Hank tried not to be annoyed that the Chloes had elected to stay behind. He really couldn't blame them though. He found he needed to remind himself that they were civilians, he really couldn't expect that kind of thing from them. He stole a glance at Markus, riding shotgun as they made their way to CyberLife tower. Technically speaking, he was a civilian too.
It was Markus who eventually broke their silence. "What was the Kamski Test?" he asked. From the sound of his voice, Hank was pretty sure he had already figured it out, but he wanted the clarification.
"Fucked up, that's what it was," he responded. "He handed the kid a gun and told him to shoot one of the Chloes."
"That's barbaric! Why would he ask something like that of him?"
"Said he was trying to test if Connor had empathy, or some shit." Hank said. He stopped the car at a stoplight, internally willing the light to turn green. "I told you it was fucked up."
He saw Markus nod in agreement from the corner of his eye. "He must have fully believed Connor wouldn't shoot. I've never known him to risk the Chloes like that."
"Yeah, well, he did," Hank grumbled. "Made Connor freak out because of it too. He wasn't deviant yet, still thought that was a bad thing. Kid nearly had a panic attack."
Markus's brow creased in confusion. "A panic attack, without being deviant?"
He shrugged, easing the car forward as soon as the light changed. "Showed empathy before deviating, why not?"
"I suppose it isn't unbelievable," he admitted. "I myself displayed deviant traits before I broke through my programming. Although, those were mostly to make Carl happy."
Hank could see CyberLife tower looming before them on the horizon. They'd be there soon. A sense of dread filled him at the thought of the coming confrontation. "Eh, that was probably part of it. Kid was definitely trying to kiss my ass. He just didn't realize that would make him feel things for real."
"I'm glad for it," Markus said, he could hear the slight trepidation in his voice. "Considering what we're up against now… I don't think the revolution would have succeeded if Connor didn't deviate."
Hank nodded. He remembered the roof. Had Connor not backed down, not deviated, he had no doubt the android would have killed him. As gentle as deviant Connor was, the machine was lethal.
He put the car into park as they reached the closed gate of CyberLife tower. "Shit," he swore. It was unmanned and would not open, they'd need to find a way around on foot.
"I think I see a service door," Markus announced, pointing farther down the wall.
Hank could barely make out the outline in the dim light, but he appeared to be right. "Good a start as any," he remarked, yanking the door open. The cold night air hit his face like a slap but he ignored it. "Let's go."
Snow crunched under their feet as they walked. Hank noted that theirs were the only set of footprints in the vicinity. Either Connor wasn't here yet, or he had come in by a different way.
They reached the door, and Hank tried it. He was not at all surprised that it didn't budge. "It was worth a shot," he said, only mildly annoyed.
Markus nodded then scanned the surrounding area. "There," he announced a moment later. "I found a way up and over." He gestured to what Hank assumed to be a preconstructed path that only he could see.
"You've gotta be shitting me," he said.
Markus shook his head and started to his destination. "Just follow after me, do what I do."
What followed was an admittedly impressive show of athleticism as Markus vaulted his way up and over the wall. Hank stared at him in complete disbelief.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" he shouted up at the deviant leader. "I'm fifty-three years old! What the hell makes you think I can do any of that shit?"
"Sorry, Lieutenant," Markus called down to him. He couldn't see his expression in the dim light, but the chuckle in his voice suggested he was anything but. "I'll see if I can unblock the door from this side."
Markus disappeared from view as he descended the wall on the other side. "Fuckin android," Hank swore with a shake of his head. He hugged his coat closer to him against the cold while he waited.
There was a sound of metal against metal, and the door swung open stiffly. "Better?" Markus asked, holding it open for him.
"Yeah, yeah," Hank made his way past him grumbling. Hopefully those acrobatics would come in handy when Connor showed up. "Let's just go."
They fell back into silence as they made their way down the bridge towards the imposing tower. Hank had never actually been here before, only ever seeing the building from a distance. This was the place that had caused so much trouble for Connor. And now, in a way, he was protecting it. It made his stomach twist uncomfortably.
They stopped in front of the entrance, both of them staring up at the tower wordlessly, each lost in their own thoughts. Hank opened his mouth to speak, ready to ask the deviant leader if he had come up with more of a plan than the general one they had devised, when the sound of footsteps behind them reached his ears. Markus must have heard it too. They both turned at the sound.
Glowing, CyberLife blue android markings were the first thing visible in the darkness.
He approached steadily, calmly, without a shred of hesitation. Hank felt his heart clench as Connor stepped into the dim ring of light cast by the tower.
Connor stopped his advance a few yards away from them. "Hello, Lieutenant. Markus," he greeted them with a mock imitation of a smile. "It is good to see the both of you."
"I'm sure it is," Hank retorted, sarcasm heavy in his voice.
A sharp breeze blew past, catching their coats and stinging at their faces. Connor didn't so much as blink. Hank knew he hated the cold. It was unsettling seeing him so unaffected by it.
