SAME OLD SHIT
Detective Knight stood in a grimy alley, examining a rusted, shuddering android. The droid looked almost completely human, apart from the orange glow fading from its eyes.
“Looks like another one from the same batch," Knight muttered. “Matches the serials we've been seeing, right?”
Detective Castle stood next to Knight, holding a map with red dots scattered across it.
"The locations are starting to form a pattern,” Castle replied. “We're closing in.”
* * *
Knight and Castle burst into a dingey apartment, guns drawn.
"Police!” Knight announced. “Nobody move!”
A group of sleazy men on the other side of the room raised their hands.
“You’re under arrest for reprogramming androids to perform illegal activities,” Knight began. “So, be good boys and line up against the wall.”
The group of men complied, and Castle began cuffing them one-by-one.
Knight strode over to a pile of boxes the men were part-way through stacking. He opened one and found it filled with DVDs.
"We got ‘em," Knight declared, holding up one of the DVDs for Castle.
As Castle nodded in reply, Knight examined the DVD’s front cover.
It showed a scantily-clad male and female android, both with orange glowing eyes. Emblazoned above them in bold lettering was: “FORBIDDEN DROIDS VOL. 3”.
"This shit never gets any better," Knight muttered, throwing the DVD back into the box.
* * *
At their police station, Knight and Castle had the evidence from the bust laid out on a table.
"I only wanna catalogue this once,” Knight warned. “So, make sure we don’t miss anything.”
He picked up a disc with a plain white cover, labeled only as ‘FD VOL. 2 – MASTER’.
“What’s this?” Knight murmured, as he inserted the disc into his laptop.
As the DVD’s menu appeared, Knight's face turned pale.
It featured a half naked picture of him, embracing another android. However, his eyes glowed an unmistakable bright orange.
“What the fuck is this?!” he shouted.
“Knight, I—” Castle attempted, before Knight slammed the laptop shut.
"Explain this shit,” Knight demanded. “Now!”
Castle looked away, guilt lining his face. "You... you weren't supposed to find out like this."
Knight grabbed Castle by the collar.
“What’re you talking about?!” Knight shouted.
“We found you on a previous bust,” Castle revealed. “We felt sorry for you, so we reprogrammed you and got your eyes fixed.”
Knight let go of Castle and stumbled back in shock. “This can’t be happening…”
Castle placed a hand on Knight's shoulder, trying to console him. "I’m sorry Knight, we just wanted to give you a purpose. Something you could be proud of.”
Knight shrugged Castle off and stormed out of the room.
“Fuck your purpose!” he bellowed. “And fuck this whole department!”
* * *
Knight walked through the dark streets, lost in thought. He stopped at a bridge, looking out over the city’s flickering neon lights.
His expression hardened, a resolve forming in his eyes.
"I won't let this define me," he declared.
Leaving the bridge, he walked back towards the city, a newfound determination in his stride.
Knight made his way to the police station, taking a deep breath before he entered.
Inside, he approached Castle at his desk.
"We need to finish this case," Knight confirmed.
Castle sighed, a look of relief washing over his face. "Let's do it then, partner.”
* * *
Knight and Castle kicked in the door of an upscale apartment, weapons ready.
Inside, they found a luxurious room filled with more boxes, alongside another cadre of seedy-looking men.
“You know the drill,” Knight chastised. “Hands up and against the wall.”
The men followed Knight’s prompt and Castle started his usual hand-cuffing routine.
Knight holstered his gun and strolled over to a pile of boxes. As he went to open one, Castle spoke up.
“You sure you wanna do that, Knight?” he asked. “There might be some stuff in there from bef—”
Knight held up a hand. “I know what I signed up for this time.”
With that said, Knight opened the box and looked inside. It was filled with copies of Forbidden Droids Vol. 2, adorned with his visage.
However, there was a stray copy of another DVD mixed with the rest. Knight pulled it out and when he inspected the cover, his face fell in shock.
It depicted an orange-eyed Castle sensually caressing another droid. The lettering above them proudly declared: ‘FORBIDDEN DROIDS VOL. 1’.
“What we got, Knight?” Castle inquired, as he cuffed the last suspect.
Still clutching the DVD, Knight turned and saw the fulfilment enveloping Castle’s eyes.
“Nothing,” Knight assured, as he quickly shoved the DVD in his pocket. “It’s just the same old shit.”