Another report of an incident revolving around an android had prompted Hank out into the field with Connor at his side. The man had unwillingly become the lead investigator on android crimes since he was associated with Connor - an android designed to work with the police force - and in return he handled the cases as professionally as possible despite his reluctance to step away from homicide investigations. The man wanted to deal with serious crimes that were affecting Detroit as a whole, not just clean up some broken pieces of plastic and charge someone with vandalism or destruction of property. Every time he received a new case revolving around androids Hank felt himself getting heated at his time being wasted.
An incident at a private physical therapy treatment center had resulted in one of the android physical therapists being destroyed by an enraged patient. The android's entire body had been mangled by the manic patient's bare hands after a one-sided argument led to the android being targeted and torn apart without cause. There were no witnesses, only the patient's biased testimony to potentially explain away the issue at hand, necessitating in police presence.
"The patient is in here." Dr. Galen, the head of the rehabilitation facility, stated as he showed Hank and Connor about the facility. The other doctors, nurses and specialists had taken their patients elsewhere to avoid any scrutiny or uncomfortable questions. "And the android is over there."
Hank stared at the closed door where the destructive patient was sitting with a security guard, whereas Connor was fixated on the opened door of the private room where the destroyed android's body was splayed out on the floor in a blossoming puddle of her own blue blood. The way the deviant's brown eyes were wide open but unable to see anything beyond the darkness encroaching her very existence made Connor shudder with a sense of personal dread.
"Anyone touch the android?" Hank asked as he focused on Dr. Galen standing before him. As he spoke Hank ran his fingers through his increasingly graying hair and wondered how long it'd be until he was as gray as the elderly patients being carted around the facility. "It's evidence, and it shouldn't be touched or tampered with by anyone for any reason."
"It w-wasn't touched." The nervous doctor confirmed in a quivering voice. He seemed rather shaken up by the entire ordeal and wanted the police to leave the facility as soon as possible to ensure his patients remained comfortable and calm. "S-Security restrained the patient and alerted me to the s-situation."
"Connor, go examine the android." The Lieutenant ordered as he approached the security guard monitoring the patient and showed the man his badge. "I'm going to talk to the patient. We'll compare notes and figure out what happened tonight."
Without blinking Connor slowly approached the isolated room and prepared to examine the body as expected. "Right away, Lieutenant."
Crouching down slowly Connor scanned the android's body and confirmed that reactivation was impossible. The 'MC-500' had been beaten to death by the patient's bare hands, with the blunt force trauma to her head being the ultimate cause for the permanent shutdown. Even with technical assistance the damage to the android's intracranial processor had been too catastrophic to be repaired.
"I'm sorry. You didn't deserve this."
Whispering to the lone victim Connor spoke to the shutdown android in a gentle tone as he pressed his bare fingertips to her blank L.E.D. to connect to her dormant system. Using his advanced forensics software, Connor was able to learn the android's name, Holly, and of her final moments before her life was taken before she even had the chance to truly live. To see a murder through the victim's eyes was as beneficial as it was traumatic, especially with Connor's deviancy allowing him to empathize with every excruciating second leading to the victim's demise.
Seeing Holly being attacked through her own eyes was unnerving. Uncovering the cause of the attack and tragic murder was heartbreaking.
Holly had been assisting her patient and subsequent murderer with his physical therapy. The patient, Roger Oldson, an older man with a long history of back problems, had been admitted to the facility after his wife found herself unable to care for him by herself any longer. Roger had become hostile toward his wife when his doctor began weaning him off his potent pain medication by lowering the dosage, and he'd become physically violent with his wife whenever she'd deny him any additional pills for his own safety.
Being a successful businessman with a lot of connections had kept Roger from being arrested for domestic violence and abusing narcotics, but in return for no jailtime he had to be admitted to the facility for additional care. It seemed Roger had become so accustomed to always getting his way that he refused to accept "no" for an answer when he demanded special treatment or extra painkillers while performing his physical therapy. When his human doctors and specialists couldn't bear to assist the man in his therapy sessions due to his hostile behavior and horrendous attitude, poor Holly was thrown to the proverbial wolf as a sacrificial lamb.
After Roger demanded more medication and Holly declined, citing doctor's orders and his risk of a serious addiction as completely acceptable answers, Roger leapt from the table and began strangling Holly as he screamed in her face. When Holly showed no fear at Roger's presence, behavior or name, Roger became enraged and began slamming Holly's head against the wall behind her over and over again. After what seemed like hundreds of blows to the back of her head, Holly's cranium fractured and the delicate intracranial processor contained within had been dented and filled with tiny shards of shattered plastimetal that caused the irreparable damage.
The last thing Holly saw was the vicious, cold stare of a man drunk with power and self-entitlement begging for drugs while destroying an innocent person just for doing the right thing.
"I'm sorry this happened to you, Holly."
Connor gently closed Holly's eyes before he stood up straight. The deviant detective opened a nearby rolling cart and found a clean white sheet tucked away neatly inside. Using the sheet Connor covered Holly's body to help give her some sense of dignity while also making the scene look as clean, contained and professional as possible until Ben's team arrived to document the scene of the crime.
