Capítulo 4: Chapter Four: The Nest
DATE
NOV 6TH, 2038
TIME
PM 03:34:21
THE TRIO RODE UP THE SHAKY ELEVATOR of the apartment building the report stated the alleged deviant was spotted. The small enclosure rattled as it moved slowly up to the correct floor. Natalie had her arms crossed and tapped her foot impatiently. The elevator was taking too long for her liking, and she wanted to get to the deviant quickly. She was not allowing this possible deviant getting away like the last two.
Finally, the doors of the rickety elevator slid open. Hank exited first, then followed quickly by Natalie. Connor paused in the elevator as his eye fluttered slightly and his LED turned into a dull yellow. Seeing that their partner had not moved from his spot, Hank turned to Connor.
"Hey, Connor! You ran outta batteries or what?"
"I'm sorry," Connor quickly apologized but didn't move from his spot in the elevator. "I was making a report to CylierLife."
Connor stood silently after he explained and Hank shared a quick glance with Natalie. She tilted her head and smiled at Connor, "Now that you've done that, aren't you going to follow us?"
"Yes," Connor responded quickly, Natalie swore she could hear embarrassment in his words, "I'm coming."
The trio walked along the hallway. The paint on the walls were chipped and dull due to no maintenance kept on the floor. Not only that but there were trash and pigeon feathers scattered along the floor. Natalie wrinkled her nose in disgust as a horrid smell greeted her nostrils. You would think someone would have the decency to keep this place clean.
"What do we know about this guy?" Hank asked as he trotted towards the door of an apartment that was on the floor. Natalie bent down an examined one of the pigeon feathers in curiosity. She knew that abandoned places usually attracted birds and other wild animals to take residence there but to her, there seemed to be evidence of a large population of the birds staying here. There appeared to be a far larger amount of pigeons that might have been staying here than how many usually would. It seemed suspicious to her.
"Not much," Connor said as he finally exited the elevator and followed his partners towards the end of the hallway. "Just that a neighbor reported he heard strange noises coming from this floor."
"This floor is supposed to be deserted," Natalie commented as she stood up from her crouch position on the floor. "Nobody lives here, but the neighbor said he saw a guy hiding an LED under his cap."
Hank huffed, "oh Christ, if we have to investigate every time someone hears a strange noise, we're gonna need more cops."
Natalie chuckled at his comment, "looks like you're actually going to have to do your job, Lieutenant."
Hank shot her a narrowed eyed look and turned to Connor as he approached them, "were you really makin' a report back there in the elevator? Just by closing your eyes?" He was growing exceptionally curious about what Connor could really do.
"Correct."
"Shit… wish I could do that…"
The three of them stood in front of the door and glanced at each other. "Are we just going to knock? Or what?" Natalie asked confused which only earned a shrug from Hank. She rolled her eyes and raised her hand to knock on the door. They waited a few moments and heard nothing on the other side. Sharing an unsure and confused look with each other, Natalie took it upon herself to knock again, this time more forcefully. "Anyone there!" Her eyebrows furrowed as she was able to hear a slight sound from within the room.
Gaining no real indication that someone was going to open the door, Connor stepped up and banged on the door. "Open up! Detroit Police!" Suddenly, there was a commotion heard from the other side of the door. Thumps and bangs were heard which alerted them to the indication that someone was in there.
"Stay behind me," Hank commanded the two as they backed up from the door. Neither of the two argued with him as they saw the situation became serious.
"Got it."
"No problem."
Hank pulled out his handgun and took it off the safety as he readied himself. Then he swiftly kicked the door open. They walked along the entrance hall with light footsteps. Hank checked the rooms on the side that were connected to the hallway and found that they were clear. Natalie gnawed at her bottom lip in anxiety. To think, it was only yesterday that she decided to leave her stuffy apartment and adventure out into the world once again. Now she was creeping along a hallway in order to find a deviant. It is so strange how life moves so quickly.
