Life in Detroit continued on without any further political corruption or a new wave of drugs flooding the street as the aftermath of the most recent scandal came to a quiet end. The mayor had been found guilty of corruption, conspiracy and a number of other charges, and the drug war between drug dealers had seemingly reached a ceasefire. The lack of newly reported crimes regarding assault, murder, thefts or drug deals gone wrong had given the city a much needed reprieve from the usual chaos and drama that had infamously tainted the city's good name. It was a massive and positive change considering how many issues Detroit had to resolve before, during and after the peaceful deviant Revolution.
The sound a thunderstorm currently rocking the city gave a certain deviant detective a surprisingly effective ambience to use to his advantage as he studied the mysterious letter and continued to try to determine the author of the strange letter itself. Sitting alone in the brownstone's study with his soulful brown eyes fixated on the letter in his hand, Connor continued to try to discover the person who wrote the letter and confront them directly.
It was strange to know that someone he couldn't readily identify was watching him from the shadows and seemingly watching his back. The very notion of being watched in general prompted Connor to add surveillance cameras to the front and rear doors of the brownstone, double the locks on the windows on both floors, and even change the locks on the doors after adding a deadbolt to ensure no one else could break-in.
"I can't trace anything on this paper that'll lead me to the person who had written it."
Bruno gave Connor a sad look as he listened to his deviant master and friend think out loud as he tried to find an answer. Sitting upright on the sofa opposite of Connor, the loyal dog tilted his head and thumped his tail slowly.
"It's as if the paper manifested out of thin air with how clean it is."
Bruno licked his nose as he set up a cybernetic link with Connor. 'Deviant?'
"That's whom I suspect."
Hopping down from the sofa Bruno sniffed at the paper and gave it a small lick to run his own tracking program on the potential author of the letter itself. The lack of readings turned Bruno's blue L.E.D. red then back to blue as he failed to detect anything usable.
"There's nothing left behind to be traced."
'Confirmed.'
"There has to be some way to find something viable left on this paper we could use to track down the author."
Laying one ear back Bruno offered his own suggestion. 'Precinct?'
"Even if I did have access to the precinct's analysis programs, I doubt they'd be able to find anything that you or I couldn't detect already."
'Help?'
"Help? You mean..." Lowering the letter from his eyes Connor gave Bruno a wary glance. "Ask for help from Lieutenant Anderson?"
'Yes.'
"I can't do that."
'Why not?'
"It's... complicated." Knowing that Bruno was too curious to be placated with simple or cryptic responses, Connor sank back against his sofa and placed the letter down on the cushion beside himself. "We don't see eye to eye anymore. It'd be wise to keep my distance from him for the time being."
'That is sad.'
"Yeah... I guess it is rather sad."
The storm outside continued to rumble as rain poured from the sky with a raucous deluge. Flashes of lightning illuminated the streets as mist rose from the warm pavement steadily cooled under the rain. The chaotic natural ambience of the storm wasn't just creating an ideal atmosphere for studying a case but was creating the perfect cover for a vicious attack taking place on the other side of the city at that very moment.
Driving through the rain slicked streets with the windshield wipers moving back and forth at a rapid and steady rhythm, Hank stared through his foggy windshield as he made his way to the scene of the most recent homicide in an area of Detroit that he rarely ever ventured through. A body had been discovered in an abandoned house in a rather affluent area of the city that very morning. Having any such property in a rich and properly upkept neighborhood was strange in that of itself, but finding a murder victim who had been so brutally mangled and left essentially on display for someone else to find was an entirely new level of bizarre that no one had encountered before.
Parking his car along the street behind the other patrol cars, Hank peered out his side window where he could see Ben speaking with one of his investigators just inside the holographic barricade set up around the property itself. The numerous police drones circling the house kept curious onlookers and reports at bay as the red and blue drone lights flashed in a slow rhythm through the misty air. The fact that so many people had responded to the reported body told Hank that whatever case he had just been assigned was one he'd never forget.
"If there's this much attention for one body, then the victim was either very popular or very unpopular."
