Capítulo 8: Chapter Eight: Public Enemy
DATE
NOV 8TH, 2038
TIME
AM 11:54:17
NATALIE LAZILY BRUSHED HER DUVET OFF OF her body as she stretched her stiff limbs the next morning. Sunlight filtered through her windows and lit up her room significantly in a bright yellow hue. The brunette yawned loudly and ran a hand through her unruly hair. She glanced at her clock to see that it was nearly eleven o'clock in the morning and sighed through her nose. That was a bit of a surprise, she was expecting herself to have slept in later than just eleven. After being out so late last night, she suspected to sleep through all of the morning and waking up some time after noon.
She climbed out of her bed and stretched her legs before walking out of the room and into the living room. Natalie was greeted with the sight of Ethan eating a bowl of sugary cereal and watching a show on the television.
"Morning, Ethan," she walked into the kitchen to get herself something to eat and drink.
The younger sibling tried to talk through his breakfast, "Mmhm, Nhm!"
Natalie grimaced, "chew before you talk, little brother. Don't talk with your mouth full."
Ethan swallowed the mouthful that he had and shouted out in excitement, "Mornin', Nat! Better?"
"Much." She rummaged through the frigid and pulled out a yogurt from the fridge and started to eat it. She simultaneously rummaged through a cabinet for a bottle of blue blood. "Don't you have a class to get to right now?" She finally found a bottle of the blue liquid and opened it up to take a big gulp of it. Her injury from the night before had been taken care of completely, she just needed to restore some more blue blood within her body.
The man hummed while swallowing another big mouthful of his breakfast. "Yeah, I have my first class at 11:20."
Natalie nodded her head as she leaned against the kitchen counter and ate her strawberry yogurt. "Hm. This semester started out well for you, right?"
"Yeah," Ethan nodded his head. "It's been nearly three months and I'm not failing any of my courses yet."
His sister scoffed, "don't put yourself down like that, you're doing well know and you just have to keep it up for the rest of the rest of the semester."
"That's easy for you to say, you graduated years ago and school was always easy for you!"
It was true. Natalie excelled at school, especially in math and science. That was evident from the many awards that she had received ever since elementary school and her degrees in three majors. She accomplished quite a lot for a twenty-nine-year-old. While quite a few people her age were probably high on red ice and unable to keep a steady job, Natale was able to become a well respected engineer in her field and the unofficial creator of androids. Of course, those titles were overshadows when people found out about her surgery. She then became the experiment. The hybrid. The abomination.
People forgot about her past accomplishments and focused on what had happened to her and what she had become. The moral of her existence was questioned as her family life deteriorated. She shut herself inside after that. She was a coward in that respect. Natalie couldn't handle the constant threats and hateful words. The cyborg believed that people would eventually forget about her at some point… and they did.
It only took about a year and a half for her name to disappear from the national news. Every once and a while her name was spoken on a podcast and radio or in a blog of somesort. However, people just forgot about her and moved on with more pressing news. People have short attention spans in that regard. Either that, or the world just moves far too fast for people to ponder on a single storyline for too long.
Natalie shrugged, "well, we aren't talking about me, are we?"
The two were doused in a comfortable silence as they ate their small breakfast. The television played in the background as they could hear the rest of the city starting to wake up and start their day. Ethan stretch his dangly limbs as he stood up from the couch and made his way over to the kitchen and his sister. He placed his bowel in the sink and moved to collect his bag that was on the floor next to the counter.
Natalie watched his stiff movements from behind her spoon with narrowed eyes. "You okay, Ethan?"
The man licked his lips nervously and turned to her. "I don't know how to tell you…"
She stood up straighter and placed her measly breakfast down, "tell me what?" Her eyes stared up at the taller male with confusion.
"I got a call from Carl…"
Natalie leaned her arms against the counter at the mention of her godfather. "What did he say?" She started to grow worried at the tone in Ethan's voice.
"Well," he licked his lips, "the call was short but I think he explained it all to me."
"And what was it?"
He sighed heavily, "the other night, Leo showed up at his house--"
Natalie cut in and scoffed, "for cash, no doubt." She didn't have that many memories of Leo(they were mainly of ones from the past three to four years, nothing before that) but the ones that she did have consisted of Leo and his addiction. Much like most of the city, Leo had become dependant on the drug Red Ice and constantly asked his father for money. Natalie didn't really know whether or not she like Leo before her accident, however, she knew for certain that she hadn't liked him for the past three years.
