Chapter Eleven

Trigger Warning: blood/gore (of androids), mild sexual situations, and violence

Connor stirred creamer into a coffee cup until the liquid lightened. He ignored the nutritional facts and brought the steaming cup to Wren, who stood in front of the bulletin board decorated with crime scene photos. He held the cup out to her.

Wren looked at it with curved eyebrows and lips pressed in a flat line. She dipped her head as she accepted the cup. "Thank you."

Connor's thirium pump sagged in his chest. He wanted to see her smile, but he shook off his disappointment. He knew she had to abide by Prometheus's rules, but did that really include accepting coffee in a professional manner? Not that he expected Wren to drop everything and throw her arms around him in gratitude, of course, but… He forced himself to shrug off Wren's response as he took his seat at the conference table.

"Alright, so we need to find some sort of connection between the human victims," said Hank. "Social groups, work groups, same grocery store—anything that can connect them."

Connor tried to keep his focus on the case, but his eyes flicked to Wren every few minutes. He supposed part of him was still in shock that she was here, working a case like old times. She looked really pretty, with her brow furrowed and a chunk of hair falling in her face as she dug into the past of one of the victims. Connor returned his focus to the case.

"This is interesting," said Tina beside Connor. He leaned over to look at her terminal. "All of the victims had androids prior to the Liberation."

Connor narrowed his eyes at the pictures on social media of each of the victims with their respective house androids. Hank clasped his fingers together.

"Good work, Tina," he muttered. "We could work that angle. Maybe we can find out what happened to those androids after the Liberation and ask them some questions."

"Or," said Gavin, lifting his eyebrows, "we can find out why all three victims filed complaints to CyberLife about their androids."

Connor tilted his head. "Are there official reports on what the issues were and what was done to fix them?"

"Don't know. I just have the correspondence between them through their accounts. They all picked 'other' as a reason for complaint request… CyberLife responded, saying that they would investigate and fix the androids for a fee. There's nothing after that." Gavin shrugged.

"Okay, so, did those androids register for names after the Liberation?" Wren questioned.

Gavin typed around on his terminal, searching the serial numbers of the androids. "Nope."

Chris rubbed the back of his neck. "We need to figure out if the victims ever took the androids to CyberLife."

"There doesn't seem to be any evidence of a transaction with CyberLife, though," said Gavin, squinting at his terminal.

"Could they have taken the androids to CyberLife and…" Wren trailed off. Connor leveled his gaze with hers. "Would there be a fee for… termination?"

Connor frowned. "I don't think so. If there were, it would be considerably less that having an android investigated and fixed."

Wren folded her arms. "So the human victims could've taken the androids for that instead of repairing them."

"There would still be some sort of a trail, though," said Gavin.

"Not necessarily," replied Tina. "Not from the victims' side. We need to see it from CyberLife's side."

"Okay, let's do this: Chris, Gavin, and Tina—you guys go to CyberLife and see if there's some sort of evidence for the victims trying to terminate their androids. Connor, Wren, and I are gonna call back in the victims' next of kin to ask more questions. They might know what happened," said Hank. Chris, Gavin, and Tina nodded and headed out while Hank turned to Connor and Wren.

"Wren, I want you to sit in with Connor when you talk to next of kin. You're still new to the case."

Wren dipped her head. "Got it."

The brother of Cleo Rhodes, the first victim, showed up first. Hank stepped into the interview room with the brother while Wren and Connor waited for Jack Rogers's sister to arrive. As soon as she did, she demanded, "I don't understand why I'm here. I've already been questioned. I don't know what else to tell you."

"We apologize for the inconvenience, Ms. Rogers. We're trying to work every angle to find out who did this," Connor gestured for Ellie Rogers to take a seat by Connor's desk. She did, eyeing Wren with a furrowed brow. "This is Detective Blanchard, by the way."

"Hi," said Ellie. She turned to Connor and raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"Ms. Rogers, your brother had an android—an AX400—prior to the Liberation, but he reported the android to CyberLife for having malfunctions. We can't find any records of this android. Do you know what happened?"

