Part 13
As the woman led him toward a bedroom, she stated over her shoulder with a smile. "By the way, my name Ophelia. You are?" Sean replied promptly in a kind tone. "My name is Sean." She grinned, gesturing him into the little bedroom. The little bedroom was brightly colored and filled with items he didn't recognize. He was getting the strong smell of chemicals used in nail polish remover and hair dye. Ophelia gestured for him to sit in a chair in front of a large mirror. He sat down but watched her gather a small kit with scissors and combs. She sat them on the counter, looking over his hair as she told him simply. "Ok. Do you mind if I wash your hair before we cut it?" Sean looked in the mirror at his hair, smirking. She was trying to be polite. His hair was a mess from being under a dirty blanket. Pushing his chair to an oddly shaped sink, he told her with a warm smile. "You may." Ophelia wrapped a towel on the edge of the sink, slowly coaxing him into laying back.
She then took the nozzle off the sink to start washing his hair as she asked him innocently. "How long have you known, Gavin?" Sean calculated his time and answered. "Two days." Ophelia was silent a minute, focusing on her work. After she switched to shampoo, she told him sweetly. "I see. Do you like him?" Sean honestly answered. "I'm still learning about him. He's a hard guy for me to understand... but yes. I like him." Ophelia smiled, telling him softly. "He has a good heart once you get past his bad boy image." Sean stared at her closely, questioning her curiously. "What's a bad boy image?" Ophelia winced a little bit, before chuckling out. "It's when a guy acts tougher than he is. Sometimes guys to it in order to hide who they really are. It can be a way for them to hide their pain, or their fears." Sean documented that under his knowledge of humans, then asked her softly. "Does having this image cause a thing called a crush?" Ophelia chuckled loudly, answering cheerfully. "It can. Bad boys can be attractive to some people." She saw his confused stare and quickly added. "I'm not talking about 'bad guys' that hurt people. But bad boys that are a mystery. It's complicated."
Sean noted the strange idea, while she coaxed him up to dry his hair. Chatting with him as she worked, she explained all she knew about 'crushing on bad boys.' Sean documented it all and made sure to list the differences between a bad person and a bad guy image. With his hair semi-dry, she began to cut it down. Sean watched her work through the mirror, learning how she was doing it. She shaved the sides short, then just trimmed the top and bangs to look neater. When she finished, she told him softly. "Wow. Suits you... but maybe we can dye this part. Your LED stands out with dark hair... If we lighten it-" Sean kind of zoned out while she talked. He was checking his internal setting. He felt like he could change it. Finding his customization settings, he immediately began to scroll across the color bar. His hair transitioned from brown, to dark green, to light green, to blue, and then to yellow. Adjusting the color, he turned his bangs into a solid bright yellow. Contrasting it with his brown sides, he grinned. The bright blue LED almost vanished in the bright color of his yellow bangs. Playing with his customization a bit more, he turned his eyes from blue to a soft yellow.
Ophelia crossed her arms, playfully muttering out. "Oh, sure... If only we all had it that easy. What do you say we go the extra mile then?" Sean didn't understand, until she pulled out a pair of scissors that didn't have blades... but rounded circles on the end. When she had finished with him, she told him to change. Bagging his uniform, she walked him back out into the living room. Gavin was sitting on the couch, looking over his phone intently. Ophelia cleared her throat, causing Gavin to look up. She stepped aside and Gavin dropped his phone. Sean took a step back with worry, before Gavin told her sternly. "I told you to make him look human. To blend in! He won't blend in looking like THAT!" Ophelia huffed loudly, stating firmly. "Shows what you know. Have you ever seen an android dress like this? Trust me. He'll blend in." Gavin snatched up his phone, grumbling to himself. "He looks like a punk from one of your romance novels." Sean looked at himself in the small mirror on the wall. He didn't think he looked too bad. He liked the 'Bad Boy' look had given him.
He was dressed in a sweatshirt that had a yellow center piece with black sleeves and a black hood. The zipper of the jacket was open to reveal his plain black t-shirt, leading down to his clean blue jean pants. Along with his hair and eyes being yellow, he now wore solid black gauges in his ears. Reaching up to adjust his black baseball cap that helped keep his yellow bangs over his bright blue LED, he told Gavin. "Ophelia is right. They'll be looking for an android that looks much different than myself now. Isn't that what we want?" Gavin pocketed his phone reluctantly, grumbling out to himself. "Hank is going to kill me... Fine. Fuck it. We can't change it now." Ophelia narrowed her eyes on him, but he told her in a relatively nice voice. "Thanks for your help. Send me the bill." Ophelia smirked, handing the bag with Sean's uniform to Gavin, before watching Gavin grab Sean's arm to lead him out. Stepping outside, Sean flipped his black hood up over his head and fell in behind Gavin. Gavin led him out to the curb to a motorcycle that wasn't his. Sean scanned the license plate, grinning when he saw it was Ophelia's.
