✔️RK Café

1^ Conan - A Long Day

July 26, 2040, 2:38 AM

I lay in bed, simulating sleep like I always do. My brothers lay next to me. Connor's sleeping with Hank, but Cassius and Colton sleep with me. Cassius' LED pulses red, which tells me he's most likely having a nightmare. I can't see Colton's LED from where I am. Cassius snuggles closer to me with a pitiful whimper. I shake him lightly to wake him from his dream so he won't long anymore.
     Then, I hear it. The unmistakable sound of the front door being slid open. Everyone's in bed. No one should be coming inside at this hour.
     I sit up and crawl over Cassius, who groans at being woken up. "Conan...?" he rasps.
      "Shh," I hiss. "Someone might've broken in. Let me take care of it." I take the gun from out of the bottom drawer of our bedside table, and I make my way to the door. Quietly, I nudge it open. I can see Cassius' worried eyes reflecting the moonlight that seeps through the cracks in our blinds. I give him a reassuring nod and leave the room. Slowly, carefully, I make my way down the hall.
     Then, I see her.
     Quickly, I scan the intruder. I don't recognize her, so I point the gun at her. "Freeze where you are, or I'll shoot," I threaten in a deep voice.
     She pauses. She's slightly bent over and staring at a very particular place under the TV stand. "Connor is here," she whispers.
     "He's not," I lie. "Leave. You're in the wrong house."
     "This is where he is! I need to see Connor," she insists, stepping closer.
     I raise my gun higher. "He's not here. You have one last chance to leave, or I'll shoot." Empty threats. I won't shoot her. At least... I don't want to. I'll shoot if I have to, but I'll give her every chance to leave.
     "C-Conan..?" Cassius whines from the entrance of the hallway.
     "Go back to bed, Cassius. I'm dealing with this," I growl. I wish he would've stayed in the bedroom.
     "Connor?" The woman steps forward.
     "Stay back!" I shout, raising my voice threateningly. Now, my little brother's involved in this. This is war now. She advances on me, she advances on him, and no one makes advances towards my brother.
     She doesn't listen to my warning.
     I fire a warning shot. "This is your last warning!"
     She finally stops. Smart girl. "Connor is priceless. He's not Connor, but he's close enough." She eyes Cassius hungrily like a predator watching its prey.
     I narrow my eyes. Hell no. No one gets to break into my house and threaten my brothers. "I'll kill you."
     "You're under arrest." Hank's husky voice makes me freeze in place. Knowing that he'll take care of this, I lower my gun. He steps forward and cuffs the woman. She doesn't fight him. She doesn't do anything. She just lets him cuff her.
     Connor and Colton are awake, too. Great. Well, at least, they're safe.
     Hank takes the woman away from us, away from me. And, it's a good thing he did. I would've killed her in an instant had she kept advancing towards me.
     Cassius hugs me, wrapping his arms tight around me. "You saved us, Conan! I love you."
     "I love you, too, Cassius," I mutter. "But, this is getting ridiculous. This is the third break-in this month." I turn to Connor.
     He fixes a tired gaze on me. "It's my fault. They only want me."
     Ever since we got Colton's firewall upgraded, Connor's been being hunted by sick, black market sellers. It doesn't make sense. His popularity faded a year ago. I shake my head. "It's about time that we moved. I'm getting tired of staying up all night."
     "You're right." Connor takes a few steps forward. "I'm sorry."
     "Don't apologize. I'm happy that I can protect you guys." I smile at him.
     Cassius snores lightly from where he leans against me.
     I look down at him. "I'll take him to bed," I murmur. I bend down before picking him up and carrying him to the bedroom.
     Colton follows me. He looks annoyed at being woken up, but I'm sure he'd rather be alive than dead. He's grateful.
     I place Cassius on the bed and cover him up. He snuggles himself into the covers, then Colton flops down next to him. Quietly, I leave the room.
     "We do need to move, don't we?" Connor asks in a quiet voice.
     I nod slowly. "Yeah. We do. These interruptions in Cassius and Colton's recharge time is not good for them. They need to be asleep and stay asleep. They'll be tired and sluggish in the morning." I look down at him. "It's not good for you, either. Or, Hank. Hank especially needs sleep. Dammit. I should've taken her to the station. Hank needs to rest." I curse myself for letting Hank take her. It should've been me. I don't need rest as much as the others.
     "You never think of yourself, do you?" He looks up at me. "You know, it's ok to worry about yourself."
     "I know. But, I don't want to. Protecting you guys is my number one priority," I argue. "It's fine. I don't need to think for myself."
     "Conan... you know I love you, right?" Connor begins.
     "Yeah. Of course, I do."
     "Well, we all love you, and I know you love us, but you need to learn to... loosen up a bit. We don't need protection. I think you've grown obsessed with protecting us." Connor smiles like he's desperately trying to not hurt my feelings. "And, I think we can put that to use."
     "Is it wrong to want to protect my brothers? You guys are my family." As soon as I say that word, I feel like crying. "Family." It always brings me to tears. "I just want you all to be able to sleep at night! Is that so much to ask?" I love all of them as much as I can. I would be destroyed if something happened to them, and I let it happen.
     "No, no, Conan, you're missing the point. I'm not saying that you can't or shouldn't protect us. I'm saying that I want you to protect other people, too!" Connor grins excitedly.
     "I... don't understand." I furrow my brows in confusion. What is he getting at?
     "I want you to join the DPD," Connor finally explains. "Hank and I talked to Captain Fowler about it, and he's agreed to give you a chance."
     "Oh! Ok..." I look away. Would that be a good idea? "But... who will stay and look after Cassius and Colton?" There's a slight whine to my voice. Anxiety begins to well up in the pit of my stomach. I never could control my anxiety when I think about them being alone without me. They're defenseless.
     "They're adults. I'll talk to them about getting jobs, too. They don't need to be looked after," Connor answers dryly. "They'll be fine. It's about time you guys shouldered some weight around here. Hank and I can't support you three forever." Connor turns away. "I know you won't go back to sleep, so think about it, ok? I don't care if you decide to work somewhere else, but you need to work somewhere."
     "Ok." I nod. "I will consider it."
     "Uh huh..." he mutters as he disappears into the room he shares with Hank.
     Before I walk back to the room, I pause. I feel like I'm being watched. I glance around in the quiet darkness. No one's here, but I feel like I'm being watched.
     My eyes stray to where the intruder was looking. It's the worst when I look at it. I feel kind of sick.
     I shrug. It's probably nothing. It's probably just me freaking out about leaving my brothers alone. I always get like this.
     I walk back to my room to see Cassius awake and sitting up. As soon as he sees me, he runs over to me. "Shhh..." I whisper. "You're safe, Cassius." I glance over to see Colton asleep. I can hear him snoring. "Come on. You need sleep." I lead him back to bed and crawl into it with him.
     "I heard your conversation with Connor," he whispers.
     "Yeah? Then, you'd know that I'm considering taking a job at the DPD. I mean, it makes sense for my model." I curl around him as I squish him in between me and Colton. "I am an RK900. And, you guys are RK800s. It makes sense. We're all qualified to work there. We're supposed to work there." I sigh into his hair.
     "That's.. true. Are you going to make me work there?" he whispers. "It sounds scary."
     "I won't make you, no. Connor might, but I don't think he will. We need to find jobs, Cassius. If you don't want to work at the DPD, then you don't have to. You have to work somewhere eventually, though."
     He whimpers softly and curls into me. I wrap my arms around him. They're adults. They'll be fine.