"New Jericho"

Android Haven

Kara sat impatiently on the steps outside her home. Her nerves only worsened as the setting sun cast its dark shroud over the city of Detroit. Her right temple rested against the cold black railing if she still had her LED it would be blaring red. The past eight months had been historical for both humans and androids. Individuals from Cyberlife broke off from their work to help Androids begin to build their lives in Detroit. President Warren had issued a relief effort to be set up in Detroit, the deserters from Cyberlife were at the head of the effort which was appropriately named RegalDetroit. Regal being the combination of red and blue blood. New Jericho was built where the old Packard Automotive Plant once stood. The place had been demolished years ago but the city wasn't sure what to do with the space. Building an Android haven felt like the perfect idea. Over forty acres, filled with homes, parks, movie theaters, shops, and many other things were built and managed by androids. Jake Morgan, Elijah Kamski's old business partner was the official human liaison while Markus and the Jericho survivors made up most of New Jericho's council leaders. Kara sat on that council with Markus, North, Jake and his wife Lea, Simon and Josh. Their people had developed so much in such a short amount of time. What concerned Kara was Kamski's decision to return and take over Cyberlife. With his company now without a CEO because of Jake's leaving Elijah would need some way of keeping his share holds. Cyberlife and Regal were now going to be clashing forces in Detroit.

There, of course, were still individuals who did not take kindly to this big of a change, because of this security that comprised of both Androids and the DCPD was stationed in and outside New Jericho. Kara's eyes gazed up to the twenty-foot-tall iron gate that surrounded the entire perimeter as extra security. Watchtowers stood on the north, east, west and south sides. At times Kara felt like a prisoner, she felt caged, but far from alone. All types of Androids faces that she knew all too well walked up and down the streets. Kara did her best to hide her tears when Charlotte, another AX400 model who shared her face came to sit with her. Her long black hair was pulled up in a knotted bun and she wore an olive sundress. Her eyes were the same color as Kara's. "Any word yet?"

Kara shook her head as she lowered it. She spoke softly when she finally found the courage to form words. "Hank called me an hour ago. I've just been waiting." Charlotte secured her arm around the android she viewed as a sister, her fingers ran through her short blonde hair.

"Do you want me to wait with you?" Kara would have liked the company but felt more comfortable with the idea of being alone if she ever broke down while she waited. "You'll call me when you can?" Kara nodded slowly, smiling up at Lotte as the sun fully set and New Jericho was lit up with its luminous street lights. She watched as Lotte returned back to her home and she remains by herself again.

Connor had contacted Kara three hours ago informing her of an incident back in Detroit involving android protestors outside the new RegalDetroit facility. Connor along with Lt Anderson had been escorting Jake and Lea Morgan back to New Jericho. Since Jake's involvement with RegalDetroit people were harshly calling him and his follower's traitors to their own kind. Apparently, one of the protestors in the crowd was armed. He managed to get close enough to Morgan with a loaded gun, if it hadn't been for Connor, Jake would be dead now. Communications had gone offline after that.

The June air was warm, part of Kara hated the cold. It reminded her too much of what had happened during her time on the run. Her trembling arms crossed across her chest as he fingers gripped her exposed shoulders. She wore a navy-blue long-legged romper over a white undershirt. She pulled her knees close to her chest, a small smile appeared when she thought back to Connor telling her how stunning she always looked in blue. Kara had become so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed the car that had pulled up in front of her house. She rose to her bare feet, her heart racing, body shaking, she was afraid to step forward for fear that she might just collapse. The dimly lit streets obscured her vision to look down to the car. Her heart raced when only Hank emerged from the vehicle. He just looked at her…then smiled when Connor than excited the car.

Kara could suddenly breathe again. She didn't hide her tears when she saw him smile and she couldn't stop smiling back. "Connor." She said under her breath as she felt her entire body want to fly off the ground. He looked perfectly fine, no noticeable damage could be found, not a scratch on him.

