Capítulo 9: Chapter Nine: Meet Kamski
DATE
NOV 8TH, 2038
TIME
PM 11:33:17
NATALIE TRUDGED THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR OF her shared apartment with Ethan following after her. She was completely beat after the day that she had. After the ordeal at the tower, her, Connor and Hank had left the crime scene and headed to the police precinct where Natalie worked on Connor's injury and fixed him up. After that, Hank dropped Natalie back off at Carl's home where she met up with Ethan. She has been bombarded with quite a lot of questions about what had happened at the tower by both her brother and godfather. She explained what she could to the duo to it being an ongoing investigation.
She took off her green sweatshirt and tore off her beanie from her head in obvious exhaustion. If she had known that going back out into the world would be this tiring then she would have definitely rethought her decision. She threw her sweater and hat on the couch before plopping down on it with a satisfying sigh. Oh, she was totally ready to just fall asleep right there. Though before she could do that the annoying sound of a phone startled her slightly.
The brunette groaned loudly as Ethan quickly pulled out his phone to answer it. "Turn that off, Ethan!"
Her brother just rolled his eyes at his sister's behavior and answered the phone without looking at the caller id. "Hello?" He paused and the upturn in his lips quickly dipped downward. Natalie didn't notice it and rather decided to close her eyes and try to fall asleep on the couch even if she was in an uncomfortable position. "Yes. Why do you want to know?" The hostility in his voice was quite clear to Natalie's sleepy mind. "I doubt she'd want to talk right now, sorry mom."
Natalie sat up straight and alert now that she knew her brother was talking to their mother. She could already picture the scowl on the old woman's face as Ethan argued with Marian Wilson-Tyler.
After first impressions, anyone would be able to tell that their mother is a woman who submits very easily to any sort of power. Some may say that she was spineless and bent to please anyone while also being cowardly and easily manipulated. Though Natalie thought that her mother was a terribly misguided person. Yet that didn't excuse the things that Marian had done to her daughter in the past. Natalie hadn't talked to her mother in over two years let alone seen her and the rest of her family. She loathed all of them for leaving her alone for such a long time in a desperate time. Carl, Ethan, and Elijah were the only family she had in her mind. They were the only ones there for her.
"Mom, I just said she doesn't want to talk to you!" At the growing frustration in Ethan's tired voice, Natalie hesitantly reached her palm out for the phone. Ethan stared at her hand like it was a foreign object ready to attack him at any moment. Why did Natalie have her hand out in his direction? "Just stop!"
"Give it here," Natalie sighed out in resignation. She knew that their mother would persist in her attempt to talk with her. Natalie didn't doubt that their mother would somehow find her number and call her herself. She could be stubborn like that. It wasn't like the brunette knew what their mother wanted and Natalie didn't particularly care all that much. However, there was a small part of her that was curious to hear what her mother had to say. Especially after nearly three years of no contact.
Ethan shook his head at her like she was insane, "no way."
Natalie sighed through her nose, "you know she won't stop bugging you until she actually talks to me. So give it here."
Ethan hesitated and thought about what he should do. However, before he could make a clear decision, Natalie jumped at him and fought to take the phone from him. They played a short game of tug-o-war for a few minutes before Natalie successfully pulled the phone from Ethan's hands. The younger boy whined in protest but was shushed when Natalie just pushed him away from her.
She put the phone up to her ear and stood there for a moment in silence. She wasn't sure what to say. What could you say to the woman who had abandoned you after a traumatic, life-changing event that happened to you? Natalie didn't get the chance to speak first as Marian took it upon herself to speak first. "Ethan just hand the phone to your sister."
Her voice was obviously tired and impatient. That was something that Natalie remembered about her mother. Ever since her father died when she was about four-years-old, her mother had become exhausted. It was completely understandable too. Being a single mom to three kids was obviously not easy. That was probably why Marian took the first opportunity she could to get married again. The downside to that, Natalie thought, was that her mother had to get married to an asshole like Ronald Tyler. She didn't even want to spare a thought about that man!
"What do you want?" Natalie kept her words emotionless and curt. She didn't want to give her mother the impression that she was just going to speak with her like everything was fine. Because it wasn't.
Marian sighed on the other side of the phone in relief. "Oh, Nat, it's good to hear from you!"
