Chapter Text
Considering the value of a 1928 Peace Silver Dollar, keeping it on his person at all times was not Connor’s wisest decision. Connor may have been one of the best and brightest at Kamski School of Technology, Detroit, however, he was still an eleven year old boy, a demographic of human beings not known for their wisdom. Young boys are quite the opposite in fact.
It was less about being made of ninety percent silver and being minted over a century ago that gave this silver dollar its value. Not even it being somewhat of a family heirloom matter that much, Connor had been too young to have ever formed a connection with them before… The only family Connor knew was his older brother, who had known them, and it was from his brother that he had received the silver dollar.
It had been their last summer together before he would go off to a higher level prep school, while Connor would continue on at KamTech for another three years. The silver dollar was the embodiment of tangible memories and physical connection between the two brothers. Why wouldn’t Connor always have it with him? It was priceless.
And now it was plummeting over the edge of the walkway into a storm drain canal…
“Nice trick, Connor.” North was the first to speak up out of the five kids leaning over the railing. “You made it disappear.”
Connor, already running back to side of the bridge and looking for away down at this point, didn’t bother to make a quip back at her. Markus was not far behind. Simon made a wary glance at Josh, who only shrugged.
“We’ll keep a lookout,” Josh called out. For what, he wasn’t sure, but it seemed like a good enough excuse to not follow.
The steep slope of the concrete drain walls were about eight feet high, slick with condensation and patches of algae slime. They could slide down into the basin, but getting back out would be the hard part. Following the path of the concrete canal, Connor could see a maintenance ladder farther down. That was all the confirmation he needed before sliding over the side into the basin.
Citizens of Detroit had taken to treating this area like a dumping free for all, and the city seemed to turn a blind eye to the whole thing. Numerous soggy cardboard boxes, trash bags with questionable contents, remnants of discount IKEA furniture, there was even some moldy sofas and recliners that had seen better far better days. Connor was pretty sure that the pile towering before him was infested with hazards of almost every variety, but that wasn’t going to stop him from seeking out his most prized possession, not to mention that his brother would destroy him if he found out that Connor had lost it.
Reaching back into the side pocket of his backpack, Connor retrieved a tablet that he had modified to assist in his investigations. As he loaded up his detection application, Markus had reached his side.
“Can that find it?” Markus asked as he caught his breath.
“Well,” Connor began, not looking up from the tablet. “It can scan and identify a large database of different materials using this sensor. So, maybe?”
“Oh yeah?” North interjected, having followed the two boys into the basin. “Does it detect bullshit?”
“Probably, yeah,” Connor replied, still focused on the tablet screen. “By analyzing the specific composition of the fecal matter, it would be able identify the source down to the animal species.”
“Ew, it’s less fun when you answer for real.”
“That’s why I do it,” he called back before he began to climb the towering pile before him. This was probably going to ruin his school uniform, but the crisp autumn air was too chilly for Connor to want to shed his uniform jacket.
The tablet scanned through the rubble and refuse for any trace of silver. Though it was capable of detecting metals through such materials, Connor tossed loose planks and cardboard off to the side with his free hand to improve his maneuverability. Markus followed suit, clearing what trash he could while North continued to watch with a look of disgust.
Connor had made it halfway up the trash heap before his tablet made a positive detection for silver.
“It looks like it’s here!” he exclaimed, causing Markus to come to a halt in his digging. As Connor began to assess the area, he positioned his feet right above an arrangement of junk that created a dark crevasse. The flashlight on the tablet beamed into the darkness, and sure enough there was the unmistakable glint of silver at the its bottom. Connor squinted to see where the coin had come to rest more clearly, the outline of a leather glove…
Connor recoiled backwards from the opening and into Markus, who had been standing behind him.
“W-what is it?” Markus yelped, eyes wide and searching for some explanation on Connor’s face.
“It looks like there’s a hand in there,” Connor whimpered, his voice wavering with growing anxiety.
“Like a dead body?!” North shouted a little too enthusiastically.
“Maybe we should call the cops?” Josh yelled down from the walkway vantage point above them.
