"Don't shoot! There are civilians!" A male voice growled, cutting through the night air moments before chaos descended.
A blast ricocheted through Mabel's head like the bullet had lodged itself between her eyes, but it hadn't come from the man still clutching her bag. The sound peaked in her ears, deafening for half a second before dissolving into an endless ringing. Too many things to track happened simultaneously, but somehow her mind followed; her attention crystalized perfectly, everywhere at once.
Aveline shrieked, the sound barely audible through the sudden tinnitus, and ran as Mabel had instructed. Her tiny body collided with the shins of a tall, dark haired man. Wait... not a man. An android. The LED at his temple flashed blue, and a cyberlife arm band reflected the dim street lights.
He had his arm thrust out in front of another man, who was holding a gun; now aimed up and away from Mabel and Aveline, as though his fire had been redirected at the last second. The one with the gun, who had grey mid-length hair and a beard, shoved the android off as Aveline approached them. The android, unruffled, scooped the little girl into his arms without blinking.
"Jesus Christ Connor," the man with the gun snarled. "The fuck do you think you're- oh shit."
His eyes had trained on Mabel, flaring wide. Her hands flew up to her chest and face, finding them intact and unbloodied, relief flooding her for an instant. Then, a solid arm snapped around her, drawing her against a hard chest with enough force to knock the wind out of her. The cold muzzle of a gun jammed into her temple, more ringing throbbing through her skull.
The cold that had pooled in Mabel's stomach spread to every part of her, freezing the blood in her veins. Her body locked up; she was barely able to draw breath. The man holding her was still shaking violently, and Mabel's eyes began to cloud with tears she'd been holding at bay.
"Mommy!" Aveline's voice was a shriek, and she struggled in the arms of the android, reaching for Mabel.
"It's alright sweetie," Mabel's voice shook, the tears threatening to spill over, but she held what was left of her resolve in an iron grip over her fear. "Mommy's safe. Just close your eyes and count to a hundred, like Miss Anna taught you."
Aveline scrunched her face up, squeezing her eyes shut as the android, Connor, gingerly passed her to the bearded man; who stashed his gun and bundled her securely into his chest. Connor's hands were palm up, unarmed, placating.
"Leave me alone," the man gripping Mabel practically begged, jamming the gun harder against her temple. A whimper escaped her, fear overtaking her hard won composure. "J-just let me go. Or I swear, I'll do it."
"Don't worry, Anthony," Connor's words were calm, his tone reassuring. "No one is going to hurt you."
"You... you know my name?" The gun at her temple faltered, just for a moment.
"I know a lot of things about you." He took a slow step forward into the single beam of light from the street lamp, hands still up in a gesture of surrender. "My name is Connor."
He was unlike any android Mabel had ever seen. Even with the blinking blue light embedded in his temple, she was having difficulty reconciling that he wasn't human. His face was beautiful, with high cheekbones and round, brown eyes. His nose was slightly aquiline, and a few strands of his dark hair fell into his eyes, these small details somehow adding so much humanity to his features. He wore an expression of open sincerity; everything about him compelled trust.
"I just want to get away from here... I didn't ask for any of this."
"I know that, Anthony," Connor inched another step forward, his smoky voice unwavering. "You're not at fault here."
"I'm not, I know I'm not." It sounded like the man was about to cry, or maybe he already was. She felt the gun drifting a little from its press against her, but his arm was still locked firmly around her middle. "I just... I just needed money. To get away. I'm so sorry."
"Everything is going to be okay. Just talk to me." Another step forward. He was close enough for Mabel to see the way his eyes crinkled in concern.
"Don't come any closer." The man warned, shoving the muzzle of the gun back into her.
Mabel gasped; both from fear, and from something she noticed as he shifted his grip on her. For the barest of moments, she caught a glimpse of his profile. There were tear tracks on his face, an expression of terror written across his features. And... the side of his beanie had ridden up. Just a tiny bit, but enough for her to see the circular light that gleamed there. It flashed frantically from yellow to red and back again, something she'd never seen before, but there was no mistaking it. He had an LED.
The world spun, dizziness swirling in her head and bringing a surge of nausea with it. She fought the instinct to slump against him, the need to sit down almost overwhelming her. This wasn't possible. There were so many reasons this wasn't possible. Androids couldn't hurt people, couldn't even pick up guns. They certainly couldn't cry. There was no way this could be happening, yet here she stood. Stomach acid stung the back of her throat, and she swallowed hard.
