A two week lull of inactivity regarding deviant suspects or crimes revolving around androids in general had left Connor and Hank with plenty of time to catch up on their paperwork at the precinct, but it also left them with too much free time on their hands. Free time could be a good thing, but it could also be a boring thing; especially when you're a seasoned detective looking to keep his mind preoccupied, or an android still brimming with a curious need to fully adapt to his new work environment.

"There is a cold case that Chris had found pertaining to a suspect who could in fact be an android." Connor sent the file from his terminal over to Hank's for the detective to see for himself. "Perhaps we could investigate during this rare moment of reprieve."

"Sure, why not? The suspect and this missing android look too similar to be ignored." Hank looked into the details quickly as he leaned back in his chair Folding his hands casually behind his head Hank stretched out his tightening back and sighed. "Besides it sounds a lot better than sitting on my ass doing nothing all day long."

Connor nodded in approval as he summarized the depth of the case with cybernetic efficiency. "The suspect in question had reportedly broken into several cemeteries at night, and had also been reported as breaking into abandoned buildings at night. No theft. No vandalism. Seemingly no motivation or crime beyond that of trespassing."

"You have my full attention."

"The android in question is registered as 'Richard'," Connor continued casually from where he sat. "the last known address of the android is located eight blocks West of the precinct."

"Then that's where we'll start." Straightening up briefly Hank rose from his chair and pulled his car keys from his pocket. "Let's go check it out."

The apartment complex of the address mentioned in the case file wasn't the nicest in the city, but it was far better than the usual rundown slums that deviants had often been forced to seek shelter in. It was a complex that housed numerous human families as opposed to being android exclusive, which meant that Richard had once belonged to a family before he went missing.

After speaking with the family who had initially purchased Richard four years prior Hank and Connor learned that Richard had disappeared shortly after his original owner passed away from old age, and had failed to adjust to living with the deceased man's extended family.

"I can't say anything definite, but," Hank stated as he and Connor left the complex and returned to the car with a few more details to add to the case at hand. "I don't peg that family as being abusive to anyone, even an android."

"I agree." Connor's voice was flat and his gaze distant as he opened his car door.

"Something on your mind?" The keenly trained detective inquired as they returned to their respective seats, and he turned the key in the ignition. "You like you're trying to solve a puzzle without all the pieces."

"At the time of Richard's disappearance deviancy was only just beginning." Connor gave Hank a mournful glance from where he sat. "Perhaps Richard was becoming deviant and experiencing new emotions for the first time at the time of his original owner's passing. One of which emotion could've been grief."

"Grief can be a real bitch to handle. I can't imagine what it'd be like for someone who never felt any emotions before to have to suddenly deal with the heartbreak of losing someone they were close to."

"I believe Richard was unable to grasp the concept of death, unable to cope with the loss and had a form of emotional breakdown. With deviancy at the time being seen as nothing more than an error he would've been too afraid to ask for help out of fear of being labeled and defective machine and subsequently destroyed."

"And you think he broke into the cemeteries because he couldn't accept that his original owner had died, or maybe he was still confused by death itself. And then he stayed in abandoned buildings just to keep shelter for the night."

"Correct."

"Shit, if that's the case then this guy isn't a criminal, he's lost."

"Yes. If we can find him we can take him to New Jericho Tower for shelter. I'm certain Markus will be able to help him."

"Any idea where he'd be might be? This guy's been missing for well over a year now."

"All of the buildings that he had broken into were in close proximity to cemeteries. If we find the cemetery where his owner was laid to rest then we can narrow down our search to abandoned buildings in a three block radius around the cemetery."

"Sounds good. Give me the address of the cemetery."

A lone, decrepit two-story house sitting idle by the aforementioned cemetery was just waiting for a bulldozer, and was the only building within the search radius that would logically serve as an ideal hideout for an emotionally unstable deviant. The property was fenced off from the public for safety concerns but that didn't stop vandals, thieves, junkies and runaways from using it to their advantage while trying to keep off the street for the night.

Hank stepped outside of the car and looked at the building with visible disgust. "Nice place..."

Connor pointed to a portion of the chainlink fence that had been clipped open with wirecutters and pushed the weakened fence up enough to bend down and crawl under. "This must be how the vandals gain access to the property."

