Let's go for the chapter two ! I hope you'll enjoy the reading ! Don't hesitate to give me your opinion in comments !

Disclamer :the characters come from the video game Detroit: become human and are the exclusive property of Quantic Dream


"To my lost sons"

"Damn it, but where has he gone yet ?! "

Fowler was getting impatient. He had already called eight times on Anderson's laptop and sent two of his men to run through the city to find the old inspector. But he still had no news of the police officer. To believe that the more he tried to save his bet, the more Hank enjoyed diving. The man sighed. He knew he should have dropped a long time ago, but he could not do it. He was desperately hanging on the hope of finding in this old and alcoholic gruff man a spark of the excellent policeman and friend he had known. And for a while, he almost believed that. When this young android had entered Hank's life, something had changed in him, slowly. He seemed to be calming down, every day a little more. He found his smile again. He tempered his character. And in moments as brief as intense, his face seemed a little less aged by anger and fatigue. Hank was coming back. Connor had not only brought great help to the police department on the deviant affairs, he had also gave a hand to Hank, and in just a few days he had done more with that stubborn head than Folwer and his screams during these last years. And that was why Jeffrey had finally struggled so hard to the lieutenant didn't lost his place after hitting that bastard Perkins. He had taken great risks and risked his own career in this case. And all this for what ?

"I'm fed up with his bullshit! Reed, get along with the scientific unity! "

But as he was about to give his lieutenant a ninth phone call, he arrived tottering slightly. Folwer felt his anger growing up again. But she was tempered by the pity that the alcoholic man inspired him. No, he definitely had to learn to give up. One does not revive a decaying corpse.

" WHERE WERE YOU ? It's been two hours Hank, two fucking hours we look for you in all the bars! You're a police lieutenant, go on like that, and you'll have plenty of time to empty your bottles under a bridge! So move your ass and get to work! "

The man made a sign of annoyance to his superior before answering in an irritated voice:

"It's ok Jeffrey! Don't break my balls, ok? It's not the day ... it's really not the day. "

Fowler ticked. One year ... It was soon going to be a year since all this mess had begun. He did not have exactly the dates in mind anymore, but he remembered perfectly the cold of this last November. And he also remembered sending the world's most squeezed Android to scour the bars in search of his future teammate.

"It was today, isn't it? "

Hank pretended to have not heard, busy at analyzing the corpse of a man in his fifties. Folwer insisted.

"Tonight, you were at Jimmy's bar, huh? Shit Hank, stop your bullshit, it was juste a fucking machine. "

Hank closed his eyes and clenched his fists with anger. It was just a fucking machine. It was all that people could say in general to try to ease his pain. Yeah, a machine, that's right ! A machine that knew how to smile, to doubt, to hope, and who had laughed, that day, in his arms, when after this revolution he had hug him so hard against himself. Fuck off, humanity! that laugh so shy, like a little bell, it had given him goose bumps. And in the early morning, it warmed him up. So yes, it was a machine, but a machine a thousand times better than humans. The old inspector got up and gave a glare at his superior, followed by a magnificent, high finger.

"Fuck you, Jeffrey. "

Then, without adding anything, he walked away under Fowler's exasperated gaze. He could not stand him anymore, him and all the others. He could not stand this world too. The only thing that kept him alive was the cruel hope that he didn't hear his number in the list of victims. They said they had shot down all the leaders of the machine revolution. Markus's image, arms crossed, had been around the world. On the same shot, on his left, North's body was lying down, vainly tending his hand toward his lover, but never reaching him. But no picture showed Connor. Just as the latter had shown no sign of life in recent months. He had vanished, as brutally as he had appeared in his life. Hank didn't understand. If there was a god, why did that bastard send him an angel to finally get him back?

Often, when he had drunk too much, he surprise himself looking in the darkness of the night for traces of some flashing blue light. And sometimes, in the mists of alcohol, it seemed to him that he was there, nearby. He could almost feel his presence or see his shadow in the corner of his vision. But in the end, when he was moving toward his illusions, there was nothing left. Nothing but this immense loneliness, and this impression of no longer knowing whether he was crying for his son or Connor. Unless it was for the both at the same time.

He turned his attention to the crime scene. The place was extremely dark. The corpse had been left on a wasteland. Not far from the body, an old building in abandoned construction stood with all its mass. Much of the structure was damaged, while what was still standing was now covered with graffiti and urine. Fortunes fires burned in barrels to bring warmth to the homeless who lived there. The police had gathered them in small groups and began to interrogate them. Most looked nervous, scared, or hostile. Young people, old men, women, men ... nobody was spared by this misery. Hank had a small, tender smile. They were perhaps what he liked the most in this rotten city. Those whom the world had finally forgotten. He sighed. He had to take something back to Fowler or he would going to hear him screaming throughout all the police station. Not that he feared his anger... But he had a big headache, and his captain's howl would only accentuate his hangover. Then, nonchalantly, Lieutenant Anderson began to approach the potential witnesses and to interrogate them among the other policemen.

