SEQUENTIAL ━ Connor // RK800 ✔️

eight ━ the right information

"How can you even know all this?" Brady stood there, perplexed by the information he was receiving.

"I am just reading the evidence as it is," Connor dismissed his shock, moving now around the displayed weapons to point at the end of the shotgun. "There were clear signs of an altercation once the killer ran out of ammunition and Joel had the knife. The side of the shotgun's barrel has scratches that indicate the killer blocked the blade several times, redirecting its blows, which respects our evidence of the couch cushions being stabbed several times without traces of blood left behind. At some point, the killer regained the upper hand. They disarmed Joel and stabbed him in the upper thigh of his right leg. They left no fingerprints on the handle of the pocket knife. None on the shotgun either."

Struggling to keep up with Connor's rundown on the events, Brady couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows down. "What happened next?"

"Joel fell over the coffee table. The killer followed him down and Joel had his last stand there. He pulled the knife out and stabbed the killer. Provoked by the pain, the killer took the shotgun and used it to bash in the side of Joel's head. The wound ended up being fatal."

"So that's why the knife's blade is clean. The killer had the mind to wipe it," he nodded along. "Makes sense."

"There is one problem though," Connor sighed then, lowering down to point with a finger no longer covered by his synthetic skin at the edge of the blade. That edge was chipped, solidifying his theory thay it had hit the shotgun several times, but most importantly, it held remnants of something which shouldn't be there. "There is Thirium on this."

"Thirium? Blue blood. What the hell is it doing there?" As he watched Connor slowly stand up, Officer Brady started understanding what he meant and could therefore no longer contain his laughter, "Wait, so you're telling me you think the killer was an android?" When he watched Connor pass him to go into the rain without a single form of expresssion nor a word to spare for clarification's sake, his smile vanished. He rushed after him, forgetting all about pulling his coat's hood back on. With a curse mumbled to the pouring rain, he pulled it on as he caught up with Connor, far too late to salvage his hair. "But androids can't kill humans, right?" he shouted over the loudness of the weather.

"They shouldn't be able to. It's against their programming to use weapons and to harm humans."

"Then your theory is bullshit."

"However the android involvement would explain the lack of any DNA proof on the scene and the carelessness after the act coexisting across the evidence simultaneously," Connor thought out loud, also speaking louder now. "There is one way in which an android would be able to ignore the protocols programmed into it. It's just very unlikely that such an error would occur. It is a possibility nonetheless."

"I don't remember CyberLife advertising going like — Oh, right. Our androids can go crazy and murder you. But don't worry, chances are small," Officer Brady laughed, but his fear was coming through in shakes trembling his tone, audible even through the rain as it caused a stark contrast with Connor's blunt approach to the case's current leads. "The fuck, Connor? So you're telling me now you could do that too? Lose your mind and start killing people?"

"No," Connor shook his head firmly. "There are very specific conditions under which this error in the program can occur, hence its rarity. In all of CyberLife's years of activity so far, only two such cases have been reported. They are freak accidents—" He stopped before passing through the open doors of the barn, his eyes wide at the sight of the androids lined up inside.