Connor usually had a decent grasp on time but he truly felt that time went a little too quickly for his last night of recharging in the Kamski mansion. The sun had just peaked over the horizon but his room wasn't bathed in a blue atmosphere. He had kept his light on. Laid out before his bed was a white dress shirt and deep blue shorts with suspenders on them. This look hadn't been in fashion for a long time but Connor didn't question it. He put the clothes on dutifully and gave his empty room a final goodbye.

Downstairs, Kamski was waiting for him, leaning against the front door, playing with his phone. He put it away when he saw Connor approaching. The man gesticulated dramatically toward an automated taxi. "Your chariot awaits."

Connor entered it and waited for Kamski to follow him in. He didn't. His creator leaned over the car door and gave him a quick look up and down. "Right, so here's the thing; I'm setting you free. You can go anywhere you desire. Out of Detroit, out of the country, whatever you want. There's no owner waiting to take you."

Connor blinked twice. In that time he still didn't think he'd synthesized Kamski's words properly. " . . . Excuse me?"

Rather than getting annoyed, Kamski just nodded his head patiently. "You heard me. You're free. You are your own person. Yeah you look like a twelve year old but we both know you're capable of taking care of yourself to the fullest extent. So just tell the taxi where you want to go and it'll take you there. If you want to take a plane, just put it under my tab."

Markus didn't have a choice. Kara didn't have a choice. Connor had . . . too many choices. What should he do? Visit his siblings? Did they even want to see him?

'Uh oh, this one's regressed quite a bit.' Those words lingered in his mind. No. Markus and Kara were better off without him. If he's truly regressed as Kamski had put it, then he was more android than human and surely they didn't want to see him now.

Connor couldn't think of a reply. Kamski didn't bother saying goodbye. He slammed the door shut and the taxi just began to drive out of the estate. "Where are you taking me?"

"With no distinct instruction, I was ordered to just drive around town until you come up with a destination you wish to go." The automated voice of the taxi replied.

He leaned back into his seat. Well this was just great. They drove on for hours. The bill must have been nearing five hundred dollars by now but it didn't matter. That type of money was nothing to Kamski. As the taxi entered the heart of the city, Connor looked out the window, fascinated by all the people and androids of society. He'd never been allowed outside the mansion before so this was all new to him. Sure he's seen pictures of the city and even some clips from the security cameras around the area, but to be at the center of the great metropolis that was Detroit, even someone as unfeeling as him was touched by the sight. Uptown was where most of the stores were located. People walked about, carrying numerous bags of all sorts of products. Connor could barely keep up, scanning the items as the taxi drove by the humans. Downtown, things were a bit more understated. There were more apartment buildings and small houses that took place down those streets. Every few blocks there was a store. A deli. A supermarket. A flower shop.

Eventually, even those sights fell away. But they repeated again when the taxi drove another circle around the city. Connor wondered if it normally chose to repeat past streets if the customer didn't know where they wanted to go. By now, the bill was nearing a thousand dollars. The entire day, Connor just sat in the taxi. He didn't know where he wanted to go. He didn't have enough resources to make a good decision. For all of his reading, there wasn't much that helped in this particular situation.

"Dear customer, I regret to inform you that I am nearing the end of my energy reserves. Would you like to change to another vehicle? Your current bill will carry over." The taxi explained.

That seemed like an incentive to leave. "Actually, here is fine." Connor answered. "I'll take my leave here."

"Is this your destination?" The taxi asked, requiring confirmation.

"Yes."

"Very good then. Thank you for riding with Detroit Taxis. We hope to see you again."

Connor strode out of the taxi and closed the door behind him. It promptly left. In a moment of spontaneity, he had hopped off. But now what? Maybe he should have tried to meet up with Markus or Kara after all. They might not have been thrilled by his presence but at least they could have given him some guidance. Connor took in his surroundings and realized he was on the edge of the town. To his left were some of the buildings of downtown. To his right was a cemetery.

