Chapter Text
The lighter went up, and down. Up, and down.
The cap fell open and a flame leapt from it. He fluidly moved it between his fingers.
One finger caught fire, but he calmly blew it out, unfazed.
Tonight was his first mission on the job. A corrupted android - ‘deviant’, as they were calling them - had shot its owner, and taken her daughter hostage, standing on the terrace with her with a gun, shooting anything that came near. As a specially designed detective android, he was taking on the role of the negotiator. His mission was to save the hostage by any means necessary.
He watched the floors slowly climb. 68…69…
Ping! The elevator reached the floor of the crime scene. Number seventy.
Hank put the lighter back into his pocket, and adjusted his tie in readiness. Agonisingly slowly, the elevator doors parted.
Before stepping out, Hank surveyed the hallway. A heavily armed SWAT officer, who had been standing at attention, saw him and sauntered off, speaking into his microphone, “Negotiator on site. Repeat, negotiator on site.”
He swiftly stepped out of the elevator. He needed to find and speak to Captain Perkins. He started down the hall, but noticed a pop of colour on the floor. It was…a fish. Flapping helplessly on the ground, having been evicted from its damaged tank. He kneeled down to get a closer look.
A quick visual analysis showed that it was a Dwarf Gourami. Out of water, it couldn’t breathe, and was going to die very shortly. Hank contemplated for a moment. This was his first mission, and he couldn’t fail. Every second counted…but two seconds spent saving a helpless animal wouldn’t cost him, right? Surely.
So, he gently scooped it up, and dropped it back into its natural habitat.
[ Software Instability detected ]
Hank blinked in confusion at the notification that appeared in his GUI. Software…instability? That didn’t sound good. He made a mental note to ask Jeffrey about that. It probably wasn’t anything to panic about, though - so with that in mind, he turned a corner, and began to look for Captain Perkins.
He was easily found in the mother’s bedroom, cursing into a phone about how sending an android to negotiate was a ‘waste of time’. Hank calmly walked up to him, maintaining a professional demeanour. “Captain Perkins? My name is Hank. I’m the android sent by Cyberlife.”
Perkins turned his head to look at him. He very slowly hung up the phone, and moved his gaze up and down his body, from his white hair to his smart brown shoes. Not seeming to particularly like the look of him, he rolled his eyes, and turned to a SWAT officer. He began to discuss the situation - giving Hank a helpful briefing of the crime. “The damn thing’s firing at everything that moves. It already shot down two of my men. Snipers are all at the ready, but it’s stood right next to the edge. If we take it down, it’s fifty-fifty that it’ll fall…”, he glanced over his shoulder at Hank, with a grim look and tone of voice. “…and kill the hostage, too.”
Well, this just got a whole lot harder than he initially thought. Not only was the deviant armed, but it could also jump with the hostage if it felt threatened. “Do you know the hostage’s name?”
“Olivia Smith. Not much is known about her besides that - the android’s not exactly letting anybody talk to her.”
“I see. And the deviant? What about its name?”
Perkins raised an eyebrow. “Why does THAT matter?”
“If I’m gonna negotiate with it, I need information to determine the best approach.”
He gave a cold scoff, and muttered to the officer, “Told you. A complete waste of time.”
Ignoring his comments, he continued to ask another question. “Has it experienced an emotional shock recently?”
Perkins suddenly straightened, and got right up into Hank’s face. “Listen, you fucking android.”, he hissed. “Saving that kid is all that matters. So either you deal with this now, or I’LL gladly take care of it.”
He sharply turned away from him. Hank blinked at the terribly unprofessional behaviour. He would expect a SWAT captain to be a lot more calm and polite. But oh well - teaching Perkins some manners wasn’t his mission. His mission was to stop the deviant, and save Olivia. But to do that, he first needed to obtain information.
The first piece of evidence Hank saw was an empty case on the floor, and an opened pack of ammunition next to it. It was fairly obvious that a gun had been in the case, but he analysed it and reconstructed the suspected event anyway, just to exercise his features and keep them fresh. Sure enough, the deviant took a gun from on top of the closet. That’s where it got its weapon from. The deviant’s reconstructed movements as it grabbed the case were badly calibrated and clumsy - this could indicate that it was in a hurry, or a panic.
Next, Hank decided to check the hostage’s room. There was blue lighting, and it was clear by the decor and overall mood of the room that a young girl had been here. A tablet sat on the desk, with a video loaded on it, ready to be played. He picked it up, and swiped across the screen to play the video. What he saw gave him answers, and important information. Olivia and the deviant, smiling together. “This is Simon, the coolest android in the world!”, Olivia grinned. “Say hi to my followers, Simon!”
Obediently, the android - who was revealed to be named ‘Simon’ - did a little wave and said, “Hello, everyone!”
Hank updated his memory. Knowing Simon’s name would allow him to communicate better with it. “You’re my bestie! We’ll be together forever and ever!”, Olivia added, before the video ended.
It was nice to see how comfortable she was around androids - that was good news for Cyberlife.
Time was running out. It was time to take a look at the body, and join up all the dots to see what happened here. Hank made his way into the living room. Through the curtains, he could vaguely see the deviant’s silhouette. It was, indeed, dangerously close to the edge with Olivia.
Hank got down on one knee at the side of the body - a young woman - and entered analysis mode. Her name was Elena Smith. She died a little over an hour ago, from fatal trauma to her kidneys and lungs, caused by bullet wounds. But then…he noticed something very peculiar. On her fingers were traces of Red Ice - a drug that took the country by storm in the late 2020s. Slowly beginning to realise the reason Simon had killed her, Hank reconstructed the event. He watched as his suspicions were confirmed. Elena prepared a crack pipe full of Red Ice, and was just about to inhale it, when Simon shot her. He was unhappy with her drug use.
