~WARNING: Some strong sexual adult-themed content ahead, including sexual assault and trauma. You have been warned.~
~Connor~
"Connor, I don't know why you wanted me to come along," Chris said guiltily. "Why not ask Hank?"
"Because Chris, you're a father. And well Hank...he's accompanied me once and I believe that was enough." Connor stated with little inflection.
"Oh, well. Yes, my baby boy is four months old." Chris's head fell as he rang the doorbell of the CPS housing facility.
"Officer Miller and Detective Connor, please step back," a static voice ordered.
"Do you enjoy it? Being a father, that is?" Connor's voice was filled with wonder.
"It is the best feeling in the world, but it's also frightening. At work, I know what I am doing, but the moment I step through that door at home, I am lost. There's this tiny human being that needs so much." Connor could hear the concern and care in his voice.
As the panel opened and completed a full body scan, Connor watched as Chris shook off his worries. The large glass door slid open; an AX400 model named Olivia was waiting for them on the other side. She was a reminder of the AX400 model that he had let get away. Kara was her name. The last time he had seen her was at Jericho before the raid; since then, only rumors circulated amongst those who knew her. Rumors that she and her male companion had married and lived a quiet life in Canada. One day, he'd like to apologize to her and the YK900 she was with.
"Connor, nice to see you again." Olivia greeted. "She's been fussy ever since you left the other day."
Chris snuffed with a look of awe glued to the corners of his eyes.
"Officer Miller," Olivia bowed. "It's nice to see you too."
"Please, call me, Chris." Chris smiled with slight trepidation as he waited for Connor to explain himself.
"So, you come here a lot? Does Hank know?" He asked, following behind Connor as he hurried upstairs.
Connor shook his head slightly as Chris let out another sad sigh. He knew what he was thinking, but Connor was infatuated. It did not matter if Chris understood that or not. Connor was just thankful for his company.
He continued up the stairs feeling Chris's unease as they came to the infant floor. They were scanned once again and greeted by a young woman named Gail Naird. A 54-year-old with beautiful brown eyes.
"Welcome back, Connor," she embraced him before acknowledging Chris. "Officer Miller is it, welcome."
"He's a good friend of mine," he stated truthfully, and he meant it.
"Nice to meet you," she said pleasantly.
"Likewise," he replied.
"If you don't mind, I'll be right back," Chris nodded, watching as Connor disappeared down the hall to Kairi's room.
He eagerly counted the steps to her tiny space, hoping that they had found her a rooming companion. Everyone needed someone, he was no different. Connor was responsible for Kairi's current predicament.
Footage of the raid on Jericho captured the sheer terror that consumed Kerri Wright as he shot the fatal bullet that killed her. That single bullet would later lead to her husband's suicide. The one thing he was not responsible for was the deactivation of their android. Her deactivation was a result of a failure to register their android. Mr. Wright was dead and missed the registration date. So, that too weighed on his mind.
Connor knew better than to dwell in the past, but he could not help himself. All it took was three weeks to deviate from his programming. Three weeks to learn who he could be-or who he wanted to be.
Right now, he just wanted to be a better person. And he was well on the road to doing that. Thanks to Connor's official job at the DPD, the majority of his earnings would be going to the families of agents he had killed. He would distribute his earnings equally and monthly until he felt satisfied with his contribution.
Connor knew it would never be enough, but right now, he wanted to explore the feeling he was trying so hard to fight. As he entered the room, his eyes met Kairi's, and all he could think about was sharing this moment with Hank.
Two human aids were struggling to calm Kairi down as she wiggled and cried. Connor rushed over, the care aids placed Kairi instantly in his hands. Relief washed over their faces as Kairi quieted to their surprise. They silently encouraged him to take her outside. He swayed as they headed out to the terrace. There was something about holding her that made him want to keep her. It is fascinating that such a small human could grow up to be something the size of well, the size of Hank.
Connor scanned her for the thousandth time that week. Her vitals were slightly above in comparison to her previous days. Especially since all, she seemed to do was cry.
"Wow, Connor, I'm shocked. When can you come over to my place and get Jayden to sleep like that?" Chris commented, taking a seat on the bench next to him. "You never answered my question earlier. How are things with Hank? Does he know?"
Connor spun around, startling Kairi. "Why do you ask?"
"It's just…you know…you both being so close. I figured…" he shrugged.
Connor smirked as Kairi gripped his finger, revealing his solid white shell.
"I know it's not my place, and Hank may not say it, but he would do anything for you, Connor." Chris's genuine tone alleviated the knots in Connor's circuits.
"Thank you for saying that." Connor smiled.
Chris scratched the back of his neck, he was not the only one confused about Hank and his relationship.
"Chris, what was Hank like before?" Connor asked, swaying back and forth as Kairi cooed in his arms.
Chris let out a heavy sigh. "I'm not entirely sure. He was a different man five years ago. Hell, he was a different man six weeks ago. But in the past three years, I've never seen him more approachable." He paused. "You know Reed, Tina, and I all graduated from the academy together, Hank was already Lieutenant then." He laughed, remembering something Connor only wished he could have seen for himself. "He was tough back then, but that was two years before Cole...before Cole died."