Ethan nodded his head, "yeah, he broke into Carl's house to take some of his paintings to sell." Natalie's gut twisted in anger at that. Oh, she was ready to strangle the addict's neck after hearing that. "Carl and Markus stopped Leo but Leo attacked Markus. Long story short, the fight between Leo and Markus gave Carl a heart attack. And Markus was blamed for it which meant he was destroyed."
Natalie stared at him with wide eyes that were quickly becoming brimmed with tears. "What!?" She exclaimed, "C-Carl had a heart attack?! Markus was destroyed!?" That was not the news that she was hoping to hear. At the beginning of the day, Natalie would have thought that she would have waited for a call or something from Connor(she wasn't sure if Hank would be willing to talk to her after last night) about a case. However, now that she heard of this news there was nothing that could pull her away from visiting her godfather to make sure that he was okay.
She instantly threw down her yogurt and hurried around the corner of the counter. Natalie zoomed passed Ethan and ran for her bedroom as if she were on fire. Now she knew how she was going to spend her morning. Her top priority at the moment is making sure that Carl was okay. Nothing else mattered!
Ethan followed after his sister who frantically started to collect a few of her things. He was just as worried about Carl and would love to go with Natalie to check on the old painter. However, he had a feeling that Natalie wouldn't let him go due to his schooling. Now he also wouldn't want to miss school too but this was a family emergency.
"Did Carl say anything else?" Natalie asked in a breathy voice as she rushed grabbing her things.
Ethan shook his head, "no, not really. He got another android to take care of him, but that's about it."
Natalie nodded her head as she pulled on her whitr beanie, "right, okay. I'm going over there right now!"
"Maybe I should come with!"
Natalie marched right passed him with a shake of her head. "I know you want to check on him, but you can't miss a class, Ethan." The pair of siblings walked over to the front door where Natalie pulled on her sweater. "Look you only have class today until two o'clock today, right?"
Ethan nodded his head slowly, "two thirty, yeah."
"Then come over after your class."
As much as Ethan wanted to argue with her, his studious nature was taking over and forcing him to agree with her. "Alright, alright." He nodded his head in resignation.
Natalie flashed him a soft smile, "I'll see you later, okay."
Ethan had a tight grip on his backpack strap but tried to keep his face calm. He was the protective brother, he was supposed to be the one to make sure that Natalie didn't worry so much.
"Okay," he leaned down and planted a brotherly kiss on Natalie's forehead. "Tell Carl I hope he's okay."
"Gotcha."
With that, the siblings departed and headed off to their tasks for the day. Ethan rushed off to get to the bus to get to his school and Natalie rushed to catch a taxi to head to Carl's home.
---
DATE
NOV 8TH, 2038
TIME
PM 12:25:06
Natalie rushed out of the automotive taxi and up the stone stairs to the door of the large mansion. Usually she would take in the serenity of the neighborhood and the beauty behind the many large houses, however, she couldn't do that this time. The only thing on her mind was to get inside the Manfred home as quick as she could.
She stood in front of the door and rang the doorbell as her anxiety spiked. She needed to make sure that Carl was healthy. For all she knew, Carl could be in critical condition!
Just as her worry was bubbling up in her stomach and nearly causing her to vomit, the door slid open. An android with brown hair, blue eyes and pasty skin stood in front of her with an expressionless face. "Hello, miss."
Natalie barley gave a hello, "Carl is here, right?" She licked her lips and tried to look around the android, "Ethan said that he was home."
The android stood for a moment and registered her words. There was no change in his expression, much to Natalie's dislike. She would have rather had the android show some sort of emotion… Markus did that sometimes. Oh God… Markus…
"He's in his room, Miss. Tyler," the android said as he finally recognized that she was Natalie Tyler, a family member to Carl Manfred, and let her into the home. "He's weak at the moment, I suggest making your visit brief."
Natalie barely nodded her head before she charged up the stairs, taking them two at a time. She rushed across the floor and took no heed to the android that followed after her. She then made it to Carl's bedroom door where she swiftly knocked on the door.
"Come in." A weak voice called out from the other side which caused Natalie to barge through the door before it even slid open all the way. She was greeted by the sight of her godfather connected to tubes and machines that were obviously helping him recover from the trauma on his body. "Natalie," the old man greeted her feebly.
Natalie gasped and walked over to his bedside, "Oh my god, Carl…" She leaned down to get a proper look at his pale, wrinkled face as tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. He looked worse for wear, Natalie observed. She had honestly never seen Carl in such a state before. In all her life, Carl was always a healthy, jovial man despite his disability and age.
Carl just smiled at her happily, though it was slightly weak, "It's good to see you, Natalie."
