Crime, Friendship and Other Things

Chapter Four: Reckless Intervention

6th of November 2038; 00:41:04

'Why'd you kill him?' Hank asks. We're in the interrogation room with the android; Hank leans forwards on the desk between himself and the android, who is himself sitting with his head bowed over cuffed wrists. I hover by the wall, watching the android with a slightly furrowed brow.

Connor mentioned very little in the car, giving us the bare bones of what the android had admitted while they were in the loft: He was attacked, fought back because he was scared. There was something about the way Connor said it all that was so... detached from the whole thing that it feels strange. I get that part of our role is to look at things subjectively, but how can he not even entertain the idea that the android was a victim here too?

I glance briefly at the mirrored wall. I can only see the reflection of the room, my dark curls thrown up in some attempted bun to tame them, the circles ghosting beneath my eyes. I can't see Chris, Gavin and Connor, but I know they're there.

'What happened before you took that knife?' Hank glances briefly over at me, I notice in the mirror and turn back to face the interview.

'How long were you in the loft?' I ask softly, taking a step away from the wall. My footstep sounds like a gunshot in the otherwise silent room. I swear there's a tensing of the android's back, but I might be imagining it. Attributing something to him that he can't really feel. 'We just want to know what happened.' It's strange. I want to mention a name, to think of him as more than just a machine, and yet we have nothing.

Silence fills the room once more.

'Why didn't you even try to run away?' Hank asks. He clicks his fingers beneath the android's nose when he receives yet another round of silence.

I move closer, grabbing the file from the end of the table. Chris has done a thorough job of gathering all the evidence from the house. The only thing it lacks are the pictures of the android's injuries. I know I can see them painted before me, but really they should be in the file too. A reminder of how horrible people can be and what might have led to the android being here with us.

Bang! Hank's hand comes down on the table, earning a slight squeak from me but nothing from the android.

'Say something, goddamnit!'

I carefully put the file back on the edge of the table.

'Fuck it, I'm outta here.' Hank stands but I stay near the table, crouching so that I'm just in the eyeline of the android. His eyes flicker my way, but that's the closest thing to a reaction I get. The door opens, still I don't move. 'Kiddo?'

'It was self-defence,' I murmur, making sure that my hands are on my knees, in full view of the android. If it comes to it, I think I can jump up and away in an instant. Hopefully fast enough. 'In most cases, that counts for something with the conviction. But...' My voice fades. The law hasn't prepared itself for this. For androids killing people, no matter the circumstance. Destruction is really the only path left open to them. If he was really scared, if he acted in self-defence just to survive, to live, doesn't that mean something more than him being just a machine?

He meets my musings with silence and I heave a breath as I stand.

'You done?'

'I need tea,' I tell Hank, before opening my mouth to offer the android something. But there's nothing I can offer. So, I nod and follow my partner.

'What the fuck was that?' Hank asks once we're outside. He opens the door into the viewing room, nodding me through first.

'His LED has been yellow since we brought him in. His eyes keep darting and we know Carlos was abusing him. You have seen the blue veins in his arms, right? The white plastic that's meant to be covered with synthetic skin? If he was human, we'd be dealing with this as self-defence. He'd been seen as another victim.'