"Oof." Connor felt the wind get knocked out of him when Kara almost tackled him when she collided with him, holding him so tightly. Her head rested comfortably on his shoulder. Hank chuckled at his partners' surprised reaction. Connor leaned into her embrace. They could hear one another's heartbeats, feel one another's respite. "Kara." He whispered under his breath. He was so happy to see her. His hands rested against her jaw. Kara's lip quivered when her eyes met Connor's again. "I'm fine…..I'm alright." She nodded her head, gripping his wrists.

Kara pulled away from him for a moment to wipe the tears from her eyes. "You….you didn't contact me."

Connor deeply regretted that action and Kara knew it. "I'm sorry. The repairs took longer than expected and Morgan told me not to perform any form of mental communications." Kara had been worried that Connor's body may have been destroyed. With Cyberlife now back under Kamski's supervision, there was concern that he would attempt to dissolve Morgan's resources with specific Cyberlife manufactures. Which meant if Connor was damaged enough to the point of replacing his body there would be no guarantee that a replacement would be issued. So far, no such move had been made by Kamski.

Hank, who was just now becoming slightly uncomfortable with the pair's affections finally spoke up. "Morgan said he'd be fine. Just needs to take it easy for a while." Kara knew that after a scare like that she wouldn't be letting Connor out of her sight for a while. Kara nodded to signify her understanding. While Hank and Connor talked amongst themselves Kara contacted their friends to inform them of Connors safe return home.

"I'll head back to the precinct, see about getting a security detail on Jake's building. That kid's gonna be a target no matter where he steps. Didn't think it would get this bad for him."

"My people need him in order to secure interrogation. Without him, we have no idea what Kamski will do with Jake's majority shareholdings." The realization hit them both at the same time. Idiotically the two looked up at each other at the same time comedically, singularly recognizing the other and their own stupidity.

"Oh fuck!"

"Do you think it's possible that Kamski sent that assailant to kill Jake?" thinking back to all of it the possibility of that was high.

Something about Kamski has always rubbed Hank the wrong way. "We don't have any proof. Son of a bitch is either really smart or incredibly stupid."

"We're still interviewing people from the scene. Someone was bound to see something." Hank nodded, running over in his head the steps that would be necessary for possibly busting Kamski. That is if he was the one behind this.

"I'll see what I can do. You just stay out of it for a while until you're ready to come back to the precinct."

Connor knew that Hank was aware that Androids were able to recover much faster than the average human. He had seen his mechanical partner come back from the dead once before as proof of that. "Hank, I feel fine."

The hard-boiled eccentric police lieutenant shook his head, a hand rested on Connor's shoulder. His eyebrow cocked when Connor continued to walk in place even with the lieutenant stopping him. "No no no no no." He spoke with a hint of added seriousness to his voice. "You're gonna recover and keep your eyes on things from here. There's still a lot of work to do around here."

Taking some time off might not be the worst thing for Connor to do at the moment. New Jericho was still under construction and more hands were always needed. Plus, it would be a good way to reassure Kara of his safety. Connor grinned looking back at his friend. "Be careful, I'm not going to be there to constantly save your life."

A genuinely real chuckle came from the lieutenant as he climbed back into his car. "You ass hole." He waved goodbye to Kara before pulling away from their house and making his way back to the New Jericho gate. Connor turned back to Kara who took him by the arm and led him up the porch steps.

"What was damaged?" She asked, quickly helping Connor out of his jacket after they walked back into the house.