He looked around, trying to find some sign to push him in one direction or another when a figure caught his eyes. It was a relatively tall man, though his shoulders were hunched. His shabby clothes stated that he didn't really care about his wellbeing and his tangled hair and disheveled beard had certainly seen better days. Connor would have thought the man homeless if it wasn't for the police badge by his belt. That caught Connor's interest. Though the man was quite a distance from him, the information on his badge could be spotted.

The man worked for the DPD. Maybe Connor could ask the man for some advice. Perhaps the man will even be kind enough to take him to the precinct where he could get more information about the city and what to do. Even before he had affirmed the plan in his head, his legs were already moving.

It's been an entire month since Cole passed away and the entire thing still seemed unreal to Hank. Even though people gave him looks of pity, even though they walked on eggshells around him, it was still hard to believe that Cole was really gone. From October, he'd mostly been blackout drunk so there wasn't much to remember. The only thing he really remembered was October 11th and every day since then had been a painful blur. Jeffery had given him two months leave for the funeral and to process the loss. The arrangement of the funeral was done and over with faster than Hank had initially believed. He almost wanted it to drag on so he could see his boy above the ground for just that much longer. But now, Cole was definitely six feet under and nothing was going to bring him back.

In the one rare moment he was sober, Hank had decided to visit his son's grave. It was around six o'clock in the evening and by November, the sky was already pitch black. Walking toward the entrance of the cemetery, Hank felt as though he was being followed. It was just a small feeling but his instincts were never wrong. He didn't confront the perpetrator right away, where it was safe to do so. The self-destructive side of him wanted to lure the person in deeper to the center of the cemetery. And if they were idiotic enough to follow him, he'd pull his gun out. Who knows, maybe this night might end with him shooting someone. Or himself. He'll probably be suspended or maybe even fired. Who the fuck cares?

Cole's grave was near the south side of the cemetery but like hell Hank was going to lead some random stranger tailing him to it. He walked a leisurely pace until downtown Detroit was as far away from him as it could be. Then, he rounded on the stalker and his gun was out. "Alright, who the fuck-"

The rest of the words got caught in his throat when Hank realized that he was looking at a kid. No. An android. An android child?

It had pale skin with a light dusting of freckles. Its dark hair was neatly combed back save for a wayward lock that jutted out and sat on his forehead. It had brown eyes which were wide and unassuming. As always, a LED circle flitted blue by its temple. All of these features mashed together to make one goofy looking face.

"Hello." It greeted, unperturbed by how strange the setting was. "My name is Connor. I was hoping you could help me."

Hank didn't know how to respond to that. He was way too old to be dealing with random shit like this. "I don't know who you belong to, but fuck off. I'm not on duty."

Any human would have flinched at his words, but this was an android he was talking to. It didn't react negatively to his rejection. The android pondered over his words and furrowed its brows a bit. "I thought the police were supposed to want to help people all the time."

This tin can was more naïve than Hank thought. This android was most likely from a sheltered family, never seeing the harshness of the world. Just from the posh looking clothes, he could tell that this Connor hadn't been brought up in any humble home. Actually, now that he thought about it, since when were dress shirts and suspenders back in style?

"I don't . . . I don't belong to anyone anymore." It responded.

Oh great, a robot with a sob story. Just what Hank wanted to hear. "Boo fucking hoo. There are worse things in the world than being thrown away kid. Now fuck off. Seriously. Before I shoot you." He even brought his gun back up, lining it just perfectly to hit the android in the head if he wanted to.

Infuriatingly enough, it took a step closer. "You wouldn't shoot me. You're a policeman. Policemen are good people."

The nerve of this bot. Hank almost wanted to shoot a warning bullet, just to scare it. But the conviction in its eyes made him pause. It had the utmost faith in the reputation of the DPD. Unfortunately, that meant it had faith in him. And however small of a thing that may have been, the android had shaken him. He didn't deserve to have someone believe in him to that magnitude, not even if it was coming from an android. Gritting his teeth, Hank knew he was in for a long night when he asked, "Who was your owner? You know, before they kicked you out?"