Ellie scowled. "You're questioning me about some android my brother used to own? How is this relevant? Shouldn't you be trying to figure out why Trevor killed my brother?"

"I assure you that we're doing everything we can to find out why this happened."

"We wouldn't ask if it didn't feel important to our investigation," murmured Wren.

Ellie sighed. "I mean… Jack didn't understand what deviancy was yet… No one did. This was months before the Liberation started. And he felt incredibly guilty afterward—"

"You won't offend me, Ms. Rogers," Connor interrupted gently.

Ellie nodded, teary-eyed. "H-he sold Lara. That was what he called her, the AX400. There was this guy he met, who could wipe Lara's memories and either sell her to someone else or give her back. My brother didn't want her back, so he let the guy sell her to someone else. I don't think… I don't think it was strictly legal."

"Do you know the name of this seller?" Connor queried, though his thirium pump thudded harshly, reverberating through his artificial veins.

"Uh, Zeljko? No, that's not right… Zlata? I don't really remember, it was a long time ago…" Ellie shrugged helplessly.

"Zlatko?" Connor offered.

Ellie's eyes widened. "Yes! Zlatko!"

Connor exchanged a glance with Wren. She turned to Ellie and muttered, "Thank you for your time."

Connor stood as Ellie moved to leave. But Ellie turned to face Connor once more. "Detective Anderson, my brother wasn't a bad guy, you know. He turned around after Lara happened. I mean, he started dating an android, so…" Ellie shrugged.

Connor offered her a tight-lipped but polite smile. She left the precinct after giving her official statement. Connor sank into his chair again as Hank wrapped up his interview with his witness. Tina, Gavin, and Chris arrived shortly after.

"No record of any of the victims ever getting rid of their androids," announced Gavin.

"That's okay," said Hank, leaning back in his chair, "because Jack Rogers's sister and Cleo Rhodes's brother both confirmed that the victims took their androids to a man named Zlatko."

Chris wrinkled his brow. "Zlatko? Didn't you guys investigate a disturbance at his place a few months ago?"

"Yes," Connor replied. "He used to wipe deviants' memories and either resell them or experiment on them."

Tina folded her arms. "Okay, so let's go talk to this creep."

"He's dead," Connor said.

"But there might be something in his house that we missed," Wren added, sitting atop her desk. "We might find something if we know what to look for."

"What would we be looking for, exactly?" Gavin demanded.

"Records," Wren replied. "Something to tie the victims to him, and something to point us in the direction of what happened to those androids. If he sold them to Typhon…"

"And we trace the clients, we could start accumulating a suspect list," said Tina.

Hank pushed up from his seat. "Alright, let me go talk to Fowler. We'll need permission to search Zlatko's place, even if he's dead." He left the HAD floor.

Chris grinned at Connor and Wren. "Nice work, guys."

Connor returned the smile. "Thank you."

"Wow, you're back only a day and you're already helping us make some breakthroughs," said Tina, nudging Wren with her shoulder.

Wren smiled faintly. "It was mostly you guys. And Connor's the one who did the interview, not me."

"Maybe you're just a good luck charm, then," said Gavin, plopping down at his desk. "You know, like how ships have a figurehead and schools have a mascot?"

Wren flipped him off, earning her a few chuckles from Chris and Tina. Gavin rolled his eyes, but his mouth slid into a lopsided grin. Connor's lips twitched at the corners. Hank returned from his meeting with Fowler.

"We'll know by tomorrow afternoon. Good work today, guys."

Everyone packed up to leave. Connor walked in step with Hank, his eyes trained on Wren's back as she exited the precinct and headed for the street. Hank nudged Connor with his elbow.

"Make sure she gets home safe."

Connor nodded and hurried to catch up with Wren. "Would you like me to accompany you home? The neighborhood you're living in isn't the safest—"

"I'm fine," said Wren quickly, "I'm taking a cab." She waved an autotaxi down.

Connor ignored the sharp stab in his chest. "Oh."

"I can take care of myself," Wren added, facing him. Her neutral expression stopped Connor's thirium pump for a moment. He swallowed.

