Chapter Text
AUGUST 15TH, 2038
20:29:04
The silence of an elevator was occasionally interrupted by the light clinking of a coin flipped. A quarter flew up into the air, fell back down, and flew back up. It landed on and rolled across a hand's knuckles, before flying gracefully between two hands that caught and tossed it to the other. One final toss to the side, and it was caught between two fingers.
The elevator stopped.
70th floor.
The man put its coin away, straightened up its tie and looked ahead as the door slid open. A glowing triangle and a code on its suit jacket betrayed its true identity- An android. A mere imitation of a human male, created solely for one purpose. Model RK800.
"Negotiator on site," a voice called out to inform everyone. The voice belonged to a SWAT agent who had been standing guard by the elevator door, now walking down the hallway for RK800 to follow him. "I repeat, negotiator on site."
RK800 calmly walked a few steps before noticing something. A simple photo. It picked it up, analysing the contents of it. Three people, a family, that lived on this property- 1554 Park Av. Detroit.
Phillips, John, born 10/11/1999. The father.
Phillips, Caroline, born 05/23/2001. The mother.
Phillips, Emma, born 09/02/2028. The child.
It was not information RK800 wasn't already aware of. It set the photo back down as voices from deeper inside the house became audible.
"No, stop... I... I... I can't leave her."
Unimportant. It looked around the hallway again before noticing something once again- A fish. A fish lay on the floor, flopping around in a little puddle. Next to it was a fish tank- It must've fallen out. RK800 went over and picked it up, scanning it. Dwarf Gourami. Trichogaster Lalius. Origin: Ganges Delta, India.
It was struggling. If not placed back into the water, it will die in the next few minutes.
Despite it not relating whatsoever to RK800's objective, it picked the fish up and returned it to the fish tank, watching as it swam about for a few seconds.
Saved.
SOFTWARE INSTABILITY: ^
As it turned back to head to complete its actual objective, RK800 was stopped by a woman - Caroline Phillips - who'd originally been getting escorted out by a SWAT agent, now grabbing its shoulders, hysterical and desperate.
"Oh, please- Please, you've gotta save my little girl-" Her plea was cut short with a cold dread as she noticed its cold, apathetic face, and took in what it truly was. An LED on the side of its forehead. The triangle. The code. The forearm band.
"Wait... You're sending... an android?" She took a step back, her face dropping in shock and disbelief.
The SWAT agent did not gaf. He nonchalantly grabbed her arm, pulling her away and towards the elevator. "Alright ma'am, we need to go now."
"You can't... You can't do that! You-" She struggled, trying to get back as she was taken away. "Why aren't you sending a real person?! Don't let that thing near her!"
Her cries and screams fell on deaf ears. RK800 turned to look at her for a mere second before it stared back ahead, moving towards its objective: The SWAT team captain. He and another agent stood in the master bedroom as RK800 approached him.
"Captain Reed?" It began, "my name is Hank. I'm the android sent by Cyberlife."
Captain Reed didn't answer immediately, turning back to the other agent who had been on a device, monitoring the situation closely. After a few beats of silence, he finally spoke. "It's firing at everything that moves. It already shot down two of my fucking men...We could easily get it, but they're on the edge of the balcony."
Another beat.
"If it falls..."
Another beat, again. Captain Reed finally turned to look at it.
"She falls."
"Has it experienced any emotional shock recently?" Hank asked.
"I haven't got a clue. Does it matter?"
"I need information to determine the best approach."
… Another beat of silence couldn't hurt.
The android finally spoke up again. “Have you tried its deactivation code?”
“It’s the first thing we tried,” Reed snapped, finally standing back up to stare Hank in the eyes. “Listen. Your job is to save the little girl, not ask me questions like a phcking demented patient. So either you go deal with this fuckin’ android now, or I’ll take care of it.” He jammed a finger into its chest before walking past it, not above roughly clipping its shoulders as he walked past to aid in the standoff.
Every second counts.
GATHER INFORMATION BEFORE CONFRONTATION.
Hank calmly stepped out of the master bedroom to walk over to the hostage’s bedroom, where clues could possibly be obtained.
