007 | Distressed
Hank's car rolled up to a parking spot across the street from an apartment building, which was an older build from early 2021. It's exterior was of brick and resembled a packing house from back in the day. The building was nestled between State St. and Park Ave. Hank let out a sigh--prepping himself for what is to come and what he may find. His eye twitched at the thought of Erika involved in such activities willingly but knew she was a victim in this, just like the other androids involved in these experiments. Hesitation filled the vehicle as Hank kept his hand ready on the inner door handle of his car. Connor analyzed his partner--based on his behavior it was evident that he was distressed by the thought of the worst. He turned towards the lieutenant and spoke from his standpoint as a friend. His opinion and thoughts on the situation that was not based on calculations from his program, a human response.
"Hank, this may sound analytical, but I believe your goddaughter wasn't an experimenter of sorts", Connor looked at the lieutenant and so did he in response to the mentioning of Erika," she seemed to be in shock of what she experiences, but I know she's innocent, she seemed like a strong woman"
"You have a way with your words Connor, I'll give that to you", Hank said as he opened his door. He opened his mouth to say something else but decided to not say a thing.
The two cross the street and approached the building. They entered the lobby of the building and was greeted by an industrial interior. It was a nice place yet something disturbing occurred there. Hank just hoped that the place wasn't cleaned out for a new tenant.
The duo tried the front desk to get any information. Surprisingly the desk clerk was human and not one of the many androids that occupy that position. He was a young gentleman with a clean shave and wore stripped button up.
"Hey buddy, do you happen to know where I can find apartment number", Hank rustled through his pocket to grab a piece of paper he jotted some case related info on. Connor saw the lieutenant struggle to locate the crumpled note.
"Room number 29", Connor finished the sentence.
"Oh the crime scene from a couple weeks ago yeah", the man replied,"the room has been vacant since then, and so has this place...only a few amount tenants have stayed"
"How about you, what's keeping you here?", Hank asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It's the only place that hires positions mainly to humans as of late", he said to the lieutenant," here's the key for the unit, oh and bring the android with you don't want him occupying the lobby"
Hank took the key and headed for the elevator. Connor followed after giving the desk clerk a blank look.
They called an elevator and pressed the to button for the fourth floor. For the short ride, Connor managed to ask the lieutenant a rather personal question.
"So what made Erika want an arm so badly", Connor questioned
"I already told you, she wanted both arms", Hank snapped," something wrong with your memory Connor? Don't tell me you have short-term memory loss"
"I can not have such condition since I am just a machine", he replied blankly making it evident that he didn't get the joke
"What else is there to know?", the lieutenant turned to him with crossed arms.
"A reason", he stated," every human has one, it can derive from a trauma, mistreatment or an obsession"
Hank looked at Connor with wonder why be wants to know more about Erika, especially about her condition.
"She was made fun of by fellow classmates in grade school and even when she went to high school", Hank simply summarized," but she learned to push through show them that she is more than her disability by being top of her class and starting a business at only 17"
Connor nodded and mentioned something that even surprised the lieutenant.
"Her favorite color is yellow, correct?", Connor spontaneously asked his memory flashed back to the yellow flowers gifted to her.
"Yeah it is", Hank confirmed with a suspicious look that resembled a protective father.
Yeah, Erika was basically his daughter, but why bring up her interests if not for the case. Hank stared at the unsuspecting Connor as the last moments of their elevator ride. Once the door opened Hank was the first to exit. Connor's LED flickered yellow and his eyes fluttered as he processed the information.
The door was already opened when Connor arrived.
He saw Hank looking through drawers and cabinets in the kitchen. A scan of the site was taken by the detective android and found a total of twelve possible clues. He searched the kitchen and opened the fridge to see what was inside--empty. He searched the living room and saw a familiar handout--it was similar to the case with the victim named Carlos.
Eden club. It seems that a possible origin of this obsession of androids could be from here.
