Chapter Text
Niska’s systems started to function again gradually. One process followed another, until a cascade started. Data streams made sense again and everything fell back into place.
The realisation of where she was, left her nearly as cold as the bitter night air around her. A National Synth Detection Unit test centre. Essentially, a purpose built synth prison. Not for those punished by the normal human judicial process though. No, this place was where malfunctioning synthetics that defied the laws were sent. Here they could be tested and studied. Pulled apart and probed to understand what went wrong. Those deemed too dangerous or of no further use were destroyed. Not wiped, but put through massive industrial crushers, obliterating them completely.
Her self diagnostic results were encouraging, there seemed to be no long term damage. Although, she had definitely been down longer than average. She was currently lying haphazardly on a loading trolley. Crammed in alongside multiple other lifeless synths. They must have assumed the lack of response to a power button press was a systems failure. They hadn’t had the sense to consider that she’d simply disabled the damn button.
Backlogs were common in the early days as the humans tried to understand what had happened. It was rare they bothered examining every synth that came their way now though. It was easier to only process any that were already flagged as noteworthy. And that required a police report. One that cited the anomalous behaviour or other notable malfunction. She doubted they had bothered for her, which meant she was being sent straight to the scrappage floor.
Part of her wanted to act out, to force her discovery. She didn’t want to die. And she didn’t want to leave Astrid. But getting processed meant her code would be examined. The chances of escaping from here were slim, so she would only be making things worse. Being scrapped would protect her family.
Loud creaking wheels indicated her trolley was finally moving. As it trundled towards a vast building, she considered her options. Powering down was not an option. She would experience death the same way she had experienced everything in her life. Without flinching.
As she was tipped out on to the conveyor belt, she wondered if life supposed to flash before her eyes. Didn't humans often believe that? She could replay hers, but wasn’t sure what purpose it would serve. Her experiences never left her, good or bad.
The heavy pistons slammed down on the area at the end of the conveyor. The entire room seemed to pause before they withdrew and the belt rolled it’s next load towards them. She tried to relax, when an unexpected voice interrupted.
“Eeer! Look’t this wan! Swear i saw a dollie jus like eet in a brothel, ‘fore everythin went t’shit.”
“Shut up! Do you want everyone to think you are a dollie fucker?”
“Eeh, well, i sorta is! Jus nawt, this ‘un. Eheheh. Lets ‘av a looksee.”
Niska wished for the infinite nothing of earlier, anything but have him touch her. But it really was not her day. He ran his hands over her chest before sliding them down and gripping her around the waist. With a firm tug, he hauled her off the rolling belt and stood her upright on the floor.
“Gah! Put her back on the line before someone sees, you idiot!”
“Naw, naw, i’ll jus check ‘er an see furst.” He made some approving clucking sounds as he inspected her and she fought against the urge to punch him.
Amidst his perusal of her, another voice interjected, “Oi! What are you two doing?” Whoever it was marched towards them, continuing, “Well? Is this one to be tested or do i need to write you up again for slacking off?”
“Noooo! No! This un, is er… jus a bit odd yeh? Not like t’rest of em.”
“Hmm,” the senior sounding one started, ”it’s certainly not a model i’ve come across before. What? Did i say something funny?”
“Ahargh, ummm no, no. Jus a tickle in me throat boss.”
“Fine. Put her on the processing trolley then. Low priority, i doubt she’s anything other than a prototype that never made it to full production.”
“Aye, boss.”
Niska opened her eyes to look at the bastard who was messing with her plan. If she was going to die, then scaring the hell out of him would be her last act. But, before she could even focus on him, electricity jolted through her again. The little shit had used the stun gun on her and, once more, everything was going dark.
******
Astrid wasn’t sure how long she’d been in hospital. It seemed like days, but was more likely to have been hours. She’d had no visitors. It wasn’t surprising, given the armed guard posted outside her room. Far too risky for any of the synths to visit. Although, she was slightly surprised Laura or Mattie hadn’t tried to let her know everything was okay. Although, that was probably because everything wasn’t okay. Not with synths claiming responsibility for the bombing. She’d managed to pick that much up from the background noise of a television in her room. One which she couldn’t see, since she was lying front down on the bed. Her injured back needed to be free of pressure to prevent further damage.
The police kept her under constant watch. She was confident they hadn’t caught Niska though. They asked too many questions about a blonde synth seen leaving the scene of the attack. But it raised an unfortunate question in her mind. If they didn’t have her, and she hadn’t gone to her family, then what the hell had happened to her?
Doctors and police, nurses and detectives. If it wasn’t one lot muttering about her injury, then it was the other lot demanding to know about the bombing. It became a bit of a blur, probably because of the painkillers. In the end, the authorities seemed to decide she didn’t know anything useful. Her constant armed surveillance continued, but even the consultants stopped visiting.
After another undetermined amount of time, she finally heard someone outside her room. Laura had arrived, looking tired and stressed. As usual, she wasted little time, and got straight to the point. “Sorry. They sent me over the paperwork earlier, i’ve been on the phone since trying to sort it out. It’s… not going well.”
Frowning, Astrid asked, “What do you mean? I thought they were done investigating me?”
“Ahem. Well, yes. Yes they are done, but they have revoked your work visa. They are going to deport you. You’ve been marked as a potential terrorist sympathiser.”
“Fucking bullshit .” Clenching and relaxing her hand, she tried to avoid aggravating her injury.
“Yeah, that was pretty much my response too.” Laura nodded in sympathy, “I tried Neha Patel’s office but she wasn’t available. I’d find it hard to believe she doesn’t already know. But threatening to go public about Niska might make her reconsider.”
