Dickory

Cyberlight

The next week saw a flurry of activity on most fronts. Nines and Elijah had fully planned out the redesign and the workers had been booked that very day. The lower floor of the apartment had been cleared and covered, leaving Nines and Reed dependent on the hotel restaurant or room service for meals since the kitchen was a mess for most of the week. It was quite tempting to just escape and sleep at Elijah's, but he lived a lot further from work than the hotel, and Reed knew he had to get used to the penthouse at some point.

The cat area had been the simplest upgrade and was completed within the first day, but Pipsqueak hadn't been allowed down with all the work going on. They'd kept him shut in the living room upstairs, but Reed had let him out to walk on the balcony and explore the helipad. Pipsqueak had just about given him a heart attack when he'd jumped down to the lower balcony to explore the patio around the pool, but it seemed the rule about cats landing on their feet also extended to android cats. The mechanical feline had more than enough sense not to jump off the lower balcony. His internal systems judged the threat of destruction to be too high.

Roland had delivered room service whenever they'd ordered and had been delighted to meet Pipsqueak. He always enjoyed it when guests brought pets along to the hotel, but he rarely got to interact with them the way Reed invited him to with Pipsqueak. Pipsqueak seemed pleased to have another android companion, trilling from his place in Reed's arms as he interfaced with Roland's far older software. Roland wasn't really built for such contact, but he did manage to make a connection. He was impressed at the mess, joking that he'd have his work cut out for him once the builders had finished, but Reed sure as hell wasn't about to let that happen. If the workers didn't clean up after themselves, he'd do it himself. He needn't have worried. Elijah's men were professionals from arrival to departure.

After a week, everything was in place and the apartment had been left spotless, meaning Pipsqueak was now free to explore his new territory. Reed sat on a bar stool, watching with mirth as he zipped up the tree and gracefully tottered along the miniature walkways and rope bridges. He sat on the various seating platforms, peering down at the room or out at the city with twitching ears. He discovered the fountain, lapping the trickling water before skittering across the walkways to the bar, where he meowed down at Reed with an anticipatory twitch of his tail. Reed pushed back and got to his feet, waiting expectantly until the ball of silver pounced, claws digging into his shoulder as he caught him.

Nines showed him his maintenance room, letting him examine the padded white table and computer terminal, along with a couple of machines that Reed had no idea how to work. There were also parts stored there in case Nines needed them and a high security server connected to the Cloud. He kept the glass door locked, mainly to ensure Pipsqueak didn't get all over the machinery. The small spa had also been completed. There was a massage table that could be pulled out and rolled anywhere on the now tiled floor, as well as a proper space for drying off and redressing. There were also settings to turn the room into a sauna and intimate lighting options.

At work, things had gotten busy on the cult front. The officers who'd taken part in the undercover mission had reported back about the group. Since they were new members, they hadn't been part of the later meetings, but the people in those meetings looked pretty sick. It was clear that those were the ones who'd been promoted to actually doing ceremonies and rituals. They'd checked in with Dr Marr about the lights and the general setup and she'd confirmed their thoughts that this was a mass brainwashing operation. The humans weren't programmed to kill themselves; they were simply programmed to believe in RA9 and the message the group touted. Once the belief was there, the members would be promoted, and that's where their fanaticism took hold and they willingly took part in the rituals.

On the ritual front, they'd found two more dead androids. It was clearly the work of the cult, but the members were being more careful. The scenes and bodies were properly cleaned up this time, the lack of prints suggesting an android had been present. Someone with a clear head to watch over the human disciples. Does that make the androids cold-blooded killers, or are they really just fanatical believers? Reed frowned as he walked around yet another scene. Connor and Hank had joined them this time. The cult was rapidly becoming as big as a serial case. They needed to end it soon. Easier said than done without a clear suspect...