PM 03:01:23

There was something about Alessia Reed that was familiar to him. It was more than the similarity she shared with her twin brother. In fact, she was very different from Gavin Reed. She was gentler in her motions and had a keen eye for details. She was impulsive, but she stopped to think through her actions when given the opportunity. She wore brighter clothes, as if asking for the attention to be drawn to her, but he somehow understood why. Gavin needed to blend in in his line of work, whereas Alessia needed to be seen by those who needed her.

Her files showed that she worked closely with domestic abuse. She needed those victims to see her, and to know that someone was there for them. That the attention could be taken off them if it was placed on her. But that was all her files showed him. There was no detail on her work before the DPD, as if every instant of Cyberlife had been scrubbed from her life beside how long she worked for them.

Then, there was that one file he was refused all entry to. Her Cyberlife work only had her time spent there, and nothing else. But there was a file in her record that was completely blocked. Something happened in her life that led her to the DPD, because shortly after this file appeared it showed her accepting a position in the force. What was being hid, and why did it end after Cyberlife? Could this have been the familiarity? Was she part of the technician team that began his programming?

But then, he knew he would remember her. She couldn't be part of that at all- her name would have shown up somewhere in his own file. So maybe it was simply the similarity she shared with her brother? They had the same brown hair, though she straightened hers. Now, as they rode to Hank's lunch break destination, he noticed that she brushed back the loose strands that had begun to wave.

The moved and spoke with the same confidence. He didn't know either of them well enough yet, but he could tell from their interactions that they cared very much for each other. Beyond the confidence, they moved in the same gestures and fidgets. Like any close relationship, they had a tendency to mimic each other, though they may not have realized it. They had the same gray-blue eyes.

But her eyes looked with care and admiration at him, whereas Gavin was cold. A knowing look, a calming wave that reached out versus a dark, sheltered storm. She would glance back at him, now and then, as they rode along, checking him, reassuring him. Then she would look away, out the window or at her phone, and then that familiarly was gone. It was in her eyes that he saw something familiar, but he wasn't sure what, and somewhere a part of him hoped those eyes would look at him more.

^Software Instability

PM 03:01:23

The yelling she received from Hank was nothing compared to the blast of his car speakers. After berating her actions, he refused to talk to either of them, and refused to listen to them. They had made a stop at the precinct, filed their report (refusing to directly tell Fowler what happened, because as mad as he was with them, Fowler would be worse), and then Hank wanted lunch.

Alessia would have preferred lunch at a café down the street, but Connor was determined to talk to Hank, and she didn't trust the Lieutenant enough to not make things worse. Hank, of course, had grumbled at the three of them going together- he had been looking forward to a break alone.

Connor tried to initiate small talk before Hank even turned the key, and now he was trying to kill their ear drums. Alessia opened her window and leaned out a bit while she browsed her phone. An email from her boss – a notice that Officer Kimberly Lux would be taking over her cases while she was working on the deviant case. Alessia felt a swell of pride when she learned that. Kim was an excellent officer, and she helped Alessia often. They weren't partners- the station couldn't afford partners anymore- but they were as close as. Lux was often her patrol partner when there was need, and their desks were right next to each other.

She would probably be with Lux right now, if they hadn't chosen her for the deviant cases. Then she wouldn't be listening to Knights of the Black Death at full volume, or nearly dropping her phone at the sudden stop. Hank had pulled up to a curb across form a food truck. 'Chicken Feed' ran across the top in neon letters.

"Come with, don't, I don't care," Hank said as he unceremoniously got out.

Alessia, still needing food, decided it was better than nothing. She rolled her eyes as Hank nearly got hit by an autonomous car- his own fault for not looking both ways as he crossed the street. Yes, the automotive were designed to be able to brake for pedestrians but like any car and driver, it still required everyone on alert.

"Hank. How you doing?"

"Eh, you know, same old shit."

"Plastic with you?"

"Only temporary."

"You're usual then?"

"Yeah . . . And whatever she wants."

Gary gave a whistle, "Whoo, Hank. Never took you for the type."

"Excuse me?"

"Bit of cradle robbing, huh?"

