Hi!

In this chapter, CyberLife's floor numbers are wrong, and I know it. I just changed them for the story. (Let's just say that Vincent changed a few things around.)

Thanks for reading!


Chapter 12 – CyberLife

June 2039

Laure arrived at the tower a few hours after she left her apartment. It had been a long time since she put a foot in the tower, and she didn't like the feeling. A lot of memories were closed inside those walls, and she knew they were all going to come crashing down upon her when she entered. She took a deep breath to calm her down and sighed, it needed to be done.

Laure passed the first guards before heading inside. She showed her ID and told them that Vincent was waiting for her. The guard nodded before escorting her to his office.

CyberLife hadn't change a lot since she left it. It was pretty much exactly how she remembered it to be. She looked at the floor numbers go up and closed her eyes as a few recognizable numbers appeared. Laure knew where her workshop used to be, and where malfunctioning androids were dismantled. She hated those places.

Soon they reach Vincent's office and the guards waited at the door. Laure walked in slowly and waited as Vincent turned his chair. Laure hadn't taken the time to really look at the man before today. His blond hair was short and brushed into a faux hawk, and his cold grey eyes were emotionless as he stared at her. He was tall with an athletic build, and his voice was deep and gravely as he talked.

Vincent walked towards her and gave her an evil smiled. He lifted her chin with the tip of his fingers and made her look up at him.

"So, you finally join me," he said slowly, pausing at every word.

Her blue eyes met his grey ones before faking a sweet smile.

"It was just a matter of time, Vincent," she replied.

"You had a plan to destroy my androids, what makes me believe that you don't want to do that anymore. You could be here to spy on me. Am I right, sweetheart?"

"I apologize for the TS300, I hope it didn't have too much value."

"Don't worry, sweetheart. He was just one out of the thousand we have here," Vincent said as he moved his hand to her cheek. "Do you want me to show you around? I've made a couple of adjustments."

Laure nodded as she tilted her head towards his palm. It needed to be done. She needed to gain his trust. She felt like she was going to be sick…

They left the office and Vincent led her to the elevator. One guard followed them, as the other one stayed to guard Vincent's office.

She went a few floors below and Laure instantly regretted following him. Deviants were screaming as their legs and arms were ripped off. Somewhere getting burn or gunned down. Laure tried to stay calm, but all she could see was android's hell. Vincent still had his stupid smile on his face as they moved forward.

"My androids are specially built to avoid any corruption by the deviants. The one you got didn't have the new installment. That is why you were able to get to it," Vincent explained. "I ordered them to conduct experiments on the deviants, but now that you are here, you'll be of great help."

"What do you want me to do?" Laure asked.

"I expect you to work on a device that can reprogram deviants," Vincent told her. "You'll have your own office, don't worry."

"The deviants, where do they go afterward?" Laure asked.

Vincent looked down at her with narrowed eyes. She kept looking up for a moment before he smiled and started walking towards the elevator again. They reached one of the floor 42 and Laure could feel a shiver travel through her body.

"They're thrown out the windows and sent to the junkyard. The trucks are supposed to arrive in a few hours," Vincent explained.

Laure couldn't believe what she was seeing. Thousand of androids were laying at the bottom of a pit. The walls still had fresh thirium on them, meaning that a few androids had been thrown just a few minutes ago. Legs, arms, and heads without a body were scattered in the pit. Some still had their skin while others were white and grey. This was horrible.

Looking around, she noticed something strange. This was the only place that didn't have cameras. She also noticed the windows above the pit and frowned. This was a good way to infiltrate the tower without being noticed.

"So those are all deviants?" Laure asked coldly.

"Indeed."

"Right where they belong," she replied with a fake smile.

"Glad we're on the same page."

They walked back to the elevator without saying a word. Floor 42, she needed to remember that. Vincent pressed the number -20 and took a step back. They reached the floor without any problem and walked out with the guards following them. They walked towards a giant room that Laure recognized all too well.

"I'm guessing you know this place," Vincent told her.

"My office," she simply stated.

"I made sure you had everything you need if there's something wrong call me. As of now, I'm going back to my floor. Goodbye, for now, sweetheart," Vincent said as he brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers.

She was definitely going to be sick…

XXX

Connor was sitting on the couch, holding Sumo tightly. He had sent a text to Laure from Hank's phone, but she hadn't answer yet. Normally, she always answered. Connor knew something had happened to her. So now he was holding Sumo and trying not to panic.

Hank arrived with a burger in his hands and sat in his chair. He stared at Connor for a short minute while eating his lunch.

"Alright, you can't keep doing that," Hank said, pulling Connor out of his thoughts.

"Doing what?" Connor asked.

"What you're doing right now, you can't keep sobbing about a thing that might or might not happen," Hank told him.

"Hank, I… I'm scared,"

"And I get that, but you need to move past it. I know you're sad and scared, but you need to get over it."

"How did you do it?" Connor asked softly.

"Huh?"

"Get over it. You got over Cole, how did you do it?" he explained.

"Laure's not dead, kid…" Hank said softly.

"What if she was?"

"If she was, and I really mean the if. Then it would take time. Years even, but one day you'll meet someone who can show you the light again. That someone will give you a purpose, a reason to keep fighting. The memories will never go away, but they'll give you something else to worry about… They'll keep you on the right track and make sure you'll be alright… They'll be there when nobody else was… they'll become your family… even if they don't have the same blood as you do…" Hank said softer and softer by the sentence.

"Hank?" Connor replied softly.

"Thank you, Connor… really, thank you."

Silence fell on them for a long moment while no one talked. It took a few minutes for Connor to realized who Hank was talking about, but when he did, he could only smile. If something happened to Laure, Hank would be there for him. Just like he had been there for Hank.

"That was depressing. Alright, stand up we're leaving," Hank suddenly said as he stood up quickly.

Connor pushed Sumo away gently and followed Hank closely. They sat in Hank's car after locking the door.

"Where are we going?" Connor asked.

"Anywhere."