(Y/N)'s P.O.V.

Before returning to the living room, I remembered how I had not checked the kitchen, hence I stopped there. The visible mess was suspicious, whereas I slowly moved across the room. Both, the table and one chair, were thrown to the side, now lying on the ground. I carefully moved around them, not eager on messing up the crime scene. Roughly a meter behind the messy dining area, evidence piece number 9 lay on the ground. I got down on my knees to let my eyes scan the bat, pondering whether it had been used by the android or Carlos.

Unable to ultimately make up my mind, I stood up once more and looked at the walls, noticing a knife holder and one missing object in between the other sharp cutting devices. Surely that was the weapon claimed as the one that had been used to kill the victim, which was placed in the living room. I decided to inspect that exact knife again, heading for the other room now.

Once I stepped close to the corpse, I noticed Hank and Connor standing next to the TV, looking down at something. Squinting one eye, I attempted to catch a glimpse of what they were examining.

"Red Ice... Seems our friend Carlos liked to party... Chris, I want full analysis on the narcotics."

In the matter of a second, I tore my eyes wide open, inhaling a sharp breath. The reply to Hank's demand barely was a faint noise in the back of my mind, as I focused on calming my heart down.

Red Ice. I had wished to never hear of that drug ever again. I felt a cold shiver running down my back and fatigue spreading through my body. On top of that, my legs somehow appeared to give in, making me wonder how that even was possible in my condition. Feeling weak, I stumbled to the side, leaning on the nearby wall. I slightly coughed, trying to distract myself from the memories pouring down on me just like the rain outside when I had arrived at the crime scene.

"Detective (Y/LN), are you all right? Your heart rate has increased and your skin color has paled by 3,8%." Connor's mechanic yet somehow genuine voice made me look up, facing him directly.

Forcing myself to regain my composure, I nodded several times, convincing my own mind of the fact that I was ok. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." I gulped and walked past the male android, in need of some fresh air.

My body headed for the back door and I stopped once I stood in the doorway, being greeted by a wave of cold oxygen hitting me. Grateful for the change of environment, I put my hand over my heart and took a few composed breaths. The past was immutable, I needed to get used to hearing of that drug again. After all, it was known to be closely connected to the deviant cases. Even though my brain was aware of that information, my heart did not want to react the way I tried to order it. I'm sure that was typical for every human though. If one drug managed to destroy a person's whole life, they certainly would wish to avoid it as well.

From inside, I faintly recognized Connor talking. "Lieutenant, I think I've figured out what happened. Should I go get detective (L/N) as well?"

Hearing my name, I hastily turned around and jogged towards both men, weakly smiling at them. "No need to do that, I'm already here." I couldn't let this stop me from my mission. That simply could not happen.

While Connor appeared to scan me with his eyes another time, perhaps to make sure my heart was back to beating normally, Hank used the chance to speak. "Shoot. I'm all ears." He addressed the android who took his hazel brown eyes off me and nodded.

"It all started in the kitchen." Connor stated, walking from the hallway into the room, as we followed him. Considering the messy surroundings, I agreed with him.

"There're obvious signs of a struggle... The question is, what exactly happened here..." Hank mumbled rather to himself.

"I think the victim attacked the android with the bat." Connor continued pointing to the object laying on the ground.

I crossed my arms, interested to hear his theory, as I had asked myself the question of who had been the attacker in this case before. "That lines up with the evidence... Go on." Hank said, addressing Connor.

"The android stabbed the victim..." The android added.

"So the android was trying to defend itself, right?.. Okay, then what happened?" Hank asked, slightly cocking his head. I watched as both men entered the next room.

"The victim fled to the living room."

Hank stared at the corpse, finishing the deduction, "And he tried to get away from the android... All right, that makes sense..."

Connor walked around him while looking at the dead body, continuing, "The android murdered the victim with the knife."

I inched closer to Carlos' body, now focusing on the case. I needed to accomplish my mission in a satisfying way, which meant not to get distracted by... In the matter of a second, my eyes landed on the Red Ice next to the TV.

Shaking my head, I turned towards my partners once more. "Ok, your theory's not totally ridiculous... but it doesn't tell us where the android went." Hank skeptically asserted, facing Connor.

"It was damaged by the bat... and lost some Thirium..." The android stated matter-of-factly.

Hank directed a confused look at him, turning to me once I chimed in. "We usually call it 'Blue Blood'. It's the fluid that powers android's bio components." I raised one finger, as if teaching a child something new.

Connor nodded along to my explanation and added, "It evaporates after a few hours and becomes invisible to the naked eye."

Hank slightly opened his mouth, not replying for a moment. Then he turned to face the male android, partly smirking and pointing his finger at him. "Oh... But I bet you can still see it, can't you?"