"Of course they cut the fence at the bottom." Hank grumbled as he uncomfortably slipped under the loosened fence while Connor held it open for him. Dusting off his knees and hands Hank followed Connor up to the house warily. "Why don't they ever cut it from the top?"

The front door of the house was boarded up, as were the windows. But one window next to the front door had two of the boards removed creating a gap just wide enough for a person, or an android, to slip through with only moderate difficulty. Cautiously Connor peered through the opening in the window and caught sight of a figure moving around in the shadows. Motioning toward the window with the wave of his hand Connor stepped back and let Hank look inside as well.

Even in the dim lighting of the old house the two detectives could see that the android was dressed in old, ragged clothes covered in dirt. The cuffs of his shirt sleeves and pant legs were all worn out and ragged from years of constant wear and tear.

Following Connor's gaze Hank's eyes fell on the same flutter of movement. "Someone is in there." Hank agreed as he approached the door and prepared to kick it down. "If they try to run get ready to make a grab."

"Got it." Connor easily pulled down the boards barricading the door one at a time, placing the removed boards up against the side of the house. "Ready."

Taking one step back Hank swung his leg forward and placed a firm kick against the door under the knob causing the aged and neglected hinges on the frame to snap off with a loud 'crash'. The figure inside fell backward and pressed its back up against the wall out of fear of the two approaching detectives. The distinct red flashing of an L.E.D. confirmed that the figure was in fact an android hiding in the building.

"Detroit Police." Hank announced firmly as he entered the building, keeping his gun holstered to prevent any unfortunate accidents. "We're looking for an android named 'Richard'."

The android panicked and ran up the staircase to the second floor and Connor was right after him without hesitation.

"Stop!" Connor shouted as he followed the suspect to a bedroom at the far end of the corridor that stretched the full length of the floor. "You are NOT under arrest, we just need to ask you some questions."

As Connor ran into the room after the suspect the panicking android had unknowingly armed himself with a metal pipe that had fallen through the decaying wall and swung it as hard as he could at Connor's right side and chest as he entered the room after the suspect. Collapsing to the ground in breathless pain Connor wrapped his arms around his chest. Quickly he rolled onto his side and began wheezing in a desperate bid to catch his breath. Connor's L.E.D. flashed red rapidly as his Thirium pump began to race from the intense pain and inability to take a deep breath with searing pain in his chest.

The android stepped around Connor with the effective pipe still in his hand. As he lifted the blunt instrument up over his head with the intent to strike again a gruff voice from the doorway stopped him before he had the chance to attack Connor for a second time.

"FREEZE." Hank ordered as he pointed his now unholstered gun. "Drop the pipe. Step away from my partner."

Obediently the frightened deviant dropped the pipe and looked down at Connor, noting the red L.E.D. blinking in his right temple. "P-Partner? This android... He is your friend?"

"Yeah, he is." Hank stepped into the room and knelt beside Connor while keeping his gun aimed at the suspect. Putting his free hand down on Connor's chest he could feel Connor's racing heart and struggling breaths. "And you just assaulted an officer."

"I-I'm sorry! I was... I was afraid!"

Connor managed to grab onto Hank's arm and hoarsely speak up. "...Accident Hank." Panting breaths stalled his words, but he managed to get the message out audibly. "He... He reacted to... a threat."

Hank sighed and holstered his gun at his hip while he waited for Connor caught his breath. "Are you Richard?"

"Y-Yes. I am."

"And you were once the android to a Mister James Harrison?"

"Y-Yeah... He's my friend."

"You ran off when Mr. Harrison died, right?"

"I... I don't know what... to do. James... he took care of me."

"Yeah, that's what we figured." Hank lifted his hand from Connor's chest as the android caught his breath and slowly sat up on the floor beside him. Placing his hand on Connor's shoulder Hank held the injured android steady under a light grip. "You were reported missing, that's why we're here."

"I'm... I'm not missing. I just... don't want to be with... other humans."

"Richard, listen to us."Connor kept his arm wrapped around his chest as Hank offered his hand and helped him to stand up from the floor carefully. "It's okay..." Connor wheezed painfully. Taking a moment to clear his throat before he began again. "We can take you to an android sanctuary. You won't have to hide in abandoned buildings anymore."

