"So... What are you gonna do when dad finds out about this?"

The smoke poured from Mason's mouth as he spoke, a slightly questioning look was plastered on his face, along with his usual half-smile that came from the drug he was smoking.

James just shook his head, more at the fact that his brother was getting high this early in the day. Truth be told, he had no idea what he was going to do when his father was going to find out, which was, unfortunately, inevitable. There was no doubt that him and his brother were going to have to endure yet another lecture about something he could care less about, but to James, it was worth it, seeing as how he had helped someone who really looked like she needed it. With a small sigh, he shrugged and turned to Mason.

"You know what? I have no clue. Probably just explain to him the situation. I mean, what was I supposed to do? Just let that ass hole treat her like a peice of shit? Like some other whore in the bar? No. You and I both know that I wasn't going to let that happen."

"Such a saint," was Mason's reply. He didnt want to admit it, but he too was starting to grow a soft spot for the hardcore druggie from a lower district. "Look, all I am saying is that you need to watch it. You dont even know her that well, actually, hardly at all. For all we know, she could be some kind of a theif, a murderer. I mean, you met her last night, for crying out loud!"

James opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of Vander's voice.

"Thanks. Best shower I've had in ages."

James turned, and a small smile formed on his face, complimented by heated and now somewhat rosy cheeks. Mason rolled his eyes. "You're very welcome," James said, "Shall we go? I know a nice, small place where we can go to eat. It isnt too big, and it has good food."

---

She forced a smile. Eating somewhere small sounded best. If she found herself unable to last through breakfast, an event she internally prayed would not happen, Vander wouldn't cause a scene by leaving abruptly. "Small place, good food...sounds nice."

She made her way to the door where she had left her worn black combat boots the night before and grabbed them. Vander sat on the edge of the couch to tie the laces. No matter how much she tried to hide it, her hands tremored just slightly. Lucid. Another reminder that she needed a fix. She took a steadying breath once her boots were on, crushing the urge for what felt like the thousandth time that morning.

Standing, she looked to James and Mason, ready to go.

---

Henry Jamison smiled as a man, dressed head-to-toe in a suie made of some of the finest materials in Ancora, sat down across from him at a small table in one of the many Five-star restaraunts in District 0. The two men shook hands and placed the fabric napkins on their laps. A waiter came by and smiled at the two men.

"Hello. Welcome to Cicada. My name is Phillip, and I will be your server for today. As you notice here, we have the House Special; composed o-"

"Thank you, Phillip," Henry interrupted, smiling politely, "but we wont be eating today. Could you just get me a Martini. That would be nice. And my friend will be having-"

"Just a water, please," the well dressed man said.

The waiter nodded and walked away, leaving the two men alone to talk. Henry looked at the man and smiled slightly.

"It's good to see you, John, or should I say, Supreme Cheif of Police."

John shook his head and held up a hand. "No, please, call me John. We have been friends for a long time, no need to change titles just because of our positions, eh?" Henry nodded, and John continued. "I asked you to meet me because-" The waiter came by with the drinks and placed them on the table. Once the drinks were served, and the waiter gone, he continued. "Because a case came up, and it involves you indirectly..."

Henry raised an eyebrow and took a sip of his drink. "Continue."

"You see, there was a murder in one of the lower districts, District 10, to be exact. The police there found a body of a young woman who was at a club called The Spit, last night. Although we have a main suspect, some low life fighter there, we still need to question everyone who was there that night, and it just so happens that your two sons were there. That means we need to question them, as well, and once we do, it is sure to go to the public, which would mean bad publicity for you."

Henry nodded and took another drink. There was silence for a while, save th other sounds of patrons eating, and the soft melodies of an ancient song "Moonlight Serenade" by Glenn Miller, playing in the background. After some time, the soon-to-be president spoke. "John, thank you for telling me this. Now, you and I have been good friends for a while, have we not? Right. I thought so. So then I have a favor to ask of you. If there is any way possible, I need you to dismiss the case altogether. The girl is no one important. She is lower District trash. So it isnt that big of a deal. People down there die all the time. What is another? In exchange, I can reward you with a good incentive, a pay-raise, for your troubles.."

The Supreme Cheif of Police nodded, and the two finished their drinks and went their separate ways.

---

James and Mason, along with their guest, arrived at a small, homy looking restaruant a couple of blocks away from their apartment. Cafe Pinot, athough small, was near full capacity with people having brunch. The two men walked in, and were greeted by a rather snooty looking man with a slightly French accent. He greeted the two men with a smile on his face; one that faded slightly when he caught sight of their female guest. Managing the best polite smile he could muster, he ushered the three to a seat in the back patio of the restaurant. The walk to the table itself was like the march of convicts to the gallows. Almost everyone had their eyes on the small group, especially on the female with the outrageous hair cut, black combat boots, plugs, and other non-District 1 attire.

---

Despite the fact that she was exhausted and distracted, Vander couldn't help but smirk slightly at the stares. Even though she was dressed better than she ever had in years, and looked more put-together than she had in months, it was still clear that she didn't belong.

Once seated, they were offered menus, and had their drink orders taken. James looked up at the sun and smiled as the warmth met his face, obviously unphased by the looks given to the group. Mason, who was wearing a pair of green sunglasses to hide his bloodshot eyes, seemed to be fully invested on something other than the menu, then muttered something about thinking that he had slept with the female on one of the other tables, before shaking his head and returning his attention to his menu.

After some time, James brought his face down and turned his head in the direction of Vander. "So," he mumbled, "What are you getting? I think the eggs and French toast sounds good."

---

Vander glanced down at her menu, looking through the vast array of offered meals. Eggs, pancakes, skillets, sides of bacon and toast and hash browns. A year ago, maybe even a few months ago, her mouth would have been watering. But now, the thought of a large meal only caused her face to visibly grow a few shades paler. She slowly set the menu down, shaking her head. "I'm fine with just toast. Something small," she answered quietly.

---

James nodded and opened his mouth to speak, when the waiter came back to hand out the drinks. Mason laughed, nodding and turning over to the group, after looking at the girl again, to confirm that he had, indeed, slept with her. James shook his head and turned to the waiter, ordering his breakfast, and the toast for Vander. Mason ordered a skillet. Once the waiter had left with the order, James turned his head back to Vander.

"So, Vander. I don't think we've really had to have the chance to talk much. Why dont you tell me a bit about yourself. What are your hobbies? Interests? Where did you go to school?"

---

She fixed him with an uncomfortable look. The small talk would work in other circumstances, with other people. But Vander had to consider her answers carefully. She tapped a finger against the table as she spoke, growing more obviously stressed by the second. "I was homeschooled, actually. My dad, and some tutors. I ended up getting my graduation degree when I was sixteen."

Vander paused, running a hand habitually through her hair and brushing it back out of her face. "I was going to head to Bohr's Post-Secondary. Took a year off to try to save up some money...." she trailed off, realizing she was heading into dangerous territory. She had started her college fund off by synthesizing street drugs in her basement. Not exactly something she wanted to proudly admit to. "Um...it just didn't really work out."

She shrugged awkwardly, the finger tapping resuming. Anxiety. Restlessness. She needed Lucid, and it was taking a truly tremendous effort to continue the conversation. "What about you?" she asked, directing the question primarily back at James, but also at Mason.

---

Mason turned to James, who had turned to Mason, and they both smiled. As if it was rehearsed, the two started their dialogue.

"We both go to Westpoint Medical College," said Mason.

"Paid, all expenses, by our lovely father, Henry Jamison, and mother, Caroline Jamison."

"They let us leave District 0 to live here in District 1, so long as we behaved ourselves, and stayed out of trouble."

"Which so far, we have been doing, for the most part," James said with a small wink.

"We both like to party," Mason added, "Although I think I am more the party type. Oh, and I'm the druggie of the family, if you couldn't tell already. Father doesnt approve much, but I am not throwing my life away using them, so he doesn't really care." The man stopped suddenly as his sentence registered in his head. He mentally slapped himself, but he couldn't apologize out loud, or esle James would figure something out.

Before any of them could say anything more, the food arrived. The waiter refilled drinks that needed to be refilled, and then left promptly. James quickly dived into his meal, cutting a piece of his French toast after drenching it in Butter Pecan syrup, and taking a bite. He let out a loud "mmm" and closed his eyes as he swallowed the sweet morsel.

---

Vander stared at her toast as it arrived. Two slices of rye, buttered lightly. Mason's words had hit hard, seeming almost like a physical blow. She picked up a slice of toast in her thin fingers, nibbling on the edge of the crust. Her other hand subconsciously continued to tap an anxious rhythm against the tabletop. The toast probably tasted fine, but it was bland on her tongue. A few forced bites later, she set it down again.

She took a slow breath, looking as though she was possibly on the verge of tears. Stay. You can fight it. Just stay. Don't think about it. She picked up the slice of toast again, unaware of the handful of strange looks she was getting. Her hand trembled violently, and it fell back to the plate. Eat something. Stay. St-.

"I-I'm sorry," she stammered out, rising from her chair. A wave of lightheadedness caught her, and the world around her swayed for a half a second before steadying itself. "I've got to go, I'm sorry."

She was already walking, even as she was finishing talking, making a beeline for the entrance. District 16 was a hell of a walk away. But she knew that desperation would get her back to her apartment, back to the precious hypodermic that she so badly craved.

---

A hand shot out and grabbed the female, stopping her in her tracks. Then came a gruff voice. "Vander Pzypialkowski, you are under arrest."

James shot up from his seat, surprised that Vander had acted the way she had acted, and even more-so surprised that cops had shown up to arrest her, as well. He took a couple of steps towards her, his brother right behind, when he, too, was stopped by a police officer. His hands were brought to his back and cuffed, just like his brother's and Vander's, and they were all led to a couple of District 1 squad cars, shoved inside, and taken away from the restaurant.

[PART 1 OF COLLAB BETWEEN: Ghost Shadow, YoshiSkittlez, and The Roman07]

Kate found herself just staring at Jack for a few moments, the growing silence between them getting more and more awkward before her mind finally caught up with her.

"Oh! OH! No, no I'm alone. I mean...well, not alone but...I don't have company...er...that is to say not until you came here-" She clamped her mouth shut and closed her eyes for a brief moment. Her heart continued to race at a million beats per second, and now she wasn't even completely sure it was because she was trying to harbor a potential murderer downstairs.

"Come on in...I uh...just need to get changed real quick." She finally said, feeling her cheeks growing hot as she opened the door the rest of the way for him to enter her home. Once Jack was inside, she closed the door behind him and found that her hands went to the bottom of her long shirt, trying to keep the fabric from riding up once again.

"Sektor, show Detective Roman to the living room please, and get him what he wants. I'll be right back." She instructed before rather quickly disappearing into her bedroom to throw on something more appropriate.

Sektor looked on curiously as Kate stumbled and stuttered, seeming to fail in searching for the right words. "Recommendation: this unit recommends Katherine Saunders check her vocal emitter for any possible bugs or faults for repair." It advised neutrally. Sektor then looked towards Jack, "Stastics suggest she fears revealing the entirety of her mobile platform to you. This unit has not reached consensus as to why."

Upon hearing Kate command Sektor to take Jack to the living room, it complied with a nod. "Follow." Was its simple command before walking away from the doorway towards the living room. Sektor then seemed to switch gears to a steward bot, cleaning up the couch where Kate had slept the night before, straightening up the pillows and leaving it free of most wrinkles.

Sektor turned on the holovision once more, and set the soap opera it had watched the night before on record, intending to archive every episode. "Would Detective Jack Roman care for a beverage?" Sektor asked curiously, tilting its head towards him. "This unit has completed an extranet search, all beverages appealing to organics have been archived within this platform's databanks."

Jack hardly got a word in before Kate flew out of the room and Sektor escorted him through the apartment. It was quite impressively clean. Most likely the toasters doing no doubt. No offense against Kate, it would just make sense if your smart enough to program robots... you would make one clean up after you. He watched as Sektor sat him in front of the tv and put on some god awful soap opera. Jack didn't even think it was english, possibly one of those Telemundo channels.

"So... toaster." Jack said while attempting to find the remote. "What's it like living here with your ... er maker?" He said, attempting not to feel arkward talking to a machine. "Does she get a lot of guests often? Maybe a roomate besides you? .... I'm assuming she meant you when she said she's not alone, right?" He asked the Toster hopefully getting some accidental information out of him about her and Deon.

"So... toaster." Jack began in a somewhat cautious tone, as if trying to find words. "What's it like living here with your ... er maker?"

Sektor tilted its head from the holovision screen. "This unit has adjusted well. Data has been shared between Katherine Saunders computer systems into this platform's databanks. Data transfer working at 96% efficiency." With that, it looked back at the screen, obviously entranced by the show. "This form of human entertainment has allowed this unit to study and archive a myriad of organic behaviors and traits."

Upon Jack asking if Kate had many guests, Sektor could only dilate its photoreceptor. "No data available." Was the only answer Sektor could give. This answer was half-true. Sektor hadn't been there long enough to know of Kate's company and also it was conflicted with revealing data that could possibly put its creator in danger.

Kate continued to toss one article of clothing to the side after another. Those pants were too dirty, that skirt was too flashy. Where the hell were her jean pants? She tore open her dresser door and rummaged through the miscelaneous clothes, not ever being one to organize her drawers socks, shirts and underwear went flying, making her already dirty room that much more unrecognizable.

"I think they might be in the drier." A deep voice came from the doorway. Stumbling a bit at first thinking that Jack had followed her, Kate regained her balance, turning to see her cousin in the doorway, leaning with a rather amused smirk on his face, but despite looking rather amused, he looked downright tired.

"Do we have any Tylenol?" He asked, rubbing at his blood-shot eyes as Kate then decided she had to settle for something else...sweat pants. Pulling them up, she quickly grabbed Deon's wrist and pulled him into her bedroom, closing the door behind him accidentally making a slamming sound.

"There's a cop in the living room." Kate said to him, which made Deon's eyes widen.

"What? Why? I didn't do nothin I swear!"

Kate ran her nervous, slightly trembling fingers through her tangled mess of brown hair.

"I don't know. I borrowed his coat last night and he says he just came by to get it-"

"What the hell are you doing hanging out with cops?" Deon interjected.

"Just...just stay here and let me figure out what he wants. Promise me you'll stay here..."

Deon remained quiet, getting a rather agitated growl from Kate who then left her bedroom to join Jack and Sektor once more. Her attention then quickly went to the holovision, which Sektor had undoubtedly turned on and winced a bit as to the content on the screen.

"Holovision, off." She commanded, and the program shut down immediately. "I'm sorry, now...what was it that you wanted again?" Kate asked, feeling her voice shake as she spoke slightly, but not before hearing a loud crash of glass coming from her bedroom. Deon was on the run. Bowing her head in defeat, looking to the carpet floor, Kate mumbled.

"Sektor...run database for one Deon Saunders of District 4, prevoiusly District 16. Any and all information is vitally important. Aprehend suspect, last known wereabouts my room. Proceed with extreme caution, subject is-" She looked up, if only for a split second to meet Jack's eyes. "-extremely dangerous."

Suddenly, Kate popped into the room looking rather disheveled. She turned off the holovision, an act that caused Sektor to look almost surprised towards Kate. "End data archiving." Was all it stated before standing.

Kate had begun to speak, but was stopped short by the sound of shattering glass. Sektor looked towards the sound sharply, standing stiff.

"Sektor...run database for one Deon Saunders of District 4, prevoiusly District 16. Any and all information is vitally important. Aprehend suspect, last known wereabouts my room. Proceed with extreme caution, subject is...extremely dangerous." Kate ordered nervously.

---

One year ago

”Kid. Hey! Kid!”

Deon’s eyes fluttered open, finding himself in the corner of the ring with a split lip and a screaming headache, the officials dragging away his previous opponent on a stretcher. Craning his neck to the sound of the husky voice, Deon spotted a rather short looking man in a bowler hat, smoking a cigar with his icy blue eyes fixated directly on him. With a pained groan, Deon clambered up and walked to the short man, who had gestured for Deon to come over to him; separated by the bars, as the man was on the other side of the cage.

“Yeah?”

“Listen kid, I’ve got a lot riding on you today, and that last fight nearly took you out. You’re next opponent is a behemoth of a man, and frankly I don’t think you have what it takes to take him out.”

A muscle in Deon’s jaw clenched, his hand balling up into a fist ready to strike the man through the metal bars.

“But I’ve got a solution. How would you like to be undefeated? The money you could bring in could set you and you're family up for life! Imagine being able to pay for your sisters way to college. Imagine being able to buy your mamma a new house...” The man went on, causing Deon’s hand to go lax.

“I’m listening….”

---

Deon was quick, but not flawless in his escape. Climbing though the broken glass resulted in getting a series of small cuts on his arms, leaving a small trail of blood droplets every few feet. Deon didn't stop though, the moment he was out the window, he jumped to a nearby tree in the backyard and then climbed down quickly, like a monkey, and made a run for it.

Sektor clicked ominously, quickly sprinting towards the direction of the sound and jumping out of the window, somersaulting upon impact of the ground.

Boxes and windows opened everywhere within Sektor's HUD. [SUSPECT ARCHIVED: DEON SAUNDERS, RESIDENT DISTRICT: 4. BIRTH DISTRICT: 16. CONFIRM COMMAND: APPREHEND SUBJECT FOR QUESTIONING. FATALITIES ARE FORBIDDEN]

Sektor began the chase, moving with fervour and haste, using its advanced reflexes and speed to dodge and weave from any and all obstacles. Using its photoreceptor, it saw Deon sprint and climb through multiple residences.

Another box appeared in the side of its HUD, [SUBJECT IS INJURED, RUNNING VELOCITY UNAFFECTED. LACK OF WEAPONRY LEAVES A RANGED DEFICIENCY. SPEED AND TRAJECTORY OF MOBILE PLATFORM IS SUPERIOR. PRIME METHOD OF CAPTURE: SPRINT AND TACKLE. SUBJECT IS AIDED BY ADRENALINE. BASE ATTRIBUTES ARE INCREASED BEYOND NORMAL LEVEL. STEALTH MODE MAY BE NECESSARY. CHANCE OF SUSPECT ESCAPE: 13% ROUNDED UP. OUTSIDE SOURCES MAY BE DETRIMENTAL OR BENEFICIAL. CONSENSUS NOT REACHED. AWAIT FURTHER DATA.]

Sektor continued the chase, quickly climbing atop the roof of a house; sprinting as fast as it could.

Jacks eyes widened as Kate asked for a profile on Deon. The glass breaking instantly caused Jack to jump out of his seat and head towards the bathroom. sektor beat him to it and managed to jump out the window without even touching the sides. Jack wasnt as agile and nearly took out the window frame as he curled up into a ball and covered his face with his arms. *CRACK* the distictive sound of wood cracking as Jack crashed through a nearby tree branch thanks to the density of his arms. landing hard on his left side he grimaced hard as he rolled and kept his momentum going. He watched Sektor take off running and knew he couldnt keep up. pulling out his radio and taking a mental note of what "Evidence" he left behind on the street. "Home base this is Detective Roman in District 4 in pursuit of a Deon Saunders. possible suspect in the Red Lady murder. Reuesting a car and overhead support." the radio clicked off and Jack turned and looked up at Kate staring in awe. "good guys dont fucking run Kate!" He screamed. The glare in his eyes said everything.

Kate found herself quickly following Jack, letting out a soft gasp of surprise when he jumped.

"Detective Roman!" kate cried out, obvious worry in her voice. She was releaved to see that he was able to shake off the jump, but when he turned back to her and yelled, she felt lower than dirt. With a soft sigh, she removed herself from the broken window and went to the kitchen, trying to locate her dusty bottle of scotch with a shaky hand. Good guys dont run...she knew that. So why was Deon running? sektor would catch him though, she had no doubts about that. So all she could do now was wait. Wait and worry.

Deon heard a strange mechanical noise behind him, and after crossing a busy street by jumping on and sliding across the hoods of various cars, he turned to look back to see sektor hot on his trail.

"What the fuck is that?" He cried through clenched teeth. The police system must have really upgraded recently. Without another momenta hesitation, he was off once again.

Sektor didn't stop when Deon stopped to look back on it and was gaining speed quickly. Jumping and twisting through the cars while still retaining above average speed. Though Deon was persistent, he was no match for the protective AI, who eventually got within arms reach of Deon.

With a lunge, Sektor tackled the man to the ground, delivering a sharp punch to his face. Grabbing him by the neck, Sektor dragged him across the road and slammed him against a building, causing a shutter to run through the entirety of the structure. Clasping his right hand as well, Sektor squeezed dangerously. "Subject apprehended. Fingerprint archive evidence connects. Suspect is high priority target for murder investigation. Fatality not necessary." Sektor kept Deon held tightly and 'growled' dangerously, the previously high-pitched clicks now sounding guttural and threatening.

A box appeared in its HUD, [RETURN TO MAKER]. Sektor complied and proceeded to knock Deon out with a single punch to the head.

Draping the man over its shoulder with no apparent discomfort, Sektor began casually walking back towards Kate's house.

Upon seeing her with a bottle of scotch, Sektor quite literally dropped Deon in front of her. "Mission profile complete. Suspect has been captured. Unit efficiency - 100%." With that, Sektor walked back into the living room and put the holovision back on, beginning data archiving like usual.

Jack watched with quite an impressed grin as Sektor came waltzing back with Deon in hand. "Damn toaster took care of the fun part..." He joked towards the robot, not entirely sure if he understood what he meant. Sektor just passed him by with nothing but a series of clicks. He couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine as he realized how efficiently he took down a supposedly dangerous individual. The radio clicked signaling there was someone about to speak. "D17 to PD7 request for aerial uav has been denied but a cruiser will match your gps within 20 minutes." Jack gave out an annoyed grumble as he clicked the radio twice for confirmation. "The system at its finest hour." He muttered as he followed Sektor up the stairs and back into the kitchen.

Jack noticed an all too familiar look glazed over Kate’s face as he walked through the door. Picking Deons unconscious body up off the floor and placed him "neatly" onto a kitchen chair. "Look" He said while handcuffing Deon to the chair. "He's innocent until proven guilty..." Jack walked over to Kate and took the glass away and held it up. "... and THIS don't make the guilt disappear." He said before pouring it out the sink and refilling the glass with some cold water. "But I'll be honest, things don't look too good for him.... I'm going to wake him up now and ask him a couple questions." Jack took a big swig of the cold water before delivering a quick synthetic slap to Deon’s face. He probably hit him a little harder than he should in front of Kate, but in all fairness he wouldn't of been unconscious in the first place if he didn't run.

---

"Just relax kid. You won’t feel a thing." the man with the bowler cap said. Deon had left the ring to go to the back room alleyway with the stranger, the promise of more money was too tempting to pass up...even if was illegal.

"It's only illegal if you get caught kid. Remember that." Suddenly, the man plunged the needle into Deon’s arm, squeezing the fluorescent red liquid straight into his blood stream. The effects took off immediately as Deon’s reflexes took over, yanking his arm away from the stranger and letting out a scream, but he was in no pain. Sweat poured from his forehead and other select areas, covering the fighters already toned body in a sheen of sweat. His hands grew hot as he ran his thick fingers though his long shaggy brown hair. He blinked hard, his deep brown eyes diluting into a deep honey golden color when he opened them again, and wore the face of pure rage.

