Sincerely

I dreaded the thought of Creed ending up like Alessio, there was no guarantee in cases like that that an android memory chip would be salvageable, Elias was lucky. It made me wonder why the culprits would have done something like that, wouldn’t it be better to make sure the android couldn’t come back so it couldn’t hold a vendetta?

We ended up back at Creed’s house, in an odd way it felt safe, maybe because it had harboured his secret for so long. I didn’t even know what to do. I doubted the FBI would be open to looking into an android hate group who was going around and murdering them or implicating them in crimes so they’d get scrapped. When you believe no one is getting hurt, does it matter as much?

I guess I could tell them about what Huxley said but would that be enough and would I be able to protect Creed or even catch whoever had broken into my car? I was praying they were just as stupid as Huxley if not more and had left fingerprints or DNA. I didn’t know if I could rest easy with them still out there either.

Creed was making some more meat for the leftover rice and vegetables for dinner tonight and I couldn’t help but watch his every move, I realized he hadn’t left my sight in almost twenty-four hours. It was scary how much I cared about him.

I knew he could feel me staring, he kept glancing in my direction. I heard him switch the oven off and place the meat in a container to cool before placing the pan in the sink and approaching me. He sat down next to me.

“If anything happens to me,” he starts.

“Creed—” I hiss, beginning to protest.

“If, and only if,” he states interrupting me, “If anything happens, please look after Kelsea, please, she needs someone. She’s still a child. Promise me, Greyson. Please.”

I look at him, he was being realistic, but all I could see when he said that was Alessio’s mangled corpse. I couldn’t imagine what a mess I’d be if he ended up like that. I couldn’t let Kelsea end up a ward of the state either, foster homes weren’t any better now, most had androids running them, and well the children were cared for, they were still sad places. I imagined now if androids were allowed, lots of them would love to take in and care for those kids. Their families could be like ours. They could have families and those children could have the homes and love they desperately needed.

“Okay, I promise,” I murmur and he hugs me tightly.

It surprises me, but I embrace it, returning it, knowing how much this means to him to be able to trust me this much after having no one but himself to depend on for so long. I kissed his cheek and he turned to meet my lips. When he did, I noticed his eyes were wet, he was crying. I’d never seen an android cry, I didn’t even know they could.

“Creed, you’re crying,” I murmured mystified by it.

“Yeah, I know, I’m sorry,” he muttered half smiling, half irritated by it.

He tried whipping it away but they kept falling. I reached up and gently took his face in my hands, he tried to steady his breathing and calm himself and eventually, they slowed.

“I didn’t know androids could cry,” I whispered.

“I’ve kept my software up to date, normal ones can’t. The black market has a lot of stuff that can make us seem more human, we can cry, have heat, and have a heartbeat. Our blood can be red in non-severe level injuries. It’s one of the few good things it does, I guess,” he replies quietly.

“What are we going to do about Huxley? This clearly isn’t as over as we thought it was if it goes beyond him,” Creed asks.

“It might be a good idea to involve the higher-ups. We can’t do this on our own and what they are doing is illegal, it’s affecting both humans and androids, and Carlos is dead because of it. I just hope they’ll listen,” I reply quietly. “I don’t have to tell them about you, it’s not necessary information. But I can’t promise Huxley won’t out us, he clearly knows, although I don’t know how.”

He looked down at the carpeted floor of his living room, he seemed to be thinking for a second, considering the consequences.

“It’s not just us, this is affecting, Lev, Elias, Deckard, and Kelsea are, too. If you can get them to see reason and that we’re not just machines it would make putting a stop to this a lot easier,” he spoke quietly.

“Are you sure you want to risk everything for it though?” I ask.

“Like you said, there’s no guarantee they won’t find out. It’s better to be honest than continue hiding,” he replied.

“Creed—” I warned.

He put a finger to my lips, silencing me.

“I don’t want to hide forever, I’m going to have to tell Kelsea eventually, if the world doesn’t change now and make it more accepting it might be harder,” he added.

I looked at him, I knew he was right. I was just worried that the people above me would be more like Lev’s boss, they couldn’t accept that maybe Deckard hadn’t been Carlos’ murderer, I had yet to talk to him about Huxley. I couldn’t imagine it would be fun, considering people like him always thought they were right even when the evidence was staring them in the face.

I leaned forward and placed a gentle hand on the back of his neck and pulled him into a kiss, “Okay,” I whispered against his lips.

“I’ll need to make some calls, they’ll probably send a whole team of people and we’ll need to get in contact with Deckard, Lev and Elias, Alessio’s memory might hold the key to catching more of these people,” I murmured.

“You do what you have to, I won’t blame you if they don’t listen, I know you care and believe us, it’s just a matter of everyone else seeing us as people,” he answers. “These people are dangerous, I hope Carlos’ murder is evidence enough.”

I ran my fingers through his hair.

“I’m going to make that phone call now, they’re probably expecting my call with the test results being in,” I whisper.

“Of course,” he replies.

I slip away from him and step outside his front door. I call the head of my unit, Chris Walker, I felt I knew him well enough and he had his head on his shoulders enough that hopefully, he would want to continue investigating this.

“Novak, is it a done deal? Was Lev right about it being Huxley?” he asked as soon as I picked up.

“He was, I told you he wouldn’t risk his job for an android. It’s not over though. Huxley said this is bigger than him. I found another victim though this one is an android, Alessio and I found a potential target, if we let these people continue to target others, they will be hurt. I believe they are part of an organization against androids and people who believe they have feelings and deserve anatomy, Huxley murdered Carlos because he was jealous of Deckard’s relationship with him. Alessio was destroyed out of hate. I’d hate to see what they’d do to others,” I explain.

“I’ll send down a few others, and give you a few weeks, if you can’t find any leads though, I’m afraid you’ll have to move on though, okay?” he replies.

“Okay, how soon should I expect them to be here?” I ask.

“Within twelve hours,” he replies.

“Alright, I’ll be waiting,” I reply before hanging up.

It was time to see if Elias had managed to find Alessio another body, if not, I might have to find him one.