"S-Sanctuary?"

"Yes. New Jericho Tower."

"No humans?"

"No. No humans reside there."

"And... you'll take me there?"

"Yes." Connor confirmed sincerely, his L.E.D. cycling from red to yellow. "Please, come with us."

Richard nodded frantically as he took a step forward, his eyes warily watching Hank as he moved and apologized profusely to Connor. "I'm... sorry. I didn't want to hurt you."

"It's alright." Connor accepted the apology and followed behind Richard as he walked down the staircase back to the ground floor of the house. "I understand why you did it."

"Are you... angry with me?"

"No. It was a misunderstanding."

Hank approved of Connor's reaction and allowed his partner to take the lead. Seeing as Richard was still mistrusting of humans and had already shown that he was willing to lash out if he felt threatened, it was in everyone's best interest for Hank to keep his distance for the time being. It wasn't everyday that they managed to help a person in need, rather than just slapping cuffs on their wrists, and Hank wanted it to stay that way.

Slipping back under the fence Hank after the two androids noticed that Connor was moving much slower than usual, his arm never leaving his chest as he awkwardly ducked down and passed under the fence to follow Richard to the car parked just a few yards down the street. Opening the rear passenger side door of the car with a shaking arm Connor stepped back and let Richard climb in the back under his own free will.

"Are we ready to go?" Hank asked warily as Connor closed the door behind Richard.

"Yes." Nodding where he stood Connor's left rubbed lightly over the right side of his upper chest. "There is nothing else here that requires our attention."

"Okay. Let's get going then."

The drive to New Jericho Tower was uncomfortably quiet and tense. Richard was sitting in the backseat behind Connor with his eyes fixed on Hank throughout the entire trip out of lingering fear. Connor himself had his eyes closed as he initiated his self-healing program and focused it on the point of impact made against his chest by the metal pipe.

"Right here." Hank stated calmly as he pulled the car through the temporarily lowered barricade of the long drive connecting Belle Isle to the rest of the city. "This is where all androids are welcome. No humans, with the exception of myself, are permitted on this property without special clearance approved by the leader of New Jericho himself."

Richard's eyes finally left Hank as he looked at the staggering tower at the end of the drive through the front windshield. "And... I can stay here? Forever?"

"Yup. This is your home for as long as you want it to be."

"Th-Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Parking in front of the tower Hank nodded at Josh who was standing outside waiting for Richard's arrival. The cybernetic communications between Connor and New Jericho had proven more beneficial than either party had anticipated.

Richard stared at Josh curiously. "Is that... the leader?"

"No, that's Josh." Hank replied softly with a slight turn of his head. "He's a good friend of the leader, his name is Markus."

"Oh..."

"It's okay, go on." Hank insisted as he watched the android's hand hover tentatively over the door handle.

It took Richard almost a full minute before he finally pulled on the handle and opened the door. Once outside the vehicle Richard stepped stared at Josh for a moment before he took another step forward.

Through the windshield Hank watched as Josh told Richard something that he couldn't hear and then watched as Richard flung his arms around Josh to give the android a big hug. Josh patted Richard's back and gave both Hank and Connor a nod to indicate that it was safe for them to leave.

"You did the right thing, Connor." Hank confirmed as he slowly turned the car around to leave. "Richard didn't belong behind bars, he belongs with other androids who understand him."

"Yes." Connor's eyes opened slowly, his L.E.D. remaining yellow as his self-healing program struggled to repair the blunt force damage caused by the pipe. "I'm glad we could help him."

"Too bad you took a pipe to the chest in the process; but then again no good deed goes unpunished."

"We should file the report back at the precinct. Close the case, and give Mr. Harrison's family some answers."

"Yeah. Hopefully no one did anything stupid while we were out on that case. I'm not in the mood to clean up any more messes."

Connor shook his head a little as a faint grin appeared on his face. "Was Gavin on call today?"

Hank laughed at the comment as he pulled the car down the long, singular drive connecting New Jericho Tower to the rest of the city. It was an unusual day but it was also a good day considering the fact they saved a deviant from living in fear on the streets. Too bad for Connor it resulted in some physical damage in the process.