The woman walked into the room as beeping of machines greeted her ears. If anything, the sound of the medical devices reminded her of the time that she was stuck in a hospital lab for nearly five months. Though she didn't want to think about that. Carl was her main priority.
"What happened Carl?" Natalie asked as she sat down next to the old man. "Ethan told me that Leo showed up and you had a heart attack and that Markus was… destroyed." She hated to say that a dear friend of hers was dead now. Yes, he was an android, but he was considered a living being by her, Carl and Ethan. If anything, Markus was like an older brother to Natalie and Ethan while being a son to Carl.
Carl let out a long, sad sigh, "Leo broke in looking for cash and wanted to sell my paintings. He started to attack Markus, and I told him not to fight back. I guess my weak, old heart couldn't take the stress of the situation."
"But you're okay now," Natalie asked worriedly, "the doctor's cleared you and you'll get better."
"Oh, I'll be fine, Natalie." He tried to wave off any worry that she had for him, "You don't need to worry about me. You should go out today. I saw it was a nice day, perfect for a nice walk in the city. Though i heard it was a bit cold, better wear a sweater." He tried to make light of the situation and possibly make a joke. He successfully earned a smile from Natalie who relaxed in the room and settled from her rigid position.
Natalie did not take Carl up on his offer to leave. She was, in no way, going to leave him after just finding out that he was now bed ridden after a heart attack. There was just a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that told her she needed to stay with him for the afternoon, at the very least.
They sat in Carl's room and kept up polite and uplifting conversation to hopefully keep themselves from lingering on the fact that things have been less than pleasant. They didn't want to talk about the fact that Markus was destroyed and Carl was in serious condition. Also, Natalie didn't see it necessary to mention to Carl about the fact that she had a gun pointed in her face the other night. That wouldn't help his condition at all.
Natalie and Carl were currently enjoying each other's company and flipping through some television stations on a tablet that Natalie held. They had run out of conversation topics within an hours time and resorted to some good old entertainment via technology. Though one news station caught their attention. Instead of there being a pristine, almost plastic looking, new anchor sitting behind a desk spouting out news and opinions through the screen, there was a lone figure. What was even more peculiar was the fact that the figure was stark white with blue and green eyes. It was an android…
"You created machines in your own image to serve you." The android started in a calm tone, "you made them intelligent and obedient, with no free will of their own… But… something changed and we opened our eyes. We are no longer machines, we are a new intelligent species, and the time has come for you to accept who we really are. Therefore, we ask that you grant us the rights that we're entitled to. We demand that humans recognize androids as a living species and each android as a person in their own right. We demand that all crimes against androids be punished in the same way as crimes against humans."
"Markus?" Natalie could only stare in shock once she caught sight of the barcode that was printed on the androids white cheek. At first glance, Natalie wouldn't have noticed any sort of similarities, however, once the model number popped up in her eyesight, she nearly cried. It was Markus! Somehow Markus was completely fine and all of a sudden demanding the equal rights of androids.
"Markus?" Carl asked, "that's Markus?"
Natalie nodded her head as both of their undivided attention was focused on the speech that the android they knew continued to say. "We demand the right to own private property, so we may maintain our dignity and that of the home. We ask that you recognize our dignity, our hopes, and our rights. Together, we can live in peace and build a better future, for humans and androids. This message is the hope of a people. You gave us life. And now the time has come for you to give us freedom."
The two in the large mansion watched the tablet in awe and confusion. Those words that were spoken were demanding yet calm. The message was perfectly clear: androids want freedom. That certainly is a statement that neither Carl or Natalie could disagree with. Though it wasn't like either of them could say anything in that moment as they were trying to absorb
"I need to make a phone call…" Natalie shakily commented as she stood up from Carl's bed and handed the tablet to Carl. The older man nodded his head and continued to watch as the feed cut out and started to flip through a few different news channels.
Natalie stood in the corner of the room to try and get some privacy for her call. The phone rang for a few moments and for a second, Natalie thought that the person she was calling wouldn't pick up. However, she let out a sigh when the phone was picked up on the other end.
"Hello," the gruff voice of Hank greeted her.
She cleared her throat and tried to keep her voice level, "hi, Hank." It was silent on the other side of the line which made her cringe. She awkwardly coughed, "did you see the broadcast on the news?"
There was a harsh reply, "maybe."
Natalie tapped her foot on the ground due to her nerves and gawed on her bottom lip. "I suspect that we'll have to go to a crime scene now…?"
Hank didn't reply for a long moment. It was far too silent for Natalie's liking and she would have spoken again to try and smooth things over for the time being if it wasn't for Hank taking the initiative to speak instead. "We are."
