Deviant Heart

Chapter 9: The Bridge

November 7th, 2038 1:19 am

Connor sat in Hank's car, parked next to a quiet and snow covered park. The park was next to the Detroit River, a railing running along the majority of the park to prevent people from falling into the water. Hank was sitting on the top of a park bench overlooking the river, drinking beer. Clara was leaning against the railing in front of him, looking out at the night view. Connor got out of the car and walked over to stand next to the solemn man.

"Nice view, huh?" The aging detective said. "I used to come here a lot, before..." he trailed off and took a swig from his bottle.

Connor glanced at Hank and decided to ask him something. "Can I ask you a personal question, Lieutenant?"

"Do all androids ask so many personal questions or is it just you?" He remarked. Clara turned around and leaned her back against the railing as she listened to their conversation.

Connor crossed his arms in front of his chest and ignored the quip. "Why are you so determined to kill yourself?"

Hank stared at the ground. "Some things, I just can't forget... Whatever I do, they're always there... Eating away at me..." Connor looked at Hank in concern. Clara stared at the ground, emotionless. On a certain level, she agreed. "I don't have the guts to pull the trigger... So I kill myself a little everyday... That's probably difficult for you to understand, huh, Connor? Nothing very rational about it..." he takes a long drink from his bottle again.

Connor decided to ask about 'before.' "Before what?"

"Hm?" Hank hummed with a confused face.

"You said, 'I used to come here a lot before.' Before what?"

Clara glanced up at Hank, waiting for his response.

"Before..." he started. "... before nothin'."

She looked back down and crossed her arms over her chest in an attempt to protect herself from the cold breeze. Connor glanced down as well, disappointed that Hank did not explain. He slowly walked forward and started talking out loud to the two detectives.

"We're not making any progress on this investigation... The deviants have nothing in common," as he spoke, Clara walked past him and sat on the bench Hank was perched on. "They're all different models, produced at different times, in different places..."

"Well there must be some link," Hank commented.

"I heard a rumor that red ice was causing the androids' systems to malfunction. Do you think that could be it?" Clara offered.

"No, not likely," Connor responded. "Not all deviants were exposed to red ice..."

Clara shrugged.

Connor decided to bring up rA9. "What they have in common is this obsession with rA9... It's almost like some kind of... myth." He paused. "Something they invented that wasn't part of their original program..."

"Androids believing in God," Hank said. Connor looked over at him. "Fuck, what's this world coming to?" Clara slowly nodded, thinking to herself.

"You seem preoccupied, Lieutenant," Connor stated. He took a couple steps towards the two humans. "Is it something to do with what happened back at the Eden Club?" Clara glanced up at Hank with a raised eyebrow. Hank just stared at Connor.

"Those two girls... They just wanted to be together... They really seemed... In love," he answered. Clara couldn't help but smile at her old mentor's response.

Connor decided to reply ironically. He raised his eyebrows and an amused expression came over his face. "You seem troubled, Lieutenant. I didn't think machines could have such an effect on you..."