Chapter Five

Trigger Warning: mentions of domestic abuse and drug abuse, as well as miscarriage!

Five weeks, three days, thirteen hours.

Over a month.

Connor lost Wren over a month ago. He pictured her face perfectly, but it wasn't the same. He heard her laugh exactly as it should sound, but it wasn't the same. He remembered the feel of her lips on his, her naked skin against his, but it wasn't the same.

He had friends, but nothing was the same. Not without her. He functioned better than he did when she first left, but it still wasn't the same. Wren's departure sucked all the life out of him. He felt like a machine, except when he researched Wren's past, searching for a lead to bring her home. That brought him closest to feeling alive than anything else. That, and Wren's music.

He sat with the rest of the Human-Android Division and the Jericho leaders, researching Wren's past. They discovered that she made frequent hospital visits for various reasons. Connor informed the others that most of these reasons were lies, as Wren was in an abusive relationship at this point. North shook her head and scowled.

"Who could do something like this to someone they loved?" Tina murmured. They continued going through hospital records to piece Wren's past together. There wasn't much else to go by, except that at the strip club she worked at, everyone called her the Red Queen. North discovered that Wren got arrested for possession of Red Ice, but avoided jail time by testifying against who gave it to her and Jonah.

It seemed like they hit another dead end when Tina gasped.

Connor looked at her, his brow furrowing. "What is it?"

"I… I think I found something big," she murmured. Everyone stopped their individual research to gather around Tina and her laptop. "So, a little bit after she was arrested, she went to the hospital for intense abdominal pain and… and vaginal bleeding."

Connor frowned and exchanged a glance with the other androids. Hank rubbed his face and muttered an expletive.

Tina sighed. "She was five weeks pregnant and miscarried."

Connor's metal heart twisted sharply. He let out a choked breath and returned to his own research. He wondered if Wren remembered this and never told him, or if this was a memory lost to her. He hoped it was lost to her. He could only imagine how much that new would affect Wren. She never told him that she wanted children, only that it was impossible for her to have children. She always seemed troubled by that fact, so Connor figured she must want children in some capacity. His heart clenched and he swallowed.

"Alright, let's put together the pieces we've found today," announced Hank. Everyone gathered around the main screen.

"Okay, so we know Wren was hospitalized frequently for minor bone fractures and for stupid reasons," said North, indicating to the records on screen. "Falling down the stairs, bullshit. Wren was a dancer and she took martial arts in her spare time. She wasn't clumsy. She was covering up Jonah's abuse."

Connor's brow creased. "She was taking martial arts?"

North nodded. "I found records of her taking Kung Fu and some self-defense courses. It looks like she started Jiu Jitsu before she went missing, too. I guess she was learning to defend herself."

Connor balanced his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together. "But Jonah still managed to hospitalize her."

"Maybe… Maybe she was trying to gather the courage to leave, you know?" Tina murmured. "A lot of women are too scared to leave because in relationships like this, they can be killed. Wren probably tried not to defend herself too much around Jonah to hide that when she was ready to leave that she could actually fight back, you know? Play her cards close to her chest."

"I think she also loved Jonah," said Hank. "In fucked-up way. She wasn't in a good place, obviously."

"I wanna knock this guy's lights out," muttered Gavin, crossing his arms.

"Get in line," said Hank. "Alright, well else did we find?"

"She got arrested for possession and testified against the guy who gave the drugs to her and Jonah. Jonah was still dealing on the side, so I think Wren was protecting him by testifying against this guy, John Matthews." North gestured to the mugshot of John Matthews. North turned to Hank. "That's what Markus and I found."

"I'll go next because the timelines fit," said Tina. "A little after testifying against John Matthews, Wren went to the hospital for intense abdominal pain and bleeding. She was five weeks pregnant and didn't know it because she was still using Red Ice. She miscarried." Tina looked a little choked and swallowed. Chris placed a hand on Tina's shoulder.

"This is where it gets kinda weird," he announced. "So, three days after Wren's hospital visit, Jonah filed a missing person's report on her. A few days later, he retracted it. Another few days later, Jonah goes to the hospital for a deep gash in his cheek. He needed a lot of stitches."

"Wren stabbed him in the cheek the night she escaped," Connor explained, recognizing the date that Jonah went to the hospital. "That's the night that she got into the accident and went missing."