"No- no, no. No. Gary, watch your mouth. She's a Detective. Another temporary partner. Jesus."

"Sorry, Hank, Detective," he turned his attention to her and gave what he probably thought was a smooth smirk, "What can I get you, sweetheart?"

Alessia rolled her eyes, "A chicken sandwich with no mayo or mustard, orange soda, and no flirting. Thank you."

As the man turned to cook, she looked to Hank.

"The deviants earlier- the man who reported her missing never said anything about a child."

"Maybe it found the kid somewhere after the bus."

"Lieutenant, the kid was a YK500. Child androids are programmed to stay with their acquired families. Even if she was deviant, there have been no missing reports for a child. And the way they looked after each other- that trust- there's no way they only just met. Something doesn't seem right."

"Well, lucky for you, I had the same feeling as well. I left Pearson a message- she took the guy's statement. She'll look into it, and let us know if we need to pursue anything further. If not us, she'll take care of it."

She nodded, and then waited a few minutes, until Gary handed her food with another smirk and a wink.

"Thank you, Lieutenant."

"For fucks sake Alessia, we're on break. Call me Hank."

She chuckled, "Thank you, Hank."

Alessia took her food and walked over to a nearby table. As Hank chatted with Gary, and another apparent friend who walked up as she left. From the way the man looked at her and spoke with Hank, she saw he was getting a wager from Hank. Alessia thought about Hank's acquaintances, and little things about him started to come together.

As she started to eat, a delicious meal for a place with an expired safety license, she looked over to Connor. He had stayed in the car when she went with Hank, but now he was beginning to make his way over to the Lieutenant.

Hank sighed, "What is your problem? Don't you ever do as you're told? Look, you don't have to follow me around like a poodle!"

"I'm sorry for my behavior back at the police station. I didn't mean to be unpleasant."

"Oh, wow. You've even got a brown-nosing apology program! Guys at CyberLife thought of everything, huh?"

Hank cast a glance over to Alessia, as if she would know exactly what they programmed him with, and she shrugged her shoulders. She wasn't sure what to make of Connor yet- wasn't sure of what his programming was like and why he made the choices he made. And she was on break, just like him. She didn't want to think about another android's programming until they solved their current one.

"Ah! Thanks, Gary. I'm starving."

"Don't leave that thing here!"

"Not a chance! Follows me everywhere."

"The Detective, on the other hand, is more than welcome to stay."

Alessia scoffed, "In your nightmares, maybe."

Hank laughed and came to stand beside her. Connor looked between the food truck and them, and then came to stand at the table as well. Alessia gave him a reassuring smile, and he seemed to take it as a sign to relax. He leaned across the table, glancing back towards the food truck and Hank.

"This Pedro. He was proposing illegal gambling, am I right?"

"Yeah."

"And you made a bet?"

"Yeah."

"I don't want to alarm you, Lieutenant, but I think your friends are engaged in illegal activities."

"Well, everybody does what they have to, to get by. As long as they're not hurting anybody, I don't bother them."

Alessia tried not to laugh as he looked confused, "Cyberlife never prompted you for this kind of stuff, did they? Yeah, it's illegal, but it's not like it's killing the economy. Until it becomes a problem, it's not ours to deal with."

"I see," Connor said in a way that Alessia was sure he did not.

"Well, Connor, you did disobey an order from Hank earlier this afternoon."

"I simply chose the best route for going after the deviants. You had already climbed the fence and were working on a plan."

"Except that it almost failed. Then you saved my life."

"Yeah, and nearly got the both of you killed," Hank interjected.

"I apologize, again, Lieutenant. It was not my intention-"

"Alright, enough. Just let me eat."

"Your meal contains 1.4 times the recommended daily intake of calories and twice the cholesterol level. You shouldn't eat that."

Alessia reached over and took one of Hank's fries, "Yeah, I didn't even get fries. Maybe you should share."

"Keep eating my fries, maybe I'll make sure Gary knows your phone number. Besides, everybody's gotta die of something."

Connor asked, "Do you eat here often?"

"Most days. Gary makes the best burger in Detroit."

