Despite being absolutely exhausted Connor was unable to sleep after dealing with the now fourteen assaults and deaths at the hands of the "Red Reaper". While Gavin had recovered from his own assault he was still weak from being so sick from the concentrated 'red ice', and was taken off the case for at least two weeks so he had the proper time to heal. Without Gavin working the case anymore the entire investigation had fallen on Connor and Hank's shoulders, which were wearing them out very on a physical and mental level frighteningly fast.
Tucking his arm under his head Connor laid back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling with his bloodshot, tired eyes and rubbed his other hand along Sumo's ears as the massive dog cuddled up at his side. Ruby was laying over his legs with her chin resting on his knee as the fatigued younger detective attempted to finally fall asleep.
Just as he was about to drift off his phone on the nightstand rang loudly and made him jump in response to the sudden sound. Making a grab for the phone Connor saw the caller I.D. belonged to North of all people, and answered quickly. "North? Hello."
'Connor, we need your help, NOW.'
Sitting up on the bed Connor was fully alert and pushing the two dogs aside so he could stand up. "What happened?"
Hank had heard the phone ring from his own bedroom and heard Connor's voice energetically speaking to North over the line. Getting up quickly he walked to the opened bedroom door and watched as Connor used one hand to get dressed in clean clothes and slip on his shoes while using the other hand to keep the phone pressed to his ear.
"I'm on my way, North. Don't answer the door for anyone but me or Hank." Hanging up the phone Connor sensed Hank in the doorway and turned to look at him with fear stricken eyes. "Hank, it's bad. Markus was assaulted by the 'Red Reaper'."
"What?!"
"Markus spread a message through the deviant community to meet with the deviant known as the 'Red Reaper' in person and they accepted. For whatever reason Markus went to meet with them alone in the renovated android church..."
"Alone? Fuck me... That was beyond stupid!"
"I know. He managed to escape from the 'Red Reaper' but collapsed from his injuries two blocks away from the same hotel where we had encountered Kara and Alice just before the revolution. He contacted North and she helped him to get inside a room to hide out."
"Why not go back to the tower?"
"She didn't tell me."
"Fuck. Alright, I'll get changed and we'll head out to the hotel to check in on them."
"...What're we going to do?"
"Everything we can, son. Markus has a plan, I don't know what it is, but I do know we need to trust him."
Driving to the hotel with a righteous sense of paranoia and trepidation Hank kept his eyes peeled for any sign of movement or shady behavior from anyone walking the sidewalks. It was raining which helped keep foot traffic light, but it didn't guarantee that criminals or violent people would stay inside during the foul weather.
"You're sure this is the hotel?" Hank asked as the car pulled into the rain slicked, dark parking lot.
"Yes. There's no reason that North would've been mistaken."
"Right. You take the lead and I'll follow."
Reaching their destination the two detectives exited the car and stepped out into the cold rain. Connor pulled his hat down lower over his head and pulled the collar of his jacket up higher to protect his throat as much as possible as he crossed over the large, relatively empty parking lot. Hank merely pulled his dark coat tighter around himself as he followed after the younger detective. Jogging up the stairs to the second floor terrace Connor knocked on the fourth door as instructed and waited for an answer.
The door opened slightly, the chain on the other side of the door barring any intrusion, and saw North's face peering through the doorway back at him.
"Connor." North shut the door just enough to unfasten the chain on the door to unlock it. "Get in here, quick!"
Moving with absolute discretion Connor slipped into the hotel room with Hank right behind him as North held the door open. As soon as the two detectives she locked the door once more. Connor's eyes immediately fell on Markus laying in the middle of the single large bed against the wall of the hotel room. A massive blue stain of Thirium soaked through the fabric of a formerly white towel that had been pressed down against the bullet wound in Markus's chest. Markus himself was breathing slowly in deep, labored breaths.
"Markus?" Connor rushed over to the bed and gently peeled back the bloodied towel to examine the catastrophic wound beneath. Blue blood seeped from the bullet hole in middle, left portion of Markus's chest; sickeningly close to the deviant leader's heart. "He's lost a lot of Thirium. Markus, can you hear me?"
Muttering under his breath Hank dragged his hand over his bearded chin despondently. "...Holy shit."
The mismatched irises revealed themselves slowly as the wounded deviant leader regained consciousness and looked up with blurry eyes at the young detective leaning over him. "Connor..." A trickle of blue blood ran from the corner of his mouth down along his chin and against the white pillow he was resting against. "...How'd you find us?"
"North called me. What she didn't tell me was that you had been shot." Connor carefully tore open the hole in Markus's shirt over the bullet wound to examine the horrific injury more closely. The bright white plastimetal frame outlined the injury from where Markus's artificial skin had receded from the trauma inflicted. As Connor pressed his fingers down around the wound Markus let out an audible gasp of pain and flinched from the pressure being applied. "Sorry about that. Can you tell me what happened?"
Markus swallowed the blue blood collecting in the back of his mouth as Connor used the corner of the towel to wipe away the trail running down his chin. Unable to answer North spoke up on his behalf.
"He was ambushed by the 'Red Reaper'." Walking over to the bed she sat down on the edge and gently pressed her hand to Markus's cool cheek empathetically. "He escaped only because an autonomous taxi drove by and he managed to get inside of it. He bailed about two blocks from here and has been hiding here ever since. One bullet struck him in the chest, another passed through his shoulder."
Nodding with understanding Connor returned his attention to Markus. "Do you know who shot you?"
"...I vaguely... saw their face."
"Enough for a confirmation on I.D.?"
"...Connor, it was... him. It was... Damien."
"Damien? The deviant who wanted to nuke the city during the revolution?"
"...Y-Yeah." Holding up his shaking hand Markus created a holographic image of Damien for Connor to see. "That's him."
"Son of... Markus," Connor's face went pale and his eyes went wide. "Damien matches the description from the security footage of the 'red ice' assaults. His background of associating with 'red ice' dealers all but confirms he's the 'Red Reaper'."
"I... I didn't know. If I knew he was so dangerous... I would've... told you."
"Shit. It's okay, Markus. We'll figure this out later." Shaking with fear and anger Connor pushed down his emotions to focus on tending to Markus. "...Where were you shot?" Connor replaced the towel and applied additional pressure as he visually tried to assess Markus's health. "We need a crime scene."
"I-Inside the... church."
"The church?" Connor tossed aside his wet hat and slipped the warm, albeit rain drenched leather jacket from his arms to drape protectively over Markus, revealing his plain black t-shirt beneath. "...No witnesses then."
"...No."
"Why'd you go alone?"
"...I wanted to reach... him." Every word he uttered was a struggle as the bullet in his chest caused pain and made it difficult to breathe and speak. "I wanted to... stop him and get him to... surrender."
"That was incredibly foolish. You should've told me what you were planning." Connor focused on keeping himself from snapping at Markus for being so reckless about confronting such a dangerous man. The hypocrisy of the notion wasn't lost on the young detective, but it wasn't worth mentioning. "I could've at least watched your back to ensure something like this wouldn't have happened."
"...Sorry. I guess it's... a work in... progress."
North just rolled her eyes as she picked up Markus's hand and held it tightly in her own. "Why does 'progress' need bullets?"
Connor piped up with a succinct answer of his own. "It doesn't." Turning to look at Hank standing by the door protectively Connor asked him for some assistance in treating Markus. "I need supplies."
"Right, kid. North, I need you to come with me."
"What for?" She asked somewhat incredulously as she looked to the senior detective. "I'm not a cop."
"You're right, but no one goes anywhere alone anymore. Even I need someone to watch my back."
North gave Hank a subtle nod as she reluctantly let go of Markus's hand and met Hank at the door. "Alright, let's go."