"Yeah, Jonah reported his car missing as soon as he was out of the hospital. They'd already found his car that same night, but he didn't know that." Chris looked at Gavin and Josh, who researched the night Wren went missing.

Josh stood and set up his computer to show on the screen while Gavin faced the group and said, "The official report of Wren's wreck is that an android driving a CyberLife truck malfunctioned and hit her, knocking her into the guardrail and over the cliffside. Her car rolled down to the base of the cliff. They didn't find her body, so they figured that an animal dragged her off. She was never reported dead, but the case closed as her still missing, but presumed dead."

"Yeah, CyberLife found her first," said Hank. "They're the ones who performed surgery on her and turned her into a cyborg."

"This doesn't make any sense," said Josh, scrunching his brows together.

Gavin looked at him. "Androids can make mistakes."

"Not that," said Josh, still looking at the crime scene photos of the wreck. He pulled up pictures of the road. "This is the road where it happened. This is the bend where her car went over, right?" Josh pointed to the street, which curved around the mountainside. In the picture, the guardrail on the right side of the street was obliterated from Wren's car crashing into it. "What's weird about this?"

Connor narrowed his eyes. "There's not intersection."

"Exactly," said Josh. "There's just this wide shoulder to the left. See?" He pointed to the left side of the street. There was a large space of gravel before the actual mountainside. "No one should've hit Wren the way they did."

"Well, they could've hit her at an angle if they came at her head on," said Gavin. He drew his finger along the road to map it out.

"But look at the car," said Josh. He pulled up a picture of Wren's car after the accident.

"Holy shit," Tina breathed. The car looked crumpled on both sides. The windows shattered from impact. The roof dented. The front bumper flew off. The back bumper barely hung on.

"The impact from the android's car hit here," said Josh, pointing at the left side of the car.

"How can you tell?"

"The front would be crumpled, too," said Josh. "But it's not."

Connor scanned it and reconstructed the crash as best he could without physically being at the crime scene. The way the metal dented supported Josh's theory. "He's right."

"Okay, so what are you getting at?"

"Well, the report says that the android malfunctioned in his drive and swerved into Wren's lane, crashing into the left front side of her car. That would've killed her. Also, she would've gone over the cliff at a different spot and a different angle. Also, look at the crime scene pictures. That gravel is partially disturbed, but not enough for them to notice. The android hit her from the side. They waited for her in the gravel. When the time was right, they floored it and hit Wren directly in the side." Josh looked around the room, his eyes wide.

It took a moment for everyone to click the pieces together, but Connor's eyes widened. He preconstructed the scene in his head according to Josh's theory. Someone would've had to watch Wren's driving. The android waiting in the car would've had to calculate the time to speed up and hit Wren's car in such a way that she would go over the cliff. It was a close call, but it was possible. The android would've hit Wren. She went over the cliff and rolled in her car. But that cliff wasn't a straight, vertical drop. In fact, it looked more like a very dangerous plateau rather than an actual cliffside. Once Wren wrecked, whoever watched her was there on the scene before anyone else. They covered up the accident quickly, pulled Wren out and took her to CyberLife before anyone knew what happened.

Connor's mouth fell open. "They targeted her."

"Why would CyberLife target her?" Markus frowned.

Connor turned to Tina. "Do you think Chloe could set us an appointment to speak with Kamski?"

Tina blinked. "I don't know… I don't want to drag Chloe into all of this…"

Connor scowled. "What about Wren?"

"Well, of course I care about her, too, I just don't want Chloe to get hurt by all this—"

"Tina, this is important! If CyberLife targeted Wren and we figure out why, we might be able to get Wren out!"

"I know, it's just—"

"Just what?" Connor snapped, jumping to his feet. "I'm not asking for you to send Chloe on any sort of dangerous mission. I'm just asking for Chloe to set up an appointment—"

"Connor…" North tried.

"But if Chloe gets involved in any sort of way, it could put her in danger—"

"She's already involved!"

"But she's out now! I can't thrust her back in the middle of all this!"

Connor curled his lip. "But you're okay with Wren being trapped there forever? You'll do whatever it takes to save Wren, but as long as it's of no inconvenience to you?"

Tina's face darkened. "Fuck you!"

"Connor, cool it!" Hank snapped.

Connor breathed heavily to cool his systems. His face warmed as he felt everyone's eyes on him. He trembled with his fists by his sides. He forced himself to relax.

"Connor, we can set up an appointment," said North. "It's okay."