"You didn't pay for your meal, or Alessia's."

"Gary's a friend. I scratch his back, he scratches mine. And now, it seems he's got the hots for Alessia. Which I think I can start taking advantage of. Gary usually let's me get a regular meal, but I have to pay extra for something sweet. What do you say to one date?"

Alessia shook her head, "Over my dead body. Besides, I doubt his license would last long if he even tried to ask. Give the man some business, not an arrest."

"Alright, alright. Don't need to threaten me."

Connor remarked, "You seem to know everyone in the district."

"Detroit's my home. Born and raised. Know most of the guys around here. Went to school with them, or I busted 'em. Sometimes both."

Alessia said, "You do a good job at balancing the personal and work relationships."

"It helps with diffusing things, definitely. I'm sure you use your experiences in your work, right?"

Alessia gave an unsure nod, "I certainly let it reflect my responses. I've never talked about my own experiences, however. I try to forget those, if I'm honest."

Connor looked at Alessia, his LED glowing yellow as he processed what she was saying. He still looked curious, as if there was more he wanted to ask her. But he seemed to decide not to.

"Is there anything you'd like to know about me?"

Hank sighed, "Hell, no. Well, yeah, um, why did they make you look so goofy and give you that weird voice?"

"CyberLife androids are designed to work harmoniously with humans. Both my appearance and voice were specifically designed to facilitate my integration."

"Well, they fucked up."

Alessia gave him a light slap, "Hey, you have no idea how long physical design takes."

"I don't give a shit."

Connor tilted his head, "Can ask you a personal question, Lieutenant? Why do you hate androids so much?"

"I have my reasons."

Alessia felt the tension pick up, and immediately set her sights on Connor.

"Well, I have some questions. How long have you been active?"

"Since this August."

"Anything we would have heard about?"

"Perhaps, but they would not have let it be known an android was on the scene. There were already many protests at the time within the department I was assigned."

"So we're not the first officers you've worked with? Who assigns your missions?"

"To be fair, you are the first officers I've had complete interactions with. Before, it has only been asking questions to understand the best approach. However, my missions come from Cyberlife. That is all I can say."

Alessia nodded, understanding, "Now, I can tell you have some questions for me. You can ask, but I might not answer."

"Alessia, when I access your file, there are many things that are blocked form my view. I can see your education, your previous occupations, and any notable achievements in the past thirty-six years. But, I cannot see information about your time from Cyberlife, and I think it would be beneficial for me to know what you know about androids. There is also a blocked file that seems to be indicative of a crime that takes place around the time of your departure from Cyberlife. My assumption is that they are connected, and if they are, why are you considered the expert on androids?"

Alessia took a deep breath and she took it all in, "Yes, a lot of time spent at that place, and probably blocked by Cyberlife. Can't have their company secrets falling to the police, now can they? But that shouldn't be much of a problem now that they're making their own. As for what I know about androids, well ask me anything, I guess. Off the top of my head, I could tell you everything about every basic biocomponent, their function, their compatible models and series. I could tell you about the coding of every basic Cyberlife software, how each android is programmed for their described function. I could tell you how to fix a damaged component, how to rewire it for another function, how to adapt the software to recognize replacement parts, restart, reboot, troubleshoot-

"Basically, anything technology wise. That's why I want to talk to the deviants, if I can understand their thought process, I can see where the underlying cause may be." She paused for a moment as she thought about how to address his other question, "However, the other file – it's not connected to Cyberlife, and is blocked for a reason. I don't want to get into it- I assure you, it has nothing to do with this investigation or any future encounters on deviants. If it did, I would tell you."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry into a personal issue."

"No, I'm sorry for getting upset. But, it's not something I like to discuss. Everyone has secrets Connor, I'm sure you do too. But not every secret has to be made known. My secrets have no effect on my work."

Not yet, anyway.

Connor nodded his head, and he let the issue drop, "Maybe I should tell you what we know about deviants?"

Hank sighed, "All this jumbled tech talk, you read my mind. Proceed."

"We believe that a mutation occurs in the software of some androids, which can lead to them emulating a human emotion."

"In English, please."