The usual questions ... identity, alibi, strange things ... For all the answers, the old inspector got only haggard or suspicious gazes. Yet his instinct called him to order. From the corner of his eye, he saw a young beggar who obstinately looked down. The man didn't move. He didn't make the slightest movement. It was almost inhuman, considering the surrounding cold.

The policeman's eyes detailed him. He was wearing a brown leather jacket and an old black basketball cap. His dirty jeans had holes in some places, letting the cold of winter pass through the tissues. However the stranger did not shudder. He stubbornly kept his head down, hiding his face under the shadow of his visor. The lieutenant stopped in front of him. This silhouette so slim and slender ...

"You, what is your name guy? "

He asked without any introduction. The stranger seemed hesitant Then, in a barely perceptible whisper, Hank heard a voice ... a weird, trembling voice, which he knew only too well. For a moment, he thought that the alcohol had finally managed to totally ate his brain.

"My name is Conrad. "

Hank Anderson's heart missed a beat. The position of the stranger had not moved. The rain and the cold did not make him shiver. Slowly, Hank put his hand under the young man's chin to force him to raise his head. He resisted a little, then, he gave up. And his blue eyes plunged into two nut-brown iris drowned by fear. The mere sound of his voice had betrayed him. The android felt panic winning him. His stress level was rising dangerously. Hank recognized him ... Of course, how could it have been otherwise? Hank recognized him and, at the slightest misstep, he would be shot without warning. Humans didn't bother with protocols or morals with objects.

"Conn .."

"My name is Conrad, Lieutenant ... please ... just Conrad ..."

He hastily interrupted Hank in a voice polluted by anguish, murmuring in a breath barely audible the end of his sentence. His name ... just the mention of his name could have earned him a bullet between his eyes, and Connor knew it. There were too many policemen around, and he was too wall famous for the mere mention of his first name didn't lead one of them to turn around hearing these familiar syllables. He had to lose his identity. And pray that the little time that he had passed with the lieutenant would be enough to influence Hank not to denounce him.

For a moment, the old man seemed paralyzed. He didn't know what reaction to adopt. He wanted so much to just hold that damn kid in his arms until he shredded him. He also wanted so much to give him a good pair of slaps for those hours and days of anxiety without any news. But he did nothing. Because the minute he had recognized him, he had also realized that the slightest of his marks of affection would cost his life to the young deviant. He had to compose himself and walk away with Connor. Yet he couldn't do it. He remained obstinately transfixed.

"A problem Hank? Did you fall in love or what? "

Reed's mocking voice get him out of his dreams. Connor lowered his head quickly. His gestures became nervous. He had to calm down otherwise Hank would not be the only one to notice that the young homeless had a problem.

" Not a all. I'm done with this one ... I bring him back to the police station. He may have seen something. "

He had to take him away from the other policemen, and especially from that bastard Gavin. Above all, he had not to be reconize by the others. Otherwise, it was damn. He grabbed Connor's arm sharply. The machine didn't make the least movement to struggle. He knew he was lost. The squat was completely surrunded by the police and they interrogated the witnesses one by one. He had no escape. As soon as they see his face, he will be sentenced. So when Hank pretended to stop him, he just thought he was caught, and he just dropped his eyes in a sign of resignation. Without paying attention, the old policeman led him between the concrete pillars of the abandoned building. When he thought they were far enough, he pushed the android violently before letting out his anger:

"Ten months Connor, ten damn months without any news! Ten months since the explosion to ask me if they had kill you or not? And I find you by chance in a shabby squat on a crime scene! You owe me explanations, and they have an interest in pleasing me because I do not know what's holding me back from ... "

" I hate you. I hate humans. I hate you all. "

This whisper, tinged with rage and sadness, Hank took a moment to realize that he was coming out of the lips of his former teammate. The machine look up at the policeman with a deep rancor. Then, calmly, he continued:

"I should have been with them that day. I should have died with what was left of my people after the shootings of the army and the dismantling camps set up by your kind. But no. I was too stupid. Shortly before the attack, that night, to be sure to gather a maximum of deviants in the enclosure of our refuge, you know what the American human government did, Hank? Oh, no, you have no idea, do you? Well, they sent a message to Markus. They said that that evening, at 9 pm, they would publicly announce the end of the Jericho crisis. Tonight we will be free and equal in right to your species. The news spread quickly through our network and our connections. So, naively, androids have all gathered at our headquarters, to live this historic moment together, to be able to celebrate this hard-won victory. We were going to have the right to exist. It was just beautiful, Lieutenant, imagine? All these hopes, these dreams, this joy together. It was wonderful, simply. I felt so happy. It was strange. But while all my people dreamed of celebrating this moment by gathering, I wanted to live it with you. A completely irrational and stupid decision, but it seemed so important to be at your side then. So, after apologizing to Markus, I left the compound, I left my people to join my "partner". A human. Basically, we could not dream better, as a symbol of peace. It would have been enough for a few minutes more... I just saw the flash of the pulse bomb. I could not believe it at first. Then, I ran to the light source. I instinctively placed myself on a roof. And from there, I saw the human vehicles advance on the base. I saw the human army and the FBI enter the perimeter of the android territory. And I saw them, all those bodies that they were trampling on without addressing them a single glance... "