Hank put his hand on her shoulder in a supportive manner as they stepped out of the room together and made their way to the parking lot to get the stash of emergency supplies from trunk of the car.
As the duo left the room Connor locked the door to ensure no one could sneak in then returned to Markus. Carefully Connor pulled back his jacket from Markus's chest and lifted up the towel again. The artificial skin around the wound had begun to recede further away from the wound as Markus continued to lose blood. "I need to get additional towels to help stem the bleeding. I need to get the bullet out as well."
"Can you do that?"
"...I can try."
Markus let out a pained sigh as he stared up at Connor with a confident focus. "Do it, Connor. I trust you."
Giving his friend a confident nod of the head Connor tried to remain as calm and composed as possible, but he knew the emotion welling up in his soulful brown eyes had instantly betrayed his bluff. A firm knock on the door drew Connor away from Markus just long enough to peer through the peephole and recognizing Hank and North on the other side. Unlocking the door he let them back inside the room and took the black dufflebag from Hank's hand.
Hank stayed by the window and continued to monitor the rain soaked parking lot from behind the closed curtains of the window. "Glad you decided to hang onto those android supplies, kid. But I always figured they'd be used in an emergency with Lucas, not Markus."
"I'm glad too." Placing the bag on the floor Connor walked into the bathroom to grab a large, clean towel and then looked to North and asked for her help in treating Markus. "We need to get his shirt off to fully expose the wounds. I'll also need towels to help clean everything up and keep the wound packed in case it keeps bleeding."
"Yeah, okay." She moved to an ideal place at the head of the bed. "We can do this."
With North's help Connor was able to help Markus remove his bloodied, torn shirt and lay back down on the bed over a large white towel. Propping Markus's head and neck slightly upward under a pillow Connor was able to prevent the deviant leader from choking on any blood that had collected in the back of his throat, and kept any additional blood from rising up his throat in the process.
"I'll need some cool water." Connor stated as he re-examined the injury to Markus's chest. A deep graze to the top of Markus's left shoulder indicated a second bullet had nearly penetrated his body as he had fled from the gunfire. "And any additional towels you can find."
"Right." North replied as she walked into the bathroom herself and gathered the supplies that Connor had requested.
Markus turned his head a little to watch North checking through any and all available items in the bathroom before he returned his focus to Connor. "Connor...? Get the bullet out and find Damien before he hurts anyone else."
"...That's what I plan to do."
"Don't worry about... wasting supplies on me." Markus let out a pained breath that made his entire chest shudder. Connor pressed his hand down firmly against Markus's chest to help hold the wounded deviant leader as steady as possible. "...I know that I'm dying."
"No, Markus. You're not going to die." Connor lowered his voice as his eyes narrow and he grabbed onto Markus's hand to support his weakened friend. "You're going to make it."
"Please, take care... of North. Promise me you'll... take care of her."
"Markus, don't talk like that. You're going to be fine."
"Connor... I ran a self-diagnostic... as soon as I climbed into the... taxi. My odds are-"
"Remember what I said about statistics and unlikely events taking place?"
"...What?"
"The night of the raid at Jericho. When I became deviant."
"...Yeah. I remember that."
"If I can infiltrate CyberLife Tower and come back out alive then you sure as hell can survive a bullet in a hotel room." Connor smiled sincerely as he put his hand down on Markus's left bicep gently. The deviant android had suffered severe damage and lost a substantial amount of blood, but Connor wasn't going to let Markus die without a fight. "Just hold on a little while longer, and we'll get you back to New Jericho Tower for proper repairs."
North returned to the bed with the rest of the towels from the bathroom under her arm and what was supposed to be the room's ice bucket full of cool, clean water.
Dipping one of the fresh towels into the water Connor used it to wipe away the blood surrounding the bullet still embedded in Markus's chest carefully without causing any unnecessary pain the already suffering deviant android.
"This won't be pleasant, but I have to do it." Connor stated firmly as he pulled out two plastic bottles of fresh Thirium, an android first aid kit and a sharp hunting knife from the dufflebag on the floor beside the bed. Placing the supplies down on the bed Connor prepared checked the blade of the knife for any and all possible imperfections or contaminants before he leaned over Markus warily. "I'm sorry about this, but it's going to hurt."
"Whoa!" Hank protested loudly as he grabbed onto Connor's hand to stop him before he even began. "What the hell are you going to do to him?"
"I have to extract the bullet to stop the bleeding."
"Exactly how're you going to stop the bleeding once the bullet's out of the way? I've seen way too many gunshot wounds in my life," Hank lightly pressed his other hand down on Markus's chest and he could feel blood collecting in his chest around his heart. "if you remove this bullet he's going to bleed out. You can't just pack the wound and hope it holds until it's safe to move him."
"What should I do then?"
Hank looked at the knife in Connor's hand and asked a rather unnerving question. "Does anyone have a lighter?"
"...Yeah. I do." Markus answered weakly as his hand fished for the lighter from his front jean pocket. "Kind of a good luck charm. Guess it didn't work this time."
"Actually, I think that thing is pretty damn lucky." Hank took the lighter from Markus's hand and held it in his palm. "We need to cauterize the wound as soon as the bullet's out. Then I'm taking you straight to New Jericho Tower."
Connor swallowed nervously at the thought of having to hold a piece of scorching hot metal to his friend's chest, but it needed to be done. "...I'll do it."
"You sure about that, Connor?"
"Yes. I can do it." Connor took the lighter from Hank's hand and flicked the flame to life. Taking a deep breath he held the lighter outward in his left hand as he sat on the edge of the bed to keep himself steady. "Markus, this is really going to hurt. You can't move or it'll make the pain and your injury worse. Do you understand?"
"Yeah... I get it." Looking up at North he grabbed onto her hand and held tight. "I won't move." Taking a deep breath himself Markus closed his eyes and tried to relax as much as he possible. "Do either of you have a bullet I can bite on?"
North looked around the room and spotted a pencil sitting atop the nearby dresser. Grabbing the item she placed it between Markus's teeth and gave him an uncertain glance. "Bite down."
Connor glanced up nervously at Hank as he prepared to extract the bullet from Markus's chest. "Hank, can you help hold him steady?"
"Yeah, I got him." Moving to the opposite side of the bed from where North and Connor were sitting Hank push his hands down against Markus's arm and his hip to keep him in place. "Do what you gotta' do, we'll do what we can to help."
Nodding slowly Connor held the knife over the bullet wound and pressed the sharp tip down against the side of the bullet inside the plastimetal frame with his right hand. "I'm going to loosen the bullet enough for me to pry out, then I will apply pressure until the knife is hot enough to cauterize the injury."
Markus acknowledged the comment with an anxious 'hum' as North held onto his hand and rubbed her other hand over his forehead affectionately. Biting down harder on the pencil Markus opened his mismatched eyes and nervously darted his gaze back and forth along the blank, white ceiling above himself.
Holding his own breath Connor dug the knife down against the bullet and applied pressure until he felt the bullet give way. Markus's entire body jerked in reflex as the pain in his chest intensified to level he hadn't felt before, causing North and Hank to press down against him harder to keep him still.
"Almost done." Connor stated as he carefully retracted the knife as the bullet nearly popped out of the wound, and then pressed a clean towel down over the bleeding wound again. Using the lighter Connor began heating the metal blade of the knife and monitored Markus's condition closely. "Just hold on."
Hank reached out his hand and pressed down on the towel over the wound to apply more pressure until the knife was hot enough to cauterize effectively.
"Damn it." Connor swore as he realized the lighter would not be enough to heat the knife appropriately. Glancing about the hotel room resourcefully Connor honed in on the metal trashcan up against the far wall and had an idea. "I need to get the blade hotter, faster."