Exiting the Oldsmobile Hank stepped into the rain and slammed the car door shut behind him. Ignoring the need for an umbrella or rain poncho Hank made his way toward the front door of the house and waved Ben over to him.
"What're we dealing with?" From behind Ben the investigator that Ben had been addressing looked pale with a green flush in his cheeks. It was clear the newbie was still getting used to handling the blood, guts and gore of crime scenes. "Did some poor bastard show up in the ritzy part of town without an invitation?"
"I wish it was that simple."
The way Ben's voice was uncharacteristically low caught Hank's ear. Using his hand Hank swept his short locks of gray hair back and away from his face as the rain soaked into his hair enough to thoroughly soak him to the bone. "What's going on?"
"You'll have to see it for yourself." Eyeing the front door as if intimidated by what was waiting for him on the other side, Ben was unusually stoic as he tried to prepare Hank for what he was going to see. "In all my years of doing this shit I haven't seen something so brutal and cruel."
"Yeah? What did I miss?"
"Look for yourself. I'm going to make sure my rookie doesn't keel over into his pile of his own vomit."
Opening the door with a slow motion, Hank was immediately met with the distinct and acrid stench of blood just lingering in the open air. The metallic smell was unmistakable and one that Hank could recognize without even needing to know he was entering a crime scene.
Glancing about the old house that was being illuminated by the C.S.I. team's mobile lights, Hank followed the sound of camera flashes as he stepped through the foyer and found himself in a massive livingroom that was completely empty save for the single dead body. The body itself was placed in such a way that made Hank's stomach momentarily lurch as he finally understood why Ben was so hesitant to return to the crime scene.
"Holy shit..."
The body was of a white male in his late twenties with light brown hair and pale hazel eyes who had been strung up by thick ropes around his wrists to the top corners of the large fireplace mantle in the back of the room. The body had been hacked to bits from the waist down leaving his entrails dripping all over the floor beneath his hung body. Both of the legs had been removed at the hip, were laying on the ground in the middle of the blood puddle and had the knees broken, and his feet hacked off at the ankles. The man was missing his left eye and it was clear that the small organ had been recently cut away from his skull.
Written above the body of the wall and the mirror mounted against the fireplace was a binary message and written in the victim's own blood: 01010100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01001001 01110011 00100000 01001111 01101110 01101100 01111001 00100000 01010100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01000010 01100101 01100111 01101001 01101110 01101110 01101001 01101110 01100111
The brutality of the murder was so extreme and so destructive that Hank didn't know how to react.
"Time of death," Ben uttered as he entered the livingroom without looking at the body. "approximately seven fifteen this morning. No one in the area saw anyone on or around the property until the poor real estate agent showed up to try to salvage this place. She got the shock of her life and had to be taken to the hospital for observation."
"This happened less than an HOUR ago?" The small window of time was the most upsetting face so far. Confirming the time on his phone just made the scene feel all the more surreal. "How in the fuck did no one notice something like this happening in broad daylight?"
"No clue. There was no sign of a break-in through the doors and all of the windows were locked, so we have no idea how the killer and the victim even got into this place to begin with." Clutching his notepad in his hands Ben did his best to try to not acknowledge the dead body as the dead man's one remaining eye stared into the nothingness of the world around him. The remaining eye had a blown pupil and was as wide as the man's mouth as he had evidently screamed in terror as he was murdered. "The cause of death was... exsanguination."
"Exsang-" Hank stopped short as he looked at the gruesome display of the crime scene and felt his blood run cold. "Wait, you're saying this poor guy bled to death?"
"After having his eye cut out and his legs removed. After that, the killer sliced open his belly and... Well, you can see it for yourself."
"Who is this guy?" Such a violent crime was often indicative of an emotional outburst or sense of vengeance. "Any known enemies who'd want to do this to him?"
"His name was Jason Graff. And he was once the Director of the Humanization Department of CyberLife."