Natalie doubted whether or not her mother was being sincere. Considering one of the last conversations that she had with her mother was basically Marian disowning Natalie because of the accident. She just pursed her lips, "is it? I can't say the same."
"Natalie," Marian tried to sound scolding as any mother would. However, she lost the right to act like a mother to Natalie after leaving her by herself when she was hurt and lost. No real mother would just do that, even if their husband was adamantly against it. "Look, I know you don't want to talk to me-"
"What gave you that idea, Marian?" There was a thick venom in her words that were easily able to leak through the phone line.
Marian huffed, "-but I wanted to ask you a few things."
"Hmm? Oh? Really? And what do you want to know?" Natalie sneered, "I do hope that you're not asking me about how my life has been, Marian."
There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment as Marian tried to compose herself enough to actually ask the questions that she wanted to ask. "We just want to know what's happening with the androids."
The brunette scoffed, "what about them?"
"Well… that android who was on the t.v., the one who made those demands-"
"Listen," Natalie cut in, "just because I know a lot about androids and-"
"Just listen to me!" Natalie bit the inside of her cheek at her mother's shout. She stayed quiet, but why? She didn't even have to be listening to her mother's words and shouts about androids. Natalie knew for a fact that her mother would just believe anything Ronald said. Her step-father is a controlling, manipulate asshole who takes charge of every aspect of Marian's life. There was an audible sigh on the other end of the line, "we're concerned. The news said that the androids… are revolting. We should be scared, right? Ronald wants to throw away ours but we spent a lot on it-"
"I don't want to listen to you complain about androids right now." Natalie cut her off once again, "you think that you can just call me after abandoning me three years ago? No. We're done here."
Marian exclaimed, "we just want to make sure that we're safe from them, especially after what that one did to Carl."
Natalie's blood began to boil. "'That one' is named Markus and he didn't hurt Carl. If you actually talked to him, then you would know."
"Don't use that tone with me." Marian scolded.
"I can use whatever tone I want, because as far as I'm concerned, you are not my mother, Marian." Natalie could already hear the older woman's rebuttal starting to formulate on the other end of the line. "You've proved that just now." She started to explain as her fury started to bubble, "calling the daughter you disowned over three years ago over something that was out of her control just to ask her about androids. What do you want me to say, hmm?" She brightened, "I know! Fuck off, mom. Is that good? I think so."
Marian was furious on the other end of the line, "Natalie-!"
"Bye!" The young woman hung up the phone with more force than necessary. Just watching her hang it up scared Ethan into thinking that he would need a new phone. Natalie stared at the piece of technology for a moment and had half a mind to throw it onto the ground. She would love to see it crumble into a million little pieces. However, she wouldn't let her frustration get the better of her.
Ethan slowly approached her shoulder and hesitantly placed a hand on it to let her know that he was still there. Natalie jumped slightly at the soft hand that clasped her shoulder but sighed sharply through her nose. She could already feel the bitterness bubbling up in her gut and it wasn't the most pleasant feeling in the world.
"You alright, Nat?" Ethan asked tentatively.
Natalie turned around to face him and lightly pushed his hand away from her. Her soft, heart-shaped face was flushed light pink in anger as the corners of her eyes were steadily filling with tears. She nodded her head stiffly, "I'm fine." She placed his phone back into his hands. Though as she did, Ethan could see how white her knuckles had become from her anger.
Ethan shook his head, "I know you're not. It's okay to-"
Natalie's jaw clenched as she glared at her half-brother as she tried to keep her tears from spilling out. "I. Am. Fine." With those final words growled out through her teeth, Natalie turned away from Ethan and stomped her way to her bedroom. Ethan was left to watch her go with a heavy heart and frustration directed towards his mother.
Natalie swung her door open violently and shut it with just as much ferocity that nearly shook their entire apartment complex. She threw herself onto her bed and under the thick covers. After a short moment, Natalie had half a mind to try and suffocate herself with her pillows and blankets. Yet she threw that idea to the side and focused on furiously whipping her cheeks to get rid of the tears flowing out of her eyes.
It almost felt like she was going to drown in her tears with the amount that was falling from her green irises. Her cheeks were becoming flushed a bright pink as the few memories she had of her family were bombarding her.
