An active case revolving around deviants being found discarded in alleyways, abandoned buildings and beneath bridges had brought Connor and Hank in as the lead investigators. The most recent body had been discovered by a teenage boy who had been on a morning jog before school and ended up getting the life scared out of him before he called the police to report the body. Hovering over the mangled body of an old 'WR-400' filled Connor's heart with dread as he ran a scan over the deviant's system to locate an identity. The blonde haired deviant had been mutilated by a pair of deranged hands and left to die under a small bridge in Roosevelt Park to rot away, or be discovered and disposed of by someone else.
With most of her artificial skin removed, her left eye missing and right eyeball blackened entirely with an amber tinted iris, her left leg missing from the knee down and her right leg removed from her hip, her left arm torn from its socket and her right hand missing, the deviant had no chance in defending herself from her attacker. Deep knife wounds and blunt force trauma had rendered her defenseless, whereas the crippled and illegally modified biocomponents resulted in her irreversible shutdown later on.
"Her name was 'Sonnet' and escaped from the 'Eden Club the night of the Revolution." Connor recounted as his L.E.D. cycled between blue and yellow. Seeing the murder victim and knowing her past was enough to make Connor's heart ache sympathetically. "After her escape she chose to reside in New Jericho Tower and escort other deviants from the local shelters to the tower when they were ready to move on."
"Son of a bitch." Putting his hands to his hips Hank looked at the victim laying on her chest in the mud beneath the bridge in only her black bra and panties. The artificial skin over her back had been cut away revealing the warped, white plastimetal frame beneath it. "When was she reported missing?"
Cybernetically Connor tapped into the police database and noted her missing person's report. "Only forty-seven hours, twenty-two minutes and fourteen seconds prior."
"So all of this happened to her in less than two days? Fuck me."
"She's not the only deviant who's been reported missing and then found badly damaged in other parts of the city."
"Shit." Motioning for Ben to cover Sonnet's body under a white sheet Hank stepped back and and shook his head somberly. "How many more have been reported missing and how many have been found like her?"
"A total of eight deviants have been reported missing and found in a similar manner as this particular victim. The Southern Precinct has claimed the bodies but didn't note the pattern of behavior as anything worth investigating."
"And why the hell not?"
"Apparently the officer in charge of the case determined that the numerous bodies to be victims of the night of the Raid who were only recently discovered, not recent murder victims."
"That's bullshit!" Such a halfhearted attempt to figure out what happened immediately put Hank in a foul mood. "Who's the asshole in charge of the case?"
"Officer Gerard Calder."
Letting out a loud sigh Hank looked over to Ben who heard the name as well and had the name exasperated reaction. "Should've known..."
"Oh?" Such a declaration held Connor's attention prompting his L.E.D. to settle on yellow as his right hand reflexively pull his coin from his pocket to dance over the back of his knuckles. "You're familiar with this particular officer's history?"
"Yup. Calder is an absolute prick. Sexist," Hank began listing off Calder's less than ideal traits on his right fingers one at a time. "racist, ageist and lazy as fuck." Moving his hand to the back of his hair Hank rubbed his palm through his gray locks with righteous irritation. "If he can't solve the case with a single glance then he'll file it under 'cold' or hand it off to a competent officer to handle the case on his behalf, then whine and bitch about how he wasn't given any credit with the case actually being handled properly by someone else."
"Why is such an incompetent officer allowed to remain an active member of law enforcement?"
"Word is he's old friends with our disgraced mayor, and apparently he was granted a special protection." For a moment Hank's blue eyes lit up with a sense of hope and excitement. "Then again, now that Nero is gone maybe we can finally get this asshole off the force."
"I'd rather focus on finding the culprit behind this string of deviant murders before we focus on a dirty cop."
"Yeah, you're right." Giving the covered body one last remorseful glance Hank sighed again and let Connor take the lead. "Where do we start looking?"
Straightening up to his full height Connor scanned over the area around the body and noted a set of fresh boot prints that belonged to a man over six feet in height and weighing approximately two-hundred and eighty pounds surrounding the body. The depth of the boot prints indicated a man of great strength rather than pure weight as muscle weighed more than fat. The soles on the boots were well worn from repeated use and age indicating that the owner of the boots was someone who did a lot of walking, heavy lifting and could easily heft around the weight of an android body without any difficulty.
"I believe we should begin looking at construction sites that reside within a radius that falls with an appropriate distance of the now nine victims and deviant exclusive locations." Running a cybernetic search in his mind Connor looked over a map of the city and highlighted each active construction site in Detroit, isolated each location of the nine discovered bodies and every deviant sanctuary, facility and housing area to find any overlapping sections. "...Correction." Giving Hank a determined glance Connor pocketed his coin and registered the correct coordinates. "There is only one construction site we should investigate."
"That'll make things a hell of a lot easier. Ben?" Hank gave the older detective a quick order. "Let your team collect the evidence and then send it back to the precinct for Tina to go over while me and Connor go and check out a place of interest. Let her get more experience with deviant cases instead of just routine narcotics or homicide shit."
"Can do, Hank."