"You took that better than I expected. Well done Mister Saunders. You’re not dead." The man puffed his cigar, admiring the fighter as a coach would admire his star player.

"Now get back in the ring and bring that brute down. I'll even give you twenty percent of my winnings if you choke him out."

Deon only responded in a drug induced rage, yelling a bit as he felt the adrenaline pulsing through him at alarming levels. The short man in the bowler cap chuckled and the two returned into the bar.

---

Kate couldn’t help but glare at Jack slightly as he confiscated her drink, but she couldn’t exactly blame him either. She probably looked like a raging alcoholic to him now, which couldn’t have been further from the truth. Still shaking slightly, she mumbled a quick "thanks" to Sektor before turning her attention back to her cousin.

"Just don’t hurt him." She pleaded softly, but then winced sharply as he struck Deon.

He awoke immediately, sputtering up a small amount of blood indicating a collapsed lung from the takedown from the robot, but aside from that and a few road burns from the initial tackle on his bare arms he looked normal. Well...normal for someone coming from a lower district.

"THE FUCK?" He shouted out, followed by a rattling wheeze.

Sektor had remained in the living room during the rest of this ordeal, its own rants regarding the tv show being made audible: "Theresa, this platform demands contractual evidence he is 'your man'. No evidence is presented. Inconclusive. This platform cannot comply to your statement. Due to Pablo's record of testing out new organic females. Statistics confirm he will only remain faithful an estimated 12 days before seeking out another. Recommendation: This unit recommends you seek another partner in which to share data through USB connection."

"Katherine Saunders. This unit has an inquiry." Sektor began, walking into the kitchen, completely ignoring the now-awake Deon. "Has Detective Jack Roman now become 'your man'? Biological scans confirm a sudden increase of body temperature in your mobile platform whenever he is around. For example, now. Statistics suggest you wish to accept his own connection drive." Sektor then looked towards Jack. "Katherine Saunders is estimated to go into heat within 4 days. Do you wish to mate?" It asked bluntly.

Without awaiting an answer, it continued. "Biological scan also informs her platform has not been used yet. This platform's study of human sexual intercourse confirms her interest. Recommendation: should mating occur. Detective Jack Roman should adopt a position that maximizes stimulation of the nerves. If you wish, this unit has a guide downloaded within its databanks for transfer."

Kate’s hands shot up to cover her mouth to keep from screaming profanities. Her not only her cheeks, but her entire face and all the way down her neck and ears went completely red, her embarrassment only making her heart beat faster.

Detective Roman watched as his suspect awoke from his sound sleep. Before he could get a word in, Sektor interrupted with some quite "unique" facts about his maker and proceeded to ask Jack if he was her "man". Jack just stared in disbelief of what just emitted from the toasters voice receptors. Jack just gave a quick and slightly embarrassed look towards Kate. "Hey, you programmed him not me... I can see why hes not on the manufacturing line yet. I think he needs to lay off the spanish soap operas." Jack grinned as he placed his attention back towards Deon.

“He’s a prototype.” Kate mumbled, keeping her gaze away from Jack as she grabbed Sektor by the hand and pulled him into the living room. “Unit shut-down. Manual updates are required.” She commanded the robot and watched as the lights of the unit shut down one by one. She found a pressure plate on the back of the unit by the ‘head’ and opened it up carefully, exposing millions of dollars’ worth of equipment.

“Now…” Kate said looking around her living room for some tools she could use. “…let’s see if you have a censor receptor…”

[PART 2 Collaboration]

"Good morning, I am Detective Roman of block D17 and I see you have met my extremely dense toaster friend here... I’m just here to ask you a couple very simple questions and if you answer them truthfully and honestly, than i promise I won’t throw you out the very same window you tried to run from me out of."

Deon didn't look pleased. He realized right away he had been cuffed to the chair, not like his body was in peak physical condition to try and run again anyway. He kept his golden eyes off of Jack, staring at a few select places on the ceiling, seeming to ignore the detective.

Jack snapped his fingers above his head where Deon kept staring. "Hey buddy you have the right to remain silent... but i really wouldn’t suggest it." Jack leaned back in his chair and took another sip from the glass next to him. "in about.... oh say fifteen minutes a cruiser is going to come and pick you up as the main suspect for a murder, and based on the evidence we already have on you... well I think you should start by spilling your guts."

Deon was silent for a while, ignoring the snapping fingers and words coming out of the man. Then he slowly and lazily looked over to Jack, seeming to glare a bit as he kept his chin up high, 'looking down' on Jack. He moved his tongue around not so subtly in his mouth, and then spat a good amount of blood at Jack.

"I don't know that the fuck you're talking about." He said slowly. "Besides, I ain't saying shit till I get a lawyer." He stared Jack down, looking at him as a predator would stare down his competition.

"KATIE!" Deon then yelled out suddenly, trying to reach his cousin, but there was no answer. "You cunt! I know you can hear me. I need your lawyer, this jack-ass think he's got me for something. KATIE!"

Jack didn’t flinch as a wad of blood smacked his face square in the mouth. He gently rubbed the blood off with his coat and got up out of his seat and walked toward Deon. As soon as he called Kate a cunt he took his hand and picked Deon up by his mouth chair and all and pinned him against the wall. "LOOK YOU INSIGNIFICANT PRICK! your Katie is going to jail for just as long as you for aiding and abetting a criminal and tampering with evidence. ALL BECAUSE YOU COULDNT KEEP YOUR DRUGGED UP DICK IN YOUR PANTS and threw away the trash afterwards." Jack got the holofile out of his pocket and pulled up the Red ladies picture. "YOU FORGOT TO RECYCLE MOTHERFUCKER." He screamed before dropping Deon back onto the chair legs.

Deon's eyes widened a bit at being picked up like a rag-doll, but he made no effort to escape. As soon as he was dropped back down on the chair, he started laughing.

"Look asshole, I ain’t ever seen that bitch before, so I'll ask you again to fuck off and get my shit-headed cousin's lawyer for me so I can see you get sued for harassment." Deon was quiet for a minute, still studying the man in front of him, and then let out another laugh. "Look at you, you call yourself a cop? You filthy aug. Bet you can't even beat it anymore without fear of ripping it off huh? I bet you're one of those cops that spends all your bonus money on hookers to do it for you..."

Jack just stared in disbelief at this guy. "You got balls kid ill give you that. so much balls that you left their sauce all over the body like you forgot to aim." Jack sat back down near Deon and lowered his voice. The direct approach wasn’t working. "Look at Kate for a moment, just look. you mean to tell me that you can live the rest of your life in a Jail cell with her thinking you’re a murderer? She obviously cares for you since she decided to hide you in her bedroom. She believes you didn’t do it, but once all the evidence hits the courtroom... it’ll be hard to ignore." Jack leaned in forward and whispered to Deon. "All I need is an explanation kid..."

Deon just shrugged, seeming completely unphased by the fact that Jack had just admitted to having his own bodily fluids at on the girl as evidence.

"I fuck a lot of girls, probably more than you have ever even thought about. So what? Am I supposed to keep a book and remember everyone I bone?" He shook his head, a rather amused smirk on his face. "Kate? That bitch probably already thinks I killed someone, and it's not like she hid me. I live here too asshole. Not exactly brain science to find me, but if you want to think that you were smart enough to think to look for a 'hider' in his own home, then good for you buddy. Two gold stars."

Jack leaned back again. He was running out of options, this guy was like a lead egg. No matter how much it boils down, it just won’t crack. Jacks eyes widened as something he said came to his attention. Standing up and walking around the table. He took his holopad out and pretending like he was reading it. "You say you fuck a lot of girls right? Well if I read correctly here that you were with another girl that night as well." Jack quickly tried to remember the names Mr. Stone gave him before he killed them all. It wasn’t like he could go back and ask him. "I believe a Miss Vander was with you that night as well. She’s at the station right now spilling her guts out. What do you think she'll be saying to Officer Roberts? Will she be your savior? Or the nail in your coffin?"

Deon tried to lunge forward to slam his fist on the table, but the as his wrists were cuffed to the chair all he could do was jerk the chair a bit.

"YOU ASSHOLE! DID YOU NOT JUST HEAR WHAT I SAID?" He shouted, getting angry. "I don't keep a record of every girl I'm with. I know that might be hard for you to understand, so let me put it in simpler words. I dunno who dat is." He said the last sentence as if speaking like a mentally challenged person. "If she's saying anything it will probably be about how great in the sack I am, hell if I know. I worked last night, hooked up with a bunch of chicks I'm sure, I always do. Not exactly 'strange behavior' for a mid-town celebrity."

Jack paced back and forth getting overly agitated with this guy, constantly looking up at the clock wondering when this damn cruiser is coming. Jack walked into the other room to where Kate was sulking. "I’m sorry I tried to get something out of him that could possibly help, but from the looks of it you would need a friggin miracle. " Just than his radio sprang to life. "D17 to PD7, all leads on the Red Lady case has been suspended. i repeat all leads on the Red Lady case has been suspended. Sorry Jack but we have a Handymans special order from the higher ups." Jacks jaw dropped and his eyes widened as he stared at Kate in disbelief. "Some rich prick just answered your prayers Kate...."

"You done fucking my ass cop?" Deon yelled as Jack walked away.

Kate meanwhile had Sektor back up and running, though he was in a bit of a 'sleep state' as she had just a few more minor adjustments to make. Looking up from her work when Jack came into the living room, she stopped her work on crossing a few wires and gave Jack a rather horrified looking expression. She was going to jail no matter what it seemed...and it was enough to bring a slight sheen of mist to her bright green eyes. She couldn't blame Jack though, not for this. It was her fault for putting too much faith in her cousin. She closed her eyes hard, about ready to accept the fact that her life was over before his radio came to life again. But before she even had time to react to the bitter-sweet news before the lights in the entire house began to flicker. Sparks emitted from Sektor's 'body' and then the whole house went dark, save for the natural light coming in from the windows.

"SHIT! NO! NO NO NO NO!" Kate flew from her work station back to her laptop where she began pounding in a series of commands, trying verbal commands at the same time. For a split second, she had that silver lining, that she wasn't going to jail, that she still had time to finish the update before the deadline tonight. But now...her entire work she had created last night was gone. The lights slowly came back on as the power surge took its course, and Kate buried her head in her hands, collapsing down onto the couch in a fit of soft sobs.

The lights went dark and a nervous Kate started darting back and forth across the room only to end up face first into a couch pillow. Jack watched as an all too familiar face appeared in front of him. flashbacks mixed with reality as two women sat on the couch in front of him. one crying in her hands, the other staring right at him with eyes as clear as glass. Both muttering the same thing "why? no no no why?" the voices echoed in his head. Jack stood there like he did previously, scared at the sight before him he didn’t know what to do. Rubbing the temples on head one of the figures disappeared and all that sat there was Kate. Jack snapped out of it and walked over to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder as he slowly sat next to her. "Shh shh, dont worry... everything will be okay I promise. I won’t let anything ever happen to you Michelle." Jack whispered with his eyes closed, keeping a tight hold around Kate.

The power surge had shook Sektor awake. Electricity crackled around its frame as lights about its platform lit up. The flashlight like photoreceptor on its head lighting up very dimly. Sektor began rising, lifting itself to a crouched position. It clicked loudly, eventually standing once more.

"No!" Kate sobbed out, immediately standing up the moment she felt his prosthetic hand on her shoulder. She crossed her arms over her chest, keeping her back to him as she continued to babble on. "No it won't be okay. I'm going to jail! All my work is gone, hours and hours of work just...just..." She slowly turned to face him once again, wet tears streaming down her soft cheeks. "Who's Michelle?"

Jacks eyes darted back and forth nervously, getting back up off the couch and continued to pace back and forth. "well... what do you need to complete your work?" He said avoiding the question. "I’m no help in the Tech department but i may know someone who could help.... she’s pretty good, after all she did make these." Jack said stretching out his hands in a Frankensteinish manor.

"Unit identification number: 0.18462958. Designation: SEKTOR. Prime directive: protect and guard...Kate." It said the last word in a curious manner. Using the shortened form of its maker's name. Sektor looked at her and Jack slowly. "You are in duress." It observed simply, approaching awkwardly. "This platform's archived data of 'Interstellar Attraction' gives this unit knowledge of how to interact with the...opposite sex? Does this unit classify as a male?" Sektor looked down between its legs. "Negative; no penile or vaginal organ detected." Flaps on the robot's head furrowed, as if very confused. "There were tamperings within the inner computer systems of this mobile platform. Were manual updates issued?" It asked, looking at Kate.

She just shook her head, keeping her arms tightly folded to her chest as if that would bring some sort of comfort. "No offense to your friend, but I'm pretty sure I'm better." She said rather quickly and then shut her eyes tight once more. "I somehow managed to piss off the Academy of Science's leader at the convention last night. That’s where you saw me coming out from last night. Are you familiar with the X-95.3?" She asked looking back to him, but then shook her head realizing that he didn't speak 'science' like she did. "I mean...the new toaster model? There have been a lot of accident reports lately, and the A of S wanted to demolish the entire project, but I opened my big trap and brought up the idea of a system update. I have until 8 pm tonight to have it ready, or they're throwing me in jail." She sighed. "Looks like you'll be at least getting one person to go back to the precinct with you." She tried to make it into a joke and laugh, but it came out as a soft sob instead. "I was so close..."

Jack crossed his arms in a manner mocking Kates. "you greatly underestimate her, shes honestly a miracle worker... c’mon honestly what have you got to lose?" Jack winced at the bad choice of words. "Look... you already had one miracle today, who’s to say that you can’t get another?" Jack said tapping his radio in remembrance of what was just reported shortly beforehand. "Just think about it... meanwhile, i got a buddy higher up the food chain. Something tells me he won’t hear about the arrest until at least 12."

Without waiting for an answer, Sektor began walking around curiously, apparently inexperienced when it came to manual reactivation. It looked towards the two of them again. "Kate. This platform has reached consensus. Statistics confirm this platform can take you to...dinner for emotional homeostasis." Suddenly, without saying anymore, Sektor sat down on the couch, pondering its own words. "Vocal emitter is damaged. Internal computer systems cannot reach consensus onto what is being said. Solution: A repair of the vocal module is necessary to ensure this platform is working at complete efficiency." Sektor lowered its head, acting almost...humanly confused and discombobulated.

"I don't think God works that way..." Kate responded to Jack on the subject of miracles. Finally approaching the babbling robot, she quickly examined the exposed pressure panel she had been working on prior to the power surge to check to make sure everything was still intact.

"You'll be fine, just relax while you reboot." She said carefully patting him on the top of his head like one would to a dog. Had she been in a better mood, she might have laughed at his proposition of taking her out to dinner, but her heart just wasn't in it. Looking back to Jack with almost pleading eyes, she finally nodded once simply. "Okay, okay I'll meet your friends." His previous word choice was harsh, but he was right. What did she have to lose?

Jack gave a smile as wide as his face. "Great! you won’t be disappointed." Jack said as he pulled the handcuff keys out of his pocket. "Well I guess I need to cut your other half loose." Jack spun the tiny key ring around his finger. Passing by an awkward acting toaster... well as awkward a robot can act honestly, he couldn’t help but wonder why they called a "Handymans special" on the case. Jack wanted the murder found and he thought he had him, but Deon was nothing special and Jack was sure as hell he didn’t have those kind of connections... so why the toss out? Jacks mind wandered as he entered the kitchen only to see an empty chair and some bloody handcuffs. "KATE WE HAVE A BIG FUCKING PROBLEM!" Jacks eyes grew wide as he realized he never told Deon that the case was dropped... even worse he lied and gave a name of a "witness" that supposedly ratted on him. "Oh shit this is not fucking good at all!". Jack whipped out his radio and called out an APB on a Deon Saunders and a woman named Vander. He had nothing else except the name and now she is probably being hunted. "Fuuuck meee." Jack muttered.

"Suspect was injured." Sektor said, looking up at Jack. "He could not have moved far. Biological scan confirms lung damage. This unit can find him." Sektor said, standing shakily. Offering a few sideways glances to Kate. Almost too many glances. "This platform is still attempting to adjust to reboot, complete core faculties have not been fully rewired." It looked at Kate once more. "This unit's offer still stands. The tradition of devouring edible consumables is universally practiced by all organics. Some consider it a...romantic gesture. Romance, however, is inefficient. Interstellar Attraction confirms this." Sektor stated.

Kate rushed into the kitchen, thinking that Deon had died or something gauging his reaction. Though only seeing an empty chair, she just sighed.

"Don't..." She said putting a hand on his arm to lower it from speaking into his radio. "I have his number, I can just call him and tell him the case has been dropped. He'll believe me." She said sincerely and then retracted her hand. She then turned her attention back to Sektor. "That’s sweet, but I'm not too hungry. Did you want to stay here and restart your functions? You can watch your shows." She offered, not particularly liking the idea of taking a disorientated robot around town with her to meet Jack's friends.

Jack let go of the button on the radio as kate motioned that she would call him first. "that still doesnt squash the fact that he may be searching out the girl named Vander. Now im not sure if Deon actually murdered that woman but im sure as hell making sure i dont cause another one." Jack put the radio down and created a public notice on the his holopad stating to place a system check on any female age 18-30 named Vander within the city limits for the next 24 hours. He was positive there couldnt be many women named Vander so hopefully he will get something.

"Deon may talk tough, but he's a moron. The only thing he's out doing right now is getting more drugs, I'm certain." She shrugged, but made no more effort to stop him.

"Thats sweet, but I'm not too hungry. Did you want to stay here and restart your functions? You can watch your shows." Kate had offered Sektor. "Negative. This unit is working at 78% systems capacity. Not optimum, but effective. This platform must remain with Katherine Saunders at all time. Must obey the prime directive." Sektor stated. "This unit offers the organic form of apologies for previous misbehavior. Manual reboot halted certain functions. This unit is reasserting itself."

Sektor looked at both Kate and Jack. "Memory archives confirm sexual arousal between both Ka-," it stuttered for a moment, "-therine Saunders and Detective Jack Roman." Its photoreceptor then glanced downwards. "Now is not the case. Inconclusive, should you both have wished to mate, it would have already been done. Statistics suggest Detective Jack Roman may be suffering from erectile dysfunction." It looked directly at Jack. "Is your mobile platform working at 100% efficiency?" It asked curiously.

Kate let out a hissing sound, trying to put her hand over where Sektor's 'mouth' would be and then wanted to slap herself for realizing he didn't have one. "SEKTOR!" She hissed out again. "STOP READING OUR INTERNAL DATABASE!"

Jack watched Sektor as he accused him for lack of "efficiency" and Jacks face grew beet red. Pulling out his pistol and aiming at the toasters head. "Remember what I said yesterday toaster?" Kate jumped in and Jack aimed at the holovision instead. "Next time I’m taping over your precious soaps you goddamned tea kettle! Consider yourself demoted!" He said with an agitated look. instinctively fixing his pants. "Quit checking my platform you damn creepy robot!". He said once more before attempting to calm down. Damn thing knew how to agitate him that’s for sure.

As Jack pulled out his pistol and aimed at Sektor, the robots only reaction was for its photoreceptor to flicker once as if 'blinking'. "Combat programs were unaffected. Weapon is inefficient, standard grade among law enforcement. You will cause no damage to this platform." It turned its head sharply when Jack aimed at the holovision. "Subject displays insecurity. Consensus not reached. The statistical chance of Detective Jack Roman shooting the holovision is only at an estimated 33%." Sektor, however, did stop. "The suspect we seek must not be far. Statistics suggest she is close after examining evidence via Extranet search. Consensus has not been reached. This platform does not know where to go." However, Sektors vocal/thought process was stopped as it noticed a book on Kate's desk. It was...different, it caught Sektor's attention. The robot slowly walked over and picked up the book, looking at it curiously. "Identification: Christian Bible, holy book. This unit must study the data." Sektor stated, sounding almost confused as its internal computers would not understand such a command issued. Sektor stood there, staring at it intently, not looking away.

Sektor moved over and sat on the couch once more, opening and reading the book. A box appeared in its HUD [COMMAND NOT UNDERSTOOD. ERROR DOES NOT COINCIDE WITH DIRECTIVE.] Suddenly the box flickered and disappeared. Sektor looked disturbed, seeming to 'shake' - what was happening. This went against every directive or programming Sektor was built with. Sektor could only sit there, motionless.

Kate's weary eyes shifted from Jack to her new robot, her eyebrow quirked but she eventually just shook her head. Noticing the distraction on the robot, she tapped Jack's shoulder and led him out of her home. If they were ever going to leave, now would be a good time while Sektor was distracted. She had very little time to waste.

(The night before)
Restless. Marcus tossed and turned in his bed, tossing the covers about his well-built frame; a sheen of sweat layered him, his hair plastered against his face, which had contorted into a despairing frown.

Fractures and shards of images were there and gone through the maze of thought that was his dreams. Figures stood, shrouded in light and shadow; voices overlapped, sounds deafening, lights blinding. He couldn't take it anymore, it was too much.

Marcus cried out in fear, bolting upright in his bed. He ran a single hand through his tangled mess of hair, breathing shaky and uneven. He swallowed difficultly, attempting to regain his composure.

He turned over, looking at the holo-clock on his bedside table. "Only 2 in the morning." He said to himself in a breathy tone, chuckling weakly. He stood, throwing a simple gray t-shirt on and a black pair of sleep-pants. He left his bedroom, walking to the adjacent living room, the soft patting of bare feet on the polished floor of his home.

He hit a simple switch against the wall of the large living room, a dim glow lighting up the room. Marcus' eyes squinted as they adjusted to the introduction of light. He walked to the open kitchen/bar, beginning to pour himself a glass of wine. He frankly didn't give a damn that it was this early, he needed something to help relax his senses.

He took the glass and sauntered over to one of his tall, bleach white armchairs. He turned on the holovision, taking a few sips of wine in-between flipping through channels. One of the channels he passed by was showing reruns of 'Interstellar Attraction'. "Ugh, who watches that garbage?" Marcus asked to no-one in particular. He finally settled to stopping it on a news channel. He watched, only half-paying attention for what seemed like forever before finally losing himself to sleep once more.

He awoke uncomfortably in the chair, the half-finished glass of wine still on the coffee table where he had left it, undisturbed.

Marcus rose and stretched with a deep groan, pops sounding from his back and arms as he did so.

He left the living room and went back into his bedroom, tidying up a little bit. "Heh, maybe I should invest in one of those cleaning droids." He said to himself once more.

He walked into the bathroom that connected to his bedroom, quickly undressing and hopping into the shower. Light had peeked on through his windows and upon pressing a few buttons on a wall-mounted console in his shower, the internal speakers throughout the house began playing Weird Fishes, by Radiohead. The song would be considered a 'classic' at this time. But Marcus took a certain joy in listening to them. Perhaps something in his damn messed up brain cells that enjoyed them. He didn't know and didn't care.

Marcus got out of the shower and fixed his hair, smiling simply as he fixed it up just the way he liked it. He got dressed, putting on a knee-length leather trench coat over a black long-sleeved shirt with matching jeans and boots.

He began reaching for the holstered pistol he kept in his dresser, holding back for a moment. The whispers started again, mismatched and unintelligible. Only a small, sharp command could be heard amongst the hundreds of voices issued. "Take it..." The harsh voice spoke, its tone sounding like fissures in ice.

