"Hello, Officer," A young, tall, blonde man approached me. He was not as well built as Nick, but rather scrawnier. He, though, seemed much taller than Nick, even though Nick himself is quite tall.
"Hello," I sighed.
"I'm FBI agent Ethan Brant. I've been studying this case. I have to apologize though...for this unusual situation," he said gesturing. It was my first time on the opposite side of the interview table.
"Well, things are unusual right now," I answered. "Can you explain to me exactly what happened?"
"Sure. But I need to ask you a few questions first. Let's just get to know each though. For right now. How long have you been a cop?"
"Almost two years," I nodded. "You?"
"I was a cop for five, and then entered the FBI about two years ago. They still callin' you 'rookie'?" He joked.
"Never have," I answered.
"You're an android though, right? And Connor is your husband?"
"That's what they tell me," I nodded.
"And you have any kids?"
"We're still thinking about that, but no. Just a dog."
"Oh? What kind of dog?"
"A Siberian Husky. Her name is Blueberry."
"I have a husky...his name is Diesel."
"That's a really good name, actually."
"He came with it. He's adopted."
"So is Blueberry."
"It's really an interesting thing, right? Adopting dogs? You wish you could take them all home, but you can only pick one. Hopefully you end up picking the one that you need, and the one that needs you."
"Hmm. Exactly. Blueberry and I connected from a mile away, if I'm honest," I sighed.
"Well, as much as I love talking to you about Huskies...we have something else to talk about. When did you meet Morgan?"
"Only about a month ago."
"And he introduced himself as Ethan Brant, and showcased ID?"
"Yes. I looked at the ID, and nothing was out of order-"
"I know. You don't have to defend yourself," The real Ethan Brant smiled. "I just need to figure out the details, and big moments."
"Alright."
"And Morgan, did he dress well or sloppy?"
"Always dressed well. Always like he had money to spare. Tailored suits, and a fancy car."
"His car. Right. Was there anything weird about his car?"
"Considering what I know now, it was fancy as fuck. Expensive. Extremely decked out. Fast. Had FBI plates," I explained.
"Was it self-driving, manual, or both?"
"Both. But we only ever used manual."
"Morgan...was he suave or awkward?"
"Both. He always seemed to know exactly what to say to get what he wanted, but he had his moments...and they were more often than you would expect."
"Was he angry or calm?"
"With me, calm. Always cool, calm, and collected. With any body else, angry. Always extremely angry."
"When he worked on the case, did it seem like he knew what he was doing, or would you have thought he was a rookie?"
"Now, that...he always seemed like he knew what he was doing. There was nothing he said that ever stuck out to me as him not knowing what he was doing."
"Was he knowledgable about everything, or was it just certain topics?"
"It seemed like...everything. Then again, he is an android."
"Yes, but did he act like he knew it, or did he play dumb ever?"
"Always acted like he knew what he was doing."
Ethan Brant sighed, and looked down at his notebook studying the notes he had taken. He looked back up at me, and developed an awkward smile.
"Sorry to ask about this...but I think you know I have to," He almost whispered.
I nodded, taking a deep breath to prepare myself.
"Connor mentioned, while I was talking to him, that you slept with Morgan. Was this once or several times?"
"Just once."
"And...not to be rude, but you don't exactly seem like the type."
"The 'type'?"
"The type to cheat on her husband."
"Is there exactly a certain 'type' of woman?"
"Not woman particularly, but person in general, sure. I mean, you don't hear about kind, understanding, and extremely intelligent women cheating on their husbands unless something else is seriously, seriously wrong."
"No. Connor didn't ever-"
"I don't mean Connor when I say that. What did Morgan say or do that made you trust him? What did he say or do that made you feel like you had to?"
"It was a million little things. There were all these comments about Connor not really loving me or respecting me. All these little flirtatious pieces."
"Yes, but that's not enough, is it? That's not enough to send a woman like you to someone like him," He answered, leaning into the table.
"There was this flash drive. I got it from Christen, the medical officer at Jericho. She's Nick's sister, and we're like family, yknow? Anyway, it had all this shit in there that I feel like I need to have an NDA about."
"Listen, you're the victim here, not the suspect. You can tell me off the record for now, but if it's something extremely pertinent, I'll have to make a point of it."
"Well, it was nothing illegal at the time, so it doesn't really matter, I suppose. At Cyberlife, Kamski was obsessed with making Androids become deviant. Anything he could do. Connor and I's models were a part of those experiments. Together. They would do what they could to make us fall in love and then reset us. Over and over and over, until they could just program it in."
"And you felt like..."
"Like my entire life is a sham. Everything I've built is on a false premise."
"Did you ever suspect Morgan might've planted those on the flash drive to convince you of something that isn't true?"
"No. I got the flash drive from Christen and it stayed in my pocket the whole time. There was not a moment he could've used to mess with at all."
"When you went to go get the flash drive, was he in your sight the whole time?"
"No. He went with Christen's android Fiona to go talk to Kamski," I answered.
"And there's no way he could've known what you would've asked, and implanted the files while no one was paying attention?"
"I really don't think so. Is...is that what happened?"
"I'm not sure, but I'm checking."
"Can you tell me what happened now?" I begged.
The real Ethan Brant nodded, setting aside his notebook.
"Morgan isn't just your run of the mill cop impersonator. Asher Kam knew he was about to get caught, but he knew he could keep himself from jail in a few ways. He was hired by Asher Kam to interfere in the investigation in any way. He saw an opportunity when I contacted you and started investigating the case from D.C.," He explained, leaning back in his chair. "He decided that the best way to get issues in the case was to act like he was smarter than you, better than you, and to ruin your relationships with the people around you."
"Jesus Christ," I sighed.
"He's an extremely manipulative individual. He knows how to get what he wants. Unfortunately, you became the byproduct of a larger issue."
"And the Kam case?"
"It's in Jericho's hands now, but likely the case will be thrown out."
"Thrown out?"
"There's too much interference from Morgan."
"Oh my God," I threw my head into my hands. Do not cry. Do not cry.
"Listen. It's not your fault. You're the victim of a thousand failsafe's failing. There was so many ways he should've been stopped before he even got to you, but we're here now. So we deal with it."
"But those victims...and their families," I sighed, sincerely holding back tears. My voice couldn't help but crackle.
"Again. You're the victim of a thousand failsafe's failing. We're doing what we can on our end to give them compensation."
"But they won't ever see him in prison. They won't ever-"
"I know where you are right now, Officer Anderson. The first really big loss of my career was creating the wrong profile for a terrorist suspect, and watching them kill 25 people. That felt like the end of the road to me. My supervisor pulled me aside though and told me 'Listen, Ethan. We can't save everyone. But we'll try. We'll surely try.' And even though that wasn't exactly a movie script motivational speech, it was enough to kick me off my ass and get me back to work."
"This doesn't feel inevitable though."
"And that didn't either. We're cops. We're meant to think everything is preventable, but the truth is certain problems just arise, and we have to take care of them."
"Yeah..."
"Why don't you go home, and get yourself a drink. I'll see you in the morning."
"You'll still be here?"
"Well, you won't be working on the case, but I'll be working out of this precinct for the time being."
"Oh, of course."
"And...talk to Connor, will you? I know that he wants to forgive you, but he needs something. I can see it in his eyes, you know?"
"I think I know."
"Okay, see you tomorrow, Officer."
"Goodbye..."