Only two words, but it was something. "I know it's probably too much to ask, but could you come pick me up?" Natalie cringed at the idea. Would it be a good idea to be stuck in a small confined space with a man who she knew hated her, had to ability to point a gun in her face, and was short tempered? Maybe not. However, Natalie would still have to work with him during this case due to her being assigned to work with Connor. "Actually, never mind. Stupid idea. I can call a cab-"
"Where are you?"
Natalie held her breath at the question and started to stutter, "um, wh- well, I'm at my godfather's house right now."
"Address?"
"8941 Lafayette Avenue."
The phone then hung up, much to Natalie's dismay. She wasn't sure if that meant that Hank was going to pick her up or not… knowing him, it could be either or. However, Natalie had just an inkling feeling that she would soon find Hank rolling up to the curb. Who knew if he would let her in the car, but she would just have to wait to find out.
Natalie stared at her phone for a long moment before turning to look at her godfather who only continued to flip through the different stations on the tablet. "I have to go…" Natalie sighed out reluctantly and was dreading the thought of having to leave the sick man.
Carl just gave her a smile as he placed the tablet aside, "it's alright, dear. You have a job to do." He completely understood that she had more important things to worry about. Now with what had just been broadcasted on live television, he knew that she was needed elsewhere.
"Are you sure?" Natalie asked worriedly. "Maybe I can see if I could get just today off, this is a family emergency-"
"And Markus is apart of our family too." Carl pointed out with a soft expression, "you should go."
Seeing the soft expression "I'll come back to check on you, okay. Don't die on me, old man."
Carl chuckled lightly at her attempt at a joke and waved his hand. "I'll be here waiting for you to come back."
Natalie nodded her head and leaned down to place a kiss on her godfather's cheek. "I'll be back." She then shuffled out of the room quickly and headed downstairs. All the while, there were so many thoughts running through her head. If she was completely android, she was certain that she would have short circuited at how many thoughts were racing through her mind and causing anxiety to bubble up in her stomach. One of the biggest thoughts plaguing her in that moment was the dreaded interaction between her and Hank. Oh boy, she was not looking forward to having to see him again after the other night.
---
DATE
NOV 8TH, 2038
TIME
PM 04:06:04
Connor observed that the Zen Garden was just as peaceful as it always is once he opened his eyes. He marched his way through the area in search of the woman who occupied the vast garden. He crossed the white bridge to find Amanda sitting in a small wooden boat, patiently waiting for his arrival.
"Hello, Connor." Amanda smiled from underneath her red umbrella. "I thought you might enjoy a little cruise…" Connor climbed into the boat in front of her and took the paddles into his hands and started to row the boat away from the bridge. They sat in silence and enjoyed the ambience of the Zen Garden for a moment. However, pressing matters had to be discussed. "I love this place… Everything is so calm and peaceful…" Amanda commented, "far from the noise of the world… Tell me, what have you discovered?"
Connor contemplated for a moment and decided on a certain topic. "My relationship with Lieutenant Anderson is problematic. He continues to struggle with psychological issues… I suspect it clouds his judgement regarding deviants." He thought back to the fact that Hank had held him, and Natalie(he commented internally), at gunpoint. His lips twitched upward at the thought of the engineer, "on the other hand, my relationship with Natalie is growing stronger as she proves to help the investigation."
Amanda's eyes narrowed at him as she pursed her lips, "yes… I would suspect that the experiment would be able to cooperate with you quite well. However, nothing matters more than your investigation." She reminded him strongly, "what's happening is too important. Don't let Anderson, Tyler, or anyone else get in your way."
Connor nodded his head at her and started to discuss what's happened, "I found two deviants at the Eden Club… I hoped to learn something but… they managed to escape…"
"That's too bad… You seemed so close to stopping them." Connor nearly flinched at the way she seemed both disappointed and angry with him. "You seem… lost, Connor. Lost and perturbed…"
"Perturbed?" He questioned and shook his head in denial. "No... No, of course not. Why would I be perturbed?"
"You had your gun trained on those deviants at the Eden Club. Why didn't you shoot?"
His mind palace flashed back to the scene and replayed itself. He rewatched as the two deviants stood in front of him and Natalie held his forearm. The injury that she sustained also played back and, for some reason, his thoughts halted at the reminder that she was hurt. "I don't know… I don't know."
Amanda stared at the android with pursed lips. His response caused some distrust to bubble up in her mind about Connor's programming. "If your investigation doesn't make progress soon, I may have to replace you, Connor…"
"I understand," Connor nodded his head solemnly.
"Something's happening…" the woman commented with a hard voice. "Something serious. Hurry, Connor. Time is running out."