Natalie had a limited amount of memories of her childhood, but those that she did have were pleasant and happy. The memories were fragmented and possibly just things that Natalie imagined herself to replace the holes in her mind, but she felt like her childhood was pretty normal. The brunette knew that when she was little she was a bit of a prodigy child when it came to math and science. The relationships that she had with her siblings were close, some more than others, and the same can be said for her mother and step-father. Obviously, Natalie didn't remember anything of her biological father because he had died when she was very young. Even if her mind was completely intact, she still wouldn't remember a man that had died when she was four. But overall, Natalie believed that she had a good childhood. There was evidence to prove that from things Ethan, Elijah, and Carl have told her and the pictures of a younger version of herself smiling widely.
Just thinking about the presumed happy life she had before her accident caused even more tears to spring out of her eyes. Was this all her fault? The reason that her family didn't want to talk or see her is because of what she had become. Sure, it was out of her control what Elijah did to her while she was in a coma, but perhaps the accident was her fault. Maybe there was more that she could have done to prevent it from happening. Yet here she was… hurt, lost, broken and depressed because of what her family had done to her. Natalie had been far too distraught to do anything but cry into her blankets. She hadn't even seen the news from that night. The android rebellion was starting to pick up, and she will have to be ready for it.
---
DATE
NOV 9TH, 2038
TIME
AM 11:17:04
The sun peaked out from behind thick white clouds and small snowflakes as Hank's old car rolled across the snow-covered ground. He exited the car as Connor made his report to Amanda about their investigation so far. The old man started to pace in front of the car while his mind ran rampant. There was far too much going on in the past few days. From his two new partners, the android revolution, and his own depression, his life is going down a strange path. Add on top the fact that one of his newest partners has just revealed that she has been part android this entire time, the stress was starting to catch up to the old lieutenant.
Hank didn't care that the young woman was part android, he was more ticked off by the fact that she had decided to keep it a secret. He gets it, it's quite a big thing about herself that she may want to keep hidden, and they may have not known each other long. However, there was a level of trust that was instantly established when partners start to work together at the DPD. Yes, Natalie technically wasn't an officer. But they were still working together on these dangerous cases. There was trust between them that he thought they had for the past few days. He had let her and Connor in to know about him, Hank just wanted the same from Natalie.
Connor then swung open the door and exited the car after he finished with his report. There was nothing new to report to her at the moment. All he could really say was that he, Hank and Natalie were heading to Elijah Kamski's home. They could hope that the creator of androids could give them some insight into what may be happening.
He approached his partner with an inquisitive stare as he watched the human who seemed distracted by his own thoughts. The android's eyebrows furrowed as he noticed one other person was missing. "Where's Natalie?"
Hank turned to Connor and shook his head lightly as he collected his thoughts. "She'll be here," he gruffly stated, "I called her earlier… she seemed upset. But she wanted to come here with us."
"Upset?" Connor inquired in slight concern that Hank was easily able to pick up on. Yes, when Hank had called the young woman it sounded like she may have been crying. She tried to deny it and convince him that she didn't need his concern, but she was going to get it anyway. Even if he was still slightly pissed off at her, it didn't mean he hated her completely. They were just at a stalemate of sorts. Hank was going to be civil with her like they agreed. But he wasn't going to be friends with her until she explained herself to him. That's all he wanted; an explanation.
Just as the android and Hank started to think about the engineer, a yellow cab pulled up beside them. Once the door opened a disheveled Natalie stepped onto the snow-covered ground. The white beanie on her head was askew as a few dark hairs on her head stuck out from underneath it. It looked like she had just rolled out of bed. Her coat was pulled tightly to herself. Though it didn't seem like she was trying to protect herself from the cold. It appeared that she was keeping her arms close to her body out of sheepishness.
She flashed them the best smile she could muster, "morning." Her voice was hoarse and quiet. This didn't look like the Natalie that both Connor and Hank had come to know in the past few days. It was like she had a complete personality change.
Hank nodded his head in her direction and grunted in reply. It was worrying to see her in this state, as well as how she sounded when they talked on the phone. There was something wrong. Hank didn't know what, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to.
Connor surveyed the woman and tried to find any visible signs that she was physically hurt in any way. He didn't like the fact that she appeared to be in some sort of distress. He was able to see the ring of red around her eyes and the flush of her cheeks. There was something that was wrong with her. The android wasn't sure what it was. However, he wanted to try and rectify whatever it was that made her like this.
"You seem upset, Natalie," Connor commented as she came to stand with them. "Is everything alright?"
