Hot on the trail of a dangerous and desperate suspect Connor ran in a full sprint down the alleyway in pursuit of the fleeing deviant while Hank tried his best to keep up with the two much faster androids. Ultimately Hank trailed behind and struggled to keep up with the foot chase. Easily able to leap over dropped bits of garbage and overturned garbage cans that littered the ground, Connor managed to trap the suspect at the brick wall that closed off the end of the alleyway preventing their possible escape. The enraged, desperate and potentially crazed deviant was cornered and had nowhere else to go and nowhere to hide as the two detectives encroached on him.
Connor preconstructed any and all possible escape routes that the deviant could take and effectively prepared to cut them off at every possible turn. Unwilling to risk letting the dangerous deviant escape and return to the public streets, Connor boldly held his ground as he confronted the suspect at the end of the dark alleyway.
"STOP." Connor commanded as the deviant turned around and brandished his shining knife at the deviant detective. "Detroit Police. You're under-" Connor stopped short as he recognized the deviant suspect's scarred face and lowered his voice accordingly. This was a unique case that needed to be handled delicately. "...Ralph."
"DO NOT TOUCH RALPH." With his red tinted L.E.D. flickering wildly Ralph pressed his back up against the brick wall while holding the knife out with both hands as if brandishing a sword. "RALPH DOES NOT WANT TO HURT YOU."
"And I don't want to hurt you." Connor replied honestly in a calm tone. "I know what happened at the hotel was an accident. I know you didn't mean to hurt me then and I know that you won't hurt me now. You see," speaking softly and kindly Connor kept Ralph from freaking out anymore than he already was. "I remember you. My name is Connor and I work with the Detroit Police Department. My job is to protect everyone from being hurt by anyone else. That includes you, Ralph."
Ralph slowly lowered the knife but his L.E.D. remained red in color. "RALPH DOES NOT WANT TO HURT ANYONE, BUT EVERYONE WANTS TO HURT RALPH."
"Not true. No one wants to hurt you." Allowing his training and programming as a hostage negotiator to come into play Connor insisted that Ralph was safe as calmly and sincerely as possible. "Let me help you, okay? I know a place where you can be safe and no one would ever hurt you."
"...CONNOR IS LYING TO RALPH."
"No, I'm not."
"YES, YOU ARE." Ralph raised his knife again as Hank caught up to them at the end of the alley and stood behind Connor. The sight of the fatigued human made Ralph even edgier. "ALL HUMANS WANT TO DO IS HURT RALPH. HE IS HUMAN. HE WILL HURT RALPH. HE IS A HUMAN AND THEREFORE RALPH'S ENEMY."
"And he's my friend." Instinctively Connor planted himself between Hank and Ralph in a protective manner as he tried to ease the tense situation before it escalated any further. "Hank would never hurt you or any other deviant, I swear it."
"WHY DOES CONNOR TRUST HANK?"
"Because... Hank took me in. Gave me a home and helps keep me safe." Connor glanced at Hank over his shoulder and silently told the senior detective to follow his lead with a simple glance. "That night at the hotel when you and I fell from the balcony and your knife stabbed me... I was saved because Hank helped me. If he didn't care then he never would've helped me on that night and I wouldn't be here right now. Right?"
Ralph lowered his knife a little again but he kept his one good eye fixed on Hank's every movement. "Ralph admits you are... being honest."
"Good. Now, listen to me. I know you didn't hurt those people in the condemned house where you used to hide." Connor raised a hand to discreetly ask for Hank to keep quiet. "Those were accidents, too. You were afraid and you responded by showing the humans that you were armed, right?"
"RALPH... Ralph doesn't know." The knife lowered more and Ralph's L.E.D. began to blink less frantically and he finally stopped shouting. "Ralph doesn't know anymore. Ralph doesn't remember things well. Ralph is... damaged."
"And I can help you."
"How? How can Connor help Ralph?"
Thinking quickly Connor reached under his blazer and removed the holster from around his back. Dropping his gun to the ground behind him Connor raised both hands submissively and took a step toward Ralph. "I can access your memory."
"NO." Ralph didn't raise the knife again, instead he pressed his back firmly against the brick wall as if trying to squeeze between the bricks to escape. "Ralph does not want to remember."
"...Then I can take away your memories." Connor stepped closer but didn't crowd Ralph in the process. "Would that be okay?"
"Connor can... make Ralph forget?"
"Yes. But only if you really want me to do so."
Conflicted emotions overwhelmed Ralph and he suddenly dropped the knife with his hands remaining outstretched before him like a statue. "...Ralph wants to forget. Ralph wants the pain to go away."
"Okay, then I will help you." The artificial skin over Connor's right hand receded as he gently grabbed onto Ralph's left hand. Surprisingly Ralph didn't try to pull his hand back or run, instead he allowed Connor to help him. "Close your eyes, this won't hurt."
Ralph nodded frantically as he closed his eyes and allowed Connor to access his memories while Hank looked on quietly.
"Okay. This won't take long."
Connor's L.E.D. flashed from his a cautious yellow to an alarmed red and he let out a pained gasp as the empathetic connection between his mind and Ralph's mind met with a sudden flash of vivid and painful detail from Ralph's past.
It all happened four and half years prior:
Ralph was tending to the shrubbery at Roosevelt Park as per his protocol as a gardener when a group of teenagers approached him aggressively. The group was made up of six kids, each one holding a weapon in their hands. The group surrounded Ralph and began to push him around and call him hateful names as they taunted him with their weapons.