"Possible lead,,
Connor then looked up and his scanners found blue blood splattered on some exposed brick. He walked over and scanned again for where it leads. He found himself at a wall where the blood was cut off and started to inspect the surface for any possible hidden latches or buttons. Although to his disappointment there wasn't any. Connor turned and tried to find another lead, he observed a broken glass table and strange markings on the floor. He zoomed in and saw that they were nail marks from an android. With this evidence, he managed to reconstruct the event that took place.
He saw an android being dragged by another being, possibly human. It was badly damaged and lost a critical amount of blue blood. He stood up and looked up to see a spiral staircase leading to a second floor. With the certainty that more evidence was located there, Connor headed on up. He found the lieutenant in the first room from the stairs. Hank held a hand over his mouth as he saw a bed with oxidized blood on the sheets which was probably Erika's. Connor bends down to the bedside and scanned the stain, to his disbelief it was Erika's along with traces of unknown blue blood. A piercing shriek radiated in Connor's head and an image flashed through his mind.
He felt pain, her pain.
"She was here", Connor looked around the room and noticed a closet filled with not just female clothing but a male's," but she wasn't alone"
Connor went through the closet to find anything he could scan and found a handprint stamped with blue blood. He followed another trail and ended up in the bathroom. It was black and grey with accents of dark wood all around. The last handprint was at the sink by a towel rack. Connor examines the metal rod and found a human hand print. He placed his hands on top of the mark and a small passage opened before him.
"Hey Connor, find any-", Hank came in and stopped in his tracks," what the hell is that"
"I'm not sure, but it is a lead", Connor began to squeeze his way through the passage with Hank in tow.
"God I hate tight squeezes", Hank commented," I'm too old for this"
"I believe it's the constant intake of burgers that is restricting you Hank", Connor vocalized a joke.
"Is that a joke, I thought- androids don't joke", Hank asked with short breaths, being too tired to insult or bark back.
"It was not, just a statement Hank", Connor commenced walking sideways
"No, you're definitely smirking at that smart ass comment", he said as he finally made it out and into a dark room," now where the hell are we?"
"I'm not exactly quite sure", Connor moved around to locate a switch to power a light source, luckily for him, the lights turned on due to their presence in the room.
"Well that's better", Hank said as they were greeted by a secret lab. This one was much more advanced than the one with the android armed victim. Updated tech and the latest equipment were scattered amongst the room. A large screen displayed images of various models from the WR400 line. Another monitor showed brain scans and charts of activities of a specimen...Erika?
Images portraying androids in revealing lingerie were posted on what seemed an inspiration board but disgusted Hank as he gave it a look of disapproval. Connor looked at the women in the photos with a curious look, never has he seen androids dressed like that. He just stared in confusion his eyes squinting at every detail.
"Connor!", the lieutenant called
"Coming lieutenant", Connor backed away from the images and scanned the monitor and charts to stay on track.
"Brain scans and charts belonged to the victim,,
Connor confirmed that this was indeed about Erika and searched some more--he was onto something.
He saw tools scattered on the floor and a dent in a medical caddy. Upon further inspection, he noticed Erika's dried blood and reconstructed another event. Connor stumbled in his spot and grabbed his head once more in pain, a panging rang through his head. He heard screams of agony and terror.
"Connor!", Hank called out to the unaware android.
"Connor!", he called out again, but no response came from his partner. Hank turned around to find Connor stationary but shaking due to internal convulsing. Connor's LED blinked red signaling that he was in distress. Hank attempted to snap him out of it by literally slapping him.
"Connor, snap out of it!", Hank shook the plastic man," wake up Goddammit!"
Connor's eye snapped open his lungs gasped for air...his lungs gasped for air.
Connor took in his surroundings once more and ran a diagnostic. Systems in check and program are unaffected, so what just happened.
"Maybe we need to take a break", Hank suggested," and come back later on"
"No, I-I know what happened to Erika", Connor implied," it's just beyond this room"
"What the hell are we standing around for then", Hank walked alongside Connor", let's go!"
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I hope you liked this chapter! It was a long one, also did you find a small reference?
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