“FUCK THE POLICE!” North declared with righteous indignation, pumping both fists into the air. She looks back over at Connor, who had started to fiddle with his tablet again. “CONNOR, YOU BETTER NOT.”
“I’m not calling them, yet, North,” he replied. “I can verify whether there is organic material, which could indicate a body.” A few more swipes and taps on the screen, Connor didn’t think he would have had to utilize this feature so soon. “If it is, then, we have no choice but to report it.”
As the tablet scanned the area below them, an image assembled itself on the screen. It was negative for organic material, but there was detection of plastics, silicone, metal alloys, and thirium.
“It’s an android!” Connor announced in relief. North let out a groan of disappointment, having already made her way up to where Connor and Markus stood to see a dead body. As soon as Connor had said ‘android’, Simon had taken off toward the basin, and it wasn’t long before Josh left his self-imposed post as well.
“Let’s get it out of there,” said Markus. “There’s gotta be rope or something around here.”
“Lemme get my coin first,” Connor countered. The coin was just out of reach when he tried to just pick it up, against his better judgment. It took him and Simon shifting the trash forming the hole opening to close the distance. Connor wiped the silver dollar on his sleeve and did a quick inspection before sticking it back in his pocket. He noted that in the future, he will only do coin tricks in a more secure area.
Markus and Josh stepped forward with some discarded cabling, the closest rope-like thing they could find with enough length to reach the android’s hand and allow all five kids to take a hold of it. It took several attempts before the loop of wiring was secured around the android’s wrist.
“Okay, on the count of three,” Markus instructed, tapping into his natural leader skill, “We all gotta pull.” The other children nodded in understanding and shuffled themselves around on the line. Josh, being the tallest, went down to the concrete basin to act as an anchor. In front of him was North, whose stubbornness and unmatched sheer force of will fueled her strength. Then it was Connor, then Simon, and finally Markus at the lead.
“One,” he began. Everyone tightened their grip.
“Two!” They all shifted their stance into more stable positions.
“THREE! PULL!”
Each kid mustered all of their might and pulled on the wiring. Connor considered that in all likelihood, the android would find itself caught on something. Josh and North held strong in the back, able to move a couple steps backwards. Connor, Simon, and Markus had a harder time just on principle that they were on unstable ground.
“Alright, we gotta just pull the wire,” Markus called over his shoulder. “One, two, three, heave!”
A couple feet of the cable was able to pool behind Josh. Another pull of the cable and Markus could see the android’s hand peek out of the trash.
“We’ve almost got it! A little more! One, two, three, heave!”
Something must have shaken loose, because the tension on the wire disappeared as everyone started to topple backwards, tumbling back down to the concrete basin. Loose articles of trash fell with them, hitting a few of them on the head. Connor dusted himself off took Markus’ hand to get himself back on his feet.
“Everyone okay?” Simon mumbled. Everyone muttered some form of affirmative as they assessed the damage on their uniforms. Connor was the first to look to see what they had pulled out of the trash.
It looked as though the android had been there for a long while, with a consistent coat of dirt and grime all over. Despite lower half of the android still being within the junk pile, Connor could tell from its broad shoulders that it was a larger than average android. He would have guessed that it was a trapped utility labor android if it wasn’t for the Detroit Police Department crest on the shoulder of its blue uniform. Underneath the Cyberlife logo placed squarely between the shoulder blades was the model number LT800.
“Huh,” Connor said out loud. The model number sounded familiar for some reason, but he’s never seen a police model android look like this one. He stepped closer to get a better look of the android’s face. Sandy colored hair, a strong brow, deep set eyes, large jaw and nose. If it was designed to look intimidating, CyberLife had gotten that right. Even its neutral expression looked as though it was perpetually perturbed. The android’s empty gaze was low, but Connor could see that the irises were a striking blue color.
“Ugh, it’s a cop,” North spat. “Gotta put it back. Or burn it. Let’s burn it.”
“But what is a cop android doing in a ditch?” Markus mused with his head cocked to the side.
Connor looked back at the other kids with a lopsided grin. “Looks like we’ve got a mystery on our hands!”