Just as Gavin reached it, Sean asked him hopefully. "Can I drive?" Gavin stopped short, asking confused. "Can you drive?" Sean moved closer to the bike, expressing more confidently. "I was watching you. I can do it." Gavin glanced around, shifting on his feet reluctantly. Sean just stared him down with a neutral expression, until Gavin tossed him the keys, grumbling out. "Alright. Knock yourself out..." Sean caught the keys, swinging his leg over the bike. Scanning the bike with his eyes, to learn more about the motorcycle itself, he listened to Gavin ask him nervously. "Just to clarify. You know how to drive it because of watching me?" Sean put the keys into the ignition, turning on the gold colored sportster as he honestly admitted. "For the most part." Gavin huffed darkly, uttering out. "That's comforting..." Sean gripped the handlebars, revving the engine. Reluctantly, Gavin swung a leg over the bike, growling into his ear. "You better know what your doing. We're going to Jimmy's Bar..." Sean brought up an internal map, pinpointing the location.
When he knew what route to take, he pulled out. While driving, Sean scanned the area for cameras. Whenever he saw a street camera, he'd keep his head low. He obeyed the street signs he saw, blending into the traffic without issue. Reaching Jimmy's Bar, Gavin pointed out Hank's car. Gavin climbed off first, waiting for Sean to dismount. Joining Gavin, Sean saw all the signs for 'no androids' and shot Gavin a questionable look. Gavin shrugged weakly, telling him seriously. "Don't look at me like that. This is the only place that I knew Hank even knew about." Gavin pushed the door open, sending a strong smelly wave of cigarette smoke and peanuts their way. Gavin moved in first, heading through the narrow bar. Sean stayed close, taking in the faces of the few people in the bar. They eyed them briefly, then returned to their drinks. They headed straight toward a booth in the back, where they could see Hank and Conner sitting together on one side. While Mark and Richard sat across from them. As they approached, Gavin told them all dryly. "What did we miss?"
Hank looked up from his drink, grumbling out. "Nothing important. What happened to you two?" Gavin slammed his hands down on the table edge, growling out in a slightly hushed voice. "I don't know what you've gotten mixed up in... But your friend here is a magnet for trouble." Richard slid a glass across the table and Gavin took it without a second thought. Straightening up, Gavin drank down the glass. Meanwhile, Mark looked Sean over with wide eyes, asking shakily. "Sean?" Hank coughed loudly upon looking at him, then asked Gavin startled. "What did you do to him? I thought you were running for your life... not playing dress up." Gavin shot Hank a stern glare, growling out. "I'm having a bad day... Don't piss me off, Hank." Hank opened his mouth, but Connor interjected casually. "We should focus on the important thing. You're both still here." Richard eyed the men in the bar, stating out in a low voice. "We should take this somewhere else now. We've caused enough issues here."
Hank rolled his eyes but finished his glass. Slipping from booth, Hank told the tense man behind the bar. "Sorry, Jimmy." Hank pulled some money from his jacket pocket, slipping it across the bar. Jimmy snatched the money in a clenched fist, scolding Hank lightly. "Don't bring them in here again, Hank. You hear me? They don't belong here." Hank just waved a hand in acknowledgement, leading the group out. Mark stopped Sean just outside the bar, while the others continued over toward Hank's car. Sean stared into Mark's eyes, sensing his heart was beating rather quickly. Mark cleared his throat, letting go of Sean's arm as he mumbled out. "Are you ok?" Sean checked himself over, then responded simply. "I seem to be. Why?" Mark licked his lips nervously, avoiding his eyes now as he told him under his breath. "It's nothing... I just... You look so different now." Sean raised an eyebrow, replying nicely. "You don't like it either?" Mark jerked his eyes up to meet his, answering quickly. "I didn't say that. You look... perfect."
Mark awkwardly stumbled off the curb, heading quickly back over to the car. Sean blinked blankly but followed after him casually, giving him an honest answer. "Thank you. I was designed that way." Mark avoided his eyes, asking Gavin and Hank bluntly. "So, what do we do now?" Hank stopped chatting with Gavin, crossing his arms at Mark's outburst. Connor was the one to answer, telling them all softly. "I think we need to find Markus. It is possible that he might know more about what is going on." Gavin shook his head, stating out sarcastically. "Ya... but again. No one knows where he is. So, how do you plan to track him down?" Connor bowed his head a little to think, then told them firmly. "Maybe we can use the police station authority to access the street and store cameras. They must have seen Markus leave the square after his speech. We could start there." Richard intervened, stating out just as firmly. "Other RK900s will be crawling all over the place. You'll never get close enough."