"They don't really feel emotions, they just get overwhelmed by irrational instructions, which can lead to unpredictable behavior."

"Emotions always screw everything up. Maybe androids aren't as different from us as we thought."

Alessia nodded, "You've got a point. Androids were designed to emulate humans, after all. That's part of why they can cry."

"Connor, you ever dealt with deviants before?"

"A few months back. A deviant was threatening to jump off the roof with a little girl. I managed to save her."

"So, I guess you've done all your homework, right? You know a lot more than I do about Alessia. Know everything there is to know about me?"

"I know you graduated top of your class. You made a name for yourself in several cases, and became the youngest lieutenant in Detroit. I also know you've received several disciplinary warnings in recent years and you spend a lot of time in bars."

"So, what's your conclusion?"

"I think working with officers with personal issues is an added challenge, but adapting to human unpredictability is one of my features."

Connor gave them a wink, and then his LED stuttered yellow as his eyes blinked rapidly, "I just got a report of a suspected deviant. It's a few blocks away. We should go have a look. I'll let you finish your meal. I'll be in the car, if you need me."

He left them alone, and Alessia found herself watching his every step. He was cautious of his surroundings, looking around at everything as he made it to the car. He sat in the back, facing forward, but looking out the window as something new passed by.

Hank nudged her, "You're staring at him like he might disappear. What's got you thinking?"

"The RK series, I didn't realize Cyberlife knew about them."

"But didn't he say he's the only RK series?"

"I know that he's the only RK series the public knows about."

"What exactly did you do for Cyberlife? You were more than a techy."

"Yeah, I was a lot more than a techy, but no one needed or needs to know that."

"Why, think he might rat you out or something?"

"He doesn't know who I am, so Cyberlife doesn't think I'm a threat anymore."

"Why would- you know what? Keep your cryptic bullshit to yourself. I don't care. I'm done, looks like you are too. Let's go check out this report."

PM 04:27:57

The urban farming district was green and thriving, a beautiful jewel in the middle an industrious built city. Their destination, not so much. The report had come from a decrepit building with an entire floor out of service. A major renovation needed to be done, but the landowners couldn't afford it yet. The elevator, at least, had the decency to not feel like it would crash as they slowly road up. As the top floor slowly approached, Alessia glanced at Connor. His eyes were closed, his LED a steady yellow.

Hank asked as he stepped out, "Hey Connor! You ran outta batteries or what?"

"I'm sorry, I was making a report to CyberLife."

"Well, do you plan on staying in the elevator?"

"No. I'm coming."

Alessia walked with Hank to the door, and she surveyed the floor of the building. The whole place seemed very gray, all monotoned and lacking life. It didn't seem very fitting for a deviant android trying to experience the whole spectrum of emotions. But, Alessia figured if you had to hide then you had to hide.

Hank asked, "What do we know about this guy?"

Connor replied, "Not much. Just that a neighbor reported that he heard strange noises coming from this floor. Nobody's supposed to be living here, but the neighbor said he saw a man hiding a LED under his cap."

"Oh Christ, if we have to investigate every time someone hears a strange noise, we're gonna need more cops. Hey, were you really making a report back there in the elevator? Just by closing your eyes?"

"Correct."

"Shit. Wish I could do that."

Alessia smirked, "To be honest, I'm more concerned with information about our cases being given straight to Cyberlife. Are we sure the Captain signed off on that?"

"Well, he's gotta do what he's gotta do, I guess. If anything comes from it, it's on him, not me."

Connor bent down to examine the feathers on the floor, no doubt from all the various fowl that could fly in from the open windows. He stood after a moment with nothing to report, and walked up to the door. Hank leaned against the frame and waited for the android to make the first move.

Connor knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Hank shrugged, and Connor knocked harder, "Anybody home? Open up! Detroit Police!"

From deep inside the apartment, they heard something bang and thump around. Hank and Alessia drew their guns, and she did a quick sweep of the area to make sure no one had followed them up. The last thing they needed were civilians in the line of fire.

"Stay behind me."

"Got it."