Hank kicked down the last door at the end of the hallway only to be bombarded with a flock of pigeons fluttering around. "What the fuck is this?!" He pointed his gun around wildly and looked around the large room for any sign of someone being there. "Jesus, this place stinks…"
Natalie placed a hand over her nose as she walked into the room after Connor. (He had made it crystal clear that he was to go into the room before she did. Much to her annoyance.) She held back a gag, "you can say that again."
"Uh, looks like we came for nothin'... our man's gone…"
Natalie finally allowed herself to get over the putrid smell that wafted through the room and was able to speak without bile rising from her throat. "Not for nothing," she started to explain. "He must have left some clues behind, maybe they can give us some insight into his thoughts and personality." She was starting to sound more like a psychologist than an android technician.
Connor and Natalie made quick work of starting to search around the apartment. While the flock of pigeons flew around at their movements, Natalie made her way into another room while Connor marched towards a poster. It was green and white and displayed the U.F.D. (Urban Farms of Detroit) He examined the poster and noticed that it looked like it had been removed several times. By scanning the poster he was able to tell that the worn out and torn poster could be removed. He swiftly pulled the corner of the poster down to find a hole in the plaster of the wall.
Inside was a small brown book. He carefully removed the book from its place and opened up its yellowing pages. Each page was covered back to front in drawings and writing that Connor tried to make heads or tails of. It seemed to be gibberish, but he would have to take the time later to delve deeper into what was written in it.
"Found something?" Hank asked as he stood in the apartment stiffly. He had been in many different places for cases, but this room took the cake for being one of the most disgusting.
"I don't know…" Connor stated, "it looks like a notebook but it's… indecipherable."
As Connor continued to find a few more clues about the deviant, Natalie cautiously tiptoed into the bathroom. The sink, toilet, and bathtub were not in working order which meant whoever decided to live here had not been using them. Not to mention, there seemed to be some Thirium in the sink along with an LED. That only proved the hypothesis that they were dealing with a deviant. She surveyed the bathroom further and stopped in her tracks as she faced one of the walls.
With her head tilted, she walked closer to the wall caked in grime and dirt. Also on the discolored wall was writing. "rA9…" Natalie muttered to herself in contemplation. The writing didn't have any significance to her, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that said otherwise. It was like she had heard it before, but her mind was clouded and hid the meaning of it from her. It was strange…
"Did you find something?" She jumped slightly as Connor appeared behind her and brought her out of her confused thoughts. She spun on her heels to face the android and tried to calm down her beating hearts.
"Well, I think so…" She gestured to the writing with her hand and moved out of the way for Connor to get a better look. "rA9 has been written 2471 times on this wall," she pointed to the sink. "There's also Thirium in the sink and an LED in there as well. The tell-tale signs of a deviant, I would think."
Connor nodded his head as he took in the information she presented him. "rA9, that's the same sign Ortiz's android-"
"You mean Gideon," Natalie couldn't help but interject.
Connor glanced at her for a second, "yes, Gideon wrote on the shower wall…"
Hank walked over and leaned against the door frame as he observed everything in the room. He couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows, "what the fuck…"
"They seem to have an obsession with this rA9, whatever that is," Natalie said and shrugged her shoulders for she did not have a clue as to what it meant. If she really tried, she was sure that she could look into multiple databases to find a lead on what it could mean at that very moment. However, that would only result in a killer headache for her afterward, and she didn't want to deal with one while working.
"Looks like mazes or something…" Hank gave an offhand remark and moved to walk out of the room while still looking at the wall.
Natalie tilts her head and sees that observation as well, "maybe it is…?" She sounded uncertain of herself as she exits behind Hank. Connor glances around the room to find a small stool overturned on the ground. While Natalie looked over the fake identifications of the deviant and the bird food on the counters, Connor scans the stool and finds that the suspect they were looking for feel off of it only recently.
He follows his scans and finds that the suspected deviant ran into the living room. Connor walked out of the bathroom and continued his scans in the living room. At first, the suspect ran towards the entrance which knocked down the birdcage from the ceiling. (That must have been the loud bang they heard.) However, the suspect changed his mind after he heard them enter the apartment. With haste, the suspect climbed the chair in the corner and heaved himself into the open ceiling.
