The A.I

Chapter 12

It's been almost 6 weeks since their successful mission and since Yoongi lost his arm. It took a lot of time and effort-and grumbling on Yoongi's part- before the AI's consciousness was transferred back into his body. Originally, they were going to give him a new body, due to the large mess of short-circuited sensors from the injury, but Yoongi refused. Hoseok and Taehyung attempted to reason, promising a nicer model. They even promised to make him taller but still he refused. Even though a new body is more practical, Seokjin gets it. Understands how attached the AI's are to their current form. Even he wouldn't trade his current looks for another one. Eventually the mechanics team and Yoongi got into an argument until Jimin stepped in saying they would repair everything until it was a good as new, though it would take more time. Hence the 2 week wait. But soon enough their member was up on his feet and Taehyung finally discharged all three of them to conduct their survey of the underground brothels. He wishes Taehyung hadn't cleared them so fast. Damn him and his efficiency.

The mission was an easy one, one any of the pipers could have done alone and yet, out of all of their tasks, this job brought up some different feelings in Seokjin.

It was a simple mission. The pipers were to check out rumours of malfunctioning class D's in a brothel at the edge of the city. They were to figure out if there was any truth to the rumours and if so, recover the malfunctioning A.Is for further analysis. Simple and easy. The three pipers spent the day travelling until they reached an antique area on the outskirts, littered with ruins of what remains of a century old city center. Abandoned subway lines and broken manual vehicles lay haphazardly on broken roads, vegetation growing through the cracked concrete near ruined structures. The building they headed to resembled their surroundings, pitiful and unassuming. The pipers went in disguised as human buyers, intent on gathering as much information about the broken androids before arresting the owner for his illegal activities, if needed. But the moment they entered the decrepit warehouse, something felt off. Staying on guard they went through security, thankful for the new upgrades to Jeongguk's sensors that prevent other sensors from being affected by his ability. It was easy enough to get in; they looked the part. Young, beautiful, well dressed, with an air of authority that only the SS class held. Completely passing as human as long as the human weren't too in tune with their instincts.

They met with the buyer, Suga going on ahead to look at the "merchandise" while Jin talked money. The man they talked to posed and talked a big game, but he couldn't be more than a B class citizen, maybe class A depending on how much he brought in. Greedy as he tries to swindle them. But it didn't matter. Jin had access to unlimited funds and humans tend to be so obsessed with the stuff it was easy to ignore the mysterious origins of his new unknown buyers. Sleezy and gross, Jin forced himself not to wipe his hands on his handkerchief after shaking hands. By the time Suga returned with a pretty little thing, the deal was sealed, and Kook stepped up, playing his part to verify Suga's selection. Suga and Jin distracted the others with demands to see the premises while the youngest piper tapped into the android's network. It was almost unbearable. Listening to these humans talk about others with such callousness. Treating them worse than the food that sustains them. Many times, Jin has to subtly press his hand against Suga's back to prevent him from snapping at them. It's annoying to say the least. Unable to keep the humans occupied for long, the group returned to see Kook with the android up against the wall. To anyone else it would look like he's testing the product before buying, but Jin could feel the little changes in atmospheric pressure as the piper discretely copied her mainframe onto a hidden USB.

They left soon after, with nothing out of the ordinary. But there was something in the eyes of the android that made him uneasy. The 2D expressions seem deeper, darker than what he expected. Maybe it was because of the profession they were in. Afterall, his interactions with the D class has been limited to the servants hanging around Namjoon's home and the company. Or maybe these androids understand more than their owners were aware of. How terrifying for them.