Dickory

A Minute Past Midnight

Nines' LED continued to cycle red. It had been that way almost the whole time since Connor had arrived. The only time it shifted to yellow was when Reed called. Hearing that he was safe, or at least unharmed, had helped a great deal. Unfortunately, seeing the device and hearing the situation had upset him again. It was frustrating, being able to see the device but having no way to scan it. It would be so simple and easy to deactivate if he could just get into the building. In order to do that, he'd have to move and shut down the magnetic field. With Reed's order keeping him in place, neither of those were options.

"According to my calculations, the device, or devices, responsible for the field must be within two blocks. In order to limit our access, it's likely the field circles the entire complex, but we don't have time to find the source," Colin reported as he joined them. Nines was ignoring any outward stimulation in an effort to break his programming. So far the wall had remained immovable. No matter how hard he fought against it, the glowing red surface just wouldn't shift. He wasn't even leaving a dent. He could feel his thirium pump pounding with his rising stress and anxiety.

He knew Reed wasn't alone now, at least. He'd consulted with Connor and shared the details of their call, including the photographs. Upon receiving the images, Connor had immediately gone to liaise with SWAT and a middle-aged man dressed in skin tight armour had approached moments later. He'd briefly asked for input from all three about their thoughts and opinions on the device before crossing the field and heading inside. He'd been unable to take his usual electrical equipment and hoped his experience alone would be enough once he'd opened the device so see inside. Nines hoped so, too.

"SWAT and local officers are currently clearing the area. We should also retreat to a safe distance. By my calculations, we have barely twenty minutes left before the device is set to detonate," Colin continued as his hazel eyes drifted around the busy area. There were bells shrieking from every surrounding building. Fire alarms had been tripped. Humans and androids flooded the streets in droves. Most were dressed for bed, hastily stuffed into coats, shoes, and dressing gowns. They shivered as they followed directions from officers on the ground. Many of them were still half asleep as they stumbled down the street. They were being directed along the streets on either side to a safe distance where they should be safe from any debris should the surrounding buildings fall or suffer damage.

Officers were busy, inside and out. They ran up and down staircases, working from top to bottom to clear every room on every floor. In the streets, they stood in rows, shouting through megaphones and pointing or waving glowing red batons to direct the flood of disgruntled residents. Blinking blue, white, and red lights flooded the streets from police cars and vans. Even a couple of ambulances were parked further up in the event they were needed. The fire service had been alerted and were currently making their way over in preparation. Everything was so loud, adding to the ringing in Nines' ears as his internal systems blared at him about his rising stress levels and the copious amount of system errors.

"Nines, did you hear us?" Connor asked gently, squeezing his tensed up shoulder. Nines shifted his icy gaze, though it was somewhat unfocused. He could barely concentrate beyond the instabilities and bright red light. Connor looked worried as he kept hold of his arm. "We have to leave this area," he repeated earnestly. Nines shook his head in refusal. His partner had told him to wait exactly where he was. He wasn't allowed to move from that spot. Even if he had the choice to move, he wouldn't. The only direction he wanted to move in was forward, but that was impossible with the field in place. His LED stuttered red in distress as he pushed the internal wall again.

"Nines, fall back! That's an order!" Hank barked, tugging his other arm. He and Connor tried together, but something was stopping them. Nines was heavy, but he wasn't usually immovable. It didn't take Connor long to realise that Nines was forcing his own weight downwards, fighting against them. Connor stumbled as Nines shrugged him off, though he was gentler with Hank as he pulled free.