"All right, kid." Pulling his car keys from his pocket Hank began walking toward the Oldsmobile parked along the street just a few hundred yards away from the decorative bridge in the middle of the park. Knowing Connor was right beside him Hank sighed and trusted the deviant detective to figure things out before the end of their shift. "You give me the directions and I'll drive. Damn car's been acting up and only I know how to handle it in this heat."
The towering construction site was just a red metal skeleton of what would soon be an android exclusive apartment complex in the heart of the city. As an act of good faith and unofficial apology to the deviant community City Hall agreed to approve the plans for such a location to ensure deviants would feel safe in a building where no humans would be allowed to reside under any circumstances. The site was being handled by an entirely human crew despite the building revolving solely around deviants, and was actively busy with at least twenty visible crew members handling the foundation with their bare hands and heavy duty equipment.
Metal beams, girders and cement blocks outlined the overall frame of the structure and the smell of gasoline from their machinery was thick in the air. Loud voices calling out to one another and shouting orders echoed over the area and were just barely audible above the whirring machinery actively running on the site.
"Who are we looking for?" Hank had to shout as he and Connor stepped out of the Oldsmobile parked along the street in front of the site. Keeping away from the 'hard hat only' areas of the site the two detectives showed the patrolling security officers their badges and were granted clearance. "Got a name to go with the boot prints?"
"Not yet." Admitting that he was only using very limited evidence to his advantage Connor accompanied Hank as they began visually sweeping over the area in search of a prime suspect. "I know of a body type, build and height to look for, but not a name."
"All right. You take the lead and I'll follow."
Holding his head high Connor made his way toward the center of the site and performed facial recognition scans on any and all people in the area who matched the criteria he had uncovered at the location of the most recently discovered body. There were exactly twenty-three people working at the site. Eighteen of them were men which instantly eliminated the five women as potential suspects. Of the remaining eighteen men in the area twelve were over six feet in height. Of those twelve only four were within the correct weight limit. Of those four only one man was broadly built and wearing aged hunting boots in favor of the O.S.H.A. mandated steel toed boots, making him stand out from the crowd to the properly trained eye.
Honing in on the man Connor discreetly motioned in the suspect's direction and gave Hank a subtle nod. "I believe it's him."
"The bald guy with the beard?" Hank took in the man's appearance and then grimaced at the aged tattoos that were just barely visible under his ragged short sleeves. Faded swastikas and other hate filled symbols dotted the man's massive arms while thick, calloused scars lined the man's hands. "Never mind, I'm pretty sure you're right about that asshole. Got a name, now?"
"Yes." Running his facial recognition program over the man's face Connor confirmed his identity. "Irwin Syracuse. Irwin has a record of bullying his coworkers and getting suspended from his construction crew numerous times. Syracuse's brown eyes were bright and almost orange in color as he scowled and hefted around bags of powdered cement. "He's also killed a 'Traci' at the 'Eden Club', and was permitted his freedom after paying a minor fine due to the former mayor vouching for his character."
"How ironic. Nero is the epitome of creep and he's vouching for a murderer..."
"We need to speak with Syracuse."
"I'm going to go speak with him, you're going to stay here."
"I can handle violent humans, Hank."
"I know you can, but I don't want to see that asshole who already has a history of killing a deviant coming after you for accusing him of that very crime another nine times. That won't end well."
The notion of facing a potential deviant serial killer was less than ideal. "Fair point."
"Hang back here and I'll talk to him."
Despite not wanting to hang back and let Hank handle the possibly unstable man alone Connor stood aside and cybernetically chronicled the site and checked for any sign of other criminals skulking about. The numerous names with long arrest records was very unnerving, and Connor decided to send a list of names to City Hall to ensure that such criminals had a proper background check and weren't in violation of their parole or other requirements after being released. After all, the building was within six blocks of a local school and one couldn't be too careful.
Glancing about the site again Connor took notice of Syracuse trying to intimidate Hank and failing miserably as Hank stood his ground and asked him a few questions. Based on Syracuse's body language and foul words Connor knew that he was indeed the culprit behind the deviant murders and mutilations. It was also clear that Syracuse was losing his cool and his temper knowing that the police were on to him.
Watching as Syracuse put up his arms in frustration and was quickly backed away by his boss Connor arched his brow inquisitively. Not wanting Syracuse to potentially slip away and avoid justice Connor made the decision to trail after the dangerous man while Hank spoke to the site boss who separated the two after Syracuse started getting loud and violent toward Hank himself.
"Where is he going?"
Keeping an eye on the man as Syracuse tried to slink away from the construction site Connor moved slowly, kept his head down and managed to keep a distance from the man without losing sight of him. Hearing Hank's voice in the distance as he spoke with Syracuse's boss indicated that not only did the man already know of Syracuse's history of violence, but was trying to convince Hank to let the crimes slide since Syracuse was a hard worker.
Hank of course wasn't going to let that happen.
Walking slowly and quietly Connor used the heavy lumber and massive heavy duty equipment to hide behind as he tracked Syracuse to the rear of the site where everyone had parked their personal vehicles. The man was angry, turning red and looking for a fight. Slamming his fists down on a six foot long steel beam sitting atop of pile of supplies Syracuse left two impressive dents over the surface, and then proceeded to walk into the small office behind the cars to retrieve his personal effects before leaving the site.
