Secrets Aplenty

The long haired young man looked around in disgust. Machine or not, having young boys and girls just laying around naked, wasn't exactly his thought of a credible 'business'. Then he finally spotted the man who ran the premises. He still couldn't believe that his father was into this kind of thing and had actually sent him to pick up a child android.

"Here's the money, is there a specific one my father ordered?" He just wanted to leave, so he would be happiest if there was one her could just take and go.

"No, just pick one and go." Matthew took the money and eyed the son of his best friend. What the boy didn't know was that this child android was for him. The boy's father was worried about his son since he was twenty-eight and still single. Matthew knew what was thinking, 'Maybe a person to look after will get him settled down with a nice girl.'.

Adrian was more than a little displeased by this. He didn't like the idea of having to carry a naked child android all the way home. He looked around, he didn't know what his father had in mind for the android's purpose, lover, 'child', or someone to look after.

So Adrian looked for a child that he wouldn't mind seeing running around the house everyday. He spotted a young girl of long white hair and fair skin. She was more of a young adult than a child. She was probably based off a fifteen or sixteen year old.

Adrian removed his long white coat and wrapped it around the girl. The reason for his choice, he assumed if she were to take on a lover's duty, a body that was more mature could handle the strain more easily. Once the girl was bundled and in Adrian's arms, he got ready to leave.

"Remind your father that if she isn't awake and functioning properly withing two weeks, then she must be brought back in exchange for a different android." Matthew passed the normal purchase message to Adrian to relay to his father as the pair started to leave.

"What happens when they are returned?" Adrian asked as he turned around to face Matthew.

"They get wiped and reprogrammed with, hopefully, better programing." Matthew said it like it was no big deal, but Adrian understood that it meant they'd lose anything they had stored in their memory data. In other words, every memory they held, every uniqueness, gone in a single moment. However, what Adrian didn't realize was that he didn't have to worry about that at all. The android he'd picked up was already starting to wake up. She had a handful of his hair in one hand and a tight grasp on his shirt with the other.

The thought ripped his heart almost in two, he hopped with all his might that the girl in his arms never had to experience that. Machine or not, surely there had to be some self reasoning, they had to be self aware to be companions. They were basically human other than the fact that they ran on machinery and programing, where humans survived on food and blood.

Adrian continued to think about this he already had an issue with the thought of children being readily sold. The issue wasn't whether or not they were machine, if there were people out there that wanted to be involved with children, that was a threat to real people as well as androids. What if someone of that taste couldn't afford an android? What would they do then? What they used to do, kidnap a child.

Adrian's head started to hurt when he thought about it too deeply. He decided that all that wonder could wait for another day, right now he was trying to get home in one piece. He stood in the large crowd of people waiting to get onto the subway. Since he was rather tall and large in body build, he had enough room to hold the girl secure. Adrian didn't have to worry about accidentally dropping her, or someone hitting him and surprising him.

As everyone boarded, some old women tried to coerce the other passengers that were on first to give up their seats. On man in particular noticed Adrian's burden and got his attention before standing. As Adrian sat down and placed the girl, who appeared to be asleep, in his lap, he said thank you to the man. He waited along with everyone else for the subway to reach the next stop, there some bustled off the bullet train while others shuffled on to take their place.

After waiting for two more stops to come and go, Adrian got off at the fourth stop. He quickly stood and everyone noticed that he was getting off, and cleared a somewhat clear path for him. He couldn't help but let a smile play on his lips for a moment. Most people feared him because he was larger in body build, as well as well muscled.

Once the train had left the station, the crowd started to thin as people went on to their normal schedules and were buzzing around like little insects on to their different jobs in the large hive. As he started to make his way to the escalators that led back up the streets, he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. As he turned around, he caught the person's facial expression change when they caught a glance at what he held in his arm.

"Oh, um.. never mind." The strange, scrawny, and skittish looking man scurried away like a small dog threatened to be killed if he so much as glanced at a bone again. Adrian was confused as to what just happened but continued anyway. Once he was on the streets he had another decision to make. To carry her all the way home, or take a taxi. The latter was his decision, he wasn't in the mood to carry the girl all the way home.

Knowing that he probably wouldn't get his hands free to wave down a taxi, Adrian whistled, and almost immediately, a taxi was at the curb. Adrian carefully climbed in and placed the girl in a sitting position in his lap.

"Where to?" The taxi driver asked looking in the rear view mirror at his fare.

"184 Volstead Court" Adrian responded and laid his head back and let out a sigh. He was only about ten minutes from home now, and from there he could demand to know what the hell was going on.

"Rough day?" The driver was trying to make light banter, and Adrian was thankful for the thought.

"Very, never knew I'd be a go to guy." Adrian chuckled in amusement as he said this.

"Little sister troubles?"

"I don't know. Dad had me pick her up from," Adrian took less than a millisecond to realize it might be best not to let the driver know that the girl was an android. "the hospital, I have no idea if she's an illicit child, adopted child, or a look after." He also knew it was never a good idea to mention that possibility of the girl being a lover.

"Ah. Well, good luck. We're here." The man had stayed silent after Adrian's comment until they reached Adrian's residence.