"Being someone from CyberLife would certainly give a lot of people reason enough to kill him. But to do so in such a horrific and mutilating manner... He must've seriously pissed off the wrong person." Eyeing the message of zeroes and ones over the fireplace Hank recognized it as binary code but had no idea what it meant. "That message points to one seriously disturbed android. Too bad I have no fuckin' idea what they wrote on the wall."
"My team will photograph it and decipher it soon enough. The lack of shoe prints, fingerprints, blood that doesn't match the victim and lack of hair confirms your suspicion. Weapon of choice was a machete that was clearly capable of accomplishing whatever it was that the killer wanted to do."
"And for someone to not cut themselves while using a machete to kill someone else is something only an android could do. I mean, it's possible that the hypothetic android did cut themself, but the Thirium evaporated within the hour between the body being strung up and discovered."
"Maybe. Unfortunately, there's only one deviant I know who can see Thirium even after it evaporates, and he's not in the mood to play nice with me. Not that I can blame him."
"What happened-"
"Nevermind." Hank didn't want to discuss anything regarding Connor for any reason. Besides, the murder case was far more important than any falling out. "Just get this scene photographed, the evidence contained, and the body taken to the morgue. Make sure the coroner's absolutely thorough with everything since this guy's going to have to be cremated before he's laid to rest."
"Right." Ben knew the procedure and had no reason to question Hank's orders. "I feel bad for Reed right now."
"Is he going to inform the next of kin?"
"Yeah. And I can't imagine how he's going to try to talk his wife out of wanting to view the body."
"Whatever he comes up with better be good." The sight of the mangled, mutilated body was enough to make Hank taste bile. "No one should have to see a loved one like this. Ever."
Pacing about his study with his coin dancing over his knuckles, Connor had his eyes closed and his blazer off as he remained lost in deep thought. Wearing his uniform to psych himself up into "work mode" was one of Connor's methods of getting into the right mindset while working on a case that was giving him some difficulty. Even with the letter safely locked away in its hidden compartment again Connor couldn't seem to get the mystery out of his mind or stop thinking about his mysterious ally watching him from afar. Who they were, why they were watching him, and why they knew anything about Connor and his past affiliation from CyberLife was so curious that Connor couldn't seem to think about anything else.
As he watched Connor pacing from where he was laying over the sofa cushions, Bruno received a cybernetic update that made him whimper as he barked once to get Connor's attention. Sending Connor a link to the update he had just received, Bruno rose to his three paws and walked over to the front door as he sat down and waited to go outside.
"...A deviant's body was found in an alleyway by another deviant, and the information is traveling along a cybernetic grapevine." Stopping mid pace Connor looked over at Bruno and saw that the K-9 unit's L.E.D. was red as he tensely waited to go to the scene. "No police have been informed of the body yet. Why?"
'Scared.' Bruno remarked as he began anxiously pawing at the floor. 'Deviants don't trust humans.'
"I can't say that I blame them." Holding his coin between his knuckles Connor slipped the quarter into his pocket and made his way toward the door. Pulling on his blazer, trench coat and fedora, Connor prepared to head out into the stormy weather. "All right. We'll check out the scene for ourselves and call it in if it's necessary."
Bruno circled around once as Connor grabbed the dog's leash from the hook by the front door and clipped it to Bruno's collar.
"The last thing we want to do is perpetuate the fear that human police officers won't look out for deviant lives."
The gruesome nature of the crime scene left Hank feeling absolutely filthy. Retreating to the precinct's locker room the moment he returned from the crime scene, Hank spent a good hour in the shower and scrubbed at his skin until it was red and raw. Even with the heavy steam of the shower and the abundance of special citrus based soap and shampoo designed to help remove the stench of blood and death from a person's skin and hair, Hank swore he could still smell the crime scene clinging to him. After one last thorough rinse Hank decided he needed to turn off the water, get dried off and pull his extra clothes from his personal locker to replace the clothes he was certain he'd need to burn after work.
After toweling off and changing into clean, less smelly clothes, Hank ran a comb through his shorter hair and heard a small cough followed by a gag and then a horrible retch from the other locker room on the other side of the corridor. Taking a moment to listen Hank heard it again and knew for certain that he wasn't making a mistake. Someone was sick.