The deviant detective exited the private room and waited in the hallway for Hank to rejoin him while he mentally processed everything he had uncovered. As he stood with his back to the wall Connor retrieved his coin and began fidgeting with it to quell his anxiety and help him remain calm despite his own discomfort at being in the presence of selfish and apathetic humans who were more concerned with the reputation of an affluent rehabilitation facility than they were for their patients and their staff.
"Well, I don't care what that doctor says." An elderly voice spoke up as he was wheeled toward the front receptionist desk to be checked out. "I'm an adult and I can make my own decisions, Markus."
At that particular name Connor turned his focus toward the front desk and spotted Markus himself assisting Carl Manfred with his current medical care. Seeing Markus once again was enough to make Connor's blue L.E.D. flash to a stressed yellow as he did his best to appear as machine-like as possible. He couldn't risk any interactions with Markus since his deviancy could reach Markus before it was time for him to deviate on his own. Anything that interfered with the normal flow of events in Marku's life could drastically alter future events that still needed to unfold with Markus's direct influence to lead the charge.
"I'm aware you're perfectly capable of making your own decisions." Markus confirmed as he proceeded to cybernetically interact with the android receptionist behind the desk and have Carl checked out and his latest prescriptions filled. "But you still need to be careful of what you consume while taking specific medications."
"It'll be fine. Why don't you go and inform Dr. Galen that I'm ready to go? And don't let him push you out of his office this time." Carl encouraged as he gave Markus a warm grin from where he sat in his electric wheelchair. "I don't care about his stance on androids, I'm paying his damn salary and you deserve to be treated with dignity while doing what other humans can't be bothered to even try to do. If he doesn't do that, then I'll find a new doctor."
"All right, Carl. I'll handle it." Gently Markus took a blanket that had been neatly folded beneath the wheelchair and draped it over Carl's legs before leaving. "I'll be back in a moment. Please remain here so we can get you to your lunch appointment on time."
"Well, since Leo has a habit of showing up late, if at all, I don't think we have to worry about the clock today."
Markus just nodded as he obeyed the simple instructions and went on his way to meet with Dr. Galen. The android caretaker knew his way around the facility and didn't even acknowledge the cold stares shot his way by the misguided and misinformed human staff members as he passed them by. It seemed Markus always had some form of confidence even before discovering his heart and becoming deviant.
The way Carl had spoken to Markus and showed him sincere kindness helped Connor to understand how Markus became such a charismatic, compassionate and empathetic leader to the deviants. Markus had been surrounded by love, kindness, understanding and a willingness to communicate and see the world through someone else's eyes since the moment he had entered Carl's life. It seemed Markus had been exposed to such positive traits throughout his entire life and in turn such positive reinforcement helped him to keep sight of the light even when the world around him tried to smother him in eternal darkness.
"Carl has always respected and cared for Markus. It's no wonder that Markus was dedicated to finding a peaceful resolution."
Connor again whispered to himself as he watched and listened to Carl's interactions with the android from afar. He wanted so desperately to befriend Markus and have an android ally in his life, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't jeopardize the future for all of deviantkind because he was feeling increasingly lonely.
"For Markus, he was treated with dignity and love the moment he opened his eyes. Other androids like me will have to fight for basic manners even after the law supports us in time. And some of us will never be treated as anything more than a disposable machine."
Jealousy wasn't something Connor was expecting to feel that day. He wanted to have the respectful relationship with Hank that Markus currently had with Carl. In his mind, Connor was convinced that he'd never have the chance to befriend Hank as he had done in the alternate timeline. The Lieutenant still had Cole in his life and someone to love. There was no reason for Hank to even consider Connor as anyone worth his time since he didn't have a shattered heart that needed to heal by finding a new friendship or a second family with the deviant android.
In a way, Connor was beginning to see that Hank would never need him for anything.
"Fuckin' asshole." Hank grumbled as he exited the private room and rejoined Connor in the hallway. The man clearly disdained talking to Roger and wanted to close the case as quickly as possible. "Spoiled, rich prick had a temper tantrum and wasted all of our time. What did you learn about the android?"
"Her... It's name was registered as 'Holly'." Connor confirmed with a reluctant correction to Holly's pronoun as he spoke of her. "Holly had been assigned as Mr. Oldson's personal physical therapist after Mr. Oldson had proven himself to be too difficult and problematic for the other doctors, nurses and therapists to handle."
"That I figured out just by talking to the arrogant fucker." Sounding less than professional Hank made it clear he wanted to leave the facility. While he spoke Hank was unaware of Connor watching Markus pushing Carl out of the facility and toward the front doors with a lingering desire to experience that type of familial bonding for himself over time. "He claimed that Holly was trying to kill him by withholding lifesaving medication, then claimed that when he tried to call for help that Holly attempted to restrain him and sedate him. Somehow I doubt someone with chronic back problems that required surgery and physical therapy to correct could successfully fend off someone trying to overpower and drug him in such a brutally effective way."
