Connor startled back a bit, his doe-eyes widening a fraction as his body visibly jolted slightly as if he hadn’t quite pieced together that fact despite all the evidence clearly being offered. Was this guy really Detroit’s best? If so, the city was doomed…

“Amanda, we’ve talked about this!” Detective Anderson almost whined, his lilting voice dipping deep where it usually only sank a tad bit lower and his high peaks suddenly mountains high above sealine. “I don’t need a partner!” Connor protested stubbornly, frowning slightly and releasing a perturbed huff that made him look almost childlike in his ill temper. Had this guy ever even heard of professionalism? Hank thought the answer here was probably no.

“Please, Amanda, listen,” The disgruntled detective began his plea, dropping his voice to the hushed tones of a hissed whisper despite the fact that with the android’s enhanced hearing capabilities - his audio processors attuned to be hypersensitive when he so chose them to be in allowance for him to listen in on criminal conversation through walls or from a safe distance - it did Connor absolutely no good.

“We’ve been hanging out for like, two minutes (Connor’s approximation was incredibly wrong. They’d been in each other’s company for approximately 11 minutes and 37 seconds according to Hank’s inner clock) and I’ve already hit this poor fucker with the cheesiest line in my book.” The man appealed desperately, gesturing vaguely with his restless hands as he leaned forward to hiss the words in an odd sort of sharp whisper that could never actually be considered quiet even by a human with no enhancement augmentation to speak for’s standards.

“Then you should be happy about this.” Amanda actually jested lightly, the small teasing smile that tugged lightly at the corner of her lip the first genuinely kind thing Hank had seen out of the woman since their arrival.

“Amanda!” Connor wailed unhappily, the man’s voice skyrocketing in both pitch and volume in the same instance, leaving a horrid ringing in Hank’s audio processors as the android came to regret ever upping the sensitivity of the things - Or maybe he just regretted meeting Connor. It was getting hard to tell at this point

“You wouldn’t wanna curse your worst enemy to this fate!” Connor insisted urgently, dropping his voice back down to a whisper once more and, somehow, Hank detected no lie or omission in his softly lilting voice. Of all the stupid reasons one could not want a partner, that’s really what this idiot was worried about?

“It isn’t a partner.” Amanda argued steadily, threading her hands back together where they had rested mere moments ago as she leaned back slightly in her chair and Connor in turn shifted a bit forward, light frown deepening just the slightest bit. “It’s a tool built to aid in a task.” The woman informed coolly, looking bored of this conversation already as Connor mumbled something unintelligible under his breath and made no moves to agree nor argue back.

“The HK800 model is a top of the line prototype, equipped with every available tool to aid you in your investigation.” Amanda began almost proudly but didn’t get much farther than that as Connor piped up and interrupted her spiel.

“Everything?” Detective Anderson questioned incredulously, glancing back at Hank with a single dark eyebrow raised in amused disbelief. “You mean like, a built in bottle opener? Or are we talking laser eyes here?” Connor inquired in what sounded like a teasing tone but peaked on Hank’s sensors as genuine curiosity…

Yeah. Detroit was doomed.

Amanda apparently shared the android’s pessimistic sentiment for the woman made an absolutely exhausted sort of noise that sounded something like one might imagine the damned offspring forged of a forbidden love between a tired sigh and a devastated sob would.

“I’m afraid I am not equipped with laser eyes, Detective.” Hank admitted blankly, keeping his hands behind his back and his entire person void of emotion despite the shit he was dealing with. The android was glad he had been specifically designed to withstand deviancy - Connor Anderson alone had the potential to irritate an entire army of androids into becoming deviant in ten minutes flat, if not sooner.

“Damn!” Connor sighed with disappointment evident in his tone, slumping back in his seat with a disapproving tsk before the detective happened to chance a glance back at his disgruntled chief and quickly added, “That would’ve been so… Useful.” The sentence was far from convincing, the words clumsy and halting as the detective began to turn back around to fully face the police commander once more but Amanda seemed placated, already beginning to straighten back up to her usual professional stance as her face resumed its usual stoic emotionlessness.