Natalie clenched her jaw and crossed her arms over her chest. The defiance to tell them what was really on her mind was obvious to them both. There was something wrong with her, they could certainly tell now. From the way that she tightened her fists and looked away from them, it was obvious that she was angry about something. Yet from the evidence of her tears, Connor could tell that it wasn't just rage that was burning inside of her but also sadness.
"I'm fine," she turned to Hank and glared slightly at him, "I told you, there's nothing wrong." Hank just raised his hands in defense half-heartedly and tried to make himself as innocent as possible. Through her own denial of her feelings, Natalie could tell that there seemed to be something bothering Hank. With a chance to change the subject, her annoyed glare softened, "Is everything ok, Lieutenant?" She used his title due to her being on thin ice. She knew that as long as she showed him respect, they may not end up with Hank pointing his gun at her again.
Hank sighed, "Chris was on patrol last night. He was attacked by a bunch of deviants... He said he was saved by Markus himself…"
Natalie's eyes widened in shock. Not only in shock about Chris getting into some trouble but also about Markus. "Oh, my god. Is he ok?"
"Yeah, he's in shock but… he's alive… What the hell…"
The trio started to approach the front door of the lavish, modern home that looked over most of Detroit. "Kamski left CyberLife ten years ago..." The android commented with a questioning tone. "Why did you wanna meet him?"
"This guy created the first android to pass the Turing test. And he's the founder of CyberLife. Anybody can tell us about deviants, it's him..."
Natalie bit her bottom lip at Hank's comment about her cousin. If anything, she should also know about what was happening with deviants. She is the other half of the duo that created the first android that passed the Turing test. Yet she had no idea what could be happening besides android gaining some sort of consciousness. She didn't know how it was happening or why which meant she was of no help. She could blame it on the fact that her memories were still jumbled and missing quite a few pieces. If she did have all of her memories intact then there could be a chance for her to figure out what the problem was. Though if she had known beforehand that Hank wanted to see Elijah, hse could have called him before they arrived. But who doesn't like surprise visits?
The trio walked over to the front door where Hank rang the doorbell. They waited a moment in awkward silence before the door was opened by a short blonde android in a pretty blue dress. "Hi... Uh... I'm, er, Lieutenant Hank Anderson, Detroit Police Department." Hank greeted the female android awkwardly, "I'm here to see Mr. Elijah Kamski."
Natalie side-stepped the man and walked towards the android with a wide smile, "Chloe, good to see you!"
"Natalie," the blonde android greeted with a pleasant yet superficial smile, "you as well. Please, come in."
Hank glanced at Natalie in suspicion and then to Connor, "Okay." The android gestured for them to come in and protect themselves from the cold.
"I'll let Elijah know you're here." Chloe said to Natalie before turning to the man and android, "but please, make yourself comfortable."
The three of them stood in the foyer of the home that was covered with, in Natalie's opinion, bland decorations and monotone colors. She had to admit that her cousin's home was beautiful and impressive, however, she also had to say that it was far too modern for her taste. She would like to look something other than just grey walls and abstract pieces of art. To make it even worse, there was a large portrait of her cousin staring back at her sternly. That certainly showed how big of an ego Elijah had.
Hank moved to sit in one of the seats with a sigh, "Nice girl…"
The android of the group nodded his head absentmindedly before analyzing the room closely. "You're right… she's really pretty…"
Natalie pursed her lips with a tilt of her head at Connor and the ghost of a teasing smile, "Got a crush, Connor?"
He spun around to face the woman in slight alarm. He stared at her as she had her arms crossed over her chest like she was hugging herself while she stood by the large portrait of Mr. Kamski. He didn't know why, but the idea of Natalie thinking that he had a "crush" on someone, android or not, did not settle well in him. His circuits felt like they were going to implode and the teasing smile on her face wasn't helping him try to calm down. Why was she always able to affect him like this? Perhaps it is because she is a CyberLife engineer and understands how he works. Still, he needed to look into that.
"Of course not!" Natalie chuckled behind her hand, which warmed Connor's circuits to know that he finally got Natalie to smile, even if its a little. He had to make sure that she was alright, after all. If the engineer assigned to look after him was unable to do their job then that would only hinder his mission. That was the only reason. Honest. There couldn't be anything else.
"Nice place..." Hank nodded towards the house, impressed. "Guess androids haven't been a bad thing for everybody... So, you're about to meet your maker, Connor. How does it feel?"
