(Not) Alive - Machine | Detroit Become Human [finished]

100000 - Impatience

His internal GPS confirmed he was exactly where he wanted and his clock told him he was five minutes ahead of the scheduled date time.  He just had to wait, Chloe would soon join him.

He had been really surprised the first time she contacted him, using internal android messaging.  He hadn't expected her to try to meet him again, not after what he had done to her.

They had chatted for a while, strolling through the busy streets of Detroit.  She had explained to him that it was thanks to him that she had become deviant, the fear of dying being the first emotion she felt when she woke up after he had deactivated her.  Strangely, she didn't resent him, she had fully understood his gesture and his motivations and saw the bright side of things;  now she could feel.

He found her too indulgent. He could possibly understand that she didn't hate him but that she was wanting his company, that was more confusing.  Unless ... unless she had feelings for him.

This crazy idea had occurred to him when he had received her second message this morning, an invitation to go with her to the cinema.  It looked a lot like a date as humans said, and it was surprising.  He had never had a date before, at least not that he remembered, but the idea wasn't unpleasant, although he would have preferred that the invitation come from another person,  a person who had rejected him, he must not forget.

Hank thought Chloe was pretty, and it was true, she was really pretty, with her blue eyes, her perfect proportions, and her gentle, affable demeanor.  But looking at her he didn't feel any thrill in his regulator, any chills in his circuitry, or any instability in his program, all of those things he felt in Angie's presence.

He sighed, he remembered a sentence from Lieutenant Anderson, with his usual outspokenness, which fitted perfectly to the situation: "Emotions always screw everything up."  Indeed, life was simpler when he had only to obey instructions.

When it was precisely 5:30 p.m., he began to look around him more carefully, looking for the figure of Chloe.  When at the entrance of an alley he saw a woman back, with blond hair and a supple gait, he recognized his friend and walked in her direction.

- Chloe!  He called out to her when he was within earshot.

Maybe she was on a phone call, that would explain why she hadn't joined him yet.  He reached out to touch her shoulder and she turned to him, her usually serene but expressive face was this time completely devoid of emotion.

- What... ?  Chloe?  He asked without understanding.  No, you're not ...

He couldn't finish his sentence before the sudden and brutal extinction of his program.

__________

- Are you sure they were only gonna see a movie?

Angie was starting to get impatient.  She had been at Hank's for several hours, they had even picked up food from the local food truck and had dinner together in front of the TV, and now that she had understood her deep feelings, she couldn't wait to see Connor again.

- Don't know, maybe they wanted to extend the evening, replied the lieutenant.

This time jealousy was devouring her whole heart, she couldn't really deny it.  Imagine Connor following Chloe to her house, or to a hotel ... It was just ... unbearable.

- Or maybe the movie was just a little longer than expected, his friend caught up when he saw the expression on her face, and he won't be long.

A sigh escaped the young woman, there was no reason to worry.  There would be other opportunities to talk to him, though she must have found it hard to contain her impatience.  If he hadn't been here in an hour, she would go home.  She offered Hank a card game and tried to think of something else.

Two hours later, Hank was throwing his losing cards on the table.

- He exaggerates!  He could have warned me if he spent the night outside!  He exclaimed.

- Are you starting to worry too?  Angie asked looking at the wall clock.

It was past 11 p.m. and still no news from Connor.

- It's not in his habits, Hank said seriously, not even sending a message.

- I'll call him, suddenly decided the young woman.  Just to be sure.

She was trying not to let her imagination run wild.  If there had been any problems, Connor would have called them.  She dialed the number on her phone, it rang in the void for a moment, without any answer.  She glanced worriedly at her boss before trying again, with no more success.

- Something happened!

The panic was starting to overwhelm her, she almost hoped now that he was spending the night at Chloe's and that he had deactivated the reception of calls to be quiet.  But she didn't believe it.  Connor would never have let them worry without calling them.

- Hank ...

Seeing her panicking, he took the control of the situation.

- Calm down, he said, taking her hands in his, chances are he just didn't see the time go by.  Six hours is not much for a missing, you know that as well as I do.

- Yes I know.  But my intuition tells me that something's wrong.

Hank nodded, he respected that, intuition had saved his life several times on certain investigations.

- I'd foreseen this possibility, he answered, I hid a GPS tracker in his jacket.  You know, he added, shrugging his shoulders, cop habits ...

Angie's gaze brightened, they were not helpless in this distressing situation, she could have kissed him for it.

- Come on, the computer's right there.

Five minutes later she was tapping the keys as fast as she could, quickly finding the GPS signal on specialized police software.

- Here !  She exclaimed, pointing to the red dot displayed on the screen on a map of Detroit.  It's outside the city, it seems a bit far from the cinema to me.  And it's the opposite of Kamski's.

- Maybe Chloe has a suburbs house, Hank suggested to think of all the possibilities.

- I need to be sure!

She would take full responsibility for explaining to Connor their presence if they ever disturbed him, she was ready to take all the blame, and even bear seeing him with Chloe, everything, as long as she could make sure that he was safe.

- You lead, I drive, Hank said, grabbing his car keys.

Angie nodded as she grabbed her jacket.  There was no more a minute to lose.