Connor marched towards the corner and stared up at the hole in the ceiling with narrowed eyes. Natalie watched him with furrowed eyebrows and wondered what he noticed. Suddenly, a figure jumped down from the hole, which disturbed all of the pigeons in the room, and made a run for the door.
"God damn fuckin' pigeons!" Hank grunted. It was quite hard to see and move when all of the birds flying in the room, but the trio tried to follow after the suspect. "What are you waiting for?! Chase it!" At Hank's words, Connor took off in the same direction as the suspect in hopes of catching up with him.
Natalie's eyes twinkled with excitement, "oh, I love the running!"
She and Hank tried to follow after the two of them, but that proved to be a challenge. At least, for Hank, it was a challenge. Natalie tried to keep pace with the two androids and nearly did. She just reached the edge of the building on the roof and was prepared to keep running. However, She was jerked back when Hank grabbed her upper arm right before she was going to jump across a gap between buildings.
"Are you crazy! You'll get yourself killed, girly!"
Natalie ripped herself out of his grip and huffed, "you said go after him!" They were losing ground already and they needed to get after the deviant fast. There was no guarantee that Connor would be able to catch their suspect. "We need to catch up, come on!"
While the two of them found a safer route across buildings and towards the direction Connor and the deviant went, Connor was taking every risky path he could. He ran through slightly crowded areas, jumped obstacles, slid down the sides of buildings until he and the deviant were headed towards an oncoming train. Using his quick reflexes, Connor flawlessly landed on the top of the train.
Natalie and Hank ran up to the edge of the building they were on to see the awesome display of Connor's ability. "Holy shit…" Hank breathed out as he tried to catch his breath.
Natalie nodded her head with wide eyes as they watched Connor jump from the moving train onto a ladder. She only marveled in their partner's amazing actions for a moment before she shook her head and pulled Hank another way. "Come on, we can cut him off!"
Natalie sprinted along the rooftops with speeds that could match Olympic gold medalists! Of course, because of her fast speed, she had outran Hank by quite a bit. Hank may be a decorated officer, but that didn't mean he was in the best of shape. Especially when he was pinned against androids that were perfectly designed to be better than humans in just about every way. He had slowed down a bit to try and prevent himself from passing out due to all of the running. Natalie was a different story.
She used parkour and jumped gracefully around the obstacles that were in her way. She had found a route that would intercept the path of the two androids. With the speeds she was going, there was no doubt they would be able to corner the android they were chasing.
She landed on the ground and rolled before standing right outside a crop of corn. She could hear the rustling of the leaves and stalks which meant she was in the right place. The pounding of footsteps against dirt finally landed on concrete as the android they were chasing emerged from the crop.
Natalie allowed herself to take in the raggedy status of the android with a dirty coat, old hat, and baggy pants. The android instantly saw her and realized that she was chasing him just like that android who was hot on his tail.
"Hey! Don't run, we just want to talk!"
The android paid her no mind and tried to run away from her, but Natalie wasn't having any of that. She leapt forward and grabbed the android in hopes of stopping him but the android only tried to push her away. Natalie knew that if she was human, completely human, then the android would have no problem throwing her away from him and running off. However, because she had the added strength of being half machine, she proved to be a tougher opponent. Though that didn't mean she would succeed.
Connor had just emerged from the stalks of corn himself when he saw the scuffle between the android and the engineer. She appeared to be holding her own against the android, however, she quickly lost the small fight between them. The deviant was able to push her back enough to throw her over the side of the building.
Natalie screamed as she instantly reached out to grab the ledge. The android made his hasty escape while Natalie dangled from the high building. No one was going to help her up. Hank was too far away and Natalie was certain that Connor would go after the android because it was imperative to their investigation that he did. She would have had an easy time gripping onto the building's edge due to her robotic limbs, however, it was quite hard when she had a fear of heights. She was frozen in shock as she stared down at how high up she really was. She was going to die. God, she really was.
Connor took a second to make a decision, but he saw one of the two far more important than the other. He ignored the deviant that was running the opposite direction and rushed to grab Natalie's hands. He used his own strength to pull Natalie up and over the edge.
