Back at the police station, Reid and I escort Kevin in through the main entrance. Our first instinct is to have him check in with one of the android receptionists, but Reid glances over at me, shaking his head. So instead we take him to one of the self check-in kiosks off to the side.

"Hold still for a moment please," the automated voice asks, as the near-invisible camera on at the top of the kiosk focuses on Kevin.

Kevin backs away from the camera, "No! Get that thing away from me!"

"Kevin, there's no need to worry, we're not going to take you anywhere near the android receptionists," I assure him.

Nevertheless, Kevin points at the camera ingrained into the kiosk, his voice gaspy and desperate, "But the machines! They can see all of us! With a blink of an eye they can access everything about us!"

The camera must have already scanned his facial features, because right on cue, the kiosk loads up a profile for Kevin Newman, with his age, physical features, and criminal history, which include several unpaid tickets.

"You see?! It knows everything! Just by looking at my goddamn face!" he cries, backing farther away from the kiosk.

"Sir, all citizens are registered in the system, and most androids have no access to it-"

Reid is cut off by an increasingly frightened Kevin, "The one who attacked me had access to something! He said he recognized me! He knew my buddies and I go to that park after the bars close! He even said he'd seen me before!"

Kevin's voice reaches a shouted pitch, causing people in the lobby to stop and turn towards him. Reid and I exchange a look of understanding, before I take the first tentative step towards Kevin.

"Kevin, it's gonna be alright. We understand your concern. None of the androids will have access to your records, we promise," I tell him, keeping my breathing steady and my words clear, "we're going to get you some therapy. We have counselors here onsite who can help you overcome your fear. What happened to you was a freak occurrence, that's why you're here, reporting it to the police."

Kevin stumbles and catches himself on an empty lobby chair, crashing halfway down to the floor. Reid steps ahead of me, offering his hand, "We're here to help Kevin. Do you need a hand?"

He starts to nod, muttering to himself as Reid helps him back onto his feet. Kevin begins to calm, his frantic eye movements slowing and the shaking in his hands lessens. Reid and I are about to breathe a sigh of relief when-

"Pardon me. I couldn't help but overhear. This man has been involved with a deviant android?"

We all turn to see Connor, all the markings of its android being on full display, from the bright blue armband to the LED on its temple.

Reid and I turn to Kevin, whose breath is rapidly increasing once more, his movements becoming jittery while his shoulders stiffen.

Connor straightens its posture, looking Kevin right in the eye, "My name is Connor, I'm the android sent by CyberLife. I, along with Lieutenant Anderson, am responsible for investigating all cases of deviancy among androids. I would like to bring you in for questioning."

Kevin turns to the two of us, "You're...you're not going to leave me with that thing, are you?!"

Reid grits his teeth, "I mean, if what it says is true, we might have to turn you over to it, we don't have higher jurisdiction over a detective-"

"'Higher jurisdiction'?! It's a fucking android!" Kevin gasps.

I turn to the android, "Connor, this man is in no condition to be questioned. He's clearly under heavy duress, he needs help first-"

"My objective is to investigate any and all cases of android deviancy. Scanning this man's vitals, it is clear that he is physically fit and of sound mind and will be questioned. Now if you will please escort this man to an interrogation room, officers," Connor's tone is insistent, and without empathy.

My frown deepens, as my eyes narrow. I cross my arms, approaching it as I lower my voice, "And what are you going to do to him? His testimony isn't going to be of any use to you in this state. Plus, he's already shown a clear bias against you, what makes you think he'll turn around?"

Now it's Connor's turn to respond, and it doesn't hesitate to get right in my face, imposing it's taller stature upon me, "For your information, Officer McMaghnuis, I am specially programmed for interrogation purposes, and according to my calculations, I already have a sixty-eight percent rate of success. Now you will escort the man in for questioning, and I won't have to have a word with your superiors about your insubordination."

Oh, that's how we're going to play it? I scowl as I grit my teeth. And to think I thought this thing was attractive.

"Fine," I spit, my eyes trained on his indifferent expression.

Reid turns to Kevin, "I'm sorry, man-"

Before any of us can act, Kevin makes a break for it, running through the lobby and tearing past the front doors. Connor immediately gives chase, "Come back here!"

"Oh Jesus," I shake my head, before Reid and I follow.

We make it onto the street just as Kevin has crossed the road, making a beeline for a back alley down way. Connor runs out onto the road just as a large truck speeds towards it. Its horn blares, and Connor ducks and rolls out of the way just in time. It then vaults over a car, gaining on Kevin as he ducks into the alleyway. Reid and I wait until the road is clear before crossing.

By the time we've caught up to Kevin and Connor in the alleyway, Connor already has Kevin backed against a wall as it handcuffs him.

"Kevin Newman, you're under arrest," it declares, as it begins to read him his rights.