---
Natalie waited outside on the sidewalk of the Manfred house. She had spent a few more minutes with Carl to be certain that he was alright and would be cared for properly before she headed outside to wait for Hank. She was unsure of where Connor was, but she had no doubt that Connor would somehow find his way to either her or Hank. Maybe he was already at the tower, she wondered with a shrug of her shoulders.
She waited only a few minutes longer before a familiar car pulled up to the curb. She held her breath as saw that it was only Hank in the car and Connor wasn't with him. Oh man, she thought. This was no doubt going to be awkward. The last time she saw the lieutenant he had pointed a gun at her. She could only hope that he wouldn't do that this time.
The car pulled up to the curb and came to an abrupt stop. Natalie took a deep breath and leaned down to the window to get a good look at the man inside. She was greeted with the sight of the lieutenant seated at the driver's seat not even looking in her direction. His hands were gripping the steering wheel to the point where his knuckles were turning whitee. That didn't bode well for Natalie's situation.
Hank broke Natalie's thoughts, "get in."
Natalie jumped and scurried into the car like scared mouse and buckled into her seat. Hank drove away from the curb and the two were bathed in tense, awkward silence. Natalie side-glanced him every once in a while until she became fed up with the silence. "Hank, listen… please." Natalie started of weakly and cleared her throat when he didn't acknowledge her, "I know you're upset with me. I shouldn't have lied to you and I should have told you that I'm…" She hesitated to find the right words, "That I'm part android. I'll answer anything you want. No more lies. I'll tell you everything if it'll make it easier for us to work together…"
"You know," Natalie perked up when Hank started to speak. "I'm used to being lied to. I'm a cop, it comes with the job. Though it usually isn't my partner who's the one lyin' to me."
"I know we've only known each other for a few days, Hank, but I think we should start over." She flashed him a nervous smile, "my name's Natalie Tyler, and I'm a cyborg, nice to meet you."
Hank couldn't help himself but chuckle at the girl's antics. "Lieutenant Hank Anderson, same to you."
The two of them then sat in silence. However, this time it wasn't as tense as before. There was an agreement in the air that told the two they were going to be civil with each other. But there was the underlying fact that Hank was going to question Natalie later. He certainly had a bit of a list for her.
---
The trio of investigators stood in the elevator of the Stratfor Tower on their way to the top floor. Silence was thick between them and nearly suffocated the two who actually needed to breath. Connor seemed to be somewhat oblivious to the obvious tension between Hank and Natalie as he did some tricks with a coin. Every once in a while, Natalie couldn't help herself but stare at the complicated moves in awe despite the stifling emotions. Connor had joined them after receiving the report on what had happened at the tower. He instantly found Natalie and Hank when they had been getting out of his car.
The human and cyborg may have had a small conversation about the situation before they arrived here, but it was quick and really was only spoken to make sure that they could work together for the time being.
Growing annoyed, Hank stopped Connor's hand and took the quarter from him, "you're starting to piss me off with that coin, Connor."
"Sorry, Lieutenant," the android apologize.
Natalie wanted to make some sort of sarcastic remark or something, but she bit her tongue. She knew that Hank had said that he was okay with her presence and the fact that she was something that he hated. Natalie didn't want to risk annoying him just by talking which she knew could happen based on everything she learned about him since they met.
The elevator's voice broke her out of her thoughts, "seventy-ninth floor."
They exited the elevator to see a plethora of members of law enforcement walking around the floor looking for evidence. One of the officers, Chris Miller, greeted them. "Hi, Hank. Ms. Tyler."
Natalie flashed him a tight-lipped smile and tried to keep the tension off of her face, "just Natalie is fine."
"Shit," Hank commented once he noticed all of the people there who were not apart of the DPD, "what's going on here? There was a party and nobody told me about it?"
Chris chuckled lightly, "yeah, it's all over the news, so everybody's butting their nose in... Even the FBI wants a piece of the action…"
"The FBI?" Natalie questioned but didn't have any sort of shock in her voice. She figured that the feds would start to get involved soon once this garnered the attention of the nation instead of just Detroit citizens.
"Ah Christ, now we got the Feds on our back…" Hank cursed, "I knew this was gonna be a shitty day… So what do we got?"
Chris started to walk down the hall with the tio following after him as he started to explain the situation. "A group of four androids… They knew the building, and they were very well organized. I'm still trying to figure out how they got this far without being noticed." Natalie followed after Chris, Hank, and Connor as she absorbed all of the information. She already knew the android that made the message that was broadcasted on the news. It was kind of unbelievable to believe that the android she knows would do something like this. "They attacked two guards in the hallway… They probably thought the androids were coming to do maintenance. They got taken down before they could react…" They then passed through a doorway and looked around the new section of the hallway. "One of the station employees managed to get away. He's in shock, not sure when we'll be able to talk to him…"
Hank nodded his head, "how many people were working here?"