"Of course," he managed. "I know you can."

Wren lowered her gaze. The door to the taxi slid open. Wren paused before sliding inside. She met Connor's eyes and her lips quirked so slightly Connor almost missed it. "See you later, Detective Anderson."

"Goodbye, Agent Blanchard," Connor returned. Wren's mouth tightened and she slid inside the taxi. Connor's biocomponents constricted as the taxi drove away. He worked his jaw and clenched his fists before flexing his fingers. After standing by the street for a good few minutes, he got into a taxi of his own.

[Send new text message]

Connor: I'm going to Jericho.

Hank: alright kid

Hank: be safe

Hank: wait you didn't take wren home?

Connor: She did not want my company.

Hank: weird… Maybe she just wants to appease P for a while?

Connor: I don't know. I'll see you later.

Hank: ok

Hank: don't take this too hard with wren ok?

Hank: she's probably got a lot on her mind or something

Connor: Thank you for the advice.

Hank: …

Hank: no problem

Connor sighed and leaned his head back against the seat. He stuffed his phone inside his pocket and gritted his teeth. Perhaps it had been foolish of him to think things would return to the way they were. Perhaps Wren needed time to adjust. Maybe she felt strange being back. Because she wasn't truly back. Prometheus still listened to her and expected her to return to them when the case closed. Yes, that had to be it: Wren felt strange being back but not really. But Connor could not shake the sense that he felt further from Wren than he ever had.

…

"We weren't expecting you," grinned Markus as Connor entered the penthouse.

"I… I wasn't expecting to come here," Connor confessed as he sat down on the sofa. North tucked her legs under her.

"Why aren't you with Wren? Shouldn't you guys be making up for lost time?" She lifted a brow and smirked. Markus nudged her with his shoulder.

"North!" His indignation faltered under his smile.

Josh rolled his eyes. "How is Wren? How's the case?"

"Wren's…" Connor puckered his brow. "She's acting strange."

"Strange? How?" Markus asked, weaving his arm around North.

"Distant," Connor replied. "She's remaining oddly professional and keeping a strained distance from everyone, but especially me."

Josh's gaze clouded over for a moment, then he nodded. "Well, she did say that Prometheus had strict rules for her not to 'reconcile or conspire' with us. She's probably trying to maintain that."

Connor pushed from his seat and paced. "I know, but it's more than that. She could say one thing and act another way, because Prometheus is only listening to her. But I saw it in her eyes—she's trying her best to seem neutral."

"What if they're not just listening to her?" Markus wondered. Connor turned and folded his arms. Markus held Connor's gaze. "What if they're keeping tabs on her or something?"

"How would they do that?" Josh leaned forward.

"I have no idea," said Markus, "but it would make sense. I mean, why would they trust her with us anyway?"

North checked her phone. "Guys. Rhett's at CyberLife."

"I didn't know he was going to be in town," said Markus.

"Well, he is," said North. She looked up at Connor. "Are you up for it?"

Connor nodded. "I can handle it."

"Okay. Let's go."

…

Rhett was a man of few words and seemed dedicated to taking down Prometheus. Or, Connor realized with a sharp twinge in his gut, getting Wren out. He appreciated the CIA agent's help, regardless of the man's intentions.

"We're gonna finish watching her training sessions tonight," Rhett announced. "Hopefully they won't be too graphic."

He played the video while Connor and the others took their seats. The training videos were much faster than the videos of Wren in the hospital post-surgery. But they were no less difficult to watch. Wren's hair grew out some throughout the videos. She returned to a healthy weight and muscle definition, but her overall health seemed rather poor. Over and over, Connor watched Wren fight with the Sicilian androids to train. Over and over, Connor watched them beat her. One of the Sicilian androids hit her so hard that one of her cybernetic arms busted open and needed repairing.

One video seemed more like a montage of Wren throwing knives and shooting various guns until she hit the target. The length of her hair indicated the passage of time. Her hand-to-hand combat took longer for her to perfect. The Sicilian androids continued to beat Wren. She was tough and skilled in combat, but the Sicilian androids were tougher and more skilled. They beat her every time.