"Arresting him? What the hell are you arresting him for?!" Reid asks, gasping as he puts his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

Connor's LED blinks yellow for a moment, "According to the DPD criminal database, this man has several unpaid tickets and fines for traffic violations, public urination, and other disturbances of the peace, and has failed to appear in court to address them. I remotely submitted a warrant for his arrest under these grounds within the last two minutes, and the system has already approved it."

Reid and I look at each other in disbelief, before turning back to Connor with the same expressions.

It tilts its head, and in a matter-of-fact tone, states, "This man is under arrest."

"You can't do this to me…" Kevin, now sobbing in defeat, cries out, "You can't do this!"

Reid gets a certain expectant expression on his face. Connor, without a hint of humor, replies, "I'm afraid I already have."

"Oh my god. It actually said it," Reid raises an eyebrow, eyes wide with shock as Connor starts to haul Kevin back to the police station.

As soon as Connor's out of earshot, Reid turns to me, "Okay, if that doesn't confirm Connor's an evil villian android, I don't know what will."

"No," I sneer, crossing my arms, "it's a detective alright, and it has what most detectives have: a stick up its ass."

We follow Connor who drags a blubbering Kevin back into the station, and as we're walking down the hallway to the interrogation room, a man in a brown leather jacket walks down the other way, and upon noticing Connor, he immediately decides to interject himself.

"Hey Plastic Detective, aren't you supposed to be off helping your master?"

Connor stops in its tracks as the man slowly approaches it in an aggressive and confrontational manner.

"I'm bringing this man in for questioning. He recently had an encounter with a deviant android," Connor explains, keeping its eyes locked on this man with a wary expression.

He scoffs, "So you just picked the first hobo off the street with a grudge for androids? Oh, I'm sure he'll be very helpful in your investigation, detective."

Reid groans, "Knock it off, Reed, okay? We brought Mr. Newman in for some assistance counseling and-"

"Oh, so the Plastic Prick is teaming up with the Pussy Patrol now? Is that right?" Reed chuckles, although no one else is even close to smiling.

I roll my eyes, sighing as I slump my shoulders. At the same time, my fists tighten, as my eyebrows lower. Gritting my teeth, I contemplate every possible act of violence I could commit towards the slimy Detective Reed.

I step forward towards him, "Don't you have anything better to do, detective?"

"I'm just pointing out the problems in the DPD, and I see two of them right here. That's glorified social workers like you, and fucking androids like that thing," Reed's anger is petulant, almost childlike, and all I can do is raise an eyebrow, put my hands on my hips, and shake my head.

"If you really think those are such big problems, why don't you take them up with your superiors? Instead of being a dick about it and making everyone else's job harder?"

"Don't push my buttons, you bitch-"

"I don't give a shit. Everything pushes your buttons."

With my response, Detective Reed becomes quiet, too quiet. But it's only for a second, the next second he's reaching for his gun.

"You're gonna regret that-"

As he raises his gun to aim, Connor releases its grip on Kevin, pushing past Reid to get between me and the detective. Although its six foot frame towers over my five foot five, it still feels the need to outstretch its arms, covering all possible area the bullet might hit.

I flinch, waiting for the gunfire to sound, but none occurs. Then I hear something arguably worse, Detective Reed's cold laughter.

"Awe, Plastic Man coming to save his girlfriend? Relax, I wasn't going to shoot," he chuckles, before putting his gun back into its holster.

Connor lowers its arms, and waits for Reed to have turned around to walk away, before it makes its way back towards Kevin. I follow the android who'd just put himself...I mean, itself, between me and a loaded gun. At the very least, I feel bad now for thinking it's a complete dick. And, if I'm going to be honest with myself, I want to thank it, and give it a hug. Although, human or android, Connor doesn't really seem like the hugging type. Or is it?

I glance up at Connor as we finally make it to the back of the station, where the interrogation rooms are located. I didn't think it'd try and sacrifice itself for my sake, maybe's there's more to Connor than I thought.


Author's Notes: Thank you everyone for the support so far! If you're familiar with any of my works post-2015, I try and respond to every review I get in the next chapter at the end. So feel free to review if you have any questions or would like a personal response. This is also where I'll be making any announces or asking readers questions about the story.

PlatinumMice: Thanks, I'm glad you think so! These first two chapters have shown us two very different sides of Emma and there's more to come. And the quote comes from Ruchir Sharma's The Rise and Fall of Nations: Forces of Change in a Post-Crisis World. I've been reading a lot of nonfiction that speculates on the future in preparation to write this, and that quote was perfect in terms of the stories themes. Unfortunately, I can't have a quote for every chapter, because it's actually very hard to find a lot of positive quotes about robots or AI

Edges05: Thanks! I hope you enjoyed this one too