"It's alright, I'm here to help you." Connor had stopped moving, flexing his hands in the air to illustrate he meant no harm. He was a mere body's length away now, but the man, the android, behind her was on edge again.
"No," the android behind her sobbed. "No, no, no. No one is ever here to help me. You're lying. I know you are!"
"I'm not lying, Anthony." Connor's eyes were so gentle, so truthful. "I promise you, if you let her go I can help."
"Y-you can help me get away?" The question was almost a whisper.
"I can," another step. "But you have to trust me."
"Okay." The arm around her dropped, and Mabel stumbled forward, gasping, running towards her daughter. "I trust y-"
Before the words were even out of his mouth, there was an impact. Mabel spun just in time to see Connor tackle the android, smoothly disarming him and pinning him with his own gun. She turned again, grabbing for Aveline. The scraggly, grey haired man passed her off, before reaching under his coat and retrieving a pair of handcuffs. As he did, she caught a flash of the badge beside his gun holster. They were cops? The revelations were coming so fast, she was beginning to numb to them. Then again, that could have been shock setting in.
Aveline was sobbing, and Mabel frantically ran her hands over her little face, her soft curls, checking her over for injuries. The other man moved toward the now subdued android, shouldering Connor out of the way to secure the handcuffs.
"Alright," he muttered, covering his shock with gruffness as he dragged the android off the ground. "I got it from here. Squad car's on its way, this asshole is gonna have some questions to answer."
Connor quirked an eyebrow, straightening his tie. Everything about his face had changed in a moment; the concern and honesty overwritten by cool distance. It was a little unnerving, despite the fact that he'd just saved her life. The restrained android cried silently, staring at Connor with disgust and horror.
Sirens wailed in the distance, closing in on them. The last thing Mabel needed right now was to deal with cops. She wanted to get her baby home, and go the fuck to sleep. She craved a small coma, but she'd likely get closer to five hours. Once she'd woken up, though, she had work to do. There was no way that androids could have started attacking people, and crying, without someone noticing. She was going to find them.
She bounced a crying Avvy in her arms, humming softly in an attempt to calm her. She could feel the adrenaline that still coursed through her beginning to filter out of her system, and hoped to God that she'd be home by the time she crashed. The grey haired cop fixed his eyes on her, and she braced herself for aggressive questioning, but he surprised her by turning to Connor.
"Get these two off the street, would ya?" He jerked his head at Mabel and Aveline. "Make sure they make it home."
Connor glanced at them with an assessing eye, his LED briefly flashing yellow before reverting to a serene blue.
"Following proper protocol would be to take her back to the station and have her questioned." It was a statement, but Connor phrased it like a question, raising his eyebrows and looking to the cop for clarification.
The cop stared back with a dumbfounded half-sneer, before shaking his head and dismissing whatever he was thinking with a wave of his hand. He switched his focus back to Mabel, locking eyes with her.
"Ma'am, what exactly happened here?" He said it flatly, but somehow not without compassion. Mabel raised a distrustful eyebrow.
"I was walking my daughter home from Amy's Pizza, around the corner. This man stepped out of the alley pointing a gun at us. He wanted my bag." She kept her reply short, struggling to keep her voice even and low for the sake of Aveline.
The cop turned back to Connor, throwing him a look that clearly said 'Are you happy now?'
"There, she's been questioned."
"Whatever you say, Lieutenant." Connor's lips bore no hint of a smirk, but Mabel could swear there was humor in the words. The cop must have thought the same, because another perplexed sneer graced his face.
"Fuckin A, whatever I say." He shook his head again, returning his attention to the cuffed android whose arm he still gripped.
The sirens were getting closer, blaring just down the street. Connor inclined his head toward Mabel.
"You'll have to show me the way to your house."
"Uh, yeah," Mabel nodded slowly, deciding against raising argument. If she denied his protection she may not be allowed to leave."It's just down the block, here."
She started to turn, leading him towards her apartment building, when the android behind them began to speak. His eyes were locked on Connor, unblinking, tears still running down his face.
"You lied to me, Connor," he said, barely more than a whisper. "You lied to me."
Notes:
Hey y'all! I hope you're liking this one so far. My stats page is glitching out right now, and I can't see if anyone is reading my work. If you're interested in seeing more of this story, it would help me out if you could leave a like, follow, or comment. Thanks so much! Dareth Shiral.