“But I can do this.” Hank offered just before the man could turn back around completely, snapping his fingers sharply as Connor returned his full focus to the android at the prompt, brown eyes glimmering with a hint of interest as the man propped his elbow on the back of his chair so he could cock his body sideways and witness the display. The minuscule action, paired with a small internal command, produced a controlled burst of flame that danced from the android’s fingertips and flickered merrily in a bright song of life before extinguishing again in a moment at the machine’s unspoken command

“Holy shit.” Connor breathed in awe, a small blue arrow facing the ceiling blinking into existence momentarily in the corner of Hank’s vision alongside the detective’s name as the man gazed wonderingly at the android’s fingertips for a long moment before a sharp cough from Amanda brought the detective whipping about in his seat as quickly as Hank had turned about earlier today, letting the machine know the harsh action couldn’t have been in the best interest of the human’s muscles.

Hank was unsure of what piece of programming prompted him to show off the trick as the small action obviously held no direct impact on the mission but the android was quick to mark it off as a pragmatic step towards the goal of From Partnership With Connor he was programmed to pursue.

“As I was saying,” Amanda began again, puncturing the annoyed statement with a pointed glare before continuing on. “This android is designed specifically to hunt down and exterminate deviants.” The woman explained, looking carefully at the man across from her as if gauging his reaction to the words and it didn’t look as if Connor had studied for the test at all and was now flunking the exam.

Anderson’s shoulders tensed up, arching from their proper place at his neckline to whisper dirty things to his ears as the rest of the guy’s body soon followed suit, his muscles visibly going taunt even under the oversized jacked obscuring most of the finer shapes of the detective’s form. “A killing machine.” Connor commented tastelessly, casting a momentary glance back at Hank with far less than what one could consider a comfortable look about him, the man’s lips peaked downwards and his coffee eyes calculating in a way that bordered on mistrustful.

“Yes, another reason I assigned it to you specifically, Connor.” Amanda brought focus back to herself with a cold tone that offered none of the warmth or companionability she’d presented earlier when it had benefited her. “HK800 is perfect to counterbalance your,” The woman elaborated than paused, looking thoughtful for a short moment as if she were trying to find the exact word before she threaded her hands together again and gazed coldly at the man across from her. “Shortcomings.” The police chief finished distastefully, that familiar look of silent disapproval entering her gaze as Connor shrunk a little lower in his seat and ducked his head low as he had done the last time the woman fixed him with that disappointed look.

“There was no reason to shoot that android.” Connor insisted resolutely, his lilting voice dropped soft so that Hank likely wouldn’t have been able to hear it from his place by the wall had he not been an android.

“What?” Amanda balked harshly, her mild disapproval shifting to a distasteful glower as she rose up from her seat slightly only to catch herself a moment later and lower her body carefully back into its previous place of resting professionalism.

“The hostage had been released. Daniel wasn’t resisting.” Connor pushed on despite the fact that his gaze remained ever locked on a particularly fascinating loose thread on the pale carpet lining the floor of the room.

“Connor,” Amanda began gently, back to all soft sweetness and warmth that still managed to pull Detective Anderson’s gaze from the ground despite how quickly it had all disappeared before. “The PL600 ,” The woman began, puncturing the serial number as if saying the title forcefully enough would pound it into Connor’s head. “Was a defective machine.” The police chief implored the detective but merely received a silent nod that looked anything like convinced. “Do you understand?” Amanda pressed urgently, keeping her voice soft and sunshine warm as if doing so would secure Connor to her side even when the question itself left no room for any answer but one.

“I understand, Amanda.” Connor parroted obediently, his gentle voice flat and carefully void of emotion as the police chief merely sighed exhaustedly and leaned back in her chair in the slightest, never moving her hands from their stoic clasped position.

“Then you are dismissed.” The woman announced tiredly, before Connor gave a single curt nod and lifted his body sluggishly out of the chair, pushing the piece of furniture back in its proper position. The man made for the door, Hank hot on his heels, when Amanda spoke once more, opening her mouth just as the detective placed his hand on the large door handle and pushed it open so her words followed the pair out as they departed to undertake their mission.

“Connor, our future depends on this.” Amanda called after them, her voice grave beyond measure as her gaze darkened on her last words and a grim expression settled over her emotionless face.

“I understand, Amanda.” Connor promised solemnly once more and they were gone from the room.