Conduit

Ch. 9

A flash of light went off as a bullet fired from the android's weapon. The second I thought of dodging to the side, Victoria pulled me. And Reggie hurried in front of me.

"No!" I heard Frank's shout muffled through the sound of the incoming death. But it didn't reach me. With my head pressed into the nook of Victoria's neck, I stared at the blue carpet behind her, expecting to see the red spill and ruin the color.

That didn't happen. And I didn't feel pain, either.

"This should be reported as violence." Reggie's voice broke through the buzzing taking over my ears. I turned, seeing that he stood behind me, protecting me. He didn't move his legs, only his arm, and head. He turned his gaze to peer at the security androids in front of him; his hand slid into view, sticky with blue android fluids.

He was shot. He took a bullet for me. An actual bullet.

"What the fuck!" I quickly grabbed him as best as I could and turned him. In the center of his chest, leaking blue and sparking with electrical damage, was a bullet hole. I could make out the small piece of ammo but when I reached to grab it, it burned.

I pulled my hand back, hissing.

Model 757 stared at the gun in his hand before dropping it. "It is my assigned weapon," he said, looking back at us. "I was ordered to—"

"To shoot me if I didn't let Reggie leave with you?" I placed my hand on his chest, eyeing the androids. "Or did you mean to shoot him?"

The android didn't respond. He and the others with him took one step back. "It was our assigned weapon. This was not an act of violence."

"You've injured me," Reggie said. "And I had done nothing wrong."

Frank forced his way into the cubicle. He panicked as he looked at Reggie, then at me. When his gaze settled on Victoria, he pursed his lips. "Can you scan him? See if he's salvageable?"

She nodded, slowly pulling Reggie to the end of the room.

"I need to know if he's okay," I said to Victoria, then looked at Frank. "I need you to relay a message for me since I can't leave."

Frank blinked. "I... I was calling to let them know about the mix-up. My phone fell. Look," he pointed at his broken cell phone, "it's shattered. It's—"

"I was about to die, Frank," I hissed. "He could've shot me."

"I didn't know they were coming to shoot you," he hissed quietly.

"But you knew they were coming." I shook my head. "I made one request. One. Now, I don't even know why I'm here."

Frank sighed. "Elijah... there had to be a misunderstanding."

"Assigning guns to androids is not some misunderstanding. That was intentional." I ground my teeth. "So was convincing me to come here. I should've run," I looked back at Victoria, "we shouldn't be here."

She frowned, looking up at me. "We need to be here," she said quietly. "They need us."

"See!" Frank agreed.

Only he didn't know what he was agreeing to. Victoria was worried about the androids; that's why we were here. Humans and their mistakes? That wasn't her concern.

"Look at me," I said to him. "I need you to go up there and tell Miss Katherine and whoever else is in charge, that I will be in my small apartment. Oh, and he," I turned slightly to point at Reggie, "is coming with me."

"Prototypes aren't allowed—"

I growled. I didn't want to hear his excuses or his "by the book" rules. He needed to listen and understand me. "Reggie is officially under my care so I can repair him. And hopefully," I spun my fingers around my head, "undo the crazy shit y'all put him through."