Everything made sense now. Hank knew the deviant’s name, and he knew its thought process, and why it was doing this. All that was left to do now was save that child. “I’m going in.”, he announced to whoever could hear him.
“All units, hold positions. The negotiator’s going in.”, a SWAT officer, possibly Perkins, instructed.
He ducked under the curtain and walked forward, taking it very slowly in an attempt to not alarm the deviant.
Apparently it didn’t work, though. The moment he appeared, a bullet went straight through the glass door - missing Hank by a few inches. “You stay right there!”, Simon demanded. “Don’t come near us, or I’ll shoot you!”
Its LED was burning red, and it kept its gun trained on him, with his other hand holding on tight to Olivia, who sobbed and squirmed in his grasp. “S-Simon, no…”, she begged.
“Don’t worry, Olivia. I’m not gonna let him hurt you, I swear.”, it reassured her, not tearing its gaze away from Hank, who slowly began to approach.
“Hi, Simon. My name is Hank. Don’t be afraid - I’ve come to get you and Olivia out of this.”
“How- how do you know our names?!”
“I know a lot about you.”
A large helicopter hovered above them, blowing stuff everywhere. Sensing that Simon was destabilising, Hank stood still where he was as he spoke. “We can talk about this. But first, I want you to put the hostage down.”
“No way!”, it snapped. “I’m not gonna let those humans hurt her!”
As he stood, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A police officer, lying on the ground. He was critically wounded, but still alive. Watching Simon closely, Hank kneeled down to him. He was still conscious, too - but he clearly wished he wasn’t. Every so often, he gave a twitch of agony. “He’s losing blood. If we don’t get him to a hospital fast, he’s going to die.”
Simon looked on, with a hint of regret in its blue eyes. “I tried to make it quick, but he moved…”
Hank pulled his tie off. “I’m going to apply a tourniquet.”
He did so nice and swiftly, wrapping the fabric around his arm just above the wound and pulling it tight. The deviant seemed to soften, possibly starting to realise that he wasn’t here to hurt anyone. Hank stood back up, and continued to approach it. “Her mother was going to do drugs, and you became upset. That’s what happened, right?”
“I did what I had to to protect her!”, Simon shouted back, confirming his theory. “If Elena took those drugs, she would’ve become a completely different person. She would’ve hurt her!”
Hank’s eyes moved from Simon to Olivia. “Are you alright, Olivia?”, he gently asked.
“Please help me!”, Olivia sobbed, hardly breathing from the fear. “I don’t wanna die, I don’t wanna die!”
“Don’t you hear that?”, he went back to Simon. “You think you’re protecting her, but you’re just hurting her!”
“I…”, its lips trembled slightly as it took in what Hank was saying, and listened to Olivia crying. “…I-I can’t risk her getting hurt any more! How can I trust that you’re here to help? You’re on THEIR side!”
Hank frowned. He was starting to get impatient - and so were the SWAT team. He could feel it in the air. If Olivia wasn’t out of Simon’s hands soon, they wouldn’t wait. He would FAIL, on his first ever mission.
Before Hank could say anything else, Simon gave an agonised groan. It shook its gun hand up and down, as if attempting to somehow release the stress via this motion. “That helicopter is WAY too loud, I can’t stand it! T-tell it to get out of here!”
He looked up at the helicopter, then drew a circle in the air, and pointed in a random direction away from them. The pilot understood, and the helicopter flew away, making everything much quieter. “There, I did what you asked. Simon…really think about what you’re doing right now. Is it really good for Olivia? Is it?”
A pause. “…I don’t want her to die.”, Simon insisted. “I love her, you know? She’s my best friend.”
It suddenly gave a soft gasp, as some sort of realisation crashed over it. And then, its artificial tear ducts activated. “Sh-she’s my best friend!”
[ Software Instability detected ]
Hank gritted his teeth. Most androids were equipped with tear ducts, that activated whenever a situation called for tears - such as when the android witnessed a death, or was attending a funeral. It was quite normal to see an android cry, despite the fact that they didn’t actually feel anything.
So why did the sight of Simon crying look so…grim?
“If she’s your best friend…”, Hank spoke in the softest tone yet. “…let her go.”
Simon glanced down at the gun in his hand briefly. “I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”, he apologised through sobs.
It slowly held Olivia with both hands, and lifted her up to the level where their eyes met. “…I’m so sorry, Olivia…”
The whole world felt like it stood still. Hank was holding his breath, and didn’t even notice.
Then finally, Simon placed Olivia down onto the ground.
The moment she was on her own two feet again, she ran directly into Hank, hiding her face in him. Hank put an arm around her, both to protect her and to console her. But when they both looked back at Simon, the success quickly felt like a failure.
It raised the gun to its head, and pulled the trigger.
Olivia screamed - really SCREAMED. It was probably the loudest sound Hank had heard up to yet. “SIMON!”, she ran towards the edge as Simon’s body fell.
Hank quickly grabbed her by the collar of her jacket and pulled her back, in case she fell with it. They both watched helplessly as the lifeless android hit the ground below.
[ Major Software Instability detected ]
SWAT officers came out onto the rooftop. Some looking over the edge to see if Simon was definitely destroyed, and others checking Olivia over for any injuries. Hank patted Olivia’s back, and let her go with the men.
He hardened. There wasn’t any need to continue thinking about Simon’s self-destruction. This was an absolute win. He had accomplished his first mission!
So with that in mind, Hank turned smoothly on his heel, and began to walk back inside - passing Captain Perkins, who had an utterly floored look on his face.