"How're you going to do that?" North asked curiously as she impatiently waited for something to happen.
"I need to make a bigger fire."
Connor explained as he picked up the trashcan and stuffed it with one of the bloodied towels that had been used to cover Markus's wound earlier in the night. Returning to the dufflebag Connor pulled out a large bottle of rubbing alcohol and poured it inside the trashcan as he carried into the bathroom and place it down inside the bathtub. Using the lighter once more Connor ignited the towel and created a bright orange fire inside the can.
Holding the knife over the large flames Connor held the knife in his hand tightly and felt the temperature increasing quickly. Mentally steeling himself for the unpleasant task at hand Connor tried to think of how he could possibly look Markus in the eye again after willingly inflicting the necessary evil upon his friend.
"Hank," Connor shouted from the bathroom loudly as he focused on the knife. "open the kit and pour the incrassation compound over the wound."
"Yeah, okay." Lifting his hand away from the towel over Markus's chest Hank flipped open the lid of the android first aid kit and located the correct bottle containing the orange tinted liquid that would help the blue blood coagulate. As he unscrewed the lid on the bottle he gave Markus an apologetic glance. "Sorry about this. It stings."
From the bathroom Connor heard Markus let out a deep groan of pain as he endured the incrassation being poured over the wound and he closed his eyes empathetically. While effective, the liquid itself did little to ease the intense discomfort to android injuries; and it did even less for the RK models who were able to feel pain more so than other models of deviant androids.
Satisfied with the the increased temperature of the knife Connor returned to the main area of the hotel room and wiped away the excess incrassation compound that had been poured over the wound before he began to cauterize it.
"Sorry, Markus." Connor quickly apologized as he pressed his left fingers down around the wound and immediately pressed the side of the scorching hot blade against the opened, bleeding injury.
Markus stifled another intense groan of pain as he bit down on the pencil until it nearly snapped in half between his teeth. North squeezed his hand as tightly as she could while also moving her hand down from Markus's forehead over his eyes to keep from from watching what was happening to him. Using as much strength as he dared Hank held Markus down while the deviant android's body jerked violently and tried to pull away from the excruciating heat of the blade.
Falling unconscious from the pain Markus was left completely vulnerable to the world with only his friends to protect him.
"Got it." Connor pulled the knife away and retreated to the bathroom to run the knife under the cool tap in the sink and to put out the still burning fire in the trashcan that had been set down in the bathtub to be extinguished.
Once the flame had been doused under the faucet in the tub Connor leaned over the edge of the sink and stared at himself in the mirror. The stare in his eyes was as pained as Markus's wound. With his shaking hand Connor ran the Thirium soaked bullet under the tap in the sink and stared at it with an unsettling realization at the offending projectile.
Hank had taken the liberty of pulling the ruined pencil from between Markus's teeth as he pressed his hand down against Markus's chest to count his thready pulse. "He's hanging in there. But he's weak."
North nodded and looked at the bottles of Thirium that Connor had left on the bed next to the first aid kit. "He needs blue blood."
Hank picked up the nearest bottle and tossed it to North while he used the water and towel to clean up the wound as best as he could without disturbing the cauterized wound and accidentally cause it to bleed again. Showing the same care to the second, but less severe, wound to Markus's shoulder the senior detective bandaged up the deviant with a skill he had begrudgingly mastered after having spent so many hours patching up Connor at the house; as both a deviant and as a human.
Walking slowly out of the bathroom Connor reluctantly looked down at Markus laying unconscious on the bed as North carefully tipped the first bottle of Thirium to his lips to try to encourage him to drink the much needed blood. Though quiet and nearly unresponsive Markus managed to drink the offered Thirium slowly without choking.
"Hank." Connor tossed the bullet to the detective who caught it easily in his hand. "The bullet."
Studying the bullet in his palm Hank gave Connor a stern glance. "Nine millimeter."
North didn't understand the significance of the bullet's caliber. "What about it?" She asked as she gently propped Markus's head up on her lap and steadily poured additional Thirium into Markus's mouth and waited for him to swallow before giving him anymore.
The senior detective bowed his head in shame as he answered North's question. "Nine millimeter is very common and it'll make identifying the location where the gun was purchased, a possible location where this Damien asshole is hiding out, very difficult." Hank put the bullet in his pocket and let out a deep sigh. "I'll have ballistics check the bullet for me in person."
Connor hovered over Markus's body and pressed his palm down over his damaged chest and counted the wounded deviant's pulse. "He's stable-" Markus's heart suddenly fluttered and held Connor's attention. The deviant leader's pulse was becoming erratic, and his heart was struggling to beat. "Shit..."
"What now?" Hank asked as he handed the second bottle of Thirium to North.
"The bullet didn't directly impact his Thirium pump, but it has compromised the biocomponent. He'll need a full replacement in less than four hours otherwise-"
North's hand reached out and grabbed onto Connor's arm in vice like grip. "No. We won't let that happen. If we get him to New Jericho Tower then he can get the replacement biocomponent he needs."
"You're right, but he's too weak to be moved."
"Then we'll wait for him to get stronger, and then we'll take him."
Connor mentally calculated the odds of Markus's survival if they waited and it was significantly lower than if they rushed to the tower within the next few minutes. "...Waiting will only kill him."
"Well we can't do the replacement here! It's too dangerous!"
"I know. You're right about that, too.."
"Then what're we going to do, Connor?"
Resisting the urge to look to Hank for guidance Connor closed his eyes, his hands clenching into tight fists at his sides, and he weighed his options: Rushing to the tower could put Markus at risk if Damien was in fact still looking for him, but waiting for Markus to regain strength would reduce the odds of the damaged deviant android being able to withstand the physical strain of a total biocomponent replacement.
Either way Markus's life was on the line and it was up to Connor ultimately decide his fate.
"Hank." Looking the senior detective in the eyes Connor was firm in his decision. "We need to get Markus to the tower. Now."
"I figured as much." Hank confirmed with a steady voice. "Get him as stable as possible and try to clean up as best as you can. I'll go talk to the hotel manager and make sure he gets paid handsomely for his services." Ever cautious Hank peered through the window again by pushing aside the curtain before he unchained the door and stepped outside. "Lock the door behind me, don't open it for anyone but me."
North piped up with a smug voice. "What happened to not going anywhere alone?"
"It's easier this way. Besides, I get the feeling the hotel manager is kind of a prick."
As soon as Hank was outside the room Connor rushed over to replace the chain over the door and let out a deep breath as he tried to calm himself. There were times Connor wished he still had the cold, unempathetic logic of a machine to dictate his every move. With Markus's life at stake he found himself having one of those times again. Forcing himself to take a deep breath Connor set about cleaning up the mess in the bathroom as well as the rest of the hotel room.
"We can't leave any sign of androids behind." The keenly aware detective and former deviant explained coolly. "The Thirium will evaporate over the next few hours but we can't risk someone finding any trace of us and reporting it. It was a brilliant idea to hide in an anti-android hotel, but any traces could put you in danger."
Staying on the bed North let Markus rest his head atop her lap as she finished giving him the last of the Thirium. "What should I do?"
"Stay with Markus and monitor him closely. I'll dispose of everything else."
North pulled Connor's leather jacket up and over Markus to try to keep him comfortable while she listened to Connor quickly throwing the blackened remains of the towel into a trashbag, then pressed the bag down into the bottom of the second trashcan under the bathroom sink. After that he rinsed out the black burn marks from the interior of the metal trashcan and wiped it clean before replacing it against the wall in the main room. Gathering all of the used towels he threw them into the laundry bag in the bathroom and waded them in such a way that none of the blue Thirium was visible.