Marcus sighed, looking weary as he grabbed the pistol and holstered it within the confines of his coat. He left the house, locking it as he walked away. He approached his car, a sleek black car, top market.

He stopped as he began opening the door, images and voices filling his head and vision once more. He clenched his head with both hands, squeezing his eyes shut. He reached inside his coat, pulling out a small, sleek looking syringe and injecting it into his neck. The hallucinations subsided and he breathed out a sigh of relief; stepping inside his car. He turned on the ignition, LED lights lit up all over the interior and a computerized voice spoke from the center console, "Good morning Mr. Aurelius, how are you today?"

"I'm just peachy, Computer." Marcus replied sarcastically, shifting it into reverse and leaving his residence silently.

With a quick click, Kate finished up her conversation with her cousin by pressing a small button on a communication device she had plugged into her ear. Stuffing the device back into her sweat pants pocket, she turned to Jack as they made their way to his friend's office. Jack had promised it wasn't too far, which was just fine by her. Being a woman of science, exercise wasn't something that she did often.

"Deon is back at The Spit, his manager confirmed it. If he was going after that girl you mentioned before, he would have gotten to her by now. So no worries." She briefed the detective and then looked forward as they continued to walk. Bothered somewhat by the silence between the two, she decided to speak again.

"Detective Roman?" She asked.

"Why the Handyman's special?" Jack muttered to himself, lost in thought of the Red Lady case. Snapping back to reality when he heard Kate call his name. "Hmm oh, Yea Kate you okay?" He said kinda half-assed still lost in thought. It was a stupid move as he instantly noticed how uncomfortable she was, but he wasn't really sure how to start up a conversation. Hes been living in a studio apartment by himself for some time now and the level of silence tends to become the norm. "Hey, you know why they call it a Handyman's special?" Jack asked Kate. "Its actually because of way back when they used to auction off cars to dealerships that were considered too broken or too HOT to deal with... the dealers would simply salvage what they could from the wrecks and cut their losses." Jacks eyes darted back and forth hoping he didn't weird her out.

Kate clamped her mouth shut, listening to Jack but quite frankly, she didn't really understand what he was saying.

"Okay?" She half-laughed out. This is what she got for hanging out with Robots her whole life instead of other human beings.

"Anyway, I wanted to ask. Why are you doing this for me? I mean, yeah the case was dropped but I'm still a criminal aren't I? In one way or another I mean. Well...I don't know...I wasn't exactly hiding him, I just wanted to know what was going on, and I knew Deon would screw things up one way or another...which he did...and-" She glanced back at Jack and felt her cheeks go red. She was rambling again. "-and I'll just be quiet now."

Jacked looked at Kate in the corner of his eye while she spoke. He couldn't help but show a grin creeping out from the side of his mouth. "I just tried to play the pity card with your brother. I was never planning to put you away." Jack smiled at her before stretching his arms out in front of him trying to get the old out. "Besides, you helped me out in the Red lady case... i suppose that allows you a pardon right? cooperation for a lesser charge they call it."

Kate blinked a few times. "You...weren't?" Now she really felt foolish. "Well...I didn't really help you last night. All I really managed to do was steal your coat." She pointed out and then shrugged.

"Hey, if it wasn't for you I wouldn't of got there right?" Jack grinned while holding his hands behind his head. "After all... you probably wouldn't last a day in jail." Jack gave a wide toothy smile. "you've got too pretty a face." His attempt at flattery came out choppy and corny, but it was all he knew.

"I-" She was cut off shot, about to defend herself for 'not being able to last in jail' but again, her mouth clamped shut and her face went red. "Oh...uh...okay..." She cleared her throat, kind of wishing she could just...melt away somewhere. "He's my cousin by the way." She corrected, remembering Jack called him her brother.

Jacks face grew red. He took a stab in the dark about being a brother, he never really stopped to ask. "Oh, Right sorry." Jack looked ahead to notice the office only a block away. It was fairly hidden between two other businesses but a tiny hunter green awning with a rotating sign peeked out as he pointed towards it. "Medical Engineering and Recuperation center." He stated. a little extra bit of writing underneath must of been added on later. "Nanotechnology research and development." Jack sped up slightly while grabbing Kate's hand. "We don't have much time right?" He said as he quickly made his way towards the door. Holding a relaxed hand up to the video camera stationed by the entrance. "Rin... open up, Ive got a gift for you." He yelled towards the tiny mic in the camera.

"Research test subject three is showing an increased responsive stimulus through the cerebral cortex when outfitted with Beta-nano serum one." Dr. Emris Stone spoke into her Holotablet. Rin pushed a tiny toothpick with a piece of cheese on the end into the cage where the three legged mouse scurried around in its tiny cage. The mouse ignored the cheese as it continued to play with a tiny mirror showing its own reflection. Rin let out a sigh as she placed the toothpick back onto the table. "Subject is showing no response to personal sustenance. Over a course of six hours, subject has not left its own reflection. Stupid mouse is in love with itself and is going to likely starve itself like previous subjects..." Rin let out a long sigh. "Hypothesis inconclusive, Beta-nano serum one is going back to the drawing board." Rin leaned back from her chair and turned off the Holotab. "C'mon Harry eat something! If you don't you'll bee just like Sarah and Billy..." Rin left the toothpick in the food dish inside the cage and got out of her seat.

Her tiny corner office was dwarfed at the internal size of the facility. Dozens of staff around her helping car accident victims, drug abuse victims, Burn victims etc. An old man with a prosthetic arm pulled on a weight machine while staff documented his every move. She passed by a child in a wheelchair with her legs from the knees down missing. Patting her head and giving her a wide friendly smile. "I'll see you in next weeks dance recital sweetie." The little girl smiled back as a coworker came walking up with a tiny pair of synthetic legs. The entire single floor building was busy researching and testing new products under the "Taurus Tech" brand name.

Rin slumped over into a nearby chair next to a synthetic spinal cord prototype, something she has been working on for quite some time but can't seem to get it to work. Taking a quick sip of coffee from a nearby mug and winced at how surprisingly cold it was, obviously losing track of time.

"Ugh... tastes like mercury fulminate mixed with caffeinated dirt." She groaned as she pushed the mug away. She was tired... so tired, but there was no rest for the wicked and the witch of the west had a job to do. Sautering iron in one hand and synthetic soder cores in the other, she began to fuse the plates to the titanium thread.

"Doctor Emris!" A voice echoed behind her. "It seems you have a visitor at the entrance." A holographic image popped up on her tablet showing Jack and a younger woman looking quite nervous. Rin's eyes lit up as she heard his voice over the intercom. Jumping out of her seat and dashing through the entrance landing full speed into Jacks torso. Hanging on his neck like a baby monkey.

"Jack!! Your 28 days and 6 hours early..." She said as she began lifting up his arms and examining them. "Don't tell me you broke something again already. Quickly take off your shirt, its in the way." Rin demanded.

Marcus stopped himself in the middle of the streets of District One, looking down at his own hands in confusion. Why did they look so different, so strange? Bruises were marred across them, as well as already rapidly healing lacerations. He didn't go anywhere last night, did he? He would occasionally wake up in an unknown location, unaware of the events that had transpired previously. Was it the hallucinations? He wasn't insane, "Just a side effect of the rehabilitation." the doctors had told him.

Marcus placed a hand on the few remaining syringes in his coat pocket, sighing dejectedly. He needed something to eat. He made his way across the District, eventually entering Cafe Pinot (coincidence? Maybe) and was ushered into a small booth by a window. He looked down at his hands once more; any previous injuries were faded away. Marcus' mouth was left agape at the sight, as he flipped his hands over and over in front of him. The injuries were there just less than 10 minutes ago. Was he *really* going mad?

"What can I get for you, Sir?" Marcus jumped up in his seat as a female voice spoke to him. He looked up slowly, offering a warm, if not somewhat weak smile towards the waitress, a young dark-haired woman no older than 25. "Umm, hi, yes. I'd like a glass of Coke to drink, please. And a french toast plate, too, if you don't mind." His words, though troubled, came out as polite and friendly.

He handed his menu to the girl, who offered her own smile before walking off. Marcus looked up and around him, stopping shortly on a tall, lanky man in a thick, closed trench coat and fedora disguising his visage. Marcus couldn't help but stare at the man for some time, but was appalled when the man disappeared from site after Marcus had blinked.

He fingered for one of his syringes again but stopped himself. It had only been about 30 minutes since his last injection. An overdose could overload his brain cells and kill him in minutes.

Marcus lost himself in his own thoughts, only offering a half-hearted, distracted 'thank you' as his food arrived. He ate in silence, his hair swept in front of his face. However his head shot up as he saw three individuals arrested in the middle of the restaurant.

He recognized one of the officers leading the raid, and approached him quickly. "Harrison, what's going on here?" Marcus asked concernedly. "What? How do you know my name? Piss of, civilian, before I turn you in too." The gruff man responded.

Marcus looked more confused than ever as all three individuals, now handcuffed and escorted, were taken out and put in the squad cars. How did Marcus know that officer? Why was he getting involved? He didn't know. Sitting down slowly, Marcus returned to his food and his thoughts, completely lost for words and understanding.

[Collab between Ghost Shadow, YoshiSkittelz, and Roman]
--
Kate awkwardly cleared her throat as a blur of blonde whizzed right past her, pushing herself into Jack for a hug. She thought briefly about just stepping away for a few minutes, in case they needed alone time or something, but she remained standing still as she remembered they were here for her. She had to inwardly scoff though, she should have known that a man like Jack had more than just...friends, and this blonde in his arms wasn't by any means a bad specimen. She had a great body; proportional in all the right areas that would make any man want to devour her.

Kate had spent most of her life in school with these kinds of girls, girls that made it so that a man wouldn't look twice at anyone else, namely her. At the time though, she didn't mind. Men weren’t something she was exactly interested in, as her studies proved time and time again to be more important. Education before fun, a standard Kate had lived her entire life by. She cleared her throat again, this time to make herself known.

Jack was slightly preoccupied with an overly energized Rin attempting to unbutton his shirt. Jack blushed as his gaze caught Kate's.

"Ahem Rin-hold on nothings broken...well on me." Jack cleared his throat a bit while he gestured towards Kate and proceeded to button his shirt back up. "This... is Kate, she is a programmer for um code stuff. She has a Robot unlike anything I've seen before... granted he’s a pain in the ass but it’s really amazing."

Rin calmed down a bit and listened to what Jack had to say. She gave Kate a quick look up and down before placing her hands on her hip. "Hmmm okay, come in. I got a lab coat you can wear while we see what can be done." Rin said in a monotone voice. "Is there something wrong with your robot? Crossed too many wires?" She said jokingly.

Kate felt a muscle in her jaw tighten as the woman in front of her, though jokingly, seemed to be undermining her intelligence. Her green eyes glanced to Jack for a moment, glad that he at least had his shirt done back up.

"I'm sorry, this was a bad idea. Sorry to bother you." She said turning her attention back to Jack and then turned to leave. Kate didn't exactly have a good history of 'playing well with others', she'd be damned if she worked with someone like her. She never worked well in groups in school, so she never really learned that 'team skill', and she sure as hell wasn't about to learn now...not with her entire future on the line and only a few hours to fix this whole mess.

Jack watched as Kate started walking the other way and instinctively, he chased after her. "Kate wait c'mon she can help I promise."

Rin watched as Jack chased after and felt a lump grow in her throat. It was a stupid move in her part, she instinctively thought the young girl was trying something, convincing Jack to come here but it looked to be the other way around. she felt a bit bad but wasn’t going to apologize just yet.

Kate stopped walking, hearing Jack from behind her. She waited until he caught up to her before turning to him.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't work with someone who treats me like a child. I was stupid to ask for help, no offense Detective Roman but you just have no idea just what I need to do, and frankly I think I would be better off doing it alone."

Jack refused to take her answer. "No" he said sternly. "I’m not letting you go back to you apartment empty handed. Hate me if you want but at least SEE what she can help with and in an hour if you still hate me than you can go." Jack took Kate’s hand and placed it between his own. "I don’t want to see you behind bars."

"I don't hate you Detective Roman..."

Rinn watched as those two talked to each other. Letting out a long sigh she walked over. "Look... I’m not going to turn away a friend in need... and after all Jack has done for me there’s no way you’re walking out sweetie." Rin said with a polite smile. She really didn’t have time to babysit but if it gave her time to poke around Jacks noggin about his new "Friend" then so be it.

Kate grew silent as the blonde approached the two of them, unable to help her eye narrow, but only slightly.

"Are you familiar with the X-95.3?" Kate asked directly to the blonde. She wasn't even going to attempt to try to speak 'human' to her. The more Kate was able to make her feel like an idiot for undermining her intelligence, the better.

"I need a system update by 8 pm tonight for all models in the entire city." She said simply, deciding to keep any details out as to who, what, when and why; not like she needed to give the blonde any more ammunition against her.

Rin's eyes widened a bit as she grew slightly impressed. "Well it’s about time they got an update, we have half a dozen collecting dust in the back. We have been pulling parts from their structures to replace any prototype prosthetics that give out." Rin looked up at Jack with a wide smile. Her blue eyes reflecting the neon sign above her. "Those X-95.3 chassis are quite resilient... too bad the V. I. systems resemble the filaments of a toaster." She Joked.

Again, Kate glanced over to Jack before responding to the blonde. She could really care less about the woman's own models they had in the 'back', she just needed to know that she could pull her own weight.

"Then let's get to work, I don't have much time." She simply said and pushed past her headed back towards the building. Once inside, she had to wait for the woman to catch up so that she could lead Kate to her own personal work station, but once there Kate felt right at home. Most of the equipment in the room she was familiar with, other things having to do with tissue fiber construction and the like, not so much; but she wasn't here to admire the new toys.

"I'll need access to your main frame computer with all authorization keys for full access to the data base. Also, I'll need one of those models you said you keep in the back, preferably one still completely intact." She ordered.


Jack was surprised at the fierceness in her eyes as she followed Rin into a workstation. Rin gestured for a staff member to clean up the area and told the assistant to get here whatever she needed.

When Kate asked for full authorization Rin scoffed and was about to deny but Jack quickly placed a hand on Rin’s shoulder and giving a nod to let her have it. "Okay Type in REStone357-14 in the username and put-"

"No need." Kate interrupted. "I'm already in." They were dealing with time, and Kate wasn't about to waste a minute. She had already put in a hacking code, getting the username and password within just seconds and had the access to the computer and began typing away.

Both Rin and Jack just stared in disbelief. "Wow Detective... your little girlfriend knows her stuff." Rin joked with an elbow to the side of Jack. "Hey Jack care to help me grab one of those X-95.3's out of the back? They are waaay too heavy for me."

"Umm sure, I’ll be right back Kate." he muttered expecting to be ignored by a work oriented Kate. Both made their way towards the back room where the dismantled robots lay. Roughly three of the X-95's were in pieces but one seemed to be in tact enough aside from the cosmetic plating to be used.

"So where did you find that one?" Rinn asked. Jack gave a shrug. "Actually we kinda... bumped into each other at the park." Rin looked down at the floor and started playing with a pen in her hand. "I can see why you like her, she looks familiar." Rin gave a set of devious eyes towards Jack. "whaaa I don’t- hey I think this one should work well." Jack said picking up the droid with one arm. "She needs help... and that’s the only thing I know how to do anymore." Jack said giving a cold stare towards Rin as he made his way back to Kate’s workstation.

Kate had made no hesitation towards using Rin's assistant to her advantage. A fresh cup of coffee was now in her free hand, half the contents already drained as her other hand continued to hammer down on the computer commands.

"Good, you got one." Kate said without even so much as having to glance back toward the pair. "Now I need you to open its main board and run a quick diagnostics, link the diagnostic code to me on this computer so I can run the information digitally through my program. Then I'll need you to take that same diagnostic and see if you can find a fluke in the system."

---

Sektor looked up sharply as its auditory receptors picked up the door slamming. Kate had run off, taking Jack with her. Sektor growled darkly, darting out of its seat. A box appeared in the side of its HUD, [PRIMARY DIRECTIVE IN JEOPARDY - KATHERINE SAUNDERS STATUS: MISSING. SUBJECT JACK ROMAN MAY BE INVOLVED. LETHAL FORCE AUTHORIZED IF NECESSARY] Sektor sprinted out of the house and began trailing Kate at an inhuman speed, picking up DNA trails left in the air to find her. Dodging and weaving as best as it could it sprinted throughout the districts, incurring many surprised and confused glances from the pedestrians. Sektor managed to trail only a few hundred yards behind and noticed the duo enter a large facility. The doors had slammed behind them, just as the robot approached. Sektor looked at it, confused. "Unit 0.18462958 requesting entry." It began civilly, "In order to follow the prime directive, Katherine Saunders must be accompanied."

---

Jack looked towards the entrance as he heard a familiar sound. needless to say it was the Toaster back from bible class. Rin pulled up the security cam and audio on her Tablet as she watched the Android in awe banging against the door. "I’m assuming he’s one of yours?" She asked Jack. Jack let out a chuckle. "Yea he’s not MINE, I’d never get any sleep with that thing hovering over me asking about my platform." Jack grinned as he gestured towards Kate. "He’s programmed to follow her... after all she made him."

Rin's eyes widened as she stared at Kate. "You continue to surprise me sweetie." She added after swiping her finger across the tablet. unlocking the doors. "Name, Designation, Manufacturer and directive please?" She asked the robot with an admiring eye. Already replicating in her head the chassis supports of the limbs and neck. "chassis structure is impressive as well as the servo syncros hiding in plain sight.... what’s the approximate torque capacity of your syncros in your finger joints?" Rin asked.

Kate wasn't so submerged in her work that she didn't hear them talking as well as the familiar beeps and clicks of Sektor. She couldn't help but to smile as Rin sounded rather...impressed with her work. Well, she didn't technically build everything about Sektor, but she had done enough with him to keep from saying that she just found him while wandering the streets.

"Looks like you'll be needing the lab coat." Kate jabbed as Rin let Sektor in. She just hoped that he would at least behave himself for now.

Sektor nodded approvingly as the loud click of the door unlocking sounded. A young female voice piped over the intercom, "Name, Designation, Manufacturer and directive please?" She asked in a small, polite manner.

Sektor clicked awkwardly before responding. Name: Unit 0.18462958, designation: Sektor. Manufacturer: District Zero Science Team. Directive: The guardianship and protection of the mobile platform of Katherine Saunders." After finishing, it stepped inside. It approached Kate slowly, "This unit offers apologies, it was inefficient at the prime directive. This unit was...perplexed by the Christian Bible, our optical sensors were only working at an estimated 58% capacity at the time."

"chassis structure is impressive as well as the servo syncros hiding in plain sight.... whats the approximate torque capacity of your syncros in your finger joints?" The young woman asked once more. This time Sektor got a good look at her. "Your mobile platform is classified as 'attractive' to organics. Running bio scan, pending. Consensus reached. Your mobile platform makes up for smaller mammary glands with a, 'curvier' gluteus Maximus, another part of the female form males find appealing."

Rin just stared blankly at the robot before continuing to prep the X-95.3 for whatever Kate had planned. "It’s quite odd how your bodyguard is uploaded with military grade scanning. Usually programs like that are a rarity." Rin opened the back panel of the bot and clicked a few switches before it sprang to life. "Besides," Rin turned to Sektor. "Most people have a 43% higher chance of checking out a woman’s gluteus instead of risking getting caught staring upstairs." She said with a grin.

Jack turned towards Rin and couldn’t help but laugh, "Always thinking in numbers huh?" walking over towards Kate as she continued to punch symbols on the pad. trying hard to figure if she’s doing something important or merely ordering a pizza, it was all alien to him. "Do... uh do you need any help?" he asked hesitantly.

Kate couldn't help but to roll her eyes at both Sektor, and the blonde's reaction to it.

"Please, we have work to do." She said to the both of them, for Rin to get back to work and for Sektor to keep quiet...both somethings of which she was sure would never happen. But then Jack approached her, and offered help. It seemed that he was the only reliable one in the room other than herself.

"If you can get over to the motherboard of the X-95.3, and tell me if there has been any damage to the Northbridge or Southbridge, but if it looks good then we have a bigger problem and will need to figure out where this fluke is coming from..."

Jack quickly stepped over to the x-95.3 which was staring intently at him but not saying a word. "Umm okay... well lets just see if that motherboard is on the fritz." Jack reached up into the chest cavity of the bot and tried pulling off a vanity plate but managed to accidently snap a "rib" in the process. "This platforms motherboard is located in the cranial region." a rough metallic voice echoed out of the X-95.3 completely unlike Sektors high quality voice receptors. "Oh... right" Jack said before yanking on the robots head. "Hey so is there a latch somewhere on this or do I press-" *Crack* one of the bots visual lens popped out of its socket and fell to the ground breaking into slivers.

Upon Rin's initial reaction to its statement, Sektor could only look upon her with a certain sense of admiration. "Statistical evidence concurs. Your equation works out. This platform anticipates the sharing of data." It said with a short nod.

Sektor turned sharply as soon as he heard a short 'whoops' from where Jack was. "Stop!" It cried out in an oddly human tone, quite literally shoving Jack out of the way. "Running systems diagnostic. Model X-95.3 only working at 46% systems capacity, beginning repair process."

Sektor then got to work, using a variety of repair materials on a nearby worktable to begin repairs on the robot, sealing the 'rib' back to its original place. "Subject Rin, this unit requests a spare photoreceptor for the X-95.3 prototype, immediately. Additional request: keep subject Jack Roman away from the prototype to ensure no further damage to its mainframe; his police background should hold no variable in the equation." Sektor stated, not looking away from the larger model.

For the first time since Kate started working, she stopped. Turning her head towards Sektor, a wide grin appeared across her face. "OF COURSE!" She cried out, running to the bot and watched him work with awe. "Why didn't I think of this sooner? Sektor, you just may have saved my life!" She beamed and in her heightened elevated mood of happiness, kissed the metal that would be the unit's 'cheek' before bounding back over to her prior workstation.

"We need to work fast Sektor, quickly feed me the information from the unit's instruction decoder, I believe there may be a fluke when the information tranfers over to the registers, which would make sense. Once the information reaches the ALU, the data will continually cycle the bad information, thus creating the explosion..." She began to pound away at the computer in front of her once more, but now with a new light of energy about her to keep her going.

Jack just stood there as Sektor yelped in fear? Quickly stepping back as he let him do his thing to the adjacent toaster. He knew he wasnt much help so he simply watched as they talked code. "Okay it looks like you guys got this, ill make that call to my friend who may be able to extend your deadline."

Rin nodded in agreement towards Sektor about keeping Jack away from robots. "Sorry Sek, he honestly cant tell the difference... thats why i had to simplify his prosthetics." Rin gestured towards Jack, " Jack theres a commstation in my office, besides... theres something i wanted to show you anyway..." Rin said with a grin.

Sektor stood incredibly stiff as Kate 'kissed' it. "Data...archived." Sektor replied in an incredibly weak tone. "Running diagnostic on vocal emitter." It finished simply, looking downwards.

(Meanwhile back in the back office with Rin and Jack)

"Wow! look at that!"

"I know amazing right?"

"its impressive, but why is it growing so fast?"

"That happens sometimes, im still learning to control it."