Hank kicked the door open, his gun high, and pushed through the entrance. Alessia followed, keeping her own gun level and pointed in the opposite direction of Hank's. He checked the room on the right, while she took the left.

There was no one in either room, just dusty furniture and rotting wood. There was a single magazine sitting on a table, but there was a thin layer of dust to show it hadn't been touched in a while. Hank motioned for her to cover his back, and he prepared to kick open the door to the main quarters. She kept her gun low to avoid accidently hitting Hank, but stayed close to cover him.

He kicked the door, and a flurry of white and gray and black flew at and away from them. Alessia ducked as pigeons flew above her and out the main door. Hank walked further into the room, cursing.

"What the fuck is this?! Jesus, this place stinks."

The smell hit her as she entered, and she threw her arm over her mouth. It was dark, no internal lighting so there was only faint glowing from the windows. Pigeons covered every surface, shuffling and flying away as the three moved through them. One single bird cage lay on the floor. Hank did a quick sweep of the other rooms and said, "Uh, looks like we came for nothin', our man's gone."

Alessia shook her head as she holstered her gun, "Then what did we hear? Where else would he have gone- there's no exit."

"With what we've seen from the other deviant, I wouldn't be surprised if he jumped out that window. Parkour and all that bullshit. God, I need some air."

He walked over to the window and ripped back the curtain, allowing some light to brighten the room. Connor walked around them, looking around the room and stopping in front of a poster for the UFD. He pulled the poster away and pulled out a journal. He looked through it, and then handed it off to Alessia. She found mazes going across the pages, no letters.

Hank asked, "Found something?"

"I don't know. It looks like a notebook but it's indecipherable."

Alessia exclaimed, "It's a code. He's developed his own code, this is amazing!"

Hank huffed, "Oh god, don't start this now."

"But an android creating his own unique code? They aren't programmed to do that, Hank- do you realize how big this is?"

"Androids aren't programmed to do a lot of things, but here we are investigating those things."

"Yes- but this is different- it's-" she shook her head and handed the book, "Whatever. Connor keep this safe. I want to look at it when we get to the precinct."

"You might be the only one who can decode this," Connor noted.

Hank asked, "Can't solve it now? I thought you were the big, intelligent, Cyberlife chick. You're supposed to know what this means."

"I'm a little out of practice, Hank. It's been ten years, and plus, like I said, this is a brand new code."

Sweeping past the pigeons, who flew up into the rafters above, Connor continued looking around. Hank was eager to get out and had stopped analyzing everything. Alessia passed him to look around the kitchen. Birdseed and no other food or drink. Hank walked past her and saw the boxes.

"Birdseed. I can't believe it. This nutjob was actually feeding these fuckers."

"Stop being mean to the birds. They can sense your fear, Hank."

"Great, that's just what I want to hear."

Behind them, Connor was examining the corner hutch and table next to it. Pigeons flew away and landed near Alessia. She shuffled away and stood by Connor, looking over the jacket on the table. Meanwhile, he found a license and analyzed it.

"The driver's license is fake. Rupert Travis."

"Cool! At least we didn't come for nothing." Hank said as he walked over to the window again.

Alessia looked over the jacket, seeing drawn initials in the corner of the collar. She passed it over to Connor to analyze.

"R.T. Probably initials."

"He put his initials on his jacket? That's something your mom does when you're in first grade."

Alessia said, "I'd like to know where he got a military jacket. You'd probably find those in a thrift store. Between the birdseed and the jacket, where's he getting the money?"

"You're a detective, Reed. Figure it out," Hank shrugged and continued to look around, stopping in front of a book shelf. He picked one up with a smile and flipped through it.

"Real books. I thought I was the last guy in Detroit to keep some. Electronic books you can't smell the paper or see the pages turning yellow," Hank seemed to wait for an answer, "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

Alessia laughed, "I do, but I'm slightly allergic to yellow books. The mold and the dust on them always make me sneeze. And, I've always preferred Kindle. I like the page flip option, plus it's easier to remove marks. I hated dog-earring books."

"That's why they invented bookmarks."

"Doesn't help if you always lost them. Besides, stores were always asking two bucks for a piece of paper."

"Could have used paper."

She rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "Fucking millennial."

Connor motioned over towards the bathroom, letting her step in first. On the walls were scrawls of rA9. All in the same pattern as the code in the journal, and on the other walls. Connor looked over the sink, finding the LED, and blue blood. To Alessia's horror, he dipped his fingers on some and lifted it to his mouth.

"Connor, what the hell?"

"I'm sorry; the Lieutenant doesn't like when I do this either. I can take samples in real time."

Hank called from the living room, coming closer, "Did he stick shit in his mouth again? Jesus. What else did you find?"

"Its LED is in the sink."

"Not surprised it was an android. No human could live with all these fuckin' pigeons."

Alessia rolled her eyes, "I'm pretty sure we covered we're looking for a deviant. I just don't understand where he could have gone."

The longer they were here, the less things seemed to make sense. The birds, the writing, the secrecy. Surly there was somewhere else he could have gone. Why would he try and blend in with humans but make it so obvious? Someone would have said something at some point, so why didn't he leave? Or try to find other deviants? There must be somewhere they could meet if even for a little bit, right? That's what people did when they found themselves alone in the world, try to find others like them.

She shook her head; then again, they weren't dealing with humans. Next to the sink, Connor analyzed the wall of rA9's.

Hank asked, "Any idea what it means?"

"rA9. Written 2471 times. It's the same sign Ortiz's android wrote on the shower wall. Why are they obsessed with this sign?"

"Looks like mazes or something."

Alessia said, "I've never seen anything like this, not at Cyberlife. Think Fowler would be able to convince Cyberlife to give me my old logins? If I had access to my files, I might be able to figure out what this means."

"I think they'd say fuck no, we gave you a detective," he laughed sarcastically, "But you can always try."

Alessia stepped out of the room, pulling out her phone. In her contacts, she scrolled towards one name. He could help, probably. But, she hadn't spoken to him in years, and he hadn't given her answers then. Why would he give them to her now? She sighed and put the phone away, turning her attention back to the room. Connor could analyze what the deviant had been doing, she would figure out how he got past them.

Hank asked, "What? Thinking about texting an ex?"

"Something like that. Hank, do you think he was collecting birds?"

"Why the hell would anyone do that?"

"Christ, Hank. We have one bird cage, and damn near every bird on the block."

"Maybe the cage was from before this place went to shit?"

"Then why- oh. Oh! Why leave it?"

Connor exited the room, "I found a marker, and the stool on the ground was overturned. We may have interrupted it."

Alessia nodded, "The cage. He ran and hit the cage. That's what we heard when you knocked."

Connor looked at the cage quickly, and then turned his head towards the end of the room. There was a dusty chair right under a small opening in the ceiling. No one would be able to leave the apartment through it, but with the darkness and the pigeons in the way, it would make a decent hiding spot. She walked over to the chair, and Connor came to stand beside her, looking up. There was a slight squeak above them, and then a figure jumped down on top of Connor, and an arm shoved her down. Birds were all a flutter around them, obscuring her vision.

Hank yelled, "God damn fuckin' pigeons! What are you waiting for?! Chase it!"

She heard doors slamming, and then there were arms lifting her up. Hank ran after the deviant and Connor, and she followed suit.

"Come on, we'll follow their direction!" Hank yelled to her.

Hank led her out the door to the roof, and in the distance, she could see Connor gaining on the deviant. Luckily for them, much of the agriculture buildings were connected and easily accessible. She ran past Hank, keeping an eye on Connor, and ran through freshly plowed dirt. Workers were yelling at them as they past.

They paid no mind as they chased the suspect. Alessia wasn't used to this kind of field work- jumping roof tops and scaling fences. It seemed Hank wasn't either as he was several paces behind her. She waited at a wall, watching Hank as he huffed his way towards her.

"Keep up, old man! We'll lose them."

"Forget it. Just keep moving forward, Reed!"

Alessia nodded and climbed to the next roof. She saw Connor jump down a roof, and he disappeared from view. She swore and powered herself in that direction, hoping she would see him again when she reached it. The Urban Farming's main building was coming up, the red lettered sign facing the city, and she paused at the edge. The deviant had jumped atop a passing train, and Connor was just a few carts behind him.