"I'll pack up the kit and the dufflebag." Connor stated as he reclaimed his hat and pulled it down until his L.E.D. was concealed entirely. Placing the empty Thirium bottles inside of the dufflebag no sign of androids would be left behind. "North, are either of you armed?"
"No." She shook her head a little as she ran her hand lovingly down Markus's arm. "Markus doesn't like the idea of us carrying weapons while trying to maintain peace."
"Commendable."
"How're we going to get him out of here?"
"Like this." Connor picked up his jacket and motioned for North push Markus up into a sitting position on the bed. Using controlled motions and strength Connor slipped Markus's arms down the sleeves of the jacket then zipped it up to hide the bandaged wounds over his chest and shoulder that the torn shirt would never be able to hide. "As soon as Hank's back we'll carry him down to the car. You get the bag."
"Right, okay."
There was another knock at the door and Connor's hand instinctively hovered over the gun in the holster across his back. Refraining from grabbing onto the weapon he approached the door tentatively and peered out the peephole again.
"Hank." Repeating his movements from earlier Connor opened the door slightly and waited for Hank to say something.
"It's me, kid."
Unchaining the door Connor let the detective back inside the room.
"Alright," Hank stated sternly but calmly. "everything's taken care of with the manager, but we need to leave. NOW."
"Understood." Connor returned to the bed and knelt down as he took Markus's good arm and draped it around his shoulders Hank did the same for Markus's other arm, mindful of the injury to his shoulder the entire time. "Hopefully no one will have seen us."
"It's possible." Hank replied as he and Connor stood up together with Markus hanging limp and unconscious between them. "Most of the people who check into these types of motels are trying to keep to themselves and want to mind their own business. Good place to lay low for a while."
North grabbed onto the dufflebag and followed the two detectives out of the hotel room and across the rainy terrace to reach the metal staircase leading back down to the parking lot below. Moving with the utmost caution Connor and Hank managed to carry Markus down the staircase without hurting him and get him over to the rear of the parked car just a few yards away.
"I got the door." Connor volunteered as he grabbed onto the rear handle and pulled the car door open wide. "North, put the bag in the trunk."
North pulled open the unlocked trunk and threw the bag inside before slamming it shut and climbing into the backseat from the other side. As she took her seat she reached out her arms and helped the two detectives lay Markus down across the backseat until his head was resting against her lap. Hank lifted Markus's legs up and onto the backseat as Connor shut the door and climbed into the front passenger seat. Taking his place behind the wheel Hank turned over the key in the ignition and backed the car out of the parking spot to leave the hotel.
As the car drove past the main office of the motel Connor noticed the manager glaring at the car with his arms crossed over his chest. Instinctively Connor ducked down a little in his seat and turned his head away to try to conceal his identity in case the manager happened to recognize him from their visit to the hotel just prior to the revolution.
"Relax Connor, everything's good with the manager." Hank observed casually as he turned on the windshield wipers and took a 'clever route' to reach New Jericho Tower on the other side of the city.
"What did you say to to the manager?" Connor asked inquisitively as the car left the drive. "He looked upset."
"Well, I flashed him my badge, slipped him a hundred dollar bill and apologized because my 'drunk, idiot college son and his even drunker idiot college friends crashed in the room' back at the hotel."
North couldn't help but smile from the backseat when she heard what Hank had said.
Connor flashed an amused but sly grin as he turned to look at Hank. "We can't be that idiotic if we're in college."
"Wanna' bet?" Hank snatched the hat from Connor's head and tossed it dismissively onto the floor of the car. "And take that off. I told you before that you look weird with a hat."
Markus let out a pained groan as he began to regain consciousness from the backseat. North caressed his cheek lightly as she spoke softly to him to keep him calm and quiet. "It's okay, Markus. You're safe."
Connor turned to look at Markus over his shoulder as he laid disturbingly still in the backseat. Seeing the leader of the deviants so weak, so vulnerable, was about as far from the iconic hero status he had so righteously earned on the night of the revolution.
"How's his pulse?"
North pressed her hand down against Markus's chest, mindful of the bullet wound beneath. "Slow, but strong."
Connor turned to look at the detective beside him. "Hank?"
"I know kid, I know." Hank kept glancing up to the rearview mirror to check for anyone who may have been able to locate where Markus and North had been hiding, and could now be following them. "We can't just make a beeline for the tower, you never who could be watching."
"Are you avoiding the main streets?"
"Nope. Rookie mistake." Hank turned right at the light instead of passing straight through like normal. "If we stick to the main roads it'll keep anyone who might be trying to follow us at a distance. If we go along the back roads we risk getting ambushed in an isolated area."
Connor nodded in agreement as he gazed out the window to note any possible unusual activity. "North, did you contact New Jericho Tower to inform Simon of Markus's condition?"
"Yeah, he knows. He and Josh are preparing everything as we speak."
"Does anyone else at the tower know what has happened?"
"No. We don't want them to worry."
"I agree. And until we can located Damien we don't want to risk another confrontation between humans and deviants over a misinformed and violent misunderstanding. We should keep this quiet."
Hank nodded as he glanced at the rearview mirror again. "Check in with the precinct, see if there were any shootings reported in the past six hours."
Connor's phone lit up as he made contact with the precinct and noted any and all disturbances that had been reported within the designated frame of time to check for any future problems. "Two drunk driving accidents, one woman in labor, four speeding citations, two breaking and entering claims, one convenience store robbery, four shootings - but none in the New Haven area where Markus had been shot in the church, oh... And there was one domestic dispute. There doesn't appear to be any hostile interactions between humans and deviants tonight."
"That sounds promising. Let's hope it stays that way."
From the backseat Markus suddenly let out a choking cough as blue blood splattered over his lips and he began gasping for air. Connor turned his head to look at Markus while Hank glanced back with the rearview mirror.
North pressed her hand down harder against Markus's chest. "Connor?"
"His Thirium pump is beginning to strain from exertion." Connor reached his hand back and felt Markus's heart rate for himself as he counted the deviant leader's pulse once again. "We need to hurry if we have any chance of saving him."
Hank nodded as he sped up and resumed taking the most direct route to New Jericho Tower, caution be damned. Handling the rainy streets with the grace that comes only from years of experience from driving at high speeds over weather worn and neglected roads, Hank raced down the long drive that connected Belle Isle to the rest of the city, and provided safe haven to the deviants seeking shelter within the tower.
Passing over the concrete barricade as it lowered into the drive the vehicle sped to the tower with the sole focus of saving Markus from slipping any closer to death than he already was. Stopping in front of the tower as gently as possible Hank was relieved to see Simon and Josh waiting outside with a gurney, ready to save their leader from certain death. Connor threw open his own door and pulled open the backdoor to lift Markus up from the backseat while Josh helped him to carry Markus's unconscious body over to the awaiting gurney.
Hank and North followed right behind as the gurney was wheeled inside the tower at the uncomfortably late hour of the rainy night. Simon unzipped the jacket covering Markus's chest as Connor and Josh wheeled the gurney inside the tower, and as soon as the jacket was opened the trio could see the massive blood loss that Markus had suffered during transport.
"Shit." Connor swore loudly as he pressed his hand down over the bullet wound in Markus's chest. "It was cauterized, I don't understand how this happened."
Simon didn't worry about the 'how' and was more focused on the 'why'. "Left ascending Thirial line has been damaged. He's going to need a lot of replacement Thirium once he's in the emergency repair wing."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I could use a second pair of hands." Simon confirmed as the gurney was loaded into the elevator and began its decent into the depths of the tower.
"Of course. I'll do everything I can."
It was a blur of activity as Simon and Connor worked to save Markus's life as he continued to bleed out from the bullet wound to his chest. Simon had located the damaged line and had managed to successfully repair it while also replenishing his rapidly depleting Thirium levels before they fell into a critical range. Numerous monitors had been hooked up to the shot deviant leader to monitor his erratic heart rate, his Thirium levels, his Thirium pressure and his core temperature; all of which were showing poor results.
