Going Numb

-{9}-

I only get more and more tired as we go back to Hank's car and drive away from that god-awful club. I know I need to get back to Hadley so they can help me, but there's no way in hell I'm going to say anything to Hank or especially Connor. Before long, we pull up on the Ambassador Bridge, and Hank gets out. He walks across the small playground before sitting down. It isn't long before Connor starts to get out. As he does, I follow, but before he can go to Hank, I place a hand on his shoulder, making him look down at me.

"I, uh..." I gulp, looking up at him. "I'm gonna head home." He furrows his brows.

"Are you sure?" he asks. I nod. "You're more than welcome to stay." I shake my head.

"Uh uh," I say. "I think you guys have some stuff you need to talk about." I look down. "Stuff you need to talk about alone." A pause.

"The child," he says quietly. "In the photo at his house." I look up at him slowly. "You knew." I sigh and nod.

"Yeah, I knew," I say. I look toward Hank. "He doesn't like me, and it's not because I'm a criminal. He's got friends who are." I look back up at Connor. "It's because he doesn't trust that I won't tell anyone." I sigh. "I've known for over a year. Not even Hadley knows." I look down and shake my head before looking back up at him. "Just...be careful...with what you say. He's easy to provoke on a good day." He nods, and I sigh before walking away.

Software Instability^

3rd Person POV

Connor walks up to Hank, making virtually no noise as his shoes hit the snow.

"Nice view, huh?" Hank asks quietly. "I used to come here a lot before..." Connor looks over at him. Neither of them notice Arna quietly making her way over to stand behind a tree ten feet away.

"Before what?" Connor asks.

"Hm?" Hank asks.

"You said, 'I used to come here a lot before...' Before what?"

"Before..." He trails off. "Before nothin'." Connor steps forward.

"Can I ask you a personal question, Lieutenant?" Connor asks. Hank looks over at him.

"Do all androids ask so many personal questions or is it just you?" he asks.

"I saw a photo of a child," Connor says. "On your kitchen table." Hank looks down. "It was your son, right?" Hank nods slightly.

"Yeah. His name was Cole." Connor sighs before walking forward.

"We're not making any progress on this investigation," he says. "The deviants have nothing in common." He crosses his arms, looking back at Hank. "They're all different models, produced at different times, in different places..." Hank sighs.

"Well, there must be some link." Connor looks forward.

"What they have in common is this obsession with rA9." He turns back to Hank. "It's almost like some kind of...myth. Something they invented that wasn't part of their original program."

"Androids believing in God," Hank says. "Fuck, what's this world coming to?" He takes a drink.

"You seem preoccupied, Lieutenant," Connor says. "Is it something to do with what happened back at the Eden Club?" Hank sighs.

"Those two girls," he says. "They just wanted to be together. They really seemed in love." Connor sighs.

"They can simulate human emotions," he says, "but they're machines. And machines don't feel anything." Arna frowns sadly and looks down at the ground. She looks up at the two in front of her for a moment before shoving her hands in her pockets and walking away.

-{}-

Arna's POV

"Hadley!" I yell as I open the door to my apartment. "Hadley Lain Lawson, get your ass in here!" A head pokes into the hallway, and their eyes widen as they see me leaning against the back of the couch for support.

"Arna, what the hell?" they ask. "What did you do?" I grit my teeth.

"Fix me now, lecture me later." They grab my arm and put it over their shoulders, helping me into the bathroom. They help me sit down on the edge of the bathtub and stand in front of me.

"Show me first," they say. I nod and hesitantly unzip my vest. They gasp. "Arna...what?" I sigh and nod.

"Yeah, I know," I say. "I'm awful and reckless and I need to learn how to dodge when a gay deviant android comes at me with a screwdriver!" She rolls her eyes.

"Arna, I'm not gonna lie...that's all true." I glare at her. "What, do you want me to lie to you when you're bleeding out all over the bathroom floor?"