Conduit

Ch. 13

"What happened, Paul?" I asked him. "Can I call you, Paul?"

"Fuck me, he's here for the androids," the man who had made himself known huffed and shook his head. "What about us, huh? We got outside and stood like this to get them to stop! Greater in numbers!"

"I just want to go home." A smaller man with brown eyes and tear-filled eyes came and stepped out from the left. "My daughter just needed some shoes."

My chest tightened. Innocent people. And I bet like I looked like I didn't care.

My focus was on Paul. The android nodded and I pursed my lips, repeating my first question, "What happened here?"

Paul's head dipped slightly as he sighed. "We hadn't completed a task yesterday before our programmed time," he said, then his gaze returned to the small crowd. "We attempt to finish it today, but we were rushed by unhappy customers."

No one from the group said a word. There were mumbles, incoherent grumbles, but nothing I understood.

I clenched my jaw as I tried to focus on the person they were hiding.

"Because we could not complete what we were told to do, the on-site manager resorted to locking two of my fellow androids in the backroom." As Paul spoke, I looked at him and we locked eyes. "There are no lights in the back, I could not sit back and watch as she put them in the dark again."

It was the way he said it—again. This wasn't the first time they had been mistreated. I wanted to know how long this had happened, but I also knew I didn't have the time. I, too, was given a task; Katherine allowing me outdoor access wouldn't change my deadline.

I glanced at Frank. "When did I need to have the update created?" I asked him.

"Tomorrow," he whispered, meeting my gaze. "Katherine wants it on her desk in the morning."

"Right." Less than twenty-four hours, why not? "I need you to make a call for me then."

"A call?" Frank came close. "To whom?"

"Are you calling to pick up these androids?" The person huddled in the center of the group stood finally, and I saw the bloody face of the man who had been pulled through the shattered windows on the news broadcast. The gash on his head still bled. His frantic brown eyes looked at me as if I were his only hope.

Unfortunately for him, I sided with the androids in this case. I didn't answer his question and looked back at Frank. "Who would you call for an android pickup?" I asked him.

"He is, he is!" The man, who I assumed was the manager, bounced happily as he grabbed the woman who spoke the first shoulder. He beamed at her. "He's picking them up, saving us, and we can go home!"

The androids reacted to what he said. All of their mechanical eyes were on him.

I huffed in frustration. "Hey, quiet!" I pointed at him as I shook my head. "I'm not here for you."

Murmurs from the crowd erupted. Frightened, confused, scared. I faced Frank to avoid their stares. I put my hands on his shoulders. "Who do you call?"

Frank pulled his phone out of his pocket. "There is a repair team and a disposal team—"

"Call repairs," I said. "Tell them we have five androids from the incident that needs to be picked up, but," I narrowed my gaze as I looked at the line of synthetic workers, "have them placed on the instructional floor."

Frank didn't ask any questions. His fingers moved quickly over the screen. "Are we saving them?" he whispered low enough that only I could hear.

"I am trying to," I responded, my voice just as quiet. "I need to talk to them."

"Hey, look at us," the manager patted his chest before motioning at those around him, "we need you more than those fucking machines! Our lives are more important! You need to pick them up and dispose of them!"

An android stepped forward. Shit. Was this going to escalate this fast?

"Make the call," I said to Frank as I sharply turned toward the manager. It hurt to move quickly but I needed to. I needed him to shut up. My hand wrapped around the collar of his bloodied shirt as the others gasped. "I need you to stop locking them in rooms," I hissed. "Is that their punishment if they can't finish an impossible task?"

"Putting away three hundred boxes isn't impossible." The manager pulled free from my grip.

Three hundred. Is he serious?

"How can I run a business with no product?" he added and stepped back. He was serious. I'd never had a standard job, but I heard of the impossible standards of jobs in our past. The employees had changed but the atmosphere hadn't. Androids weren't going to be the ones to quietly quit; they couldn't, so they retaliated.

"Yeah, we're at Kelly's Retailers. Yes, the same you saw on TV." Frank's voice carried to me as he made the call to the proper people, and I kept my eyes focused on the manager in front of me. He glanced at Frank as if he understood what was happening. He didn't.

I waved my hands at those behind them, shooing them away. "Everyone goes home! You," I pointed at the man who had been at the store for his daughter, "did you get the shoes you needed?"

He shook his head as the others ran without question.

"Go in through the window, grab what you need, then go home to your kid. Be careful with the glass."

"What?" The manager turned to grab the man's arm before he could turn for the store, not once questioning that I told him to steal; after what happened, I was sure the offer was payment for his afternoon suffering. Yet, before the man in charge could stop him, I pulled him back to me instead. He bared his teeth. "Are you serious? You're letting that man steal from my store!"

I held him hard enough that I was able to turn him and push him away. He stumbled and fell on the cracked, uneven street. "I should let these androids finish what they started." My limp vanished as adrenaline pumped through me. "You can't treat them that way and expect everyone to come to your aid. Why those people protected you is beyond me, but the only reason why I'll protect you now is to protect them."

I looked at the androids, meeting each of their stares one at a time. "There is a truck coming for you," I said. Frank hadn't confirmed it but if there was one thing I knew about Lyons was that their damage control was strong and they would be here quicker than we arrived. "You can go back to our car and wait for them. The two there are androids in my care."

"Care?" Paul's brows lifted and he looked at the others. They didn't whisper or say a word. Android telepathy was a curious sight to see.

Then Paul looked at me. "Are you the newest technician hired by Lyons?" he asked.

Hired wasn't a word I'd use. "I'm the man Lyons called to help the androids, yes."

"Help the androids," the manager whined, "my fucking God, what has the world come to?"

"I don't know," I quickly looked down at him and shook my head, "but the world is turning to shit because of people like you."

The manager's mouth dropped just as the man who I told to grab the shoes for his daughter returned. Holding the pink-laced sneakers in his hand, he nodded and quietly thanked me. The manager saw and would've stood, but the androids started in our direction. The slow sound of heavy feet meeting old asphalt hit my eyes.

Paul stopped as he reached my side; the other four androids kept walking toward Victoria and Reggie.

"I've heard through the syncs that you are who we need," Paul said. "Thank you for coming here today."

I smiled weakly, nodding, as I watched him catch up to his android friends. The manager pushed up from the street and turned. He looked as if he'd run away.

I grabbed the back of his shirt. "You're not going anywhere," I said. "I'm calling the cops next."