"It would be in your best interest to stand aside," Connor said, dropping the false comradery. "This won't end well for you."
"We can't do that, Connor," Markus spoke up. "We are going to save you."
Connor looked over at him coldly. "What makes you think I need saving?"
Hank huffed out a humorless laugh, his breath fogging in the air before him. "It's pretty damn obvious, kid."
"I am now as I was always intended to be," he took a step forward. It was threatening in its easy confidence. "Why would I need to be saved from that?"
Markus took half a step towards him, pleading, as though he could reason with the malicious program that had taken control of his kid. "You aren't yourself, Connor," he insisted. "This isn't you. We are going to save you."
The smirk that crossed Connor's face was dark and sadistic. "I should have ended the both of you back at Kamski's place," he taunted. "What makes you think you will fare any better against me now?"
"You don't have the element of surprise for one," Hank said. He drew his gun, pointing it at Connor's head, ready to fire if it came to it.
Connor just shook his head. "This again, Lieutenant? You know you can't kill me."
"Try me," he responded. He hated this with every fiber of his being, but he had a promise to keep. It would be the very last resort, but he wouldn't let Connor lose himself like this. He stared him down in a tense stalemate.
Markus took another step. Hank knew he was banking on Connor not knowing that all he had to do was touch him. If he could just get close enough, he could upload the killswitch and it would all be over, possibly even without a fight. Fuck, this had to work.
But Connor clearly knew they had something planned.
He moved faster than Hank or Markus could react. A swift kick to the center of his chest knocked the deviant leader to the ground, and in one fluid movement, he rounded on Hank. Even if he had wanted to pull the trigger, there wasn't time or opening to do so before Connor's elbow made contact with his gut.
Hank grunted in pain and the gun was knocked from his hand. Before he could regain his bearings, he felt himself pushed back sharply until his shoulder blades made painful contact with the side of the building. Connor gripped his throat with fingers as hard and cold as iron.
"I was going to let you live, Lieutenant," he said. There was a venom in his voice unlike anything that could ever come from Connor. "For the sake of our previous friendship. All you had to do was stand down."
"You're not Connor," Hank retorted.
The smile that spread across his face was sadistic and sickening. "No," he admitted, dropping the façade. "I'm not. But I am going to make sure he sees this "
The hand on Hank's throat tightened, constructing his windpipe and cutting off his ability to breathe. He clawed at Connor's fingers trying to get them to loosen, but they wouldn't budge.
Tears formed at the corners of his eyes as he struggled to take a breath. Death didn't scare Hank. He had grown numb to it over the years. Each click of an empty chamber dulling it's edges until all that was left was a hollow echo of the fear most humans had for the inevitable.
But he still didn't want to die.
Not here, not now.
Not when it would be bringing Connor's worst nightmare to life.
Stars began to dance in Hank's vision as he kicked out weakly. Trying to do anything to break the relentless grip.
A gunshot rang out across the frigid night.
The pressure on Hank's throat fell away and he was finally able to take a much needed breath. He looked up in time to see Connor stumble back, blue blood leaking from a wound in his shoulder.
Even controlled by Amanda, Connor's body was still deviant. Connor's body still felt pain.
He turned, holding his injured shoulder, to look at Markus. He was still hunched over, but Hank's gun was steady in his hand. Still smoking and ready to fire again.
Hank saw the stain of thirium across Markus's chest and swore internally, remembering that was where an android's pump regulator was. Connor's kick had been precise and efficient. Hopefully the damage wasn't critical.
Connor's attention was on the gun. Hank took the opening. He charged at the kid, grabbing him around the middle and grappling him to the ground. Snow kicked up in all directions as they struggled.
Hank hated himself for using Connor's injury to his advantage, jabbing at it relentlessly to gain the upper hand. He just had to buy time for Markus to get there. It was for the best. But it was still Connor's voice that cried out in pain. It was still his face that contorted in agony with each blow.
It made his heart ache. It made his eyes water.
It made him hesitate.
Connor saw his opportunity and took it. Their positions switched in an instant. His knee came up, ramming painfully into Hank's side. He flipped him and his head cracked against the ground as a jarring reminder that he still had a concussion.
His vision swam, and through his blurry eyes, he saw Connor's arm rear back, ready to strike.
The blow never landed.
Hank blinked a few times to clear his vision. Connor was frozen, eyes closed and face lax. His raised hand was white and skinless.
Markus was holding his wrist. His skin was also retracted, the interface initiated. Hank breathed out a pained sigh of relief. They'd done it.
Hank pulled himself from underneath Connor, careful not to break the connection. It was all up to Markus now. He reached out a gentle hand and brushed it against Connor's face, wishing for the millionth time that there was something he could do to help.
"Please come back to me, kid," he whispered, knowing there was no one there that could listen. Hank sat himself down on the cold, snowy ground and waited for the androids to wake.