Well… when that was over and done with, both parties agreeing that nothing would ever be said to anybody, the two partners went back to the transport vehicle. The automation finally did hand the man the keys, Jared getting into the driver's seat because of it. The construct sat at his side, just where it had been for so many days now.

The vehicle was different, just as he had known it would be. The thing was actually much larger than the car, even Jared being able to stand up fully inside it. He supposed such a thing was needed when there was the title of it being a ‘transport’ vehicle. It had to be able to transport something, after all, and that was usually with the unspoken rule of being more than a simple car could manage.

How many full-grown could they fit into the back? Giving the rear-view mirror a look, Jared had to estimate it would be five on each side, totalling a full count of ten. However, the man was sure he would be able to double that, given that he would be allowed to stack them on top of each other. Add that they were in body bags. That last part was likely the most important detail. Jared was not going to be known for playing Jenga with live humans.

Though, that did remind him of something…

“Did you bring body bags?” Jared asked. He hadn't thought of it, when the automation had reported to him that it had been ready to leave, just assuming that everything had already been prepared. Yet, the construct had not actually been told of what they would be doing, making it hard to believe that it would bring specialized equipment. Yes, body bags were not normally in the top-tier of expensive equipment, but morale efficiency had deemed it an item not normally brought along during patrols.

So, if they hadn't actually brought some with them, Jared knew it would be best to turn around instantly. It wouldn't be fun to have old corpses in the bag without them being in an air-sealed bag. He had tried that once before and he would undoubtedly never try it again.

“I have brought them, yes,” the automation steadily answered, making Jared stop worrying about it instantly. How good a partner he was with, able to prepare without being asked. If he had gotten that kind of work ethic back in the day, Jared was sure some of them wouldn't have been let go of the opportunity allowed for it. “However, I took the risk of only bringing a hundred. It was assumed that it wouldn't be a higher body count than this.”

“No need to worry,” Jared instantly said, before furring his brows. Normally, he would have made some cutting reply, going on the border of just shouting at the thing for being a waste of time. “I am sure we’ll only need two in total.”

… Jared supposed he just didn't have it in him anymore. Not that he minded the change or anything. It was just… so different. Yet he knew that it needed to have happened at some point, so he wasn't really that annoyed about it. The change was impossible to stop after all.

Silence captured the vehicle within an instant. Jared had previously been so focused on making sure that such silence would remain normally, shouting at the construct to shut up every time it opened its mind. Yet now… now he wished it would say something, his mind guilty of what he had done. Just what was this?

The man pondered that question heavily, as the silence did not escape no matter how hard he wanted it to happen. It continued to suffocate him, even as they left the outskirts of the city, driving right into the forest roads. In it, they slowed down to a near-crawl, safety regulations stopping them from driving over ten kilometres an hour. With the chance of more traps set up, they needed to make sure they weren't getting close to wires. There were also other kinds of traps, however. That included ones that wouldn't be possible to check out with the human eye. Nor would some of them be easily detected through the automation’s gaze, making it a situation that was hard to truly get out of unscathed.

Well… that is, if one wasn't equipped with a top-tier police vehicle. Jared was happy to find that the newer models hadn't skipped out on features, going so far so as to actually have upgraded versions of tools he had used for so long. While it was extremely specialised to only a few kinds of traps, the car was able to detect light-based tripwires, blockage-based trip wires, and so many other kinds of traps like that. And the best of all was the fact that it stopped them from having to get out of the car, each possible trap laid it being looked over through three different detectors. That is if Jared wanted to call himself a detector.

The title was a little demeaning, sure, but it was technically exactly what he was doing. Going down slowly, constantly surveying the area in front of him, ready to press on the brakes the moment that anything seemed off. That did sound a lot like a detector, the only difference being that he wouldn't beep uncontrollably. Even the most annoying toasters had a hard time doing that nowadays. Or maybe they all did it normally, yet stopped whenever Jared got within a hundred meters of their location. The first one had learned its place when it scared the man while he was making toast. His boss was still not letting him near that one. Jared fully understood why that was.

And it wasn't really like he was the only officer doing it. While Jared was the one holding the controls of the vehicle, able to slow down and accelerate freely, it was the construct beside him controlling the car’s detectors. The man had futilely tried to work out its mechanics, yet had failed so utterly and for so long that the automation beside him had suggested that it would be in control of it.

