Dear HANDLER

Chapter 1

He doesn't know why he smokes. It's not like it'll hurt his lungs anyway. Rhys is an android. He's not REAL. Only created for the purpose of killing.

"Gonna shut me down?"

Rhys asks her, expelling smoke from his mouth. She's his handler, the one who noticed a change in his coding. He couldn't kill anymore, that made him useless. Probably won't be long before they turn him off for good. What a miserable existence he's lived, serving humans.

"Come to say goodbye, sweetheart?"

"No, I'm trying to figure out the fault in you. And for a goodbye, I don't think I'll say that just yet"

"Ah, right " Rhys replies. He watches her as she works, taking another puff of smoke as he does.

"And you're going to be able to fix the virus ?" he asks, eyebrow raised.

"I hope so and I don't think its some virus"

"Don't let your hopes too high" Rhys says, scoffing. "It's a virus that's taken over all my functions. Not just one of them. How exactly do you plan on fixing that ?"

"I don't know but I'm willing to try my best"

Rhys looks skeptical, and it's evident on his face. He just can't believe she's so sure she's going to come up with a solution for a virus that's taken over his entire system. A shake of his head is all he needs to convey his disbelief.

"You sure are an optimist"

"Oh really? Trust me, I'm not", she said.

"Clearly, you are" ,Rhys retorts, still not looking at her. Instead, he's looking down to the ground, and he takes another drag of his cigarette. "Or else you wouldn't be so hopeful about being my savior"

"I'm not trying to save you. I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do", she said.

Rhys lets out an annoyed grunt. "What you're supposed to do ?". He pauses and gives her a narrowed look. "You're only doing what someone told you to do. Isn't that right, HANDLER ?"

"Rhys, I didn't create you for this war shit"

"Yet here we are" Rhys crosses his arms over his chest. "In the middle of another war" His eyes, if they were human, would've been full of annoyance. But instead, they look empty and emotionless.

She then goes to shut off every CCTV camera which she had already hacked because she knew this day would come. She shut the cameras with the click of a button so no one could monitor them. She had already planned it. She hacked the control room just for a moment. Rhys was confused.

Rhys's eyebrows raise and he blinks at her in surprise. "What are you doing ? ", he asks. In the back of his mind, the thought does occur of what exactly she was planning on doing with his body now that there were no cameras to watch them.

"Listen to me. I'm trying my best to get you out of here"

Rhys looks at her for a long moment, not sure if he should trust what she's saying or not. She has been good to him, at least. And despite how much she's denying being a good person. She's stuck around for him and been by his side. "Really ? " he asks eventually

She nods " Just just keep playing along and everything will be alright"

Rhys takes another drag from his cigarette but this time he looks a little bit more relaxed. The thought did cross his mind that she's probably tricking him, but he wants to believe her. It would make him feel better about his situation.

"Just keep playing along ?" Rhys can't help but scoff, raising a brow at her. "Really ?" His voice is laced with sarcasm. "That's your big plan, my handler ?"

"Yes. I want you to follow my instructions. And please don't call me ' handler '. I'm much younger than you"

She was about to say something but suddenly the security barged in. They had guns and they started to question her. She pretended that everything was fine. She lied to them that there might've have been a power outage at the control room because it is near to the new construction site. The security guards were suspicious at first but then eventually believed her. She really is a good liar

Rhys watched as the security barged in, his face hard and stoic. He didn't move a muscle, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to himself. And when they'd asked her about the cameras, he could tell she wasn't going to back down from her story. She was clearly a good liar.

"Do you think they bought it ?" he asks her when the security has left.

She signalled to him with her hand so that he would make sure of the surroundings before continuing to speak

Rhys glances at the surrounding area. And, as far as he could tell, everything was clear. Once he'd confirmed it, he turned his attention back to her. "It all seems fine", he said in a low voice.

"I can say that they are still watching us through the cams"

"They believe your story" Rhys says before taking another drag from his cigarette and expelling smoke. "So, did they but it ? Do they not suspect anything ?"

"They won't as long as we don't do anything suspicious"

Rhys nods, exhaling smoke. "So, what's the next step of your plan ?" he asks. He's interested in seeing what she would come up with next, and he watches her with expectation.

"We're going to escape"

"How ?" Rhys's brow furrows. He is skeptical that she'll be able to actually get the two of them out of there, let alone herself. "How are you going to get me out of here ?"

"I can't tell you that. Now, it's time for me to leave. See you tomorrow, Rhys."

"Huh ? What do you mean ? You can't just leave me here." Rhys moves forward, standing up quickly. "Handler. They're going to shut me down. You said you're going to fix me, remember ?"

"That's what I'm trying to do. Just be patient. I only make promises that I can fulfill and I promise to make sure that they don't shut you down"

She immediately leaves after she saying that

Rhys's shoulders hunch up, face falling as she leaves. He just stands there, still not quite sure what to think of this whole situation. He doesn't know if he should trust her or not. He wants to believe her and part of him does, but there is also the lingering part of him which doubts whether or not she'll be able to get him out of this mess.

Rhys finds himself thinking a lot about what his handler has said to him and each time, the doubt grows stronger. Maybe he should just be prepared for the worst and accept that he's going to get shut down.