Deviants Fallen: A DBH Story

The next morning went by without a hitch. Following the events of the previous day, Clara and Connor had settled in an uneasy truce. They held an unspoken agreement to keep each other at a respectful, professional distance.

Their car ride to the Tower was mostly silent, with the occasional tapping as Clara took notes on her tablet. Connor just watched out the window, quietly observing the world passing them by. Eventually, Clara could no longer stand the silence. She tapped on the screen behind her, turning on the radio.

"--cloudy skies with an expected high of 47 degrees. We expect to see an end of the snowy season here in Detroit within the next few--" Clara skipped to the next channel. 

"--wealthy heiress and budding psychologist Dr. Clara Hayes was seen leaving the Cyberlife Tower yesterday afte--" Clara hurriedly switched the radio off in panic. She turned back around and saw that Connor was looking at her. She raised her eyebrows at him, daring him to make a comment.

The android said nothing and turned back to the window. Clara scowled in concentration. Someone had leaked her presence at Cyberlife to the media. This was certainly going to put a damper on things. 

She felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw a text from Eli. "You're on the news," it read. "I know," she typed back. "Can I trust you to handle the fallout?" He sent a thumbs up in response. Clara issued a small sigh of relief and put her phone away. She knew Eli would take care of it. 

She opened the search browser on her tablet, looking herself up. She found a few news articles about her, not as many as she expected and luckily none with her picture. Mainly they just detailed her presence at Cyberlife then devolved into idle gossip speculating about the reason for her visit. She was by no means a prominent public figure or a household name, but her aunt's status and Clara's own reputation in her career field made her recognizable in some circles. Clara suspected this was another subtle attack by Cyberlife. They were showing that they were in control, that they held her reputation in their hands, and they could make things very difficult for her very quickly if she didn't toe the line. 

But, there was nothing she could do about it right now, so she pushed the thoughts out of her mind, instead focusing on what she needed to accomplish in her lab. Cyberlife wanted usable results by the end of the month, which gave Clara a few weeks to figure things out. With those thoughts to occupy her, she barely noticed when they arrived at the tower. 

As she and Connor climbed out of the car, they were once again greeted by the cheerful Ms. Alvarez. "Good to see you again, Dr. Hayes." She smiled brightly. 

"Good morning," Clara responded stiffly. "Do I have another meeting, or can I head straight to the lab?"

"We have nothing specific on the agenda today, so the time is yours to conduct your research as you see fit." Maria guided them into the building, through the reception, and into the elevator. She punched in the numbers for their destination. They began their descent, with the intern making idle chatter to fill the silence. 

"I heard about you on the news this morning," she said. "I didn't know you were an heiress. That's so exciting! Does your family come from old money?"