Jack leaned away from the eyepiece. "So these nanomachines are inside you right now?" Jack asked. "No, not these... older versions, but something is causing them to deteriorate... thankfully this batch hasnt gone haywire like the Lucid project. Jack scratched his head as he played with the mouse in the cage. "So your running out of time then? have you ran human trials yet? Jack asked nervously. "not yet, but if Harry here eats that block of cheese than im going to right away. currently the nanobeta serum likes to fix things too much and tends to make hypersensitivity a huge setback."

Jack stuck his metallic finger through the cage to try and get the three legged mouse's attention, but it just kept staring at itself in the tiny mirror. Both let out an equal sigh as time passed before them. "I saw your father the other day..." Jack said hesitantly. Rin's eyes grew wide. "Did you? how is he? is he still helping out that free clinic in Beta?" Rin asked excitedly. Jack stayed silent.... "Hes still up to his old ways, you can be sure of that." Jack muttered. "Thats good im glad hes helping people... make sure to tell him his little girl misses him next time okay?" Rins smile was bright and genuine but Jack couldnt bare to look up. "Sure... sure ill tell him." He said with a smile.

Rin looked up at her holotab and noticed it said 3:45pm. "Did you manage to get the extention for your green eyed friend out there?" Rin asked playfully. "Took a bit of negotiating, but the call will definately get delayed a few hours. most likely around Midnight." Jack stated. "Have you told her about Michelle yet?" Rin stared at the desk not wanting to see the look on Jacks face. "No... and if i recall i havent told you either." He said hesitantly. Rin kept quiet as she pulled up a small article on her holopad. "You didnt need to... you talk in your sleep and i put the pieces together. "

A news blog online shown a small article with the headlines. "Detective takes bribe and pays the price." a small paragraph states about how a Beta local detective has a run in with a couple local gangs. Caught taking bribes to look the other way during their wars and prostitution ring and sold out the entire thing afterwards. Jack couldnt bare to read the last part. "Local detective targeted by Diez-Setentas Gang in an attempted murder resulting in the casualty of a Michelle Roman, beloved sister of Jack Roman." Rin stated out loud. "GET OUT!" Jack yelled. Rin jumped out of her seat suprised of his reaction. "GET THE FUCK OUT-leave me alone!" Jack said tossing the holopad across the room. Rin quickly left and closed the door behind her. tears pouring from her eyes.She quickly cleaned her cheeks as she walked up towards Kate. "Jacks gonna take a quick rest in the office so im here to help you if you need it." Rin gave a quick sniff to clear her sinuses. "Doctor Rin Emris Stone at your service." She joked.

Marcus sat in his home, the bleak of night already set upon the rest of the District, though few would know it; the lights of the massive buildings and streets, as well as the ceaseless hum of vehicles made for a restless night. However Marcus didn't intend on getting any sleep tonight. All was silent in his house, the only noise being the gentle, soft sound of his breath.

He looked down at his own hands, open palms out in front of him. Deciding this experiment must be done, he grabbed a large knife that sat on the coffee table. Clenching it tightly in his right hand he placed the blade at the edge of his palm, and slowly dragged the blade across the length of his hand, the sound of metal through flesh inescapable.

Blood welled up from the wound, making a gentle plip, plip noise as droplets of the red viscous liquid made stains on the floor. A sharp, stinging pain radiated from the open wound and jutted up through Marcus' whole hand. A soft grimace was on his face, but he made no other reaction.

Suddenly, a sizzling sound came from his hand, and he saw it: the slash in his hand knitting itself together. Scabs, followed by flesh covered the just previously opened wound. Finally, after seconds, his hand looked completely fine.

Marcus brushed over where the wound previously was with his free hand, feeling no sign of scarring or indentation. "What am I?" He asked himself through gritted teeth.

{MEANWHILE AT DISTRICT ONE ADMINISTRATION}
"Sir, we have a problem." A middle-aged scientist with thick framed glasses and balding gray hair spoke up. A tall, intimidating man in a suit approached the scientist. "What is it, Dr. Jones?" He responded in a voice that dripped with irritation and impatience.

"Uhh, erm, Subject X is becoming aware." The scientist responded meekly.

"WHAT?!" The other man roared, sharply looking at the scientists computer. "He's learning of his condition. Distract him. The later he finds out who he is, the better."

"Yes, Sir, right away, Sir." The scientist said before pushing a few buttons on his keyboard.

{MARCUS' HOUSE}
The ringing began. Quiet, itching in his mind; but it began to grow louder, sharper, more unbearable.

Marcus fell out of his chair, both hands clawing at his head with severe pain. He struggled to reach for a syringe in his pocket, but found his own arms were working against him, fumbling about awkwardly. He lost nearly all feeling in them, tingling radiating through his fingertips. The whispers started again: muddled, inaudible commands both warm and severe.

He clawed for his syringes, his fingers awkwardly feeling for them, a painful, burning tingling rushing through both hands and arms. He finally wrapped his hand around the cool, thin surface and quickly jamming it into his neck. He breathed out a sigh of relief, breathing quickly as the pain and voices subsided once more.

He curled up in his place on the ground and began to shudder, tears beginning to glint in his eyes. He then lost all self-control and sobbed himself to sleep on the ground, hating whatever and whoever he was...

(The day before)
Karis sat at her desk, her bloodshot eyes not once moving from the screen. “This bot…” She murmurs to herself seeing how no one else is in the study with her. So many thoughts ran through Karis’ mind, so much information she needs. So many files need to be added to her collection. She needed to find out everything she can about that bot.
Karis’ right hand moved off the keyboard to grab her scotch. The now warm liquid ran down her throat as she reads on and on about this AI… Unit number 0.18462958… so amazingly made. His programming; it must be extraordinary. All she could think about is she must need to find this AI and get to understand all the workings, both inside and out.
Both hands are back to typing and her eyes never once blinking. She craved the information. She couldn’t live without knowing what possessed this bot. She slammed her hands down on her desk with a grunt. “Ian!” She calls out, beckoning her… assistant, for lack of a better word. He came running in as fast as he could. “You called, ma’am” He states the second he’s in the room.
“I need you to get me all my files on Katherine Saunders.” She says bluntly before turning back to the computer and back to reading on Unit 0.18462958.

Marcus composed himself, standing up weakly. Evening had already settled on District One, the view of the sun now an orange bleed through the shades of indigo, purple, and black that now made up the night sky. He stretched with a deep groan, making a mental note to never sleep on that damned floor again as long as he lived.

Suddenly the voices started back again; how? Marcus had just taken a syringe only an hour or two ago, the hallucinations should have been gone by now. Unless, unless he really *was* going mad. "God...dammit!" Marcus shouted at the top of his lungs, punching a wall, his fury upon him. His mouth was left agape upon looking at the deep dent he had made with his fist. He looked down at his hand; it looked normal, felt normal, but such strength. Surely his fist would have broken upon impact to have made such a dent, but he felt fine - not even a break in the flesh.

Suddenly the voices picked up in pace, a single command was ushered into the very deep confines of his mind: a command so known and feared, and yet so alien and incomprehensible...Fiat justitia ruat caelum Marcus inhaled sharply, his pupils dilating. His vision blurred, his legs beyond his own control. He was losing his grasp on his own reality, his own thoughts; his memories.

Marcus stepped into his bedroom, opening the double wardrobe along one wall. Pushing the back panel in gently, it slid aside, revealing an armory as bleach white as the living room.

Marcus stepped inside, stripping down and armoring up. His armor was advanced for the time, and consisted of a lightweight skin-tight cloth that was made up of synthetic weave, allowing ease of movement and flexibility without expending durability. The outer layer of the suit was covered in lightweight, bullet-proof armor that was layered around the entirety of his body. The finishing touch was a full-face helmet that Marcus slowly put on. A sharp hiss of air confirmed it was locked into place, and a single red triangle symbol appeared in the middle of the helmets visor.

Marcus, no...Cypher, then grabbed his weaponry off the various weapon racks: a machete, dual pistols, an assault rifle, and a stun gun. He was ready...

[DISTRICT ONE ADMINISTRATION]
"Sir! Agent Cypher is active and ready for deployment, prepared to transmit orders!" One scientist piped up proudly. Their superior, a, General Stryker approached, his posture tall and stiff, his hands clasped behind his back. "Our informants suggest there is a large amount of Lucid located inside an apartment in District 16. Identity not disclosed yet. If Cypher can get his hands on the Lucid, then we may have a case on our hands."

The scientist nodded in affirmation, typing a few commands into his keyboard.

[MARCUS' HOUSE]

A single box appeared in the side of Cypher's HUD within his helmet, with a red overlay. [MISSION: THE LOCATION AND POSSIBLE EXTRACTION OF HIGH LEVELS OF LUCID LOCATED IN DISTRICT 16. LETHAL FORCE: NOT AUTHORIZED - SHOOT TO STUN]

Cypher nodded wordlessly and slowly left his building of residence, beginning the long tread to District 16. All law enforcement officers in the area were notified: Agent Cypher is active and released, any interference in his primary mission will be met by severe repercussions.

Cypher kept his pace towards a walk, his posture remaining tall and determined. His enhanced abilities made this walk incredibly easy, and little actual energy was wasted.

Cypher stood outside the apartment, cocking his head slowly. Testing the front door, locked, precisely to his thoughts; Cypher kicked it in with a single kick, the door falling to the ground, completely ripped off its hinges.

Cypher held his rifle out in front of him - the gun was loaded with tranquilizer rounds. It would hurt like hell, but wouldn't cause any lasting damage to the suspect. Cypher kept his pace slow and careful, sneaking towards what was supposed to be the bedroom 'area' of the studio apartment.

it was small and dingy; lined with random garbage and strewn clothing. Offering only a small exclamation of disgust, Cypher began investigating, looking through every container and crevice possible.

As he was beginning to lose hope he found the closet; throwing away a pile of tattered jeans scattered within it he found what he was looking for. A whole stash of Lucid. Whoever this person was, she was either so hooked up to the damn stuff she had to take it constantly, or was a dealer. Either way, she was going down.

Cypher accessed the communicator hub from his helmet: "Agent Cypher to District One Administration, come in; repeat, come in. I've found a whole stash of Lucid in here, probably the most I've seen anywhere outside a damn factory. No residents located inside, I'm taking the stash and returning it, over and out."

[DISTRICT ONE ADMINISTRATION]

General Stryker nodded approvingly with a menacing grin. "As soon as Cypher brings in the samples, run anything you can on it. I want whoever owns it to be punished...permanently, if need be." He ended with a sinister tone...

[Collaboration between Mach and Ghost Shadow]

Vagrant walked down the streets of Thirteen, the backpack slung over her shoulders weighted down significantly moreso than usual. Despite the weight, her walk was easy and confident, her chin held high as though she owned the street. Occasionally, someone would cast a second glance at her slightly arrogant smile, but most passed her by.

Gradually, the streets grew narrower, and less populated. Within a few moments, she had reached a network of back alleys where most would become lost in a matter of minutes. Graffiti on the walls marked it as a claimed gang territory. The logo was stenciled on the sides of buildings, clearly visible to a trained eye. A burning rose, painted in red and orange. Vagrant had made deals with the Devil's Own crew before. She knew their faces, and trusted them just enough to return for a second deal.

Stopping outside a door bearing the burning rose tag, she raised a fist to knock. Seconds passed, and the door finally opened a crack. The man standing before her towered over her by a solid foot, and wore a distinctively raggedy bow-tie. She'd caught his name last time, and greeted him like an old friend, even though she barely knew him. "Hey, Jackson. How goes it?" Vagrant asked, a pleasant grin on her face.

He gave a mocking smile in return. "You got a passcode for me, girlie?"

"Yeah, I would, if you guys could keep 'em to less than eight syllables," she retorted, voice dripping sarcasm. "Tell you what I do got. Fancy fancy guns that you ain't gonna get unless you let me in."

Jackson frowned, clearly debating for a moment before opening the door fully for the petite redhead. She smirked, walking under the arm he held the door with, and entered the room. With the same easy confidence she'd had while walking outside, Vagrant made her way to the centre of the room, where a group of approxamitely seven men and women were gathered around a table. She set her backpack down, unzipping it, and began pulling out contraband weaponry one item at a time, laying them before her on the table. "Ladies and gents, as promised. One laser gun for each o' yous. Best tech you'll see outside o' Alpha, or nearabouts anyways."She looked across the table, seeking out the face of the Devil's Own's leader, a severe woman with her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. "I'm rememberin' the deal was eighty credits a piece, yeah?"

The woman tilted her head, smiling sweetly. "Deal changed. Now you just leave us those guns, and you get to walk out of here in one piece, Vagrant."

It took a half a second for the scowl to appear on her face. And a fraction of that before she had raised her voice, speaking angrily across the table. "I ain't leaving 'til you give me what's mine!"

Instantly, hands had gripped her by the upper arms, and two of the men were dragging her towards the door. Vagrant twisted fiercely, rotating her torso and managing to drive a knee up into the crotch of the one on her left. He staggered, and the one on her right wasted no time in pushing her to the ground. She landed hard, scrambling to her feet and raising her fists for the now-inevitable fight.

Havok patrolled the streets of District 13, his head cocking side to side in an autonomous manner, his rifle held in his hands. He had been notified only hours before of quite a large bounty placed on the Devil's Own gang, every last member exterminated with their ears brought back as proof of Havok's success. Of course, it made no sense why bounty collectors still required proof these days; everyone knew Havok was the best assassin droid ever built.

He trailed their signals and symbols down the labyrinth-esque maze of alleys that were spread across Zone Beta. Havok, in his true fashion casually strolled up to the front door, knocking loudly, sending an echo throughout the entire building.

Instead of rushing at the small girl with her fists held up in a ready position, everyone's attention now turned to the door. The ponytailed woman's face twisted into an expression of disapproval. "You brought friends, Vagrant? We told you to come alone."

Vagrant's only response was a shake of her head. "I don't go no friends. Whoever's there is there for you."

Unconvinced, the woman gave a quick nod at one of her men. He rushed forward, fast enough that even Vagrant was too slow to avoid him. She gave a sharp yell of frustration before he had her in a chokehold, and one of the women at the table moved towards the door.

Havok could only emit a small chuckle at the chaos that was about to ensue and kicked the door open, immediatly opening fire upon the first gangster he saw, shooting a total of three times into his chest, leaving burning holes behind.

Havok continued the assault with deadly efficiency, landing only headshots or chest-shots, occasionally shooting the weapons out of opposing gangsters hands before killing them a moment later. He saved the leader for last, shooting her in both knees . He would relish this kill...

The woman fell, her shattered knees unable to support her weight. From the ground, she cast a quick glance around the room. Her entire crew was dead. The gang she had worked her life to become a part of, to build up, was gone. Her teeth gritted in pain, she yelled in Vagrant's direction, though she couldn't see where the girl had gone. "No friends, my ass! A killer bot is a hell of a friend."

She turned to face Havok, fierce defiance in her eyes. If she was going to die, she would face it bravely.

Havok looked her in the eyes, his own cold...lifeless...yet alive with the menacing yellow glow emitting from his photoreceptors. "Your devised attempt at displaying bravery is admirable, but quite easily obtrusive. You are afraid...such feelings only experienced by a human platform." He said the word 'human' with extreme disgust, as if it sickened him to say it. Finally, he put a single energy bolt into her head, watching as she crumpled to the floor, lifeless.

Vagrant, meanwhile, had retreated to the farthest corner of the room the second the man choking her had fallen limp. Without conscious thought, she had curled up there, becoming as small as possible and watching the scene play out before her.

Blood was soaking through the shirts of the gang members, beginning to pool on the ground around them.

She blinked rapidly, shaking and hyperventilating, and her gaze shifted to the robot. In a matter of seconds, he had killed everyone in the room. But she was alive. Had he missed? Vagrant pressed herself tighter into the corner, trying to remain unnoticed.

Havok looked about the room carefully. "Step out, child." Havok commanded in a cool tone, his blaster rifle simply held dormantly in his off hand. "My photoreceptors detect you are not part of the Devil's Own gang. Why are you here, and why shouldn't I shoot you right here?" He demanded

Still tremoring, Vagrant climbed to her feet. "Ain't a child," she retorted in an attempt at defiance. The effect was slightly marred by the shell-shocked terror present in her voice. "I was...was making a deal with them. Selling 'em guns."

She glanced again at the bodies all around her. Blood. Everywhere. Even though there wasn't truly that much of it, thanks to the bot's brutal efficiency, it felt as though she was going to drown in the stuff. She took a quick breath and looked away, meeting the android's gaze. 'You shouldn't kill me 'cause...'cause..." she racked her brain, trying to think of a reason. But the blood was painfully distracting. It sent her mind back, dragging up memories she didn't want to think about. Austin. His death. The men who killed him...inspiration struck, and she spoke up with some of her usual confidence. ' 'Cause I got other folks you can kill."

Havok continued to look down at her, standing at least a foot taller than her. "Your platform poses no immediate threat of mine; and your offer intrigues me...very well, child, I will not waste ammo shooting your precious frame to bits." Havok finally conceded. "I have not had a master, excuse me, mistress in some time; this will be quite interesting. I am yours to command." He finally finished with a curt nod of his head.

She blinked, entirely surprised that her attempt at diplomacy had actually worked. "Ain't a child," she repeated. Smiling slightly, she stared at the robot for a moment. "Mine to command? Um..."

Glancing once again around the room, she quickly retrieved her backpack, tucking two of the laser guns back inside before slipping it over her shoulders. Somehow, in all of that mess, her bag had remained free of blood. She was relieved. "Right. I command you to go outside. I ain't liking it in here no more."

Havok tucked the barrel of his rifle over his shoulder nonchalantly. "Very well, Mistress." He said in a casual tone, strolling from the ransacked building outside, where he stood in wait patiently.

"Ah, yes, Mistress; another thing. I came here to collect a bounty on these gang members. 200 credits for the leader, 50 credits per additional kill. "As my mistress you are entitled to at least 75% of the funds made from the bounty - I simply need to collect the ears." Havok informed, not moving from the spot he was ordered to.

"Ain't a 'Mistress', neither," Vagrant corrected Havok as she followed him out, making a face of contempt at the word.

Once outside, she inhaled deeply. The air in the alleyway was far from fresh, but it wasn't laced with the scent of blood like it was inside. She looked at Havok, raising an eyebrow. "75%?" She tried to do the math in her head. 200 credits for the leader, plus....eight multiplied by fifty....and seventy-five percent.... "How much is that?"

Regardless of the exact value, it was a lot. And would probably make up for the money she'd lost when the sale of the laser guns had gone sour. "Yeah...go grab the ears, then," Vagrant instructed him. As an afterthought, she quickly added on, "Only don't show 'em to me. I don't wanna see no dismembered ears."

"Affirmative, Mistress, I will be sure to minimilize psychological damage done to your core computer until such times it is necessary against hostilities." Havok ensured, rather unpromising though.

He walked back inside the building, remaining silent for a few minutes before returning out once more, a slightly soiled sack held absent-mindedly in one of his hands.

"75% of the total credits earned computes into 450 standard credits. I recommend you purchase a calculation device, Mistress; running mathematical equations is not using my programming to its full capacity." He objected, albeit casually.

"Ain't a 'Mistress'," she corrected once more. "Find a different word or something."

She smiled at the thought of the credits. Not quite as much as she would have made off the laser guns...but she still had two she could sell off somewhere. And 450 was still a hell of a solid amount. "I ain't buying a calculator. Got better stuff I can spend 450 creds on."

She started walking back down the alleyway, trusting that Havok would follow. "So how's this work, then? I tell you who I want dead, and they die?"

Havok followed loyally. "But, Mistress, what else am I to call you? I am quite alarmed indeed; never have I had a master or mistress that has not decided to go by that term. My archived data confirms organics feel a certain necessity in holding titles of authority or power."

"Just call me Vagrant. That's what everyone calls me," she answered, ready to be rid of the awkward title of 'Mistress'.

He stopped for a moment before answering her next question. "Affirmative, Vagrant. My prime directive is the assassination or murder of selected targets, whichever method you direct me to. Stealthy assassination via a sniper rifle bolt to the head, burning alive, poison gas, explosives...psychological terror?" He added the last method with a sinister edge to his voice.

Vagrant nodded decisively at the last option listed. "Yes. That last one. The terror thing."

Her expression had changed, the arrogant half-smile leaving, replaced now with something far colder. The girl's pale blue eyes turned icy as she recalled once again the night her brother died. If that hadn't been a case of pure terror for her, she didn't know what would be. "I want 'em scared to death."

For a second, she frowned. "Problem, though...I don't got names or nothing. I'm still trying to find these guys."

"Well then, I am afraid I cannot comply with your command without at least some sort of information. I recommend you begin searching everywhere. My databanks confirm there are information brokers scattered around who can gather informatoin on anyone - for the right price, of course. If, you wish, I could shoot them from the feet up to earn us a 'discount'." Havok suggested, a sudden flare in his photoreceptors.

"You think I ain't been trying to find these guys? Been looking for the past two months," Vagrant replied to the robot. At the threat to start shooting people, she shook her head. "Nah, no shootin' folk unless I say so."

She chewed at her bottom lip, thinking. Over the past two months, she had tried to get information on Austin's killers from a variety of people. Crime lords, drunkards, anyone who might be connected. But over the past two months, she hadn't had 450 credits to her name. "Might make a difference, though, havin' some actual money to pay 'em with now. I'd rather buy info on these guys than blow that money on a calculator," she told Havok with a smirk. "How about we go collect your bounty and then see who we can talk to, yeah?"

"Oh of course I figured you would have been searching for these targets. But an organic is so...inefficient at gathering data; it is only best you found me when you did, if not sooner." Havok stated with a sharp nod. "The bounty office is only an estimated mile-and-a-half from here. These credits will help us in our mission, I understand."

"Well, 'scuse me for being an organic," Vagrant scoffed jokingly. She grinned, excited to finally be making headway in the case of her brother's murder. "Lead the way, Mr Robot. Let's go get ourselves a bounty."

"I take offense to that title, Mist-I mean Vagrant...how would you like it if I incessently referred to you as a fleshy sack of goop and...fluid? Wouldn't make you feel good, would it?" Havok asked, feigning a wounded tone, placing a single hand where his 'heart' would be.

She was taken aback by the fact that she had managed to 'insult' the machine. "Right...sorry?" she apologized after a second of hesitation. "I won't call you "Mr Robot" no more, and you won't call me "Mistress". So I'm Vagrant, and you're...?" she asked, realizing he hadn't actually told her what to call him yet.

Havok switched gears, seeming to completely forget his previous anger. "I am unit identification: HA-VK, designation: Havok, which you will refer to me as. Assassin droid and part-time translator." He finished introducing himself. "And you seem young to be my new Mist- oh dear, I keep slipping up again. It's been so long since I've had one disowning their own title." He mused to himself.

"S'okay Mr Robot," Vagrant smirked in response to his slip-up. "And I ain't so young. I'm old enough to take care o' myself, so I ought to be old enough to handle a killer robot, too."

"If you say so, Vagrant; I am your ever loyal machine." Havok reassured in a resigned tone. "Anyways, to the bounty office. My gun has already started to cool." He said amusedly before continuing ahead towards the direction of the bounty office.

Adjusting the straps of her backpack over her shoulders, Vagrant followed Havok. Her usual over-confident grin was back on her face. What had started out as a disastrous contraband deal gone wrong, had now turned into an excellent opportunity.