"You are correct in your assessment." Slowly Connor raised his palm and showed Hank a holographic and muted replay of Holly's final memories before she had been assaulted and shutdown. "As you can see, Mr. Oldson attacked Holly without provocation when she refused to give him additional painkillers."
"Rich or poor, it doesn't matter. Any human can get addicted to something toxic and hurt the other people around them just to placate that vice."
Connor wanted to make a comment about Hank being correct again, but he decided to not push it. He didn't want to come off as condescending when he was merely being agreeable with Hank's views on the world.
"Upload that recording to my terminal so we can log it as evidence against the entitled fucker."
"Very well." Cybernetically Connor did as was instructed and his L.E.D. flickered in the three primary colors before returning to blue. "What will the charges be?"
"Destruction of private property," casually Hank began listing off the offenses one by one on his fingers while giving Connor an annoyed glance. "being a public nuisance, slander, and attempting to file a false police report by claiming the android when berserk and that he was going to sue the facility into bankruptcy."
Such charges weren't adequate enough punishment in Connor's mind. The man had brutally murdered an innocent android and was only going to get charged for being obnoxious to the facility staff and to the police in general.
"Come on." Heading toward the facility doors Hank motioned for Connor to join him as he nonchalantly ran his fingers through his graying hair. "Let's get the fuck outta' here and close this case. I got important shit that I need to be doing."
A callous remark of indifference rubbed Connor the wrong way, but he didn't mention it as he followed after Hank through the front doors. "...Right away, Lieutenant."
As expected, the case was closed rapidly, and no one shed a tear over an android being torn apart just for doing her job. The only person in the entire precinct who cared about what had happened to Holly was Connor himself, and he wasn't even a member of the precinct. Connor was barely seen as a consultant since he wasn't getting paid for his work. In the eyes of the other officers and detectives Connor was merely a tool being used by Hank in the field to handle cases, and that Hank alone deserved all credit for a job well done. The deviant detective found cold irony in being viewed as a disposable tool who actually cared about a murder victim, whereas the detective handling the case saw it as nothing more than an aggravating interference with the rest of his work.
Connor silently took in how apathetic the humans were behaving toward the destruction of androids as he remained against a far wall and away from the center of the bullpen with the other officers. He had no interest in trying to socialize with anyone or assist with the other cases despite seeing the other detectives struggling to find leads with their collected evidence. There was no point in assisting them since he knew that the humans would just take all the credit and dispose him once his use as a tool was gone.
"Hey, congrats!" Gavin practically shouted as he clapped his hand down on Chris's shoulder after the young officer shared some good news with his supportive colleagues. "When's the big day?"
"Don't' know yet." Chris admitted with a modest blush on his face as his fellow officers congratulated him on a positive change in his life. "Julia just said 'yes' last night, and she's been spending all day calling family and friends to confirm the engagement."
"Chris is getting married." Connor noted as he checked through confirmed dates from the alternate timeline with the new timeline. "By August in less than two years, he'll also become a father. The consistency between the two timelines means I haven't caused extreme changes despite my interference."
As the good news of the engagement spread more people joined Chris at his desk to congratulate him, shake his hand and ask how they could be of some help. It was interesting to see how humans could all band together to celebrate something positive for one or two people, but when it came to change that'd improve the lives of an entire groups of people, humans were often obstructive and confrontational for the sake of being against a change that wouldn't entirely benefit themselves.
"Chris and Julia will wed on June 6th, 2037. The wedding will consist of Chris's best friend as his best man and Julia's sister as her maid of honor. They will have a modest ceremony with only their closest friends and family in attendance, as well as a few officers from the precinct. Hank... didn't attend the wedding in the previous timeline."
Connor realized that there was sure to be another change in the near future, and he knew it was because of his meddling in the new timeline.
"I'm certain he'll attend the wedding if he receives an invitation again. I'm also certain that I'll be expected to watch after Cole while he's away."
Something about knowing the future without knowing all of the details left Connor feeling somewhat hollow and lost. He disliked not having all the answers after asking a question, and he thoroughly disliked not being able to find more answers by asking more questions. Being seen as a mindless, heartless machine was hurting Connor's psyche and the way he saw himself in a way he hadn't anticipated.
"I find it fascinating that Hank trusts me with Cole, but he doesn't see me as I am, for what I am. Alive."
Falling silent Connor began fussing with his coin once more and closed his eyes as emotional despair fell over him. He'd never be seen or treated as a living person by Hank regardless of what he said or did. Knowing that his entire mission was a failure and that there was nothing more for him to do, Connor resigned to his fate to being a disrespected, hated machine even after the Revolution would come to pass on November 11th, 2038.
As Connor played up the role as an obedient machine, he did his best to keep his emotions in check and not let the way he was being treated become evident on his face. The last thing he wanted to do was give Hank another reason to treat Connor like a worthless machine and cast him out onto the heartless streets to be forgotten by the Lieutenant and abused by the rest of the world.
"I know you'll lead us to freedom, Markus. Let Carl's kindness be your guiding light through darkness."
-next chapter-