Connor swallowed. "Of course." He looked at Tina, who glowered at him. "I… I'm sorry." Connor turned and left the room, ignoring Markus's call after him. Connor strode toward the elevator, breathing heavily. His thirium pump throbbed wildly, sending thirium thundering through his biocomponents at a faster speed than normal.

He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "You okay, son?"

Connor clenched his teeth as he stepped onto the elevator. Hank followed him. Connor closed his eyes as the doors slid shut and the elevator began its descent. "I… I don't know." He opened his eyes. Hank swam in Connor's vision. "I don't know."

Hank pressed his lips together and pulled Connor into a hug. "It's okay, son. Grief makes us lose our shit sometimes. It's okay."

Connor squeezed his eyes shut. "I'm tired of feeling this way, Hank. I feel like I might snap at any point."

"I know. That's normal. It's okay, son."

Connor withdrew from Hank, his face steaming. "I feel like we're close to finding something to help her, but also… not."

"I know. Me too. If we can't find anything to get her out legally, we will find a way to bust down Prometheus's door and drag her out ourselves. I promise. She won't be there forever."

…

Connor laid on his bed, wearing Wren's headphones and listening to her playlist, Top 25 Most Played. So far, he listened to twenty songs of the twenty-five. Whenever he listened to Wren's music, he felt a little closer to her. It felt as if she whispered the lyrics to him, revealing more about herself she had been able to before she left.

Just as it was, baby

Before the otherness came

And I knew its name

The love, the dark, the light, the flame

Connor drew in a shuddering breath. He wished things could go back to how it was. He closed his eyes and prepared to enter stasis mode when he received an alert for a crime. His eyes flashed open and he pulled the headphones out of his ears and paused Wren's music. The lyrics clung to him as he got ready and met Hank in the living room, who rubbed his face.

"Fuckin' bullshit… can't it wait till morning?"

"I'm afraid not," Connor replied. He furrowed his brow as more of the report filtered through his processor. His LED flickered and his eyes narrowed a fraction. "Another android killed a human and then died."

Hank raised his eyebrows. "Shit… Two could be a coincidence, but three? No fuckin' way."

Connor nodded. "I agree."

"Well, come on. Let's go check it out." Hank grabbed his keys and the two of them got in the car and drove to the crime scene. It was an apartment, and the bodies were discovered by a very distraught friend.

"I'll talk to the friend. You do your thing."

Connor dipped his head and got to work of analyzing the crime scene. He crouched beside the two victims. The android sprawled facedown across the human, who gripped the android's thirium pump regulator. The human male showed signs of strangulation. Connor reconstructed the scene. The android, a PL600, hit the man and drove him back. The man seemed to overcome his shock and fought back. While the PL600 strangled the man—Connor discerned that his name was Jack Rogers—he wrenched the thirium pump out of the PL600's chest. Connor scanned the PL600.

«scanning» |Complete|

[Model #501-478-298]

[Registered as Rogers, Trevor]

Connor furrowed his brow. This android took the man's name, too. Connor straightened and walked over to the girl talking with Hank in the hall.

"They were trying to get married," said the girl. "But no one would marry them. They're gay and an android-human relationship, so the fucking assholes wouldn't marry them."

Connor tilted his head. He turned to Hank, whose brow crinkled as he regarded the girl.

"You came to check on them, though?"

"They invited me to dinner," said the girl, wiping her eyes. "I knew the people who owned Trevor before the Liberation. He was like my brother. I introduced him to Jack."

"Did they show signs of an abusive relationship prior to this night?" Connor queried.

The girl widened her eyes. "No. Jack would never… He was pro-android rights from the beginning. And Trevor was so gentle and kind… No, they were so happy together."

Connor exchanged a glance with Hank, who raised his eyebrows. "Found something?"

Connor glanced back at the girl. "Possibly."

"One moment, ma'am," said Hank. Connor and Hank stepped inside the apartment. "What'd you find?"

"They killed each other," said Connor. "Trevor attacked first, and Jack defended himself. Trevor strangled Jack, who took out Trevor's thirium pump, but it was too late. But Trevor didn't try to replace his thirium pump. He… He just let himself die."

Hank inhaled deeply. "Shit. Noticing a pattern?"

"The android always attacks first," said Connor. "Then kills themselves after they kill their human partner. The two are always in a romantic relationship."

"Yeah," said Hank. "And they're all trying to get married."

