They were all quiet for a moment. Startled, unsure of what had happened, as they adjusted to the sudden lack of light.
Hank broke the silence. "Any chance that was just a coincidence?" He asked, already fearing the answer.
"The emergency generator should have kicked in by now," Elijah said. The fact that it hadn't did not suggest anything good.
Hank stood and turned to the dark outline of where he knew Kamski was sitting. "Let me guess, you were about to say you were one of those perceived threats to CyberLife?"
"I… do have access to a wealth of knowledge that could be damning in the right hands," he admitted, sounding timid for the first time.
Markus's figure also stood. "Arguably, this could be a good thing." Hank assumed he had turned towards him. "If Connor is here, we don't need to find a way to track or lure him."
The far door opened, making all three of them jump.
"Elijah?" A feminine voice called. Two other silhouettes appeared in the doorway.
"Chloe," Kamski answered. "What's happening?"
They knew the answer to that already, but specifics where they could get them would only help the situation. The three Chloe's entered the room fully, their yellow LED's being the only source of light in the vast space.
"I'm uncertain. The security system has been deactivated and locked," the one at the front answered. She sounded worried. "I'm not sure how, it shouldn't be possible without your clearance."
"Connor can duplicate voice patterns," Markus supplied. "All he would have needed was a sample. He could have gotten that from any interview online, it would have been easy."
"Well, I'm going to re-evaluate my security measures." Kamski muttered, fear manifesting as annoyance.
Hank drew his gun. The last thing he wanted to do was use it, but it was better to have it at the ready. "You stay behind me," he ordered Elijah. "If he's here for you, he'll come to us."
He dimly saw Kamski nod his head in agreement. "Right. Yes, that makes sense."
"Girls," he addressed the Chloe's, "you stick close. We can't rule you out as targets." Hank looked to Markus's shadowed form. "Ya know what, let's just assume CyberLife wants us all dead."
"That sounds fair," Markus agreed. He didn't sound scared, just cautious. Hank figured he was more used to this sort of tension than the other occupants in the room.
The Chloe's filed in and went to stand beside Elijah, both timidly and protectively. He reached up, taking one of their hands, and whispered a soft assurance. Hank mused that maybe the guy actually did care about them, at least a little.
They stayed like that for several moments. Silent, tense, waiting. Then came the distinctive sound of glass breaking.
"That came from a different room," Markus supplied unhelpfully.
"That… that's the direction of my office." The concern in Kamski's voice increased. "He's not coming for us. He's going for the computer mainframe."
"The power is completely out," one of the Chloe's said. "The mainframe is inaccessible without power. Even for an android."
"Yeah," Hank grunted. "But I bet my fuckin pension he can still destroy it."
Silently and unanimously, it was decided. Markus led the way, having the best night vision of the group, Hank right behind him with his gun drawn. They made their way towards the sound. Towards the danger. Towards Connor.
The throbbing pain in Hank's head only worsened.
At Hank's signal, Markus shoved the door to Elijah's office open. The android inside the room didn't so much as flinch. Frigid winter air whipped against his face.
Connor was easily recognizable even in the darkness, glowing blue armband and sickeningly neat text marking him as CyberLife property.
Hank hated that damn coat.
The android turned his head slowly to acknowledge them, revealing the steady blue of his LED.
"Don't move!" Hank ordered, gun level with Connor's head. Glass crunched under his shoes as he slowly stepped into the room. He would have cracked a joke about the kid's tendency towards breaking windows had the situation been different.
Connor seemed to obey the order, staying motionless, watching them. Hank couldn't see his expression, but his stillness was unsettling. The smell of molten plastic hit his nose, causing his headache to spike.
"Connor," Hank heard Markus call from behind him. "We are going to help you."
"Thank you," Connor responded. His voice was cold and mechanical. "But I assure you, that is unnecessary."
As if it were some kind of cue, the lights chose that moment to flicker back on.
The sudden illumination stabbed at Hank's eyes bringing his headache from painful to excruciating. He winced, the gun lowering as he squinted against the light. He heard several shouts from the others as he tried to clear his vision, tried to get his bearings. But it was over before it began.
His eyes adjusted just in time to see Connor bash the head of one of the Chloe's into the window frame and run off into the night.
"Fuck!" he swore, taking in his surroundings. Markus was on the floor, seeming to be dazed from the seconds-long altercation. Kamski and the other two Chloe's were rushing to the one that had fallen. He guessed that the twisted pile of mangled electronics in the corner was the remains of the mainframe. The smell of something burning was stronger than ever.
"Is everyone ok?" He called, already knowing the answer was no, but hoping it wasn't too bad.
Markus looked up, opening his mouth to speak but was cut off by the shrill screech of an alarm. Hank's head did not approve.
"That's the fire alarm," Kamski shouted over the noise, still cradling the fallen Chloe. The increased burning smell and the smoke that had begun filling the room indicated that it wasn't a system error.
Hank fought past his screaming head and rushed to help Markus up, trusting that Elijah had Chloe. "Everybody out! Now!" He ordered. Who knew what kinds of crap Kamski had on the property. He didn't trust the place not to blow.
They all stumbled out of the broken window that Connor had fled through only moments before. Hank issued them what he deemed was a safe distance away, adrenaline still pumping through his veins as he helped Markus sit. Looking back, he could see just how much of the house had already been engulfed in flame.
"I'm ok," Markus insisted, but his voice wavered. "He seemed to be more interested in escaping than doing any real harm."
"Chloe will need some repair," Elijah informed them, correctly assuming they would be concerned. "She'll be alright though, it's nothing I can't fix." He moved to settle her unconscious form near where Markus was recovering. Hank could hear the sirens from emergency vehicles approaching.
"Everything happened so quickly," one of the conscious Chloe's said. She shook, and the other pulled her close in comfort. "Chloe tried to stop him from leaving. He brought her down as though she were nothing."
Connor was nothing if not efficient, Hank realized. Efficient, and lethal. He found himself wondering if he had ever truly seen what the kid was actually capable of. He crossed his arms and looked back to the burning building. Judging by the past few minutes, he doubted it.
From the corner of his eye, Hank saw a flash of blue. He turned in time to see Connor's retreating form, unashamedly illuminated by the nearby streetlights. Without a second thought, he charged after him, ignoring Markus's cautionary shout.
His head pounded. His heart raced. But he wasn't about to let the kid out of his sight. Gun drawn, he followed him down the road.
"Connor stop!" Hank shouted, lungs burning.
He stopped. Slowly, deliberately, mechanically. Emotionless brown eyes stared uninterested at the gun pointed at his head. "Are you going to shoot me, Lieutenant?"
"If I have to," he responded, hating that he couldn't stop his voice from shaking.
The android smiled. It was cold, empty, and didn't reach the eyes. Nothing like Connor's smile. He spread his arms wide, expanding the target making it impossible for him to miss the shot. "Then do it," he taunted.
Hank tightened the grip on his gun.
"You can't do it, Lieutenant," Connor told him, so certain he was right. "You couldn't let me put a bullet in my own head, you expect me to believe you'll do it for me?"
His hand shook, finger twitching on the trigger. One bullet and it would all be over. One bullet and he could stop Amanda, keep his promise, not let him hurt anyone. But one bullet and Connor would be gone too.
Hank lowered the gun.
"That's what I thought." The smirk on Connor's face wasn't his. The kid would never give him a sadistic look like that, but there it was, proving once again that it wasn't him. "Until next time, Lieutenant," he said mockingly. Without another word, he faded into the shadows.