"Ah, cripes. Did a rookie have to go to that crime scene today?"
Hank put his stuff away, locked his locker and stepped into the corridor. Knocking on the door to the women's locker room Hank waited for a response and decided that he needed to take the initiative and see who was currently in distress.
"Hey, uh, I don't who's in here but I'm comin' in. Head's up to anyone who might be in here!"
Doing his best to not sound angry or upset Hank entered the women's locker room to check on the sick officer. Following the sound of additional retching to the private stalls on the far side of the locker room, Hank honed in on the one closed door and spotted the soles of shoes beneath the door as the sick person continued to throw up into the toilet.
"Hey? Is the door locked."
There was a heavy spit before a familiar voice spoke up. "N-No..."
"Tina?" Opening the door slowly Hank spotted Tina kneeling in front of the toilet looking absolutely miserable. She was pale, sweating and a little green in the face as she continued to throw up. "Ah, man. What's going on with you?"
"...I'm just sick."
"Uh-huh." Knowing what that really meant Hank walked over to the sinks adjacent to the wall and grabbed a plastic cup from the nearby shelves. Filling the cup with some cool water Hank returned to the stall and offered it to Tina to take. "What was your poison? Vodka? Rum? Whiskey?"
"...Tequila."
"Damn."
"...Yeah. I'm sorry." Turning to look at Hank over her shoulder Tina gave the Lieutenant an ashamed look. "I... I've never woken up so hungover before."
"Well, you're twenty-five. It doesn't take long for your body to shift from 'party all night' to 'call off sick all week'."
"So I've noticed." Accepting the water Tina took in a big gulp to swish around her mouth and spit into the toilet. Drinking the remaining water Tina flushed the toilet and pushed herself up from the floor to sit on the closed toilet lid. "Are you going to put this into a report?"
"Nah." Hank knew Tina was reliable and responsible. She didn't deserve to have a black mark on her record after one incident. "I've shown up to work hungover more times than I can count, and I'm not about to become a hypocrite."
"Thanks for being so cool about this."
Standing up slowly Tina smoothed out the front of her uniform, stepped out of the stall and promptly ran over to the sink to throw up again.
"Fuckin' hell." Walking over to the sink as well Hank made sure Tina wasn't going to pass out as he kept a hand on her shoulder. "How much did you drink?"
"J-Just one!"
"One bottle?"
"One shot..."
"Wait, a single shot of tequila did this to you? What was the proof?"
"Low." Spitting again Tina took in a deep breath and turned on the sink to clean it up before refilling her cup. "I bought that middle shelf stuff. You know, not super potent regarding the alcohol volume, but it doesn't have a piss taste to it."
"Right. Well, it's noon right now and I know you clocked-in on time this morning, so what set ya' off just now?"
Dragging her hand over her mouth Tina closed her eyes and looked pale again. "...I saw the photos."
"Not surprised." Giving Tina's shoulder a small shake Hank wasn't surprised that Tina had such a strong reaction. "The photos don't do that crime scene any justice."
"I am so fuckin' glad I was already on patrol when it was called in. That poor guy was just... I don't even know how to describe it."
"Me neither, but I'll figure it out. Guess I picked a shitty time to return to homicide, huh?"
"Or the best time." Drinking the water slowly Tina made sure her stomach settled before she dared to turn her back on the sink basin. "Gavin told me that he had to convince the guy's wife to look at him only from the right side of his face after the coroner used some folded sheets tucked under the main sheet covering the guy to make it look like his body was still in one piece. And to hide the fact he had his left eye gouged out."
"Smart move." Motioning for the locker room door behind himself Hank began walking away and opened the door for Tina. "I got some mints and stomach meds in my locker. Since I quit drinking, I actually have some extra I can share."
"When you're considered for a promotion or a raise, I will rally behind you immediately."
Chuckling a little Hank returned his hand to Tina's shoulder to ensure she didn't stumble as he led her to his locker to get something to settle her stomach. "That attitude is why you'll be a Lieutenant yourself someday. Keep up the good work."
