spellbound | d:bh x hp [ currently on hold ]

four ; i am alive

d e t r o i t — 2 0 3 8

I sat at my desk for another twenty minutes after I talked to Charles.

Who the hell was this Lieutenant Anderson and why is he late to work?

“Hey, Charles,” I turn to him.

“Yeah?” He says, not taking his eyes off his computer.

“Is Lieutenant Anderson coming in for work today, or is he just naturally late?”

“Oh, him? He arrives here depending on wherever the hell he’s been the night before. He was out drinking again last night, I guess. Also, Fowler told us that the android Cyberlife sent would arrive today. I wonder where it is now?”

“Oh,” I say. “Well, alright, thanks. I guess I’ll just wait for Lieutenant Anderson here then.”

“Wait,” Charles says, “There he is.” he says, looking at the entrance to the office, which made me turn my eyes there too. 

Lieutenant Anderson only saw me when he sat down at his table.

“Lieutenant,” I start.

He took one look at me, then ignored me and proceeded to look behind me.

“Charles.”

“Yes, Lieutenant?”

“Is this the Brit?”

“Yes, sir. She arrived not an hour ago.”

“Oh, wow.” Now, he looked at me. “Well, uh, welcome to the team, I guess?” He awkwardly says.

“I’ll send a file to your computer. There you will find all the reported deviant androids. Study them while you’re here, since there aren’t any new reports.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” I say, then I turn on my computer.

I only received a “Mhm.” as an answer. He seemed like a nice guy, but I don’t think I want to see him angry.

The file indeed did contain all the reported deviant androids.

There was a report back last month stating that an android from the Eden Club is missing, another report states an AV500 model android attacked a human and escaped.

The rest of my shift consisted of me taking in all the information about these deviants, sometimes asking Lieutenant a few questions, socializing with other officers on break.

I doubt Lieutenant knew that he had another partner — the android — since he didn’t ask about it.

I asked Charles if Lieutenant knew. He didn’t. Charles said on a side note, “The Lieutenant deeply hates androids. For what reason, I know nothing of.”

________

I’m back home at the Glass Towers.

It’s now ten in the evening, since I decided after work to drive around, familiarizing myself with the streets of Detroit.

I filled up Finn’s food bowl, made myself dinner, then sat on the couch while watching the news.

The Detroit hockey team wins another match, more technological advancements, et cetera.

By 11:30, my phone was ringing.

It was Lieutenant Anderson.

“Yes, Lieutenant?” I answered.

“Scamander. Need you right now. We have a homicide. Texted you the address, the fuckin’ android found me. Be there ASAP, okay? Bye, will drive there now.”

God, he was talking so fast, but I got everything. A homicide...on my first day at work. Great.

“Accio!” With a small wave of my wand, I had my keys and coat with me.

“TV off.”

With that, I went outside.

I drove myself to the address, only relying on the map that my car has. I knew I had limited time so I didn’t have the time to get lost.

By the time I got to the crime scene, I made sure my wand was in my sleeve and my Auror badge was in my pocket. My Detective badge was pinned to my chest.

I went out of the car. The police tape was already in front of the house, and a small crowd was gathering.

The local news reporters and an ambulance were here, too.

Lieutenant Anderson’s car wasn’t here yet, though.

I decided there was no time to waste. I walked to the scene of the crime.

I was nearing the house, when a reporter walked up to me.

“Joss Douglas, for Channel 16. Can you confirm this is a homicide?” He put a microphone to my face.

I was used to these, instead of Muggle reporters it was either Leila Skeeter or another annoying person that works for The Daily Prophet.

“Not confirming anything,” I said and walked to the house, getting let in by the officer that was in charge of patrolling by the police tape.

Ben, an officer I met earlier at work, was at the door.

“Tine, I was afraid you wouldn’t show. Where’s Hank?” He said, opening the door to let me in.

“I don’t know, he hasn’t arrived yet...Now, a bit of context on the homicide, please?”

There was a dead man’s corpse at the ground, evidences were taken photographs of and marked, officers were investigating. The typical crime scene.

What was disturbing, though, was the writing on the wall above the corpse. It was written in, presumably, the man’s blood. 

I AM ALIVE.