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Hank and Connor arrived on the scene, where there were already three other patrol cars. It was a hostage situation, and as it continued to escalate they’d called in Connor and Hank to try and negotiate to rescue the hostages. The two detectives got out of the car and approached the person who had been handling the situation up until now. He was an older man with a sturdy build and an air of authority about him.
“What’s the situation so far?” Hank asked. Connor stood next to him, listening attentively but also scanning the building for any sign of the hostage’s location. It was a department store with one glass paned window in the front next to the door where several mannequins were lined up. The lights were off and as it was night outside, it made it hard to see in past the reflections of the police lights and street lamps. Connor’s advanced scanners allowed him to look past that and search out for any signs of life.
“Bastard’s high out of his mind on Red Ice. He broke in trying to rob the store but one of the employees pulled the alarm. Right now he’s holed up in there with five hostages that we know of, two androids and three humans,” the officer explained.
“Do you know if anyone is injured?” Hank asked, arms crossed over his chest.
“We don’t think so. He hasn’t told us much but there haven’t been any gunshots so far,” he answered.
“Did he give you a name?” Connor asked. Knowing the man’s name would make the negotiations go smoother, allow Connor to build some form of rapport with him.
“No,” the officer clicked his tongue, “just keeps making demands for money and a getaway car.”
Connor frowned, looking over to the building again. He’d been able to detect the general location of everyone. They were huddled in a room near the back of the building, away from any windows. From this distance he couldn’t read their vitals to check if what the officer said was true, that no one was injured.
“May I try?” Connor asked, reaching a hand out to the officer. The officer looked between him and Hank for a moment.
“You’re the negotiator? I thought…” he trailed off, looking back at Hank. Connor opened his mouth to respond but Hank interrupted, answering for him.
“He’s the best on the force.” Connor cleared his throat, fighting away the light blue blush that tried to enter his cheeks.“I was specifically designed with protocols to be an excellent negotiator in these situations,” he explained. The officer shrugged and then handed the phone over to Connor.
“Alright then, give it your best shot, kid.”
Connor felt his thirium pump pick up speed in his chest. It was another more annoying feature of deviancy, anxiety. He’d never felt nervous before when negotiating with people or androids on the edge of doing something terrible, but now his feelings made it harder to stay calm and neutral. There was now the oppressive fear that if he messed up here, people would die and it would be all his fault. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a firm hand on his shoulder. He looked over at Hank who gave him a small smile.
“You’ve got this,” he dropped his hand, crossing his arms across his chest once more. Connor nodded, took a calming breath, and then redialed the most recent number in the calls list of the phone. It rang only twice before the line picked up.
“Do you have money?” was the first thing the man on the other end said. His voice was rough and the words rushed after one another in a fast pace.
“Hello, my name is Connor. Can you tell me your name?” Connor asked.
“You don’t need to know that. You just need to get me my money,” the man snapped.
“We’re working on it,” Connor said, keeping his voice calm, “but it will be easier to talk if I know your name.”
“...James,” the man finally answered.
“Ok James, how are you doing?”
“How am I…?” the question seemed to throw him for a loop. “Fuckin’ terrible obviously! I’m stuck in here and these people-” he stopped talking and Connor could hear him shouting at someone in the background to ‘shut up’. The man’s breath came out in ragged bursts against the phone.
“You sound upset James. Is there anything I can do to help?” Connor asked.
“Get. Me. My. Money!” The man shouted the last part.
“We’re working on it,” Connor repeated, “Is there anything else you need? Some food or water maybe?”
“Yeah, so you can poison me? Fat chance!”
Connor frowned. The drugs running through the man’s system were making him paranoid and unpredictable. Connor’s usual tactics weren’t working as well as he hoped as the man seemed to have no interest in talking. He would have to change plans, try and do something to free some of the hostages.
“Maybe it would help if you let some of them leave,” Connor said tentatively.
