Privacy

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You shouldn't have been surprised. Things were chaotic after androids won their freedom, but you had thought it would be a while before anyone came to you asking questions about your old job.

Let alone some grisly police lieutenant and the famous RK800 prototype lent to the DPD.

You bit back the urge to tell them you weren't doing anything illegal - Wasn't that always what guilty people said? With your arms crossed, you leaned back against your work desk, trying to look calm.

"We just need to ask you a few questions," Lieutenant Hank Anderson said, eyeing you perceptively. They both were. You realized nothing would go unnoticed in front of these two - you'd have to be careful with your words and body language.

You offered what you hoped was a convincing grin. "I'm all ears."

The RK800 android, who had introduced himself as Connor, reached out to touch your computer on the desk. His synthetic skin dissolved from his fingertips up to the sleeve of his jacket.

"What are you doing?" The words slipped out, sounding slightly panicked, before you could stop yourself.

Lieutenant Anderson quirked a brow and Connor withdrew his hand. His head tilted slightly as he looked at you with what appeared to be confusion.

"I'm sorry. I need you to look at a picture. It wasn't my intention to-"

Calm down, you thought, holding back a sigh of relief. He isn't downloading all of your records and notes. They're not here about your work.

"Sorry." You returned his gaze and tried to avoid giving any tells that he could analyze, "Just...it's courteous to ask before you start interfacing with other people's stuff." The lieutenant seemed to find that amusing, letting loose a huff of barely-concealed laughter. You turned your attention towards your computer. "What do you want me to look at?"

Connor hesitantly reached back towards the computer asking, "May I?"

You nodded, and his skin dissolved again, revealing the white plastic shell. The computer screen flickered to life as Connor pulled up an image - one of three androids in a dark and dingy hotel room. All three had their eyes open, skin removed, and based on the way they were draped over furniture or laid on the floor, you guessed they were in standby. But why do they look like that?... That's strange, You thought, peering closer.

"Another android called it in - apparently hadn't heard from his buddy in a couple of days only to drop by and find this," Lieutenant Anderson explained.

He called the DPD... but that means... You forced your mouth to move, "Are they all dead?"

"Yes." Connor's affirmative rang in your ears as you stared at the three androids. You wanted to - no needed to - ask what happened... but something stopped you. Wait, what does this have to do with me?

"Why..." You tried to sound as calm as possible with your heart fluttering against your chest, "Why are you showing me this?"

"See him right there?" Lieutenant Anderson's finger jutted into your vision as he pointed at the android propped up against a nightstand. "He's the one whose buddy called us. His buddy also told us he'd been in for maintenance recently and gave us your name."

So he was one of my patients, you realized.

"You were also the last to see him alive," Connor adds.

That's when your heart stopped. You looked away from the image only to see Connor's brown eyes staring directly at you, no doubt scanning and analyzing you incessantly.

Fuck.

It took everything in you not to groan - enough crime shows had taught you that "last to see him alive" was code for "possible suspect".

"What kind of maintenance did you perform?" Lieutenant Anderson asked.

"I-I don't..." You took another look at the image, but his face shared the same shape as several of your patients. "What was his name?" You asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"He was a model PL600," Connor answered.

You tried not to glare at him - the way a stray lock of hair fell into his forehead and brown eyes watched you made any irritation die - it seemed like he just wanted to be helpful. Instead, you turned to Lieutenant Anderson. "You said you talked to his friend, what was the android's name?"

The lieutenant hesitated, "Why do you need to know that?"

"My records," You replied, minimizing the crime scene photo and opening up your detailed maintenance logs, "So I can look up his file."

"He was a model PL600, serial number #305 659 004," Connor tried again.

You sighed and resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of your nose, "I don't like to label their logs by serial number - It's too... impersonal. I've seen half a dozen PL600s since November 11th, so I need his name. You probably interfaced with him, right? What was his name?"

The lieutenant and Connor exchanged a look you didn't quite understand, but neither answered you. Maybe Connor doesn't probe androids he can't get permission from? Maybe he finds it too invasive? You thought, feeling a bit ashamed that you assumed he did to find out what happened. Android culture and manners were new, not just to you, but you knew the boundaries were important.

"The memory probe was," Connor hesitates, "Inconclusive."

Your relief was quickly replaced by confusion, "Inconclusive? Pulling a registered name is easy." Even if an android needed temporary reactivation, their name should be an easily-accessible variable. You knew that, so why? You sighed and shook yourself out of your thoughts.

"Can we see all of your PL600 logs?" Connor asked.

"...No."

The lieutenant quirked an eyebrow at you. "Why not?"

"They..." You hesitated, trying to find the right words, "These are their personal records - I can't just hand them over if they have no relevance to this case."

Connor actually looked shocked. As deviancy increased, you'd watched androids grow more and more expressive, and seeing his widened eyes only cemented your stance.

"Of course it's relevant to the case! One of them is dead," Lieutenant Anderson growled.

"But the others aren't." You looked the lieutenant straight in the eyes. "It's an invasion of privacy to turn over all their maintenance records without their permission or a warrant. Do you have a warrant?"

Connor and Lieutenant Anderson shared another glance. You wished you could tell what they were trying to communicate, but the sinking feeling in your gut signaled that you didn't really want to know.

Connor looked back at you, his LED glowing faint yellow, "Why do you care about their privacy? You do realize you're interfering with an investigation."

There it was - the implied "obstruction of justice" on top of "the last to see him alive". You bit your lip, struggling to keep your resolve.

"Androids have the same rights as humans now." Your gaze didn't leave Connor's still-yellow LED. "I wouldn't hand over half a dozen medical records for humans without a warrant either."

Lieutenant Anderson crossed his arms and smiled at you. Not a full-on pearly whites smile, but a warm smirk all the same. He nodded, in what you guessed was approval before sighing. "Unfortunately, you're going to have to come with us, then."

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