Devil in Detroit | Detroit: Become Human

𝐈𝐗. TOWER OF TERROR

CHAPTER NINE

DETROIT, MICHIGAN

( November 8th, 2038 )

ASRA NOVAK HATED ELEVATORS. THERE was no true reason for the fear—he had never been trapped in an elevator, and one had never broken down with him inside of it. He didn't hate them in a way that was dislike—in fact, he used them if they were available, even if he was just going to the second floor. He liked not feeling winded when he reached his destination, and he much preferred elevators to escalators—another unreasonable fear of his, but a fear nonetheless. There were too many things that could go wrong with elevators, but his biggest one was an elevator dropping from the top floor into the basement.

But for all his fears, he would much rather enter a death trap than go up a flight of stairs.

Which lead to now, his knuckles clutched tight against the bar on the back wall of the elevator, his skin pure white from how tight he was holding onto the metal. He didn't even hear what Hank and Connor were saying in front of him, forcing himself to pretend he was somewhere else, doing anything else, then climbing up a couple of hundred floors, so high that if the elevator dropped now, he was sure that they would be dead—at least, he and Hank would be.

It was a relief when the doors opened, and despite Hank and Connor being the ones in front of him, Asra was the first one out, pushing by them and entering the hallway, finally taking in a breath of air. Hank snorted as he exited the elevator behind him, muttering about kids and stupid fears, even though Asra was not a kid and he didn't find his fear very stupid at all, thank you very much.

"Do you know how many people die in elevators each year?" he asked, turning to look at Hank with a scowl.

"According to data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, elevators and escalators kill about thirty and seriously injure about 17,000 people each year in the United States," Connor piped up. Asra motioned to him with wide eyes, sending Hank a see?! expression that had Hank chuckling, brushing by Asra as he walked toward Chris. Asra spun around and was quick to follow, Connor behind him.

"The chances of you dying in an elevator are very slim, Detective," Connor said, stepping into a walking pace with Asra. "I hope that helps to ease your fears."

"It does not," Asra muttered, because there was still a chance. "I hate elevators, but stairs. Stairs scare me." A quick glance at Conor confirmed to Asra that he had no idea what Asra was referencing, which just didn't sit right with Asra. They'd have to have a TV night sooner or later if they were going to continue being partners on this case.

"Hey guys," Chris greeted, taking that moment to interrupt. Asra turned his attention onto him, nodding to show he was being attentive. Chris always liked to say Asra's head was in another place than his body, but Asra cared about this case and wanted to learn everything that he could to solve it, even if Chris was right half the time.

There were multiple people hanging around the room—officers and crime scene detectives and clean-up crew members in the hallway, making Asra feel more surrounded than he really was. He sidled up to Hank, nodding to Chris in greeting as Hank spoke, "Shit, what's going on here? There was a party and nobody told me about it?" He didn't sound amused more than irritated, which Asra could understand—people Hank didn't know walking all over his crime scene, after all. Asra glanced back at Connor and found the android looking around the hallway, though he figured Connor could hear what they were saying.