“If I do that you’ll have no reason to get my money.”
“Not everyone, just a few. It would be less for you to keep track of.”
There was silence on the line as the man thought the offer over, the only sound James’s ragged breathing. Then there were a few muttered curse words before the man spoke again.
“Fine! But only two, that’s it. If you don’t have my money and car in one hour the rest are dead,” the line cut off.
“What happened? Is he letting some go?” Hank asked.
“Yes, but he also said that if he doesn’t have his demands in an hour he will kill the other hostages,” Connor frowned.
“Shit…,” Hank muttered, then turned to the officer who’d briefed them on the situation.
“Officer…?”
“Evans,” he offered.
“Officer Evans, what’s the status on his demands?” Hank asked.
“There is no status,” Evans replied.
“Why the hell not? There are lives at stake here,” Hank said. Connor also found himself frustrated at the response. They could always try lying to James about the money, but the second he found out it was a lie the chances of him beginning to kill hostages shot up exponentially. It was much better in these situations to prepare the criminal’s demands, even if they were going to arrest him the moment the hostages were safe.
“Because there’s no way to get how much he’s asking for. His demands are for two million dollars!” Evans's voice rose at the end, his agitation apparent. “Just tell him we have it, and when he comes out we’ll get him.”
It was a very flawed plan, but before Connor had time to protest two people exited the building. It was the two androids that had been in the building, a PL600 and a VB800. They were missing their LEDs but Connor could tell from a scan that their stress levels were high but dropping as they ran toward the police cars. Suddenly, a gunshot rang through the air, followed instantly by the sound of shattering glass.
Thirium spurted from the center of the PL600’s chest and he dropped to the ground. The VB800 let out a startled scream, covering his head with his arms as he ran away from the store. The glass window to the department store had been shattered, and Connor caught a glimpse of a man holding a gun - James - before he disappeared back out of sight. He should have taken that moment, that chance, to shoot and stop him from hurting anyone else, but Connor found himself frozen looking at the dead android
His mind flashed back to a rooftop, to another hostage situation and his LED flashed red. He’d promised Daniel that he would be safe, he’d lied. He saved the hostage then, but Daniel died. He was just afraid of being replaced, he never really meant any harm. This android too was innocent, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. And just like Daniel Connor had failed him. If he hadn’t suggested that James let two of the hostages go this wouldn’t have happened. The phone in his hand rang again, but he still found himself unable to move. Officer Evans snatched the phone from his hand, the device creaking from the strength of his grip as he answered.
“Did you guys really think I was that stupid? You’re lucky I didn’t just kill them all. You have thirty minutes,” the call ended. And then Officer Evans was in Connor’s face, fist roughly gripped around the android’s collar and nearly lifting him off the ground.
“What the hell was that!? You said you could negotiate with him, now one of the hostages is dead!”
Hank stepped forward, wrenching the officer’s hand away from Connor’s shirt. Connor stumbled back a little as Hank stepped in front of him.
“Back off. He had no way of knowing this would happen,” Hank said, a glare twisting his features.
“That doesn’t matter. He messed up and now someone is dead because of him.”
“He’s right, Hank,” Connor interrupted any argument his friend was about to make. He couldn’t afford to keep failing like this. It didn’t matter what his intentions were when his failure resulted in someone’s death. “We need to get the rest of the hostages out of there,” Connor continued.
“And how exactly do you plan to do that?” Officer Evans interjected.
“There should be a back entrance. You keep him talking on the phone, I’ll sneak in and take him down,” Connor answered.
“No way, that’s too dangerous, Connor,” Hank immediately protested.
“I can handle it,” Connor said firmly.
“You’d better fuckin’ hope so,” Officer Evans muttered, “And the only reason I’m even letting you try is because we don’t really have any other options.”
“I’m coming with you,” Hank said.