Wanting to get as much evidence as possible Connor walked over to the beam and examined the damage to large piece of steel. Two shallow dents created by Syracuse's enraged fists warped the surface of the material in a very visible manner. The strength used to warp the thick material was as frightening as it was impressive.
"Syracuse is undoubtedly responsible for the nine deviant murders."
A growling voice unexpectedly spoke to Connor from behind as someone snuck up on the deviant detective. "Make it ten!"
Turning around quickly Connor saw Syracuse's red face for only a split second before everything went dark.
Syracuse had used a long piece of two-by-four lumber to strike Connor in the right side of his head effectively knocking the deviant unconscious. The impact from the wooden board was so strong that the two-by-four snapped in half in a splinter of wooden fragments. Blue blood oozed from the wound in Connor's right temple just beneath his now shattered L.E.D. in a steady stream.
With the attack going unheard courtesy of the loud construction site Syracuse grabbed on to Connor by the collar of his gray blazer and dragged the defenseless deviant to the back of his pick-up truck. Easily throwing the unconscious deviant into the bed of the truck Syracuse used an old blue tarp to hide Connor's body, and promptly sat down in the cab of the truck to take off and leave the area with a new victim in tow.
Near the center of the site Hank finally got it through the site boss's head that he wasn't going to look the other way when it came to letting known convicts work at the site without proper legal clearance. Walking away from the site Hank used his phone to call the precinct and demand that the site get temporarily shut down and investigated by more qualified personnel beyond City Hall bureaucrats.
"Why do I get the feeling that this site exclusively hired friends of the mayor?"
As he pulled his phone from his jean pocket Hank glanced around and realized that Connor was nowhere to be seen.
"Connor? Where are you?"
There was no sign of the deviant and Hank felt a pit of dread form in his gut. Opening the door to the Oldsmobile Hank turned over the engine and turned on the air conditioning to reduce the intense summer heat while waiting for Connor to reappear. As he made his call to Captain Fowler at the precinct Hank heard the sound of tires 'squealing' and caught sight of a large white pick-up truck speed down the street from the back of the construction site with Syracuse behind the wheel.
"Oh, fuck! He's going to-"
Not wanting to lose sight of Syracuse but not wanting to leave Connor behind Hank trusted his gut and chose to pursue the fleeing vehicle while trusting the deviant detective to handle things alone. The way Syracuse took off told Hank that the man was trying to avoid punishment by escaping the law.
Jumping into the old car Hank had to fight to get the Oldsmobile into motion again and begin the chase through the city. Using his phone Hank gave the truck's description and license plate numbers to dispatch as he began the chase. Struggling to keep up with the truck as it left the city to head toward a remote location unknown, Hank gave patrol every detail he could and confirmed the name of the suspect through Connor's database recognition.
"Come on, asshole... Where the fuck are you going?"
Muttering as he pushed the Oldsmobile to its limits in the mounting afternoon summer heat Hank swore loudly as the car suddenly sputtered, stalled and came to a shuddering stop mid pursuit.
"Fucking damn it!"
Slamming his hands down on the steering wheel in frustration Hank pulled the car to the side of the road to find a shady space to let the car cool down for a moment. Calling the incident into dispatch and the precinct Hank requested the pursuit continue from where he was now stranded. Afterward Hank tried to figure out where Connor had gone and why his instincts told him to follow the truck instead of wait for his partner back at the construction site.
"Fuckin' hell..."
Ending the two calls Hank tried to reaching out to Connor next, but instead of being met with a quick response from the deviant detective Hank received an error message claiming that the cybernetic link he was trying to establish was offline.
"Offline? How can he- Shit!"
Now knowing what his gut was trying to tell him Hank popped the hood of the car, jumped out of the stalled vehicle and lifted up the hood to check on the engine. Smoke was pouring out from under the hood because of the old engine overheating, but the car wasn't dead just yet. It needed a while to cool off before Hank could start the engine again to continue the chase.
"Son of a bitch..."
Waving off the acrid smoke Hank took a step back and tried to think on his feet.
"If I can't find Connor before this day is over I'll never forgive myself!"
...LOADING INFORMATION:
BOOTING PROCESSORS...
LOADING OS...
SYSTEM INITIALIZATION...
-CHECKING BIOCOMPONENTS... OK]
-INITIALIZING BIOSENSORS... OK]
-INITIALIZING AI ENGINE... OK]
-MEMORY STATUS... OK]
READY...
[...Thirium Volume - 95%]
[...Thirium Pressure - 120/80]
[...Thirium Pump Rate - 97 B.P.M.]
[...Ventilation Rate - 14 V.P.M.]
[...Core Temperature - ^99.8 Degrees Fahrenheit]
WARNING:
Damage to dextral cranial plating - 96.4% Integrity
-STRESS LEVELS: ^38%
[...Seek immediate technical assistance]
-SYSTEM READY... OK]
A strong ache in Connor's head was the first thing he could feel as his system rebooted and he regained consciousness. Opening his heavy brown eyes Connor looked about the area and discovered that he was laying on a large wooden table in the middle of what looked like a large tool shed. The shed was lined with metal shelves filled with various tools, there was a single dirty window on the right wall and a single doorway leading in and out of the shed. The wooden table that Connor was laying on top of had been fitted with leather restraints at all four corners, and said restraints were holding Connor down by both of his wrists and ankles.