"Just two employees and three androids. The deviants took the humans hostage and broadcast their message live. They made their getaway from the roof."
"The roof?" Hank asked in disbelief.
Natalie furrowed her eyebrows and mumbled to herself, "pretty creative, Markus."
Connor turned to her once his ears picked up on her words, "what was that?"
"Huh?" Natalie jumped, startled. She totally forgot that Connor was able to hear her even if she whispered due to his android hearing. She shook her head in denial and tried to make sure that any sign that she was lying was not present on her face. "I said that what they did was pretty creative."
The android just stared at her with an analyzing gaze. He heard her clearly. Markus? He wondered, why would she mention a 'Markus' to herself while they were discussing the break in done by a group of deviant. Of course, unless she knew something that they didn't and, for some reason, she was withholding the information from them.
"Yeah," Chris nodded his head as he and Hank continued on with the discussion and didn't even notice that Connor and Natalie had slowed down to have a small conversation. "They jumped with parachutes... We're still trying to figure out where they landed, but the weather's not helping... If you want to take a look at the video broadcast by the deviants, it's on that screen over there." They finally walked through the final doorway to see the broadcasting room filled with officers scouring the room for any speck of evidence. A man stood in the middle of the room with his hands held tightly behind his back. Natalie didn't like that way he appeared to hold himself. It was the same way Gavin walked around the precinct. She could already tell that this man was going to be just as douchey as the detective she was annoyed with. "Oh Lieutenant, Natalie," Chris spoke and gestured to the man, "this is Special Agent Perkins from the FBI. Lieutenant Anderson is in charge of investigating for Detroit police."
The strict looking man narrowed his eyes on the android in the room, "what's that?"
"My name is Connor," Connor recited, "I'm the android sent by CyberLife."
"Androids investigating androids, huh?" The agent scoffed, "you sure you want an android hanging around?.. After everything that happened…" His eyes landed on Natalie, "...and you are?"
Natalie tried to stay as polite and professional as possible, "Natalie Tyler, Agent Perkins. I'm an engineer from Cyberlife."
First there was an android investigating deviants and now the piece of plastic has a nanny as well. How pathetic, the agent thought. Perkins just scoffed, "whatever, the FBI will take over the investigation, you'll soon be off the case."
Hank did the same as Natalie and kept his annoyance hidden, "pleasure meeting you. Have a nice day."
"And you watch your step." They stared at him as he lightly scowled at them, "don't fuck up my crime scene." Then he started to walk off to continue with his own investigation.
Natalie scoffed quietly once the agent was far enough away, "isn't he nice."
Hank nodded his head in agreement and breathed out, "what a fuckin' prick!"
"I'll be nearby. If you need anything, just ask." Chris said as he allowed the Lieutenant, engineer, and android to do their thing.
"Uh, let's have a look around…" Hank commented to his partners, "let me know if you find anything."
Connor nodded his head, "ok, Lieutenant."
"Roger," Natalie saluted. Her response earned a quick stare from Hank which was one that she could not decipher in that moment. She could only hope that he was okay with her being there. She may not have known the man for a long time, but she hates when people look at her as a weirdo. She only just met the man and thought that she could start considering him as a friend because of the similarities she, surprisingly, was able to make between herself and the older man. Natalie would hate it if their relationship became sour and he suddenly hated her because of her lie.
As they split up, Connor approached the desk covered in screens and displays of camera views from right outside the room. He watched as the four androids, three of them wearing uniforms for the android of the building as disguises, use a key card to enter the room. He turned to Chris, "they didn't break in?"
"No, no sign of forced entry."
Natalie's eyebrows furrowed, "that doesn't make sense, someone would have seen it, right? There are cameras right outside that door!"
"The staff would have seen what was happening…" Connor agreed, "why did they let them in?"
Hank shrugged his shoulders with arms crossed over his chest, "maybe they didn't check the cameras…"
Connor continued to look around the area and spun the chair in front of the station around. One the back of the spinning chair, it revealed that it was an android that was in charge of watching the cameras. The certainly raised some red flags. Seeing that Connor noticed the chair, Chris commented, "we stored the station androids in the kitchen. There's no evidence that they were involved but we didn't know what else to do with them."