[Collab between Ghost Shadow and Mach2]

---

Havok stood in front of the bounty office patiently as a rather short, portly man was busy typing away at a computer. He finally looked towards Havok, fear coming into his squinty, wet eyes as he looked Havok up and down. "Y-y-yes, Havok? Can I help you?" He asked meekly, obviously lacking the spine to be an actual bounty hunter, settling instead for a desk job.

"I completed my mission." Havok said casually, dumping the contents of his bag onto the desk, already-decomposing ears piled atop each other. "The leader and her lackeys, as promised; now, I want my money." Havok demanded in a tone that didn't hold any sign of objection.

The man sat uneasily as he rather frantically typed into his computer. "Transferring credits to your account, Havok; it's all there!" The man laughed uneasily.
"Affirmative." Havok said simply before sharply turning and striding out.

He stepped up to his mistress, looking down at her before speaking, "450 credits transferred to your personal account, Mistress." He informed in a businesslike manner.

She smiled broadly when she saw Havok walk out, having been growing steadily more impatient while waiting. Vagrant nodded with an air of assumed authority. "It's my brother's account, technically," she answered with an offhanded shrug. "But thanks, Mr. Robot."

"So, we good to head off? You said you knew who we could talk to, right?" she asked, nearly in the same breath as her word of thanks. She was clearly ready to start making headway.

Havok only 'blinked' at her, his yellow photoreceptors flaring for a moment. "Do I look like a walking, talking map to you, Mistress? My job is to facilitate communications and terminate hostilities. How do you expect me to locate an information broker all the way out here? Do you know why you never hear of information brokers? Because all the smart ones are hidden! The dumb ones were terminated. Which may or may not have been part of a contract I was...somewhat involved in." Havok finished hesitantly.
"There is one my databanks to turn up...the Datacore she's called. Insane, so I hear; obsessed with information. All the best ones are. Perhaps we could find information there. And if you're especially cheap, Mistress, I could always just blast her; would that please you?" Havok asked, slight enjoyment in his voice.

"No wonder I ain't been able to find no one who knows nothing," Vagrant muttered, her speech a rush of double negatives. "You going 'round killing all of 'em."

She had never heard of this 'Datacore' that Havok spoke of. Insane? The thought was slightly discouraging. Would they be able to trust information from a source like that? Still...it was better than what she had so far, which was essentially nothing. "Datacore sounds like a good place to start. You know where she is, or is she one of the hiding ones?"

She paused for a second, and then quickly added on, "And no blasting unless I say so."

"Oh, but, Mistress!" He began in despair, "I haven't harmed organics in minutes! My behavioral core is growing anxious. And while my databanks don't hold much information on 'the Datacore'..I know someone who does. Perhaps they will listen to reason...or the barrel of a gun staring them in the face. I remember my first contract..." Havok let out a nostalgic sigh, "My contract was your typical 'tough guy', wriggling little informant. Cracked as soon as he knew what I was there for. I went from assassin to 'shoulder to cry on' within minutes. He lost control of his bowels at least two times." Havok informed.

As Havok spoke, the expression on Vagrant's face seemed to take on a slightly confused look. His speech patterns were beginning to be a headache for her to follow. She raised an eyebrow at the last sentence. "You mean he crapped himself?" she asked.

She shook her head, smiling slightly at the android's overly complex vocabulary. "Then why not just say "he crapped himself"? Who says bowels? And can we go soon? You can tell me about guys you scared the shit outta on our way to find whoever you're taking us to see."

Havok sighed audibly, this time in irritance. "Mistress, I will not sink to such repugnant organic vocabulary. I would rather put a blaster pistol to my core computer and pull the trigger rather than misuse the potential of my optimum engineering. My vocabulator is top-of-the-line!"

With that, he began walking in a random direction. "This is a one-time deal, Mistress. Usually, I follow my masters; not the other way around. You are a strange mistress, Mistress - I like you." He complimented before continuing to walk.

She grinned proudly at the almost-compliment. "Thanks, Mr. Robot. You ain't too bad, either."

"Anyways, where was I? Ah, yes, my first contract. The man was a complete mess, even for an organic! 'Oh please don't kill me' he cried, 'I didn't do it, I swear.' I noticed in my time that organics will lie as much as they can if they believe it will save them from punishment. In this case I suffered his blubbering enough and promptly shut him up with an energy bolt to the neck." Havok finished, talking as if he was discussing a regular day's work.

Vagrant listened intently, walking alongside the robot. Whoever had programmed him, she wanted to shake their hand. This machine was murderous and merciless. He was exactly what she needed to go after the men who'd done her brother in. "How many folk you killed? How come the government don't come after you and shut you down?"

"Oh, please, Mistress; you wound me. Do you really think that the government could catch me? I'm the best assassin droid ever built!" Havok exclaimed with a sudden flare.

"Let me run a scan on my databases...my platform has slaughtered over 153 organics. No, wait, that was last year...Total kill count: 726 organics slaughtered in this platform's existence." Havok stated proudly.

Her eyes went wide as she turned to look up at Havok. "That's a helluva number," Vagrant replied, her voice filled with awe, and perhaps the slightest hint of fear.

Even though she tried to go through life without getting too sentimental...she couldn't help but wonder how many of those deaths had been people like her brother. A misunderstanding, or a deal gone wrong. How many of them had families and close friends to grieve their deaths? After a moment of hesitation, she voiced her unease. "They didn't all deserve to die...did they?"

Havok looked down at her, stopping abruptly. "Mistress, I must recommend that you learn to keep control of your emotions. Mercy and compassion are tactical weaknesses, Know that your opponents will use it against you as soon as they can. I do not think of who I kill, it is my prime directive. I am given a contract and I execute it - there's no point in asking yourself foolish questions to clog up your memory banks." Havok advised cooly before beginning his trek once more.

She shrugged, trying to retreat back into her stoic shell. "I ain't compassionate," she said defensively.

"You're organic - you're always compassionate..." He interjected.

"But sometimes people don't deserve to die. Sometimes stuff just goes wrong, and they end up dead 'cause of it. That ain't right."

"The guys we're goin' after, though, they do," she said firmly, sounding just as much as though she was reassuring herself as she was informing Havok. The hint of anger in her tone was clearly distinguishable.

"Mistress, tell me, who's job is it to dictate what is *right* or *wrong*?" Havok asked, looking at her. "Was it right of you to live in the slums? Stealing for food and supplies? Is that *wrong*? Is it right for our 'heroic' government do treat those less influential as though they are dirt?"

"I am ever your loyal droid, Mistress. Just point me where to shoot - and I'll shoot." Havok reassured.

"I don't see nothin' wrong with me stealing stuff when there's extra. Not like I ever stole from someone who couldn't spare. But you see some drug lord, sittin' his butt on more coin than some people will see in their lives, you telling me he can't spare some? Me and Austin, we never took more than we needed. That's right, way I see it."

She was more than ready to drop the discussion on ethics and morals. "Who we going to see about the Datacore? We gonna get there soon?"

"We will locate one of her agents and, through torture if need be, extract the information out of him, then I shall proceed to end his miserable existence. A word of caution though, Mistress: the Datacore is one of the most successful information brokers out there, they typically have countermeasures and failsafes against potential assassins." Havok informed, his tone remaining deathly serious for the moment.

"Well if she's one of the best, she better know about the guys we're lookin' for. And hey, what'd I say about killing people?" she chastised the android. "Maybe his existence ain't miserable. Maybe he's a happy guy. And hey, maybe if you don't go around shooting everyone, then we won't have to worry about the countermeasures and all that!"

She shook her head again. For a superior machine, he wasn't so great with putting together the pieces. "If you don't go looking for trouble, the chances of trouble finding you go down a helluva lot," she told him, reciting a lesson her brother had drilled into her head for as long as she could remember. "Shooting folk, that's looking for trouble."

Havok gasped, "Oh, Mistress, I am *so* disappointed in you right now! Do you think I go looking for trouble on a regular basis? You are solely incorrect. In fact, I have an 87.9% chance to be the one *starting* trouble, not looking for it! Do you think I was built as a training dummy for a civilian militia? I have only been defeated once before going freelance, and even then I still believe my assailant was cheating by using heavy artillery weaponry." He finished indignantly.

"Aw, someone a sore loser?" Vagrant teased with a smirk.

"All the same. No killing folk unless I tell you. Deal? Because I got five guys I wanna see dead. That's it, that's all. We ain't gonna kill people just 'cause you feel like it."
She fixed him with a serious look, taking on an authoritative tone. "That's a straight-up instruction, as your Mistress," she told him. Though the word 'mistress' was spoken with derisive mockery, she tone of the order was clear.

"Of course, Mistress; I shall completely disregard the prime directive programmed into me upon activation and serve as your loyal butler to carry your things, make meals, and provide punny, unhumorous commentary on your adventures. That's me! I am a no-violence assassin droid, who's only purpose in life is now to sully my good name and fearful reputation!" He began to rant, flinging his arms about wildly as he did so.

"Damn right you are!" Vagrant confirmed with a laugh. "Wouldn't mind having me a butler droid. Be all fancy like the guys up in Alpha."

"Cheer up, Havok. I'm givin' you five guys to kill. And you can have as much fun doin' it as you want." She meant it, too. There was nothing she wanted more than to see those five dead. Hell, she might even be able to stand the sight of their blood.

"Oh, but, Mistress; only 5 organics. My combat initializer would have just been warming up! Dammit, I'm an assassin droid!' He cried out. "Or, perhaps, I know a deal that could help the both of us, Mistress. The more contracts I am hired for; the more organics I get to slaughter and the more credits you get to make."

"So what, take on side jobs while we're tracking these guys down?" she asked, clarifying what Havok meant. Vagrant shrugged. "Yeah, that'd work. You'll still be able to help me track 'em down, though, right?"

"Why, yes, of course, Mistress. My secondary directive is to serve you! But my calculations suggest that we'll need much more credits in order to locate our 'friends'." Havok suggested. "I can make us quite wealthy."

She groaned audibly, impatience clawing at her mind. Just when Vagrant had thought she'd been so close to finally finding a little bit of justice. "How wealthy do we gotta get?" she asked in annoyance. "You're friends do exist, right?"

"Mistress...why would I lie to you about killing someone?" Havok asked in an irritated tone. "If I knew our search would lead us closer to the unrestrained brutal murder of innocent civilians, I would be moving at an exceptionally fast rate. However, you organics are so greedy - and the best information brokers have a high fare for knowledge. Of course, the option of shooting them in non-lethal body parts so as to 'bargain' has a high statistical probability of working quite well, I understand." Havok responded, almost wishful.

"Stop it with your big words," Vagrant muttered in obvious frustration. "What's the fastest way I'm gonna see these guys dead? If we need to go after more folk to get the money, I'll help you out. If we gotta shoot your contacts in the knee, fine, I'd do that, too. I just wanna see the guys who killed my brother dead on the ground in front o' me..."

"Ahh, revenge. One of the most admirable of organic traits, I can respect that. First, we can see how much the Datacore costs. The sooner I get to kill, the better. We are nearing our contact." Havok stated, approaching a rather well-dressed, if not tired looking young man.

"You!" Havok began, aiming his rifle towards him. "I know you work for the Datacore, organic! Give me everything you have on her, or I will be happy to retaliate with violence!" Havok threatened,

"Subtlety at it's finest," Vagrant muttered under her breath.

"No! Please don't hurt me!" The man cried out, backing up against a wall and slowly shrinking down.

"Such cowardice..." Was all Havok muttered. "Come now, out with it, before I paint the walls with your blood!"

"Ok, ok, I'll tell you everything." The man whimpered, a dark stain appearing in the front of his pants.

"I can see you really hold dignity in high regard, organic." Havok commented, sounding quite irate.

"The Datacore lives in a seemingly abandoned building here, the old bank. She converted it into her own private little hub for information and espionage. She keeps traps littered everywhere. The woman's paranoid!" The man cried out, fear still ever present.

"Thank you for the information." Havok said, his finger beginning to pull on the trigger...

Vagrant listened intently to the man as he spoke. When the dark stain appeared, her face bore a smirk somewhere between pity and mockery. She wouldn't have pissed herself, even if she'd had a gun pointed at her face.

But the second she saw Havok's finger tensing on the trigger of his rifle, she spoke up. "Hey!" she yelled sharply, turning angrily to face the robot. "What'd I say? About killing?"

"But, Mistress, the whelp is incoherent! I've already gotten all the necessary information I need out of him. Look, it's as simple as this!" Suddenly, without looking away from her, Havok aimed the gun down and promptly shot him in the foot.

Crying out in both shock and fear the man rolled over onto his side, clutching his searing foot in pain.

Havok looked quite proud of himself. "Quit callin' me 'Mistress' and don't shoot people!" Vagrant reprimanded him, accompanying the order with a sharp slap to the back of his head. She was fully aware that it was pointless, but it made her feel better.

She crouched down next the man, resting her elbows on her knees. "Sorry 'bout that. Now listen, it's clear that I can't control this guy," she told him quietly, pointing over her shoulder at Havok. "So take it on my advice, you best keep quiet about us. No telling your 'Datacore' lady we asked about her. 'Cause otherwise, I can't guarantee my bot ain't gonna come after you. Got it?"

The man only whimpered and looked up at her. "I won't tell, I swear!"

"Good, now scamper, monkey!" Havok retorted, shooting the ground around his feet. The man only squealed fearfully and sprinted off, tripping his feet up as he did so.
"Oh, it amuses me so to see organics in such a panic that they forget how to function their platform." Havok said happily.

"Yeah, that's called 'terror'," Vagrant answered bitterly, standing up as the man ran off. "It's what we do when we're scared out of our minds."

She inhaled deeply, letting her breath out in a huff. Shaking her head, she quickly expelled the image of the man's mutilated foot from her mind. "You don't shoot a guy if he's told you what you wanna know. There ain't no motivation in that. Come on, let's go find that bank he mentioned," she grumbled.

"Of course, Mistress! I can't wait to see how the Datacore reacts to us barging in. I would love to crush her neck...just a little. Please, Mistress?" He asked, much like how a small child begs for a piece of candy.

"You called me 'Mistress' twice there!" Vagrant replied in an exasperated tone. She shook her head. "Come on, Mr Robot. Let's go find that bank. We ain't gonna barge in, we'll knock like polite folks. And maybe she'll answer. And if she don't, then we can barge in. No neck-snapping unless it benefits me, got it Mr Robot?"

"Very well, Vagrant. I shall concede." He finished in a defeated tone, making his way to the bank.

[Collab post between Gonzo and Mach2]

---

Mason, seated on a small chair, sighed as he held the TV remote in his large hand and flipped between the different channels of the cell's TV. The three had been thrown in the same large, roomy, and overall comfier of the cells in District 1, as soon as the cops found out who exactly the two boys were. Cooking show? Nope. News? Nope. 'Days of our Lives'? Nope. By the way, that show has been going on forever. It needs to die soon. Nope. Nope. Nope. No- Oh wait a minute... Mason turned his head towards James and motioned his head for the TV. "Look, pop's on the news again. Looks like he was at some charity event he most likely didn't care about," Mason said with a small laugh.

James lifted his head from the pillow of one of the cots and lifted a brow as his eyes trailed over the screen. The television showed their well dressed father walking down a flight of stairs from one of the large District 0 buildings. Below the moving images, there was a line of words, describing the situation displayed. "President Elect exiting 'Help the Young of Lower Districts' gala, yesterday." James let out a scoff and looked back up to the ceiling, muttering something inaudible.

Vander had taken a seat in the very corner of the cell, and stared numbly at the ground in front of her. She was trying very hard to maintain her composure, and it was showing. If she had felt bad when she'd tried to leave the restaurant, she felt like absolute hell now. The inevitable migraine was returning in full force. Along with it came thoughts of awful anxiety.

Why had they been arrested? Lucid wasn't legal. She knew that, but had ignored the rules long, long ago. What if the law had finally decided to come down on her for using? The needles that she had stowed away in her closet, under the dirty pair of jeans. What if they'd found it somehow? Her finger tapped an anxious rhythm against her leg, and her face seemed to pale.

She raised a hand to gently massage her aching temples, and felt dampness. She frowned in confusion for a second, before it finally registered that her entire body was covered with a thin layer of perspiration. Withdrawal sweats. She'd had them before, in the long spans between doses. Vander took a shaky breath before turning to James and Mason.

"Why'd we get arrested?" she asked, the words a bit more mumbled than she had intended. Focus was difficult. For all she knew, they'd already been discussing this.

James turned his head toward the female and shrugged slightly. "You know what? I'm not really sure. I think I heard something about The Spit, but I'm not really sure." The man looked up at the ceiling and listened to the report on his father, making him more anxious and irritated than he already was. It didn't help his mood that Vander had continued with the incessant tapping. After a few moments, he turned his head back in her direction.

"Can you stop that?" He snapped, his eyes narrowed into a disapproving glare. "It's highly irritating. I mean, seriously, what's your pro-"

"Enough!"

Mason had turned around and was glaring at his brother. He turned to Vander and gave her an understanding nod before looking back to his brother. He stood and shut off the TV. He was equally irritated with his father, but he wasn't going to bitch at other people because of it. He had manners, which James should have had.

"I don't know what we are in for, but the cops should be in here shortly to talk to us. So just calm the fuck down, James."

Vander jumped slightly as James snapped at her. She hadn't even realized she was tapping until he'd pointed it out. Her problem, as James had said, was that she had been arrested in the middle of trying to leave the restaurant. Her problem was that she'd tried to push herself far longer than she should be able to go without a fix, and now she was feeling it. Her problem was that the anxious finger-tapping was the result of a far worse habit. "Sorry," she muttered, flexing her fingers before pulling both hands into a tight fists and setting them in her lap. "Bad habit...I don't notice when I do it."

The room fell into a heavy silence as soon Mason had set James straight. She pulled her legs in, sitting cross-legged, and rested her elbows on her knees. Once more, her gaze fell to the ground a few feet in front of her. She focused on a tiny speck of dirt on the ground. It blurred. It would have been clear, but her eyes didn't work right without the drug. Everything was seen through a haze. The haze of withdrawal.

James lay on the cot, staring up at the wall. He didn't know if minutes or hours had gone by. The TV was off, there was no clock, there were no windows. Just a white room. The man let out an audible sigh and mumbled something about being let out. Not even a minute later, the door of the cell slid open and a couple of officers came in. "James Jamison, Mason Jamison, and Vander.... um... P...P... You are all free to go. The charges have been dropped, and the investigation is over. We apologize for the inconvenience. " And with that, the cops turned and walked out, leaving the cell door open.

Mason was the first one up, and strolling out of the room, "About fucking time. Any longer and I probably would have pissed myself." A small laugh escaped the man as he walked through the police station, with the two presumably behind. James just shook his head and stayed silent, until they reached the entrance of the police station, he opened the door and then spoke, not caring anymore if the cops heard him or not.

"Something seems fishy. I bet you anything, dad was behind all of this." James said with a tinge of disgust.

"You're damn right I was behind this," answered a stoic Henry Jamison. He was standing next to a rather large limo. "Now get in, all of you."

As the cell opened and the officers walked in, Vander at first felt her stomach clench in anxiety. She couldn't bring herself to meet their gaze, too worried that guilt would show in her eyes. However, as soon as the announcement was made that the charges had been dropped, she looked up with an expression of incredulity. Whatever they wanted, it wasn't about your Lucid... Relief flooded through her.

With some struggle, and using the wall as a support, she climbed to her feet and followed James and Mason out of the cell and towards the exit. She kept her head down, fighting to focus every second of the way. The second she was through those doors, she had every intent of setting off for District 16. The sooner she reached her apartment and got a needle in her arm, the better.

However, these plans were quickly crushed. Outside of the police station was a very fine limousine, and standing beside it was the man she'd previously seen on the television in the jail cell. Henry Jamison. Vander turned to look at James, an expression of panic clear in her eyes. She couldn't get in the limo. She had to get home. Right now, that was the most important thing on her mind. She had already been pushing herself to a dangerous level of withdrawal at breakfast, she couldn't afford to wait any longer. And who knew how long she would have to wait if she got in that limo. "I...I c-can't..." she stammered awkwardly, already turning to start walking away. "I'm sorry, I have to leave, now."

Praying that he would understand, Vander quickly turned. She started walking down the street, headed away from Alpha at a fast walk, back to the slums of Beta.

Collaboration between Mach2 and YoshiSkittlez

---

By the time Vander returned to her apartment, she looked ready to drop dead. She was ready to drop dead. Her hands shook as she fumbled to get the electronic key out of her pocket, badly enough that she feared she wouldn't be able to hold the hypodermic steady. However, as she reached her door, it turned out that the key was unnecessary. She blinked in shock, staring at the doorframe. The door itself lay on the floor in front of her apartment.

Anxiety coursed through her, and she tossed her jacket onto the bed as she entered the room. Someone had been in her apartment. She made a beeline for her closet, kneeling down in front of it.

She swore she felt her heart stop.

For several seconds, she couldn’t move, could only sit there and stare at the empty corner of the closet where her backpack of Lucid should be. Panic descended slowly onto Vander’s mind. “No…shit, no,” she muttered.

She had to have put it somewhere else. The other side of the closet. She sifted rapidly through the thin layer of dirty clothes on her closet floor. No backpack. There was no backpack in her closet. Nothing. Standing, Vander began to tear apart her apartment with a quickly growing desperation. She pulled the blanket from her bed, checked under the pillows, threw her jacket onto the floor, even tore away the sheets. By now, she was nearly hyperventilating. With some struggle, she lifted the mattress, only to find disappointment beneath. Every inch of her room was scoured, torn apart, and there was no backpack. Not even a single damn needle.

Vander swore loudly, sinking down against the wall. She held her face in her hands, realizing that her entire body was shaking with panicked tremors. Everything hurt. Everything hurt, and she felt sick. Her headache, if possible, had intensified further at the realization that her Lucid was gone. She couldn’t move without her stomach cramping in an almost unbearable manner, and if she had eaten anything more than a few bites of toast, she would have thrown it up. Can't do it...I can't.... She was, once again, coming close to a full day without a fix. Two day-long withdrawals in a row was far beyond what she could handle. And after what she'd had to do to get those syringes...

Deon.

It had to have been him. He was the only one, aside from James and Mason, who knew she'd had the drug in her possession. And she had spent the entire day locked up in a jail cell with the other two. She cringed, letting her head fall back against the wall with a quiet thud. The last thing she wanted was to see his face again, let alone confront him about stealing her Lucid. But by this point, she had no choice.

Defeat clear in the expression on her face, Vander stood up. She grabbed her leather jacket off the floor and zipped it up before leaving her apartment once more.

The walk to The Spit passed by in a blur. Several times, Vander had to stop to lean against the walls of decrepit buildings, taking a few minutes to catch her breath and will away the migraine that was tearing through her head. By the time she finally arrived, she looked like a drunk. Balance had left her, and it seemed to be a growing struggle to stay on her feet.

The noise of the club hit her like a brick wall, stabbing into her ears, and the lights assaulted her eyes. There was a very large part of her that just wanted to leave. Leave, and go find a nearby alleyway where she could curl up for the night until her heart stopped beating. But she forced herself to cast her gaze around the club.

A few seconds of searching revealed that Deon was nowhere to be seen. Not fighting, not sitting at the bar surrounded by a fan club of scantily dressed ladies, nowhere. She hesitated, then resorted to the next option. A bouncer stood near the entrance, and she approached him. "Is Deon fighting tonight?" she asked, her words slightly slurred and quieter than she'd intended.