One of the androids grabbed Wren from behind. She used him as leverage to lift her legs and kick the other back. She jerked out of her restrainer's grip and elbowed him in the face. Thirium leaked from the android's nose. She turned to kick him in the gut and punch him. He fell to his knees, but the other android grabbed Wren from behind by the hair. She gripped his wrist and ducked down, but the other android got up and placed two fingers to her forehead.

"Bang. You're dead."

The android gripping her hair released her and then smacked her so hard she fell to her knees. "Sloppy."

"Again," announced the other, standing in front of Wren. She didn't move. The one behind her kicked her. She clutched her side and spat a mouthful of blood at him.

"Enough," barked a female voice. Another android walked into view. The two Sicilian androids stood at attention.

"Juno," greeted the one on the left.

Connor's eyes stretched. Juno—Wren's lover within the walls of Prometheus.

"I have been authorized to oversee CY001's training. You are dismissed."

The two Sicilian androids dipped their heads and left. Juno stood with her hands clasped behind her back. "Stand, CY001."

Wren got to her feet shakily, still clutching her side. She offered Juno a bloody grin. "Are you going to beat the shit out of me too? That should really teach me."

Juno tilted her head. "No. I am going to teach you."

Wren's training progressed immensely with Juno's help. The android taught Wren jiu-jitsu and other martial arts to fashion her into the weapon she was. Connor watched as Wren transformed from a scared, abused, Red Ice addict to CY001, a living weapon for Prometheus.

Atlas Montgomery appeared onscreen. "CY001's progress is better than I could've hoped for. Juno's prototype is a go. Of course, 01 has a long way to go before she's field-ready. She's passed her weapons and agility tests, and I'm confident she will pass her hand-to-hand combat test, but she still needs to go through the conditioning phase. I have a feeling that won't be easy. 01's a fighter."

The next video showed Wren facing off with the two Sicilian androids. Juno stood off to the side, her hands clasped behind her back. "The goal is simple, 01: Beat them, and you may progress to the next level of your training. Fail, and you will be terminated."

"Holy fuck," Rhett groaned, rubbing his face.

"We know she succeeded," North muttered. But even she looked unnerved. Connor's biocomponents lurched. He trembled as he waited for the fight to begin.

The first android threw a punch that Wren dodged by ducking around him. She tried to elbow him in the back of the head, but he blocked. Wren shoved him forward, sending him stumbling into the other android, who pushed the first one off and charged for Wren, a knife drawn. He tried to stab through the side of Wren's head, but she threw up her forearm and blocked. She used her other hand to punch the android in the chin. She kicked his legs out from underneath him and wrestled the knife from him.

The other android jumped on top of her, hands clenched around her throat. Wren wrapped her legs around one of his arms and his necks and used her body to roll him onto the floor with her on top. She punched him so hard in the face that thirium splattered onto her face. The other android got up, but Wren kicked him back. She charged and used his thigh to propel herself upward, where she wrapped her legs around his throat and twisted, bringing the android crashing down. She elbowed him in the face several times. Both androids tapped out.

Wren stood, panting. Thirium and sweat mixed and slid down her face. Juno beamed.

"Passed."

The next video showed Atlas, Ellis Hughman, and Pauline Thomas in an office. "I'm pleased to announce that CY001 has passed her combat training. She's ready to continue to the next phase." Atlas smiled at Pauline, who crossed her legs.

"Are you sure? You had concerns that she was a fighter."

"Isn't that why you picked her, Pauline?" Atlas sneered. His sneer faltered. "She destroyed one of the Sicilian androids."

"How?" Ellis gaped.

Atlas snorted. "We trained her to be a killer. How do you think she did it?"

"Was it during a session or was this an unwarranted attack?" Pauline seemed less shocked.

"A session," said Atlas. He pursed his lips for a moment before continuing, "But the android had tapped out. 01 just kept going."

Pauline scrunched her lips together for a moment. "She's got a lot of rage."