The sensor pad was placed in the middle of Markus's chest, the Thirium pressure cuff was wrapped around his left bicep, and the cable connected to his right temple where his L.E.D. had once been all connected his system activity to the monitor in a grotesquely machine manner. Connor kept watch over Markus while Simon and Josh set about looking for a compatible replacement Thirium pump for Markus, but finding an adequate biocomponent was proving far more challenging than anyone in the tower had anticipated.
Simon returned from the biocomponent storage wing of the repair ward and ran his hand through his blond hair anxiously. "Josh is still looking, but it doesn't look like we have any replacement Thirium pumps that are compatible with his model."
"Why is his Thirium pump failing to begin with? The bullet caused minor damage to the biocomponent that his self-healing program should've been able to easily repair."
"I don't know." Simon admitted with utter defeat in his voice as he looked over Markus's vital signs on the surrounding monitors. "Markus has always been completely healthy and showed no previous sign of biocomponent failure or software incompatibility glitches. But like you, he's a prototype model. There may be underlying problems in his system that we simply cannot detect by standard tests."
"Standard tests?" Furrowing his brow Connor thought for a moment and remembered the night Markus escaped the android junkyard after piecing himself back together. The model and serial number of the Thirium pump in his chest and the Thirium pump regulator that was keeping his heart beating, weren't identical. "Simon, his Thirium pump regulator doesn't match his serial number. That will caused problems once damaged."
"What?" Simon pressed his hand down atop Markus's abdomen to cause his artificial skin to recede from over his torso. Opening the panel to his abdominal cavity Simon checked the model number of the regulator and confirmed Connor's comment. "You're right, it's a different- Wait. I think I know how this happened."
Connor stared at Simon silently as he awaited the answer to the unusual set of circumstances.
"Markus told us of the night he became a deviant and of how he had been shot by the police. He was thrown in an android junkyard and left for death, but he managed to reboot himself and repair the damage before climbing out of the pit of bodies. That's why he has two different colored eyes as well."
Shaking his head a little Connor looked down at Markus with a sense of worry and respect. "I already knew Markus had gone through such a horrific experience and survived. But now it's coming back to haunt him."
"The damage was to his Thirium pump, not to the regulator." Simon wondered aloud as he tried to diagnose Markus's current ailment. "So why is his heart failing?"
"Is it possible that his prototype self-healing program is unable to synchronize the replacement regulator with the pump?"
Simon gave Connor an uneasy stare. "If that's the case then it's not just his Thirium pump that needs to be replaced, his regulator needs to be replaced, too."
"What're the odds of finding two compatible biocomponents that'll fit his model?"
Simon never answered, but the silence spoke volumes of the dire situation at hand.
Markus groaned a little as his glassy mismatched eyes opened and hazily stared up at the ceiling above. "...North?"
Connor put his hand on Markus's shoulder and held tight he spoke to Markus in a calm tone of voice. "It's me, Connor. Simon is here, too."
"...Where's North?"
Simon's shoulders sagged as he stepped back from the exam table where Markus was laying. "I'll go and get her. I'll also see what Josh has found."
"Did you hear that?" Connor asked calmly as Simon took his leave of the room. "North is coming."
"...Connor?" Markus blinked slowly and focused on the deviant's face watching over him. "Please. Promise me."
"Promise you?"
"That you'll take care of North."
"Markus, please." Connor tightened his grip on Markus's shoulder as he picked up the dying deviant's hand and held it in a reassuring squeeze. "You can't give up. I almost lost my brother, I don't want to lose you, either. We need you!"
"...Promise me."
Connor swallowed nervously as he hesitated in making such a heartbreaking promise. "I... I promise."
The elevator doors opened and North came rushing into the repair ward as quickly as she could. Hank had followed her but stayed back out of respect for the young couple.
"Markus?" North grabbed onto Markus's other hand and held it tightly as tears formed in her eyes. "No, Markus. Please don't leave me."
"North." Markus forced a smile to his blue blood stained lips as she rubbed the back of his hand against her face. "I'm glad you're here."
Discreetly Connor placed Markus's other hand back down before he walked away to give Markus and North some privacy as they spoke.
"Connor?" Hank lowered his voice as the young detective approached him slowly. "Is it true?"
"...Yes. Unless we can find a compatible pump and regulator Markus is going to die."
"There's nothing here in the tower?"
"Josh has been looking for almost two hours and there is no compatible RK model biocomponents-" Connor's eyes lit up and then dulled as a relatively dark thought popped into his head. Pressing his hand over his chest he gave Hank an odd look. "Perhaps I-"
"No!" Hank caught himself before he shouted, but grabbed onto Connor's shoulders all the same. "No. You can't donate your android heart to Markus. One life isn't equal to another, okay? You can't just-"
The monitor keeping track of Markus's heart rate suddenly blared a warning alarm as the deviant's heart finally gave out and ceased to beat on its own. The two detectives turned their heads toward the exam table and watched as North began shaking Markus's chest to try and reawaken the fallen deviant.
"Markus? Markus!?" North sounded frightened, genuinely frightened for the first time in her life as she pleaded for Markus to stay with her. "Wake up!"
Connor broke free from Hank's grip and sprinted back to the exam table to press his hand down on Markus's chest next to North's hand. The Thirium pump had failed entirely and could no longer beat on its own. According to the monitors Markus's intracranial processor was still functioning, but without a beating heart his entire system would shutdown in less than ninety seconds.
"Shit. Markus!" Connor lifted the deviant's eyelids but there was no sign of consciousness or recognition in the mismatched irises. Reacting on instinct Connor placed one hand over top the other and interlaced his fingers together to create a single fist that he rested over Markus's stopped heart. Using precise rhythm and controlled strength Connor began compressing Markus's chest to manually force his heart to beat again. "Markus. Hold on."
North held tightly onto Markus's hand as she watch Connor's attempt to revive the fallen deviant leader. "Please Markus... Come back to me."
Hank approached the exam table timidly as Connor performed the life saving procedure on the weakened, dying deviant leader to the best of his ability.
"Come on, Markus." Connor pleaded out loud as he watched the monitor carefully. The monitor let out a faint 'blip' as it detected a faint heartbeat but it was the result of the compressions, not from the pump resuming its normal function. "Wake up."
Markus's eyes opened slowly as he regained consciousness. Looking up at North's face he saw the tears in her eyes and his hand in her hand and gave her a small grin. Hank just watched silently as Connor continued to force Markus's heart back into motion in a desperate fight to keep the deviant leader alive.
"North." Connor kept his voice as level as possible through the compressions. "You need to talk to him. Help me keep him alive."
Tightening her grip around Markus's hand North leaned down toward his face resting her forehead against his. "Hang on, please. We'll find a way to save you."
Markus responded by squeezing her hand as tightly as he could, but he didn't have much strength to spare.
Simon and Josh returned to the ward with timely fashion. The two deviant androids rushed to their fallen leader's side and were immediately aiding Connor in keeping Markus from shutting down permanently.
Josh had checked every registered spare biocomponent in stock but there were simply no spare parts compatible with RK model androids.
"Connor." Standing next to Connor so he could whisper discreetly Josh gave the young detective the devastating news. "We don't have anything that can be used to save him."
"...Yes we do." Connor's eyes narrowed as he looked over to Hank then back to Josh. "Hank, please take care of North."
"What?! No!" North refused to leave Markus's side, but the senior detective had already approached the table and put his hand on her shoulder and her arm to guide her away. "I won't leave him!"
Simon sided with Connor and tried to reason with North to encourage her to leave. "North, you don't want to be here when we do this."