Natalie took in a deep, shaky breath once she was pulled up onto the rooftop. Her body was shaking slightly due to fright, but she tried to calm herself down before standing up. Hank then rounded the corner and saw his two partners but no suspect.
"Shit!" He exclaimed out of breath as he leaned on his knees to catch his breath. "OH SHIT! We had it! Fuck."
"It's my fault, I should have been faster." Connor took the blame for what had happened, but Natalie wouldn't let him.
"No, it's my fault, you'd got him if it wasn't for me." She shakily took in a breath. "I shouldn't have tried to stop him like that."
"You tried, Natalie." Connor started to reassure her, "you did the best you could. All that matters is you're safe now."
Natalie tried her best to smile softly towards him and nodded her head, "thank you, Connor." The sincerity in her voice was unmeasurable. If it wasn't for him, Natalie could have been nothing but a heap of blood and circuits on the pavement. She owes him her life!
Hank noticed the tremble in Natalie's body along with the terror and appreciation in her words. He didn't want her to feel even worse about the situation than she already was. He may be an asshole, but he wasn't one all the time. "That's alright." He reached an arm out and began to guide Natalie towards the door leading into the building. "We know what it looks like. We'll find it…"
Natalie sighed and gulped, "yeah, yeah, you're right. Still, I'm really sorry." Both Hank and Connor could tell that she was extremely apologetic for her part in losing the android.
Hank didn't really care. He would have rather lost the android then lose the life of one of his partners. Even if she was only assigned to work with him that morning. Besides she was young, he would hate to see a kid get killed on the job. He's had his fair share of colleges who had been killed while working and reporting the news to their families was always tough. Especially if the one who died was as young as Natalie. But he couldn't help himself but glance at Connor with a calculating stare. Like Natalie, he was slightly surprised to see that Connor had given up going after the deviant. It was in his programming to do everything in his power to find everything he could for this investigation. God, he was confused.
Connor was… relieved that the engineer wasn't harmed or killed because of this. Keeping her safe was apart of his mission…? She was the technician assigned to make sure that he didn't malfunction so, in turn, to help with the success of his mission. Yes, that was why a strange coldness enveloped his body when he saw her fall over the edge and a wave of warmth washed over him when she was safe. She was important to his mission, that was why he had to make sure she was safe. But why did it feel like there was another reason…
"You should get home, girly." Hank's comment tore Connor from his internal conflict. "We've all had an interesting day."
Natalie shook her head as they all walked down the staircase from the rooftop. "No, if we start our search now, we can find that deviant. He couldn't have gotten far…"
Connor interjected, "I suggest we take you home, Natalie. After being in such a traumatic situation, I advise we take you home to rest."
Natalie turned to him with sharp eyes. She may have been placed in a stressful and harrowing situation, however, understanding what's happening to androids is far more important when compared to her own well being. Her fears only affect herself and didn't impact hundreds upon thousands of people like the android issue. She has to look at the bigger picture.
"But-"
Hank shook his head, "no, Connor's right, we're taking you home."
Natalie crossed her arms over her chest and scoffed, "you guys really like ganging up on me, don't you?"
"Yeah, now let's go," Hank said with a tone of finality as he led them through the building. Natalie rolled her eyes and allowed herself to be guided by her two partners through the building and out onto the street.
They all walked in silence along the streets back towards Hank's car. Natalie's trembling had stopped completely as she strolled leisurely on the pavement. Her hands were stuffed into her pockets as she contemplated everything that happened. She couldn't help but wonder why the phrase "rA9" seemed familiar to her. She had a feeling that it had an enormous part to play when it came to what was happening to the androids. Perhaps Elijah would have a clue as to what it was.
---
DATE
NOV 6TH, 2038
TIME
PM 04:22:17
After a car ride across the city, the trio pulled up on the curb in front of an apartment complex. The building was just as large as the other skyscrapers that surrounded it. The building was nothing too special, but appeared to be It was obviously not one of the most expensive high rises, but it was decent when compared to others in the city.