"Can you blame her?" Atlas queried, leaning back in his chair. "She can't remember anything of her past and she's been getting her ass beat for a good two and a half years."

"Well, the next phase should break her of that aggression," said Pauline, straightening in her seat. "Or it should break her so that she focuses that aggression on assigned targets."

Ellis sipped from his glass. "Her programming should help deter any independence and keep her from veering from Prometheus's goals. Condition her and couple it with my program, and any aggression that 01 has toward Prometheus will disappear."

Pauline narrowed her eyes. "And what of her relationship with the prototype android, the one called Juno?"

"The program should help with that, too," boasted Ellis. He lowered his gaze. "Though I do suggest a memory-reconstruction."

Pauline's eyes flicked to the camera. "And the android? It's odd that she's encouraging this… relationship."

"Perhaps we should let it continue for a while," suggested Atlas. "We could observe what's happening and ensure that it never does again."

Pauline hummed. "Ellis, keep an eye on Juno. I don't want this to be a recurring issue with this prototype if we're going to mass produce them."

Ellis nodded. "I will. Montgomery, we will have to do weekly check-ins to ensure the program is responding accurately to the conditioning."

"Noted," replied Atlas.

Pauline trained her cold eyes on Atlas. "CY002 is ready to begin training."

"We're still going to use my plan, yes?"

"Correct. 01 and 02 should never meet, and that goes for the rest of the squadron."

"Noted. As always, it's been a pleasure."

Ellis turned to the camera and shut it off, ending the set of videos in the file titled 001TRNNG.

Connor gripped his elbows. He hoped he looked like he was folding his arms, not hugging himself. His eyes flicked to North, Markus, and Josh, who all wore stunned expressions. Rhett dragged a hand down his face.

"So, they lied to Wren."

North's brow puckered. "How?"

Rhett leaned forward. "She said that Atlas was rogue in the way that he trained her squadron. They were supposed to be an elite group, not separate assassins. But this looks like they planned for that to happen."

Josh sighed. "But that's not enough to bring them down."

"No," agreed Rhett, "but is interesting."

"If they lied about this, then it could mean that they lied about Atlas going rogue entirely," suggested Markus. "Maybe Prometheus really meant to send Wren to kill me, but they didn't want it to be tied back to them in case it did come out."

"Maybe," said Rhett, getting to his feet, "but that's a lot of speculation. We need something more concrete."

"What I don't get is why they recorded their meetings," said Josh. "There could be incriminating evidence on these videos, and they kept it? It doesn't make any sense."

Rhett folded his arms. "I was thinking along the same lines."

"We should get going," said Markus, pushing off from the sofa. "It's late."

"Connor, can I have a word with you?" Rhett called as Connor moved to follow his friends out the door. He nodded to his friends and stayed behind.

"Yes?"

Rhett approached slowly, his hands in his pockets. "Listen, man, the next file is her conditioning. Do you know what it takes to condition a human?"

Connor lifted his chin. "I'm aware that the CIA uses methods that the public would deem inhumane."

"Yep," replied Rhett, his lips flattening into a tight line. He huffed. "And the CIA isn't a secret organization like Prometheus. Can you imagine what they did to condition Wren?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't see what you're getting at," Connor snapped.

Rhett snorted impatiently. "You don't have to be so defensive. I'm trying to warn you. Watching this won't be easy. They're going to do things to her in these videos that are meant to break her spirit down into nothing. I've been watching you while we watch these things. Tonight, you looked like you were in pain watching her get her ass beat. I'm telling you that it's going to get much worse. They're not just going to beat her, Connor. They are going to torture her to the point that she forgets she's a living person."

Connor's thirium pump raced, but he straightened and squared his shoulders. "Wren told me about some of the things they did to her. I'm prepared—"

"I guarantee you that Wren didn't tell you everything they did to her. Especially after the two of you grew close. She wouldn't want you to worry." Rhett lifted his eyebrows.

Damn. Rhett knew Wren pretty well. Connor's throat dried. "I appreciate your warning, but I'm not sitting this one out. I can handle it."

