Success ~ {Connor x OC}

Chapter Four

Adrie leaned against the hood of Miller's cop car.  The rain pelted onto the metal, reverberating throughout her body.  She clutched her jacket close to her hunched form.  Connor stood next to her, flipping a coin between his fingers.  Hank stood in front of a convenience store.  He was currently interviewing the clerk who saw the AX400 and a young girl. 

Adrie had her eyes screwed shut.  She desperately attempted to catch a few minutes of sleep.  Though the rain hit her in big pelts, she was able to doze.  She was only half aware of what was happening around her.

"Alright, that's all for now.  Free to go," Hank said.  The man walked off, grumbling to himself.  Officer Collins moved to stand next to Hank.

"We've got officers sweeping the neighborhood, in case anybody saw anything," Ben said.  Hank nodded to the officer.

"Okay.  Well, let me know if they turn anything up," Hank said.  Ben nodded over to Connor.

"What are you gonna do with that?" he asked.  Hank sighed.

"I've no idea..." he responded.  He brought up a note-taking program and walked over to Connor and Adrie.  He snapped in front of Adrie to wake her up from her doze.  Adrie snapped to attention.  Hank smirked, then returned to reading the notes taken during his interview.

"So, what do we got here?  Bus driver saw it at 2:30, seen at a convenience store..." Hank trailed off.  Adrie looked around to locate the store and bus stop.

"It stole wire cutters," Connor stated, "There must be a reason-"

"Wire cutters?" Adrie questioned.

"The fuck you talkin' bout?" Hank added.

"I checked the CCTV while you were questioning the clerk.  The android was caught on camera stealing them.  It had wire cutters and... It was looking for a place to hide," Connor explained.

"So, what's your conclusion, Sherlock?" Hank asked.  Connor looked around the three detectives.  Something caught his eye.  He stepped forward, getting a sense of his surroundings.  Then he looked to his right.

"Maybe it didn't go far..." he hypothesized.  Adrie followed his gaze.  An abandoned house stood across the street from the trio.  It had condemnation signs across the fence, and the roof was beginning to cave in.  Adrie cocked an eyebrow.

Connor led the way across the street and to the fence of the house.  The chain-link was covered by a dark green tarp.  Adrie got a bad feeling about this house.  It gave off an eerie vibe.  But nothing was going to stop Connor.  He found a gate in the fence, with the lock broken on the ground.  Adrie was piecing together evidence.  Was Connor on the right track?

Adrie followed Connor across the yard, their shoes making fresh tracks in the mud.  Adrie noticed a pair of tracks leading up to the door.  Her suspicion grew with each passing moment.

"Anybody home?" he called out.  Adrie flinched.  Now the android would know that there were people here for them.  Connor stepped onto the patio and peered inside.  He held up a finger to Adrie, then turned to her.  He moved the finger to his mouth.  Adrie nodded.  She moved as silently as she could behind the android.  The two stepped quietly over to the door.  Connor rested his hand on the doorknob, looking to Adrie for assurance.  She drew her gun and held it in front of her.  Connor twisted the knob and the door swung open.

The two were greeted with a lonely android.  He stood in the center of a small kitchen.  The side of his face was roughed up, and he wore a blanket as a poncho.  Connor approached the android carefully.

"Don't be afraid, we're not going to hurt you," Connor assured the android.  The android started to get antsy, shifting from foot to foot.

"Ralph just wanted to be nice, Ralph wanted to help," the android said, voice trembling.  Connor grabbed the android by the shoulder.

"Where is it?" Connor demanded.

"She ran out the back door!" the android exclaimed.  The door opened behind the two detectives to reveal Hank.

"Connor, what's going on?" he asked, but Connor and Adrie were already on the chase.

"It's in the area, call it in!" Connor yelled over his shoulder.  The two darted through the house, through the back door, and under a hole in the fence.  Adrie struggled to keep up with the android.  Once the pair climbed through the fence, Connor turned to an officer standing guard by the hole.

"Which way did it go?" Connor asked.

"That way, they're headed for the train station!" the officer said, pointing toward the road.  Connor resumed the chase, Adrie not far behind.  They weaved through pedestrians, oncoming cars, and bikers.  They arrived at an alleyway with another officer beside it.  He pointed down the alley.

"They're over there!" the officer exclaimed.  The pair dashed down the alley.  A female android and a small girl were hopping the fence.  On the other side seemed to be a busy highway.  The pair paused at the fence, with the female and girl on the other side.  Connor gripped the wiring tightly.  The female looked to him with pleading eyes.

The officer from before ran forward and aimed his gun at the female.

"Don't shoot!  We need it alive!" Connor shouted, arm outstretched to the officer.  The female and the girl slid down a muddy slope to the highway.  Hank met the pair at the fence, breathing heavily.

"Oh fuck, that's insane!" he exclaimed.  Adrie watched as the female and the girl crossed the highway.  It seemed the female put the girl's safety before hers.  Adrie watched in awe as the deviant and child made it to the median. 

Connor gripped the fence and started to climb.  Hank reached up to grab the back of the android's jacket.

"Hey, where you goin'?" he said.

"I can't let them get away!" Connor said.

"They won't!  They'll never make it to the other side!" Adrie assured.

"I can't take that chance," Connor insisted, continuing his climb.  Now both Adrie and Hank were gripping his jacket.

"Hey, you will get yourself killed!" Hank shouted, "Do not go after 'em, Connor.  That's an order!"

Reluctantly, Connor released the fence from his grasp.  He looked between Adrie and Hank with a frown. 

The trio watched as the female and the girl made it safely across the highway.  They landed in the grass on the other side.  The female asked the girl something, then the girl knelt down to give the female a hug.  Adrie's heart clenched.  How could a human child feel compassion for an android?  And vice versa?  Adrie couldn't comprehend the sentimentality.  Yet she felt empathy when the female threw one last look at the trio before running off.

Hank sighed, lacing his fingers behind his head.  Adrie stuffed her gun back into her pocket.  She then turned to Connor, who was still watching the other side of the highway.  She cleared her throat.

"Thanks for, uh, letting them go," she mumbled.  Connor nodded to her, then his gaze returned to the highway.  Adrie tugged her fingers through her hair.  She turned away from the highway and retreated back to the alley.