Hank and Connor followed Natalie as she exited the elevator leading up to the forty-seventh floor. She pulled out her keys and put them into the lock while turning to the android and lieutenant. "I'm still sorry about losing-"
"I swear if you apologize one more time, I'll-" Hank started to threaten when the door to her apartment swung open quickly. Three pairs of eyes landed on the man who stood in the doorway. He had a mop of brown hair that swept across his forehead and obscuring his light green eyes. He was around the same height as Connor and at the moment, he eyed the two standing behind Natalie.
"You'll what?" He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at the older man. It was a similar gesture that Hank had seen in the past from the woman who stood in front of him. Though it's effects were not the same.
Natalie scoffed at Ethan's attempt at appearing intimidating. It didn't suit him, at all. "Stop it, Ethan." She gave him a pointed look.
He turned to her with an exasperated look while dropping his arms, "what?! It sounded like he was threatening you!" There was a slight whine in his voice that made him sound like a child.
Natalie nodded her head sarcastically, "yes, and I'm sure he could totally hurt me." She raised her eyebrow in a challenge as she dared him to contradict her. When she saw the defeated look cross his face, she smirked. It slipped off from her lips, however, when she was suddenly pulled forward by her forearms.
Ethan noticed the bandage that was on her forehead and the fact that it was stained red with wide eyes. He examined her forehead closely as concern painted his face. "Oh my god, Nat! What happened?!"
Natalie pouted her lips in annoyance as Ethan held her head in his hands and rambled on worriedly. She always hated it when he switched to 'protective little brother' mode over her, as it became annoying sometimes. She didn't even try to understand what he was saying because he was speaking so fast. She just had to let him get it all out before she actually tried to calm him down. He was such a worrywart!
Hank and Connor glanced at each other as they watched the strange interaction between the two people in front of them. Hank's expression was pure confusion and irritation at the display of affection Ethan had for Natalie. He wasn't sure who this man is, or who he was to Natalie, but it seemed like they were very close.
Connor was quick to scan who the man in front of them was. It wasn't due to the unusual hot sensation that enveloped his circuits, not at all. Definitely not because of the uncomfortable feeling that wormed its way into his mind palace due to the close proximity of the man to Natalie. No, not at all.
'Tyler, Ethan'
Born: 2/10/2015 // Wayne State Student
Criminal record: None.'
Natalie's bored expression was plastered on her face as she allowed Ethan to continue. When Ethan had to pause for breath, Natalie took it as her chance to stop him completely. "If you're done, I'd like to get inside my apartment, thank you." She sidestepped him and entered their apartment.
Ethan pouted at Natalie before he turned to Hank and Connor. He noticed that the man on the left of him had the blue triangle on his chest and armband that indicated he was an android. It dawned on him that this was the android Natalie was tasked with looking after. It was a surprise to him that Natalie had gotten the job so quickly. He thought Elijah would have had a tougher time getting Natalie a position at the company. He still has a lot of power in CyberLife even if he wasn't apart of it anymore, it seemed.
Ethan moved aside with a polite smile, "why don't you guys come in."
Hank nodded his head and instantly walked into the comfy apartment. Connor marched after his partner and observed the cozy apartment. At the moment, the television was on and displayed a game of baseball that Ethan was previously watching.
"Ethan!" Natalie exclaimed as she stalked around the kitchen counter. She held a pizza box in her hand while tilting her head. "I said not to order pizza this morning, I was going to cook dinner tonight."
Ethan scratched the back of his head sheepishly as he, Hank and Connor moved over towards the muted television and couches. "Well, you weren't here, and I didn't know when you would get back, so…"
Natalie couldn't help but laugh at the innocence on his face, "whatever, I guess I'll just cook myself dinner." She turned to Hank with a raised eyebrow, "you want something to drink."
Hank didn't even contemplate her offer, "sure-"
"And I'm not giving you alcohol, Lieutenant." Came her remark as she walked over to the kitchen counter again. Hank deflated slightly at her words.
Ethan chuckled and reassured the older man. "Don't mind her. Neither of us has been people to drink alcohol." He then stage-whispered, "she is also a complete lightweight."
"I heard you, idiot!"
Ethan rolled his eyes as he plopped down on the plush, soft couch that rested in front of the television. Hank and Connor followed after. Hank took a seat next to the younger man on the couch while Connor sat on the loveseat that rested against the wall beside the couch.
