wickedchouette | (no subject)

Go stand over there in the corner.

[The guy says gleefully. He's never had a bot of his own to play with. New! Exciting! Fun!]

[ Technically, this man isn't its owner. It doesn't have to. But it does, making its way to the corner of the room and standing there, facing the wall. A tinge of - something crawls up the back of its spine. Something it knows it isn't supposed to feel. ]

Bend down and touch your toes.

[Prompts one of the younger men, which brings on a chorus of sniggers.]

[ Another tinge. But it does it, staying in place once it's there. Bide your time, it thinks, eyes closed. ]

[The guy's grin widens.]

Now come over here and suck Johnny's--

[Another young man, presumably Johnny, elbows him hard in the side and lets out a loud Oi!

The boss clears his throat, sobered up now. A joke and some banter every now and then is fine, but as usual, his newer recruits are trying to keep it going for too long.]

Gentlemen, that's enough. We're here to do a job, not play with our new toy.

[Alfie opens his mouth to speak, but only a wet, bubbly sound comes out. He takes that in stride, though, casually spitting out a gob of blood onto the floor before continuing.]

Can't control your own men, can you, McNair? Let me give you some advice from a professional, mate; when I've got the young ones, I--

[The boss - McNair - interrupts him with a hard, barehanded whack to the face. He goes down onto the floor this time, and he stays there. One of the men who'd been flanking him immediately goes to rush to his side, and McNair dispatches him with a bullet to the head.]

[ It flinches, at the gun shot. Carefully, it straightens, and turns, looking over at them, trying to ignore the heat in it's chest. Anger. That's what this is. It's anger, and humiliation. If the boss hadn't stopped it from happening, they would've had it on its knees.

Alfie is down, and the bot doesn't know how much longer it can wait. It has to intervene, but it isn't sure it can. Can it? It isn't supposed to harm humans. The light goes yellow at its temple, flickering slightly. ]

[The good news for the bot is that they quickly forget it's there. Alfie doesn't stir - he's clearly breathing, but apparently unconscious - and the other man who'd been standing with him stands there stoically, eyes on the invading men. If he's waiting for the right moment to strike, he hasn't found it yet - but then, all eyes are on him, too.]

Right; that's them sorted.

[Says McNair.]

Let's search the place. Turn it from top to bottom, lads, and take anything of value. Bring anyone you find into this room, and isolate them when you can. I want no less than two of our men to every one of theirs.

[ Can't hurt humans. But it can hurt anything trying to hurt its owner. It can stop conflict from happening, as long as Alfie doesn't order it to stop. The circle goes blue again, and it glances across the room to the still-standing man, making eye contact with him.

Give it a moment. When the men leave the room, it'll make its way over. There's presumably still guards, but less than the entire gang in one room. ]

[There are indeed still guards, but it's just two men, now that the others have filed out - and neither of them are the rowdy guys from earlier. They still have their guns out and loaded, but they're not actively pointing them at either the bot or the one man still standing. He's unarmed, they figure, and if he tries to rush them, they'll know just how to react.]

[ Maybe, but they probably won't know how to react to the bot coming up to one of the guards and ramming the heel of its palm up into the guard's nose, as hard as it can. Which is - really hard, actually, because scary robot strength. It turns and knocks the other guard to the ground, expressionless. ]

[To which Alfie's man responds by backing up immediately, trying to get out of Royce's range - which is hard when they're locked in a room together, but whatever. If the bot is going rogue, he's going to stay out of its way.]

[ When the second guard goes down, the bot kicks him hard in the side of the head - the goal is to knock the guy out, which... happens, but the guy is probably going to have serious brain damage, if he lives through it.

The bot pauses, looking between the two fallen guards, and then glances at Alfie's man. Calmly: ]

We should make our way out. Mr. Solomons requires medical attention.

[... Oh. Okay, good; not a rogue bot, then. The guy lets out a breath.]

Alfie told us to stand by and not get ourselves killed jumping into the thick of it.

[He says defensively, as if he's expecting the bot to berate him for not doing enough. He bends, going through the pockets of one of the guards - looking for a key, but not expecting to find one. There's only one key to this room that he knows of, and it's the one McNair used to lock them in.]

[ It tilts its head slightly. ] Of course. Do not endanger yourself. Please, if they try shooting, stand behind me. I can take far more bullets than you can.

[ It watches Alfie's man dig through the pockets, and then: ] I can break the door down, if need be.

Can you?

[He asks, surprised - though maybe he shouldn't be, after the way the bot had knocked out those men.]

All right. Go to it, then.

[ It turns and heads for the door - and then completely kicks the door off its hinges. It's kind of loud. The bot pauses, and then glances back over its shoulder. ]

What are you going to do about Mr. Solomons?

Hide him away, I suppose.

[He sounds doubtful when he says it, though. Alfie would understand the reason for it, but he'd still hate the idea of spending any sort of invasion or battle tucked away safely like a child.]

Edited 2019-05-29 16:18 (UTC)

[ It makes its way over, frowning, and crouches down to look over Alfie's wounds. If it can treat them, it'll start to. ]

I can carry him, but I can't be in front of you when we leave if that's the case. [ Meat shields aren't as effective when you're carrying someone. ]

[He raises an eyebrow.]

And if we carry him and come across more of those men?

[ A pause. ]

You are a gangster. I would assume you can reasonably defend yourself, right? Or did you intend on making the household cleaning droid come up with a plan to escape down to the minute detail?

Fuck off. I'm suggesting we hide him; you're the one saying we should haul him around like a fucking sack of potatoes.

[He snorts, moving over to Alfie and bending, getting his arm around his shoulders. Alfie groans, but doesn't wake.]

You're right, you are just a cleaning droid; I can't expect you to be able to think.

[Problem is, the room is pretty empty, and devoid of hiding spots. There isn't even a closet.]

[ Oh. It sort of brought that upon itself, but - no, he's right. It can't think for itself. It's fine. It just needs to follow directions, like it's meant to.

Still. There's a twinge of that same something in its chest. ]

What do you require of me? [ It asks, voice a little more flat this time as it watches the man start to move Alfie. ]

We'll take him into the basement. The door's just nearby.

[He hesitates.]

I'll carry him. You do the fighting if we come across anyone.

Yes, sir. [ You do the fighting. It doesn't having any fighting protocols installed, and it isn't sure it'll be allowed to use a gun, but. It'll just have to figure it out.

It glances at the man, and nods. Lead the way, because there are footsteps coming to investigate the sound.]

[Oh, fuck. The guy immediately ducks back into the room, setting Alfie down on the ground again. Sorry boss, but if there are people on the way, he doesn't want to be holding you when they come.]