Connor shortly answered, "Correct." While Hank mumbled a "yeah" to himself, I noticed Connor intensely staring at the ground. Wishing I could be more of a help, I bit my lip, walking back to the kitchen to give him some space. My eyes wandered across the hallway, noticing the print of a ladder on the wall.

Squinting an eye, I inched closer and knelt down, inspecting the spot. "Hm, you usually need a ladder to reach a high place..."

Pondering, I stared at the ceiling, nonplussed to actually have found a lead. A smile appeared on my face as I recognized a small hatch that surely let to an attic above me. Just a moment later, I sensed how Connor joined me. Excited, I jumped onto my feet and grabbed his upper arm. "Connor, look up there!" I pointed towards the ceiling, earning a questioning gaze from him before he followed my instructions.

"There's thirium on it." The android said, turning to me.

Filled by pure satisfaction I beamed at him, happy to have been helpful in some way at least. His LED blinked yellow for a second as Connor blankly stared at me.

"Is everything all right?" I asked, blinking a few times, now leaving my "state of enthusiasm".

Connor appeared to come back to reality as well, seeming slightly confused. "Of course. Thank you for the hint detective (L/N)."

Seeing how sincerely he praised me, I could not help but feel a wave of heat rush up to my cheeks. The way his hazel brown eyes gazed into my face when we stood so close to each other, made me feel rather shy, hence I took a step back, averting my gaze. "Sure thing..." I mumbled and grabbed a strand of my (H/C) colored hair.

My eyes were still facing the wall beside me when I recognized Hank's voice. "Hey! Hey! Hey! What are you doin' with that chair?"

I hastily shook my head, my eyes landing, once again, on Connor who was carrying a chair over to where I was standing. "I'm going to check something." He replied, not looking back at the lieutenant.

"Huh...gonna check something..." The grey-haired man murmured.

I quickly stepped aside to let Connor pass, earning a small nod from him. He got onto the chair, pushing the attic door open. Curious, I looked up, seeing him climb into the room above us. Feeling as if I should not leave him alone with the deviant and, of course, fueled by the desire to fulfill my mission successfully, I now stepped onto the wooden chair as well. Taking a deep breath, I jumped up, grabbing the upper floor with my hands and easily lifting myself up. I had to admit, my body was pretty useful in such situations.

As Connor noticed my presence, turning to face me. "What are you doing here detective?"

I blinked at him, sighing to myself. "I did not plan to just watch you do all the work, you know."

We both spoke quietly, now silently looking at each other. While the android did not appear to fully understand my actions, he was about to move forward again, yet I stopped him. "Since I am the one with the weapon, how about I take the lead?" I smiled at Connor, who merely nodded. I stepped in front of him and sneaked towards the other end of the room. Just a few feet away from me, I noticed a black silhouette standing behind a few pieces of cloth, signaling Connor to stop moving. Raising my weapon, I inched closer without making any sounds and quickly pulled the white clothes aside, pointing my gun at the figure.

My shoulders immediately dropped once I recognized we were facing a mannequin, nothing else. "God, I feel so stupid now..." I whispered, facepalming myself. I moved past the few objects and suddenly saw something move in the back of the room.

"Now we got you..." I uttered underneath my breath, determined to catch the deviant. Walking in the direction the person had went, I moved a chair aside and passed a window, suddenly surprised by the android running towards me, only to abruptly stop upon seeing my gun.

"Don't take another step." I calmly stated, facing the dark skinned man. The deviant appeared alarmed and especially scared, as he shook his head.

"I was just defending myself... He was gonna kill me... I'm begging you... Let me go." His LED was shining in a bright red, yet that did not really bewilder me considering his physical state. Blood was splattered across his face, as his pleading eyes met mine.

We simply stared at each other for a while. Admittedly, I did feel bad for this man. He had been attacked and was now chased by us. Doubt spread inside my mind, yet I pushed it aside. There was no possible way I could let him go now. He had killed someone and it was my job to take of criminals, no matter whether they were human or not. I did not make much of a difference between machines and our kind, so it wouldn't have mattered if a human man would've been facing me now. He needed to be punished for his crimes. I needed to prove CyberLife that I was fit for these missions. I simply could not go back and let myself play the caged bird for so many more years.

"Connor, (Y/N), what the fuck is going on up there?" Hank's voice called for us from a floor beneath. He must've noticed me joining our android up here. I sighed to myself. I had to carry out this mission, no matter how selfish that was. Justice needed to be served. Criminals had to take responsibility for their deeds.

"I'm sorry..." I whispered but before I could say another word, Connor shouted back, "It's here, Lieutenant!"

Nonplussed for a moment, I turned back to face my partner, seeing his impartial expression. "Holy shit... Chris, Ben, get your asses in here now. Come on!"

Hank's voice was a faint noise in the background, as I stared into Connor's hazel brown eyes. He had done exactly what my next move would've been. So we agreed on the matter. But why did I feel as if we both had made a questionable choice?