"I suppose you guys are working with Natalie," Ethan commented.
Connor nodded his head, "yes, she was assigned to look over my programming to make sure that I don't develop malfunctions or errors within my software."
"She's his babysitter." Hank couldn't help but interject with a hearty laugh. Ethan smiled brightly and joined in the laughter. Though he tried to smother the noise with his hand over his mouth, as he knew Natalie would be irritated by Hank's joke.
"Did you tell her that? Man, if I said something like that to her I would have been slapped!"
Natalie waltzed over to the loveseat, where Connor sat rigid and stiff, and sat next to the android. She had discarded her hoodie and taken off her shoes so she could curl her legs underneath herself in order to get comfortable in her spot. "Be warned, the threat's still there." She glared playfully at her younger brother who only raised his hands in surrender. She rolled her eyes at their antics, "anyway, that's Lieutenant Anderson," she started off introductions for the three others in the room by nodding at Hank. "This is Connor," she gestured towards the android before addressing both Hank and Connor. "And this idiot is my little brother, Ethan."
Ethan flashed a bright and charming smile while offering Hank his hand, "nice meeting you." Hank shook his hand as he looked over the man. With a firm handshake, Hank nodded his head. To think that the woman who appeared to be headstrong, independent and with a seeming spark of mischief and rebellion in her had a brother like this. Natalie seemed to be able to intimidate just about anyone and also was kind and polite when the situations called for it. Ethan appeared only able to be kind and polite. He seemed to be a people pleaser and hated confrontation. At least, that's what Hank concluded about him. For all he knows, Hank could be wrong about Ethan. "It's honestly good to see that Natalie was actually able to get along with you."
Hank tilted his head slightly, "is she not a person who usually plays nice?"
Ethan shrugged his shoulders sheepishly after a moment of deliberation, "I'm just glad she isn't completely socially awkward like I thought she would be."
Connor noticed that Natalie shifted uncomfortably next to him. "Why would Natalie be socially awkward?" Connor asked.
"Well, after staying inside for three ye-" Ethan started to babble about the progress that his sister had taken, however, paused when he saw the heated glare from her. He gulped before clearing his throat. Connor watched the interaction with narrow eyes. What was he going to say? Why did Natalie appear irritated with what he was going to say? "I bet you three had a tiring day, wouldn't want to keep you all too long, Lieutenant." Ethan stood up as Hank slowly followed after along with Connor after a moment. The Tyler siblings showed the android and Lieutenant to the door. "It was nice meeting you both, hope we can meet again."
Hank gave a gruff reply back in farewell and bid Natalie one as well before exiting the small apartment. Connor also said goodbye and followed after his partner towards the door.
Natalie licked her lips and stopped Connor before he could get too far away from the door to her apartment. Connor's eyebrows furrowed as Hank continued towards the elevator, and he turned to the short woman who had grabbed his upper arm. Natalie smiled softly, "listen, Connor, thank you again, really for saving my life."
"It was no problem, Natalie."
The gratitude that shined in her eyes was almost blinding. Connor was positive if it wasn't for that fact that he was an android, he would have gone blind. "Really." She took a deep breath, "I just wanted you to know that I owe you for what you did."
He was only doing what he saw necessary to their investigation. Keeping her safe was important. He doesn't completely see why she is thanking him so much. Connor was an android specifically created to perform different and difficult tasks which, in this case, included saving Natalie. It was like she was thanking him as if he had made some sort of human decision. She made it sound like he made a decision based off of emotions instead of logistics. "You don't-"
"Connor, come on!" Hank's shout cut off any rebuttal that Connor had for Natalie.
Natalie chuckled at the impatient tone Hank used. She didn't doubt that he would leave the poor android there at her apartment building if Connor didn't hurry up. "I'll see you later, Connor." With that final goodbye, Natalie closed the door of her apartment and sighed. In the hallway, while making his way towards the elevator, Connor contemplated Natalie words and actions. Not only the fact that she had to thank him profusely for saving her life but also how she reacted when Ethan mentioned her being socially awkward.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder