While Heather Was Gone

Chapter 3: The Station

November 6th, 2038

9:00 AM

Hank's House

"Dad, do I have to go?" A voice complained from the bathroom in Hank's house. The man being addressed sighed a long sigh, not in the mood at all to deal with his son's complaints. He's still hung over from last night. The interrogation left him in a sour mood, but at least Connor was able to get the deviant to confess. The Lieutenant was sure that the deviant should be in its cell by now. The truth is, neither Hank nor Cole wanted to go to the Police Station, but neither of them had a choice anyway.

"Son, if it were up to me, your butt would be staying right here, but I've been busy the last couple of hours. I can't leave you here at home, so you have no choice but to come with me for the day, at least." Hank explained, trying to leave out as many details about the deviant case as possible. Cole adjusted his prosthetic limb, making sure to have it leveled so it wouldn't be uneven to walk. The limb is pure white and has a CyberLife logo on it, indicating its manufacturer. Cole's father had him enlisted in the Detroit Government Disabilities program, which allowed Cole to have a prosthetic limb, granted to him every year. Cole assumed that it was CyberLife's way of sending their condolences for what happened during the accident, but in all honesty, CyberLife could go die in a ditch. Cole has suffered enough from the humans who caused his mother's death. Cole didn't blame the androids though, unlike his father.

After the boy brushed his teeth and combed his hair, he set off to his room to change clothes. "TV, on," Cole commanded. His television turned on promptly, but the default channel was a news story. The boy listened intently, hoping to find out what his dad might be doing for today in regards to police work.

"Last night at around 10:00 PM, a man reported to the authorities, claiming that he was assaulted by his own android: an AX400 is now on the loose and it is assumed to be armed and dangerous. Do not approach this android if you see it, and be sure to inform our local police as discreetly as possible if you believe you have found the android. Back to you Aaron," The channel had switched back on to the weather side of things. "Well Susan, it looks like today will be partly cloudy like yesterday, the humidity has subsided a little bit, but there is no doubt that there will be very light rain today in the early morning, and it can be inferred that the rain will stop sometime around three-."

"TV, off," Cole turned off the TV and went to his closet to pick out the clothing that would be best suited for a rainy day. It's going to be cold, so he decided to wear his military green coat jacket, a pair of dark blue jeans, and his favorite Batman T-shirt. As for shoes, he carefully put his left rain boot on first, to make sure it wouldn't get stuck on the prosthetic (unfortunately, It's happened before), and then his right rain boot came on second. Cole was now ready to face the day, whatever it had to bring. The boy grabbed his falling apart along with his handheld XBP One and ran out to the living room. Hank sat on the with a cup of coffee in his hands. When he noticed Cole waiting for him on the other side of the table, Hank stood up. "You ready ?" He asked with a tired smile.

"Yes, dad. After we're done, could we go to the Chicken Feed? Pleease?" Cole begged with a playful expression on his face, even dramatizing it by having his hands fisted together. Hank chuckled lightly and patted his son's head.

"Sure, son. Anything to make you ."

9:21 AM

Detroit Police Department

Hank and Cole arrived at the police station a lot earlier than expected. Most of the employees there assumed Hank would be too drunk or hung-over to even clock in, but as soon as the two entered the station, all eyes turned to them. One human policeman saw the two enter, and nearly choked on his coffee when he saw whom Hank brought with him. "Hank, you brought your son here? Is that even allowed?" The policeman exclaimed, not quite sure what to do.