Deviant Heart

Chapter 10: The Uprising

November 8th, 2038 4:06 pm

Connor blinked and found himself in his Zen Garden once again. He knew he had to go find Amanda, but he walked over to the blue magic stone once again. He knelt down and hovered his hand over the glowing handprint until it gave a little spark. He was still unsure of why he did this every time he came to his garden, but something in his programming told him that he should keep touching it. When he stood back up, he spotted Amanda in a row boat on the water, waiting for him. So he made his way over to her.

Amanda was sitting on one end of the boat holding a red parasol. As he approached, she greeted him. "Hello, Connor. I thought you might enjoy a little cruise."

Connor stepped into the boat and sat opposite Amanda, then grabbed the oars. He pushed away from the dock and rowed the boat, the two enjoying the sounds of the birds and the calm, serene atmosphere. Amanda had traded in her white outfit for a black, slim fitted dress with white leggings and white blockey jewelry on her neck and wrist. A brown shawl covered her left shoulder as well.

"I love this place..." she commented. "Everything is so calm and peaceful... Far from the noise of the world..."

They floated in silence for a moment as they observed their surroundings. Finally, she straightened her back and turned to Connor. "Tell me, what have you discovered?"

He decided to bring up Hank. "My relationship with Lieutenant Anderson is problematic. He continues to struggle with psychological issues... I suspect it clouds his judgment regarding deviants." He gently shook his head.

Amanda gave him a stone cold look. "Nothing matters more than your investigation. What's happening is too important. Don't let Anderson, or Manfred, or anyone else get in your way." He flinched at the mention of the female detective.

He continued to row as Amanda scrutinized him. "You seem... lost, Connor. Lost and perturbed..."

He decided to respond determinedly. "I'm just frustrated with my lack of progress, but I'm determined to accomplish my mission."

"You had your gun trained on those deviants at the Eden Club. Why didn't you shoot?"

"We need the deviants intact for analysis. Shooting them wouldn't have told us anything."

"If your investigation doesn't make progress soon, I may have to replace you, Connor..." Amanda warned.

"I know I will succeed," he responded confidently. "All I need is time."

Thunder rumbled above them, and the older woman looked up at the sky with a troubled expression. "Something's happening... Something serious." She looked back at him. "Hurry, Connor. Time is running out."

Amanda's warning played through Connor's head again and again as he flipped his coin between his hands. He and Hank were in an elevator going up to the top floor of the Stratford Tower, a news station building, to meet up with Clara. A group of deviant androids had broken in and sent out a live broadcast a few hours earlier, so they had been called in. As they waited in the elevator, Connor absentmindedly played with his coin, something he often did to test his reflexes. When he flipped it from one hand to the other, Hank snatched it.

"You're starting to piss me off with that coin, Connor." He shoved it in his pocket.

Connor gave a slightly wounded expression at getting his coin taken from him. "Sorry, Lieutenant."

The door opened at the seventy ninth floor, where it revealed tons of cops questioning workers of the tower and investigating the scene. Clara and Chris were discussing something when she noticed that her two partners had shown up.