The bouncer, a giant of a man, looked down at her, raising an eyebrow. "What'd you say?" he asked, his voice loud even over the noise of the music. "Speak up."
"Deon," she repeated, as loudly as she could force her voice to go. "The Crusher. I need to talk to him. It's important."

The level of desperation in her voice must have been just enough to convince the bouncer that it was, indeed, important. After a quick glance around the club to make sure that everything was still in order, he nodded to her. "Follow me."

Vander gave a word of thanks, though her voice once again dropped to an inaudible volume. The bouncer led her around behind the fighting cage, through a back door labelled "Authorized Entry Only", and down a hallway. "This room, here," he said, stopping her outside of a door before turning to leave once again.

She watched him walk away before nervously turning to face the door. After a few seconds of mental preparation, she finally raised a shaking hand to knock.

The door didn't even so much as crack open, instead, the knock on the door went on as if no one were inside; but the muffled music and droned out sound of voices coming from within stated otherwise. The seconds dragged on, until finally Vander acknowledged that no one was going to answer. She inhaled slowly, then let it out in a shaky sigh, before turning the door knob and opening the door slightly.

"Hello?" she asked quietly, half-stepping into the room.

The room was decently sized, about the size of a district 4 home's living room. The lights had been dimmed drastically, a rotating color ball floated around on the ceiling as it subtly changed colors, changing the mood of the room with each shade. There was an L-shaped bed tucked into the corner with two half-naked women clad in what once was bunny suits practically going at it, their muffled noises of satisfaction droned out by the soft sex music playing in the background.

Deon was sprawled out on the couch on the other side of the room, a bottle in one hand and the breast of another woman in his other. He was shirtless again, but this time bore the bandages of a particular 'ruffed-up' situation not too long ago. The woman sprawled out on top of him must have been told about his injuries, because her advances were slow, soft and intimate.

At hearing a faint 'hello,' Deon pulled away from the woman's lips to look at Vander, a small smile spreading across his face.

"Hey baby, come to join the party?" He asked with a smug expression. The girl who had previously been on Deon slid off of his halfway undone pants and sat up on the edge of the couch, reaching over to the table in front of them where an array of assorted pills and lines of cocaine littered the table, and popped a handful of the mixed pills into her mouth before giving Vander a lustful gaze.

She clenched her jaw slightly at the scene before her. She didn't know what she'd been expecting, but it still came as something of an unpleasant surprise. She cleared her throat awkwardly, avoiding the gaze of the woman who had been sprawled across Deon when she walked in.

Her eyes instead went to the assortment of pills on the table. She recognized several, having dealt them to others in the past. But there wasn't any Lucid on that table. "No," she answered, trying and failing to keep her words clear. They still slurred slightly. "I just...just came here to ask you for my Lucid back."

Her stomach sank even as the words left her mouth. The request was weak and pathetic. She wished she could have walked into the room and demanded that Deon return her stolen drugs. But she lacked the strength, both physical and mental, to be able to pull that off. Instead, she looked at him, her eyes desperately pleading.

Deon raised a quirked eyebrow, his glazed over eyes looking Vander up and down carefully.

"Have we actually met?" He asked, both looking and sounding genuinly confused. He pulled himself off of the couch, though it took great effort on his part as he hissed and winced with each movement as pain pulsed through him. He eventually got onto his feet and set the bottle down on the drug-covered table and limped over to her to get a closer look. "Lucid huh? Yeah I should have figured you'd be one of those girls. I can hook you up if you really want, but what's in it for me?"

Vander met his gaze evenly, her expression visibly crushed as she realized he didn't know who she was. There wasn't even a hint of recognition in his eyes. It must have made it that much easier for him to take advantage of her, knowing he wouldn't remember it the next day. She wasn't so fortunate.

One thing was clear. He hadn't taken her Lucid. He'd barely managed to get up off the couch to walk over to her. The realization brought with it a fresh wave of worry, but it was suppressed by the fact that there were more important things on her mind. Things like the quickly-worsening state of her withdrawal. She knew Deon's terms, or at least knew what they had been last time. "Did someone finally beat you in the ring?" she asked, her voice laced with bitter defeat. She exhaled slowly. "I'll do whatever you want. I just really, really need a hit soon."

Deon kept the smirk on his face, looking back to the girl on the couch who was now so submerged in pleasuring herself, he doubted that she even knew what way was up anymore. "Naw, got blind-sighted by the cops for some shit I didn't do. People like us should start to be more careful about getting caught, they have this freaky-ass killing machine bot on their side now." He shook his head angrily, and ran his fingers through what little hair he had on the top of his head. "Don't worry baby, I'll get you covered. All I need to do is make a phone call, and you can have your little drug." He hobbled over to the bed in the corner, practically pushing the two other females off of the bed and onto the floor. He sprawled himself out, stretching his sore limbs before sliding his already half-way undone pants off, tossing them to the floor and gently motioned for Vander to come join him on the bed, adjusting his boxers a bit that had his face and printed signature plastered all over it; a best-seller in the bar's store.

Awkwardly avoiding the looks from the girls Deon had pushed onto the floor, Vander made her way over. She sank onto the edge of the bed, weary legs relieved to sit down, even if she herself would have gladly been anywhere but here. The sight of his boxers, in any other situation, may have gotten a laugh from her. She'd seen the merchandise in the store, along with a number of other products, but had never thought he would actually wear his own products. But with the current turn of events, humour was not at the forefront of her mind. If anything, the anything, the underwear just made the entire situation even more unsettling, a reminder of just how truly self-absorbed he really was.

Vander let her gaze go elsewhere, focusing on the changing colours of the light on the ceiling. The bruises from her last encounter with Deon still had not fully healed.

You're getting Lucid. Just focus on that. She could focus on that. And she wasn't getting her Lucid until after this time. That thought provided some comfort.

Deon adjusted himself impatiently, watching her fumble around like a nervous little kid. "C'mon baby, we aint got time for this..." He said, the impatience evdent in his voice. He outstretched his hand to grab hers, but it was up to her to close the remaining space between them. He wasn't in a dominating position to do much of anything right now, which meant that Vander had to practically and completely take over.

She nodded, shrugging off her jacket and letting it drop to the floor beside the bed. Her shirt followed, the shirt that James had payed for, and the true extent of the toll the drug had taken on her body was revealed. Ribs were clearly visible beneath her skin, and her spine stuck out in a series of ridges along her back. The bones were adorned with purple bruises, and she was hyperaware of how hellish she looked.

She moved awkwardly, clearly inexperienced, but desperate enough to try to act like she knew what she was doing. Slowly crawling over to him, she knelt with one knee on either side of his lap, straddling Deon. There was no expression in her face as she leaned down to press herself against him, locking lips in a reluctant kiss. A few seconds later, she straightened up again and climbed off of him. She barely had the energy to move anymore. let alone do this. But her need for Lucid forced her on, unbuttoning her jeans and letting them join her shirt and jacket on the ground.

Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez, The Roman07 and Ghost Shadow

---

The hours droned on and on, the only sound coming from Kate aside from the technical equipment she used were only short commands directed either towards Sektor or Rin.

Rin

The name struck out familiar the second she heard it the first time. A name she and anyone else dedicated to the topic of science would know as a science prodigy and it made Kate think on multiple occasions,

Never meet your heroes.

Still though, she proved to be a lot more helpful now that she wasn't trying to unbutton Jack's shirt or run him around the building trying to show him stuff; or ogle at Sektor. She glanced at the clock. 10:22 p.m. and still so much to do. Thank God for Detective Jack Roman and his contacts, otherwise she'd be behind bars right now had she not gotten the extension to midnight. She continued to work, sweat beading at her forehead as time ticked on.

Finally, at 11:46 p.m. Kate stepped away from the computer for the first time since leaving Sektor's side hours ago, looking exhausted but more than that...frightened.

"Sektor, run update X-93.4 to the droid specifically in this room." she wrung her hands together, this was it...all the hours of combined effort, hinging on the unknown fact if it was all worth it or not.

"Acknowledged. Running update." Was Sektor's curt response. Though it was an advanced prototype, it wasn't built much for conversation aside from awkward observation and spent most of the night sitting patiently by its makers side. "Uploading. 10%" The minutes droned by, "30%". Anxiousness built up. "70%". Then, after what seemed like hours of silence, Sektor spoke up once more. "100%. Upload finished." It stated with a small whirr, its photoreceptor drawn to the X-93 robot.

Kate looked like she was about to puke. Her skin had gone completely white while waiting for the update to finish on the bot, and not only that, but once it had finished, they were just near out of time. Her green eyes kept glancing to the clock, moving away to follow the X-93.4 that was supposed to reach Jack, hopefully without exploding. She shoved her hands into her sweat pants pockets, trying to keep them from shaking as the bot calmly addressed Jack...and then...nothing happened.

A grin spread across her face, color returning to her cheeks and she was about to exclaim out of pure joy when her eyes happened upon the clock once more...12:02 a.m. They had missed the deadline, and the full update still had to reach the satellite for all of the other models.

"Sektor....run the update via satellite." She said softly, with a deflated look on her face. They may as well get the update since it seemed to be working, though part of her wanted the bots to keep exploding while she sat behind bars.

Rin watched nervously as the X-95.4 update installed. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen but the suspense made her fingers tremble. finally the photoreceptor in the bot whirred to life. "This platform is ready for primary directive 1. please vocalize first duty." This was the big test. if it actually did what it was told or blow up in their faces. "X-95.4, please take this spinal prototype to the corner office and give it to Mr Roman for diagnostic?" Rin asked the bot politely.

Jack sat in the back office half asleep. They have been at it for hours and he was about as useful as a toaster right about now. Looking down at the thrown holopad laying in the corner of the floor he noticed the time said 12:01am. "Fuck!" Jack jumped up and swung open the office door to see the X-93.4 standing inches away with a synthetic spinal prosthetic in hand. The dim photoreceptors whirred as it held up the spine to Jack. "I have located your spine sir... do you need assistance installing it?" The metallic voice stated, waiting for a response. Jack just stood there staring in disbelief.

Sektor turned to its maker upon her command and nodded softly. "Connecting with satellite, transferring update. Connection established. Running update. Confirmed. Information available: it will take an estimate 7 minutes for full update to reach every active unit within the area."

Sektor tapped its fingers on the table, a habit it picked up from observing other humanoids. It looked about curiously before landing its photoreceptor on its hand. Why did it do that? Nervous tics were not a part of Sektor's programming. "Running system diagnostic. Katherine Saunders, there appears to be a tic within the arm servos of this platform. Yet no anomaly appears in its scan."

Rin couldn’t help but watch the way he moved. It wasn’t very mechanical, in fact it was quite fluent, almost as if he was self-aware of it. This wasn’t possible. Most AI programs had so much program running to block "Human habit" from forming in their self-learning programs to help weed out the useless info. She couldn’t help but wonder if Sektor had those inhibitor programs. Now wasn’t the time to say anything about this but she did make a mental note to ask Kate about later on when things settled down a bit.

Jack stared at the bot and put his hands out to receive the spine. "Umm Thanks i guess." Jack said staring at Kate. "Okay so I’m just going to assume this was a good thing right?" He said with a slight grin. "Theoretically if the update wasn’t successful, then the head would of short circuited as soon as it handed you the spine... resulting in...a...very minor... explosion." Rin said with quite the evil grin. "Consider it payback for what you previously did to me in the office". Rin muttered under her breath. "Oh great! leave me with the walking time bomb." Jack said sarcastically. Walking back over with spine in hand and X-93.4 in toe, he couldn’t help but give a wide smile to Kate and Sektor. "See, Miracles can happen twice... so what did the ambassador say?" Jack asked unknowingly. Kate held up a finger to Jack, indicating for him to be quiet.

"Yes Sir...of course...no Sir it was uploaded-yes I'm aware of the time...yes...yes I'm aware that I already got an extension but-no Sir...yes Sir..." Kate let out a sigh as the man on the other line continued to babble in her ear, and despite it being a silent earpiece, you could tell that he was rather angry, making Kate wince a few times as the volume in his voice rose to a shout. Her eyes went back to Jack, and subtly shook her head no. He wasn't buying it, and a single clear tear rolled down her cheek.

Sektor turned its head towards its maker slowly, the typically bright beaming light coming from its photoreceptor now dimmed significantly. It stood up slowly from its spot and approached her, the whirring noise of its legs audible against the metallic walls. "It will be fine." The robot stated reassuringly, and yet it was lying. In the side of its HUD a single box appeared, [STATISTICAL EVIDENCE KATHERINE SAUNDERS WILL BE INCARCERATED: 87%]

Sektor awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder, attempting to mimic the organic form of reassurance. "This unit wishes it could perform better, but it is not human...not you." Sektor's voice sounded almost...dejected.

After standing awkwardly for a few moments it attempted to pull her into a hug, a motion it had seen many times on the holovision. Sektor's movements were awkward and clumsy and its platform cold and stiff, but yet there were good intentions behind it.

Jack eagerly awaited the response from the boss on the other end of the earpiece, genuinely sure that it would be high praises and possibly a promotion. Once that tear welled up on her cheek Jack already knew the answer. Letting out a heavy guttural growl that echoed loudly throughout the now closed and vacant Research floor. Jack took the spine in his hand and flung it clear across the room, planting itself like a javelin into the drywall. "No no no no no.... hold on let me think-THIS ASSHOLE-we can fix this." Jack walked back and forth in place for a minute rubbing his temples.

Rin just stood there in complete disbelief not just from the complete denial of what the Ambassador said but in the sheer uniqueness of how Sektor was reacting. At this point all the emotion that flowed around her made her feel like the robot in the room. "I... I don’t understand. Why didn’t it work? does he just have a grudge against you?" Rin asked softly, biting the corner of her lip out of frustration. "Maybe you should just go and talk-"

"NO!" Jack interrupted. "If she goes to see him than she’s going straight to prison." Jack fought day and night his entire life taking down gangs, drug lords, human trafficking and god knows what else attempting to fight corruption. Completely overlooking the corruption that was already taking a comfy seat sipping wine out of their Silverware. "BoH will be all over your apartment... you can’t go back there just yet." Jack stopped rubbing his temples and looked dead straight at Rin. "She can stay at my place if she needs. Cops won’t look there.... and i have a... spare room." Jack said with a slight stutter. He hasn’t touched anything in his sister’s room since the accident.

Kate severed the connection on the communication link, pulling the piece out of her ear and with a shaky hand, set it on the table in front of her. Sektor's hand was on her shoulder, pulling her into a somewhat awkward hug but Kate didn't care. She opened herself into the robots arms, putting her own arms around the bot's torso and rested her head in the crook of his 'neck', and soft tears continued to fall without a single sound.

"It's over. It's all over..." She whimpered out softly. "They know I'm here, and they are sending a car right now." She quickly pulled herself from Sektor hearing Jack yell out in frustration and watched the spine embed itself into the wall. "I...I can't do that Detective Roman. You're a cop too, I won't put you in danger like that."

She looked back to Sektor. What would happen to him?

"Thank you all for your hard work today. We just...ran out of time." She swallowed hard, quickly wiping away the tears that had streaked down her face and gave the small group a nod, indicating that she was going to be okay.

Sektor cocked its head down, dejected. "Kate." It began quietly, "This platform will do everything in its power to prevent you from incarceration. This unit's purpose, if necessary, is to sacrifice itself for you. If your livelihood rests in this unit's decimation, so be it. But this platform will not allow you to be jailed, under no circumstances." Sektor swore, sounding oddly human in its tone and resolve.

Jack paced back and forth calling everyone that ever owed him a favor on his comm. Each one said the same thing. "Sorry, but there’s nothing we can do." It was repeated so much it became ominous. "Shit! Rin, do you know anybody in Alpha that could help?" Jack asked nervously. Most of his contacts were in beta since the BoD's tend to take over Alpha jurisdiction. Rin looked nervously over to Kate then back to Jack. "I’m sorry..." She said. a slight tear filling up on her cheek. she never seen Jack so nervous before, it was somewhat unusual of him and honestly left her speechless.

Jack walked back over to Kate a Sektor and took the badge around his neck and slammed it down on the table. "This is fucking useless!" He Grunted. What an illusion of power. "Look, unless you got someplace to lay low until we can talk some sense into this high and mighty asshole, than i suggest you take me up on my offer." Jack gave a long stare towards Kate as he pictured a familiar face. there was no way he was going to let this go.

Kate's moist green eyes locked with Jack's, the lump still growing in her throat but after a few moments, she simply nodded, trying to keep her body from continuing to shake.

Rin watched silently as Jack's frustration took center attention. Aside from Sektor’s quirky movements, she couldn’t help but notice some movement outside. Quickly stepping to a nearby window and peering through a crack in the aluminum blinds, she noticed a pair of police cruisers pulling up in front of the office. "Guys! we got company..." She whispered rather loudly. Two officers came out of each car. four in total wearing plain clothes, assuming not to draw attention. Slowly they walked towards the main entrance while one snuck around towards the back.

Kate quickly ran towards Rin and looked out of the blinds to confirm her words. If Rin hadn't of spotted them earlier, they would have looked like your normal, average everyday people walking into a building, aside from the fact that it was after midnight of course.

"Shit, how did they get here so quick?" She mumbled, not to anyone in particular.

"Sektor, run protection program. Priority one. Rin, Detective Roman and I must exit the building unharmed do you understand?" The shaky, scared voice was gone, completely replaced by her dominating, leadership voice once more.

"Sektor, run protection program. Priority one. Rin, Detective Roman and I must exit the building unharmed do you understand?" Kate had commanded Sektor in a stern voice. Sektor clicked ominously, "Affirmative. Primary directive altered, preparing for combat. Optical scans confirm these assailants are not armed with stealth fields, thermal vision overlay not necessary, locating weaponry." Sektor quickly got to work, adapting to what it needed. Grabbing a repair laser, Sektor crossed a few wires, removed a few dials, suddenly creating a handheld laser weapon.

Sprinting towards one of the doors, Sektor got to work on the control pad, setting it up so that it will shock anyone who attempts to enter. "Assailants are not equipped with night-vision goggles. This platform will turn out the lights, cutting out their optical support by an estimated 54%, you must flee." It stated seriously, rigging one of the computer terminals just in case some of the cops got a bit curious.

"Katherine Saunders, you must flee immediately. This unit will hold off assailants and locate you." Sektor quickly shot the light control with the altered laser, layering the entire facility with pitch black darkness. Sektor's photoreceptor dimmed, letting as little amount of light possible escape. "Activating Hunter mode, preparing for combat." Were its final words before disappearing completely.

Jack quickly got moving towards the rear exit as Sektor created a frontal defense and distraction of the officers. Passing by a coat rack he managed to grab a rather worn out red baseball cap and put it on to hide his face. All he needed was to be seen and they would know exactly where to find them. Gesturing for both Kate and Rin to stay close while they quietly made their way out the back, Rin stopped dead.

"Hold up! I need to get something!" Rin whispered.

"There’s no time Rin!"

"It’ll just take a second it’s worth it!" Rin whispered as she quickly ran to her office and disappeared in the darkness. Within a couple seconds she came back with what looked like a tiny metallic cigar box. "Not the best time to smoke." Jack joked at the worst possible time.
Rin just ignored him and stayed close behind Kate as they waited for Sektor’s distraction.

Silence. Such a silence that even Sektor's audio receptors were barely picking up anything. It didn't breathe, so the only sound was the occasional creak of the metal facility. Sektor was nearly invisible, cooped with the darkness that already laid across the facility, it was the perfect assassination.

The front door began to open, but sparks flew and electricity crackled from all around, spasms of light filled the facility, along with the horrible scream of one of the officers. The smell of burning, rancid flesh filled the room, which Sektor picked up with its sensors. "Goddamn it, they knew we were coming!" Sektor heard one of the officers say, slightly muffled behind the still-closed door. "Will you shut the fuck up?! What if they're still in there?! Just get your ass in and let's clean up." Another replied venomously.

The door finally did creak open now, the two remaining officers stepped in. Though they weren't well protected, they carried assault rifles with a flashlight attached to the barrel, illuminating the facility in front of them. They stepped about warily, ignorant to the robot that was already stalking them. Suddenly, Sektor struck, a loud *bang* followed by a red beam of energy colliding with one of the officer's chests.

He fell with a scream, clawing at the smoking hole in his chest before falling down, dead, the nauseating sound of bile and mucus gurgling in his throat. "Shit!" The remaining officer shouted, ducking for cover behind one of the numerous crates scattered around. He grabbed the walkie talkie attached to his belt, not worried about stealth anymore. "Control this is Peterson, come in! We have an armed hostile in the facility, two officers are down - we need backup; repeat, we need backup!" He fired his gun aimlessly in the general direction of the laser blast, but Sektor had already sprinted away.

The robot slowly snuck about, deciding it would alter its tactics for this kill and save charges in the weapon. It moved stealthily, making very quiet clicking noises. It snuck behind the frightened officer, who's eyes darted about, frightened. Sektor then pounced, grabbing the officer by the neck with a single hand and lifting him into the air.

The officer gasped for breath, clawing at the cold, merciless hand that had clenched around his throat. "You should not have come here..." Sektor stated in a dark tone, revealing itself finally. "Pl-please," The officer began choking out, "I have a family..." He sputtered, unable to say more.

Sektor was silent, slowly increasing pressure until a sickening crunch sounded, blood shooting out from the officer's mouth as he finally fell limp. Sektor dropped the body, walking away without another word.

Jack crept slowly in the darkness, one hand stretched out while the other hand held Kate’s, which in turn... hopefully held Rin's. The noises coming from Sektor’s "Distraction" was quite disturbing to say the least. Part of him wanted to turn around and tear Sektor a new one for killing them but he had something more important to deal with.

Slowly he opened the back door and peeked out the tiny crack before walking through making sure it was safe. outside in the back alleyway the natural moonlight reflected off the damp streets and gave off just enough light to see the shadow of a man hiding around the next corner. Dumbass BoD's are nothing but paid to look pretty Jack thought to himself. This was way out of their comfort zone and he could tell. "Stay here." He whispered lowly towards Kate and Rin as he crept forward in a low crouch getting just close enough to see the barrel of the rifle in front of him.

Quickly he stood up and gave a quick whistle to grab the man’s attention as he instinctively raised the barrel exactly how Jack assumed he would, using the momentum, he pushed the rifle up and straight into the man’s face. "Squeeze the trigger and blow your own face off asshole." Jack whispered into his ear. "Now grab the radio and give the green light. say she was apprehended but suffered casualties." The man’s eyes widened with defiance but Jack tightened the grip of the rifle and took hold of the man with his other hand. Picking him up and planting him horizontally across a nearby dumpster. "Do it or ill separate you into the glass and plastic bins." The Officer now completely sideways with the barrel still under his jaw and reached slowly for his radio. "P..PP-Pd4 is clear. Lights are green and the S-ssuspect is apprehended. Go for scorpio." The officer clicked the radio for confirmation. As soon as Jack heard the two clicks from the radio he pulled the rifle away and gave the man a quick Left hook with a synthetic fist, knocking him out. Clearing the rifle of all ammo and bending the barrel into a knot around the cops arms so he couldn’t go and report back anytime soon.