"Kamski is one of the great geniuses of the 21st century." His answer was eager, "It'll be interesting to meet him in person.
Hank nodded his head in understanding, "Sometimes I wish I could meet my creator face to face...I'd have a couple of things I'd wanna tell him..."
Natalie looked at him sadly as she sympathized with him completely. Though now she started to wonder if Elijah was also her maker. Considering he had kept her alive after the accident and had basically rebuilt her from scratch. His own personal monster, guess that makes him, Dr. Frankenstein. Natalie chuckled internally at her comparison.
Connor walked over to one of the other pictures in the room to find an African-American woman standing with a young Elijah Kamski. He analyzed it:
'KAMSKI, ELIJAH
AI Graduate at University of Colbridge
Born: 07/17/02'
'STERN, AMANDA
AI Professor at University of Colbridge
Born: 05/14/78 - Died: 02/23/27'
He instantly recognized the woman who resides in the Zen Garden. "Amanda…"
The door next to him opened and Chloe came through with her superficial smile, "Elijah will see you now."
The trio walked through the door to find a pool with two other Chloe androids in it leaning against the side of it. Classical music flowed through the air serenely as Hank walked around the pool with Connor and Natalie following. "Mister Kamski?" Hank called out to the man who was swimming in the pool.
"Just a moment, please." The genius called out before swimming towards the ladder. Elijah climbed out of the pool as the first Chloe helped put a robe on him. Elijah Kamski looked to be quite an intimidating person. His eyes seemed to be narrow just about all the time as his lips were pulled in a tight line or a smirk. It was no wonder why the public saw him as some cocky, cold inventor.
"I'm Lieutenant Anderson." Hank introduced himself and motioned to his two partners. "This is Connor and Natalie Tyler."
The inventor brightened at the sight of the brunette coming out from behind the lieutenant and android. "Ah, I was wondering when I'd see you, Nat!"
Natalie flashed him a tight-lipped smile and crossed her arms over her chest. Today she seemed to be keeping herself small, either that or she was just cold. Connor couldn't tell. "I know. Haven't seen you in a while, Eli."
Hank blinked at the interaction and pointed between them in disbelief. "You two know each other?"
"Of course," Natalie supplied, "Eli here is my genius of a cousin."
Kamski stunted any further questions that Hank might have about his relation to the engineer. "What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"
Hank flashed the inventor a professional smile and brushed it off. Just another fact that Natalie forgot to disclose with him. Nothing new. "Sir, we're investigating deviants. I know you left CyberLife years ago but, I was hoping you'd be able to tell us something we don't know...
Kamski shook his head slightly, "Deviants... Fascinating, aren't they? Perfect beings with infinite intelligence, and now they have free will... Machines are so superior to us, confrontation was inevitable... Humanity's greatest achievement threatens to be its downfall. Isn't it ironic?"
"We need to understand how androids become deviants." Connor stated, "Do you know anything that could help us?"
"All ideas are viruses that spread like epidemics... Is the desire to be free a contagious disease?"
Natalie rolled her eyes, impatiently, "very philosophical, Eli. But we didn't come here to hear about your deep thoughts."
Hank stared at the man, who was apparently Natalie's cousin, with the same expression as her, "the machines you created may be planning a revolution. Either you can tell us something that'll be helpful, or we will be on our way."
"What about you, Connor?" He ignored the questions and jabs at him from the cyborg and human and decided to focus on the android. "Whose side are you on?"
Connor seemed conflicted for a moment before coming up wit ha scripted answer. "It's not about me, Mr. Kamski. All I want is to solve this case."
Elijah scoffed, "Well, that's what you're programmed to say... but you..." He approached Connor and stared into his eyes deeply, "what do you really want?"
"What I want is not important." Connor insisted.
Elijah clicked his tongue and motioned over to the blonde android, "Chloe? I'm sure you're familiar with the Turing test. Mere formality, simple question of algorithms and computing capacity." He placed the female before the four of them. "What interests me is whether machines are capable of empathy. I call it "the Kamski test", it's very simple, you'll see... Magnificent, isn't it?" He didn't take his eyes off of Chloe. "One of the first intelligent models developed by CyberLife. You remember programming her don't you, Nat." Natalie stared at her cousin with a calculating gaze. Elijah ran a finger down the blonde androids cheek. "Young and beautiful forever. A flower that will never wither... But what is it really? Piece of plastic imitating a human? Or a living being..." He turned to the drawer behind him and pulled something out. "With a soul..." With his hands up, Elijah pulled out a handgun. He place Chloe on her knees and moved to Connor's side to hand the weapon to him. "It's up to you to answer that fascinating question, Connor. Destroy this machine and I'll tell you all I know. Or spare it, if you feel it's alive, but you'll leave here without having learnt anything from me."
