Deviant Heart

Chapter 7: The Past

November 6th, 2038 7:51 pm

Connor blinked. He was in his Zen Garden again, which was currently undergoing a heavy downpour, and had an umbrella in his left hand. He looked around and started to walk, looking for Amanda.

Off to the side, he noticed the blue magic stone again, and his curiosity got the best of him. He knelt down next to it and hovered his hand over it, his skin retreating to expose his white build. He felt... something, connecting to the stone, but he snapped his hand back when it popped, giving him an uncomfortable sensation. He slowly stood up and shook his hand out, then walked away to continue his search for the older woman. He found her on the other side of the main island. She had traded her blue scarf in for a yellow one.

"Hello Amanda," he greeted.

"Connor, I've been expecting you. Would you mind a little walk?" She asked.

He stood next to the older woman and opened his umbrella, making sure they were both covered. Once they were, they started to walk along the white stone path.

"Congratulations, Connor, you managed to find that deviant. Tell me, what did you learn?" She inquired.

He decided to start by bringing up it's diary. "I found its diary, but it was encrypted. It may take weeks to decipher."

"What else?" She asked.

"The walls of the apartment were covered with drawings of labyrinths and other symbols. Like the other deviants, it seemed obsessed with rA9."

She gave a slight nod. "You came very close to capturing that deviant... It's a pity you let it self-destruct..."

Connor decided to explain his actions. "I knew deviants had a tendency to self-destruct under extreme stress, but I didn't expect it to jump from the roof," he glanced away, disappointed in himself. "I should have anticipated that."

"How is your relationship with the Lieutenant developing?" Amanda asked, changing the subject.

He decided to bring up the previous Connor's death. "He seems to find it difficult when a Connor is destroyed and replaced. I know humans have difficulty dealing with loss. Working with him will be a challenge, if it happens again."

"And the Detective? How is your relationship with her?"

He thought for a moment before deciding to answer truthfully. "She is very easy to work with, as she sees me as a person rather than a machine or tool. This will come in handy if we come across someone that gives us a hard time for me being an android. Clara will be able to talk around the person."

Amanda slowly nodded as they crossed one of the bridges. Finally, she stopped and turned around to face the android. "We don't have much time. Deviancy continues to spread. It's only a matter of time before the media finds out about it. We need to stop this, whatever it takes."

"I will solve this investigation, Amanda," Connor assured her. "I won't disappoint you."

She glanced down. "A new case just came in. Find Anderson and Manfred and investigate it."

She walked past him, leaving Connor alone in the garden.

BLURRRGH!!

Connor glanced towards the bathroom, where Hank was throwing up the alcohol in his system.

Connor had gone to Hank's house, on the suburbs of the city, to pick him up for the newest case. However, upon arriving, he found Hank laying on the ground, drunk, with a gun on the ground next to him. He took Hank to the bathroom and showered him with cold water while telling him the details of the case. At the moment, he was standing in Hank's bedroom across from the bathroom and reading a magazine he found while he was waiting for the older man to clean up.

Suddenly, he heard the front door of the house open, followed by, "Haaaaank! I'm here! I brought you some groceries!"

It was Clara. He set the magazine down and walked out into the kitchen and living room of the house to greet her. She was kneeling in the kitchen petting Sumo, two large brown bags on the kitchen counter behind her.

"Hey Sumo, good boy," she chuckled as she scratched behind the dog's ear. When Connor entered the kitchen, she looked up at him. "Oh! Connor! What are you doing here?"

Right away, he noticed that Clara's hair was different. While she usually had her hair in a high ponytail, now it was loose and down her back, clipped back from her face with a small black hair clip. She also had on a thicker jean jacket with a wool collar on instead of her thinner one.

"I came here to inform Lieutenant Anderson of the next deviant case we have been assigned. I arrived and found him intoxicated. I am now waiting for the Lieutenant to finish getting ready," he answered her.

"Ah, I see," she glanced towards the broken window that Connor had to break to get inside the house. "That's your doing then?"

He nodded. "The Lieutenant was unconscious, and I had to check to make sure he was still alive. The door was locked, and that was the only way to quickly enter the house."

Clara pat Sumo's head one more time before standing up. "Well thank you for worrying enough to do that." She started to put away the groceries as Connor picked up the chair on the kitchen floor.

"Do you visit the Lieutenant often, Clara?" He asked her.

"Not as often as I would like recently. After the accident, Hank got really depressed and stopped taking care of himself. He would only eat take out and drink beer. I came here every week to check up on him and bring him real food, often cooking his meals for him. He was my partner, plus, I respected him as my mentor and an officer. I wanted to take care of him. But, life got busy between work and family. I wasn't able to visit him as often as before. Instead of coming every week, I started to come every other week. Now, I come once a month. Although I try to come more if I'm able."

"You said there was an accident? What accident?" Connor asked.

She put away the box she was holding then walked over to where Connor was standing by the table. She picked up a picture frame that was face down, and after glancing at it, handed it to him.

He took the frame and studied the picture. It showed a little boy with messy brown hair and a striped blue t-shirt. He analyzed the picture, and found that it was a picture of a boy named Cole Anderson. He was born on 9/23/2029 and died on 10/11/2035. Connor's conclusion was that Hank had a son who tragically passed at a young age. He set it back down on the table facedown.

He looked over at Clara. "The Lieutenant had a son."

She nodded as she crossed her arms and leaned against the table. "I met Cole when he was about three. He was such a sweet little boy. Whenever he would come to the station to see Hank, he always made my day. He used to call me Ra-ra because he couldn't fully pronounce my name," she smiled at the memory. "When he died, it was... heartbreaking. Cole was only six." A long silence followed.

"How did the boy die?" Connor finally asked.

She gave him a sad smile. "Car accident. It's not my place to say anything else. If you want more details, I suggest asking Hank himself." She took a deep breath. "Anyway, I try to take care of Hank as best as I can. When I catch him doing russian roulette with his gun, I treat him like a kid and confiscate it until I see him at work next. But it does nothing to dissuade him from doing it again," she paused, then quietly added, "I'm worried about him."

Connor tried to think of something to say to Clara to give her some kind of comfort, but before he could say anything the two heard the bathroom door open and Hank walking down the hall. They looked up as Hank walked in, wearing the streaky outfit that Connor picked out. He gave the older man a small smile at his fresh appearance.

"Looking good, Hank," Clara approached him and fixed his collar, then pat his chest. Sumo padded up next to Connor and looked up at his owner.

"Be a good dog, Sumo," Hank said. "I won't be long." The dog walked over to his bed and plopped down, resting his chin on his legs.

Hank walked towards the front door, ready to go. Clara smiled at Connor then followed him, the android following her in turn.