Jack settled the guy behind the dumpster and motioned for the others to follow him. "It should be all clear now. Call for your guard dog and let’s get out of here." Jack whispered. "I’m going to head back to my place and call saying somebody broke into the office. That should confuse them a bit." Rin whispered back, holding out the box. "Here take these and call me when you get to your apartment, I’ll explain later." Before Jack could say anything, Rin took off the other way. Her place wasn’t very far and he was sure nobody would bother her so he just let her go. "Shall we then?" Jack asked Kate.

Shaking like a leaf the entire time watching the spectacle, her throat went dry, croaking out an "Alright. Sektor will catch up once he's...finished." before she headed off with Jack back to District 17. It was quite the walk from district 4, but the streets were practically bare of late-night civilians; but that didn't keep Kate from jumping at every noise from within the dark.

Rin arrived at her Apartment minutes later and was instantly greeted by her security not. "Good evening Ms. Stone, I have some very unfortunate news for you." Rin rolled her eyes as she already knew what she was about to hear. "What is it X-2?" She played along. The Robot started to multitask as he vaccumed the floor. "It seems several alarms have gone off in Taurus Tech Labs. Police are on scene as we speak and request you assistance of the matter." The X-2 Bot finished with the vaccum and started its way towards the kitchen in a pre scheduled routine. "Would you like your usual chicken curry packaged for the walk to the office Ms. Stone?" The photoreceptors staring blankly towards Rin as it pulled out some vegetables and began chopping. She let out a sigh as she grabbed a Ginger ale from the fridge and fixed herself in the mirror. "No thanks X-2, I have a feeling its going to be a long night." She muttered the last part.

After making her way back to the office she just came from and got lectured by the cops on how some fugitives were taking refuge in her lab while she was away. She played the part of a angry lab geek who got all their equipment broken. Yelling at the cops for not doing their job correctly and even pretending to offer any help to catching them if only as recompense for breaking her things, they finally had enough of her ranting and left her to clean up. "At least they took away the bodies." She said to nobody in particular. Taking a broom and sweeping up broken glass and tossed parts while tiny Hazmat bots cleaned up all the heavy stuff. Taking a break only to silently curse Jack out for bringing in some floosy who needed help with some stupid project. "PROJECT!" She shouted remembering Harry. She rushed in the office to make sure the mouse was untouched and unharmed. After all it was the last surviving Test subject on the line. Her eyes widened as she watched the mouse alive and well... but not only well, HE WAS EATING! Rin had a smile on her face from ear to ear as she watched the tiny mouse gnawing away on the cheese like he hasn't ate in days... which he hasn't.

"Great Harry just keep eating, and after a few more stu-*cough cough*" Rin got into one of her heavy coughing fits once more as she leaned over the desk to stabilize he somewhat light headed body. She was running out of time and she knew it. The cancer was spreading and her nanobots were almost completely gone. Rin had to make a decision... and at that moment in time some would call it reckless. Rin called it "worth the risk". Sitting down in her office chair she cleaned off her desk and placed Harry in her palm before turning on the holopad and hit record. "Your gonna save me Harry you know that?"

Journal entry #112 -"This is Dr. Rin Emris Stone with recent findings in Beta Nano serum 1.0-NYX." Rin put a smile on her face for the camera. "Beta serum NYX has proven to pass animal testing and... due to the highly upcoming time restraint, I have no choice but to conduct human trials as soon as possible. Since this is my own selfish project and have not relayed this to any higher ups yet to request human donors..." Rin hesitated for a moment. "I have no choice but to conduct human trials... on myself." Rin took the mouse and held it up to the camera. This... is Harry, he has a hypothetical cure for cancer in his very system. If something should become of me..."Rin swallowed hard after that last part. "Then please make sure Harry and all my research gets passed on to whomever takes my place and wish him the best of luck." Rin added with a smile. "I will now leave the camera running for data research and observation..." Taking the holopad and aiming it so it can see both Rin and the mouse in its viewfinder, she put Harry back in his cage and carefully placed a small metal box with the label "Nano Beta No. 1.0-NYX" on the table.

Slowly she opened the box and pulled out a hypogun as well as a syringe filled with a blue metallic liquid. Carefully placing the syringe into the hypogun and closed the seal. Rin aimed the Hypogun into her arm and made a fist to pop out a vein. "You know people will be calling me a MAD scientist after all this is over." She joked to the camera attempting to hide her trembling nerves. Her whole life flashed before her eyes right before she squeezed the trigger. Slowly the Nanomachines entered her system and got right to work. Rin winced at the pain the needle gave her but ultimately seemed fine afterwards. Rin stopped and waited for a moment expecting the worst but nothing happened. The camera picked up the color in her cheeks seemed to come back and the dark around her eyes from lack of sleep faded away in minutes. Rin looked closer into the camera as she watched all the blemishes and scars from freckles and pimples dissapear. "Well if it doesn't cure cancer it sure can make you look hoo-owwwww." Rin groaned as a flash of pain came from her abdomen making her keel over onto the desk in front of the camera. Rin tried to recuperate but just as quick another wave of pain came. Rin fell off the chair she was in and screamed in pain as it felt like something was eating away at her body from the inside out. Shreiking in fear as she looked into the camera watching her own skin growing pale white and harden as if made of porcelin. Scratching away at her face her nails fell off like simple fake plastic. Ripping away at her clothes as she felt her very ribs growing and peircing through her skin. The camera watched as blood went everywhere from the internal punctures of bone as it flattened and overlayed her chest and back. Her muscles tore apart like the fibers of twine pushing themselves out through her skin and new fibers wrapped around bone. Seconds passed feeling like minutes, minutes felt like hours as the only thing louder than her screams was the sounds of bone cracking and flesh tearing. Her lungs finally deflated and she stopped screaming, not by choice but by lack of oxygen. Ghasping for air the sound of her heart working three times as fast quickly came to a dead stop, followed by her entire writhing body lay still. With her last pain filled thought she pronounced herself dead from her own doing. A technical suicide she thought as her eyes slowly went dark. She was going to hell...

Collaboration between The Roman07, YoshiSkittlez and GhostShadow

---

After what seemed like hours to her, they finally arrived at Jack's apartment, the layout of the entire area vastly different than what she was used to in District 4, the lowest she had ever been was District 10. Still though, she tried not to judge as Jack opened the door for her and stepped inside the small apartment.

"So what’s with the box?" She asked, clearing her throat feeling her shakes subside slightly for the first time that evening, and feeling...just a little more safe. She couldn't help but to let her eyes wander around her new surroundings. The main room was small, yet cozy. She could see a kitchen attached not too far off that looked just as small, yet still efficient. Select other doors along the walls indicated a bathroom, and Detective Roman had mentioned a spare bedroom. All-in-all, not a bad place for the lower districts.

Sektor quickly escaped the facility after its massacre. It followed quickly, finding Jack and Kate not too far ahead.

Sektor ran quickly, eventually catching up. "Mission profile was a success. Assailants were eliminated, 100% efficiency." Sektor stated upon arrival. "This unit is...glad that Katherine Saunders made it out alive, there was a 89% statistical chance you would survive. This platform sees the probabilities have played out in its favor." Sektor finished with a sharp nod.

As soon as Sektor caught up Jack grabbed him by the chest plate and jammed his pistol right into the soft spot under his circuitry. "I swear to fucking god if you ever kill another cop i will PERSONALLY PULL EVERY SINGLE LIMB OFF YOUR BODY and make sure your online to collect the data." Jacks eyes grew wide with anger. It wasn’t their fault they were ordered around by a corrupted asshole. There was no need to kill them.

Sektor flared into action once Jack grabbed it, its own arm grabbing the pistol and squeezing dangerously. "You. Will. Not." It responded in a frightening tone, quite literally pushing the pistol out of the way. "This unit has one directive: to protect Katherine Saunders mobile platform. If Detective Jack Roman becomes a threat to the prime directive, this platform is authorized to return with lethal force. Your emotional turmoil and personal code are not variables within the equation. Kate is this unit's to protect, at all times." Sektor vowed, the autonomy of its voice not wavering; Sektor had every intention of carrying out this threat, if need be.

"DETECTIVE ROMAN!" Kate screamed out, the fear once again returning to her body at the sudden turn of events.

The Robot was strong, but that didn’t affect Jacks disposition. "Get this clear in your brain. Ever kill another cop and I PROMISE I will be a threat to you Android, So put that as a fucking directive." Jack said pushing the robot a good distance away from him.

Kate was unable to just stand by any longer. She moved herself between Sektor and Detective Roman, keeping her attention on Jack. "Look, he was just trying to help okay? Just like you suggested. He only killed those cops because of the way I ordered him to protect me, so if you're going to point that gun at the real killer then that stupid thing should be pointed at me instead." She hissed, her eyes narrowing at him, in an odd turn of events, she was aiming to protect Sektor.

Sektor remained silent as Kate yelled at Jack. It had never observed her being this angry before. "Detective Jack Roman added to suspicion list, any form of treason or aggression will be met with lethal force." Sektor stated aloud, the modified repair laser still in its hand. However, after that Sektor was silent, struggling with its own turmoil...feelings of - guilt? Sektor passed the calculations innumerable times within its databanks. Guilt was an organic response to having done wrong. But Sektor did nothing wrong, it was following its programming.

The robot looked about weakly, almost wishing it could offer a reassuring smile to its maker. But it couldn't...it shouldn't. Why?
Jack backed down and breathed deeply before attempting to calm himself down. He wasn’t going to blame Kate but he was damn well sure he would be keeping a closer eye on that robot. Giving off a long sigh attempting to clear his mind of today’s events. "Welcome to my humble abode." Jack said sarcastically.

Kate's nostrils flared angrily, but she held her tongue from saying anything more. It's not like she had anywhere else to go anyway; aside from her own home, her parents would be the next logical choice for the cops to search, and Kate was never too good at making friends.

"Database." Kate then said, seemingly out of the blue. "Sektor has a database, not a brain." She shook her head a bit, rubbing her thumb and forefinger over the bridge of her nose. "Do you have a computer?"

"Yea your right... He don't have a brain." Jack snapped back. She could stand in front of him and make every excuse in the book, but there's no excuse to kill a cop unless they are corrupted. Ultimately confused about who to trust and who to watch. It was an eerily thin line between good and evil yet so many seem to walk the gray area. Jack unbuttoned his coat and took off the worn red baseball cap and tossed both onto the nearby couch. He wasn't the tidiest of people as one could obviously see from the amount of dishes in his sink and empty Vodka bottles scattered throughout the house, but he wasn't a slob. Kate asked if he had a computer and Jack gave a slight nod. "There's one in the spare room but it old and the battery is dead. You'll have to plug it in." He said as he walked towards Michelle’s room. Hesitating for only a moment before pushing on the sliding door.

The room was clean but dusty and obviously a girls room from the various decorations and posters on the walls. Old Detective adventure books leaned against an upright tablet with an external keyboard and actual glass screen. No holographic emitter on the ancient piece. Jack couldn't help but wonder if she still had the picture of the two of them at the precinct pretending to be behind bars with stupid faces on her desktop. It was one of the better moments he remembered of her as she came along that day for a ride-along. "Closet may have something that fits you and some towels too of you want to take a bath." Jack muttered in a low almost inaudible tone. Completely lost in thought as he watched old memories play back in his mind. "If you need anything else feel free to help yourself, I'm going to give Rin a call and see how things went down after we left."

Kate didn't hesitate to follow him down the hall and into the spare bedroom, her mind only on getting to that computer so she could link it to her AI back at home so she could check on things. Her rather abrupt walk halted the moment she reached the doorway, the smell of dust reaching her flared nostrils as her eyes looked about the immaculately...different room.

Something that felt like a stone sank in her gut as she observed the room, it hadn't been used in a very long time, and specifics told her that a woman had once stayed here. Slowly approaching Jack as the computer booted up, she stopped just behind him to take a look at the welcome screen, finding her hardened and once angry face melted into a soft smile, matching the genuine smile of a younger Detective Jack Roman and a woman behind bars, obviously having a fun time about it in the picture.

"She's pretty." Kate said softly from behind Jack, unable to keep her green eyes off of the woman in the picture. This girl was obviously very special to Jack at some point; and maybe she still was. Her gaze finally went from the screen to Jack, having to look up at him because of the near foot he had on her in height. She lifted her arm hesitantly, and then outstretched her hand to place on his shoulder, feeling the padded bullet-proof vest under her hand, unable to tell just how far the prosthetics went. "Are you okay?"

Jack watched as the memories trickled into his frontal lobe and displayed before his eyes. Michelle sitting at her desk reading "Sherlock Holmes" on paperback. A birthday gift for her 19th birthday. "Aww Jack thanks! You'll see, I'll read this and be a better detective than you, hard-ass!" Michelle jokingly laughed as she spun around in the chair.

Jack felt a soft hand on his shoulder and instinctively jumped snapping him back to reality. "Huh? Yea I'm fine..." Jack said trailing off and walking towards the bathroom. "I... I think I'm going to take a quick shower first before you." He said before walking away. Pulling off his vest and yanking at the tight fitting black t-shirt underneath, showing off the mixture of cybernetics and scars formed from shrapnel all over his chest and back. His lean body complimented the augments as they seemed to mold into his shoulders, replacing his deltoids and upper back muscles with synthetic fiber. All thanks to the masterworks of Rin and Taurus Tech. Tossing his shirt and vest into a nearby hamper, he took the silver cigar box and laid it on his kitchen table before stealing a couple clothes from the nearby closet and jumping into the shower.

"Detective..." Kate called out hoping to stop him, if just for a moment. Her eyes had immediately widened as she caught a glimpse of his bare back before he slipped out of the spare bedroom. It was hard to tell in that split second, but it looked as if the prosthetic arms extended seamlessly into his back muscles. Such technology shouldn't have existed yet...there were still people out there with failing prosthetic limbs; always some sort of malfunction...and yet...Detective Roman's seemed absolutely flawless. But she was too late, the door had already closed and she could hear the shower water running.

Sektor quietly followed the duo into Jack's apartment. Offering no noises aside from a few odd clicks, Sektor sat down on the couch, examining its modified laser. It 'sighed' audibly, sounding much like the sound a computer makes when shutting down. "This platform is following the prime directive, 'friends' are not within the parameters of this unit's programming. Why do the core computers suggest betrayal?" Sektor asked aloud, to itself, cupping its hands together.

Sektor accessed all the information it had stored in its databanks, specifically, the emulation program. Images appeared, rushing at lightning fast speed, but Sektor observed them all: scenes of couples holding hands, kissing, laughing. Sektor looked down at its own hands, the awkward amphibian-like 3-digit hands meeting its gaze.

Sektor looked down once more, picturing itself perhaps holding someone's hand. But such feelings were illogical, incompatible, against every computer or programming built into its platform. "The emulation program is gaining dominance." Sektor observed in a nearly-silent tone. "This platform will be...human? Negative, it shall think it is human." It kept speaking, not caring who was in the vicinity.

Jack attempted to wash away the thoughts in his mind. Using the white noise and scalding hot water dulling the senses as it covered him like a force field, isolating him from the world around him. Images kept flashing in front of him of the fear in Michelle’s eyes, watching slowly as the fire pulled at her flesh. Even under all the hot water he could still smell the stench of charred skin. Every part of her was charred within seconds, hair, skin, and shortly after the eyes... the emerald green eyes that stared at him the entire time in fear. Calling to him, asking for his help.

Jack collapsed onto his knees like he did that night. The hot water felt like the flames that were so close yet didn't touch him. He wanted to scream out loud out of pure anger and pain but he knew that Kate and Sektor were here. Gritting his teeth and grasping the sidewall of the steel tub and wrinkling the curvature into something resembling a hand print. He should of been the one to die that night, not her. He deserved it.

Jack walked out in a set of old jeans with his green T-Shirt draped over one of his shoulders not ready to put it on just yet. He noticed Sektor sitting by the couch playing the old board games he had stuffed in the closet. "Forgot I even had those." He said casually. Much calmer and laid back now that he was cleaned up. "Just be careful with them..they are antiques." Jack passed by the kitchen to grab the metallic box before making a quick stop near Michelle’s room. Watching Kate for a minute work on the computer before leaning in and giving a light knock on the drywall. "Everything ok?"

Kate had since went back to the computer, pushing the penetrating questions from her mind about the girl on the screen and worked on charging the battery. If she was going to build up the program to reach her defense system back home on this antique computer, she would need full power. She hadn't even thought to check on Sektor, but how much trouble could one little bot get into anyway? She found herself staring blankly at the progress bar, waiting...waiting...waiting...by the time Detective Roman had finished his shower, she had fallen asleep at the computer desk but was then awoken by a quiet knock on the wall inside the bedroom.

Swiveling around on the chair, she couldn't help but to contain a blush creeping over her cheeks noticing him, yet again, shirtless. But this time she was able to see the front and not so much the back. Her green eyes then wandered back to the peak of her curiosity beforehand, and looked over the workmanship of his prosthetic arms. She knew she probably stared too long, and quickly snapped out of it looking back up to meet his eyes.

"Yeah, just a little tired." She admitted before standing up from the chair to walk over to him at the doorway. As she neared closer, a whiff of his body soap and shampoo filled her nose, filling her senses with such a clean, manly smell it nearly made her knees buckle. The only man she had ever smelled in such closeness was her own cousin, so any sort of thought of sexual arousal was automatically turned off when she was around him. But Detective Roman...

She swallowed hard again, feeling that lump coming back to her throat, and decided that if she didn't do something quick, she was going to do something stupid. She lightly reached her hand up, as if asking for his own hand to be placed in hers.

"May I?" She asked, wanting nothing more than to just examine his prosthetics.

Jack looked at Kate as she put out her hand. "May I?" She asked. Jack just looked her dead in the eyes. "Be gentle, I’m ticklish." He Joked. Jack took the green shirt off his other shoulder so Kate could get a closer look. "Rin said they are the closest to the real deal that didn’t put looks before functionality. Most civilian prosthetics get the skin tone matched and whatever else to not draw attention... I personally could care less." Jack muttered.

Kate took his hand in hers, examining every exposed wire right down to the very material that the palm of his hand was made from. "It's incredible..." Kate agreed as he went on explaining. She moved her hands up to the wrists, up to the biceps where she spent more time studying, turning his arm gently this way and that to watch the gears and such click into place before moving her hands up into the deltoids. She leaned in to get a closer look at the skin that met with the metal, and had him rotate his shoulder a few times to watch how it worked. Her approach then turned more gentle as her study continued on, finding drill holes that had been plugged up by the same material across his chest in certain areas. She pressed on his chest firmly in these few places, finding the connecting cords that continued all the way over from his chest back to his arms. Complete and full functionality, just like he said. She blinked a few times before looking back up at him into his eyes, now with the one thought going through her mind.

"The surgery...I can't imagine it feeling very good." She said lightly, not wanting to push any buttons that might cause him to get angry or remember something he didn't want to. "But frankly...this level of detail...this...mapping they used...it should have killed you..." She went on, the light humor in her voice completely gone, replaced by nothing but worry and concern in both her voice and eyes.

Jack's face got slightly red from Kate getting so close to him. He couldn’t help but jump a bit as she traced his wires into his chest. Looking away for a second when she asked if it hurt. "To be honest I didn’t feel a thing, I was unconscious most of the time and whenever I awoke I was heavily sedated... and for almost killing me, if not for Rin i would of died anyway. If I died on the operating table, they would just take them back and save it for the next unlucky soul." Jack looked down as he spoke. "What really hurt was the dent in my salary to pay for the things. Rin helped with a major discount but... well I’d say it still cost me an arm and a leg... but." Jack smiled at Kate. Holding up his left and watching his hand as it made a tight fist. "Physical therapy was the hard part, took me a month alone to hold a cup without crushing it into powder." Jack stretched out his hand and tried placing a thumb onto Kate’s cheek softly. "The only part I don’t like is the lack of feeling. It’s like.... wearing a thick pair of gloves, you know what’s there but there’s no detail."

2 seconds. Sektor had immediately crossed the living room and into the bedroom in about 2 seconds, growling darkly towards Jack. "Physical contact is forbidden." It warned in a threatening tone. "Statistics suggest you have a 22% chance of harming Katherine Saunders. That, this platform will not allow." It finished cooly, glaring him in the face; its stance stiff and threatening, standing to its full height.

The slight blush on Kate's cheeks reddened as Jack's thumb went to her cheek, the lump in her throat now just threatening to choke her. She held his gaze for a few short moments, feeling her heart hammering against her rib cage to the point where it began to hurt. She took in a deep breath, and then shakily exhaled, taking a few steps back from him as Sektor entered the room. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad you didn't die on that operating table." She said feeling that lump subside somewhat and then returned back to the computer, finding that the update had finally finished.

"And Sektor...it's fine. Detective Roman was simply giving me a demonstration on his prosthetics at my request." She said, feeling much like the owner of an attack guard dog at that moment. She had to resist from saying 'Down Boy.' And that in itself proved to her that she was in a much better mood than she had been in a long time.

“Good evening Katherine. You have three missed calls and one new message.” The metallic male voice sounded as soon as Kate booted up the program on the old computer.

“Relay messages Adam.” Kate said with a yawn, feeling her heart finally starting to beat normally again.

“Missed call from, Mom, 5:32 pm. Missed call from Mom, 5:34 p.m. Missed call from, Mom, 5:45 p.m. Missed voice message from, Mom, 5:46 p.m.

‘Hey Katie, its mom. I haven’t heard from you for a couple days so I just wanted to pop in and say hi! Oh! By the way, you’re father and I have been having some troubles with our computer lately. Cold showers, burnt toast…our entire house seemed to be on the fritz. But we didn’t want to bother you, since you’ve been busy with your school work; we are still very proud of you; so we hired a Technological Consultant to help us out. He’s really a nice boy, about your age I believe. Anyway, I gave him your number so he could take you out. Your studies are important, but remember, Katie, your father and I want grand children before we die you know, and you’re slower than a snail on molasses when it comes to the dating game. Anyway, he seemed a little shy when I gave him your number, so I’ve attached his number to this message so give him a call tomorrow if he hasn’t called you already…or…oh! Maybe he already called you…and the reason you’re not answering is because you’re too busy…oh…oh okay, well honey I’ll leave you two be. Have a good night!’

End of message. Attachment will be printed to your location's nearest printer.”

Kate felt her forehead slam onto the computer desk in embarrassment, and the printer next to her whirred to live, spitting out a small piece of paper with a phone number on it.

Sektor looked up curiously upon hearing the message. "This unit would be grateful if Katherine Saunders were to spread out her mates to another, more trustworthy source."

Jack couldn’t help but cover his mouth to stop him from laughing out loud. "Heh, yea if you want to use my phone feel free, he sounds like a 'peach'."

"Too bad I don't like fruit." Kate said dryly, with her face still embedded into the computer desk.

Jack took the cigar box and placed it down next to Kate. "I wonder what Rin gave us..." He muttered.

Kate then lifted her head hearing the metal box being set down on the computer desk next to her and looked from the box and back to Jack. She wanted to make some smart-ass remark about it being her will if she were to ever commit suicide, but felt that would be in bad taste so she kept her mouth shut and just waited for him to open it.

Jack waited for a response but she obviously was too deep in thought about the "tech boy" whom her mother figured was perfect for her, so he reached over and pressed on the tiny metal lock. the lid slowly lifted by itself and inside lay three syringes, a hypo gun and a holorecorder. on the inlay of the sidewall next to the syringes had the initials R.E.S. and a tiny printed label that read: Lucid Prime.

