Tethered/Shackled

Cass stayed in the kitchen. After putting the kettle on, and lining up the mugs like watchful soldiers, she started attacking the drawers. Every kitchen has a junk drawer, right? With a tangle of old wires, a scattering of dead batteries and old keys, and maybe, just maybe, an old phone...

The others spread through the house. Nona was already upstairs, pulling boxes from under the bed. Ronnie rifled through drawers, or tipped them out. Sean sloped out to the garage, to check through boxes in there.

Then came the knock.

Nona ignored it and kept looking. Ronnie froze in the act of enjoying the bedside cabinet.

They heard the click of the garage door, and then hurrying footsteps. Sean appeared on the landing.

"Police," he said, panting.

Another knock. Louder.

Ronnie said, "I'll get it."

When he arrived in the kitchen, Cass was stirring three mugs of coffee.

"There's someone at the door," she said mildly, moments before another thunderous knock.

When Ronnie opened the door, two officers greeted him. "Mr. [REDACTED]? We have reason to believe your wife is here. May we come in? We have a warrant for her arrest."

They stepped inside, brushing past Ronnie in his white socks and baffled expression.

Nona had already come downstairs and was surveying the scene with her usual shrewd and collected air.

"I'm in the middle of something," she informed the officers, with a brisk and slightly irritated tone. "Can't this wait? I can come to the station, like I did last time, once this is sorted out."

"Not this time I'm afraid."

Nona took a step back.

Cass watched the scene unfold, still holding a teaspoon like a weapon.

There is no way she will actually resist arrest... Is there?

Nona looked like a cornered animal, eyes wide and hackles up.

"No," she said forcefully, as if she were trying to stop her voice shaking, "You don't understand. This is important. I-" She swung round and fixed her gaze on Ronnie, as if she could still command him with a word or a look. "You've got to find it," she said, "You've got to keep looking, promise me-"

Ronnie was all set to agree. It sounded like they did need to find it, and work out a way to curb the AI that has been set loose from it. Besides, anything to get her out of here, right? Quietly, with the minimally amount of fuss-

Cass spoke up, still with a death grip on that little spoon,

"I don't see why we should help you, to be honest."

Nona narrowed her eyes.

"You stupid, little-"

She lunged, but fortunately for Cass, the police officers were in the way.

+

She'd fought pretty hard, even after they threatened to charge her with resisting arrest.

"I'm not resisting, you bloody moron," she had spat, "I'm just trying to tell them where to look, and how important-"

She'd been wrestled into the police car eventually, leaving the house feeling empty and chilly.

"How did they know she was here?" Ronnie asked.

Sean shrugged.

"Someone must have called. Did anyone else know?"

"I don't know. I don't think so." Ronnie sipped his cooling coffee. "Just us."

There was a pause. They glanced at each other, and then at Cass, who didn't blink.

"I called them," she said, not even bothering to lift her chin or return their gaze.

Sean gaped. "You what?"

Cass folded her arms. "This is what we wanted all along. What we've been trying to achieve. I'd have been stupid not to take the opportunity."

Sean shook his head. "No. It’s what you wanted."

"What? What crap. You said that's what you wanted from the beginning, don't tell me you changed your mind just now, and expected me to magically -"

"I expected you to talk to me! Not go behind my back! She's right, it was important, we need to contain that... that... That Thing that was in my head-".

"That she put there!"

"Alright, fine, she needed to be arrested, but you could have just let us find the-"

Cass rolled her eyes. "She'd have disappeared again, you know it. That was our chance, and I took it, and I'm not sorry."

Sean scowled.

“She cut your head open and put that chip in there. She gave something access to your body. She's evil. She needed stopping."

"She came back to fix it."

"She came back too late."

+