"I-" North looked down at Markus who had given her hand a reassuring squeeze as he smiled up at her. Repressing an enraged sob she slowly bent down and kissed Markus's lips before she finally let go of his hand and allowed Hank to guided her away. "I love you, Markus!"
Connor, Josh and Simon all watched and waited for Hank to lead North out of the ward and to the elevator where she wouldn't be able to see or hear anything regarding Markus's life. Once Hank had escorted North out of the repair room the three deviant androids fighting to save Markus from death.
"Connor," Josh gave the deviant a skeptical look as he stepped back and raised his voice so Simon could hear him as well. "what's your plan?"
Hank had practically pushed North into the elevator in order to get her to leave and he hated every minute of it. The last thing he wanted to do was drag her away from Markus if Markus truly was dying, but he knew Connor all too well at this point. The clever young detective had something up his sleeve, and what that thing was Hank almost dreaded finding out.
"North, please trust Connor."
"Trust him?!" North began pacing back and forth across the elevator car with her arms wrapped around her chest in a tight hug. "Markus is down there dying and you just want me to trust Connor just because you said so? You may be able to look past him hunting down deviants, but I can't! Markus trusts him with regarding how he treats out people, and that's the only reason I'm willing to work with Connor, but I'll be damned if I forget that he was once my enemy!"
"Whoa, what the hell?" Hank was awestruck by her outburst. "Didn't you once stand up for him in front of the other deviants AFTER he returned to humanity?"
"Like I said, Markus trusts him."
"So that's it, huh? You have all the emotions and freewill of a human, but you still hold onto petty grudges and let them fester in your soul? I don't know what's colder; you or the rain."
"Shut up, Hank. You don't know anything about what I've been through."
"The 'Eden Club'? Pretty sure I covered that with you before."
"That Hellhole is nothing like what I'm going through right now!" She practically screamed in Hank's face as she tried and failed to restrain her mounting frustration. "And you just want me to trust Connor because you do. Because it makes it so much easier to deal with all this bullshit, doesn't it?"
"No." Hank pressed the 'stop' button on the elevator panel before crossing his own arms as he stood his ground before the fiery deviant. "I want you to trust him because he's earned it. Connor is ALWAYS putting others before himself and he has nearly lost his own life more times than I want to fuckin' count because of it! It's in his nature to help people."
"No offense Hank, but that means jackshit coming from you! You're his best fucking friend, so of course you're going to sing high praises for him. If that was Connor laying on the table you wouldn't leave his side. You pulling me away from him is all just a hollow gesture. The same damn song and dance that every human has done before; it's all talk and no show. So save it!"
"Wrong, North. I'm not talking a big game just because I care about the kid, or because I want to blow smoke up your ass because that's 'police protocol 101'. I'm saying these things because I know Connor can save Markus. Just be patient, he CAN do this."
"And you know all this because you're his partner, right?"
"North." Hank softened his tone and the expression on his face as he let his arms drop away from his chest in less guarded manner. "...I know these things because Connor's my son."
North stopped pacing and gave Hank a strangely emotional look. The sincerity in Hank's blue eyes showed the emotional depth that the gruff Lieutenant had tried to hide at the bottom of a whiskey bottle for so many years after the horrible personal tragedies that he had suffered had finally returned to the surface. There was no deception in his tone or presence. "...You really do care about each other, don't you?"
"Connor saved my life without even knowing it. And he gave me something to live for again. I want to do the same. I want to give him the guidance and understanding that I had given to Cole when he was with me. I miss my biological son, and I always will, but Connor is the son I never knew I needed until he showed up in my life. Just as I would with Cole I'd gladly give up my own life to save his; and I know Connor would do the same for me, and everyone else in this tower."
Fresh tears formed in North's eyes as she fixed her gaze onto Hank. "...That's how I felt when I saw Markus fighting for our people. He gave me a reason to keep trying, to not give up on myself. He helped me learn how to feel something other than hatred and resentment. Markus helped me find the faith to love."
"And now that you know you might actually lose him it's tearing you apart in a way you never thought you could feel."
"How do you know what that's like?"
"Aside from losing my wife? And my firstborn son, Cole? Or seeing Lucas lost in a coma and watched Connor's heart being rebuilt through a miracle of biocomponents and trust? Let's just say life wasn't kind to me, either."
"You've lost so much..."
"And Connor gave me so much more back. More than I deserve. He didn't see me as the broken down, old alcoholic with revolver pressed against my head. He saw ME. The real me that I had thought died so long ago when Cole died."
"...Markus never saw me as a... victim." North took in a deep breath as the horrible memories of the 'Eden Club' overwhelmed her mind like a never ending nightmare. "He saw me as a fellow deviant just looking for a place in the world. Like he was."
"You were both looking for a place to belong. Looking for a family. And you found each other."
North let out a weak sob as she began losing her emotional fortitude. As she wiped away the tears that were beginning to stream down her face North saw that Hank had taken a step toward her and just waited for her to respond. Taking her own step forward North let her arms fall to her sides as she felt Hank wrap his arms around her in a tight hug. North slowly wrapped her arms around Hank in return and began to cry against his shoulder as he held her in his arms.
"It's going to be okay, North. I promise."
Connor was still compressing Markus's chest and refused to stop until the replacement biocomponents were ready for transplant. Josh and Simon had wheeled a small surgical table and second exam table beside the table where Markus was laying completely helpless and prone to the world around him, as the three friends who had sworn loyalty to him fought to save his life.
"Connor, are you sure about this?" Simon looked down at the metal case on the table and rested his hand atop it before he even considered opening it open to peer inside. "There's no going back once it's done."
"Do it." Connor nearly panted as the prolonged physical exertion was causing him to overheat steadily, and sweat all along his hairline. "It's the only way to save his life."
"Okay... We'll get everything ready."
While Simon prepared for the transplant procedure Josh rolled a second android cardiac monitor up to where Connor was standing and turned it on. Reaching for the lone sensor pad attached to the monitor Josh lifted up Connor's black t-shirt by the hem and secured the sensor directly over Connor's own racing heart as he continued to compress Markus's chest, then changed the monitor's setting to track a human's vitals.
"Your temperature is up." Josh noted as Connor's vital signs appeared on the monitor's display quickly, and accurately. Connor's own heart rate was higher than what was considered normal for a human, and his energy was fading from the prolonged physical exertion. "Maybe I should take over for you?"
"No." Connor shook his head as he continued the near perfect rhythm of compressions. "If I stop his chances of survival diminish. Just get on with it. Do what you have to do to save Markus."
"Right." Josh gave Simon a quick nod of the head as he stood at the opposite side of the table from the technician. "We need to be quick."
From the doorway an unexpected but familiar voice called out as another person suddenly ran into the middle of the room to assist with the situation. "What's happening?"
"Lucas!?" Connor looked up at his brother's face with utter shock and relief. "What're you doing here?"
"I was told about the 'Red Reaper' murdering humans in the city, and after your colleague, Elijah's brother, had been attacked I was determined to come back home and check on you. It appears my return had an unforeseen benefit." Pressing his exposed right palm down on Markus's bloodied chest Lucas shook his head and then noticed the contents of the plastimetal case sitting on the table beside the bed. With a simple scan Lucas identified the contents of the case and gave his brother an incredulous stare. "...Connor, you were going to give Markus your heart?"
"It was the only way to save him." Connor explained almost breathlessly as he continued the compressions.
"No, I have an alternative that'll save Markus and keep your android body from breaking down."
"What? How?"
"It'll be easier to explain as I work." Slipping off his white jacket Lucas rolled up the long sleeves of his back shirt and prepared for an emergency repair session on Markus. "Simon, I'm going to need your help."