Walking to the crime scene to ensure that neither he or Bruno overlooked something important pertaining to the crime itself, Connor located the correct alleyway and quietly slipped down the alley to examine the discovered body. What Connor saw was something that gave him pause and made Bruno lower his ears as he cowered a little behind Connor's legs. Neither detective had come across a crime scene that was so grotesque and brutal as the one they had just stumbled across. The way the body had been strung up, mutilated and dismembered was enough to make Connor look about the area cautiously to ensure that the killer or killers weren't still in the area and watching him.
Crouching down in front of the body Connor removed his fedora and pressed it over his chest respectfully as he examined the crime scene. The single victim had lost so much Thirium that it looked like there had been a massacre as opposed to a single murder. The amount of remaining Thirium also confirmed that the murder had taken place recently, within the past hour.
The victim was a female 'HW-800' who had a white complexion, blonde hair and blue eyes. She had been strung up with thick ropes by her wrists to the two opposing walls of the alleyway to keep her suspended above the rainy ground. Her body had been hacked to bits from her waist down leaving her exposed lines and damaged biocomponents dripping Thirium all over the ground beneath her suspended body. Both of her legs had been removed at the hip, were laying on the ground in the middle of the blue blood puddle, had both of her knee joints broken, and her feet hacked off at her ankles. The deviant was missing her right eye and it was clear that the small biocomponent had been recently cut away from her cranium while she was still alive.
Written above the body on the brick wall was a binary message that was written in the victim's own blue blood. It was a message that only Connor could see after the blood evaporated and was washed away by the rain: 01010100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01001001 01110011 00100000 01001111 01101110 01101100 01111001 00100000 01010100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01000010 01100101 01100111 01101001 01101110 01101110 01101001 01101110 01100111
"This is... This is indescribable."
Bruno whimpered sadly as he stayed back and away from the body. The K-9 unit was clearly disturbed by the sight of the body.
"I have to identify her. I need to give this deviant justice."
Running a scan over the deviant's face Connor managed to register the victim's name and trace her roots back to the last place he had expected.
"Her name was 'Rebecca' and was the personal assistant to the previous head of CyberLife's Humanization Department, Jason Graff."
The brutality of the attack and the binary message all spelled an ominous warning that gave Connor every reason to suspect that there was a new threat to Detroit that didn't revolve around any drugs or political corruption. There was a vicious killer roaming the streets and had no fear in acting out in broad daylight.
"This is something that I cannot handle by myself. I can't even pretend that I can protect my people from something as macabre as this."
Nosing Connor's hand, Bruno looked up at Connor and asked him a single question as Connor stood upright. 'Help?'
"This time, yes. I'm going to ask for help."
Swallowing his pride and putting aside his lingering ill will against Hank, Connor closed his eyes as he returned his fedora to his hair and cybernetically called the senior detective for assistance. Reporting the murder victim's location and requesting some help was all Connor could do as he and Bruno kept the crime scene as secured as possible. There was little else that could be done as they had no experience in handling a murder of such a significant degree.
Little did Connor know that by summoning Hank to the crime scene he was going to be opening up case that went far deeper than anyone could've expected.
The photographs of the crime scene were being carefully analyzed and then locked away to keep them from potentially getting leaked to the public. The police drones had succeeded in keeping onlookers away from the property but that didn't guarantee that people wouldn't spread rumors or hadn't snapped photos of the property before the police had arrived. By keeping the case low profile for the moment, the precinct would be able to increase their odds of tracking down the culprit since that meant any leaked photographs or details would have to come from someone who was at the scene of the crime. The way the crime scene had been void of any trace of the killer made it all the more important to keep the collected details away from the public eye.
After logging away the photos and locking them in a secured file on his terminal, Hank leaned back in his chair and looked over at Tina as the young officer slowly recovered from her earlier bout of sickness. The Lieutenant empathized with Tina since he remembered getting sick the first time that he had seen a murder case, and he couldn't fault her for having a drink after a bad shift. No one could.