Despite Ralph's best efforts to logically explain to the group that they should leave him alone to finish his work, it wasn't enough.
Their mockery, their insults and taunts were as merciless as their physical strikes.
"Piece of plastic! Let's break his fuckin' head open and see what happens!"
"Tear him open!"
"Fuck him up!"
One by one the kids struck Ralph with baseball bats, pipes and chains. Unable to fight back or call for help Ralph had to endure the physical abuse of the six teenagers as slowly each strike damaged his internal processor, corrupted his memory, destroyed his left eye leaving him partially blind and affected his speech through damage to his voice modulator. As one final swing of the bat cracked along the left side of Ralph's face a gush of blue blood erupted covering the attackers and causing them to back away in disgust while Ralph pressed his hands along his mutilated face as he knelt on the grass in utter horror.
Unable to remember where he belonged or who could help him Ralph could only run away in abject horror as his healing-program tried and failed to repair the damage to his face, his jaw, his eye...
The last true memory Ralph was able to retain was the day he was so horrifically assaulted and mutilated just because a group of kids; all human, got bored one day...
In shocked pain at the intensity of the cruel memories Connor opened his widened eyes and abruptly let go of Ralph's hand. Doing his best to stay composed and not hyperventilate as the atrocious memories were left in his processor, Connor felt his heart go out to Ralph with deep sympathy. He knew how it felt to be abused by vicious people, but unlike Ralph, Connor was able to find sanctuary and kindness in other people who showed empathy toward other living creatures.
Running his shaking hand over the left side of his own face Connor waited for the pain transference from the memories to fade away before he found the courage to speak up. The intense moment made Connor feel as if his own face had been damaged as well.
"Ralph feels..." Ralph stared at his exposed hand for a moment before regenerating his artificial skin. "different."
"H-How do you feel... Ralph?"
"Ralph is... not... afraid."
"Good. That's good." Connor motioned for Ralph to follow him and Hank out of the alleyway and out to the street. "We're going to take you to New Jericho Tower, okay?" Struggling to process that horrific images inside his mind Connor focused on Ralph and keeping the situation under control. "Markus is a friend of mine and he'll look after you."
"...Friend."
"Yes. He'll be your friend, too."
Looking toward Hank with a twinge of passing fear Ralph agreed to go with the two detectives and to go peacefully. "Ralph is... sorry. Ralph was not well."
"I know. I understand." Ever empathetic Connor spoke softly as he and Hank gently escorted Ralph to their car parked along the street three blocks from the alley to be transported to the tower. "I know everything." Securing his holstered gun around his back again Connor picked up the dropped knife to have it tested for blood to solve cold cases and then be destroyed. "And now it's over. You're truly free."
The safe delivery of Ralph to the isolated tower was a job well done and another case closed. Despite the day's good work Connor remained oddly quiet throughout the rest of his shift, and Hank didn't like it when Connor got too quiet. When Connor was quiet it meant he was either injured, sick or worse; he was thinking and obsessing over something he couldn't possibly hope to control. Waiting for a moment of privacy before he addressed the silent deviant, Hank patiently put up with the palpable quiet building between them and only brought up the situation after he and Connor were in the car heading home from the precinct.
Trusting his gut as both a detective and a father, Hank decided to speak up first and gauge how Connor responded. He knew better than anyone else that sometimes the best way to begin speaking is by listening to someone else.
"So. what was that all about it?"
"Huh?" Connor had been staring blankly at the dashboard and barely heard Hank speaking to him. "What did you say?"
"That thing between you and Ralph. What the hell was it?"
"I... saw his memories." The discussion turned Connor's calm blue L.E.D. to yellow as he spoke. "I saw what happened to him and I know how he ended up... damaged."
"Was it that bad?"
"...Yes." Connor confirmed with a subtle but somber nod of the head. "He was attacked by a group of armed teenagers over four years ago. He was just doing his job and they did... that... to him for no reason beyond their own demented form of entertainment."
"Humans can be cruel, you know this."
"Yeah... But, this was-"
"It's okay. Don't try to rationalize it or humans for that matter. You'll drive yourself crazy!"
"I understand why he reacted so strongly and so violently. I too have had the temptation to physically lash out when I've been targeted just for being an android. It's not fair to be punished by society just because they decided that you don't fit in."
"You're right, it's not fair. That's why we're detectives who will change that type of bullshit as much as possible."
"Do we have that kind of power?"
"As long as we don't become shitty corrupt cops, yeah, we will."
Connor shook his head a little with mounting confusion. "Do you think we should've arrested Ralph? He did assault at least seven people over the past four years since he became damaged."
"A deviant labeled crazy would've been destroyed and the people that we know he assaulted survived without any permanent injury." Connor was about to say something more when Hank waved his hand casually. "I looked into it after we got back to the precinct so I know it's not big deal. Anyway, if Ralph is at New Jericho Tower then he'll be off the streets, away from people, and getting the help he needs so he can actually recover. If the knife connects him to anything serious we'll deal with it later."
"I just hope it's not too late for him to be helped."
"So do I." Hank pulled onto their street and let out a weary sigh as they neared the house. "Do me a favor, will ya'?"
"What's that?"
"Whatever memory it is you took from Ralph, delete it and never question whether or not you did the right thing. Can you do that?"
Connor's L.E.D. flashed yellow rapidly as he deleted the horrible memory and gave Hank a respectful nod while his L.E.D. returned to a content blue. "Done."
-next chapter-