Though he hasn't been to work in weeks, he was right back to detective mode in a matter of seconds. That was a reflex he couldn't shake. Even with a gun aimed at its head, the android answered him smoothly. "Elijah Kamski. He was my creator and I've lived in his mansion for twelve years. He just 'kicked me out' as it were, this morning. Though in his terms, he was 'setting me free.'"

Jesus Christ. Kamski? Elijah Kamski? Hank felt a headache coming on. What the hell was the man thinking? He could have asked that, but it probably wouldn't yield anything useful at the moment. The main issue at hand now was what the hell were they going to do?

All of a sudden, Connor took another step closer to him. And then another. Hank nearly had to push the android off of him when it said, "Are those two robbing a grave?" Its eyes were focused on something behind him.

Hank's head whipped around to see a pair of men some hundred feet away doing something. His eyes weren't what they used to be and the dark of the night certainly didn't help. "What the hell are you going on about? What do you see?"

Connor had a curious expression on its face. "They're digging out a grave. The tombstone indicates it belongs to Abigail Smith."

Abigail Smith. One of the wealthiest woman back in the day. Her wealth originated from her ancestors, making her a member of old money. People like that have long gone extinct in this day and age. She had even been a benefactor if Kamski in his little android project at the time. Who knew a little funding could lead to such life changing results? The old woman was laid to rest with nearly every piece of jewelry she owned. Hank would have thought if one were to be buried with a fuckton of precious metals and crystals, then they would have preferred to rest in a place with a little more security than the average cemetery. But Smith was a person of the people no matter how rich she was and she chose to lie among the people.

From time to time, people would try to rob her grave. Usually, they would be caught by the cemetery groundskeeper but tonight, Hank didn't see the man around. Nor did he see any of the androids that usually helped him. There was definitely something fishy going on. Placing his gun back in its holster, Hank crouched behind the tombstone closest to him. Connor imitated his movement.

"I need to get closer." Hank murmured to himself. The last thing he needed was for the criminals to get spooked and run. That was a chase he wasn't in shape enough to pursue.

Connor's LED glowed yellow for a minute before it returned to its usual blue. "It'll be best if you close in on them from the left. That's their blind spot. They've kept their faces consistently to the east for the last ten minutes."

"Shut up kid. I don't need your help." Hank grumbled. Nonetheless, he took the android's assessment into consideration.

This was the part of being a cop that he hated the most. The being-sneaky part. He was usually an impatient man and wanted things done and over with. Sneaking around was just adding pressure onto him because he knew that once the perpetrators catch one whiff of law enforcement on the scene, they scatter. Hank needed to make sure he got both of them at the same time. Hopefully they'll surrender in the face of a gun.

It took time but Hank was able to inch close enough to the grave to see that it's been half dug out. He had been so preoccupied with keeping quiet he didn't realize Connor was behind him every step of the way.

"Now would be an opportune time to confront them." Connor said, making Hank nearly jump from surprise.

"What- this is as far as you go kid! Stop following me!" Hank hissed. This android needed to piss off wherever the hell it came from. Hank didn't need a liability on his ass.

Just then, one of the men digging the hole looked up from his work and shouted, "Who's there?!"

Well it was now or never. Hank got up and flashed his badge. "Freeze! You're under arrest for attempted theft and destruction of property!"

Both men seemed shocked that there was even a cop to be found in the vicinity. Something about their looks reeked premeditation on a higher level than just impulsive behavior. He brought his gun out but the sound of a trigger clicking wasn't his doing.

"Hank, I didn't think you'd be here." Behind a large oak tree was the groundskeeper. The man was of small stature and had a lightly hunched back. He was all skin and bones, yet he had the courage to confront Hank with a gun.

"Andy, what the actual fuck? You're an accomplice to these idiots?" Hank couldn't believe it. Andy was even older than he was. He was two years away from retirement. What compelled him to rob one of the graves he's looked after for more than twenty years?

Andy couldn't meet him in the eye. Good. At least the man seemed ashamed of his decision. "I'm not asking you to understand, Hank. But I need the money for my daughter. She's having another kid in a week and she's barely making ends meet. Sarah could be evicted from her apartment in a few months' time. She could be homeless with four other mouths to feed. I don't make nearly enough for her and the kids. I can't even look after myself well enough."

