Crime, Friendship and Other Things

9th of November 2038; 11:17:04

'Detective?' Connor's voice pulls me from my sleep. I blink groggily, rubbing my fists against my eyes. He's shifted in his seat so as to look back at me. Hank is outside, walking while his phone is glued to his ear. The house behind him could be a spaceship. Grey struts lining large windows, taking up most of the skyline. It's practically abandoned in the middle of nowhere; like somebody just dropped the house here with no regard for everything around it. 'Are you OK?'

I nod. The headache from yesterday has gone, and Oskar gave me a quick once over before we started off on this little outing. If he hadn't have done that I'm pretty sure Hank would have forced me to stay behind. He'd already told me that Gavin was ready to keep an eye on me. It still hurts to look at Connor though, to remember that neither of us had been there for him when he needed backup; that he doesn't even seem to realise having a helping hand is something he deserves as a member of the team. He looked so injured, but there's not a mark on him now. I can still feel the itching of the scab on my head.

'Do you get that?'

His brow furrows and I realise that I've not actually explained my train of thought. 'They patched you up? Does it... itch or anything?'

A small smile plays on his lips. 'Synthetic skin. It's like... If you glue something back together. Except it integrates a little more easily.'

'Oh... but still, are you OK?'

'I asked first.'

I blink at him slowly. Was that... was that an actual joke from him? There's something about his look though that stops me from making a sarcastic comment back. 'Yeah, I'm good, thanks. You?'

He nods, and I know that he's probably already scanned me, already made up his own mind about how I am. 'All systems...' His voice fades and I know that he's spotted my look of argument. 'I'm OK, Frankie. Thank you.' His voice is soft as he turns back to look at Hank. He's off the phone now, and I'm itching to get out and stretch my legs.

'Come on,' I say, clicking Hank's seat forwards, 'can't let him freeze alone.'

Connor hovers by the front of the car, waiting for me before we approach Hank; the snow swirls around us and I'm tempted to put my hood up for good measure. Hank's attention is out across the snow, a pensive look on his face that makes me want to hug him, to remind him that things are going to be OK, no matter what news he just heard.

'Is everything OK, Lieutenant?' Connor asks.

'Chris was on patrol last night,' Hank says, turning slightly to glance at us. My insides squirm; I caught the news this morning, the attacks on CyberLife shops, the moved cars, tagged benches and hacked screens. It was all peaceful, but what might have happened? 'He was attacked by a bunch of deviants... He said he was saved by Markus himself...'

I let out a sigh of relief, a hand going to my heart.

'Is Chris OK?' asks Connor.

'Yeah, he's in shock but... he's alive...'

'Thank God for that.'

'What the hell...' Hank's attention turns back to the house, and like that we're back to work. I make a note to check in with Chris later though; him and Ursula must be buzzing in the worst possible way.

'Kamski left CyberLife ten years ago...' Connor explains as we follow Hank. 'Why did you wanna meet him?'

'This guy created the first android to pass the Turing Test. And he's the founder of CyberLife. Anybody can tell us about deviants, it's him...'