Sincerely

Alessio led me into the club, and while I sensed nervousness, he didn’t hesitate one bit. We walked passed the bar and tables on the first floor, which were empty, due to the early hour, I followed him up a staircase. He seemed to know where he was going, I guess he could have gone with the family for protection when they made a deal or came to collect the money from here. We arrived at a door and he knocked. The door opened and we were face to face with a young man in a nice suit who looked confused.

“Yes, how can you help you?” they asked.

“Mason, it’s Alessio. I’m in a predicament and I need to talk to you and the investor looking to buy,” he explained.

“Wow, even his own android got sick of him,” Mason commented.

“Come in, he’s inside. We were talking actually. He might be moving to buy within the next few weeks, then we’ll all be free people,” Mason reasoned nodding inside, and we followed.

I took a seat and Alessio remained standing.

“Who are these gentlemen?” a man in an even nicer, sharper suit questioned.

These men made me uneasy but I wanted to trust Alessio and most of all I wanted out, I wanted to prove to my mother that I could be better. It may have taken over a decade for it to happen but late was better than never.

“I am Alessio, I am the Drovers’ bodyguard and this is my friend Elias, a drug dealer, for the same family, as you want out from under their control, so do we. So, here’s the deal, you buy the place and we’ll come work for you, deal?” Alessio explains, leaving out the part that he’s an android.

I couldn’t tell if Mason knew and had agreed to keep his secret prior or if they both already knew so it was irrelevant.

He seemed to look us over.

“I guess turning his own people against him would make watching my back less necessary,” he replied smiling.

“What do you think Mason?” he asked.

“I would still keep my eye out, but with his bodyguard gone, he will be more vulnerable, it might make what we’re doing less of his concern right now,” Mason replied.

“Good,” Alessio replied.

“First shift is in two days, you start at 4:00 pm and you go until two, don’t be late,” the other man stated.

“We won’t,” Alessio replied smiling. I stood up and followed him out.

“I feel like we know more than we should,” I comment once outside the club.

“Do they know where you live? The Drovers?” Alessio asks, ignoring my comment.

“No,” I replied.

I didn’t doubt they couldn’t find it though.

“That’s good, I was going to suggest you move if they did. Because they’ll probably start looking for you once you stop showing up for supplies and not delivering money,” he replies.

We got back to my truck and get in.

“We should get you an ID and account, so you look less suspicious on paper,” I comment.

“I thought you wanted out of the life? Doing illegal things won’t get you out,” he comments looking at me.

“You’ll end up scrapped if they find out you’re a deviant and left your owner. I’m returning the favour for you getting me out. I’m making sure you can have a secure, safe life out here, too,” I reason.

He looks me up and down as if studying me, probably like I did when I saw his appearance change so the Drovers wouldn’t recognize him if they came across him. He kind of looked like Jack then. Dark-red black hair, and light grey-blue eyes. The way he ran his eyes over me wasn’t helping either.

I snapped out of the memory as I pulled off the highway toward the skyscrapers and buildings of downtown. I paused at the stop light, trying to breathe and remain calm but it all reminded me of Alessio. I ended up at the police station and Lev and Deckard, Bailey and Alcuin were all waiting in the parking lot. Along with a woman and a young boy I’d never seen before.

“Long time no see, Elias,” Lev commented.

“Where’s Greyson?” I asked.

“Not here yet, which I personally don’t like, because I feel like a science experiment every time one of my colleagues walks past. They just stare like we're aliens,” he replies.

“He better hurry up, I could be making a deal right now to get a body for Alessio but I decided he was the better option,” I retort.

A sedan pulled into the parking lot followed by two other vans. The six of us watched as they parked nearby and an older man got out. He didn’t look that much older than us, but you could tell he was older, and he held himself differently than the cops coming and going from the station. You could tell he had power, he reminded me of Mason and the investor who had bought the club.

He walked up to us, towering over all of us followed by a slightly shorter man about the same age as him.

“Welcome back, Lev, Alcuin,” he greeted them.

“Nice to talk to you when we’re not running from the law,” Lev agreed.

“I’ll call someone to take them into witness protection,” he stated nodding to the woman and boy.

“Please ensure they are protected,” Lev stated.

“You know me, Lev, they will be, no matter who they are,” he replies.

Five others emerged from the van, one with a six-foot-tall rolling cart.

“Alice, see those two get put into witness protection,” he commented nodding to the woman and boy.

The lady with blond hair smiled, “Of course.”

She went over to them and the rest of us followed the others inside the station. We were led to a big conference room that was at the back away from everyone else.

Greyson sent Lev and Deckard went off to talk to another one of the individuals that had emerged from the van and did the same with Alcuin and Bailey before he was left with me and the two guys rolling the six-foot-cart.

“Let’s go get Alessio back in a body,” he commented nodding to the two men with the case. He shut the conference room door and the two guys got to work opening the case. Inside was an android, deactivated and ready for use.

“Who paid for this?” I asked cautiously.

“The FBI told me to find leads, Alessio is a lead, all I asked for was a clean android body,” he commented.

“Won’t he just get locked up as evidence after because he is technically government property?” I ask not wanting Alessio to be ripped away from me again.

“I won’t let that happen, I promise,” he states.

“He means that,” comments one of the other offices that had been rolling the cart.

“How would you know?” I retort.

He lifts his hand while Greyson is keeping an eye on the other man setting up the android body. Its skin colour retracts becoming white. He’s an android.

“You’re not alone in fighting for who you love,” Greyson states.

I nod before the other guy makes his skin go back to normal and we join the guy setting up the body that will soon be Alessio’s. He’s removed a part of his head panelling and pulled out the memory chip that it comes installed with so we can implant Alessio’s. I was still worried he somehow wouldn’t be the same when he came back.

“You can go join Harvey, he’s with Deckard and Lev,” Greyson told the guy as he turned his attention to us.

“Sure, boss,” he commented and went off.

“Can I see the chip?” he asks me.

I pull the chip out of my pocket, looking at it, before begrudgingly handing it over so he can implant it into the new body. He put the panel back in place before activating the body. The prior features and settings activate and the android adapts Alessio’s hair and eye colour.

I hold back tears, they look exactly the same. The android blinks a few times as if going through its files and memories and learns who it is again. It feels like an eternity before it pauses looking at me with familiarity in its eyes.

“Elias?” Alessio asks and I can see tears in his eyes just like I can feel them in mine.

I reach forward slowly, grateful, Greyson made anyone who wouldn’t understand leave the room. I touched Alessio’s face, happy to have him back.

“I missed you,” I whispered. “I’m never letting you out of my sight after that.”