The feeling of loss was something Connor was not entirely used to. The fear of losing Hank had happened before, back when his other Connor model held a gun to his head. But the task at hand was easily fixable, Connor knew the other RK800 wouldn't harm Hank unless he really had to.
This time around, watching Hank being hauled away in an ambulance brought on a fear that Connor couldn't describe. Brooke had pushed him towards the ambulance, letting him go with Hank whilst she took the car to the hospital. Markus had insisted on going with her, whilst North took some of the androids into the woods to try and find whoever did this.
Markus and Brooke headed to the hospital, Brooke drove with anger and fear as she forced her way past most cars and overtook them. Markus held on for dear life as she ran a stop sign and barely stopped in time for a pedestrian crossing.
"Brooke, could you slow down?" Markus asked in annoyance as he looked at her. She stared only on the road, revving the engine and held tightly to the steering wheel.
"This shouldn't have happened, Markus. I've never seen Connor so distraught." Markus looked back out of the window, he sighed slightly before speaking.
"I have, once before," he quietly said. Brooke quickly whipped her head to the side to look at him.
"What? When?" she asked in a hurry. The light turned green, she took off slower this time.
"When he was fighting to become deviant. He looked so fearful of what would happen if he chooses to finally be free. He also seemed scared that he couldn't become deviant and be forced to stay a machine." Markus didn't know Connor would have been so hard to convert, he was scared his plans would end with the bullet waiting to be fired in Connor's pistol.
"That would be because of Amanda if he stayed as a machine and she found out about his possible chance of converting. She would have hurt him in more ways than one." Brooke wished she could see Amanda in the flesh, she had a few things she wished to say to the AI that nearly ruined Connor and his mental health.
Markus fell silent as he brought his index finger to his forehead, the side where his LED would be. "North?" he said out loud, the car ride fell silent as Markus listened to North. "Understood, keep him there and we will be back soon."
"Keep who there?" Brooke asked as she tried to look at him but not take her eyes off the road. Markus sighed again, feeling the situation becoming harder to handle for them all.
"They've found the man who did this," he said fast and quietly. Brooke fully turned to look at him, they were close to the hospital.
"Oh, this fucker is going to pay," she said in anger as she spun the car around the corner entrance and slammed the tyres into the side of the curb. Few people who stood outside backed away in surprise.
"Brooke, what are you going to do? Connor needs you," Markus said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. Brooke pushed his hand away.
"Get out of the car, when you find Connor, tell him I will be back soon." Markus was about to argue with her, but the stare from Brooke forced him to back down. He knew she wasn't going to be convinced out of this. He nodded slowly and got out of the car, the second the door closed, Brooke put her foot down and left with screeching tyres.
Connor sat by Hank's side, his processors were in overdrive as they tried to keep him calm. He ran constant tests on Hank and his condition. He had already hacked into the hospital's files to get the doctors notes on Hank's health.
"Connor?" Markus quietly said as he knocked on the door. Connor turned in his seat, his tired eyes met Markus.
Markus stood stuck on whether to move or not, Connor sat as close as possible to Hank, his hand holding tightly to Hank's flimsy grasp. "Can I come in?" he asked, breaking Connor's lost stare.
"Sorry," he said, moving his hand from Hanks to wipe his eyes. "Yes, of course. Where is Brooke?" Markus walked in and stood by Connor's side, he looked Hank over before answering. The older human laid unconscious, the heart monitor moving slowly, too slow for a normal resting heart rate. The wires hung from his chest and an oxygen mask covered both his mouth and nose. "Markus?" Connor said louder to break his longing stare.
"She-she had some business to take care of. She said she will be back soon." Markus hated to lie to Connor, but he knew he'd freak out if he found out Brooke went after the man who did this to Hank.
"I wish she hadn't," Connor mumbled under his breath. Making it even harder for Markus to hide the truth, he decided to sit down on the other side of Hank, letting the silence extend them both. It was a waiting game for news on Hank's health or what for the man himself to wake up.
Markus had already warned North that Brooke was coming back for the guy that had harmed Hank, she was not happy to hear this. But from Markus' tone, it seemed Brooke wasn't taking no for an answer.
North waited outside the same Haven as she heard the roaring engine of an overworked car. Hank's car came into view, an angry Brooke in the driver's seat. The car came to a skidding stop as Brooke jumped out and slammed the door shut behind her. "Where is he?" she shouted as she approached North.
North wasn't sure if she was taking a liking to this attitude but could understand her frustration. She waved her hand back towards the building behind them and motioned Brooke to follow her. "We found him hiding in a tree, he tried to attack some of us so he could get away. But one of our WB400's was able to tackle him to the ground and drag him back here. We have him tied to a chair in one of the back rooms."
