I AM (Connor X OC) - DBH

Chapter 10: Christen

He took my hand and led me down the street. "He's probably at any of these liquor stores," Connor said. He took us into the first one on the left, and sure enough there he was, buying whiskey.

"Oh...here he is. Good boy," the Lieutenant said sarcastically.

"I'm not a dog, Lieutenant."

"You're right. Even Sumo can take a joke," the Lieutenant said approaching us .

"So, what do you need?" The Lieutenant asked me.

"I need to go to the Deputy's house. I need his address," I explained.

"Oh, fine," he said, taking his now purchased bottle of whiskey and himself out of the store. "It's uh...7410 Lakewood. C'mon Connor...I need a place to down this whiskey."

Connor and the Lieutenant got in the car and drove off.

Mapping...

Ah. I have to take the bus. It's too far away to get there in a timely manner.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. Goodbye now," I said as I turned around.

"So...she's better than you?" I could hear the Lieutenant ask Connor, as I left.

"She's a more advanced model, yes," Connor answered.

"So...she's better than you?" The Lieutenant repeated.

"Yes, Hank," Connor answered. I could hear the smirk in his voice and I finally left the building. I waited for the bus to come pick me up at the bus stop, but the moment it arrived...I realized something. I'm not in my android uniform...they wouldn't notice if I didn't step into the android section.

I went to go to the front of the bus, but my movement stopped before I could. I couldn't force myself into the front. Something...is stopping me. I sighed and turned to go to the back, in the androids only section.

The bus stopped about 3 blocks away from the Deputy's house. I...felt...synthesized worry. About my bedside manner anyway. I don't want to come across negatively. It will lower my chance of success. That's the reason...yes.

I knocked on the door. My chronometer tells me it's 10:04 pm. Hopefully, they're still awake. To my surprise, a woman opened the door. She looked tired, had long blonde hair, and was dressed in pajamas.

"Are you...are you a deviant?" She asked, relatively unmoved.

"No. I'm Charlotte. Deputy Lance's partner. I am a CR300 android," I answered.

"What trouble did that dickweed get himself into this time?"

"A...criminal completed suicide while Deputy Lance was arresting them. He's at the hospital for an evaluation."

"Shit..." She mumbled. "Nick is the type to get over things quickly...but I dunno about that."

Nick. Deputy Lance's name is Nick.

Registering...

"Are you Deputy Lance's wife?"

"Oh hell no. Nick is my brother. He never got married. I did though...and as you can tell...didn't work out. I wouldn't be living with Nick if I could avoid it. I didn't really have a choice though...not with Margot."

Margot? Who is Margot?

"Oh...sorry. Why don't you come in? At least till Nick gets home."

I nodded, and she opened the door. I turned to my left and saw a 9 year old girl being led up the stairs by an AX400 helping her. The young girl had crutches, and crippled legs.

"This is my daughter, Margot, and her caretaker android, Fiona," She explained. "Oh. Sorry. I'm Christen. Obviously, Nick's sister."

Registering..

Margot is Lance's niece. Christen is Lance's sister. Fiona is Margot's caretaker. Lance's full name is Nick Lance.

Registered.

As Fiona helped the girl up the stairs, Christen turned to me. "Are you...a need based android?" Christen asked.

"No."

"Well...would you like some tea anyway?" She asked. "I'm not positive about your biocomponents, but you seem to be advanced. What is uh...CR300? A prototype, right?"

"Yes. How do you know about my biocomponents...and history?" I asked.

"Well...I was an engineer at Cyberlife. I worked on the RK800. It's funny because as a kid...they told me engineering would pay a lot, and would never lead to a recession. They never thought about making so many people become engineers...but I digress."

"Oh...that's incredible. Connor is a very advanced model."

"Connor? They named him Connor? I thought after I left they would retcon the name I suggested. I'm glad to hear they went with it. It fits his personality," Christen explained, as she placed the tea kettle on the stove.

"But enough about me," she said turning around. "Why did they send you? They usually send Hank. Is he drinking his problems away or is he harassing his new android?"

"Both. Him and Connor get along very well."

"They put Connor at the police station? Jesus," She responded.

"Why is that surprising?"

"Well...he was originally designed to be a psychologist. Then a romantic partner. Then, he got a reassignment to be a detective. I didn't know if they would really go through with it."

"Do all of the androids go through a design process like that?"

"Yeah. Usually. A lot get way more than 3 reassignments. When I got laid off, you had been through 4 reassignments if my memory serves me right. I believe...pop star then romantic partner then a teacher...then romantic partner again. Looks like they went with Detective again."

"Could you help me...then?" I asked.