Rhett sighed. "Fine. But you might not want to tell Wren that you've seen what they did to her. She'll feel incredibly vulnerable, and we both know she hates that."

Connor dipped his head. "I'll keep that in mind."

…

The next afternoon, Connor, Wren, Gavin, and Chris entered Zlatko's house.

"Well, I'm glad this place isn't straight out of a horror movie," Chris muttered, wrinkling his nose at a cobweb.

"Last time we didn't pay much attention to the upstairs," Wren said to Connor. He dipped his head.

Gavin looked around the once-elaborate foyer. "Guess we should look for a computer or something."

"Anything that might link Zlatko to Typhon," said Connor, narrowing his eyes as he scanned their environment.

"Alright, Reed and I'll cover this floor. You two take the upstairs," said Chris, already moving to a decorative table and opening the drawers.

"There's a computer downstairs," Wren called to Gavin as she climbed the stairs. She pointed to the doorway leading to the lowest level of the house. Gavin saluted and headed in that direction.

Connor followed Wren upstairs to the bedrooms. The nearest bedroom wasn't a bedroom, though. It was a torture chamber. The thirium had long since evaporated, but Connor still saw the traces of it. The ghost of blue blood splattered the walls and pooled on the floor. Bloody footprints and drag marks stained other areas. Connor swallowed the lump in his throat as he eyed the metal table. Cables hung from above. On a small table, surgical devices collected dust. Wren hugged herself.

"Are you okay?"

Connor's eyes snapped to her. "I'm fine."

Wren tapped her temple. "Your LED is yellow."

"I'm processing information." His voice came out colder than he meant. He hated the distance between them. He hated Prometheus for doing this to them.

"Oh. Okay." Wren sounded hurt, but she turned her back to him to go through the drawers. Connor's thirium pump ached, but he stopped himself from going to her.

"I'm going to check the other rooms." He left before Wren said anything. He looked through the actual bedroom, going through the drawers and the armoire, looking for documents. However, the only things he and Wren succeeded in finding as they searched the upstairs were unpaid bills and unused coupons. Gavin climbed the stairs and waited in the hall as Connor and Wren emerged on the landing.

"Nothing on the computer except programs to delete androids' memories."

Connor, Wren, and Gavin descended the stairs where Chris waited.

Wren folded her arms. "My guess is that Typhon doesn't like leaving an electronic trail. Paper is harder to track."

"But it's just junk mail," said Chris, gesturing to the papers he found.

"He probably kept the documents somewhere safe and hidden. If he was smart enough not to leave an electronic trail, then he was smart enough to secure the documents."

"Unless he just didn't document anything," suggested Chris.

Wren shook her head. "A guy like Zlatko would keep receipts. This is shady business and he would want to make sure people paid. If he's been doing this illegally, he'd want leverage over his clients in case anything went sour." She headed for the stairs that led to the lowest level of the house. Connor glanced at Chris and Gavin before following her.

Connor scanned the machine used to wipe androids' memories, looking for anything he could have missed before. He circled it, scanning the machine until his eyes fell on a symbol on the back bottom of the machine. He crouched and moved a cable aside to get a better look.

"Typhon," he muttered. The others circled around him, looking at Typhon's symbol etched into the metal.

Wren turned toward the back wall. "Look for that symbol."

Connor straightened from his crouch and joined Wren by the wall to scan it.

"Hold on, you don't actually think there's like a secret door or something?" Chris demanded.

"I know there is," Wren muttered, feeling along the wall.

"How?" Gavin sounded as if he were scowling.

"Source from Prometheus," Wren said quietly.

Connor glanced at her but chose not to comment on it. How did Prometheus know? How did they tell Wren? Were there agents in Detroit? Was that why Wren was acting so distant and weird?

"Here," Connor announced, finding the Typhon symbol etched into the brick wall to behind and to the left of the machine. Gavin stepped around the hanging tarp to watch Wren and Connor press on the brick. Something clicked and a chunk of the wall slid back. The bricks were fake, revealing the metal interior. The passage leading into the next room was narrow. Wren stepped through first.