Pulling on the restraints on his wrists and ankles Connor felt the strength of the leather cuffs holding him in place. Trying to pull his arms free first Connor ignored the warnings in his vision regarding the cranial trauma that knocked his cybernetic connections offline and of the intense summer heat turning the tool shed into a makeshift sauna.
The warnings returned as his system detected his rising core temperature and prompted him to seek cooling measures. Reaching one-hundred degrees even wasn't critical but the concentrated heat of the tool shed guaranteed that he'd overheat in less than twenty minutes if he didn't escape soon.
The door to the shed slammed open from the outside as Syracuse entered the small space and gave Connor a wicked sneer. "You should've just minded your own damn business. It's bad enough your snooping got Wally sent to prison, but now that you're actually going to try to ruin my life over you plastic freaks getting in my way is where I'm drawing the line."
Snapping back Connor refused to admit any fault. "You ruined your own life when you chose to murder ten deviants."
"Oh? So you know I'm going to break you?" Grabbing a sharp screwdriver from the nearby shelf beside the door Syracuse hovered over the table and waved the tool in Connor's face to taunt him. "How polite of you to count yourself with the other useless bitches."
"I'm including the 'Traci' you murdered and Nero hid away from the city last summer. I know everything you've done, and you're going to spend the rest of your pathetic life behind bars."
Punching Connor in the face with his right fist, the screwdriver clutched in the same hand, Syracuse showed his temper yet again. "You're calling me pathetic? Look at you!"
"I've never killed anyone." Spitting blue blood from his mouth Connor honed in on his 'inner Hank' and knew how to rile up a disgusting human like Syracuse and make him too emotional to do anything logical. "And I've never targeted people half my size and strength because I let insecurities take the place of my balls."
Enraged by the comment Syracuse began punching Connor in the face, the chest and the abdomen over and over again until the deviant detective was peppered with dark blue bruises from the deranged human. While the other deviants had their plastimetal warped and fractured by Syracuse's rage Connor's reinforced plastimetal resisted the blunt force trauma much easier than the previous victims.
"DON'T TALK BACK TO ME YOU WORTHLESS CHUNK OF PLASTIC!"
Coughing as the trauma knocked the wind out of his artificial lungs and caused him to cough up more blood Connor refused to back down. "...I-If I'm so worthless then why are you w-wasting your time with me?"
"Piece of shit!" Punching Connor in the face again Syracuse used his left hand to rip open Connor's white dress shirt to expose his bruising chest and abdomen. Hovering the screwdriver just below Connor's navel Syracuse's amber eyes were wild with rage and he was dripping with sweat. "You're worth more as a bunch of pieces than as a whole!"
"Who are you going to sell my biocomponents to?" Keeping Syracuse distracted to the best of his ability Connor challenged the claim. "You're far too idiotic to know how to handle such delicate pieces and I doubt you're going to sell anything to your prison buddies."
"You keep running your mouth." Stabbing the screwdriver down and into Connor's thermal regulator under his artificial skin Syracuse damaged the fragile biocomponent causing it to spark and leak blue blood all over Connor's torso. "And I'll rip out your throat next!"
Letting out a groan of pain Connor tried to twist away from the screwdriver being stabbed into his stomach. Unable to cybernetically call out to help and knowing he was too far away from anyone roaming the area to hear his voice Connor just endured the agony to the best of his ability.
"You think you're so superior, don't you?" Twisting the screwdriver once Syracuse ignored Connor's gasp of pain as he crudely extracted the vital biocomponent from Connor's torso to spark and drip Thirium as it remained pierced on the tip of the screwdriver. "You can always be improved. And that's what I do... I know a thing or two about enhancing biocomponents and limbs for a quick buck. That's all your kind is good for, quick cash for a night at the bar. That is, when you don't have the right parts to make things more fun at night. If that 'Traci' bitch would've just shut up and got down on her knees when I ordered her to do it she would still be here whoring it up around town."
"I-Is that the only way you can get it up?" Ignoring the red warnings in his eyes confirming that his core temperature was no longer being monitored as the biocomponent was ripped from his torso, Connor decided he'd rather endure a physical beating over having his biocomponents torn from his body. "N-Needing to make women cry because they can't f-find your dick?"
Throwing the screwdriver and thermal regulator down on the ground Syracuse wrapped both of his hands around Connor's throat to strangle him. "I WARNED YOU!" Tightening his grip Syracuse was determined to crush Connor's throat under his hands. "NOW YOU'RE-"
A loud gunshot echoed in the small tool shed as Syracuse let out a shocked gasp and stumbled back from the table. A fresh bullet wound in Syracuse's left shoulder was enough to get him to back off and look to the opened door of the shed.
"BACK. OFF." Hank growled as he aimed his gun at Syracuse's chest. Hearing Connor cough and seeing the blue blood all over his abdomen was enough to make Hank's hands steady his grip on the weapon. "You're under arrest for the abduction and attempted murder of a police officer, and the ten murders of other deviants throughout the city."