"You got it, Lucas!"
"And Connor," giving his brother an appreciative glance Lucas prepared for the impending procedure. "keep doing what you're doing."
Ever attentive Hank stayed with North as she paced about anxiously in the office that she and Markus used to conduct official business at the tower. Every time she passed by the window overlooking the harbor Hank caught sight of her reflection and saw the pain in her eyes she was still trying to hide despite already opening up to Hank earlier in the elevator.
It was just her instinct for self-preservation that kept her from getting close to people in general. It had nothing to do with what Hank or Connor could had possibly ever done to her in the past. She was still healing just like the rest of the deviants in the city.
The painting that Lucas had created of Markus and North standing together was proudly displayed on the wall, and Hank caught North's gaze frequently darting over to the large portrait as she paced. The painting was a friendly reminder of the darkness of the past leading to a brighter future.
"Why don't you sit down?" Hank suggested kindly as he watched North pacing about. "You're going to wear a hole through the floor."
"I'm fine."
The door to the office opened and Josh greeted the duo waiting inside. "...You both need to come with me."
"Markus?" North stopped short and stared at Josh with a worried gaze.
Josh nodded as he entered the room put his arm around North's shoulders. As he guided her out of the office back toward the elevator he nodded subtly to the human detective who had been keeping North company. "Hank, you need to see this, too."
The repair ward that had once been full of frantic energy and commotion was now quiet and still. Simon was standing between the two exam tables to keep tabs on Markus's vital signs, all the while he continued to check their inventory to find any other possible compatible parts for RK models of deviant androids. Any future incidents such as this would be prevented as much as possible.
Markus himself was propped upright on the exam table with a peaceful expression on his face. Inside his repaired chest was a rebuilt heart thrumming away on its own; strong and healthy. The monitors still attached to his body showed a healthy, steady stream of vital signs as Simon hovered warily over the resting deviant leader while he continued to run numerous tests to ensure there was no biocomponent rejection.
Stepping out of the elevator North saw Markus laying on the table and more importantly she saw that he had a heartbeat on the cardiac monitor's display. Rushing over to his side once more North picked up Markus's his hand and held it tightly as she waited for him to open his beautiful mismatched eyes to look at her again.
Hank was relieved to see Markus that was still in fact alive, but when he saw Connor laying on his right side on the second exam table across from Markus his heart sank. The younger detective's leather jacket was draped over his body like a dark shroud, and Connor wasn't moving. It didn't look like he was even breathing.
"...Connor?" Hank ran over to the table and pressed his fingers against Connor's neck as he pulled back the jacket and pushed Connor's shoulder just enough to roll the completely unconscious, limp detective onto his back. Beneath Hank's fingertips he could still feel a pulse and the senior detective let out the breath he had holding the moment he saw Connor laying completely motionless. "Connor? What's wrong, son?"
Josh joined Hank at the table and explained everything to him. "He's okay, Hank. He's just resting."
"Resting?"
"Yeah. He nearly collapsed from doing compressions for so long."
"...What about his android body? I know he was ready to donate from there."
"Still intact." Josh smiled with an amused grin. "It was close but his Thirium pump is back inside his android body where it belongs, and his android body is still completely functional, if not comatose."
Hank bowed his head as he leaned down against the exam table against his arms and let out a deep sigh. "...I seriously thought he talked you guys into giving Markus his heart."
"...He tried to donate it, but an alternate solution appeared."
Hank's head lifted up as he turned to look at Josh. "What do you mean?"
Connor's weak hand reached up and rested against Hank's shoulder drawing his attention back. "...Hank."
"You okay, kid?" The senior detective looked down at Connor warily without fail.
"Yeah, I'm just tired." Flashing a weak grin Connor looked just past Hank to the opposite side of the room where Lucas was walking out of the research lab with his left arm in a sling. "How about you, Lucas?"
"Lucas?!" Hank turned around and smiled at the sight of his second adopted son walking over to check on Connor. "Holy shit, when'd you get here? Fuck that, HOW did you get down here without me seeing?"
"The tower has an emergency entrance to enter the emergency repair bay in the event the elevator is malfunctioning. The entrance happened to be closer than the elevator as Skye allowed me in through the rear of the tower to ensure no one staking out the building could get inside behind me."
"Whoa, what?"
"Hank, I know about the 'Red Reaper' in the city. That's why I'm here."
"You knew Markus was going to get hurt?"
"No." Lucas admitted as he rubbed his right hand along his sore, now healing left forearm. "I wanted to come home to make sure you were okay. Due to my position as the lead technician here at the tower I am immediately informed anytime someone is admitted to the emergency repair bay after being damaged."
A proud smirk appeared on Hank's face at hearing the response and he lightly put his hand on Lucas's left shoulder. "Good to have you home, son. Uh, what happened to your arm?"
"I used advanced hardware and small components from lines in my left forearm to repair the internal damage to Markus's heart."
"...You donated a piece of yourself so Connor wouldn't have to?"
"Regardless of who was going to donate their heart to Markus, I would've done the same thing and fortunately the results would've been the same, too."
"Good answer." Glancing back at Connor over his shoulder Hank saw Connor struggling to sit upright on the table where he was resting. "You okay?"
"Yeah, but I want to get up, now." Connor tried to push himself upright with his trembling right arm, but he didn't have the strength. Hank hooked his arm around Connor's chest beneath the younger detective's trembling arm, and guided him into sitting upright on the table. "Help me, please. I want to see Markus."
"Sure. Lean on me."
With Hank's assistance Connor tiredly walked over to the exam table where North was still hanging onto Markus's hand, and Simon was keeping track of the deviant leader's vital signs very closely. Josh followed after the two detectives, his attention on Connor just in case the exhausted human suddenly collapsed or showed any sign of passing out.
Connor looked down at Markus's face then to the deviant leader's chest where his repaired heart was beating. Lightly he placed his palm down over the center of Markus's chest and felt the heartbeat under his palm. As a lone tear rolled down Connor's face a gracious smile appeared on his face. "You made it."
Markus awoke early the following morning and found himself surrounded by exhausted onlookers who refused to leave his side until he was conscious once again. As he sat upright on the exam table he was greeted by North practically throwing herself at him to wrap him up in a tight hug as she cried tears of relief over his shoulder.
"...It's okay, North." Markus wrapped his arms around her and lightly ran his hand through her long auburn hair. "I'm here."
Simon and Josh let out collective sighs of relief while Connor, Hank and Lucas just stood beside the table waiting for Markus to say or do anything else while North embraced him with all of her heart.
Markus turned to look at the two detectives and nodded appreciatively. "Connor. Hank. You saved me." It was then he noticed Lucas and his mismatched eyes flashed with surprise. "Lucas?"
"It appears I returned to the tower at the best possible time. Simon and Josh will tell you everything later after you've had more time to recover."
"...You saved me?"
"More or less."
"Thank you." Turning to look at North he kissed her cheek and smiled. "How are you?"
"Me?" North let Markus go and put her hand to the side of his face. "You were the one who got shot, I was just there for the clean-up."
Markus picked up North's hand and kissed her knuckles affectionately. "It doesn't mean you weren't in danger."
Feeling a tad out of place the senior detective decided to chime in quickly to say his piece. "I'm just glad you pulled through." Hank stated with a firm, confident tone. "Thought we lost you."
"No. I have too much to do here, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." Markus smiled as he graciously shook Hank's hand. Turning his attention to Connor he noticed that the younger detective had a tranquil stare in his brown irises that he hadn't seen in months. "Connor, thanks for being there for me."
"Of course. That's what we do for each other right?" Connor put his hand on Markus's shoulder for a moment before retracting his grip. "Like a family."
