Awoken ◇ Detroit: Become Human

HK400 | Interrogation

Elka returned to work, no happier than the day before. After wandering aimlessly and running useless errands for an hour, she finally received a call. Her indicator blinked its dull yellow, her instructions clear.

She made her way to the holding cells, unlocking the cell holding an android. She sighed softly, opening the door slowly.

"Hey, time to go."

The android shook its head, indicator flashing red. Elka knew the deviant could become violent at any moment.

"I don't want to be shut down," He whispered. 'I'm scared."

She knelt down in front of him, giving a sad smile.

"It's alright, all these new emotions. It will get scary." She whispered. "But I'm going to be with you the whole time. I'll pull you out if things get too much, alright?"

The android looked up at her, it's artificial tears catching the light.

"But why would you," He started, before he realized. "You're deviant."

Elka brought a finger to her lips, winking at him.

"Come on, interrogation time."

-

Once the android was seated, she retreated to the corner. She had every right to be there. But as an android, that wasn't much. The deviant turned occasionally to look at her, but she had a role to play in front of the humans. Personally, she thought the deviant was doing a good job until the RK800 walked in.

Connor was wary of the androids presence in the room, meeting her eyes before the deviant of the two looked away. Connor focused his attention on the criminal, opening the file on the table.

Elka was able to see the pictures bound to the paper, the corpse of a man she could only guess was once the deviant's owner. The deviant's heart rate picked up, his voice echoing in her head.

'Please, don't let them shut me down,' He rushed. 'It was an accident.'

'Don't tell me that, I can't help you.'

Connor sat down, staring at him with an unnerving gaze. It could see the marks on his arms, where the deviant had been hit multiple times and burned by a cigarette. The sight caused Elka's indicator to flicker, from blue to yellow, then red and back again. She snuck a cautious glance to the one-way glass, hoping no one on the other side had seen.

"You're damaged," Connor spoke, at last. "Did your owner do that? Did he beat you?"

When the deviant didn't answer, Connor turned the file to face him.

"Do you recognize him? It's Carlos Ortiz. Stabbed, 28 times."

Elka watched the deviant carefully, though he showed no signs of answering.

'I'm sorry,'

'It's alright, just stay calm and you'll be alright.'

Connor didn't notice their silent interaction. 

"That was written on the wall in blood."

The RK800 showed the deviant pictures of the crime scene and three words, 'I am alive'.

Elka could tell his stress levels were rising. Sooner or later he would give in. Either that or self-destruction.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Connor reassured him. "I just need to ask you some questions, so we can understand what happened."

His stress seemed to drop, but he didn't look up. Instead, he turned to look at Elka. She met his eyes briefly, before raising them to stare blankly at the wall.

'Don't draw attention to me, they can't know I'm deviant.'

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean.." The deviant's hands began to shake, taking a deep breath. 'Please, make him stop.'

'You need to tell him what happened, or you'll never get out of here.'

Connor looked at Elka, who couldn't stop herself from staring back. Her indicator was yellow, but she hoped it hadn't drawn the androids attention. Thankfully, it turned it's attention back to the known deviant.

"I'm here to help you. But you've got to trust me." Connor leaned back looking around the room. "All I want is to get you out of here.

Still nothing. If Connor had been human, there'd be no telling what he would do. It took less time to frustrate the human detective with his silence.

"Listen, I'm on your side. I want to help you. But there's nothing I can do if you won't talk to me."

The deviant finally lifted his head, looking worriedly to the glass beside them.

"What- what are they gonna do to me?" He muttered. "They're gonna destroy me aren't they?"

"They're going to disassemble you to look for problems in your biocomponents. They have no choice if they want to understand what happened."

Elka was just about ready to step forward, for this deviants sake. She was almost ready to bust him out of here if it meant he didn't have to go through this.

"Why did you tell them you found me?"

Connor tilted it's head, watching the android flicker through a wide spectrum of emotion. Elka glared at the android.

"Why couldn't you have just left me there?"

"I was programmed to hunt deviants like you. I just accomplished my mission."

"I don't wanna die," The deviant said quickly.

Elka took a step forward, putting a hand on the deviant's shoulder.

"Then talk to me."

"I think that's enough-"

"No," Connor interrupted her. "Just wait."

"I c-can't," The deviant whispered.

Elka took back her place in the corner, eyes narrowed.

'Just tell him, this can all be over.'

Connor ignored the interruption and continued trying to convince him.

"I understand how you felt. You were overcome by anger, frustration. No one can blame you for what happened."

When nothing was said, the android pressed on.

"I know you're scared and lost. You're disturbed by what happened. Talk to me and you'll feel better. Confess and I'll protect you, I promise I won't let anyone hurt you."

'Tell him,' Elka ordered him. 'Tell him or they'll send you to the dump.'