Fortunately the precinct had remained relatively quiet with no further android incidents being reported during Hank and Connor's absence from the area. Chris thanked the duo for solving the cold case and made sure Captain Fowler knew that they had willingly volunteered their services, going above and beyond their usual routines in the process.

"Done!" Hank announced to his partner as he finished typing up the report on his terminal. "How about you?"

"Finished." Connor confirmed as he powered off his terminal for the night.

"Great. Let's get out of here."

"Very well." Connor rose from his chair and immediately winced as the motion caused a searing pain to shoot through his chest.

Hank watched as Connor wrapped his left arm protectively around his chest and studied the android's reaction carefully. "Still hurting?"

"...Yes." Connor confirmed as he took a in deep breath and resumed to slowly walk toward the front entrance of the precinct. "My self-healing program is effective, though the process still takes time."

"As long as you don't fall apart on the ride home, it can take as much time as it needs."

"I'm injured, Hank. Not fragile."

"You're also stubborn. Ten bucks says you're hiding how badly you're hurt from me."

"I know better than to bet against you."

"And I know you better than you think I do."

Keeping a straight face during the entire ride home Connor feigned contentment while his chest ached at him profusely. Having already suffered so many on-the-job accidents and having endured so much trauma during their year long partnership Connor didn't want to worry Hank further with the extent of his current injury. The damage wasn't critical, or even dangerous, but it was proving itself to be a hindrance to Connor's movement speed and overall range of motion.

"You still good?" Hank asked with a knowing voice as he stepped out of the parked car and waited for Connor to join him.

"Y-Yeah." Connor had been so preoccupied with his injury that he hadn't even noticed that they had arrived home. Holding his breath Connor opened the door and stepped out of the vehicle without showing any sign of pain on his face. "I'm alright."

"After running through that rancid old house I need a shower." The detective dryly commented as he walked through the front door and pet Sumo's head as the St. Bernard ran up to his side to greet him. Taking off his coat he hung it on the hook by the door and made his way toward the hallway. "Do me a favor and let Sumo out for a while, will ya'?"

"No problem." Connor tried to take off his own jacket but immediately winced and froze in place as the motion caused him physical pain.

"You okay?" Hank watched the android's L.E.D. flash to red then back to yellow from where he stood at the end of the hallway.

"Yes." The android lied to try to keep Hank from worrying about him. "I'm fine."

"Yeah, sure you are..."

Connor again held his breath as he carefully slipped his arms out of the sleeves of his jacket to hang it on the hook next to Hank's coat. Ignoring his pain Connor attempted to appear as normal as possible throughout the remainder of the evening.

"Okay, Sumo." Connor opened the front door and stepped aside to let the large dog walk through past him. "Outside."

As Connor watched the dog circle around the front lawn he leaned up against the siding of the house and ran a self-diagnostic to fully identify the source of his pain and the severity of the overall damage.

The plastimetal structure that composed his what was considered his entire skeletal frame had been cracked by the pipe. Every time his ventilation biocomponents took in a breath the pain would flare up, but turning off the respiration program would cause him to overheat during the night. The lack of temperature control would also delay his self-healing program's progress.

Upper right chest structural integrity compromised: eighty-four percent functional capacity. No biocomponent damage detected. Minor Thirium loss detected.

"Simple damage." Connor sighed to himself as he finished running the diagnostic, and let Sumo back inside as the dog returned to the front door. "Why is it taking so long to heal?"

Returning to the livingroom Connor sat down on the couch and tried to relax, but the pain in his chest made the effort too strenuous to accomplish. Connor leaned forward on the couch with his arm wrapped around his chest as he sucked in a breath between his teeth to try to find a more comfortable position in which to sit.

Insisting that his injury wasn't as severe as his system was indicating was proving itself to be a pointless endeavor that was working against Connor's favor.

"I knew it." Hank stated suddenly as he stood behind the couch and made Connor jump a little in surprise. "Alright, out with it."

"Hank... It's not-"

"Shut up." Walking around to the front of the couch Hank finished running a towel through his silver locks and draped it casually around his neck. "You're hurting, so level with me, kid. How bad?"

Accepting that he was in too much pain to deny his injury any longer Connor begrudgingly confessed to Hank what his self-diagnostic program had identified as the problem, and the truth that he was unsure why it was taking so long for the healing program to finish the repairs.

