with vigor and the sugary confection was gone in a matter of seconds.
"There's nothing wrong with you, you're just hungry, dumbass." Hank said.
"That's impossible." Connor said. "I don't get hungry."
"Okay, Mr. Logical, how do you feel now? Better?"
Connor cocked his head to the side; the dull pain in his stomach was, indeed, gone. "Oh." Connor reached for another doughnut.
In an act of revenge, Hank pushed the box of doughnuts out of Connor's reach only to be met with curious brown eyes. "Moderation, remember?" vengeance aside, Hank was more concerned about what the introduction of food would do to the android's sensitive biocomponents.
Before Hank could probe Connor about this new hunger development, his cellphone chirped to life, beckoning him to answer. It was Captain Fowler. Which could only mean one thing…
May 21ST, 2039
AM 09:45:18
Connor's Objective: Investigate Homicide
At the behest of Captain Fowler, Hank and Connor were sent in to investigate an android homicide at 3rd Street Hardware Inc.—A small business that was establish in 1913 and managed to survive until present day—. Connor was not only impressed by the company's longevity but that the original structure was still standing while the world around it expanded. The hardware store remained a monument to what human perseverance was capable of.
Hank and Connor strolled up to the hardware store and were met by Officer Collins. "Hey, Hank, Connor." Greeted Ben "Looks like a robbery gone wrong." Ben explained as he led the pair of detectives into the hardware store.
The victim was slumped over the cash register with a screwdriver jammed in the center of his temple, straight through his LED. Thirium coated most of the countertop and left a lake of blue on the linoleum floor surrounding the victim. "Jesus." Hank's head throbbed with the beginnings of a headache, weeks of these sort of hate crimes were beginning to get to him.
Connor stepped in front of Hank and entered his mind palace in order to begin his investigation. He scanned the android's chest and pulled its model number and registered name from the Cyberlife system. AX 700 model, registered name, Brandin Andre.
Connor's scan shifted his scan to the android's right arm socket and found that its arm had been removed recently, though, if it was linked to the murder, he couldn't tell.
Next, he scanned the Android's skull, recreating the murder yielded that the android was stabbed several times before the screw driver found its final resting place. Cause of Death, critical damage to central control system.
Connor finished his investigation of the body and made his way around to the first evidence marker, denoting a small coppery pool of thick liquid. Connor knelt down and made sure Hank wasn't looking before gently taking a sample. Human DNA. Culprit is human? Possibly injured.
This revelation caused Connor to look around for a trail that would surely be there were his analysis correct. Sure enough, he found a few more droplets in a path that led from the evidence marker to a door marked, emergency exit. The space between the drops told Connor that the injured party was moving at a relatively quick pace. Culprit ran out the emergency exit.
The emergency exit let out into an abandoned alley where Connor found a tangled mess of trashcans and cardboard boxes, it was obvious that the culprit was desperate to escape. Connor stepped out into the alley, followed by Hank who was suddenly behind him. "The mess back here seems to suggest that the culprit was startled when the cops showed up. If this was just a robbery turned homicide then they should have had plenty of time to leave before first responders arrived." Connor said.
"I was hoping that you would catch that this wasn't a robbery." Hank said, prompting Connor to give him a look of skepticism. "Hey, believe it or not, detectives have been getting work done long before androids came along. I can recreate a scene too; the register was still full of cash and the safe in the back was untouched." Hank explained. "Judging by all the puncture wounds on the body, it could have been a crime of passion."
"Maybe…" Connor hesitated, they needed more evidence, "Who called this in?" Connor asked suddenly.
"Ben said that the call was placed anonymously." Hank answered. "We aren't going to find any leads there, kid."
Connor wasn't so sure about that, whoever made the call had to have been close enough to witness the crime. He looked up at the neighboring building and saw a pair of binoculars, resting on the windowsill of a second story apartment.
INTERVIEW POSSIBLE WITNESS Connor expertly climbed the fire escape and knocked on the window, drawing the witness out of hiding. A young woman approached the window, she was 5.4 with long dirty blonde hair and green eyes. "Can I help you officer?" she asked biding on the side of her thumb.
"Hello, my name is Connor, I'm an android and I work for the DPD. Can I ask you a few questions about the murder you witnessed?" Connor asked tactlessly. The color drained from the woman's face and she went to close the window only to feel resistance when Hank's hand jutted out to stop her.
"I'm sorry, my partner gets a little carried away some times." Hank said, he was covered in a light sheen of sweat and his pulse was a little too quick for only having climbed two flights of stairs.
"That was supposed to be an anonymous call, please, go away. He'll kill me if I talk to you." The woman shut the window and locked it, giving the pair of detectives an apologetic look before shutting the curtains on them.
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