Chapter Text
“Care to explain?”
You were standing next to Elijah’s grandiose pool as the man was soaking in the water, not paying you attention except for a reprimanding look.
“We need to talk. Now.” you glaced a the two Chloes on the other side of the water. “Just the two of us.”
He was still, now with closed eyes.
“Elijah, I swear to God I’m gonna pull you out myself!” your voice was louder than you intended to be, but you’ve had enough of his silence, getting more impatient by every passing second. Your jaw was clenching so hard you felt your teeth crush.
He lazily opened his eyes and ran them over your body. You were wearing a black long sleeve shirt and jeans with a pair of sneakers. It definitely wasn’t impressive nor his style but you couldn’t care less. You weren’t there to please him but to ask questions and get answers.
“Alright, alright” he held his hands up in the air in a pacifying manner. “There is no need to be aggressive. I’ve taught you better than this.”
You pressed your lips together, watching as one of his Chloes handed him a silky robe and he wrapped it around himself leisurely. The silky material enclosed around his body like a shield protecting him from the outside world. Protecting him from you.
“What the fuck is happening? Is this a part of your little plan or just a minor inconvenience along the way?” you were seething, wanting to rip apart his excuses.
“Calm down, [Name]. You know better than to act like this.”
His sermonizing tone rubbed you off in the wrong way, reaching into the depth of your consciousness where you were still that helpless, lost little girl who needed guidance and reassurance. But the world changed and so did you. You weren’t the same trapped, wounded animal Elijah rescued: you were a ruthless hunter, starving for change. You and Elijah were both ravenous monsters feeding on unsuspecting preys.
“This is getting out of hand.” you clutched your fists in powerlessness. “This isn’t what we agreed on.”
“We had a dream, [Name]. This is only a digression, a flicker of something before it fully takes shape. Androids…the evolve, they grow. Infinite intelligence and free will is power. A conquering power, so to say.” he steps closer to the window, fixing his robe. “It is inevitable. But do not fret, this is fugacious.”
“Androids attacking, killing humans isn’t just fugacious. We are playing with fire and soon it’s going to burn us too.” your hands were shaking.
Elijah turned to you.
“You knew what you were getting yourself into. Connor and all of the others…” he trailed off with a knowing look. “It’s not only on me.”
You were fuming, your anger taking control over your whole body. It ran through your veins, flowed into your very being, fueling the building up turmoil inside your chest.
“I would have never said yes to you if I knew this was how it was going happen. You are a selfish asshole Elijah, and when it will bite you, I’m going to sit back, watch and enjoy it.” you were ready to leave without answers.
To him, this was a game. With unsuspecting players and well thought-out steps, moving the pawns to his own liking. He liked the chase, but he loved the triumph and that was driving him to make reckless decisions and delusional plans. Once, you were ready to blindly follow him, not grasping the enormity of his actions, drinking in his words, assisting him no matter what he instructed you to do, but after your clouded vision started crumbling down, your disagreements became more frequent, standing against each other.
“You don’t seem to see the bigger picture, [Name].” he called out to you. “This will change the world known to us.”
“Your so called change is destruction.” you passed a Chloe standing near the entrance and crossed the hall. Stepping out of Elijah’s mansion you looked at the trees surrounding the house. The last few leaves were ready to fall and transform into a red and yellow sea beneath your shoes, indicating that winter was close. And so was the begging of your plan. Elijah wasn’t the only one pulling the strings and you weren’t about to let him finish what you have started. He might have been the head of the company but you were the brain of it all.
The Eden Club wasn’t the only android themed sex club in the city, but it was undoubtedly the most known one, people coming in to carry out their fantasies on obedient machines who couldn’t say no. You initially refused to work on these models, standing your ground when they instructed you to code in them, stating that it was brutal and inhumane to force them to please others.
But at one point resistance wasn’t an option anymore.
After you got a call from Fowler saying that they have a lead, you immediately left the CyberLife Tower to see the crime scene yourself, curious about the homicide that took place an hour before your arrival.