“No,” Connor shook his head, “the more of us there are the more likely he is to notice something is up. I’ll be okay, Hank,” Connor tried to make his voice as reassuring as he could. This was a great risk, but James was too unhinged for negotiating to work. This was the only way for him to make up for his mistake and save the other hostages. It was his mess to clean up, he wasn’t going to let Hank put himself in danger over Connor’s screw-up.
Without giving his partner any more chances to protest, Connor ran around to the side of the building. A quick scan of the occupants told him that they were all still in the back room. If he strained his audio processors, he could faintly hear James talking on the phone. Hopefully the change in who he was talking to did rouse any suspicion. Connor crept around the building until he reached the back door. Like most modern buildings it was locked with a keypad, which he was easily able to override. The door opened with a quiet swish.
Connor paused, waiting to see if the sound had been heard, before making his way into the building. The door led into a narrow corridor which had three separate doors. The one opposite the way he came likely led to the main floor of the department store. He turned to his left where his scanners told him everyone was. As he neared the door he drew his gun from its holster, switching off the safety. His thirium pump thrummed anxiously in his chest and his LED spun in quick yellow loops. He took a deep breath and then slammed his shoulder into the door.
Two gunshots went off, one missing Connor entirely and the other grazing his cheek. Connor aimed and squeezed the trigger in less than a second. His bullet hit its mark in James’s hand, sending his gun to the ground. Connor dropped his gun then lunged forward, tackling the man around the waist and sending them both to the ground. The hostages screamed and began running from the room. Determined to take the man in alive, Connor struggled to restrain him as James trashed wildly in the android’s grip. Androids had superior strength to humans, but Red Ice blocked out pain and caused a certain manic desperation.
They rolled on the floor, James landing an elbow directly to Connor’s face. His grip slackened for a second as static filled his vision, but that was all the criminal needed. James sprang away from Connor, scrambling across the floor to his gun. Still dazed, Connor wasn’t able to grab him in time and James reached the weapon. He lifted it, leveling the barrel of the gun with Connor’s head. Connor froze and time seemed to slow down.
A gunshot rang out, and then James was dropping to the floor, a bullet hole straight through his head. Standing behind him was Hank, panting and with a tight grip on his own gun. Connor felt his hands begin to shake and an unknown but overwhelming emotion overtook him.
“Dammit Connor, when I say I’m coming with you, just let me next time! If I hadn’t been here…” Hank trailed off, giving Connor an unreadable look. It was then that Connor felt moisture on his cheeks. He reached up with a shaking hand and rubbed at the moisture, confused at the saline solution on his hand. Why was he crying?
“Sorry Hank, I don’t- I’m not sure why I’m reacting like this,” Connor apologized, rubbing harder at his face, willing the tears to stop. Hank walked over and crouched down in front of him. He took Connor’s hand away that had been angrily scrubbing at his cheek before pulling the android into a hug. Connor sat frozen for a moment at the contact. Then slowly he brought his hands around the older man, grabbing at the fabric of his jacket.
“You almost died, son,” Hank said quietly, “that’s a fuckin’ terrifying experience. It makes sense you’re a little freaked out.”
“I’m sorry Hank, you’re right. I shouldn’t have run in on my own. I just couldn’t let anyone else die because of my mistakes,” Connor explained.
“It’s not your fault Connor. You didn’t pull the trigger. You were doing the best you could with the situation,” Hank gave his back a gentle pat. “Now come on, let’s get up.” Hank stood up, pulling Connor up as well before breaking the hug.
“I’m serious Connor, don’t go beating yourself up over this. You did everything right, sometimes that’s just not enough,” Hank said. Connor took a shaky breath then nodded. He used his sleeve to wipe away the remainder of his tears and the smudge of thirium on his face from where the bullet grazed him.
“Okay,” Connor replied quietly. Maybe Hank was right, maybe he really didn’t do anything wrong. But that didn’t stop the guilt from eating away at him because someone had still died. Next time he would just have to do more than his best, maybe then he’d be enough.