The house had a blue exterior. The inside led to the living room and attached kitchen. On the back right-hand corner near the staircase, there was a single step upper level that held a desk were Connor would often work. Next to it was a screen door that led to the back patio then the backyard. Connor moved over the photo of New Jericho council that hung from one of their walls along with others and ones that sat on a white cabinet below. A warm feeling of pride in Kara come over Connor, both of them had done well over the few months. Kara opened the front closet to hang her loves jacket up inside along with his brightly polished dress shoes. Kara's watering can be still positioned in the sink, still filled with water. She must have left it there when she got the call from Connor. She was always good at taking care of the potted vegetation that was positioned in their home. Beautiful peace lilies sat by the cabinet and doors. The right-hand side wall held a hall that led to a storage closet and bathroom the wall that connected to the living room was made entirely of sliding glass doors that led out to a wood side patio were Kara could do her gardening and the couple could eat on nice days. In between that hall and the patio door hung a painting that Markus had given the couple. A grey U-shaped couch, decorated with various blue pillows and blankets faced away from the glass wall.

Connor chuckled toward his Kara's concern for his wellbeing. He wouldn't dare call it an overreaction. These were still dangerous times for them, they had to be careful. Connor was a little nervous that Kara would strip him down to do her own examination. Not that he would complain at that particular path. Connor soothingly hushed Kara, taking her hand to connect with her. His memories flowed through to her to reveal what had occurred, it seemed the best way to explain it.

Slowly, piece by piece the scene was set, placed before Kara to watch as she took on the point of view of her love. At first, she felt calm, at ease when she or Connor was greeted by Jacob and Lea from their offices. She saw Connor running a thousand possibilities through his head of what to do and watch for. For a moment her eyes were blinded by the mad array of camera flashes that were rapidly firing off as they left the building. The press was ambushing the pair ever since their leaving from Cyberlife. The specifics were still fuzzy on just how much they still owned. Kara had always thought it best not to question it. Members of the DCPD helped push the hectic crowd back while Connor and Hank led the Morgans to their car. Kara's heart skipped when a shriek echoed through the crowd. Shots rang through the air, everyone all moved back at once as if the wind had blown them back. It was mayhem after that, screams continuing to fill the streets.

A sharp gasp escaped Kara's lips when she felt the gunshot or at least she thought she felt it. Her body lurched back but didn't let go of Connors' hand. She felt her (Connors) body become heavy under the Earths gravity. Pain shot through her left arm, systems sparked and sputtered. She hit the hard ground, shrieks piercing through her ears. She could hear Hank calling out Connor's name as he kneels beside him. The pain in her shoulder stung as her eyes shifted up to the clear sky was all she (Connor) could see. Kara had to remind herself that this wasn't her body, these weren't her memories. Unable to stand anymore Kara pulled away. Both of them stood in silence, shock on their faces. "Oh, Connor." There was no hesitation to embrace each other again. "Show me."

Kara waited patiently while Connor unbuttoned his dress shirt. He slinked his left shoulder out of the fabric to reveal no visible damage. Kara presumed as much. Any damage that the ligament had sustained would have been replaced to perfection. "The damage didn't affect my memory. I was conscious during the procedure. Hank was making too much of a big deal out of it. The shot caught me by surprise that's all." Kara could tell that was true. She had felt it, after all, she remembered feeling more shocked than physically hurt.

She nodded her head, looking up at Connor and taking him by the hand. "Come on, it's late."

While Connor showered upstairs Kara messaged Hank from their bedroom. Beforehand she had stripped down to her underthings. Her and Connor's bed rested against the right side of the room. Overhead hung a portrait of the 2011 CARE graffiti building. It was one of the first sights Kara had seen when she escaped from Cyberlife.

The back corner held a dresser and closet along with a set of windows the same as the far back wall. A slanted bookshelf (intentional design) hung between the door and bathroom. It was amazing how new the room smelled, the whole house smelled this way. Kara pulled the blinds over the windows down and turned on the ceiling fan, then climbed on the comforter of their bed. She propped her pillows up behind her back. Her fingers glided across the keyboard.

"The damage isn't noticeable. I'm surprised he isn't more in shock." -K

…..

…..

…

"Yeah, he used to do that back when we were hunting deviants and he ended up getting himself killed. Was a real pain in the ass." -H.A.