Natalie stared at her cousin in disbelief. She's never heard of the "Kamski test". He must have made it up after her incident and when she stopped working with him. Then again, she may just have no recollection of it. Even if she did, she still would not like it, at all. Her stomach churned at the situation now that Connor had a gun pointed at Chloe's forehead. She didn't like this position that they were in.
"Okay, I think we're done here." Hank's annoyance bubbled over at this ridiculous situation. "Come on, Connor, Natalie. Let's go. Sorry to get you outta your pool."
Elijah continued to persist, "What's more important to you, Connor? Your investigation, or the life of this android? Decide who you are." Connor stared into the robotic eyes of the fellow android in distress. His LED rapidly switched between yellow and red. "An obedient machine... Or a living being endowed with free will..."
Hank grew angry, "that's enough! Natalie, Connor, we're leaving.
"Pull the trigger-"
"Connor, don't..."
"-and I'll tell you what you wanna know."
Natali stared between the two men who were like a devil and an angel on Connor's shoulders. The scene before her did not sit well in her stomach. Seeing Connor is such a stressful situation and having to choose something completely impossible made her blue blood boil. "Elijah!"
The man turned to her with a smug smirk, "oh, baby cousin, I know you're just as curious as I am about this." Natalie honestly couldn't argue with him about that. She was curious about it, but she knew that she shouldn't let Elijah so this to an android that she considered a good friend. Connor stood there for a moment, his LED continued to flash between yellow and red violently before he abruptly jerked the gun away from Chloe. "Fascinating… CyberLife's last chance to save humanity… Is itself a deviant…" Elijah said breathlessly as he took the gun from the confused android.
"I'm… I'm not a deviant…" Connor didn't seem to be so sure of himself.
"You preferred to spare a machine rather than accomplish your mission. You saw a living being in this android. You showed empathy." Elijah let Chloe get up and sent her away. Natalie watched Connor while he stared off into space as he seemingly started to question himself. "A war is coming… you'll have to choose your side... Will you betray your own people or stand up against your creators? What could be worse than having to choose between two evils?"
Hank protectively pulled Connor away from Kamski and placed himself between the inventor and Natalie. He didn't care that he was also fascinated by what just happened or that the man was Natalie's cousin. He was unpredictable and currently holding a gun. They only came here to get some answers, he didn't think this would occur. "Let's get outta here…"
The three walked towards the exit together. Every once in a while, Natalie would glance over her shoulder to look at the back of her cousin. "By the way..." Elijah called out before they left. "I always leave an emergency exit in my programs... You never know…"
Natalie furrowed her eyebrows at his words and had half the mind to turn back around. Which is what she did. "Head on out," she told her two partners. "I'll only be a minute."
"Natalie," Hank stated in a stern tone like a father scolding a child.
She shook her head, "I'll be fine."
Hank stared at her for a moment before nodding his head in understanding. They were family which meant she could stay if she wanted. However, Hank was still wary due to the fact that the inventor had a gun and Natalie was unarmed. In any other situation, Hank would have dragged her out after what had just happened. But from the defiant look in her eyes and the crease in her forehead, Hank knew that she would just argue with him.
"Fine."
Connor wanted to say something to her, she could see it. There was something on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't get it out. At least, not before she had turned around and marched back over to Elijah.
---
The android and man walked back into the cold as Hank pursed his lips. He couldn't help himself but be extremely curious about what had just happened. "Why didn't you shoot?"
Connor became frustrated and turned to Hank with a flail of his arms, "I just saw that girl's eyes... and I couldn't, that's all..." He rushed out in a deep breath.
"You're always saying you would do anything to accomplish your mission." Hank commented, "That was our chance to learn something, and you let it go..."
"Yeah, I know what I should've done!" The android exclaimed in distressed, "I told you I couldn't. I'm sorry, okay?" He failed his mission at the moment. The information that he couldn't have gotten from Kamski would have been vital to their investigation! Who knew what the man could have told them. All because of Connor's inability to... kill that girl they were nowhere closer to figuring this out. Hopefully, Natalie could talk with her... cousin... and see what she could get him to say. He could understand why Hank would be upset with him about this. Hank wanted to get this investigation over and done with and end his work with Connor, he knew that.