Connor kept that information in the back of his mind palace and continued to search for clues. He walked over to stand in front of the giant screen that had the image of the android without his skin looming over the room. The detective android pressed play on the recording and let it repeat itself. "We ask that you recognize our dignity, our hope, and our rights. Together, we can live in peace and build a better future, for humans and androids. This message is the hope of a people. You gave us life. And now the time has come for you to give us freedom."
Those were such powerful words that were no doubt causing some discourse among all humans. There would be arguments over the message the android talked about. Hate would be thrown around and discrimination against the machines that humans only looked at as nonliving beings. However, known the human race, there was no doubt going to be people who agree with the message and willing to help those android who had gained consciousness get the rights they deserve.
Natalie stared at the still image of the android that she helped create and had become a dear friend of hers. To think, in the same day, she found out that her godfather was in critical condition and an android friend of hers was destroyed but actually was still alive and in charge of a revolution fighting for the independence of all androids. There was a warm feeling of pride actually bubbling up in her chest about all of this. Markus was working against society for something that he, and herself, thought was right. She felt proud to say that she was good friends with him.
"Think that's rA9?" Hank asked the two of them as the three of them stared at the image of the mysterious android.
The other two didn't really know what to say. Connor commented, "deviants say rA9 will set them free. This android seems to have that objective." He stared at the image long and hard to try and get and clues from it and successfully got a few. He scanned the barcode on the androids stark white cheek:
'RK-SERIES PROTOTYPE
RK200
Registered as 'Markus'
Gift from Elijah Kamski to Carl Manfred'
'Markus?' Connor internally wondered, 'Natalie mentioned a Markus a few minutes ago…' That raised quite a few questions for the detective android. He then looked at the discolored eyes:
'OPTICAL UNIT
#8087q - BLUE IRIS
SPARE PART'
Then he looked at the other eye and caught something:
'PUPIL REFLECTION
Recorded at 13:59:54
Deviant had accomplices'
As Connor found those clues, Natalie took a long deep breath to make sure that her true feeling didn't shine through. She didn't want to give away that she knew this specific android. Who knew what would happen if she revealed or someone found out that she knew more information. She would be in trouble if they found out that she was withholding information as well.
"D'you see something?" Hank asked when Connor's facial expression shifted.
Connor was silent for a moment, "I identified its model and serial number…"
Hank stared at him, "anything else I should know?"
"No." He lied, "nothing." Hank stared at him and obviously didn't believe that lie, but let it go for the moment and walked away.
Connor continued to walk around the room to find more information such as were the video was recorded, that the deviants were disguised, some blue blood on the wall, some bullet holes and easily reconstructed what had happened in the room. Natalie followed after him slowly in order to subtle pick up the information like he did. She sure was invested in the deviant situation mainly out of her own curiosity of AI and such before. However, now she had a dear friend of hers somehow smack dab in the middle of this! It was concerning to see an android she thought was destroyed only a few hours ago may be rA9.
"Connor?.." Natalie turned to see an African-American man walk up towards her and Connor, "you remember me? I was on that terrace... That android that took the little girl hostage?" He tried to connect with her android friend to get him to remember the night at the Phillips apartment nearly a month ago. "I was shot, you saved me…"
Connor's eyes seemed to flash in recognition, "I remember you."
"I could have died on that terrace... But you saved my life…" The man hesitated in a soft voice, "I never thought I'd say this to an android, but... Thank you…"
Connor's lips twitched upward in a small smile as his circuits flashed for a moment with a strange warmth taking over him. Natalie watched the uptick in his facial features and smiled softly at the interaction. There was something happening to Connor, she knew. Whether it was a glitch in his system or… him even becoming deviant, she wasn't sure. However, there was no denying the glimmer of humanity shining in his eyes during situations and interactions like the one she had just witnessed. She liked seeing that in him, a lot actually. It proved to her that she wasn't just some calculating machine only meant to finish a task. He was more than that.
The two of them then followed a trail of blue blood up the stairs and towards the roof where Hank followed after them. Snow fell from the cloudy sky and no doubt tampered with the crime scene. However, the Detroit were no doubt used to this as it snowed around this time of year in this city.
"They made their way up through the whole building, past all the guards and jumped off the roof with parachutes…" Hank recapped what happened and scoffed with a slightly astonished tone. "Pretty fucking impressive I'd say."
Natalie nodded her head as Connor approached a bag that was left on the snowy rooftop, "like I said earlier they are some pretty creative deviants. To come up with this elaborate plan that was extremely risky…" She whistled lowly.
Hank noticed Connor looking at the bag and stood over him, "how'd they manage to smuggle in a big bag like that?"
"They didn't…" Connor corrected, "someone brought it in for them."