The Lieutenant's snarky remark made Kara laugh. She then shivered at the thought of Connor's body being physically destroyed ad his memories uploaded into another version of himself. What could that possibly feel like? He had told her all of these months ago. His creation and mission gave to him by Cyberlife and everything that followed. He talked about Amanda and his restrictions, how they used and manipulated him.

"I'll keep you updated. Thank you for bringing him home." -K

….

…..

….

"Take good care of him. I'll call again tomorrow." -H.A.

"Good night." -K

Kara turned on the TV looking for any form of a news feed. As she suspected the media was blowing up with news about the attempted assassination attempt on the Morgan's.

Rosanna Cartland had been on the scene trying to get a statement from the leaders of RegalDetroit from the footage they were streaming KNC had gotten a decent enough shot of what had happened. Kara lurched when the audio of the footage began to play. She hears the multiple gunshots than the screaming. It was much more terrifying being there than watching it. "The lone gunman escaped Detroit authorities on foot. Currently, the head of the DCPD is not presenting any information at the time and the Morgan's are refusing to comment on the situation. Our staff have made multiple attempts to get in touch with them but have so far have made no progress." Kara adjusted the TV volume when a notification message appeared on her computer screen. A message from Jake.

"No rush, but call when and if u can." -J.M.

Kara had no desire to speak with Jake. Not because she was angry with him, but rather she wanted to speak to no one else but Connor for the rest of the evening. Once again, her hands moved over the keys, typing back.

"Can tomorrow. We're fine now, just rattled." -K

Kara's eyes rose from the broadcast when Connor emerged from the bathroom wearing a black T-shirt and boxers. He was surprised to see her watching the news feed from earlier today. He waved his hand over the TV and shut it off. Maybe he was protecting her, maybe he was sick of listening to the event altogether, but whatever the reason he was over it. Kara giggled when Connor collapsed face first onto their bed. She climbed on top of him, her head rested against his shoulder blades. Androids weren't able to sleep but their processing benefited greatly from powering down for a few hours every night. Next, to that, it felt nice trying to sleep like a real couple at night.

Kara wished that Connor would just carry out his police work here in New Jericho. But he always told her that their people's problems weren't in New Jericho, they were thriving out in Detroit. Wanting to see her beautiful face again Connor turned over on his left side. She moved closer to him, resting her thigh up against his hip. Kara's gentle hands brushed through her lover's wet hair. Connor chuckled as she nuzzled into his neck. The sensation of her touch against his skin made Connor feel safe again. Safety was a human feeling, something he had never felt until he met Kara. It felt stupid to apologize for what had happened, it felt more unnecessary than stupid. It felt unlikely that Kara was upset with him, none of what had happened was his fault. The reality of everything was that they were living and learning together. Life was more precious to them than it had before their deviancy, it felt real…. incredibly real. The low hum from the ventilation in the house moved through the room. Connor held Kara close, his cheek pressed against her forehead. There were times when the pair didn't feel the need to fill the silence, they appreciated these quiet moments.

"You're going to be more careful, right?" Kara was kicking herself for ruining the moment. She felt Connor grinning. His hand moved to grip Kara's that was placed against his chest.

Kara sighed deeply when Connor kissed her forehead. "You're going to worry less?"

She cracked a smile to this rebuttal then turned serious again. "We all need to be careful." She didn't want to feel scared. She and Connor were free. They were free to live, hope and love. Connor waved his hand over the side table lamps to power them down then pulled the comforter up on the two of them.

"Hold me," Connor whispered, pressing his forehead to Kara's. "Just hold me." Kara shifted over to lay on her back allowing Connor and her to switch positions. The tips of her fingers brushed against his scalp their free hands entertained together. After that nothing else needed to be said. They had a life to live and it couldn't be wasted living with regret. Connor cherished Kara with every fiber of his mechanical being. He had his people and her to protect. RegalDetroit would ensure a future for them, a future that they were excited to see. So whatever danger, whatever outcomes would arise they would stand against them together.

(I plan on writing tie-in stories to the events present in this one. Please leave a review xoxo)