THE CHASE - Connor x OC (I Am Sequel)

Chapter 21

"You say there's something more to this?" Ethan asked, quickly scanning the file.

"There definitely is. I just don't know," I sighed.

"Maybe you're not giving your perp enough credit," Connor remarked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Maybe he knew you weren't his sister," Connor shrugged.

"No, no. I'm a behavioral analyst," Ethan interrupted. "That was genuine."

"Whatever you say," Connor sighed, looking back at his desktop. Ethan went back to scanning the file, and I watched as Connor rolled his eyes. I chuckled softly. 

"Connor," Hank jumped up, grabbing his coat off of the back of his chair.

"Yep," Connor responded, following suit.

"Where are you two heading?" I asked. 

"Homicide. Uptown. I'll be home late," Connor nodded. He kissed me on his forehead as they left. 

I can't devalue Connor's opinion just because Ethan said it wasn't accurate. I can't help it. Connor's a talented detective, and I'm arguably...just a detective. He's always on to something, and I have an inkling that he's right about this. Asher Kam isn't an idiot, and I'm not a good actress. I can put on a fake voice, and change my hair, but I'll never give off the feeling that Connie does. Maybe Asher is so diluted and delusional that he couldn't pick up on that...yet I somehow doubt that.

Sure, scanning this case over and over again is just making me overthink it, but that's where we are. Mark Esha was a serial killer, who killed young boys. I really don't want to reread this over and over again. This isn't exactly interesting. It's...vile. Maybe Ethan's right, and there's nothing more to it. It's just an awful, traumatizing thing, that happened to one of the first deviants. That's enough to make a serial killer. That's enough. 

I sat back in my seat. But that's not enough. That's just not. Asher Kam is more complex than that, and he always has been. Asher Kam being introduced and living with a serial killer is traumatic but is it enough to set him apart in the way it has? Perhaps with the combination of being so alone in his deviancy, it is. But it's not. This is Asher Kam we're talking about. He riddled Nick, and Hank for years. Sure, I'm relatively new to his story. 

It's clear though. His story is more unique than that. He wouldn't just say to look into it more if we weren't supposed to.

"Maybe he's just trolling us," Ethan said, closing the file. "Have you thought about that? Maybe he's just trying to mess with us."

"I don't know. He doesn't have fun just messing with people. He has fun...tricking people. Sending them on a chase."

"A chase with no end is pretty fun to watch."

"He's not the type to just send someone on a rat race. He wants us to solve his life. Why would he just lie to us like that?"

"Because he's a delusional serial killer?"

"Aren't you a behavioral analyst? Can't you tell when someone's lying?" I asked, cocking my head. Ethan laughed.

"Well, of course. But if someone believes their lie, it's not a lie to them. I can't tell it's like that," Ethan shrugged.

"When do we have to transfer Asher to prison?" I changed the topic.

"So you're asking how long we have to fuck around on his case?"

"Wow. Did you just swear, Ethan? Breaking the rules?"

"Yeah. I'm a bit of a bad cop. Anyway, a week. Next week, we have to transfer him. I'll be in Detroit until his court date."

Court date. Right. About that...

"Have you thought about sending him to Jericho instead?" I asked.

"Ha. Absolutely not. First of all, I'm a federal agent. I work for the federal government. My perps go to federal prison. Second of all, I'm not risking them letting him off easy because they think they can repair him or something."

I shifted in my seat a little bit. "Isn't that sort of our reality though? That some androids just have a messed up line in their code that needs to be fixed?"

"No. Just like humans some of us are just bad. Assuming that by changing a line or two in that guys code...is going to fix all of him? No. That guy is messed up. He needs to be put away."

"For how long? He's an android. Humans have no idea how to handle that reality. They're just giving him the entirety of his existence to plan an elaborate enough escape where they'll never find him."

"And android prison? Putting him away for 20 years and letting him out?"

"I guess this is a little complex for both of us," I sighed. 

"Just get back to the case," Ethan answered looking back at Mark Esha's file,

~

"We got nowhere," I sighed, leaning on my desk.

"Let's just turn in for the night. We'll meet up tomorrow. Hopefully with a better state of mind," Ethan shrugged.

I went over to Connor's desk to take out the car keys. 

"Damn it," I sighed.

"What's up?" Ethan asked approaching me.

"Connor and Hank took our car. It's not a big deal. I'll just take a taxi."

"Oh, I'll give you a ride," Ethan said, holding up his own car keys.

"No...like I said. I'll take a taxi!" 

"No, no. Let me," Ethan smiled.

"Fine," I shrugged. I grabbed my jacket, and the file. I'll work on this tonight. I followed him out to the back of the police department.

"Have you ever ridden in a federal vehicle?" Ethan asked, turning around and walking backward.

"Never," I sighed. Of course, I've never ridden in a federal vehicle. What a show-off.

"Well...I don't mean to brag," Ethan began, obviously preparing to brag. "But federal vehicles are a bit badass."

He hit the key on his car, and sure enough, it pulled around autonomously to the back of the building. Well, that's unnecessary. Androids aren't required to have vehicles that are autonomous. 

The car on the other hand. A thin, black, silent electric car, with tinted windows. As he unlocked the car, the doors came up in a winged style.

 Alright. The car is badass. I'll give Ethan that.