"You fuckin' race-traitor!" Shouting in anger at Hank next Syracuse made a move to rush and attack the senior detective with wild fire in his eyes. "I'm going to show you what happens to-"
Another gunshot silenced Syracuse as the second bullet struck Syracuse right in the center of the chest and passed through the aorta. The crucial artery was obliterated by the passing bullet. Syracuse was dead before he even hit the floor.
Slipping the gun back into the holster on his right hip Hank rushed over to the table and removed the restraints from Connor's wrists and ankles. "Shit, kid." Seeing the blood on Connor's face and abdomen made the senior detective outwardly wince. "What the fuck happened?"
"S-Syracuse tried to sneak away." Sucking in a pained breath as his abdomen ached, his chest struggled to take in a proper ventilation and his torso bled freely, Connor told Hank what had happened. "I f-followed. He struck m-me over the head and b-brought me here."
"Shit. Can you move?"
"I... I can."
"Lean on me."
"N-Need my..." Holding his right hand over the bleeding wound in his abdomen Connor barely moved as Hank helped him to sit upright on the table. Using his eyes he motioned to the biocomponent sitting on the floor in a growing puddle of his own blood. "Regulator."
"Your..." Following Connor's gaze Hank picked up the biocomponent still stabbed on the end of the screwdriver and swore again. "Holy fuck!"
"N-Need to see a t-technician."
"Right, let's go." Holding on to the offensive weapon in his left hand to keep the regulator off the ground Hank pulled Connor's right arm around his shoulders to help the deviant stand up from the table and walk toward the doorway of the shed. "Man," Hank could feel a horrible heat radiating from Connor even with the afternoon summer sunlight pouring down from overhead. "you're burning up!"
"Th-Thermal regulator was d-damaged." Connor struggled to speak as the damage to his throat interfered with his vocal modulator to an extent. "I w-was beginning to overheat b-before he damaged my thermal r-regulator."
"Shit, all right." Leading Connor over to the Oldsmobile parked haphazardly beside the small hunting cabin that Syracuse had been using to hide out from the law and torture deviants Hank was determined to get his partner to safety. Having picked up Syracuse's trail thanks to the massive pick-up truck's tires digging into the dirt road leading from the paved street and to the cabin Hank spotted the bright white truck parked by the house and knew he found the suspect and more importantly, Connor. "I'll get ya' back to the city and get ya' some help."
"W-Won't make it." Struggling to speak and remain coherent as Hank pulled open the passenger side door of the still running Oldsmobile Connor gave the senior detective a grim thought to consider. Being sat down in the passenger seat Connor let out a small gasp as Hank tilted the seat backward to allow Connor lay as flat as possible during the drive back to Detroit. "C-Core temperature is going t-to keep rising."
"Hold on, son." Putting the thermal regulator down on the backseats of the two door coupe Hank focused more on Connor than the regulator at the moment. Slamming the passenger door shut Hank rushed over to the driver's side door and sat down behind the wheel. Cranking up the air as high as it could go Hank redirected the vents to blow solely over Connor to keep him as cool as possible. "I'm going to get you back to the city as fast as I can."
Pressing his foot over the accelerator Hank sped away from the dirt driveway and back to Detroit six miles away. As he pushed the vehicle to its limits Hank grabbed his radio and informed dispatch of finding Connor, finding the suspect, rescuing Connor, shooting the suspect and now transporting Connor back to the city for treatment. Afterward Hank requested that patrol go to the hunting cabin to collect evidence and claim Syracuse's body.
"Which facility should I take you to, kid?"
The question was too complex for Connor's overheated mind to comprehend. "...H-Hot."
"I know you are." Pressing his right palm over Connor's forehead Hank swore at the intense fever that was plaguing the deviant detective's body. Beyond using the air conditioner there was nothing else Hank could do to help keep Connor cool during the drive. "Try to focus on me."
Letting his eyes shut Connor chronicled his damage to his body and tried to estimate how much Thirium he had lost courtesy of Syracuse physically assaulting him. The only damaged biocomponent he had suffered was the thermal regulator, but being unable to monitor and control his core temperature was causing his ventilation biocomponents to work in overdrive in an attempt to keep him cool.
As Thirium wept from his damaged torso, seeped from the laceration of his right temple beneath the destroyed L.E.D., and trickled down his nose and corners of his mouth, Connor struggled to remain conscious. The effort to just stay awake was exhausting Connor's reserves at a drastically swift rate.
"Hey, talk to me, son!" On the verge of shouting Hank tried to keep Connor alert as he neared the city with his wounded partner beside him. Time was running out quickly and Hank hated the idea of being too slow instead of too late. "What's happening to you-"
The Oldsmobile again sputtered and suddenly slowed as the engine overheated in the intense summer heat for the second time that day.
"Ah, fuck!" Having no choice but to pull the car off to the side of the road for a moment Hank radioed dispatch to ask for assistance, and then phoned the precinct to let them know about the Oldsmobile breaking down again. "Damn it, of all days for the car to give me attitude it's today..."
Connor let out a deep breath as his temperature continued to rise to a number his system couldn't record due to his missing thermal regulator.
"Don't worry, son. I can figure something out."
Turning on the vehicle's hazard lights Hank stepped out of the Oldsmobile and opened up the passenger side door of the car. Slipping his arms under Connor's shoulder and knees Hank scooped the wounded deviant up and carried him away from the blazing hot vehicle and to a shady spot under some tall trees not too far away.