Connor furrowed his brow. He glanced back at the two bodies. He faced Hank. "Deviants handle stress better now that we're free. So why are they self-destructing and hurting the ones closest to them?"

Hank shrugged. "I was hoping you could tell me."

Connor pressed his lips together for a moment. "I have no idea…" He lifted his head. "I think we should talk to Mr. Kamski soon."

Hank looked at the bodies. "Why?"

"I think we need to perform an autopsy on the android bodies. There's something driving them to do this. We need to figure out if it is some sort of virus, or if someone is making them do this."

Hank lifted his eyebrows. "You think that the androids are being hacked or something? Is that even possible?"

"There's only one way to find out," Connor replied. He stepped aside as Hank returned to questioning the girl. Connor dialed Markus's number.

"Connor," said Markus. "What's up?"

"We need to meet with Mr. Kamski as soon as possible," Connor replied. "For Wren and for something else."

Markus inhaled. "Alright. I'll set up the meeting. North wants to go with you, and so do I."

Connor nodded. "I think that would be a good idea. You should know what's happening."

"Alright. I'll let you know as soon as the meeting's set up."

"Thank you, Markus."

"Of course. Hey, Connor—"

"I'm fine."

"No one blames you, you know."

Connor gritted his teeth and looked toward the ceiling. He pressed his lips together and swallowed. "I know. But that doesn't excuse my behavior. I'll apologize to Tina."

"Yeah," murmured Markus. "But… just so you know, no one blames you for getting upset."

"I…" Connor blinked, hard. "Thank you."

"No problem."

Connor hung up and returned to Hank. "He'll let us know."

…

Connor rode the elevator up to the forty-third floor of the CyberLife Tower. North, Markus, and Hank rode with him. The silence pressed down upon them.

My heart is screaming out

And in a few days I would be there, love

Connor clenched and unclenched his fists. He flexed his fingers, resisting the urge to grab his coin. They stepped off the elevator. Markus led them down a pristine white hallway to Kamski's office. He knocked on the door.

"Enter," called Kamski.

Markus looked at Connor, who dipped his head. Markus pushed open the door. Connor stepped inside the massive office with Hank, North, and Markus. Kamski stood behind his desk, his back facing them. His hands were clasped behind his back. The walls were entirely glass, overlooking Belle Isle. Snow fluttered about the windows, casting everything in bright white light. Abstract art with red and dark grey shapes decorated the walls. The floor was black, and Connor glanced at his obscure reflection before lifting his head to look at Kamski's back again.

"Mr. Kamski," greeted Markus.

Kamski turned around and his lips quirked. "Markus, it's good to see you. North, you look lovely as always. Lieutenant. Connor."

Connor lifted his chin. Markus strode further into the office, looking out the window. "We have a few questions for you, Elijah."

"I'll be happy to provide any that I can," said Kamski, sitting at his desk. "Please, have a seat."

Markus, North, Hank, and Connor sat upon the red leather couch facing Kamski's onyx desk. Hank and Connor exchanged a glance.

Hank cleared his throat. "I guess I'll go first, then. There's been a series of murders recently. Androids killing humans and then themselves. They're in a romantic relationship with each other, are denied marriage rights, and then the android attacks the human. We think that either there's a virus or something, or maybe the androids are being… controlled by an outside party to do this."

Kamski nodded slowly. "It could be a mutation in the deviancy code. Deviants used to self-destruct rather easily under stressful situations. Now that they have rights and are taking care of themselves, that seems far less common. However, something as stressful as being denied the rights to marry even though it isn't technically against the law… I can see that might trigger strands of the deviancy code to malfunction." Kamski's eyes glittered and his lips twisted. He flicked his snake-like eyes to Connor before regarding Hank again. "But your theory of hacking isn't entirely unfounded, either. But it seems you already figured that out. What do you need me for?"

"We'd like you to take a look at the android bodies," said Connor. "Perform an autopsy and see if you can find anything that might have caused them to do this."

Kamski pursed his lips and nodded. "Of course. We don't want this getting out to the media, or it will set back android progress. And your other question?"

Markus, North, Hank, and Connor looked at each other. North turned to Kamski. "You knew Wren, didn't you?"

Kamski lifted his chin. "The cyborg? Yes, I met her a few times. I'm surprised she's not here. The three of you were close, weren't you?" Kamski looked at Hank and Connor. Connor set his jaw.