"This is straight outta Clue," muttered Chris as Connor followed Wren into the secret room. The space was tight, with floor-to-ceiling shelves of boxes of files. Wren squatted, and her backside brushed against Connor's crotch. He pressed his lips into a thin line and jerked back, but bumped into the boxes behind him.

"Zlatko was more involved with Typhon than we thought," Wren muttered, unaware of Connor's fiasco as she flipped through a file. "This isn't information on clients… Typhon funded Zlatko's projects. That's why he was able to afford that machine, the computer system, this room…" Wren placed the file away and looked through some others. She rubbed against Connor's shin as she moved along the bottom boxes. "Here's some client information…"

"We're going to need to bring in these files," Connor stated, his voice strained. He cleared his throat. Why did this space have to remind him of that stupid closet in Atlas Montgomery's estate? The air felt warm and foggy. Wren stood, still looking through one of the folders.

"How did Prometheus know this?" she muttered, flipping through the pages. "And why didn't they tell me sooner?" She closed the file and lifted her head. The tip of her nose trailed up Connor's lips. Wren widened her eyes. "Oh."

Her exhale warmed Connor.

He kissed her hip bones and Wren let out a soft, breathy moan. Connor looked up at her, a shiver running through his body.

Fuck! Why did he have to think about that?

Connor wanted to groan at the flush of warmth in his body. He huffed to ventilate his systems. Wren stared up at him, her eyes wide but—thank rA9—they weren't empty.

"Sorry," Wren breathed. She grabbed a box of files and shuffled out of the secret closet. Connor exhaled at the sudden coolness. He grabbed a box and followed her. Chris and Gavin entered one at a time, gathering boxes. Each of them carried two to the car.

"So, Prometheus told you to look for a secret room?" Gavin demanded in the car.

"They said that I should be on the lookout for a hidden space where Zlatko kept his documents," Wren replied. She gazed out the window. Connor glanced at her, but she seemed determined to not look at him, even though he sat next to her in the backseat.

"They knew Zlatko was involved but let you figure it out on your own? Why?" Chris glanced at Wren through the rearview mirror.

"I don't know," Wren muttered. She looked at her hands and her brow puckered. Some of her hair fell in her face. Connor wanted to brush it behind her ear and take her hand. Instead, he clasped his fingers together in his lap and looked out the window. Why did standing so close to her have such an effect on him?

"Jesus," Hank groaned as Connor, Wren, Chris, and Gavin carried in the boxes from Zlatko's. "We have to go through all that shit?"

"Oh boy," Tina widened her eyes as she shoved her wallet into the back of her jeans.

"We'll start on it tomorrow with fresh minds," said Hank. "Figure out a game plan."

"Sounds good," said Gavin.

Connor avoided Wren, walking as far from her as physically possible as the team left the precinct. Tina paused outside the doors.

"You guys are still coming, right?" she asked.

"Skye can't, but I'll be there," said Chris.

"Yeah, I could use some good home-cooking," said Gavin, rubbing the back of his neck.

Connor furrowed his brow. "Coming to what?"

"I'm cooking dinner tonight," said Tina. "You can come. Chloe'll be there, so you won't be the only one not eating. Hank already told me that he wants to go home tonight."

Connor glanced at Hank, who jingled his keys in his hand. Connor offered a small smile to Tina. "I'll come."

Tina turned to Wren, who waited for a cab by the curb. "Wren, you're welcome to come, too."

Wren stared at them with wide eyes. "I-I can't. I've still got to catch up on this case."

Connor frowned and exchanged a glance with Chris.

"Still?" Gavin demanded.

"Uh-huh," said Wren, sliding into the autotaxi. "Thanks for the offer though."

Tina turned to Connor, Chris, and Gavin, her arms folded. "That was weird."

"Yeah," Gavin agreed.

"Connor, I'm waiting on you," called Hank.

Connor waved to Tina and hurried over to the car. Hank tossed his keys at Connor, who caught them. He drove Hank home, clenching the steering wheel tighter than necessary. As soon as Hank entered the house, Connor backed out of the driveway and drove to Tina's, trying to push Wren's weird behavior from his mind. Instead, he thought about that stupid enclosed space, where her body ghosted against his…

"Fuck," Connor hissed. He flexed his fingers and thanked rA9 that he wasn't truly aroused by the situation. He wondered if it affected Wren at all.

