November 6th
8:17 PM
"Aw... Feels like somebody's playing with a drill inside my skull..." Hank complains from the passenger seat. I'm behind the wheel. "Well that's what happens when you go black out drinking." I scold. "You sure this is the place?" Hank asks Connor, ignoring me. "It's the address in the report." I look at the neon sign in disgust. I hated this place with burning passion. It was just...gross. These android didn't do this willingly. They are bought out for a night. It's disgusting. "Right. Okay. Let's get going. Jesus..." Hank grumbles. We all exit the car. I note that the rain has turned to snow fall while walking up to the entrance. "Sexiest androids in town... Now I know why you insisted on coming here!" Hank teases, reading the signs. "Ew, Hank, gross." I groan. "Eh, your no fun." I scowl. "I just hate this place." I admit. Walking into the club, we can see all the skimpily dressed androids, some dancing on poles. Connor hardly looks at them, and yet I still feel the need to cover his most innocent eyes.
"Hey, Ben. How's it goin'?" I call as we approach. "It's that room there. Oh, uh, by the way... Gavin's in there too." I facepalm. "Oh great. What a lovely evening this is." I say sarcastically. "A dead body and an asshole, just what we need." Hank agrees. We enter the private room where a dead man lays, presumably naked, under some sheets. "Lieutenant Anderson, Detective Manfred and their plastic pet... The fuck are you three doin' here?" Gavin asks aggressively. "We've been assigned all cases involving androids." Connor actually responds. I can't believe he'd actually respond. "Oh, yeah? Well, you're wasting your time. Just some pervert who, uh," Gavin laughs, "got more action than he could handle." I roll my eyes. "At least he's still getting more action then you." I retort, causing Gavin to glare at me. "We'll have a look anyway, if you don't mind." Hank says before Gavin can reply. "Come on, let's go... It's uh... starting to stink of booze in here..." Gavin says as he walks past Hank. He shoulder checks Connor before leaves, and shoves me to the side. I give him the finger behind his back.
"Night, Lieutenant, Detective." Chris says before he leaves. Looking over the body, my first guess would have been strangulation by the marks on the neck. "He didn't die of a heart attack, he was strangled." Connor confirms after his own analyzing. It always seems like it takes him two seconds to do that. "Yeah, I saw the bruising on the neck. Doesn't prove anything though. Could've been rough play..." Hank notes. "We're missing something here." Connor goes over to the deactivated android in the corner. I look over just in time to see him lick some of the blue blood from her nose. "Ah! Connor!" Hank looks over at my commotion. "Argh, Connor, you're so disgusting... Think I'm gonna puke again." He complains. "That's so nasty." I grumble. I move on, looking around to find an ID and wallet. "Driver's license says: Michael Graham. A credit card, cash in the wallet. Picture of his wife and two daughters." I report. "I wouldn't want to make that call." Hank respond. I nod in agreement. "I don't get people. He had a wife and he's off playing around here. God, people are such pigs." I throw the ID down.
"The only way to access its memory is to reactivate it." Connor explains. "Think you can do it?" Connors face looks troubled. "It's badly damaged. If I can, it'll only be for a minute, maybe less... I just hope it's long enough to learn something." He carefully removes the skin from her torso, revealing the white biocomponent underneath. The hatch is removed where he connects two wires. The girl shoots up, backing away quickly in fear. She looks close to a panic attack. "You were damaged and I reactivated you. Everything is all right." Connor explains to her. "Is he...is he dead?" Her smooth voice asks. "Did you kill him?"
"No...no, it wasn't me."
"Tell me what happened." She looks so scared as she tells us. It almost hurts me. "He started...hitting me...again...and again. I begged him to stop, but he wouldn't." Connor presses forward. "Who killed that man if it wasn't you?"
"I don't know, I was in shutdown, I... I didn't see anything." She says hurriedly. "Were you alone in the room? Was there anyone else with you?" Connor asks. "He wanted to play with two girls... That's what he said, there were two of us."
"Where did the other android go? Did it say anything?" Connor asks, but the girl deactivates. She's dead. God, it's horrifying. "So, there was another android. This happened over an hour ago, it's probably long gone." Hank says. "I doubt it. Unless the suspect could have gotten clothes, she wouldn't have been able to go outside." I point out. "It might still be here." Connor adds. "Think you could find a deviant among all the other androids in this place?" Hank asks Connor. "Deviants aren't easily detected."
"Ah, shit. There's gotta be some other way. Maybe an eyewitness? Somebody who saw it leaving the room. I'm gonna go ask the manager a few questions about what he saw. You let me know if you think of anything." Hank directs. "Alright Connor, lets see what your big brain can think of. How would an android be detected in a place like this?" His LED flashes as he thinks. "Hold on..." He mutters, leaving the room. I follow after, listening to bits of Hanks conversation as I watch Connor.
"You probably don't...CCTV in here..." "No way... This is what people appreciate about Eden Club...discretion. They can come...go without a trace." Connor appears to be...checking out an android? I'm not sure whether I'm jealous, disgusted, or annoyed. "Sure, sure... Eh, business...booming...Yeah, can't complain... Good thing about androids is... whatever you want...get any diseases... won't tell anyone... So, why not go wild?" I shudder at the managers words. "Huh, yeah... Yeah, the more I learn about people, more I love my dog." Hank responds. I agree whole heartedly. This place makes me sick. Hank moves away from the manager. "I'm this close to getting as sick as you. Connor better find something soon." I complain. "Speak of the devil." Hank says as Connor walks over. "Excuse me, Lieutenant, Detective. Can you come here a second?"