"I need to see this fucker in the eyes and ask him why," Brooke snarled as she was led inside. Some androids looked her way but feared her aggressive glare. She was of no harm to the androids, she came for humans, no one else.
North took her up a set of old, creaking steps and through the first door on their left which seemed to have been a bedroom, the other door was a broken-down bathroom that held the human inside. Brooke looked around the room as North looked straight at the bathroom door, "bring him out," she shouted.
The WB400 dragged the human out on the old, white oak chair. He grunted and tried to shout, but was stopped with the piece of rope that was lodged in his mouth. Brooke looked him over, he was covered in dirt and old clothes, most of it was ripped, obviously from the struggle with the big android.
"Thank you, Jackson, you may go," North said dismissing the WB400. He offered a curt nod and left the room without another look back at the panicking human. Brooke circled the man, she wasn't sure what she was going to do with him, but she thought he deserved death. Though she would never do that, she was still a detective and he would be charged heavily for what he had done.
"You can leave, North. This might get ugly," Brooke said as she stepped from behind the man. She aggressively dropped her hands down on his shoulders, his whole body quivered underneath as she bent his neck back to look at her.
"I wish to stay," North grimly replied. The man seemed to near cry as he looked at both women with frantic eyes. Brooke grabbed the hairband from her back pocket and glared at the man as she tied her hair back.
"What is your name?" she shouted as she aggressively pulled the rope from his mouth. The man shouted in pain, breathing heavily as he took oxygen in through his mouth.
"I'm not telling you that, bitch," he snarled. Brooke smiled sinisterly as she slapped him square in the cheek. He grunted heavily, nearly laughing as he dropped his head out of view. The messy mop cut of his jet black hair hid his features.
"Answer me or you'll leave in a fucking body bag," she said quietly as she pulled his chin up for their glares to meet. His features were rough, he was obviously homeless, the cracks in his cheeks and pores on his nose were deeply filled with dirt. He had dark green eyes that had many stories to tell, but to Brooke, she couldn't care less.
"I don't answer to deviant scum," he snarled. Brooke grunted as she punched him in the nose, she could feel the bridge bone crush under her knuckle. the man screamed out in pain.
"I'm not an android you fucking idiot." Brooke heard North chuckle in the background, it seemed the android was enjoying this. The man looked at Brooke, he narrowed her eyes at her for a moment, figuring out if she was telling the truth or not.
"Levi," he slowly said as he looked at the floor. Brooke grabbed the back of his hair and pulled his head back up.
"So... Levi. You wanna explain to me why you're shooting self-injecting needles at both androids and humans?" Levi aggressively from his nose rolled down to his lips. He started to chuckle at her, letting the blood from his nose drip down to his lips.
"Androids are the scum of the world. They steal our jobs, get good wages for their work and get freedoms faster than what any human ever could." He licked the top of his lip, letting the blood go inside his mouth. Brooke could throw up just watching him.
"You couldn't be more wrong. They do most jobs we refuse to do, get paid less than us and still have to fight for freedom because twats like you keep trying to murder them." Brooke spat each word out, struggling to hold back from snapping his neck and ending it right there.
"I don't care," he shouted. Brooke slapped him in the face again, he screamed in pain.
"You are under arrest," she said as she walked around the back of his chair and started to untie the rope.
"You have no authority over me, bitch," he spat as he tried to pull his arms from her grasp. Brooke got his left hand under control before he tried to break control. She twisted his arm in a direction not possible for human bones, she waited for the sweet spot and pulled hard, his bone snapping freshly in half. Levi screamed the roof down, tears started to form in his eyes.
"Last time I checked, Detroit Detectives could make an arrest. So, yes, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent, anything you do say may be given as evidence in court." Brooke didn't have her cuffs on her, North handed her a piece of rope to keep his wrists tied together. Though the out of shape bent arm was harder to keep in place, Levi screamed in agony when it was moved.
"Shut up, moaning," Brooke said as she slapped the back of his head down to keep him bent in an uncomfortable position.
"You will pay for this, bitch. I shot a dart at an android, not a human," he said in anger. Brooke snickered at his attempt to try and hide the truth.
"Or who you did in fact hit, was the Lieutenant of Detroit police," she said with a low tone. Seconds later Levi fell silent and Brooke could hear him gulp heavily, realising what he had done was good enough for life in prison. "That's what I thought, now come on, asshole," she said, dragging him out of the room.
