The Partners (Connor x Reader)

Prologue

C O N N O R

The mission. That's all that matters. It didn't matter if I was damaged in the process. It didn't matter if my partner hated who- or what- I was. All that mattered was that I accomplished my mission. I was the most advanced cyborg that Cyberlife had ever developed. It was my duty and my duty alone to get to the bottom of all these deviant cases throughout the country. I knew this from day one, and yet I was struggling to complete this basic task.

I could think of several reasons that would explain this. I could blame it on the abundance of cases, the reluctance of the Detroit Police Depot to work with an android, or even the lack of information we got out of each deviant. But I knew the real reason. It was Hank.

Hank. Despite working with one another for several weeks at that point, he still seemed to hold a grudge against me. Despite this, something about him evoked something in me. It was as if I wanted to do good by him, wanted him as a friend. It was irrational. I knew it was as soon as I spoke to Amanda about him. I told her my feelings towards the stubborn man, how I wished to adapt to his personality so we could work together. Amanda immediately expressed disappointment. I was expected to disregard Hank, to ignore him and just focus on my mission. Amanda reinforced the idea that I'm just an android; a plastic impersonation of a human. I can't 'want' or 'think'-- I'm a machine.

When I got word of a suspected deviant a couple blocks away from the spot Hank had stopped to grab lunch, I thought nothing of it. I knew it could be dangerous, but I wasn't worried. I expected it to go as every other investigation, only this time, maybe a more promising lead. It was a certainly unexpected case. A deviant living on its own locked in a room with hundreds of pigeons? It was quick to find its way onto the list of my most interesting cases.

As I continued to inspect the room, it became obvious to me that the deviant was still there- hiding somewhere in the room. When I found the hatch that appeared to lead to some sort of attic, I expected the situation to unwind similarly to our previous investigation. That deviant android who had stabbed Carlos Ortiz twenty-eight times was hiding out in his home. It was an easy capture, although a relatively challenging extraction process when it came to the confession. A similar incident is what I was anticipating- what I was expecting. But I couldn't have been more wrong.

The situation quickly became an on-foot police chase. I was dashing through crowds and hurling myself over ledges and roofs just to keep up with the android. I was right on the deviant's tail. I wasn't sure where Hank was as I had left him in the room when the android began to flee. I wouldn't have to wonder about Hank for long, however. As I finally began to close in on the android, I was met with a scuffle between it and Hank. It all happened so fast, it was as if I didn't have time to react. One shove from the android and Hank was toppling over the side of the building, hanging on for his life.

Time seemed to slow as I realized I needed to make a decision. For the first time ever I felt unsure of something. I felt- no- I can't feel. Amanda's voice seemed to echo in my head as my gaze shifted to the fleeing android. The mission was what mattered. The android might be a breaking point in the case. If I let it get away, it could prolong the investigation and allow for more deviants to murder their humans. I needed to accomplish my mission. My feet turned to the android. I need to accomplish my mission. Hank would survive. I predicted a less than 11% chance that he would actually fall. It was small enough that I decided he would be able to pull himself back up. That I would chase the android instead. And that I did.

I chased the android past Hank and towards the edge of a building. It was a dead end. The android was forced to face me. It was over.

"Wait." It spoke, it's voice sounded rattled and weak. It was evident to me that the android was stressed, overwhelmed with its tasks. "Please, I've done nothing wrong."

Lies.

"I just wanted to be free."

Androids can't 'want.' We can't 'want.'

"You know what they'll do to me if you turn me in..."

Of course I know. It wasn't my first deviant to catch and it certainly wouldn't be my last. Deviants were glitches as far as I was concerned. The disassembly process was necessary. Glitches are a threat to society- to humans. I intended to stay loyal to Cyberlife and Amanda, and yet I found it difficult to find my voice in that moment, "Model 874 004 961, serious malfunctions have been detected in your software, including Class 4 errors. You've been deemed defective and will be sent back to Cyberlife for deactivation." I grabbed the android and began to put handcuffs on it.

The android didn't struggle or protest in my grip. He merely peered at me from beneath his baseball cap, his lips drawn in a sneer. "Why are you doing this?" I ignored the question. "You're one of us! You're helping humans... but you're just they're slave!"

"That's enough." I said monotonously as I finished putting on his handcuffs, shoving him lightly in the direction we came from. I was pleased to have captured the android without it getting damaged. Despite this, I was beginning to wonder what was taking Hank so long to catch up. Surely he didn't fall...? No. No, it was nearly impossible. I thought I made sure of that.

The android suddenly spoke up again, interrupting my thoughts, "rA9 save me."

I furrowed my brow at this statement, unsure if I had heard him correctly, "Wha-."

The android broke from my grasp in an instant and bolted back to the edge of the building. I extended my arm out as though to stop it, but it was too late. The android threw itself off of the edge of building, leaving me on the rooftop alone.

I stood frozen in place, alarmed by the sequence of events. We were so close to getting a lead, but once again, we lost it. I didn't want to think about reporting back to Amanda with this defeat. I can only imagine the disappointment in her voice as she tells me every little thing I did wrong. My thoughts shifted back to Hank and his absence. I decided I should report back to him about the android. I begrudgingly turned away to the rooftop and made my way back to the area where Hank had been fighting with the android. He was nowhere to be seen.

"Lieutenant Anderson?" I called out, hoping to get a response. Perhaps he took off, anger at me for not helping him. I decided that would have been a rational response, but could he blame me? My duty was to catch the android, not to be Hank's guardian angel. If he would have come to grab the android with me, perhaps we would have been able to prevent the android from self-destructing itself. "Lieutenant Anderson?!" I called out again, this time a little louder. Still no response. My eyes trailed over to the ledge where he had been.

No, it's impossible. He couldn't have fallen. He must've pulled himself back up.

I cautiously approached the ledge, leaning over it slightly as my eyes scanned the street below for Hank.

No.

The world seemed to still. I could feel my software instability rise as I stumbled backwards from the ledge.

No. It can't be.