That action must have taken a lot of work on its part. Maybe it was the slowness that Jared had displayed that finally made it talk back then. The man hadn't really cared, just happy to hear its voice again, and then being very weirded out by his own happiness relating to that.

Yet the construct had still taken control, putting inputs onto the car with no delay at it. The construct was a true master at the technical work, likely having been implanted with the knowledge instantly. Jared did feel a bit of jealousy relating to that. Due to the knowledge, of course. Nothing else. Nothing at all.

They continued down the road at that steady pace for a good thirty minutes. The two needed to get a good stretch into the forest, after all. The first real task of the day was to get over to the site they had been attacked at the day before and make sure that everything could be cleaned up easily. Bullet casings needed to be picked up, rifles needed to be disabled, and anything explosive needed to be dealt with so no wanna-be treasure hunted would accidentally dig its shovel into the things. It had only taken one accident for the world to be on their asses about that. It wasn't Jared’s fault that the idiot had found it funny to stick it so close to his-

“I recommend you go back to the speed we have been on previously.” the automation suddenly said, bringing Jared out of his daydreaming. What had he even been thinking about exactly? The sudden awareness of his surroundings again made it hard to really focus, and the voice was more than just- “No. I am talking about slowing down. Accelerating more is the opposite of what I recommend.

… Oh, right. Letting go of the speeder, Jared witnessed the vehicle returning to its previous speed. It seemed he had been in the midst of causing both their deaths, his foot having been growing heavier than he wanted it to be. This mistake was in his hands alone. The man had truly been too distracted by other things.

“Sorry. My mind suddenly stopped working,” Jared apologized, the man not sure what he was really doing. Doing a quick sweep of the area in front of the car, the man was happy to find that they weren't extremely close to any traps he was meant to see. Not that it would be missed when he wasn't looking or anything, the automation was likely able to see them as well, bordering on being much better than him on that front. “Not sure how that happened, but I’m back in the game now.”

“If you need us to take a break, there is nothing stopping us from doing that,” the automation reminded him. “I have been warned that damages to your lungs might have caused constant minor pain, with the effect of a reduced mental capacity. There is no need to risk physical health for the sake of a task that can be delayed for later today.”

… How awfully kind the construct was, making sure that he was alright. It was almost like he was back again, being looked at as the new recruit with aspirations, being told by every single person to take a break every now and then. Jared had at some point turned into the person who would tell others to rest, yet he had now suddenly been thrown back to that same original place. However, he couldn't say he minded that fact one bit.

“It’s okay. I’ll just need to do it right. Stopping will only make me distracted. Getting it done now will allow us to do the other tasks faster as well,” Jared said, waving away any of the construct’s concerns. Sympathy was great yet it needn't hamper their work ethic. They were being trusted to complete a certain list of tasks by the end of the day, and Jared wouldn't risk delaying it due to something as simple as his physical health. He had taken a few punches before, and he could take a few more without any real problems.

“I find such an observation hard to believe,” the automation commented. It wasn't buying his reason for wanting to continue. That was fine. It wasn't going to get the actual reason anyway. Jared would be too embarrassed by it.

“Everybody has some things they can’t believe. You must be happy it's something as easy as this,” Jared commented right back, his eyes not looking at the construct but at the road ahead. There were so many parts that needed to be looked through, even if the main parts of the road were the most important. A wire in the trees would do little to actually stop the car, after all.

Even if he wasn't looking at it, however, he could still see it turning its head to look at him. The automation was staring at him instantly, seemingly ready to call him out on his bullshit and make him sit on his ass in the grass while having a stern talking to him. Because that’s what partners did sometimes, stopping the other from overworking due to loyalty.

Yet it didn't say anything in the end, going back to its own task after only a second or two. Jared wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed at himself for that… nevermind, he was very disappointed in himself for thinking about that. Had he lost fifteen years of his mental health without realising it? If so, he really needed to grow old again quickly, for he wasn't sure about what to really do without it.

They continued without any issues, driving kilometre after kilometre. Nothing was really seen, except for a few conspicuous branches that made them stop a few times. Nothing actually came out of it, though, the tree-growth just being weird most of the time. Or it was signs of former traps that the automation had previously disabled.

With how many they saw of those disabled traps, Jared actually ended up commenting about how much of a work ethic it had, saying he was kinda proud of it for that. It had not actually been meant to be said out loud, though, making it all the hard to look the thing in the eye when it had responded with thanks.

Jared accepted the idea of sitting in the grass for a few minutes after that.