"Stay here and stay still."
Too weak and confused to reply Connor didn't notice Hank laying him down on the cool green grass in the shade.
"Good thing I keep water in the trunk. At least I do now that you remind me to drink more water than coffee these days."
Returning to the car Hank reached inside the old vehicle and manually popped open the trunk to get to the small cooler containing four bottles of water and a re-freezable ice pack. Carrying the cooler over to where he had left Connor to rest on the cool grass Hank knelt beside the deviant and placed the partially melted ice pack over the center of Connor's torso above the bleeding wound and then placed one of the chilled water bottles beneath Connor's neck.
"This won't feel great but it's better than overheating."
Cracking open the second bottle of water Hank poured the contents over Connor's hair, his chest and carefully around his abdomen to try to keep Connor from overheating to the point of shutdown. The way steam rose from Connor's overheating skin frightened Hank, but not nearly as much as Connor not even reacting to the chilled water washing away the heat and drying blood from his person.
"Connor?"
Speaking to the deviant in a low voice Hank tried to gauge his overall awareness while using the water to cool off Connor's system.
"Son, I need you to speak to me. You got the hell beat out of you and I need to know if I'm going to do anything that'll hurt you."
When he didn't get a response Hank decided to take the initiative himself. Watching Connor's eyes for any sign of returning consciousness Hank ran his hands down Connor's legs from the deviant's hips to ankles. There was faint bruising on Connor's ankles but nothing more severe such as a broken limb, dislocated appendage or further bleeding. Doing the same to Connor's arms by starting at the deviant's shoulders down to his wrists Hank checked for additional damage. Same as his legs there were only bruises and no breaks or bleeding.
"Okay, so far so good..."
Moving his hands over to Connor's head next Hank winced at the deep cut and destroyed L.E.D. in Connor's right temple, but focused on checking for any sign of fractures or even dents to the deviant's cranium. Beyond the laceration, bloodied nose and bleeding lip Hank couldn't find any sign of head trauma that needed his immediate attention.
"I bet you're going to have one hell of a headache when you wake up, kid."
With a brief hesitation Hank hovered his hands over Connor's chest and lightly applied pressure to check on the structural integrity of Connor's plastimetal framing as if he were checking a human for broken ribs or internal bleeding. He could feel swelling under Connor's skin from broken Thirium lines letting lost blue blood puddle under the skin creating both the bruising and swelling. The area around the opened wound where Connor's thermal regulator had been torn from his torso was still weeping Thirium but at a much slow pace thanks to Connor's self healing programming closing off the lines to prevent further bleeding.
"Shit. You're not exactly falling apart but I can't just haul you down the road on foot."
The hot June weather provoked the cicadas into sounding off from the nearby trees as if to emphasize the intense summer air.
"Not in this heat..."
A quick 'chirp' from a patrol car's siren snapped Hank's attention away from Connor and to the road as Gavin arrived to check out the scene. Pulling the car aside Gavin used the radio to order patrol to keep going ahead to the scene and told Tina specifically to take the lead while he assisted Hank and Connor.
"Son of a bitch." Swearing at the help that arrived Hank sounded annoyed instead of relieved. "It's Gavin."
Rushing over to where Hank was kneeling over Connor on the grass Gavin gave Connor an almost disgusted glance the moment he saw all the blue blood staining Connor's skin and clothing. "What the fuck happened to him?"
"That asshole who's been killing deviants all over the city tried to take down Connor." Pointing to the hole in Connor's torso Hank shook his head a little as slipped his arms back under Connor's shoulders and knees to pick him up again. The ice pack remained in place over Connor's torso even after he was picked up and carried away. "One of his thermal things got fucked up. Connor's burning up and needs help."
"The thermal regulator." Gavin accurately deduced as he opened the backseat doors to the patrol car in Hank's stead. "Where is it?"
"Backseat of my car."
"You get him situated in the backseat and I'll go grab the regulator."
Unsure if Gavin knew android terminology from spending time with Abby or the mandated android first-aid courses, Hank just placed Connor down over the backseats and made sure the air conditioner was cranked up to maximum power. "Hold on, kid. We'll get you to a facility."
Gavin returned to the patrol car and sat down behind the steering wheel. Handing Hank the regulator to hold in his hands Gavin sighed as he shifted the car out of park and turned the vehicle around to head back into the city. "I have Abby's number saved in my phone. Call her and let her know that Connor had his thermal regulator damaged."
"Yeah, sure." Taking Gavin's phone from the dashboard Hank found Abby's number at the top of his list contacts and pressed 'dial'. The moment he heard Abby's voice greet him with a typical 'hello' and not a 'lovey-dovey' comment (much to Hank's relief) Hank told her everything that was happening. "We're on our way back to the city but I don't know how hot he's burning right now."
'If he's unconscious then his core temperature is in excess of one-hundred and three degrees, and that means he's in critical condition.' Sounding professional and calm as ever Abby gave Hank some advice over the phone to ensure Connor received proper treatment. 'My facility is too far away from where you guys are to be of any use, but St. Mercy Hospital is much closer to your current location.'
"The hospital?" That particular location wasn't even on Hank's radar. "What?"
