Conduit

Ch. 11

I passed my hands over my mouth as we slowly approached the elevator. I thought if Frank and I had full stomachs, there wouldn't be tension. We were equals and I felt like he saw that. It wasn't obvious but it was in the look in his eyes or in his actions. Now it seemed like he was hesitant because of the company, not androids. The mask he wore when we first toured the building was gone. I needed to know what was underneath.

So, when Frank pushed the call button and the elevator doors opened for us, I tried to look into his eyes. I wanted to catch his emotion and see if there was something more, something like me. Yeah, I needed to see what was up with the androids, but I wanted to learn Frank, too. We were partners after all.

Frank hovered his hand over the digital floor buttons on the side, before softly pressing his fingers on the smooth LED panel. Floor 1B. I'd told him we needed to get to business, and he agreed, but hadn't said exactly where we would start. In a way, it didn't matter. I was smart enough and could follow along without much direction, anyway.

I just needed everyone to be on the same page.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Victoria looked like she was going to say something, but the second light flooded our elevator, her eyes opened wide. Her jaw dropped. A tiny gasp slipped out from her mouth. I turned around to see what was in front of us and I had to react like she did.

Floor 1B was the first basement floor and by the look of our surroundings, it was where the androids were built and designed. Technicians in white lab coats walked around giant computers built within metal pipes positioned together in a hexagon shape. Within each space, within the shapes, were large led screens and skeletons—android skeletons without synthetic flash.

Never in my life had I ever seen so many of them in one place. Stepping out of the elevator and into 1B, I swore there had to be hundreds; each skeleton had a crew touching the metal skinless interior. They tapped the steel with lasers. Sparks erupted from every corner.

As an android geek, I felt like a kid in a candy store.

I grinned as I slowly turned to look back at Victoria, Frank, and Reggie. The three of them stepped out of the elevator, and as if immediately called, it ascended to the upper floors.

Victoria came closer and reached for my hand. Was she comforting herself? "I've never pictured android creation to be so—"

I had to admit, her disbelief was adorable. Reggie, on the other hand, had no emotional change. Why would he? He was born here. I looked back into Victoria's eyes. "You didn't think it'd be so industrial? It can be like an assembly line, sure. And for these androids," I glanced behind me as a group of technicians rolled in a large cart covered with a white tarp, "it is exactly that."

"Oh." Victoria's brows pinched together. "And what about me?"

Sighing into a smile, I gently squeezed her fingers and told her the truth. "Vicky, you're a Garret."

Victoria's lips pulled into a small grin as she closed her eyes. She knew what I meant. I'd told her so many times. She wasn't a machine to me, but family. And family were Garret's, android and human alike.

When I turned back around to get started with this place, I caught the shocked look on Frank's face, as if the nervousness he felt seconds ago faded. He came closer, scratching the side of his face. It made me laugh. "Is something bothering you?"

"No, um, I just," Frank's gaze passed over each of us, "I've never seen people and androids look so... casual. At least, not for a long time." He weakly smiled. "A real long time."

My brows shot up. Oh, it was my turn to be curious. What he said plus the smile—he was on my side. Biting my lip, I looked around at the metal skeletons and their technicians. "Where are we and where do we go from here?"