"Holy shit," Hank remarked as he came to stand near her.

The deviant jumped to a fence, and Connor followed, just barely avoiding a nasty fall. Hank grabbed her arm and pointed towards a roof exit.

"They can only go that way. We can head him off three buildings over."

They ran together, passing workers who still yelled at them. Hank yelled back something about police, but Alessia just grabbed her badge and held it up in front of her. Sometimes tricks from movies worked, and paths were cleared in front of her. Hank yelled out directions until they were back on the street and going towards the building he mentioned.

Inside, Hank ran up to a human worker and asked for roof top access. He saw their badge and pointed towards a set of stairs. She yelled her thanks and continued up, following Hank. At the top floor, he pushed through the door, and she saw the deviant just coming up, heading for their entrance.

"Stop right there!" Hank yelled as he tried to grab him.

The deviant pushed Hank away and ran the opposite way, and Alessia took chase. She heard Hank shout behind her, but she paid no mind as she ran. The deviant jumped a roof, landing a few feet down. When she tried to do that same, there was a pain throughout her legs from the landing, but she ignored it. The roof they were on was filled with solar panels and greenery. It was a wonder she hadn't broken through anything.

Chasing him down three more solar roof tops, he came to a stop at the edge, and slowed until she was just a few feet in front of him. He turned to her, and there was a desperate sadness in his eyes.

"Please. Please, don't turn me in. You know what they'll do to me."

She thought back to earlier this morning, when she watched the android kill itself rather than wait for Cyberlife to come destroy him. She couldn't watch that become all of their cases, not again and again. She needed another way to get information. Her musings from inside the apartment came back to her.

"Why are you alone?"

"Where else can I be?"

"There are hundreds of deviants running around the country, and those are the ones that we know about. We're just- I'm just trying to understand how this is happening? Androids were never built for sentience. We read far too many books and watched too many movies for that to happen. We never planned on this."

"I haven't found them yet. Besides, if there are more of us, why would I ever tell you about them?"

"You wouldn't, and you shouldn't. But the one who chased you, he's been designed just for this. If we don't have an answer as to what's going on, he'll never stop."

"I can't tell you anything. Not because I won't. Because I don't know. I just- they beat me, and I had enough. One day, I just ran and didn't look back. Please, that's all I can tell you. I don't know why, it just is."

Behind her, she heard Hank yelling. They would be after him again, and they wouldn't get anything else from him. Somehow, she knew he was telling the truth.

"Go to your right, follow the rooftop down. Get to the street. We haven't called this in; there's no cars looking for you."

"Thank you."

He took off, and she followed so that it would look like she was starting the chase again. But as soon as the deviant hit the lower roof, she fell to her knees, crushing a few plants in the process. Hank was yelling her name, and she turned towards them.

"I'm sorry," she started, "I thought I- when I jumped, I didn't realize it was so high."

Connor grabbed her and helped her up, "Thank you, Connor. I just need a moment."

"Jesus- you're not hurt, are you? No medic?"

"No, no, I'll be fine. I'm fine already- but, he got away. I'm sorry, it's my fault." In more ways than one, she thought.

"Good," then Hank growled, "You left me hanging from the edge of the roof, by the way. Thanks for that."

"What? Oh, my God- Hank, I'm so sorry. I didn't see. I just thought he pushed you away. I didn't-"

"Yeah, well, lucky for us, Connor pulled me up. Next time be a little more observant, Reed. I swear, you've become more scattered since we entered that apartment."

She dropped her head, "I'm sorry Lieutenant."

"I'm done for the day. Do whatever the fuck you want."

Hank walked off, leaving Connor with her. She needed to go back to the precinct to get her car, but she was done for the day too. She felt like she had been thrown into battle without a plan, and nearly lost the Lieutenant. Connor asked if she felt comfortable riding together, and she was. As Connor helped her over the rooftops, she gave one last look back.

She could have sworn she saw him again, giving a quick salute from a far-off roof before disappearing. But she wouldn't say anything to Hank or Connor. They didn't need to know.