ANGELEYES, dbh connor

FOUR

DETROIT ROCK CITY
━━━━━━(●'ω｀●)━

YOU SPENT THE NIGHT at Cyberlife's closest warehouse on stand-by mode and so, by morning when Detroit began to return to its usual bustle, you felt more than ready to be productive in your investigation.

You walk through the crowds of people on the busy pavements, your LED flickering as you absorb the new information around you.

People tend to avoid standing too close to you, mostly due to your Android uniform (consisting of a white button-up, grey blazer, and black work-pants) and for that, you are grateful. Crowds tend to greatly hinder the completion of certain objectives...

Fortunately for you, you arrive at the Detroit Police Department right on time at 8:30AM.

The waiting room is just as busy as you'd first expected it to be and you take a moment to glance around. Family groups of humans congregate by the cheap sofas and lounges placed around the room, chatting angrily amongst themselves about the crimes committed against them.

But, surely, how many serious crimes can be committed before lunch-time?

You walk toward the reception desk, a polite smile on your face, "Excuse me, I'm here to see Lieutenant Anderson."

"Do you have authorization?" questions the receptionist in a kind tone of voice. Upon seeing your nod, she opens her networks for connection and you send her your information.

"Please, go right ahead. His desk is in the main area."

You nod one last time and enter the DPD with your arms crossed over your chest. You quickly scan the room and, unfortunately for you, there's no sight of the Lieutenant anywhere. But work had started half an hour ago for him so you're certain he has to be here...

The room is fairly busy, so perhaps you've missed him?

With meaningful steps, you walk around the DPD in an attempt to spot him. But instead of locating the Lieutenant, you see a different familiar -- and important -- face.

You approach his messy desk and clear your throat. "Detective Summers?"

He jolts in his seat and looks up at you quickly, his eyes droopy with sleep. "Huh? Oh! Y/N, it's good to see you!"

Detective Summers seems caught off guard and a little surprised by your sudden appearance. Trying to calm his hammering heart, you give him a second polite smile and glance at his photo-covered desk.

"Thank you, Detective. I'm sorry to bother you but I was wondering where Lieutenant Anderson is."

"You -- you're not bothering me," stammers Detective Summers as he frantically waves his hands in the air, "not at all! But, um, Hank probably won't be here for another few hours. He always comes in late, especially when he's worked on a case during the night."

You stare at him blankly. That is a pity. It'd be beneficial to start investigating Deviants as soon as possible.

"Uh, until then, you're welcome to keep me company," says the Detective with a broad smile.

His heart rate increased once more as he spoke. Perhaps he has social anxiety?

After a beat of silence, you give the Detective a nod, "It'd be my pleasure, Detective."

He pauses, "You don't have to be so formal with me, Y/N! Call me Connor... Uh, if you don't mind."

Your LED turned yellow as you processed his instructions.

"Of course, Connor." ⍓

Quietly, you study your surroundings, looking for an objective to task yourself with until the Lieutenant arrives at the office. There doesn't look to be many things for you to do... You turn to face Connor once again and see that he's typing quickly.

"Do you require any assistance?" you ask, your head tilted.

Connor stares up at you and smiles awkwardly. "Ah, no thanks. I'm just closing a file." He looks a little nervous so you decide to leave him be.

You nod. "I'll get you a coffee, then. Do you take sugar?"

"Oh-" the Detective stutters and his ears go pink, "Thank you. I, uh, five sugars would be wonderful." ⍓

Five? That's unhealthy for a coffee, but you doubt Connor would really mind.

Nodding, you walk away from Connor's desk and make your way to the empty kitchen. As you turn the coffee maker on, your attention is drawn to the TV hanging off the wall. A news reporter speaks quickly about recent crimes but-

"The DPD has recently employed a Cyberlife Android to investigate the recent peak in Android-related crimes, but what does that mean for us? Will our jobs be next? Here's Cyberlife's statement..."

You turn away from the TV and glance at the coffee maker. It makes a dinging sound and you pour the bean juice into a mug. You mix in some sugar (an unhealthy 5 teaspoons, just as Connor had requested) and add the milk.

It's dangerously hot for human consumption so you let it sit for a moment to cool down.

As you wait, an unfortunate face enters the DPD's kitchen. Detective Gavin Reed from last night, and accompanying him is an Officer.

"Ah, if it isn't Robo-cop," he sneers, "what, running errands for your humans?"

You smile politely, "Detective Reed. Please, excuse me." You quickly pick up Connor's hot coffee off the countertop and make a move to leave the Kitchen.

But Reed blocks you off. Clearly, he's still mad at you for ignoring his orders this morning with the Deviant. Huffing, he stares you down and chuckles mockingly, like a high school bully.

"What, you're not gonna make me one?" He smirks. "I want one. Make it."

The synthetic skin in between your eyebrows pinch as you frown, "No. I'm afraid I only take orders from Lieutenant Anderson and Detective Summers."

Reed's expression changes in an instant. ⍌

The amusement in his face quickly fades away and leaves behind irritation. His lip curls into another sneer and he places a firm hand on your cloaked shoulder, keeping you in place.

"You don't take orders from me? The fuck does that mean? You're a machine made to obey. So obey."

"No. Excuse me-"

Scoffing, Reed shoves his palm into your shoulder and sends you stumbling back. Connor's piping hot coffee splashes up onto your white top and your LED turns yellow because of the sudden unexpected confrontation.

You look down at the front of your shirt and take a moment to access the damage. Due to the coffee's high temperature, you doubt the stain will come out anytime soon.

Detective Reed leaves the kitchen with a scoff and you stare at his back in disbelief. Slowly, your LED returns to its usual color. But...

Software instability ⍓...

At least Connor's coffee doesn't need to remade - only a little spilled out, so you don't need to spend any more time waiting for the coffee machine to go off.

You slowly walk out of the kitchen, his coffee clasped securely in your hands. And as you take measured steps back to Connor's desk, your LED turns yellow. Why did Detective Reed think he could man-handle you when you're simply completing your objectives?

You remember his words...

"You're a machine made to obey. So obey."

It sounded an awful lot like what you told the Deviant last night.