Hank pointed to Richard, bluntly interjecting. "So, you go. They won't think to look at you." Gavin inhaled deeply, grimly muttering out. "He can't. They might interrogate him now for information..." All eyes turned to Gavin, when he reluctantly told him. "When we were getting chased... The RK900s knew who I was. They know I was the last person they saw with the 'unregistered android.' Richard was assigned to me... He'll be the first one they ask. We lose him..." Mark kicked the tire of the car, finishing off. "We lose an advantage... Damn it." Hank stared at the ground, shuffling his feet a little. After a moment of silence between all of them, he asked Sean curiously. "Hey, Sean... When you connected with that drone. Did you see anything important?" Sean squared his shoulders, responding quickly. "Yes. They are locking Deviants in containers. Not to kill them... but contain them. The order to contain the Deviants on that ship came from someone named Elijah Kamski." Hank locked eyes with Gavin for a brief moment, before uttering out. "Jesus..."
Gavin shrugged, coolly telling Hank. "I think we should talk with him. Just to hear his side." Hank snorted, grumbling out. "He's just going to give us crypt answers... or worse." Connor looked them all over, announcing rationally. "We don't have much to work with. Maybe we should. Kamski knew I was a Deviant before... If he gave the order... why haven't they come for me?" Richard lifted his head, answering openly. "That's what WE were assigned to do. Bring you in." Hank shook his head, grumbling out. "It's too risky. We need to think this through carefully." Sean scanned the street; the place was pretty empty and had no street cameras. He didn't see how anyone in the buildings nearby could hear them. Beside him, Mark told them casually. "I think Gavin and Richard should go to the station and get all the information they can. They are the only ones that can get in there without issue. While Hank and Conner can help track down Markus with any information you give them." Both Gavin and Hank shot him scolding looks, causing Gavin to snap back. "Were you not listening? We can't! They think I-"
Mark cut him off by stating out dryly. "They won't question you... if they know you don't have him anymore. You can make up some story about how Sean was holding you hostage. Forcing you to drive... Point their focus on hunting me." Hank relaxed, lightly admitting to Connor. "That could work. Fischbach brought the android to us... makes sense that he'd try to hold onto it..." Gavin stared at Mark with guarded eyes, informing him seriously. "You'll have to make a scene... They'll be hot on your trail like they were on us. Maybe even worse..." Mark cleared his throat, uttering out meekly. "I know... but we don't have a lot of options and we can't just stand around here thinking about it." Connor looked to Sean, asking softly. "What do you think?" Sean ran the numbers, before answering causally. "I think in this case, the benefit outweighs the risk." Connor nodded in response. Their conversation was cut short by the sudden sound of police sirens. Hank cursed, blurting out darkly. "Damn it, Jimmy."
Gavin cursed, removing his gun from his holster. Hank gestured for them all to get into the car, but Sean grabbed Mark's shirt to pull him toward the bike. Gavin reluctantly called Mark's name, then tossed him his gun. Mark caught it, just as Gavin told them sternly. "You better start running." Sean climbed onto the bike, starting it up as Mark rushed to climb on. Revving the engine, Sean waited until the police cars turned onto the road and into view. Sean gunned the bike, whizzing past Hank as he weakly turned the car to try and cut them off. Sean road up onto the sidewalk to avoid the car, while Mark shot out Hank's tire. Sean heard Hank let out a fowl curse as Mark grimly told Sean. "He's going to kill me for that..." The police cars slammed on their brakes to avoid T-boning Hank's car. While Gavin scrambled out from the backseat, shouting to the RK900s. "Don't let them get away! He has the android!" Sean dramatically skidded the bike to a stop and raised his hand to flick them all off with a devilish grin.
The RK900s rose to the challenge, their tires squealing as they floored their cars into reverse and whirled around to take another route. Leaving the others to look at them with worried eyes. Sean wasn't worried though. He had an idea on where he wanted to go. He'd cause a scene for Gavin and Hank's sake. Then after losing the RK900s, he'd seek out Kamski. Squealing his own back tire, he took off down the street. Over his shoulder though, Mark defensively asked him. "Where did you learn to do that?" Sean smirked, answering honestly. "Ophelia taught me." Mark's voice sounded almost grim, when he blurted out dryly. "I'm really worried about what you are learning exactly." Sean chuckled, telling him with a grin. "Just hold on tight." To Be Continued...
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