Counting down the hours before he could clock-out and take another shower Hank didn't notice that Joel had come down from the second floor dispensary to give him an update on the binary message found at the murder scene. The young technician rarely ever went down to the bullpen to assist in anything unless there was an issue he could fix with his laptop or one of the deviant personnel was suffering from an error.
"Lieutenant?" Speaking up in a small voice Joel handed Hank a tablet with the information he had collected on the screen. "I deciphered the message for you. I don't know how much more help it'll be though."
Looking up at the technician Hank gave the younger man a searching glance of utter intrigue. "Is it gibberish?"
"No, it's just... ominous."
"Ominous is routine for me. Let me see."
Hank read over the photo and the analyzed message just as his phone rang in his pocket. Brow arched inquisitively Hank put the tablet down as he reached for his phone and answered the call without checking the caller I.D. first. "This is Lieutenant Anderson."
'And this is Detective Wolf.'
"...Connor?" Hearing the deviant's voice wasn't one he had been expecting to hear any time soon. Sitting upright in his chair Hank gave Connor his full attention. "Uh, hey. Is something going on?"
'Unfortunately, yes. I have discovered a body of a murdered deviant and I need your assistance.'
"What? Where is it?" Grabbing a pen and notepad Hank waited for Connor to tell him the address of the crime. "I'll send a squad car out to meet ya'."
'No squad car. At least, not yet.'
"Why not?"
'I'll explain everything once you're here. Please, I require the assistance of someone who is in charge of the deviant division.'
"I... Yeah, okay." Hank forgot that Connor wouldn't know he changed divisions and now Chris was in charge of the deviant division. With Chris still being a rookie with deviant cases Hank decided to check out the scene for himself to make sure Chris wouldn't get in over his head too quick. "Give me the address and I'll be right over."
Joel overheard the conversation and could tell by Hank's tone of voice that whatever was going on was pretty serious. Not wanting to overstep his role in the precinct the wise technician held his tongue and didn't ask any questions until Hank was finished with his call.
"Got it." Hank pushed back his chair and prepared to end his call before slipping the phone back into his pocket. "I'll be out there as soon as I can."
"Should I do anything else, Lieutenant?"
"No, you did great." The still soaked coat on the back of his chair was all Hank had to protect him from the ongoing storm outside. Slipping the wet sleeves over his arms Hank shuddered at the cold sensation and gave Joel a nod. "Keep that message between you and me for now. We don't want any details of this case getting anywhere it doesn't belong."
"You got it."
Unsure of what to expect or why he of all people was the one person that Connor had asked for help left Hank feeling all the more confused after enduring the nasty, stormy day that was covered in blood.
The alleyway remained untouched as Connor and Bruno stood near the entrance to keep anyone from walking down the alley and finding the body. Cybernetically Connor was able to confirm that the deviant who reported the body had been running errands and caught a strong whiff of spilled Thirium in the rainy air. She had the misfortune of finding the body after following the scent and had run away from the alleyway to get away from any potential danger still lurking in the area. The witness then rushed out to New Jericho Tower to seek shelter far away from the danger and sought sanctuary in the event that the killer had noticed that someone had come across their work and could testify against them.
After ensuring Markus that he'd handle the case and would work along with Lucas and only the most qualified personnel from the precinct to handle the murder, Connor found himself preconstructing the scene of the crime to determine the ultimate cause of shutdown and the approximate time of shutdown. The heavy damage to the deviant's body would make such a process of identification tedious and time consuming.
With his coin resting entirely motionless on its side on the back of his hand, Connor looked over at the sight of the large and aged Oldsmobile pulling to a stop along the street in front of the alleyway. Connor watched as the headlights remained illuminated while the windshield wipers came to a stop as Hank opened his door and approached the alleyway with his hands in his pocket. The deviant noted Hank's shorter hair, trimmed goatee, weight loss and mild muscle build, and was impressed with the improvements.
"Connor." Hank greeted the deviant as Connor pocketed his coin. "Not sure why you're willing to ask for my help, but I'm glad."