Kate peered over into the box as it began to open, not really sure what she was expecting, but when she saw the syringes...and the label to boot, she jumped back, falling out of the chair and onto the floor...clearly shocked by the contents within. Too surprised to even register the pain that now shot up through her arm as she had tried to catch her fall with it, she looked up to Detective Roman with wide eyes.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT DOING IN THERE?" She screamed out, unable to keep from doing so. Then the pain set in, a thousand needles pricking into her left arm and about twice as many poking into her tail bone and couldn't help but to mutter out a quiet "Ow..."

Sektor swooped into action. As soon as Kate fell, the robot was at her side. "Katherine Saunders, speak. How many fingers is this unit extending? Relay the extent of your injuries. This platform is trained in most medical emergencies in the case its creator is in danger or injured." It held up a single hand with only two fingers extended at the time, clicking in worry.

Jack was just as shocked as Kate, but didn’t fall back off the chair like she did. After watching Sektor pick her back up he reached over for the tiny holorecorder and pressed it on.

The recorder lit up and a green hologram of Rin popped up on the table. Humming and static was blocking out background noise as a robotic voice narrated journal entries:

Journal entry #12 -

"Nanoserum No.113 has passed animal trials with flying colors. Subjects show a 30% increase in response and maze tests were completed in less than half the time." Rin's Voice sounded much younger and brighter. "If this keeps up then we will finally find a cure for those with impaired senses..." *End recording

Journal entry #16 -

"Human trials got off to a rough start. Serum needed to be slightly toned down due to low level lighting causing massive headaches and possible seizures...." Rin said in a slightly upset tone. "On the bright side, Rachel... although deaf from birth, could now hear low level humming and certain high frequency pitches." The sound of another voice from behind could be heard but not clear enough for the mic. "Okay Dad I'll be right there! ....Serum still needs some minor tweaking." *End recording

Journal entry #24 -

(the sounds of heavy breathing only for a couple seconds) "One subject kept requesting for Serum 113 today, he stated it wasn't helping him as much as it did previously. Requesting a higher dosage... maybe the nanomachines have a shelf life?" (The sounds of glass breaking and a man yelling in the background) "Sir... sir please get away from the counte-SIR!!! DAD HELP!" *End recording

Journal entry #33 -

(dead silence) "Human trials have ceased... the drug was considered too addictive. Its affects on an unimpaired individual makes one feel euphoric and oversensitive to their surroundings. One of them nicknamed it 'Lucid' in relation to the clarity it gave them. Serum No.113 needs to go back to the drawing board." *End recording

Journal entry #35 -

"Somebody broke into the lab last week and took... everything. Reports have been coming in about some new drug in Beta called 'Lucid'... Possible connection. My father is going to Beta to find out and possibly treat those affected. *End recording

Journal entry #36 -

(silence) ........"I miss you Dad....." (silence) *End Recording

Journal entry #001 - "After a full year I have perfected it. A prime formula compared to the old nanomachines. No shelf life, no self-determination, no overstimulation. Formula No. 114 grants enhanced clarity and perception to the average person in hypothesis. Never cleared for human trials.... increase in focus and mental clarity allows information processed from all sensory receptors to be read in a more efficient manner. Hypothesis concludes that an average person would feel like time has slowed down around them." (A long sigh whispered into the mic.) "Serum 114 will never be cleared by me for moral reasons... if this gets into the wrong hands, it could effectively be turned into a weapon." *End transmission

Kate used Sektor to get back up onto her feet, her ears carefully trained into the holographic recording. The more she heard, the less she liked it as was evident by the frown she wore plainly on her face. "I'm fine Sektor..." Kate hissed at him quietly, trying to shoo him away so she could continue to listen. Finally...it was all over. Her eyes went from the now completed holotape to Jack, trying to gauge some sort of reaction out of him first before she said anything.

Jack just stood there speechless. He couldn’t comprehend why Rin gave him this. Was he supposed to look after it? Was he supposed to use it? Maybe leverage to get Kate her life back he honestly wasn’t sure. "I....I... dunno what to say." Jack looked at the both of them as if looking for an answer.

Sektor remained silent when hushed by its maker, merely looking on towards the holotape and offering a few clicks. "Consensus not reached - more information is required." Sektor finally stated before looking Kate up and down once more. "Are you sure you are well? Bio scans show no permanent injury, but spikes in the nerve endings suggest you are experiencing pain. Let this platform help you." Sektor pleaded

"I said I'm fine!" Kate snapped, clearly the aura of the room getting to her. She sighed, and looked to the machine with an apologetic expression, but didn't say anything on the matter. "I'm going to go take that bath now..." Kate said looking back to Jack. If he didn't know what to say, then she felt it was safest to not voice her opinion at all. A hot bath should surely help with her now ill-gotten temper, and it would certainly help her now swollen wrist, at least a little.

Sektor did nothing but look on towards Kate, its posture hunched and weak. "Why can't..." it struggled for words, as if it wanted to say 'I' but couldn't. ”Why can't..." It repeated once more before growing silent and walking away.

Kate sighed and then just pushed past Jack to head to the bathroom. She shut the door and rested her back against it for a good few minutes, just trying to remember how to breathe normally. It seemed as if her entire world had just flipped around entirely on her, and all at once. Sektor, Jack, that stupid update fail that made her a now running criminal, and now drug exposure. She swore after she had lost her Uncle to the stuff that she would never even associate herself with people that used it. She growled a bit angrily and finally moved over to the tub, instantly noticing the bent shape the side of the tub had been turned into.

Collaboration between Ghost Shadow, The Roman07 and YoshiSkittlez

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The sound of running water filled the small enclosed space of Detective Roman's bathroom as Kate eagerly filled the tub. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so stressed from a single day’s events, and the only thing better than taking a hot bath to relax in would have been a full-on Jacuzzi, but she wasn't about to complain. Stripping herself of her clothes, she slipped into the steaming water without so much as a splash as she slipped inside and exhaled deeply, immediately feeling the hot water relax her muscles, more obviously her wrist which she was pretty sure was either broken or severely sprained. Finally, her mind was at peace...if only for just a few moments...

Ugh, Rin Stone. Out of everyone in the world that could have been, it just had to have been my inspiration. Right? Of course, because life isn't ever fair. She's associated with the creation of Lucid for Chris' sake! And it's hard for me to even decide if she was trying to just get Detective Roman's shirt off for ’medical reasons' to begin with. Hell, if I were a doctor that had a patient like Roman, I would-"

Kate's mind snapped back, raising her head out of the water as she had completely submerged herself to get her hair wet. Breathing in sharply, she ran her hands over her forehead, slicking back her hair. Something in her chest was starting to feel a little strange...her heart beating a little...awkwardly. Was that a flip-flop? A heart palpitation? She paused to rest her hand over her heart, feeling the tiny thing beating fast against her skin.

I really should think of something to thank Detective Roman for all of this. He's putting his own job on the line for me...but I'll only stay here tonight. If things don't smooth out by tomorrow morning, I'll get out of his hair...

He does have nice hair now that I think about it, and that goatee is just the icing on the cake. I remember a guy in my Advanced Trigonometry class having a goatee, he wasn't too bad looking...

Another inconsistent heartbeat, this time to the point where it made her gasp. She closed her eyes hard, the water droplets dripping down her forehead and off of her nose.

With her eyes closed, she saw a sudden flash of Jack's smiling face, and in another flash his prosthetic hand had outstretched to be placed delicately on her shoulder when she had been crying earlier. He was there for her; she could see that now, as a friend. A good friend. That's why he was doing all of this, because he genuinely cared! Kate's green eyes opened back up, now with a smile on her face as she relaxed back into the water, feeling her fingers absent-mindedly brush against her thigh, her heart skipping in the same fashion as it had before when she thought back about Jack, about the way he looked at her while she was examining his arms and chest. Oh God his chest... And that's when it hit her, she had a crush on him, and it had started from the very moment he had put his jacket on her when it began to rain the night before now.

She felt her fingers brush between her legs, if only for a moment, feeling the now addicting feeling of her heart going bezerk run through her body. She proceeded to do it once more and let her fingers wander, lingering until she had finally found a small area which had immediately gone stiff in excitement. Soft moans came from her throat as she continued to move her fingers, being extremely sensitive since this wasn't exactly a common activity for the young woman.

She had to wonder...with a smile that looked that great on Detective Roman...what would it be like to feel those lips on her own? Or what a kiss in general would feel like, she had never known. Her thoughts continued to wander, putting in images of fantasy situations of 'what would it be like if', and her pleasured moans only increased.

Sektor had sat on the floor, downtrodden by its master's retaliation. It began moving the Monopoly pieces around the board once more, its movements sluggish and lazy.

However Sektor perked up upon hearing odd sounds coming from the bathroom. The robot stood up quickly and approached the closed door; listening carefully. "Katherine Saunders is in danger." Sektor said aloud, literally kicking the door down with a single kick.

Water splashed everywhere as a very frantic Kate slipped and slid around in the bathtub, having been startled to death of being 'caught in the act.' Her heart-rate sky-rocketed, her face crimson in embarrassment as she hid herself behind the wall of the bathtub and peeked her eyes over the edge.

"SEKTOR! GET OUT!" She hissed, praying to GOD that Detective Roman didn't decide to come see what the commotion was about.

"Initiating combat programs, switching to thermal scan overlay for cloaked assailants, rescuing Katherine Saunders." Sektor sprinted over to where Kate was, literally scooping her out of the water and running out of the restroom. "Beginning evacuation protocols, this unit will protect you!" It reassured loudly, gently dumping Kate onto the couch and holding up its modified weapon into the bathroom for any assassins.

"No hostilities detected; false alarm, resuming dormant guard program." Sektor finally said, sitting down next to the game board.

It looked up at its still-nude maker. "Does Katherine Saunders wish to play Monopoly?" It asked innocently.

Jack was still in Michelle’s room completely lost in thought. Why did Rin give him the syringes? Is she assuming I needed them or was it just something she figured we could use as a bargaining chip? Jack picked up one of the syringes and watched the reflective liquid turn and mix. It seemed much brighter and almost amber in color in comparison to the Lucid he has seen on the streets. Pulling the hypo gun out and loading the vial into it, he couldn't help but think what would happen if he injected it. "Slows down time huh?" He said staring blankly.

Just then, a loud CRACK came from inside the house. Jack grabbed his Revolver and ran into the next room instinctively clearing the area. Sektor came running out with Kate in hand and Jack quickly ran toward the bathroom to see the threat. The room was clear aside from a extremely wet floor and shards of broken wood everywhere. "What the hell happened? Is everyone oka-" Jack stopped short when he turned around and saw a Naked Kate on his couch and an occupied Sektor playing Monopoly. "Umm... yea... should I ask?" He asked while staring directly at Kate’s birthday suit.

The second Kate got dropped onto the couch; she scrambled around trying to get up and looked around, desperately trying to find something to cover her up.

"For God's sake Detective, turn around!" Kate hissed, feeling her entire body go red with embarrassment as she grabbed for his coat that had been tossed onto the couch earlier. She stood up, slipping into it and until she was fully satisfied being covered up did she then look at Sektor.

"What the hell was that all about?" She demanded.

Sektor turned and looked at her simply, slowly handing her the dog piece of the game. "This unit heard odd noises coming from the bathroom; statistics suggested you were in trouble, this unit issued evacuation protocols." Sektor responded, waiting for her to take the piece.

"Sektor..." Kate warned.

"Also, this platform's computers suggest, in hindsight, that the moaning sounds uttered by your vocabulator earlier were sounds of pleasure and not pain. Was Katherine Saunders preparing herself either for mating with Detective Jack Roman or this mystery organic male whom your marital platform speaks highly of?" Sektor stopped for a moment, pondering. "This units scans suggest this is, in fact, the first time Katherine Saunders has pleasured herself via stimulation. Did you use a vibration or insertion device to stimulate intercourse?" Sektor asked curiously, sufficing to drop the game piece on her lap before returning its attention to the game.

"SEKTOR!"

Not finished yet, Sektor continued to add on. "This unit is capable of receiving upgrades that allow it to mimic such functions, should Katherine Saunders experience such feelings once more. Running Extranet search protocols...pending...consensus reached. Vibrator function: 45 standard credits. Insertion device add-on: 60 standard credits. Extranet confirms a '2 for 1' sale. Both add-ons may be purchased for a mere 75 credit total purchase."

"SEKTOR!!! Commence Immediate Shut-Down!"

"Confirm command." Sektor repeated before falling limp, its photoreceptor dimming until the bright light was completely gone. It toppled over quite comedically onto the game board.

Jack did what Kate yelled and turned around, albeit rather slowly. He couldn't help but listen to Sektor’s ramblings. The image of Kate still fresh in his mind. "Have to admit... for a code programmer who sits in front of a holopad all day, your pretty fit." Jack joked.

Covering his mouth to hide the low laughter from Sektor’s online search for "Upgrades". Jack couldn't help but give another quick peek. It’s not every day a soaking wet naked woman lays down on his couch.... this time she managed to cover herself with Jacks coat. Part of him wished he'd put it in the kitchen when he walked in.

"Well, I’m pretty sure that two for 75 credits deal was pretty good." Jack smiled as he slowly turned back around once she was covered. Gesturing towards Michelle’s room he put his gun down on the table near the monopoly board. "Spare clothes are in there... and tell Sektor once he wakes up he can clean up the bathroom and keep the board game.... I think he's earned it."

Kate immediately shot Detective Roman a look that clearly indicated that she was not at all amused by his remarks, even if the first one was supposed to be somewhat of a compliment. She pulled the coat over her front tightly and stalked back towards the living room, her wrist continuing to throb in a dull pain.

"I'll clean up the couch later..." She grumbled before slamming the bedroom door shut right behind her, and then collapsed onto the bed with an agitated growl.

One hour. That’s how long it took for Kate to gather herself again. By the time she had changed back into her old sweat pants and long shirt (tucking the long shirt into the sweatpants) she glanced over at the old makeshift clock. Realizing that it was nearly four in the morning...and she still had a mess out there to clean up. She said a silent prayer that Detective Roman had turned in for the night before slipping out of the bedroom and to the living room where she manually activated Sektor, finding that she had her arms crossed across her chest as a wave of self-consciousness hit her hard. Maybe she should have searched the closet for a large sweatshirt before she came back out here. Not that it would matter. She could have been garbed in an Eskimo outfit and would have still felt naked.

Jack lay in his bed in the other room eyes shut but mind wide awake. Thinking about everything that happened today. So much to process... He couldn’t rest, he needed to get up. walking out in nothing but boxers he decided to wander half asleep into the kitchenette and grab a half empty bottle of vodka, when he took a swig he noticed the Lucid was moved from Kate’s room to the kitchen again. Jacks mind started wandering again... "Lucid... Prime eh?" Jack picked up the syringe and stared at the liquid once more. "Enhanced focus and reflexes." He muttered to himself. If he took one right now nobody would be the wiser, they are all asleep and if one syringe disappeared he could... could...

"Jesus Christ...don't you ever wear clothes?" Kate had wandered into the kitchen, having just assisted Sektor in cleaning up the bathroom before leaving the bot to his own programming to put the door back up. Her hand moved up into her direct vision, using it as a barrier to cover Detective Roman so that only his head was visible. "Not that I mind...it is your home. I mean, you should be comfortable but...oh God that didn't come out right. You just startled me is all...and I suppose I'm not used to seeing men with great bodies-" She inhaled sharply and closed her eyes. "You know what...I'm going to leave and come back, and this conversation never started, and I'll try again." She cleared her throat and then moved to leave the kitchen to gather her thoughts before re-entering the kitchen, still holding up her hand as shield. She cleared her throat again.

"Anyway...did you ever give your girlfriend a call about the...the...lucid?"

Jack jumped being startled by Kate’s voice and put the syringe down on the table. Looking down at himself he blushed a bit and moved slightly behind the end table. "Oh, sorry... I’m not really used to, well guests..." Jack quickly put the Vodka back into the fridge and poured two glasses of water from the sink. Passing one across the small table between them. "She’s not my girlfriend..." Why did he say that? What did it matter to him if she thought... "Besides, I tried to call her but there’s no answer. She’s probably still giving a police report and covering our asses." Jack mumbled.

Kate mouthed a quiet "Oh" and found herself now staring at the glass of cool water he had slid over to her. Hesitantly, she sat down at the table and took a drink, making quite the obvious indication that she was trying to avoid looking at him. She was quiet for a moment, swirling the water around in the glass, slightly wishing that he hadn't put the Vodka away.

"If anything bad happened to her...to you...if either of you got caught..." She swallowed hard, feeling her throat going incredibly dry despite having just quenched her thirst. So she decided to change the subject.

"Sektor is putting your door back up now. Again...sorry." She said, still refusing to look at him.

"It’s part of my job Kate." He said jokingly. "I’m not running out not knowing what I’m gettin into." Jack took a swig of the water and winced. He really wanted Vodka but needed a clear head. "I know I’m going a little further than usual here but... I don’t like people getting taken advantage of..." Tossing the water out he pulled out the Vodka anyway and poured a shot, leaving the bottle on the table. "Yea, mind explaining to me what that little scene was about? does that happen often?"

At the sound of Detective Roman getting up from the table, she chanced a look to see what it was that he was doing, and spotted the Vodka. Getting up herself, she moved beside him to pour her own half-glass, but didn't drink it just yet.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said firmly. The best way to deal with this was to try to convince him that it never happened. She reached her hand up and tapped gently on one of the neurode sensors by his eye. "I think these things might be screwing with you." A small smile wafted across her lips before turning her attention back to her glass and downed the contents, rather quickly, enjoying the burn as it slipped down her throat.

Kate tapped on his head and he couldn’t help but grin a bit. "Man I’m sorry to hear that, usually these things screw up and blur my surrounds... but I’m pretty sure I saw something quite clear." Jack joked and followed it by a swig of his drink. Jack stared off into the faraway window. "The woman who lived here... She was my sister." Jack said refilling up his glass. "Our parents... well let’s just say they didn’t want us. Instead they wanted a new life in Alpha and couldn’t pay the tax for a ten year old and a six year old." Jack said before downing another round.

"You saw nothing." Kate said, finding the slightest amount of amusement in her voice. Her soft smirk disappeared though the moment he began talking again, his own jovial tone now gone replace with something she could relate to as sorrow. Her mind drifted back to the woman she saw in the picture on the computer, now a small amount of the mystery had been revealed. As he continued on, it made her suddenly feel very grateful for her own parents, both of which were born into a substantial amount of money. Kate had never known what it was to be poor, to need something, and as the small details came back to her about Detective Roman's situation, she felt her heart go out to him.

"What...what happened?" She asked softly, the tone in his voice indicating that this story didn't exactly have a happy ending.
Jack banged the glass down a bit harder than he wanted. the drink already making him feel warmer. "What would a ten year old do when his parents abandon him? Cry... we cried for days wandering Beta... hungry and trying constantly to sneak into Block 9." Jacks hands shook slightly as he poured yet another glass. "Every time we got caught... pushed back away and left for the rats to keep us warm.... I promised Michelle id take care of her no matter what." Jack downed the glass and shoved the empty glass aside. "Both of us... had to do some fucked up shit just to live. Our childhood behind us, we took odd jobs from gang members running packages and...planting bombs under cars." Jack stood up and leaned back on the sink as he started to feel the wobble. "Nobody would suspect a little kid who 'accidently' kicked a ball under a car to be lining the gas tank with C4." He pictured the c4 in his hand and had to rub his eyes to get the image out of his head. "Till this day I don’t use a personal vehicle because I’d think of how easily it could be sabotaged."

Kate bit her lower lip, everything Detective Roman told her going into vivid detail in her mind as she picture two small children, fighting for survival. A knot formed in her stomach, the kind of feeling of 'guilt' welling up inside of her. She knew it wasn't her fault, but it didn't make the fact that she had more money than she knew what to do with any easier. A slight layer of mist covered her eyes, forcing her to clear her throat once more before moving to the Vodka bottle, capped it and put it back into the fridge.

"You did what you had to do." She said simply, keeping her back to him and still facing the fridge. What else could she say?

"I could have done more..." Jack muttered. Leaning back over the coffee table getting a little too close to Kate. "I want to.... fix what’s broken here." Jack said a little bit slurred. The lack of blood flow to any upper limbs made the alcohol course through his system faster than normal. "I refuse to stop until it’s fixed, even if it kills me." He mumbled the last part. "I’m not giving up on you Kate and you sure as hell can’t stop me." Jack stumbled over to the nearby couch and plopped down his head swishing from the vodka.

Kate blinked her bright eyes, not sure when or how the conversation had turned back to her and her situation. Watching Detective Roman disappear back into the living room, she sighed, rinsing out her glass and set it aside to be washed later before doing the same with his. Joining him back in the living room, she sat sideways on the arm of the couch, trying to keep her attention on his head rather than the exposed parts of him.

"You're a cop, Detective; you've done more for this city than you give yourself credit for. I'm from District 4 and I've even heard of the work you've done. Of how many lives you have saved. You're being way too damn hard on yourself and you know it."

"I’ve killed more than I saved." Jack muttered. "Forty six... forty six dead... you can make that a rounded off number by the end of the week I promise." Jack stretched out his arms on the back of the couch, resting his head back while looking at Kate. "Once this is over, you really need to fix your robot. He’s... Strange." He gave a slight grin as he felt his head start to spin.

Kate got up from the arm of the couch and walked over to the back of it, looking down at Detective Roman's face in a slight upside-down fashion. She rested her hands on either side of his head, really unsure how to take what he had just said. Was he really going to kill others? And was it for her sake? Thankfully, the topic once again changed.

"Don't I know it?" She chuckled lightly. She debated for a couple seconds of just coming out right then and there, telling him everything about Sektor. It was evident that she could trust him, but the fact that it might just pile more onto this whole mess kept her mouth shut while she thought it over.

"Detective..." She started, leaning in a bit closer to him, unsure of how well he would be able to hear due to his intoxicated state.

Jack watched as Kate hovered above him. He let out a long sigh and slowly caught his eyes squinting at hers. "Yes Katherine?" He could feel her breath on his forehead, cooling the warmth from the alcohol down. His eyes got heavy and he closed them imagining the two of them after all this was over... where would they go? Would they go their separate ways? "Where do we go from here?" He whispered before completely nodding off.

Kate hesitated, the words slowly coming to her mind of what she wanted to say, what she needed to say, but before she knew it, the alcohol had taken his body over, and he was asleep. Sighing somewhat in relief, she raised her nimble fingers a bit and lightly pushed his hair to the side before standing up fully and walked back to the spare bedroom, noticing Sektor on the way.

"You done with that door yet?"

Sektor, still only recently activated and still disoriented, looked at her, its photoreceptor lit dimly to stimulate sadness. "Do you love him?" Was all Sektor asked, its tone weary and broken.

"I..." Kate started, feeling her feet shift underneath her uncomfortable. Just what was this anyway? The logical part of her brain, which she had used fully her entire life was telling her that all this was, was a case of 'damsel in distress,' however the other part of her mind, which she had just recently discovered, said otherwise. "That’s none of your business." She then said flatly and went into the bedroom, allowing Sektor in before shutting the door.