"We were all friends," said Markus.

"You knew about her involvement with Prometheus," added North.

The smugness in Kamski's expression faltered. The corners of his mouth dropped. "I was aware, yes."

"They took her," Connor choked. Kamski frowned at him. Connor looked at his hands, aware of everyone's eyes on him. "They forced her to return, and we haven't heard from her in over a month. We're trying to find some way to get her out. They said she signed a contract with them. If we can find some way to show that contract was signed without Wren's consent, we can get her out."

"I don't see how this concerns me."

North leaned forward. "We think CyberLife targeted her. We want you to look back at the records and find the android driving the truck that hit Wren. Anything you can find on this event will help us."

Connor lifted his head. Kamski worked his jaw and stared at his desk for several seconds. He finally inhaled and said, "You're messing with some very powerful people."

Markus frowned. "We're very powerful people, too."

Kamski chuckled. "You're fighting for every right you can. Prometheus would make a powerful enemy, Markus. They have government funding. They work in the shadows and don't exist. There's a certain power that comes with anonymity."

"We don't want to make enemies," said Markus, "we just want to save Wren."

"We have all the information you need to research the night of June 6, 2029," added North.

Kamski pushed away from his desk and stood. He faced the window again. "They are Titans in a world of gods and men."

Connor gritted his teeth and stood. "They're not Titans, Mr. Kamski. They're people who are murderers and kidnappers."

"If CyberLife was responsible for doing this to Wren, then you have a responsibility to help her," said Markus.

Kamski turned to face them. "Responsibility? The year was 2029, correct? I'd already left CyberLife. Anything they did was their doing, not mine."

"Then right their wrongs," snapped North.

Kamski laughed. "I cannot atone for every sin CyberLife has committed."

Connor curled his fingers into his palms. "All we want to know is what happened that night and why CyberLife targeted her."

Kamski clasped his hands in front of himself. "Digging into Wren's past means digging into Prometheus's past. They will know, and they will not like it. I'm surprised they haven't approached any of you already."

"Elijah," said North, standing, "I understand that you're scared of them. We just want to save Wren."

"I think that you're underestimating their power," said Kamski, lifting his chin. "To save Wren, you'll have to slay the beast. You can't free her without overthrowing Prometheus."

Connor glanced at his friends before turning to Kamski. "I'll do whatever it takes. If you help us, and we succeed, then Prometheus can't touch you."

Kamski raised his eyebrows. "And if you fail?"

Connor parted his lips. His LED flickered yellow. He swallowed. "I won't fail."

Kamski smirked and looked at Markus, North, Hank, and then Connor. Kamski's nostrils flared as he inhaled. "I will look into both of these queries. It will take some time for both. I will contact Markus when I have news."

Connor relaxed slightly. "Thank you."

Kamski nodded. Connor and the others headed for the door.

"Oh, Connor?"

Connor turned to look back at Kamski.

"They're probably watching you."

Connor's thirium pump stuttered. He licked his lips, nodded, and exited the office. He faced his friends once they reached the elevator. North shoved her hands into her back pockets.

"He's right," she said. "They probably are watching us."

"Yeah," said Hank, stepping onto the elevator, "I'm sure they don't trust Wren."

"We should have a meeting tonight and go over what Elijah told us," said North, hitting the Lobby button.

"He didn't say much," muttered Markus.

"No," agreed North, "but he said enough. What if he's right? What if finding evidence that Wren was roped into this wrongfully isn't enough to get her out? I mean, wasn't that what she said in her letter, anyway? That she could've fought, but didn't because we'd be targets? That Prometheus would always be out there? What if we find evidence, but Wren doesn't want to come back?"

Connor felt North's eyes on him, but he stared straight ahead. He tried to ignore the weight pressing against his chest. He looked at the floor. "We have to try."

"I know," said North. She placed a hand on his arm. "I'm not saying we shouldn't. Just… What if it's not enough?"

Connor closed his eyes. "It has to be."

"We'll figure it out," said Markus. "For now, let's focus on finding evidence to get Wren out. If we do this legally, maybe Prometheus won't be able to touch her. If we find evidence that they roped her into this wrongfully, then maybe the government will protect her."

North snorted. "Yeah, because the government is so good at protecting people."

"North…"

"Sorry," said North, holding up her hands, palms forward. She folded her arms. The elevator dinged and they exited it. Connor walked past the massive statue in the middle of inner courtyard. They stepped through the security line and exited the Tower.