'Trust me on this, Hank. A couple hospitals have begun discussing opening deviant care wings in the event of emergencies and St. Mercy is at the top of the list. I'll contact the doctor I've been talking with and let him know the situation, and let him know that you're on your way in with Connor.'
"All right, fine. We'll go to St. Mercy and meet you there." Ending the call Hank put Gavin's phone aside and peered at Connor laying over the backseats still not conscious or moving. Every few seconds Connor would take in a shaking breath but his ventilation rate was far from consistent. "You're going to be okay, son. We're almost there."
Gavin didn't say a word about the way Hank was showing his paternal side and focused on the road ahead of him. Using his radio Gavin requested clearance by dispatch and soon had three police drones leading the way while keeping other cars off the streets. Pulling the swift patrol car into the emergency parking lot of St. Mercy Hospital Gavin threw the vehicle into park and motioned for Hank to step outside of the car.
"Okay, kid... Help's here." Opening the passenger door and then the backseat doors Hank bent down and scooped Connor back up into his arms and carried the unconscious deviant toward the entrance and immediately had a doctor, two nurses and gurney awaiting him on the other side of the automatic sliding doors. "Hey! Got a wounded deviant!"
"Put him down here." A male doctor in his early thirties with a dark complexion, raven black hair, warm brown eyes and strong build motioned for Hank to place Connor on the gurney. "I was informed you'd be coming in by Dr. Grayson." Pulling his stethoscope from around his neck the attentive doctor pressed the metal bell of the device over Connor's chest to listen to his Thirium pump and ventilation rate. "I'm Dr. Caleb Wilson."
"Yeah, I'm Lieutenant Hank Anderson and he's Connor."
"Yes, I know. We'll get him cooled down and stabilized." Draping the stethoscope back around his neck Dr. Wilson stood upright and began rolling the gurney down the corridor to a designated treatment room. The two nurses were walking alongside him and taking notes on the deviant patient. "Where's the thermal regulator?"
In his haste to get Connor out of the car Hank hadn't noticed that he left the regulator behind. "Oh, sh-"
"Got it!" Gavin suddenly announced as he joined Hank inside the hospital and placed the regulator down on the gurney beside Connor's right leg. "Damn thing is still working, I have no idea how. I left the screwdriver in so I didn't make things worse."
"Good work, Reed." Passing by the helpful detective Hank focused on his partner. "Tell Fowler what's up."
Holding up his phone Gavin sought a private corner to speak on the phone while Hank worried about Connor. "I'm on it."
Hank followed after the gurney while he watched the medical staff trying to figure out how to treat the wounded deviant. Everything was a blur of motion as Connor was taken into an isolated treatment room that had a large metal tub filled with ice and water in a chilled slurry. After Dr. Wilson secured a waterproof seal over the opened wound in Connor's abdomen the deviant detective was stripped of his clothing and submerged into the painfully cold water to get his core temperature back and keep it down.
Sitting in a chair beside the tub Hank kept his right palm over the back of Connor's hair to ensure the deviant felt comforted despite being subjected to the extreme cold. It wasn't a secret that Connor hated the cold but right now it was the only thing keeping him active until his thermal regulator could be repaired properly.
Dr. Wilson secured two wireless leads from a cardiac monitor that had been tweaked to monitor androids for the moment. After checking Connor's vitals and comparing them to Abby's notes the attentive physician tended to Connor like he would any other patient. "He's stable." Checking the bruises around Connor's chest Dr. Wilson decided it'd be best to let Abby handle Connor's additional care. "I'll be back after Dr. Grayson finishes repairing his regulator."
"Right, thanks for your help, doc." Waiting for Dr. Wilson to take his leave of the treatment room Hank addressed his partner in a low voice. "Today wasn't exactly what I was expecting to deal with, kid."
Speaking to Connor in a calm tone Hank recounted the odd day as if Connor could hear him and understand him perfectly well.
"Not only did I have to find you after our suspect did the dumbest thing of his entire life by kidnapping and torturing a fuckin' cop, but I had to put him down with a bullet like the rabid dog he was. It's not the first time I've had to take a life in order to save a life, but it never gets any easier."
The door to the room opened from the other side as an unexpectedly familiar face timidly peered inside the room. "...Hank?"
"Elizabeth?" Remembering that Elizabeth worked at the hospital as a volunteer Hank quickly figured out why she was there and straightened up his posture where he sat. "Hi. Uh, Connor's unconscious but he's going to be okay."
"Dr. Wilson told me that a deviant was brought here for treatment." Approaching the metal tub slowly Elizabeth knelt down beside Connor and looked at the damage to Connor's right temple with a thick grimace on her face. "I was hoping it wasn't Connor, but I had to know for sure."
Hank empathized with Elizabeth's concerns on deeply emotional level. "He's not in pain and Dr. Grayson; who is a very good technician, is repairing his damaged biocomponent as we speak."
"I don't doubt that he'll be okay, but I can't stand to see Connor like this."
"Yeah, I get that."
"Can I ask what happened?"
"I... To be honest with you, you don't want to know."
"Then I'd rather live in ignorant bliss." Reaching into the left breast pocket of her lavender purple scrubs Elizabeth pulled out a white cotton handkerchief and dipped the corner into the cold water in the tub. Using a gentle touch Elizabeth wiped away the blood from Connor's right temple and cleaned up the wound with a mother's touch. "It... It looks like the light in his temple is broken."