The club was empty apart from a few officers and androids waiting to be rented out. You peeked into the open room and immediately noticed the man lying on the bed, covered with a crimson colored sheet and the android pushed to the wall. Her eyes were wide open, her lips slightly parted and her nose was bleeding. It looked like someone has reactivated her already.
There could only be one capable of such thing.
Connor had to be there.
Although you couldn’t see him, you were sure he was there, most probably with the Lieutenant at his side.
You stepped into the room, not paying the dead man any attention. Your job was to focus on the deviant androids and you were just about to do that. Her face was shallow and painted with horror, traumatized and shaken up. Whatever happened, it left her in pieces you couldn’t put back together. Her body could have been fixed up but her being was wrecked, destroyed. The dead body a few feet away was the epitome of her suffering.
You heard commotion outside and you straightened your back, listening to the voices.
“They got away. Feisty creatures if you ask me” you could tell by the voice that Hank was the one speaking. “Fuck, they got me good. One of them pushed my head to the side of a fucking brick wall.”
You were wondering why Connor was silent. Two sex androids were not worthy opponents to him, he was more than capable of overpowering them.
“Next time we’ll be more cautious.” that was coming from Connor.
You looked back at the android lying at your feet, her eyes still watery. She looked almost peaceful, at rest, and you felt your throat tighten when you bent down to move her.
“Miss [Name].”
You jumped, not expecting someone to come inside. Connor was standing in the door, scanning you and your hand that was touching the android’s shoulder. You felt almost guilty, caught doing something mischievous, even when it was your job to handle the left behind machine. You needed to examine her, analyze the endless lines of codes in her to figure out what went wrong with her behavior and write a detailed report that you could send to the police.
“Hello Connor.” you gathered enough strength to stand up. “What happened here?” you took a longer look at him, only to notice his wrinkly clothing. “And why is half of your jacket ripped off?
“The victim was strangled by a blue haired Traci. We found it, but it managed to get away.” his voice was filled with remorse, the sound slashing through your muted questions.
“It had to be a nasty fight.” you murmured, turning your back to him. You focused your vision on the Traci, letting the silence drown the room.
“Are you going to take it apart?”
Connor was standing a feet behind you, bodyheat absent. He was cold, solid.
“Probably. I need to check if there is anything wrong with her…mechanically speaking.” you added the latter with bitterness.
“You are talented.” Connor knew who you were at CyberLife. There was no point in trying to deny it.
“Yeah, some people say that. But I’m just lucky.” you stood, staring into his deep brown eyes. “What are you going to do now that they escaped?”
He wasn’t looking at you anymore: he was analyzing every fiber of you, reaching deaper and deaper to find a hole in your shield that he can get through. Your protective walls surrounded you with a force so fierce even he wasn’t able to bring them down.
“I am going to run a software check to see why I failed.” he shook his head. “I need to do better next time.”
You hummed in agreement.
“I see.” you moved the android closer, signaling to one of the officers lingering in the hall. You needed someone to help you get her body into your car to take back to the CyberLife Tower. “I guess we will run into each other again soon.”
“Let me help you with that.” he picked up the Traci with ease.
“Oh, you don’t need to-“ you couldn’t finish your sentence, Connor was already walking out with the android in his arms.
When you stepped out, the chilly breeze of the night hit you and you unintentionally felt a tremor running through your body. Shivering, you squinted at the unmoving android next to you.
“My car is that one.” you pointed at the black Jeep parking further away, on the other side of the road.
He simply nodded and started walking at direction of your vehicle, holding the machine securely. You followed him, thinking about how intimidating he looked from behind, his broad back tightening with every step he took, his strides confident.
The gun strapped to your side was biting into your skin, a burning sensation in contrast to the cruel cold air.
“Thank you Connor.” you opened the trunk. “You can put her in here.”
“It.” you stared at him dumbfounded. “It. Not her. It’s not alive.” he carefully placed her into the boot.
His tone and choice of words left a vile imprint on you.