"Well," huffed Hank, pulling his coat tighter around him, "we've got a shitty plan right now. But it's the best we've got. If we need to, we'll bust down Prometheus's door and drag Wren out of their ourselves."

North brightened. "I like that plan."

"We don't even know where Prometheus is," said Markus.

"Someone does," said Hank. "We just have to find the right person."

Connor nodded. "He's right."

Hank looked at his watch. "Well, we should arm the security in the Rogers's apartment, since Kamski will be taking the android body. I don't want him messing up the crime scene being all secretive."

"And if someone is forcing these androids to do this, they might revisit the scene," said Connor.

Markus wrinkled his nose. "Do killers often revisit the scene?"

"More often than you'd think," muttered Hank. "We'll see you guys at the meeting."

…

That evening, Connor, North, Markus, and Hank relayed the little information that Kamski gave them. Connor stood with his back to the door as he explained how Kamski feared Prometheus, but seemed willing to take them down, as evidenced by his willingness to help.

Connor huffed. "Saving Wren might require more than just finding evidence that she signed her contract unwillingly. It might require us taking down a secret government organization. It might be impossible. I… I understand if any of you don't want to take part in this. It will make us targets for an organization skilled in assassination. They're probably watching us. If you want out… I know some of you have loved ones and families. It might endanger them." Connor lifted his eyes to meet Tina's. Then, he looked at Chris, who looked away. Connor swallowed. "I understand."

Tina folded her arms. "If… If that's what it takes to save her, then—holy shit!"

Connor widened his eyes and turned around. His mouth fell open as Agent Rhett Anson entered the room.

Rhett gestured to the door. "Hope you guys don't mind that I let myself in."

Connor furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes. Gavin stood up.

"The fuck are you doing here?"

Rhett raised his eyebrows. "Straight to the point, I like your style." He placed his hands in his pockets. "I'm here to tell you guys to stop researching Wren's past. Leave it alone. Forget about her, let her go."

Connor scowled. "Kamski told you."

Rhett shook his head. "Uh, no. Kamski didn't say anything to me. You guys think that Prometheus hasn't tagged Wren's files in some sort of way? They get an alert every time one of you asshats looks into her past. They thought she was in contact with you and threatened to kill her—"

"You've talked to her?" Tina demanded, rising from her seat.

Rhett dragged a hand over his face. "I have biweekly meetings with her, so yeah, I've talked to her. Prometheus thought she was telling you guys to look into her past. Know what they did? Fucking tortured her, trying to get her to admit that she's talking to all of you, giving you tips and whatnot. She told me they put a gun to her head and threatened to kill her if she didn't tell the truth. Of course, she'd been telling the truth the whole time, and luckily, they believed her. Shot right past her head and scared the fucking daylights out of her. The more you guys look into her past, the more danger you put her in. Got it?"

Connor's thirium pump hammered. It felt as if it were going to jump into his throat. He trembled as he regarded Rhett. "We're trying to save her."

Rhett's eyes snapped to Connor. "Well, that's fucking sweet, but you're going to get her killed if you keep doing this. So leave it alone. Go get you a new fucking girlfriend or whatever. Wren never existed, got it?"

Connor gritted his teeth as Rhett turned and left the room. Connor looked at his friends. Everyone mirrored his dumbfounded expression. Connor stumbled after Rhett and caught him by the elevator.

"Wait," he called.

Rhett sighed and turned. "No, I'm not going to give Wren a message for you."

Connor swallowed. "I know you care about her, too. You wouldn't be here to warn us if you didn't."

Rhett pursed his lips for a moment. "Yeah, I care about her."

"Help us save her."

Rhett laughed, though the humor failed to lighten his eyes. He shook his head. "You don't get it. She doesn't want out."

Connor narrowed his eyes. "I was equipped with technology to facilitate more successful interrogations. With your increased heart rate and the way your eyes flicked to the right when you said that tells me that you're lying."

Rhett smirked. "Very impressive."

Connor thrust his jaw forward. "She wanted out, and you forced her back there. She was terrified, and you forced her to go back."

Rhett's eyes lost focus as they drooped to the floor. He composed himself quickly and met Connor's glare. "I didn't force her to do anything. I proposed a plan to her, and she accepted. You're just assuming things when you don't know the facts. Wren agreed to go back willingly. And she agrees to stay there."