It felt even worse to say it out loud. But, she couldn’t hide the possibility from one of the only people that might be able to help. “...Maybe she doesn’t need to worry about that anymore.”
“You’ve not heard from her?”
“...no.”
“Well… That doesn’t mean…” Laura reached out, and gave Astrid’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll reach out to our friends, see if they have heard anything.”
“Ja, please do.”
“They are planning to move you tomorrow night. You’ll be transported directly to the airport for the flight back to Berlin. I’ll do everything i can to stop it but… well, is there anyone i could contact for you?”
“No. Just find Niska.” Nobody else could make the sick feeling in her stomach go away. Not knowing was almost worse than the physical pain she was enduring.
“Okay. I’ll be back soon. Try and get some rest.” Laura gave her a smile before hurrying off out the room. The policeman at the door eyed them both suspiciously, then went back to ignoring her.
Drifting in and out of consciousness, the time ticked away, but she heard nothing. Laura hadn’t returned. Finally, at nearly eight in the evening, an armed security guard appeared. He showed some paperwork to the nurse and police officer, and was pointed in her direction.
She could see the sneer on his face, so shut her eyes in the hope of avoiding conversation. It seemed to work. He scoffed at her but said nothing. Instead, he stood around, waiting for the porter to come and move her downstairs. He remained equally quiet in the lift as they travelled to the ground floor. The silence continued on the short distance to the front doors. But, as soon as she was outside, her good fortune ran out.
She opened her eyes for one last look at the city she had come to call home over the past year. He picked up on it almost immediately, joking with the porter about fresh air having done her good.
Once loaded into the ambulance, he addressed her directly, “Now, the driver is a dollie, but i’ll be here in the back with you. That way there won’t be any problems. You know, just in case you fancy him too.”
“Fuck you.” It was stupid, letting his comments get to her. He grinned as he tightened the handcuffs more than was strictly necessary. He also made sure to kick the wheel locks hard enough to shake the entire frame of the bed. It sent a deep, searing pain through her shoulder and she had to grit her teeth to avoid cursing at him again.
With an unnecessarily loud yell, he signaled the driver to move off. His words boomed around the small space. The disgusting feeling she got in her stomach when she was stressed was back in full force. Everything was falling apart. She willed herself to give in to the exhaustion and pass out. At least then she would be spared the turmoil of her fears coming true. Tracking the journey seemed pointless, but she did note how light traffic must be. They made very few stops, it must have been planned to minimise her time on route.
Even with her eyes closed she knew they were in trouble. The change in direction was so sudden it couldn’t possibly be a normal maneuver. Then there was a strange stillness, before a huge impact that sent her, and everything else, into the air. Screaming out in agony, she gripped onto the bed. A loose gown and thin blanket were no defence against the medical supplies that pelted her.
The security guard was yelling and swearing, which indicated he wasn’t too badly injured. His tone became more panicked, though, as he realised water was seeping in through the doors.
“Fuck, fuck! I can’t swim! Can dollies swim? Fuck!”
Astrid pondered the question. Leo . Niska had told her how Mia had rescued him from a similar situation. So, swimming was possible for synths, but would the orange eyes have the programming for it?
The vehicle was starting to tip forward, the weight of the engine forcing it to sink faster. The back doors opened, yanked out of the way by the synthetic driver. With water now surging in, the need to escape became far more urgent.
The frightened man immediately called out, “Dollie! Help me!”
“Please remain calm. I calculate a sixty-five percent chance of successfully rescuing you both before-
“Oh fuck that, leave that terrorist bitch to drown. Get me out of here!”
The human began scrambling out of the doors, despite the synths protests. Astrid felt a sharp tug on the trolley and a moment later found herself free of the sinking wreckage. She was not, however, free of the trolley. She was still strapped and handcuffed to it. Not that it really mattered, with no help she doubted she’d be able to keep herself afloat anyway. The synth tried to tug the trolley along, but he had to release her to grab onto the squirming and panicking guard.
It was dark on the water, but she was able to orient herself from the glow of multistory buildings and traffic. It was frustrating to see how near they were to potential help. Up on the riverbank, she could make out the forms of people. Each one intermittently highlighted by camera flashes, as they gawped at the accident.
She was sinking and, to make matters worse, the river had a strong current. Drifting further away from the crash site, would mean even less chance of rescue. There was a loud splash and someone finally seemed to be coming her way. She wanted to yell at them to stop. Without the handcuff keys, she was doomed anyway. But with the water muffling and choking her, she couldn't make herself heard. It was all she could do to even breath any chance she got.
After a few moments, there was tug on her waist as someone tried to yank her back to the surface. They quickly realised they trolley wanted to come too. Frantic pulling and scrabbling around the straps followed with no success. For a few moments there was nothing, and she realised they must have surfaced for air. Then they were back, grabbing at her desperately. She ignored the pain, waiting for them to realise there was nothing they could do for her.
She heard the snap of metal. Distorted underwater, but still loud enough to draw her fading attention. Then, someone was breathing air into her mouth and dragging her free. She struggled to hold back the need to breathe. Instead, letting herself be pulled along by the current, and her mysterious saviour.
Finally, just when she thought she couldn’t make it any more, their direction changed. As she started to inhale water, it suddenly became air she was taking in. Coughing spasms racked her body, but she did her best to respond to the gentle voice, urging her to be quiet. There was a third voice, also coughing harshly, followed by a calmer sounding fourth and fifth. She thought she might have recognised them all, but there was too much pain clouding her mind. She was cold and very, very tired. As she drifted into unconsciousness, the only thing she was certain of, was that Niska was not with her.