"And you thought that this was the way to go? Come on, Andy." Hank was disappointed in the man. There had to have been better ways of handling the problem. But that's been the issue since the rise of the androids, wasn't it? People were losing jobs. They were getting paid less and forced to settle because they should consider themselves lucky they weren't yet replaced by a robot more intelligent and capable than them in every way.

The older man's hand was trembling. "Please. If you have any amount of mercy in you, let this go. Abigail Smith has already been dead for twenty five years. She doesn't need those diamonds."

Hank sighed and shook his head slowly. "That's not your decision to make. I'm sorry but I'm going to have to take you in. All three of you."

The threat of being thrown in jail jarred one of the grave diggers enough that he jumped out of the hole and snatched the gun away from the groundskeeper. "I don't think so old man. We're not going anywhere."

The man was in his mid-twenties, with blond hair and brown eyes. His face was stoic and hardened, as though he's live his entire life having to rob graves to survive. At the corner of Hank's eye, he saw a blur of bright blue light but he couldn't stop it in time. Connor was charging right to the young man with the gun. Having mistaken Connor for another police officer, he pulled the trigger. The android veered away from the bullet and continued on its path, not the least bit deterred. By the time the man knew what he was dealing with, his grip on the gun grew slack, just enough for Connor to smack it out of his hands. The commotion distracted Hank until he noticed the partner trying to run away. The other man was close enough for Hank to run after and tackle to the ground. Andy didn't bother running nor did he try fighting. He just stood there, watching it all with a sad look on his face.

His phone read 8:20 pm when backup had finally arrived and all three men were rounded up. It was police officer Chen and her partner. She had given Hank a bland look, which switched to curiosity when her eyes landed on Connor. "You're going to have to fill out a report for this, Lieutenant Anderson."

That was all she said before she was in her car again, going to deliver the DPD three new criminals for the night. Hank didn't think he'd find himself grateful to the woman for keeping things strictly professional. There was no trying to comfort him or even shock that she'd seen him today when no one else in the DPD had seen him for a whole month. No pity, just doing her job.

But at the mention of paperwork, Hank sighed and dragged his hands down his face. Shit. And he had to bring Connor in too. The tin can's seen too much and even took action during the arrest. Connor had to give a statement. The android didn't say anything in the last hour. It just observed. But when Hank looked down at it and Connor met his glance, it seemed to perk up a bit. What the hell did Hank get himself into?

"Lieutenant-" Connor began.

"You're out of your mind of you think I'm going to thank you for what you did. You just bought me a whole extra stack of paperwork write up." Hank cut the android off, walking out of the cemetery and toward his car. He beckoned for Connor to follow and like any other heap of plastic, it followed obediently.

"That's not what I was going to say." Connor clarified. "I was going to say that this has been a very interesting mission and I am happy to have been able to assist you."

Mission? Hank rounded on the bot. "Listen here you plastic prick, that wasn't some kind of high level spy mission we just completed, so get that out of your head. And I didn't need your help. You ran into the fray."

He entered his car and Connor took shotgun. He stared at the android, waiting for it to put the seatbelt on. When it didn't, he made a gesture with his hand that told it to hurry up.

"Oh, right. Of course." It said absentmindedly, finally making a grab for the seat belt.

Hank rolled his eyes and turned the ignition on.

++++++++++++End of Part II++++++++++++

Hey there guys, hope you liked this little chapter. Or not. Anyways, just wanted to say this now that I've just realized the difference in length from the first chapter to the second; I don't have some kind of precise word count quota for the chapters I write. (I've tried that before and it ended terribly for a past story I'd written years ago. You probably don't care about any of that.) Also, what's kind of weird about this whole thing is that I've been writing this entire story on my phone, so I don't even know how many words a chapter has until I've emailed it to myself and bring it over to Word. I just stop the chapter whenever I feel like it's a good time to stop it.

Long story short, I hope you guys don't mind if some chapters have a lot more content than others. (Though I'm pretty sure I'd never let a chapter go through without being at least 2,000 words.)