Vera waited against the wall of the Eastern Motel as Lieutenant Anderson spoke to another detective. The android, Connor, had his eyes closed further away. As soon as he opened them, she made her way over to him.

"Excuse me, Connor?"

"Hello."

"My name is Vera." She cleared her throat. "I'm looking for RA9… I've heard that androids are obsessed with the name."

Connor cocked his head, squinting. "You're not an android. How did you find this out? And only deviants write obsessively about RA9. I haven't been able to figure it out."

"Then let me tag along. I can help you figure it out. I can fend for myself."

"I answer only to Lieutenant Anderson. I cannot speak for him." His eyes glanced over to Hank, who was still talking and writing notes.

Vera scowled for a second. "Then I'll go ask him." For the mission… She took a deep breath and sauntered over to the older man.

"Excuse me, Lieutenant Anderson?"

He stared round at her, fatigue plain on his face. "What can I do for you?" He sighed, face straining into a tired smile.

"I want to join on your investigation. I know I'll be an asset to finding these deviants, and I can take care of myself."

Hank's eyebrows shot up, but he eventually shook his head.

"I don't make the rules, sorry." He shrugged. He suddenly glared in Connor's direction. "I don't even wanna be working with him."

"Connor needs me to help him find RA9. It might be something to do with these deviants." Vera sighed. "Come on, Lieutenant, you need another pair of hands on the job to catch these deviants. I may not be an android, but I have my own skills."

Hank crossed his arms with a crooked smile. He shrugged again. "Uh Jesus… Alright, talk to Fowler when we get back to the station. See what he says."

"Thank you." Before she could say more, Hank barked at Connor:

"Connor! Come on, we're going back to the station. Then I'm going for lunch. Bullshit makes me hungry!"

Chicken Feed 3:02pm

Vera sat in the back of Hank's car as they rolled up to the Chicken Feed van. As they stopped, an empty beer bottle clinked against her boot. She picked it up and put it in the door compartment with the dog lead she found.

Hank stepped out of the car, shouting "Whoa! Hey! Hey! Hey!" as a car stopped in front of him. Vera didn't wait for Connor to get out of the car. She was already pretty hungry.

"Hank! How you doing?" The guy in the van yelled.

"Eh, you know, same old shit," Hank replied, shrugging.

"Plastic with you?"

"Only temporary…"

Vera sidled up to Hank's left side, placing her hands on the counter. She scanned the menu, biting her lip in concentration. Her stomach growled in protest.

"Hey, hey, hey, Hank! How you doin' man? Hey, listen, I got a shit-hot tip for you…" A younger man approached them speaking loudly to Hank as he threw his hands into his pockets. Vera drowned him out as she saw Connor approach.

"Hey, um, could I order?" She raised her voice to the man flipping burgers. He raised an eyebrow at her but listened as she asked for one. She put a few dollars down onto the counter.

As soon as the younger man left, Connor approached Hank to stand on his right. Hank did a double-take, scowling.

"What is your problem? Don't you ever do as you're told? Look, you don't have to follow me around like a poodle!" He shook his head.

Vera held in a laugh, pressing her lips together tightly. Connor just blinked, barely taken aback.

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

Hank chuckled despite himself. "Oh wow… You've even got a brown-nosing apology program. Guys at Cyberlife thought of everything, huh?" He shook his head still chuckling as he was handed the food. "Thanks, Gary. I'm starving!"

"Don't leave that thing here!" Gary yelled after Hank as he watched the older man make his way to a table. Vera's brow furrowed as she glanced at Connor.

"Not a chance. Follows me everywhere…See.." Hank grunted as Connor and Vera made their way over.

Vera began to tuck into her burger, too hungry to instigate more conversation. She thought about that mornings events.

"Best burger in Detroit." Hank nodded at her burger. Vera swallowed, nodding.

"It's pretty good." She paused. "Thanks for having my back with Captain Fowler. I don't think he was keen to let you have an extra hand."

Hank's eyes darkened. "No. He wasn't." He stopped and took a bite. Vera opened her mouth to say something else when he spoke again. "If I gotta have a piece of plastic for a partner, I may as well have you too. An assassin you said?"

Vera half-laughed with bewilderment. Then said seriously: "Yes. I have to find something before the Templars do. They won't defeat me again."

There was a silence at the table before it was finally broken by Connor.

"Maybe I should tell you what we know about deviants?"

"You read my mind. Proceed." Hank took another bite from his burger. Vera put hers into the box to listen intently.

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

"In English please."

Connor didn't skip a beat. "They don't really feel emotions, they just get overwhelmed by irrational instructions, which can lead to unpredictable behaviour."

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

"'Don't let personal feelings compromise the mission…'" Vera quoted quietly. She'd read that somewhere. Although her parents had told her that it was more of a guideline than a rule.

"You ever dealt with deviants before?"

Connor almost looked startled for a moment before responding.

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

"Thank god," Vera whispered.

"So I guess you've done all your homework, right? Know everything there is to know about me?" Hank scoffed.

Connor leaned further onto the table, turning his head towards the Lieutenant.

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

"Impressive!" Vera grinned, but stammered when Hank glared at her. "I meant the first half of that."

Hank half-chuckled, shaking his head. Then turned his attention to Connor.