"Yeah. We're all a family." Putting his hand to his chest Markus ran a self-diagnostic and discovered what had been done to save his life. As soon as he recognized the original serial number of the components and hardware now beating in his chest his look of contentment shifted to one of surprise. "...Lucas?"
"It was the only way to save you." The skilled technician replied modestly. "It was either me or Connor. We both would've wanted his android heart to go to someone worthy so it wouldn't have been a problem, but this alternative seems to be ideal."
"...You were both willing to give up a piece of yourself to save me." Wiping away a tear of shame from his green eye he shook his head. "I was a damn idiot for going after Damien alone. I'm sorry I put everyone through this."
"It's okay, Markus." The reassurance in Connor's voice was sincere and kind. "I would've done the same thing myself."
Hank patted Connor's shoulder once as he pulled the younger detective toward the elevator. "Come on, Connor. We still have to get that damn bullet analyzed so we can get that twisted deviant off the street. And you need to get some rest." Grabbing onto Lucas's good shoulder with the other hand he guided the deviant toward the elevator as well. "You too, son. We're all going home to get some sleep."
"Agreed."
As Connor, Hank and Lucas walked out of the repair ward side by side and entered the elevator Connor watched through the glass siding of the elevator as Markus spoke to North, Simon and Josh. Connor smiled as comforting warmth spread throughout his chest as the elevator ascended out of sight of the repair ward, back to the ground floor of the tower.
"...Thank you, Lucas."
"You don't have to thank me for this, Connor."
"No, but I want to."
Hank admired the humility and genuine kindness the two brothers openly exuded to anyone and everyone they come in contact with. "You two need to go home and rest. I'm going to call Fowler and tell him that we're taking an afternoon shift so you can get some sleep, Connor."
"...Normally I'd argue against it, but I'm too tired."
"Smartass."
The drive back to the house was slow and seemed to take longer than usual as the two detectives were exhausted beyond anything they've experienced before. Lucas had volunteered to drive home but Hank declined since his left arm was out of commission and needed some time to heal and adapt to the modifications he had performed to keep Markus alive. The missing components weren't vital but the lack of the hardware had temporarily limited his range of motion and overall strength.
As the car finally returned to the garage beside the house the trio exited the vehicle, locked up the garage door and entered the side door into the house through the kitchen.
"You two should get some sleep." Lucas suggested as he was promptly greeted and almost overwhelmed by Sumo and Ruby's affectionate nature. Crouching down he rubbed at their ears in turn with his right hand and watched as Hank and Connor walked toward the staircase sluggishly. "I'll enter rest mode shortly."
"Sounds good to me." Almost mumbling Hank made his way up the staircase slowly while Connor lingered downstairs for a little while longer. "Goodnight, boys."
Connor sighed and looked at his brother with a tired yet determined gaze. "Lucas, how did you know about the 'Red Reaper'?"
"Elijah told me. When you called to let me know that Gavin had been wounded it didn't take him long to check in with activity back here in Detroit and put the pieces of the puzzle together. Once everything in Boston had settled down and a routine had been formed with the volunteers at the facility I was able to return home earlier than expected."
"I'm glad you're here."
"As am I."
"What about Chloe?"
"She will stay in Boston until Elijah returns to the city to check in on everything. Afterward they will both return and monitor the new facility from a distance to ensure everything will function without error."
"That's good." Connor's eyes began to slowly close as leaned against the back of the couch and rubbed his hand over his tired eyes. "The more facilities that open across the country, the better."
"Connor, go get some sleep. You're about to collapse."
"I'm tired but I don't think I can sleep."
"I highly doubt that." Grabbing onto Connor's left bicep with his right hand Lucas pulled Connor away from the back of the couch and toward the staircase to finally get upstairs and sleep. "Come on, big brother. Markus is safe and you can rest knowing that he pulled through."
"Rest? Unlikely."
As the brothers ascended the staircase they were promptly followed by the two loyal dogs who were too happy to let their masters out of their sight.
Lucas guided Connor into his bedroom and helped Connor sit down on the edge of the bed. It was only a matter of seconds before Connor fell to his side and let his head hit his pillow without even the slightest hesitation. Shortly after he settled in a steady pattern of slow, deep breathing that was indicative of sleep, and right after Ruby jumped up on the foot of the bed to lay down beside him.
Flexing his left hand gently Lucas ran a scan over Connor's vital signs, and smirked a little at the sight of the newly developed biocomponent still working at one-hundred percent capacity in his heart. "Rest well, brother. You deserve it."
Taking his leave of the bedroom Lucas walked into the bedroom across the way and sat down on the edge of his own bed for the first time in almost nine weeks. As he did he was met by Sumo who proceeded to clumsily haul his large body up on the foot of the bed and pressed his chin down atop Lucas's thigh as he sought more attention.
"I missed you, too." Petting Sumo's back Lucas felt entirely at ease and knew he was really home. Pulling up his legs he laid on his back and kept his left arm draped over his torso to ensure it was able to adapt and heal properly as he rested throughout the fading night. "Let's just hope no further incidents regarding Markus or New Jericho Tower interrupt the night."
Connor had slept deeply for almost seven consecutive hours before he was awoken by a buzzing sound coming from his phone. Pulling the phone from his pocket he saw that it was a text message from Skye and upon reading the message Connor's eyes went wide and he sat upright on his bed fully awake and ready for a fight.
'Connor, the security protocol found Damien lurking around the ruins of an old mansion that burned down almost two years ago; just before the night of the revolution. The bank that repossessed the property had security cameras enabled and Damien didn't know they were there. I've included the address.'
"Is he still there?"
'He returned less than a minute ago.'
"I'm going to go after him, once you see me on the camera inform the police and tell them no lights or sirens. It'll give him the chance to flee if he knows they're coming."
'You're going alone? Didn't Markus try to do that earlier?'
"Markus was trying to reason with him." Connor texted quickly as he pulled his gun out of the drawer in the nightstand beside his bed and checked the weapon before slipping it into his holster. "I'm not going to be so reasonable."
'You're not even going to go with Hank?'
"No. It'll be easier to sneak on the property alone."
'But it's dangerous! Don't do anything you can't undo!'
"Damien is going to be dangerous no matter what." Walking down the staircase Connor used an app to hail an autonomous cab and waited by the front door until it appeared on the street outside. "When Damien killed one person, let alone fourteen, he gave every officer in this city righteous cause to shoot on sight. When he assaulted a fellow officer he all but guaranteed it. But now that he's tried to kill Markus in cold blood he deserves it. I abhor violence and the thought of revenge truly makes my heart run cold, but this about justice. Damien has proven himself hostile time and time again without provocation."
There was a pause before Skye finally replied. 'Please very careful. I'll be monitoring the cameras and I will inform the police as soon as possible.'
"I will take every precaution necessary. Fortunately," he slid open the nearby closet very quietly and pulled out a spare Kevlar vest that Hank insisted Connor keep in the house at all times. Today seemed like the best day to use it. "I'm always prepared and I always complete my mission. It'll be okay, Skye."
'I hope you're right, Connor. I don't want to see anything bad happen to you.'
"I'll be fine. Just watch my back."
'I will. I promise!'
The autonomous cab pulled up outside and Connor unlocked the front door and immediately locked again behind himself. As he rushed out to the cab as quietly as he could move Connor pulled his gun from the holster under his jacket and around his back he double checked the weapon. He knew exactly how many shots he'd have, and hoped he wouldn't have to use any of them in the process. Slipping on the Kevlar vest under his shirt Connor was now entirely prepared if he needed to confront Damien with violence.
As the cab pulled away from the house Connor was unaware that Lucas had heard him wake up a few moments ago, and was watching him through his bedroom window overlooking the street.
"Connor, what are you going to do?"
...next chapter...