Brooke went back to Hank's car, Levi being dragged at the side of her. North followed close behind, few androids came out to see the human being arrested. Most had a smile on their faces as Brooke walked past.
Brooke opened the door and forced him into the car, letting his head clip the side of the door frame, he swore in protest but didn't try to fight her. North waited for her to shut the door and turn around to look at her. "Thanks for not holding me back, North. The bastard deserved it."
"He deserved much worse. I will let Markus know you are taking him to the police station, thank you for your help, Brooke. I am glad to see some humans stand by us." Brooke wasn't sure why she did it, but her arms ended up pulling North into a hug. It was awkward, but she really wanted to hold the android, show her some appreciation.
"I need to get going, tell Markus I will be coming straight to the hospital once I'm done with him." North nodded and let go of Brooke's arm, they waved goodbye and she watched as Brooke drove away. North remembered just a few short months ago, she would have never wanted to even stand that close to a human, but now she was hugging one and she liked it. She thought to herself how times have changed since the revolution.
Connor and Markus had barely spoken the whole time since Markus had arrived, Connor didn't move for anything and kept his hand attached to Hank's. The doctors came and went, none of them had any news on his condition, and they had to wait to see how he is whenever he wakes up.
It had been three hours since Markus had arrived and it was late into the day. He thought about leaving but the groaning from the older human in the bed stirred both androids. "Connor," he said slowly and painfully.
"I'm here, Hank," Connor said, pulling his hand close to his cheek and standing up to tower over Hank in his bed. Markus pushed the emergency button, only seconds later two doctors and three nurses rushed in. "Please, he is awake, help him," Connor begged.
The oldest doctors moved Connor to the side and started to run tests on Hank's responses. "Me Anderson? Can you hear me?" Hank grumbled, he could hear the doctors, but his words came out slurred. "Get me another IV drip," the doctor ordered his nurse.
Connor felt the tears well to his eyes, he sniffled back the cries. Markus stood close to him, holding him back with a steady hand to his shoulder. "Please don't die, Hank," Connor quietly begged.
"We need to run some tests," the doctor said turning to Connor, he quickly looked at the other doctor. "Get them both out, we need to start these tests right away." Connor was about to protest when the younger doctor started to stir him towards the exit.
"I need to stay with my dad!" he shouted. Connor wasn't sure why he was saying dad, he just needed them to know how much Hank meant to him. Brooke had finally arrived at that point. The nurse stopped her from entering but she could see the flaying of Connor to know he was upset.
"Let me at least get him out, he doesn't understand," she begged the nurse. The old lady sighed, but nodded and moved out of the way. Brooke rushed in and stood between the young doctor and Connor. "Babe, come on. Let them do their jobs, Hank isn't going anywhere."
"Where have you been?" Connor shouted at her, she could see the blue tears roll down his cheeks in frustration and hurt.
"I will tell you in a minute. We need to go. Markus, grab him." Markus looked at Brooke before he did as she said. He didn't like to manhandle Connor, but he wrapped both his arms around his chest and started to pull him out of the doors. He tried to fight Markus, but Connor was worn out and was ready to fall to the floor.
He was pulled out into the hall and Markus finally let go of him. Connor twisted his body to face the wall as he punched the brick wall in front of him, he screamed in agitation. "I should be with him!"
Brooke spun him back around, "calm down. You will get us kicked out if you cause trouble." She looked at the wall behind him, he had left a fist print and left multiple cracks in the paint.
"Why weren't you with us?" he snapped at her. Markus sat down a few feet away from him, not wanting to get involved.
"North and a few androids found the man who did this. His name is Levi, homeless druggie obviously," she said with a shrug. Connor raised his brows at her.
"And?" he asked in agitation.
"And," Brooke said, dragging the word out, "he won't be hurting any more people. Not with his broken arm and face anyway." Connor pushed some distance between them both.
"What exactly did you do?" he asked in wonder. Brooke looked at Markus, he already knew the full story from North.
"He admitted to it all, thinking Hank was an android that he hit. He now knows just how much trouble he is in, so after some words of wisdom and a few broken bones to go with it. I dropped him off at the station, and stopped by Hank's check in with the dogs." Connor stared at her for a few moments, he was shocked to know she had done such a thing, but it wasn't like Levi didn't deserve it.
"I'm sorry for snapping at you. Thank you for dealing with him, I might have done much worse," he said as he wrapped his arms around her. Brooke rested her head on his chest.
"We will figure this out together, babe. Let's just get Hank better and go from there." Connor could feel his tears come back, he was so scared of what the doctors might find. But they all could only wait and hope that he would make a full recovery.