He was the first to arrive at Tina's. Chloe let him in with a gracious smile that he tried to return, but it felt weak. He entered the kitchen, where Tina started boiling a pot of water.

"Hey, Connor," she greeted. "I'd offer you some wine, but…" She shrugged and poured herself a glass.

"I appreciate the thought," Connor teased.

Tina grinned and sipped from her glass. "You okay? Your LED's yellow."

Connor turned his head to hide his LED from Tina, even though it was useless. "I'm just… I have a lot on my mind."

"Like Wren?" Tina guessed, raising her eyebrows at him.

Connor lowered his gaze. "Yeah."

Tina sighed and set down her wine glass. "Yeah, me too. I'm worried about her."

Connor lifted his head. "You are?"

"Well, yeah. Her excuse tonight was probably the lamest thing I've ever heard."

"Is Wren still acting distant?" Chloe tilted her head.

"Yeah, and it's almost comical how she's doing it," said Tina, checking the still-heating pot.

"A watched pot never boils," Chloe said, kissing Tina's cheek. The doorbell rang.

"I've got it," Tina pushed off from the counter and disappeared. She returned with Chris and poured him a small glass of wine. Tina leaned against the counter and folded her arms. "It's just weird how Wren's keeping her distance like this."

"Well, didn't she say that Prometheus didn't want her reconciling with any of us?" Chloe said, standing on her tiptoes to reach the spaghetti box out of a cabinet.

"Yeah, but… She's taking it to the extreme. Does Prometheus really care if she eats dinner with us?" Tina replied.

"That probably counts as reconciling." Chloe squished her eyebrows together.

Chris shrugged. "That might, but she literally stands on the other side of the room of Connor sometimes. She only talks about the case with any of us… She's been, like, the epitome of professional."

"She didn't even ask how North was doing," Tina said. "Before she left, North, Wren, and I were inseparable. It's just really weird."

Chloe disappeared when Gavin knocked on the door. Tina dumped spaghetti into the boiling water and started cooking tomato sauce. Chloe buttered bread before putting it in the oven.

"What're we talking about?" Gavin asked as Chris poured him some wine.

"Wren being a complete weirdo," said Tina.

"Oh yeah," said Gavin.

"Well, maybe she just doesn't want to break Prometheus's rules," Chloe suggested.

"But she's already agreed to take them down," Connor said. "She wasn't as scared of defying them before."

"She did say that she wanted to maintain the trust she had with them, especially if she's gonna go back to them," said Chris. "Maybe this is her way of doing it."

"Look, she can keep her distance from us in a way that doesn't break Prometheus's rules," argued Tina.

"How would she do that, though?" Chris grinned. "Maybe they told her she wasn't allowed to have dinner with us."

"I think they freaked her out," said Tina. She met Connor's gaze. "That's why I'm worried about her."

Chris's grin faded. "Freaked her out?"

"Yeah. I bet they threatened her or us in a way that seemed viable, so she's on her best behavior now because she's fucking scared. Did you guys not notice that look she had when I invited her over?"

"She was like, twenty feet away," said Gavin.

"You guys are so stupid. She panicked. She wanted to come over, but she was panicking for a way to excuse herself out of it."

"Well, yeah, we all heard that stupid excuse."

"The look on her face, Gav. She's scared of something." Tina turned back to the spaghetti. Connor felt hollow.

Chloe offered him a sympathetic smile and patted his arm. "I'm sure she misses you too, Connor."

Connor tightened his jaw for a moment. "Somehow, that makes it worse."

…

Reuploaded this because I made a minor mistake and it was driving me crazy ?Also, forgot the author's note!

To the Guest who has been reviewing (or Guests), because I can't respond to you via DM, I just wanna say thank you so much!

Also, if y'all want a song for Connor's mindset rn… "Phases" by PRETTYMUCH is the jam.