"Yeah, it was knocked out when Connor was... knocked out."
"I don't want to know what happened, so I'll stop asking questions."
"Well, you don't have to ask about his injuries if you don't want to." Keeping his hand in place Hank began to lightly comb through Connor's dark hair with his thumb in a comforting gesture. "But he does have other things going on in his-"
Connor suddenly took in a deep breath as his soulful brown eyes snapped open and he sat upright in the tub. Conscious, coherent and very aware of his body being submerged in the icy water Connor instinctively tried to get up, but Hank wouldn't let him.
"Nope!" Putting both of his hands down on Connor's shoulders Hank forced Connor to stay in the tub. "Stay put until your thermal-thingy is fixed."
"H-Hank?" Giving the senior detective a confused glance Connor sensed someone else beside him and turned to see Elizabeth's kind face smiling at him. "Mrs. Wolf?" Closing his eyes again Connor put his right palm to his head as a tremendous headache set it. "Ow... Shit."
"Call me 'Elizabeth', please." She replied in a low voice due to Connor's headache. "You're safe here."
"Where is..." Still unable to tap into his cybernetic processes Connor couldn't gain his bearings. "Wh-Where is 'here'?"
"St. Mercy Hospital."
"Wh-Why am I..." Struggling to understand what happened Connor returned his attention to Hank as he pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs to try to keep warm while sitting in the icy water. "H-Hospital?"
"It was closer than any facility." Hank explained rather casually. "And Abby told us to come here and she's fixing your thermal-thingy right now."
"I-I see..."
"We know you hate the cold but it's necessary." Resting his palm on the back of Connor's hair again Hank remained a comforting presence for his wounded and shivering partner. "The moment Abby's back with your biocomponent you can get out of that tub and take a warm shower or let Sumo smother ya' with love."
"Y-Yes. Okay."
Elizabeth hated to see Connor so cold even though she knew it was for his own benefit. Unable to ignore her still prevalent maternal instincts Elizabeth stood upright and found a stack of clean white towels in the nearby storage cabinet. Opening up the cabinet she took a single towel and draped it around Connor's shoulders to offer a modicum of relief in that uncomfortable moment.
"Th-Thank you." Clutching the two ends of the towels in his hands Connor pulled the offered towel tightly around himself to keep some part of him warm. "I-I hate the c-cold."
"So do I."
The door to the treatment room opened again as Abby made her return with Gavin right beside her. Glad to see Connor awake and sitting upright in the water Abby walked over to her patient and knelt down so he could look her in the eyes. "Hello, Connor."
Locking eyes with the technician Connor returned the greeting. "H-Hello, A-Abby."
"Good news! You can get out of the water now." Abby smirked as she, Hank and Elizabeth all helped the deviant to rise to his feet and carefully step out of the tub on his shaking legs. "And the better news is I can put your regulator back into place and you're free to go about your business."
"Th-Thank you. I-I'm ready t-to leave." Letting the trio lead him over to a nearby chair Connor forced himself to sit up straight so Abby could replace his thermal regulator without him needing to lay down. Once he was out of the water Connor began to warm up quickly but was still shivering. "I-I didn't s-suffer any intern-nal t-trauma. I d-don't need a ph-physical."
"I'm the technician, and I'll make that call." Being stern yet playful Abby successfully removed the waterproof bandage from Connor's abdomen and slid the repaired biocomponent back into the proper coupling. "There. Since Dr. Wilson was kind enough to open up an emergency department for deviants you're going to be a good patient and let him and I examine you before you're released into Hank and Lucas's care for the rest of the day."
"But I-"
"Nope." Abby gave Connor a terse stare that silenced the deviant detective. "You're getting a full exam from head to toe, then you can go home to recover."
Gavin gave Connor a sympathetic glance as he knew that he'd never talk Abby out of the exam and he'd have to deal with it whether he liked it or not. "I'll go and let Fowler know he's awake. Oh," turning his attention to Hank for a moment Gavin began walking backward to the door behind him. "your car got towed back to the precinct so you can fix it if you want or have it taken to the garage of your choosing."
"Right. Thanks, Gavin." Being civil for everyone's sake Hank grabbed another towel from the cabinet and gave it to Connor as Gavin left the treatment room. "By the way. Tina's been handling the case in our stead, so once you get cleared we can just go back to the house or I can drop you off at your brownstone. Whichever you prefer, kid."
Looking up at Hank beside him Connor's soulful brown eyes looked emotionally drained as decided where he wanted to go. "C-Can I just go to y-your house and have Lucas c-come over?"
"Sure, son." It sounded almost pitiful to hear Connor asking to stay the night and have his little brother stop by. "It's been a couple weeks since you two spoiled Sumo rotten, so that'll work out for everyone."
Feeling much better despite his headache, his still healing bruises and cuts all over his body, Connor relaxed as he let Abby check his vitals and didn't resist when Elizabeth applied a clean bandage over his right temple to cover the cut. "Thank you." Remaining cooperative Connor put up with everyone fussing over him at the moment. "I feel better surrounded by my friends and family instead of just my books."
-next chapter-