Yet Hank smiled slightly, "maybe you did the right thing." He walked away from Connor and towards his car where they would wait until Natalie came out.
---
Meanwhile, Natalie shook her head in disappointment at Elijah. Her lips were pulled back in an unamused line. How was she related to such an intolerable, arrogant man? "You are insufferable."
"Oh," Elijah turned away from the window with a spectacular view and smirked at his little cousin. "But you still love me."
She huffed and marched over to him, "What was that? The "Kamski test"? Are you kidding me?"
The man just pursed his lips in thought and ignored the irritated tone of her voice. "I suppose it does need a better name, but it's the best I could come up with."
"You nearly had Connor shoot Chloe! Just for some information!" She shouted.
"You of all people should be just as fascinated by this as I." Elijah pointed out and smugly believed every word that he was saying. "Deviants are something completely new, Nat. Don't tell me you aren't intrigued to know more."
She sighed in annoyance and really wanted to hit her dear cousin upside the head. "What's happening is unusual. But I don't appreciate Connor being put in a situation like that!" She truly didn't like it. It must have just been because she was assigned to look after him, but she was becoming protective of her android friend. And she'd be damned if she let her cousin talk about him like this.
Elijah clicked his tongue and observed his younger cousin. "You sound fond of this android. Don't tell me you're growing attached to him."
Natalie grew rigid, "we aren't talking about my attachment to Connor."
"You're right, I suppose it's more of an attraction, yes?" Elijah asked teasingly before waving his hand. "But that's beside the point. What I said to your little toy is true."
Natalie's eye twitched in irritation and exasperation, "he's not-"
"You'll have to choose a side too, Nat." His voice became serious and stern, "it's even a larger problem for you because you are both an android and human. You will have to choose between who you use to be and who you are now."
Natalie contemplated his words for a moment and saw the truth in his statement. She used to be human but now is more android than flesh. The cyborg was stuck between two opposing forces that desperately pushed and pulled against her while saying that they were in the right. Natalie didn't want to have to choose! She didn't want to be torn apart because of this civil war. Yet here she was...
"I know." Her voice was soft.
Elijah was able to see the conflict that he now instilled in her. However, it was necessary. These were crucial times for the future of everyone. Natalie was someone who was stuck on both sides of the spectrum and there was no telling what would happen to her. But that was all up to her now. He approached her and placed his hands on her shoulder.
"I know that whatever you choose will be the right choice." He said sincerely. "you are known for picking the morally right thing." He pointed out with a small chuckle. Natalie just shook her head slowly at that. She didn't believe that, but Elijah was entitled to his own opinions.
She shook her head slowly, "things were far less complicated when I was human."
Elijah could agree with that. He helped lead Natalie to the foyer to let her outside. "You must have some important things to do." Natalie absentmindedly nodded in agreement as she seemed to be stuck in her own thoughts. "Say hello to Ethan for me."
"Bye, Eli."
Natalie tore out of the house with quick steps. Connor and Hank were already in the Lieutenants car waiting for her in silence. She stomped through the snow and climbed into the back seat. Natalie really wanted to just fall asleep because she had suddenly became exhausted. However, she could already feel the tension radiating off of Hank and the conflict coming off Connor. There was no way that she'll get to rest after this eventful day.
"So..." Hank started while drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, "you're related to the creator of androids?"
Natalie gulped, "yeah."
"And you didn't think to mention that." Natalie could hear the undertone of betrayal in is words.
She knew that Hank was far beyond betrayed at this point. She's kept some pretty large secrets from him that have been quite important to their investigation. Natalie did like lying, however, she hadn't lied to the lieutenant at all. He never asked about her being a cyborg or about her family beside Ethan. Yet now that some things were out in the open, she needed to tell them. Not everything. To tell them everything would mean talking about some obviously uncomfortable parts of her life that she is still coming to terms with. But enough for Hank to be satisfied and for the weight of guilt to be lifted off of her.
"I'm sorry, Hank, Connor." She apologized and turned to the older man with a meaningful look. She was ready to do what Hank has been wanting for a while now. It was time to clear the air. "I owe you guys an explanation."
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