Connor's lips tightened for a moment. "Because you made her believe that Prometheus would target us if she didn't go back! She's trying to take them down from the inside because you manipulated her."

Rhett's brow twitched. "How the fuck do you know that?"

"I know Wren better than you think," Connor snapped. "She was terrified of going back there. The only reason she would go back is if she thought it would protect us. So you manipulated her into thinking we were in danger—"

"Because you fucking are!" snarled Rhett. "Listen here, you smartass—Prometheus is ready and willing to take you out if you become a threat. I came here to warn you because you're putting Wren and yourselves in danger. Wren's working on taking them down, yeah. But she won't be able to function if anything happens to you. So stop being an idiot and just fucking let her go."

"You're just using her," Connor seethed, his lip curling. "You're using her to take down Prometheus because it looks good for you!"

Rhett laughed. "Oh, fuck you. You think you have all the answers because you fucking love her? Well, guess what, asshole? I love Wren, too. I've talked to her recently. She doesn't want out. She's got a purpose."

"So do I. I'm going to get her out of there. You can't stop me."

Rhett shrugged. "Yeah, I can't stop you from trying. But if she turns up dead because you're messing with the wrong people, then that's Wren's blood on your fucking hands, not mine."

Connor's thirium ran cold. He swallowed the lump in his throat as Rhett backed toward the elevator and pressed the button. The elevator dinged and Rhett stepped inside it. He caught the door before it closed.

"I won't tell Wren about this. And I won't tell Prometheus that you sought Kamski's help. You really want to help Wren? Then stay out of this." Rhett released the door, and it slid shut.

Connor stared at it for several seconds. He heard footsteps behind him, but his thirium pounded through his biocomponents. He felt the vibrations throughout his body, even in his audio processor.

"Connor," said Hank, grabbing Connor's shoulder, "I just got an alert from the crime scene. Someone set off the alarm. Kamski might need help moving the android body, okay?"

Connor nodded, not blinking. "Okay."

They stepped onto the elevator. Hank looked at Connor as they rode down. "You okay?"

Connor looked at Hank. "I… No."

"Look, we can talk about Rhett in a little bit. Right now, I need you to focus on this case. Got it?"

Connor blinked several times and nodded. "Got it."

They returned to Jack Rogers's apartment within a few minutes. They found the front door locked as usual. Hank frowned.

"That's weird…"

Connor unlocked the door and opened it, hoping to see Kamski fumbling to move the android body and not a killer.

He spotted a hooded figure crouched over the bodies, scanning them with some sort of device. The figure jerked when Connor and Hank burst into the apartment. They pointed their guns at the suspect.

"Don't move, asshole!" Hank yelled.

The figure jumped up and sprinted toward the window. Connor realized that was how they entered the apartment, as it the window sat wide open. The figure hurried onto the fire escape. Connor holstered his gun and followed. Whoever this person was, they were fast. They jumped over many of the steps and swung to the next platform. Connor followed them easily, but this person seemed extremely agile. Hank must've taken the other way, as he was not behind Connor. The person reached the ground before Connor. He jumped from the platform and landed heavily on the ground as the person sprinted toward the fence at the end of the alley way. Hank rounded the corner, gun out. Connor sprinted toward the fence, which the person climbed up halfway. Connor grabbed them by their jacket and wrenched them down.

"Detroit Police, stop!" Hank bellowed.

Connor grunted as the person kicked him back. He stumbled back but lunged for the person. He gripped them by their shoulders and forced them to face him, slamming them against the fence. Connor froze, seeing the person's face at last. She stopped struggling and raised her hands up in surrender. Connor's lips parted and his thirium pump twisted so sharply in his chest that it sent a surge of electricity through his thirium.

Bruises shadowed the side of her face. Her lip was busted. A purpled cut traced underneath her eye. She looked skinnier than he last saw her, too. Tears filled her eyes. Her lips twitched with a weak, sad smile. "Hey, Connor."

« aXQncyB3cmVu»

Connor couldn't let go of her, but he loosened his grip as her thirium pump slammed in his body. He gazed at her for several seconds before swallowing the sharp lump in his throat.

"Wren."

…

Heyo! Told you guys that they'd see each other again soon. ?Okay, first off, Hozier's new album is FIRE. The song Connor listened to is "As It Was" by Hozier. There are a few songs from that album that are going into the playlist, lol.

Please review, guys!