Conduit

Ch. 22

From night to the morning was the best sleep I had since coming to Lyons' building; was the best I had in a long while. I tried to keep it cool on the surface, but I'd been illegally under the radar for a long time. Now I wasn't under a watchful eye—at least, not outside—and I felt comfortable. After the androids and talking to Frank, I looked at the entire situation with a new pair of eyes.

I can do this.

Having prepared my morning coffee myself, I stood at the windows in my living room and looked out at the streets below. This high up, I couldn't see much, but it was fine. I wasn't looking to. The window with the bright sun was more like calm to my thoughts. Everything felt like it'd fallen into place. I could do this task to fix the android's situation and—if Katherine did her part in this—the people of the world would learn how to better behave. Once all of that was in order, I knew I would be able to try and return to the disposal floor for the androids who willingly stayed behind. They believed in me, and I owed that to them.

Returning to save them would've been exactly what 'A' the android wanted.

Until then, I need to find comfort in this current headspace and sit in it. As Frank had said, it was better to take care of myself first.

"Elijah?" The front door to the apartment opened and closed. Victoria stepped inside with a bag in her hands. Reggie came in, too, and stood at her side. He looked at her as she held her bag in front of her, then politely took it. His eyes passed over her, almost lovingly, as she smiled at me. "Are you feeling, okay?" she asked.

I sipped my coffee. "I'm fine." I looked at them and the fact that they'd stepped out in the morning. "Where did you both go?"

"Oh, I put in a request for food yesterday." Victoria glanced back at the door, then at Reggie beside her. "It was ready, and I didn't want to wake you. I decided to get it myself to stretch my legs for a moment, thought it was best to take Reggie with me, too."

Mhm. A little alone time for them together.

"Stretching your legs is good, for the both of you." I lifted my cup as I walked over to them, crossing the living room space. "You remember how I asked you to store my family's data for me?"

"Of course," nodding, Victoria placed the bag in the kitchen, "how could I forget it?"

"Perfect." I sipped again. "Do you think you'd be able to move all of that content over to the tablet for me to look at?"

"Yes, I can." She proceeded to take out loaves of bread and placed them on the counter. "How would you like to access it?"

"Easiest way possible." I finished my coffee, moving around the counter to put my cup in the kitchen sink. "Speaking of stretching your legs, I've got plans for us today."

"Plans?" Victoria's eyes widened, the green in them brightening. "We haven't had any plans since we've come here."

"I know." I passed my hand over my chin. "And I need to fix that for both of our sakes. Reggie," I glanced over at him and pointed, "you're coming, too."

"Me?" He placed his hand over his chest.

I nodded as I grinned. I couldn't separate them; wherever Victoria went, he had to come, too.

"To have me included in plans—I've never been included in anything. With my make and model as an android, it wouldn't have been a possibility, either."

"And that," biting my lip, I nodded, "I'm fixing that, too."

That was a small bump in the road that was doable; I could fix this. Just one android at a time. And if I managed it like that, all of this was doable. It was all about pacing—for myself and for those who needed me.