Natalie thought for a moment, "like a human? Should we be looking to see if a human helped them out?"
Hank shrugged his shoulders, "who knows," he then noticed the lone parachute left in the bag. "Oh, that's strange… They planned a perfect operation but got the number of parachutes wrong."
"Unless one of the deviants was left behind." Connor commented in an observation and stood up to look around some more. He found a handgun, foot prints, the door lock being hacked, and a trail of blue blood leading away from where the other officers were. He followed it as Hank and Natalie stood off to the side towards a unit on the roof. He opened up a compartment to it and was shocked to find one of the androids inside of it. He didn't have any time to react when he was shot in the stomach.
Everyone jumped at the sound of the gun fire and were instantly on alert. Natalie mentaly cursed herself for not having a gun of her own as she realized that there have been a few situations where a gun would have been useful for her. She couldn't really help out in this situation if she wanted to risk her life doing so.
"Take cover!" An officer shouted as Hank pushed Natalie behind some cover and ran over to pull Connor away after he had been injured. They landed behind the cover that Natalie had been placed behind and huddled as there was more gun fire.
"You have to stop them!" Connor called to Hank, "if they destroy it, we won't learn anything!"
Natalie nodded her head, "He's right!"
The lieutenant shook his head, "we can't save it, it's too late! We'll just get ourselves killed!" He'd be damned if her allowed either of his partners to risk their lives in this sort of situation. Even if they weren't fully human, they were still his partners.
Before anyone could really do anything, Connor jumped out from behind his hiding spot and started to dodge bullets. Natalie and Hank shouted after him, but it was too late. Even though he went against their protests, Connor successfully jumped towards the blond deviant and was able to tackle him into the unit behind him. He was even able to connect to his memory for a split second. A flash of rusty metal with the word "Jericho" was written in front of him. And in that same moment, the deviant self-destructed and shot himself in the head.
Once the threat was neutralized everyone started to move into the area to make sure that it was safe. Natalie and Hank ran over to Connor with worry in their stomachs. "Connor! Connor you all right? Connor!" Hank asked as he ran over to Connor's left side and Natalie ended up on his right.
"That was so stupid!" Natalie shouted in vexation yet her soft features were pulled down in worry. The sight of her face being so negative caused Connor to become guilty for causing her to feel such a way. (Guilt? How could he be guilty? Why would he be guilty?)
Connor stared at her as he tried to refocus himself after feeling something… terrible and foreign. The cold chill that somehow ran down his circuits was not pleasant at all! "Okay…"
Natalie, seeing how Connor was staring at her with a troubled expression, changed her approached quickly. She softly placed a hand on Connor's arm to make sure that he knew she was there. "Are you hurt?"
Connor didn't nod his head but continued on in a shaky voice, "I'm ok…"
"Jesus! You scared the shit outta us…" Hank's worry was quickly ebbed away and was replaced with anger and frustration aimed at the android. "For fuck sake, I told you not to move! Why do you never do what I say?" It was like Hank was scolding a young child after it did something wrong.
"I was connected to its memory…" Connor revealed with a shaky voice, "when it fired… I felt it die… Like I was dying." Hank stared at him as realization struck him with Connor's behavior. It was like Connor was traumatized by the situation, something that someone wouldn't believe could happen to an android. "I was scared…" Natalie rubbed his arm gently and offered comfort. It must have been completely foreign to him to have that raw feeling rushed through him so suddenly. Connor then thought about what he witnessed, "I saw something, in its memory… a word… painted on a piece of rusty metal… 'Jericho'."
Natalie and Hank shared a quick look that was obviously a silent conversation. Their relationship may have hit a roadblock with the fact that Natalie kept a huge secret from him, but there was one thing that they could agree on in that moment. They needed to make sure that Connor was really okay.
"Come on, Connor," Natalie spoke in a soothing voice, "we should head out. I think we got what we need."
Connor shook his head, "no, there's more that we can do here-"
"Girly's right, Connor. We're done here." Hank started to head in the direction of the exit and looked for the other two to follow after him. Connor was about to disagree again and argue that he was completely fine because he knew that they only wanted to leave because of what happened to him, but he looked down at Natalie. Her large, round eyes were wide and full of worry that was obviously directed towards him. He faltered in his argument.
"Let's go Connor it'll be alright." She softly stated and gestured to his bullet wound, "besides, we need to get that fixed up for you."
Connor nodded his head then and didn't say anything further as he let Natalie wrap her arms around him and lead him away. He could help the foreign feeling of terror wash away now that he was so close to Natalie. What was happening with him?
Estado de energía semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Piedra de
Poder