"Found something?" Connor starts walking away. "Maybe..." He leads us over to the android in the pod. She's notably pretty. She shouldn't be here though. This place is so demeaning. "Can you rent this Traci?"
"For fuck's sake, Connor, we got better things to do..."
"Please, Lieutenant! Just trust me." Hank looks very much, understandably, on the fence. I throw my hands up. "Oh good lord." I grumble. I walk over and put my hand on scanner. "Hello. A 30 minute session costs $29.99. Please confirm your purchase." A voice asks. "This is not gonna look good on your expense account." Hank jokes. "Not gonna look good on your expense account." I mock while confirming. "Purchase confirmed. Eden Club wishes you a pleasant experience." I scrunch up my face. "I hate this place. Why am I doing this again?" I question. The girl steps out, reaching a hand out to me, and touching my arms. "Delighted to meet you. Follow me, I'll take you to your room." I tug away slightly, looking over to my partners for help. "Okay, what now...." I look to Hank. "Help me!" I hiss under my breath.
Connor comes over, gaining the Tracis attention. Connors face looks almost...angry? Is he jealous? I shove down the urge to laugh. Although I don't know if it's at him or myself. "What the hell are you doin'?" Hank asks roughly as Connor grabs the androids forearm, and the skin goes white on their arms. "It saw something." Connor announces. So they were connecting? "What are you talkin' about? Saw, what?" "The deviant leave the room. A blue-haired Traci. Club policy is to wipe the androids' memory every two hours. We only have a few minutes if we wanna find another witness!" Connor speaks anxiously. He starts rushing off towards other androids. "Hey, what am I supposed to do with her?" I call. "Tell it you changed your mind!" I give him a bitch face which he doesn't see because he's walking away. "Follow him, Hank. I'll catch up." After getting the Traci to let me go, I follow after them.
Connor check android after android, following the blue haired Tracis trail. Eventually we get to the staff door, just in time before the memories are wiped. "I know where it went! Follow me!" Connor almost seems excited. "Fucking-A. This is crazy." Hank grumbles. The door leads us to a door at the end of the small hall. Connor is about to go through before Hank stops him. "Wait! I'll take it from here." Then I stop Hank. "Back off, old man. It's my turn to kick down the door." I state with the enthusiasm of a small child getting a balloon. "Kid-"
"I'm a trained cop. Come on, let me, let me, let me, let me-"
"Jesus fine, but just because your childishness is too much for my headache." I look at Connor. "That how it's done." I lift up my gun, and kick the door open. I hold my gun defensively as I scan the area. "Shit. We're too late." Hank groans as he walks in.
We search the area. There are androids everywhere, all standing as if they're switched off. "Christ, look at them... They get used till they break, then they get tossed out..." Hank mutters. "People are fucking insane. They don't want relationships anymore, everybody just gets an android. They cook what you want, they screw when you want, you don't have to worry about how they feel. Next thing you know, we're gonna be extinct, because everybody would rather buy a piece of plastic than love another human being... Beats me..." He continues. I look at Connor who is looking at the wall with the RA9 scrawling. I think about Hanks words. "Maybe...but things are obviously changing. Androids are not the passive, controlled, slaves they once were anymore. They're trying to live." I say to him, my eyes never leaving Connor. Maybe I do want an android, but not in the way other people do.
All of a sudden Connor is attacked by an android girl with short hair. "DON'T MOVE!" Hank orders loudly, but the blue haired Traci attacks him. I figure Connor can hold his own against the android, but one human can't, so I rush to help Hank. I shove her off Hank and into a table. She quickly recovers and grabs me. I'm shoved towards the wall, but once my back hits the bricks, I use it as leverage to get my legs up and kick her in the stomach. Some way or another, we all end up outside. The Traci shoves Hank into the wall, and rushes over to the short haired girl. Connor runs towards them, grabbing the blue haired Traci. They both attack him. I run up to help, grabbing the blue haired Traci around her shoulders and arms. She struggles against me, and is able to turn the tables and get me in a choke hold. In front of us, Connor points a gun at the short haired girl. She's charging him.
But he hesitates. He doesn't shoot. She kicks him to the ground. The blue haired Traci throws me to the ground, leaving my to heave and cough as I inhale air, and rushes over to the short haired girl. She starts to explain everything to us. "When that man broke the other Traci...I knew I was next. I was so scared. I begged him to stop, but he wouldn't... And so I put my hands around his throat, and I squeezed until he stopped moving. I didn't mean to kill him. I just wanted to stay alive...get back to the one I love." The two grab onto each other's hands. I look on in surprise. "I wanted her to hold me in her arms again... make me forget about the humans...their smell of sweat and their dirty words..." The short haired girl tugs her away. "Come on, let's go." They run, climbing over the fence and running towards who knows where. I assume it's probably wherever Markus went. "It's probably better this way." Hank says. Connors LED is red. Does he think he made the wrong choice? Whatever he thinks...I wish them the best.