"Considering the seriousness of the situation I had little choice but to request your assistance." Without remarking on Hank's physical changes. "You're one of the few cops in this city that I know cannot be bought into silence or be corrupted."
"Well, I'm flattered."
"The body's down here." Walking with Bruno down the alleyway, Connor escorted Hank to the horror scene and stood far enough away from the puddle of blue blood being washed away by the rain. Bruno whimpered again as he sat down just beside Connor's leg and began to tremble slightly from the cold rain. "A passing deviant discovered it. She then went to New Jericho Tower and informed the internal deviant gossip chain about the discovery to keep innocent deviants away."
"Holy shit..." Hank saw the body and suddenly felt like he was trapped in a recurring nightmare. The way the deviant's body was strung up in the same manner as his human victim's body was enough to make the Lieutenant feel like throwing up. "What was the cause of death on this deviant?"
"It's difficult to be certain, but I believe that the deviant died from Thirium depletion after her abdomen was forcibly opened by a powerful stabbing motion."
"Meaning she bled to death, right?"
"That's correct." Turning to look at Hank beside himself Connor noticed that Hank's eyes were wide with shock and seemed almost haunted. It was as if he could see something that Connor himself could not. "She had her right eye forcible extracted by a sharp instrument. Due to the severity to her torso and limbs I theorize that weapon of choice was-"
"A machete."
"...Also correct."
"Do you know the victim's name or have any idea of who she could've associated with that would've made her a target?"
"Her name was registered as Rebecca." Studying Hank's face carefully Connor gauged the man's reactions carefully. "She was the former personal assistant to a man named Jason Graff. Graff was-"
"The former head of the Humanization Division to CyberLife."
"How... do you know that?" Connor knew that Hank wouldn't have access to such information readily at his disposal or recognize the name so quickly. "Such roles were kept quiet at CyberLife due to the delicate nature of the work. It was a form of security."
"Let's just say that I'm now glad you called me to come out here and help." Reaching for his phone Hank swept his rain slicked hair out of his face and turned on the notepad app on his screen. Writing down a particular phrase Hank asked the deviant a curious question. "When you showed up, was there a message written on the wall above the body? Specifically, written in blue blood?"
"There was-" Such a question caught Connor entirely off guard. "How did you-"
"Before I answer your question, please answer mine." Keeping his phone pressed to his chest to hide the screen Hank looked back up at the wall where the invisible message could only be seen by Connor's enhanced vision. Trusting his gut Hank looked to Connor as he sought confirmation. "Was the message written in binary?"
Staying silent Connor just stared at the seasoned detective an impressed shock.
"I'll take that as a 'yeah'." Knowing that a non-answer can say more than words could, Hank pressed on for more details as he tried to keep himself from accidentally forming any kind of a bias during his investigation. "And answer me this, what did the message translate to?"
"It... was more of a warning than a message. But it translated to 'This is only-'
"...'only the beginning'." Hank finished as he closed his eyes and shook his head. "Am I right?"
"That's correct." How Hank knew the message that couldn't possibly see was now very intriguing. "How did you know what the message said?"
Showing Connor his phone's screen Hank showed the deviant that he had typed up the exact same message to confirm it wasn't a lucky guess and then informed him of his own case from earlier that day. "Because, as of this morning, I've seen this message and this type of body display before. Joel deciphered the message before you called me."
"Was the victim another deviant?"
"Nope. A human named Jason Graff. He was strung up by his wrists, had his legs hacked off and mutilated, bled to death after his body was severed at the waist and his left eye was cut out of his skull. The machete was the weapon of choice and it all happened in less than an hour."
Such macabre and identical details were impossible to ignore. "That's... not a coincidence."
"No fuckin' way." Running his hand through his hair again Hank crossed his arms over his chest as he tried to figure out how to handle this new problem before it got any worse. "We might have a serial killer on the loose, and whoever they are they have a pattern of behavior that we need to full identify."
"You're right." Looking back up at the dead body Connor felt a chill run down his spine. "I suppose is this is the work of a serial killer than that message is apt. 'This is only the beginning'."
-next chapter-