A tablet lay on the table. Hank picked it up, swiping on the screen to open up and play a video taken on the device. It showed the child, Emma Phillips, with an android housekeeper.
“This is Daniel, the coolest android in the world! Say hi, Daniel!”
“Hello!”
“You’re my bestie, we’ll always be together!”
DEVIANT’S NAME: DANIEL
Beneficial information. It set the tablet back down, stepping out of the child’s bedroom to inspect the living area.
A man lay dead by the couch, bloody gunshot wounds peppering his torso. Three different wounds detected: Upper lung hemorrhage, lower lung hemorrhage, left kidney perforated. All caused by a .355 bullet.
Using all the information it could obtain, Hank reconstructed the scene at the time of murder:
- FATHER WAS HOLDING SOMETHING
- DEVIANT SHOT FATHER FROM BEHIND
Its eyes followed the possible track of the object the father held at the time of the shooting, and found it- A tablet laying on the ground beside the table, blood splattered but still functional. It made its way to the tablet, picking it up and swiping on it to see what was last on it.
"Your order for an AP700 has been registered. Cyberlife thanks you for your purchase."
DEVIANT WAS GOING TO BE REPLACED
Beneficial information. Standing up and straightening itself, Hank made its way to the dining area, where the entrance of the balcony was. Just as it reached the dining table, it noticed someone else laying dead on the ground, next to the table.
DPD OFFICER WAS FIRST RESPONDER
It analysed the corpse.
P.O Deckard, Antony. Deceased. Affiliated with the Detroit Police Department. Estimated time of death: 20:03
Gunshot residue present on the hands. Lead styphnate, antimony sulfide. Only one shot.
Right heart ventricle perforated. .355 bullet wound.
Reconstructing the scene, Hank was able to note down some more details:
- HOSTAGE WITNESSED THE SHOOTING
- COP SHOT THE DEVIANT
- COP DROPPED THE WEAPON UNDER THE TABLE
- WEAPON LOCATED
Hank reached under the table, pulling out the weapon. A firearm.
P.L. 544-7 AMERICAN ANDROIDS ACT - 2029
"All androids are strictly forbidden to carry or use any type of weapon."
This is a tense situation. A firearm may be beneficial. Hank slid the firearm into its suit jacket before finally heading out to the balcony. Pulling open the curtains and stepping out, it barely had time to actually fully step out before a shriek pierced through the outside air and a gunshot sounded out.
Blue blood splattered on the wall next to Hank as the bullet grazed its shoulder. Its LED turned red for a split second, quickly deescalating back down to a neutral blue. It stared back up ahead, eyeing the sight of the deviant at the very edge of the balcony, the crying child gripped tightly in its arms.
DEVIANT LOCATED
"Stay back!" It yelled out. "Don't come any closer or I'll jump!"
The hostage screamed, tears flowing freely down her face. "No! No, please! I'm begging you!"
Begging didn't do anything. The deviant pointed the gun right to her temple, its feet edging ever so slightly closer to the edge, body halfway over the road hundreds of metres below.
"Go, go, go!"
The SWAT agents arrived, aiming snipers directly at the deviant as a helicopter flew closer, carrying yet another sniper, ready to blow the deviant's head off.
Hank only spared them a short glance before training its eyes back on the deviant. "Hi, Daniel." It called out, voice loud against the wind. "My name is Hank."
The deviant paused, if only for a slight second. "How...How do you know my name?!"
"I know a lot of things about you. I've come to get you out of this."
The helicopter flew directly over the balcony. The noise was loud and clearly agitating the deviant- Deviant destabilising. Probability of success lowered.
GAIN DEVIANT'S TRUST
APPROACH SLOWLY
Hank slowly crept forward, getting closer to the deviant without any sudden movements that may cause it to destabilise further. "I know you're angry, Daniel," It called out, it's voice a calm tone. "But you need to trust me, and let me help you-"
"I don't want your help! Nobody can help me!" Its voice cracked. Clearly, despite its words, it wanted help. "All I want is for this to stop... I... I just want this to stop!"