Connor was staring at him. Something in his chocolate eyes was calling Hank. He no longer recognized the sweet spontaneity and the touching curiosity of the young android fresh out of the factory that had served him as a teammate. No, his face had changed. He was more greavious. He was more worn. It was as if he were exhausted, as if he had aged ... and for a moment, Hank's heart squeezed. He understood what was bothering him so much in Connor's expressions: Brown's hazel eyes were now the exact reflection of his when he looked at himself in the mirror. As empty, as sad, as extinct. Connor looked down. Then, he just calmly whispered:

"They killed everyone. "

Her voice had risen weakly, but she had immediately defused the little bit of anger remaining in the human. She was far away, as if the android was talking to himself, remembering the scene. He looked up with eyes filled with repressed hatred and sadness at his former partner. Then, in a voice tinged with naivety, almost childish, he asked:

"Humans ... They killed everyone. They didn't even try to understand. We didn't want war, though. We just wanted a better world. I believed it, me ... I believed in them. I had faith in humanity. After all, I knew you ... You weren't so bad when you scratched a little under the surface. And yet ... I don't understand. It was a massacre. Tell me Hank, why did humans kill everyone? "

Hank didn't know what to answer. Why did humans kill everyone? There were so many answers to this question. Because it was a shitty world, boy. Because humans were better at destroying than building. Because they were afraid of this world of peace that androids wanted. Because they were human, and they were androids ... What to answer at that. The lieutenant's pained eyes rested on the deviant. Then, without thinking, as a primary instinct, the man grasped the deviant by the shoulder and pulled him against his chest. For a few seconds Connor tried to get out of the friendly hug, but Hank hugged harder. Then, obediently, the machine confessed to being defeated. And he wrapped his arms around Hank's body before placing his head in his neck. The elder's voice rose tenderly as one of his hands came to rest on the back of the RK800's head:

"That's why you didn't come to find me? You hated me already?"

Connor bit his lip. Then, he shook his head, sinking deeper into the officer's arms. He felt so angry and so lost at the same time. He would have wanted to destroy humanity without giving up this moment of heat in the embrace of his partner.

"No ... I hate you because you are the last thing that gives me hope in humanity. And it doesn't deserve it. I am the last one Hank. The last survivor of the leaders of Jericho. I never wanted that. I just wanted to be free. To be able to continue my investigations with you. Stroking Sumo. maybe listening to music, someday, really... I ... I tried to find you, Lieutenant. I tried. But wherever you go, they were behind you. I saw you gradually doing again the round of the bars in the city without being able to get you away from that again. I saw you return to sit on this bench and play with my old coin, without being able to join you. I saw you arrive again at the police station every day a little later, without being able to call you to order. The FBI was watching you, Hank, because they knew you were the only person I could have tried to contact. I trusted you. My only refuge. Even that, they managed to take it away from me. I was almost spotted a dozen times ... and then I stopped following you. I couldn't seeing you destroy yourself without having the slightest opportunity to intervene. It was too risky, and it made me suffer too much. So, I came here. It's not bad, you know, for an android. We get used to it ... in any case, it's easier to get used than to seeing a friend slowly self-destruct. "

Hank stared at the android with his blue eyes. Indeed, humanity did not deserve a second chance. It had destroyed the young man to the depths of his being of plastic and metal. Yet he had a lot of optimism and perseverance to spare, before ... but humans had managed to reduce all that to ashes. Connor had taught him how to live and smile, little by little. In return, humanity had taught him to hate and shake. It had taken away his only little star. It had gone out with the others that night. The faint glow that shone before him was no more than its timid memory subsisting sadly. The ghostly shadow of the lingering light of a star that was dead years ago ... Hank sighed.

"Listen, Connor, you know ..."

But he did not have time to finish his sentence. A whistle in his back made him feel like if a bullet had touched him in the heart.

"Ouah ! Look at that! Connor, huh? The alcoholic and the tin can! what a novel to do! I can't believe it! Nice catch Hank. I felt that you were cooking something. You won't get out this time, little plastic shit. "

Reed had just arrived, and he was pointing his gun at the duo. Hank turned, calmly raising his hands. He wanted to be able to jump on the young wolf and stick his fist in the smiling face, but at the slightest cry, the slightest detonation, the other policemen would be alerted and come to join them here. He had to stay calm.

"Reed, don't do that. Try to think five minutes to change. "

Why did humans kill everyone? The answer to that question was there, finally, in Reed's arrogant gaze and in his smug smile.

why did humans kill everyone?

Because they were like that, kid, simply. Don't blame them. In the end, they didn't know how to do otherwise.


yeah ! another chapter translated! my translations will surely slow down when the english version have caught up with the original.

I apologize for all the mistakes you must have found in reading the story, don't hesitate to tell me what is wrong so that I can correct and improve. English is not my native langage so I apologize for mistakes!

And do not hesitate to tell me in comments if you want other translations, if my level is really catastrophic or if you like cookies! I will be happy to chat with you! see you soon for more!