"So, what's your conclusion?"

"I think working with an officer with personal issues is an added challenge. But adapting to human unpredictability is one of my features." He winked, and Vera blinked, surprised. Connor blinked too, his LED flashing yellow. "I just got a report of a suspected deviant. It's a few blocks away. We should go have a look." His eyes drifted down the street, then snapped back to Hank and Vera. He moved back. "I'll let you finish your meal. I'll be in the car if you need me." Then he left, crossing the road without another glance.

Vera stared after him for a moment, bewildered. Again. She watched Hank but he was staring in a different direction.

"What was all that about?"

Hank looked at her sharply. "Excuse me?"

"That. What happened there? He was almost…human."

Hank breathed in through his nose. "He's just a machine." Then he stormed away, throwing his trash into the can on the sidewalk before moving towards the car. "Are you coming?" He yelled after her. Vera closed her mouth and hurried after him.

The Apartment Elevator

Vera shivered as the elevator took them up to the floor where the suspect lived. The walls were brown and peeling. The floor was covered in trash and black marks. It was cold and smelled of something close to pee.

Hank muttered most of the way up, swaying from foot to foot. Connor had his eyes closed, the LED on the right of his head flashing yellow.

The elevator finally dinged, and Vera hurried out, closely followed by Hank. The corridor was darker up here. The November sun didn't reach here. As she was looking up and down the dank corridor, Hank called:

"Hey Connor!" She glanced around as Connor finally opened his eyes. "You run outta batteries or what?"

"I'm sorry. I was just making a report to Cyberlife."

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

"No!" Connor said, quite defensively. "I'm coming."

Hank led the way to the last door on the left of the corridor.

"So what do we know about this guy?" He asked.

"Not much. A neighbour reported hearing strange noises coming from this floor. He also reported that this guy was hiding an LED under his cap." Connor knelt to examine feathers opposite the door.

"Really, that's it?" Vera sniffed.

"Ugh if we've gotta investigate every time someone hears a strange noise, then we need more cops." Hank rolled his eyes, leaning against the doorframe. "Were you really making a report back there? Just by closing your eyes?"

"Correct," Connor answered shortly.

"Shit… wish I could do that."

Vera laughed. "Me too. Would make a lot of things easier."

"You make reports? On what?"

"No. But I have to do a lot of research and maps, that kind of thing."

Hank raised his eyebrows but said nothing. Vera drew her gun as Connor raised his fist to knock.

"Anyone home?" He shouted through the door. Nothing. He glanced at Hank, who shrugged. Connor knocked again, harder this time.

"Open up! Detroit Police!"

There was silence for a moment. But in that silence a crash sounded from beyond the door. The trio glanced at each other. Hank drew his gun.

"Stay behind me!"

Vera nodded and Connor said, "Got it."

Hank moved back, then kicked the door open. It shuddered against the wall as it banged against it. Vera glanced one more time at the way they'd come before following Connor into the apartment.

Hank continued to kick open another door, leaning his head inside before moving on to the next. Connor turned right into the first room just as Hank kicked down the door ahead—and shot backwards instantly as dozens of pigeons flew out. Vera ducked as Hank swore loudly.

"Jesus, this place stinks." He moved further in, gun pointed at anything that moved—including the pigeons. "Looks like we came for nothing. Our man's gone…"

Vera sighed. "There has to be something around here. Something that tells us anything about the deviant, or where he went."

"Fat lot of good that'd do," Hank said gruffly. "We don't even know what he looks like."

Connor joined them then, gently moving his head around. Scanning the room. He squinted at an Urban Farms poster on the wall and pulled it off. He took something out. A book.

"Found something?" Hank asked him as he waved his gun at some pigeons.

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

Vera wandered towards the bathroom. It was darker in here. The shadows felt closer. Something out of the corner of her eye made her look sharply to her left. Her mouth dropped open.

RA9 was written many many times all over the wall. When the deviant had run out of space, he'd written it over the others. Again and again. She could hear Connor calling things out as he found them.

"Connor!"

He frowned as he turned the corner, mouth turning into a thin line as he scanned the wall. Hank followed instantly.

"It was written 2471 times. It's the same sign Ortiz's android wrote on the bathroom wall. Why are they so obsessed with this sign?!"

"That's what I want to find out too," Vera muttered. She took out her cell phone and snapped pictures of it.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Hank asked sharply.

"I'm taking pictures to add to my research. I can't take pictures with my eyes."

"Its LED is in the sink," Connor interrupted.

"Not surprised it was an android. No human could live with all these fucking pigeons," Hank growled, making his way back into the main room. As Connor knelt down to examine the chair, Vera left too. Maybe there was more to find out there.

She watched him as he glanced down at the broken bird cage and over to the chair against the wall. He looked up at the ceiling, squinting carefully. A creak sounded. All Vera saw was a huge shape coming down, landing on Connor who grunted as they both fell to the floor. The pigeons scattered and Hank swore as Rupert fled. Vera unleashed a throwing knife that imbedded itself into the doorframe.

Connor stood. Hank yelled: "What are you waiting for? Chase it!"

Vera glanced at Hank as Connor disappeared around the corner. Clanging sounded, echoing into the room. She didn't wait for him and followed the same way they went.

Over the rooftops. The chase was on!