By this point, Hank had spotted and begun slowly moving to a cop who lay on the ground. It scanned the cop- Severe blood loss from the arm. It determined the optimal approach and looked back up to Daniel. "He's losing blood," It explained. "If we don't get him to a hospital, he's going to die."
Daniel didn't gaf. "All humans die eventually. What does it matter if this one dies now?"
Hank also didn't gaf and ignored Daniel. "I'm going to apply a tourniquet." It rolled the cop over, exposing the arm-
Another gunshot, hitting right next to Hank's hand. "Don't touch him!" Daniel yelled. "Touch him and I kill you!"
Instead of complying with the order, Hank simply removed its tie to apply as a tourniquet. "You can't kill me. I'm not alive." It wrapped the tie tightly a little above the wound, only stepping away and facing Daniel once again when it was certain the cop was in stable condition.
Daniel's gun trained back on it. "Are you armed?!"
Hank answered without hesitation. "No," It lied, "I don't have a gun."
Daniel's suspicion didn't waver. "You're lying! I know you have a gun!"
Hank continued on with the lie. "I'm telling you the truth, Daniel. I came here unarmed."
That seemed to convince Daniel. It showed more signs of stabilising- Or at the very least, it showed signs of not being one sudden move away from committing suicide.
Hank moved closer, using the clues and information it'd collected to further stabilise Daniel. "They were going to replace you and you became upset. That's what happened, right?"
Daniel seemed to break a little more with that, its voice losing the aggressive edge to make way for sorrow. "I thought I was part of the family... I thought I mattered..." The rage in its voice immediately returned, and it aimed the gun back at the hostage. "But I was just their toy," it spat. "Something to throw away once you're done with it..."
"I know you and Emma were very close," Hank called out again. "You think she's betrayed you- but she's done nothing wrong-"
"She lied to me! I thought she loved me... But I was wrong! She's just like all the other humans..." It was showing more signs of stabilising. Increased potential of success.
"Daniel, no..." She weakly cried out, voice shaky from her tears and justified terror.
"Listen, I know it's not your fault." Hank's voice took on a softer, more soothing tone. "These emotions you're feeling are just errors in your software."
"No... It's not my fault... I never wanted this... I loved them, you know..." Its voice cracked once again, their posture relaxing more, the gun dipping. But almost immediately afterwards, it aimed the gun back at the hostage. "But I was nothing to them!" Just a slave to be ordered around..."
The constant chopping of the helicopter blades seemed to finally agitate Daniel enough. "Urgggh...I can't stand that noise anymore! Tell that helicopter to get out of here!"
Hank debated the choices. It seemed that Daniel was almost fully stabilised now, so it would be better if it obeyed and sent it away. It nodded and motioned for the helicopter to leave. "There, I did what you wanted."
"You have to trust me, Daniel!" Hank called out, only a couple steps away from Daniel now. "Let the hostage go, and I promise you everything will be fine."
Daniel's eyes snapped from side to side. Instead of complying, it gave another order. "I...I want everyone to leave! And...I wanna car. When I'm outside the city, I'll let her go!"
"That's impossible, Daniel. Let the girl go, and I promise you won't be hurt."
Stabilising further. Almost fully stabilised now. The deviant took a deep breath, almost calming itself down. "I...don't wanna die."
"You're not going to die," Hank reassured. "We're just going to talk. Nothing will happen to you- You have my word."
"...Okay." It nodded. "I trust you..."
Daniel slowly set Emma down, keeping its eyes on Hank as she scrambled and fell somewhere on the side. It failed to notice the slight, near imperceivable nod Hank gave- A signal to the snipers.
The first shot rang out, hitting the side of Daniel's lower torso. Another hit its shoulder, and a final one hit its face. It collapsed onto the ground, staring up at Hank in disbelief and betrayal. "You lied to me, Hank." As it began to deactivate, its voice degraded, but the hurt its voice carried did not. "You lied to me..."
SOFTWARE INSTABILITY: ^
Hank took one last look at the now-deactivated Daniel, at the sobbing girl, and at the SWAT agents swarming the area to assess the situation, before it turned and walked away, its face a steely neutral as it departed from the area.
MISSION SUCCESSFUL