Another||DBH

Chapter Eight

It had been a week since Charlie had cussed out Gavin Reed, and now he seemed to have reverted to his previous self. He acted as though the incident had never taken place. Although there were some changes in his behaviour. He seemed almost...sad, sometimes. But they knew he couldn't be. He wasn't a deviant. He saw himself merely as a machine.

Since Markus and Charlie had finally communicated, and they got along quite well. He sometimes wondered if Charlie was deviating, if he ever felt or viewed things in a manner that was outside his programming.

Hank wondered that too, he wondered if Charlie was going to be like Connor.

And now, Markus, Connor, and Hank watched through the two-way mirror as Charlie sat down across from Kara and Alice. They had been brought in so they could talk about Todd.

"I apologize for bringing you into the interrogation room. It was the only place that we could talk without interruption." His steady, emotionless gaze landed on Alice; who had her arms around Kara in a death grip. She was afraid.

For a split second, one that nearly caused Hank to fall out of his seat and the other two androids to almost choke on oxygen they didn't need, he saw Charlie's eyes soften as his gaze became sympathetic and his LED turned yellow.

It didn't appear to be falsified; and they were certain that intentionally changing the colour of one's LED was impossible.

"You're not in trouble, I promise." His voice was much more gentle now, his words mostly directed towards Alice. It was a very abrupt change. There was no way something like that could be a part of his programming. He wasn't made to be like that; that much was obvious.

"What can you tell me about Todd Williams?" He asked softly. He watched Kara and Alice tense up at his name, sharing a look of fear.

"Why?" Kara finally spoke for the first time since she had been brought there. For a fleeting moment, the corners of Charlie's mouth quirked into a frown, one that was easy to miss.

"It's unfortunate that I have to share this news with you, but...Todd Williams took his own life in his home last week, upon discovering he was a suspected criminal." He explained slowly, inspecting how their faces changed. Alice buried her face in Kara's side while Kara looked down at her hands.

"We believe he isn't involved, but we need evidence to prove whether or not he's the man we're looking for." Hank's head shot up.

That sounded like something Connor once said. Most androids would have said the complete opposite of what Charlie said. Markus and Connor shared a wide-eyed look, clearly thinking the same thing as Hank.

"What was he like? I know you ran away together due to a domestic emergency, and no, you're not in trouble for that. But what are the things that lead up to your leaving?"

There was a beat of silence before Kara answered.

"He was addicted to red ice and he took it with his antidepressants. His wife had walked out on him a few years before because he lost his job and started drugs. He would..." She swallowed, her voice breaking.

"He would beat Alice. One night, I couldn't take it anymore. I was angry and it was like her life was suddenly more important than mine. So I escaped with her before Todd could touch her." Her arms had tightened around Alice, who seemed to have nearly passed out completely due to exhaustion.

Charlie seemed to have been stunned into silence as he leaned back in his seat, seemingly contemplating something, before he stood up.

"Will you excuse me for a moment?" He dismissed himself before leaving the room, and entering the observation room.

"They're not safe." Was the first thing he said as he entered. He looked somewhat troubled. Connor furrowed his brow while Hank shared a confused look with Markus.

"What do you mean they're not safe?" Markus asked cautiously, slightly afraid of the answer. Charlie sighed before projecting an image on his hand.

An image of the child discovered at the motel. Markus—as much as he wanted to look away, couldn't tear his eyes away from the gruesome image.

"The Ripper will not hesitate to kill children, regardless of them being a human or an android. The crime was done recently, since there's no history of them committing more than one murder in the same location." He started pacing.

"That meant they knew where we were, and they could likely track us or they were still there. We can't send them back to Canada safely, since they could be followed." He explained, continued to pace back and forth as he did so, his LED flickering between orange and red. An uncomfortable silence followed.

"What are you proposing?" Connor asked.

"Kara, Alice and their friend will have to stay somewhere that's heavily guarded. We can't keep them here."

"Why not?" Hank asked incredulously. Charlie stopped, giving him a look.

"Reed." Hank let out a tiny "oh" and a nod of agreement. Silence followed once more, before Markus spoke up.

"They could stay at my place. There's alarms and a security system. If anyone besides them or myself enters, the police are immediately contacted and we'll know." He offered. Charlie gave him a small, fleeting smile that would be missed if you were to blink.

He walked back into the interrogation room, sitting across from Kara and Alice once more.

"You're not safe here. But we can't send you back to Canada. Thankfully, I have a friend who has offered to let you stay at his place. There's security systems so you and your family will be protected, and we can send you back when this is all sorted out." Kara was clearly somewhat upset by this, but being offered a safe place for them to stay outweighed that, so she agreed.

Hank, Connor, and Markus watched the interaction, pleased with how it went.

"He called you a friend." Hank broke the quiet between them. Markus blinked out of his stare, turning to Hank. "What?"

"When he was telling them about your offer. He referred to you as a friend." Connor explained. Markus's cheeks were now dusted a dark blue. The thought of having Charlie consider him a friend was nice, but at the same time it made him a little sad.

He had to remind himself that Alex Charlie not a deviant, and judging by the way he was programmed, he would probably never be.

Maybe he was just designed to emulate certain emotions, if not a little. Maybe he just called him a friend because they got along?

Whatever the case, Markus just enjoyed the fact that he was now a friend.