Work Text:
07:03 am
Carol arrived early at the Detroit Police Department. She sat in her car as if she was deciding to go to work. Her head was pounding from the night before. Carol had damaged her system by just getting shitfaced. She pulled out a bunch of painkillers, even though they wouldn’t do anything to help with the horrible pain coursing through her body. Carol fought her android body a lot. She looked down, watching her synthetic skin peeling away to reveal a cold white arm. She slammed her hands down onto the steering wheel. Warm tears fell to her hands in anguish. After about thirty or so minutes, she managed enough courage to go inside.
The android smiled sweetly, “Authorization please.”
Carol smiled, weakly, handing them her ID. The office was always pristine with glowing white walls. Just within twenty years, the entire world changed because of androids. They were the machine that made the blueprint for the future. Carol watched it all. She was made from an extremely old model. There was no way anyone could recognize her. But, she still needed to be careful. She didn’t want to be outed as a so-called “Deviant”. With cases rising all across the country, it was extremely hard for her to stay calm.
The one difference between her and the other androids was her clear skull and the LED in her neck. It was the only thing that connected her brain with the rest of her body. Her brain and body were at constant odds. She couldn’t taste anything. Everything felt.. distant. While she was there in the office, she didn’t feel like she was present. Every day she was feeling stiffer and stiffer.
Warm things pleased her the most. Coffee was the one thing that didn’t seem to upset her system at all. It was a nice feeling of warmth. Unfortunately, it was interrupted by a noisy detective.
Detective Gavin Reed visited the forensics department often. He’d always ask pointless stuff here as a way to catch her interest. She continued to ignore his advances, but it rarely worked.
Gavin greeted her with a smile as he walked into the breakroom with his partner.
“Oh, good morning, Carol,” His greeting came out sarcastic. “How hungover did ya get last night? I saw you last night at Jimmy’s with the old man. What’s Hank got that I don’t have?”
Carol groaned in frustration. “Nothing is fucking going on. He doesn’t want to fuck me if that’s the answer you’re looking for.”
Gavin rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t fucking matter. Fowler just hired the newest tinker toy available by Cyberlife. That goddamn thing could replace my job and even yours.”
“I didn’t ask for this job. Now, I’d prefer it if you’d move out of my way before you lose a fucking limb.” She glared intensely at Gavin. She gave herself a goddamn order not to knock Gavin’s lights out. She held her arm down. “Please, don’t test me.”
Gavin paused for a moment, slightly terrified by her threat. He regained his composure and scoffed. He didn’t say anything after that. He sat by the other head of the breakroom. After getting word that an Android killed itself by slamming its head against the glass walls, Carol headed out, taking the body over to her department.
She saw the android. How its skin evaporated in front of her. She was eye to eye with the body of her kind. The realistic glossy eyes looked too read, too human. The android looked so similar to her, both such in an uncanny valley stare. She looked over at her arm. Her forearm turned from her peach-ish pale skin to a wired metal shell. All the new androids were made from plastic, hard metal, and maybe a few copper linings. Carol was made from lithium glass, with a misty metallic lining. She didn’t like what she looked like without skin.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps against the granite floor approach her. Her hand instantly went back to its original state. Her head jerked to where the sound was. It was an android with brown hair along with a Cyberlife uniform. He didn’t look very interesting, but Carol couldn’t stop staring. He looked so familiar to her. She just couldn’t understand where she had seen him from.
“Hello, I’m Connor.” The android smiled, sheepishly. “What’s yours?”
She glared at him, slightly. “Carol. Do you have the authorization to be here?” Her tone was rather venomous. After Gavin, she wasn’t really in the mood to be socializing.
“Yes, I'm with Lieutenant Anderson. I was assigned to be his partner, but I can’t seem to find him at the moment.” He carried himself in a certain way, slightly different from the other androids that worked with her in the department. His eyes seemed extremely intense. “You’re the head medical examiner, correct?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Yes..” Carol seemed closed off and uncomfortable. Connor could see her blood pressure rise.
“I noticed that you’re anxious. I promise you I’m not going to touch anything.” The android smiled, kindly. He made sure to create a space between him and the woman before him. He began to analyze her background. There wasn’t much that he found. Carol Berkowitz had been working at the DPD for less than a year, but all records seemed wiped from Flint.
“I was just exploring the new office,” Connor said, touching up his jacket sleeve. “I know you were recently transferred from Flint.”
“Uh-huh. What else does your little android brain know about me?” She asked, examining a piece of discarded metal.
“I know that you had a birthday just last month. Congratulations on being 35.” The android attempted friendliness but came off as slightly sarcastic.
She glared. “Yeah, I don’t believe in birthdays. It doesn’t matter what age I am, I’m gonna die eventually.”
Connor paused for a second. There was something off about her. He shrugged it off. “I understand you have a very bleak outlook on life. However, I can assure you that-”
“Why the hell are you still bothering me? First, you waltz in here without proper registration, then you insult my age. I get it, Mr. Blue, you’re a fucking robot. You’ll probably live longer than the rest of us because you’re not biodegradable.” Carol snapped. She had gotten closer to the android, realizing he was much taller than her, she stepped away. She muttered a hushed “Sorry”, before tending to her coffee.
“That coffee is over 185 degrees. It could burn your tongue if you’re not careful.” Connor didn’t take what she said before, personally. However, she seemed so erratic around him. Surely, if she gave him the order to leave, he’d leave. He still got the feeling that something was off. She exhibited behavior he had found in certain deviants. He blinked a few times. The LED on the side of his head shifted from blue to yellow to blue again. She wasn’t exactly a deviant, but she seemed to purposely avoid both androids and humans.
She simply glared, taking a sip of her coffee. “You said, you’re with Anderson, right? You’ll be able to find him down at Park and Seventh. He’s got a craving for fast food, so you can’t miss him.”
He nodded, smiling slightly. “Thank you. I appreciate the help, Ms. Berkowitz. I wish to work with you more in the future.”
Just as he began to step away, Carol called out, “Hey, Connor-”
He paused and turned to face her. He didn’t say a word, but as she got closer to him. His LED began to switch around again. He analyzed her a little more closely. She had no organic material in her body. Interest sparked in him. If she wasn’t human, then what was she?
“If you manage to find Hank, give him this.” Carol handed Connor a small keychain with a wooden carving of a dog. “He left it at Jimmy’s last night. He bet on it and lost, and I kinda figured he’d want it back.”
He looked at the keychain closely and nodded. “I’ll be sure to deliver it to Lieutenant Anderson as soon as possible.”
She looked away, nervously, catching one last glimpse of the android before walking back into the lab. She had a feeling that he knew something about her and wouldn’t lead on. She didn’t want to transfer again.
Yet, the little android stayed in her thoughts for the rest of the day. She knew he possibly wanted to connect with her to find something to do with the case, but she just couldn’t risk it.
Soon enough, the workday ended. Carol grabbed her jacket and headed out to her car. It was time to indulge in her nightly routine of spending her night at the bar, just to feel alive again.