"The damage is not critical, it is merely uncomfortable."

"Stand up." Hank motioned with his hand for Connor to get up from the couch and stand in front of him. "Come on, on your feet."

Wincing in pain Connor stood up carefully from the couch and stood directly in front of Hank as he was instructed.

"Let me see."

Connor's brow arched in confusion at the comment. "See what?"

"Your chest. Let me see where you were hit."

"It's an internal injury, not external."

"I don't care, I want to see it for myself." Hank crossed his arms and gave Connor a stern look that made it difficult for the android to argue. "Humor me, okay?"

Pausing for a moment Connor relented and loosened his tie from around his collar. "Very well..." Slipping the dressy garment aside Connor he unbuttoned his white dress shirt to expose his chest and Hank immediately noticed a dark blue mark against Connor's skin. "Hank, I don't know what can be done to remedy this type of injury beyond that of my self-healing program."

"Damn, he got you good." Hank carefully pulled aside the fabric of Connor's shirt and eyed the large blue bruise that stretched from Connor's pectoral muscle along the side of where his ribcage would be, if he were in fact human. "I didn't know androids bruised so damn easily."

"Bruise?" Connor looked at the blue mark and lightly placed his hand over it, only to immediately retract his grip and flinch. "The plastimetal frame that composes my chest has been fractured. Thirium is leaking through the breaks and collecting beneath my artificial skin. It's happened before when you accidentally struck me in the eye during a feverish reaction."

"...Yeah. And when you were in the stupid car accident that fucked up your heartbeat thing in your abdomen." Hank remembered the sight of the dark blue bruise and on Connor's abdomen, and later seeing a faint mark under Connor's eye after he recovered from his own sickness; but he didn't think much of it back then. "Did you just notice you were bruised, kid?"

"In a way. It explains why my system had detected a minor Thirium leak earlier, despite no external evidence." Connor gave Hank a slight tilt of the head as he spoke sincerely. "It also explains why it's taking so long for my self-healing program to repair the damage. The Thirium is pooling outside the injury beneath my artificial skin rather than within it."

"Can you breathe okay?"

"I am experiencing pain," Connor finally admitted as he took in a shallow breath as if to test his own limitations. "but my respiration has not been inhibited."

"Wait right here, I'm going to get some bandages and wrap up your ribs."

"I don't have ribs."

"Shut up." Hank playfully remarked as he walked back down the hallway and opened the closet. Tossing the towel that had been around his neck into the opened bathroom door Hank began rummaging through a large first aid kit on the top shelf in the closet. "By all accounts you have a busted rib, so don't give me any glib remarks about android anatomy."

"Sorry, Hank."

"Don't be sorry." Returning with a massive bundle of thick white gauze Hank motioned for Connor to slip off his shirt entirely. "Just be still."

Connor dropped his shirt down on the couch behind him and stood as still as he could as Hank unrolled the gauze around his chest and wrapped up his injury with just enough pressure to (hopefully) prevent any more Thirium from pooling beneath Connor's artificial skin. Hank made sure to make the bandages tight, but not so tight it would make it difficult for the android to breathe normally.

"Does that help?" Hank lowered his hands as he finished his work and waited for Connor to react. The android wasn't seemingly in any additional pain and was breathing without difficulty. "You know, as much as human first aid on an android can help."

"This is... beneficial." Curiously Connor pressed his hand to the bruise beneath the bandages but didn't flinch in pain. "It has apparently aided my discomfort. The applied pressure to the leak seems to be aiding my self-healing program as well. Thank you."

"Sure, no problem." Tired and ready to relax Hank rubbed his hand through his damp hair as he walked into the kitchen to make himself a light dinner. "By the way, you owe me ten bucks!"

"But I never agreed to the bet." Connor reminded Hank sharply as he rubbed his hand at the bruised site beneath the gauze. "I have no need to honor a bet that I hadn't accepted."

"But you are living in my house, rent free." Hank reminded him emphatically with a coy stare from the next room. "What do you have to say to that, smartass?"

"You are correct." In a moment of temporary defeat Connor sat down on the couch again and gingerly slipped his arms carefully back into the sleeves of his dropped shirt. Thinking quickly Connor rebuttoned the garment and turned to look at Hank. "I'll pay you tomorrow."

...next story...