I study his robotic side curiously. It's a bit difficult to maintain eye contact with the red eye glowing so brightly. I wonder if why he looks the way he does, unlike all the other perfect cyborgs.
"My name is Roger, what is your name?" he says blankly. Roger. That's ironic.
"Lindsay," I lie. I get a sense of deja vu, as if I've lied about my name before, but I can't quite place the memory. I await his next question.
Roger doesn't turn away from you or express any sort of reaction. However, there are a few moments of silence as he stares at you, his human eye squinting ever so slightly. He almost elicited an emotional reaction, but seemingly stopped himself. Instead he continues.
"Where were you at the time of the attack?"
"Where were you at the time of the attack?"
I raise an eyebrow. Well, you saw me, didn't you? I try to say the least amount of words possibly, afraid that what I say would cause more questions. I can't hesitate either. Choose your words carefully and quickly. "I was in the crowd, watching the speech."
There is a few moments of silence before Roger continues his next question. It's almost like he's…resisting a smile? What could that mean? He quickly regains his demeanor that barely faltered in the first place as he continues.
"Where did you hear the shot come from?"
I lean back in my chair, eyeing him carefully. "Um, I heard it behind me." I inhale deeply, but quietly. I'm praying I'm answering this questions okay, but god knows I'll probably regret something later.
I look to Roger for the next question.
Roger raises an eyebrow and tilts his head, almost as if he's slowly learning how to express emotions; or trying to hide them as best he can. He leans back in his chair and crosses his arms, studying you closely.
"Do you think you could pin-point which building it came from?"
I squint my eyes, shaking my head. "I don't know."
Roger nods his head conclusively and shoots a Customer Service smile.
"That is all, thank you. You've provided us with plenty of information. We'll be checking up with you very soon. May I take you home?"
He offers, eyeing you specifically. What emotion is he expressing? Why does he seem to be expressing something, almost behind his eyes? His eyes searched you, hoping you'd search his.
I straighten up, relieved that the questioning ended quicker than anticipated. Roger gives a little spiel, which is clearly fake due to the fact that I did not provide any useful information, or at least I hope not.
"May I take you home?"
I blink. "Can you even- is it even possible? Don't you have to do other questionings or other police work?" I ask in confusion. Do cops normally offer that? Is that a normal thing? Am I being the rude one? I don't even remember Jean's address anyway.
Roger shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly, urging you out the door nevertheless. He guided you to a different car than what you arrived here in.
"I'm going to show you something." He utters, starting the car and taking off. He drives through a few roads in silence, not looking away from the road as he pulls up to a familiar looking building; it was the one you met Jean in. He parks the car nearby and looks out the window.
"Are you aware of what happened in that building the other day?"
me, closing the closet of my memories
absolutely not sir
Roger takes me to the car anyways, and I feel I must oblige or he'll shoot me or something. He pulls up to the ELife building,
"Are you aware of what happened in that building the other day?" he asks, sending anxiety up my spine. Would they cover up the murders completely or was it on the news? I should've checked. Better be safe than sorry then.
"Uh, no?" I say cautiously. "Why, what happened?" Jesus christ I hope I'm a good fucking actor.
Roger gazes knowingly at you for a few moments, dropping his arm that he used to point at the building. His grin grew bigger as he leans forward, a clearly evident smile plastered on his face. It was as if he somehow regained the ability to express emotions like a regular human as he whispers, "You're worse at lying than I am."
I squint at him. No I'm fucking not wha thte fuck ar eyou fucking talking about it's because you're a sack of robot shit innit??????????? huh??????/ you think ur better than me???????? fool. i will destroy you. His look intimidates me and I slink back slightly.
"Excuse me? And how do you know that?" I snap, my defense mode going up seeing as he somehow saw through me.
Roger curls his lips into a mischievous smirk, leaning back in the car as he shrugs.
"You just experienced a murder and you seemed to keep your composure quite well. Whether or not you're used to it, you should know to at least act a little surprised. You were creating an alibi as I asked you, you weren't remembering a traumatic experience."
Roger gazed at you carefully, furrowing his brow before gesturing to the building.
"Not only that, but there was security footage of you in the garage of that building the night of Hanson's assassination. Unfortunately, the footage of you inside the building yet to be recovered, which only adds to your suspicion."
Roger finishes by adjusting towards you and sighing heavily.
"Don't bother trying to defend yourself; I'm not going to turn you in."
I relax, muttering to myself, "Well fuck." Of course! What normal person would be so calm? But, for me, murder isn't the strangest thing I've witnessed.
Roger sighs, "Don't bother trying to defend yourself; I'm not going to turn you in."
I eye him curiously. "Oh, really? Why would a cop, out of all people, not turn me in?" I am a bit bewildered to be honest, but somehow he seems less frightening than before.
He looks down to the floorboard, exhaling through his mouth before closing it in thought.
"I heard you in that garage," He started, looking back up at you with sincerity. "You…lost your memory, right? You didn't know what was going on, and you felt like you were missing a good portion of your life."
He pauses, scratching behind his neck nervously.
"I don't know, I just didn't want to see you be pushed around by these people because of actions you've taken that you don't even remember and can't defend yourself for. It's not right."
He looked at you with a genuine forgiveness, but there was something else in his voice, something like…regret.
I meet his gaze for a few moments, reaching up to turn off the earpiece.
"I suppose I don't really want to be assisting murders for the rest of my life. I just want to- wait, you're apart of the government. You could help me, right?" I don't specify what exactly he would help with, because to be honest, I'm not sure. Kai said he'd get my memory back, so what else is there to help with? Maybe I just need to get away from the whole emotional serial killer scene.
Upon hearing your words, Roger gives you a sad smile.
"I…can try, what do you need?" He utters, his eyes growing a little shifty but otherwise his demeanor remained stoic as usual with him. However, he did sit up in interest at your question. Something about his reaction to your response made you feel like he was hiding something, but it was as if he was brushing it off like it didn't matter.
I inhale shakily. "Listen, I know I might be asking way too much of you, but I think I need a place to stay for the night. Everything's just overwhelming, yaknow?"
I hope that Roger trusts me, and that he is trustworthy. Jean and Anubis probably wouldn't care, but perhaps it will be nice to make another friend here. I'll make sure to tell them so they don't worry. Not that they would, Anubis could find me anywhere.
Roger relaxes his muscles, looking back to his feet for a moment before smiling softly and looking back up at you.
"I don't mind, do you want me to stop by anywhere so you can grab some belongings?"
He utters as he starts the car back up and starts driving away from the building, seeming a little tense for an unidentifiable reason.
"Nah, I don't have anything to begin with anyways. Oh, my real name is Jenny, by the way," I smile, still in awe over his half robotic side. I feel more at ease now that I don't have to hide much, but I'm praying Roger doesn't change his mind mid-way through. "Are you sure you're okay with this? I really appreciate it, but I don't want you to be uncomfortable," I say, eyeing his demeanor.
Roger furrows his brow at you, but shrugs off your question.
"Oh, no, I'm not uncomfortable, as long as you're comfortable. Of course, you'll sleep on the couch, if you're alright with that."
His eyes fall as he sighs, "I don't have any other beds."
I laugh, "Oh, please, I've been sleeping on couches for the past week. I think I'll be fine." Looking through the window, we pass several familiar buildings, but eventually Roger turns into new territory. I wonder where he lives. "Do you live alone, then?"