"This may sound strange, but what can you tell me about his ex-wife?" Connor asked, having searched for her out of curiosity. He decided not to venture down that rabbit hole without permission.
"Honestly, Connor, I only met her once. She was toxic. Cole's accident just sent them both over the edge. She just up and vanished after Cole's funeral. Last I heard she was hooked on red ice and living South of the border."
Fortunately, Connor was not surprised by any of this information. During Hank's leave of absence, he had had plenty of time to explore Hank's past. Nothing out of the ordinary, if not typical of a human family. Hank's parents had passed during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 when he was 35 years old. His sister, Helen, died two years later working as a nurse in Baltimore when a second virus wave hit. Even though Connor knew all this, he still had not found much information on Hank's ex-wife. Other than information gathered from expired social media accounts that had a few pictures of a blonde middle-aged woman on them. Hank's ex-wife's name was Christina Anderson, maiden name Britten.
"We all have a past," Chris started, peeking to see Kairi fast asleep in Connor's arms. "We can't let it ruin our future."
Connor could not have agreed more. There was no fighting with the ghosts of their past; they both had to move forward. But in Hank, he simply did not know what was keeping Hank so rooted in the past. Was it only about Cole? Or did Hank still have feelings for his ex-wife, who was possibly still out there?
"No one's perfect, Connor. Not even androids." Chris added as if he wanted to say more. But he never did.
Instead, Chris watched as Connor put Kairi to sleep to the grateful smiles from the human caretakers. Connor wanted to stay a bit longer, but he had work to do and felt it best to leave while his presence was appreciated.
"I just gotta call," Chris informed, placing a hand on Connor's shoulder.
"Will you need back up?" He asked.
"No, I don't need the Lieutenant jumping down my throat for dragging you with me," Chris replied.
Hank had insisted that he occupy himself for the next few hours. To Connor, that meant following up on Kairi, instead of hunting down his duplicate. Hank and Reed were being forced to do their jobs, taking witness statements as well as locking up those responsible for abusing their androids. Thanks to the paparazzi, the entire station had been turned into a madhouse. Until the chaos died down, Hank wanted Connor out of sight. Though Markus' peaceful protest had won the favor of the public, there were plenty of people who still refused to acknowledge androids as their equals.
Connor and Chris quickly parted ways. He thanked Chris for his company, then he headed to Kamski's. Connor had run out of adhesives, adhesives he had gotten from Chloe. Unfortunately, the only way to Chloe was through Kamski. Hailing a taxi, Connor saw for himself that the public unrest was not just contained to the PDP and city hall. Protests popped up everywhere. President Warren and Mayor Cardoso's attempts to alleviate some of the public tension by creating the ATF (Android Task Force) had only put people on edge. Hank, Gavin, and Connor were listed as leads and even they did not see the benefits of it.
It was an added pressure for them to be successful in detaining the androids that had committed crimes, some were long gone to Canada most likely, and others metaled down. The humans that they had detained were no better, they saw nothing wrong with their past actions. Abusing, harming, and destroying androids was no different than shooting bottles, playing target practice, or even exploring twisted sexual acts. There were just too many gray areas and unknowns for anyone to be certain that what they were doing would benefit either side moving forward.
Kamski was not helping ease public opinion nor was he invested in political affairs. With the board of trustees of CyberLife all publically resigning, many people wanted someone to blame for the android revolution. All eyes were on President Warren and Detroit with Connor's face front of center. Thankfully, CyberLife was forced to shut down. Coonor felt as though Kamski, had been waiting for this moment because, he publically announced his return to the industry and with it, he introduced a new company name: CyberTechnologies or CyberTech.
Kamski had purchased and begun construction on of his new building in the Cortland district. Constructed that had started months prior to the deviant events, which only fueled Connor's suspensions. At least he was not the only one that hated it. Hank hated it. Even many of the people in Detroit hated it. Unitl, Kasmki announced that he would be opening 2500 new jobs for both humans and androids by the end of 2040. It made Connor sick to think about. Though nothing was final it was Kamski's bold arrogance that made Connor uncomfortable.
"Welcome, Connor." Chloe greeted him at the tall steel gates. Immeddiately, Connor knew that this was not the Chloe he had befriended. Befriended was not the correct word, instead this was not the Chloe he had gotten close to. "May I?" She asked.
Connor nodded as she scanned him. This Chloe assessed his damage and shared it with Kamski.
"A simple fix and I'll depart," Connor stated, he had no intention of overstaying his welcome.
This was by far the last place on the planet that he wanted to be. The gates opened and Connor meekly followed Chloe up the driveway into the house. He walked down a long white hallway that was littered with pictures of Kamski and his many accolades as the creator of androids. While he had remained out of public eye for 10 years, Kamski had traveled the world donating his billions and appearing on occasions to discuss his philanthropic ventures. Connor had always been skeptical of his creator, even since their first encounter.
"Chloe," Connor started, "where are the others?" He asked, feeling awkwardly alone in the deadly silent house.
It was nothing like being at home with Hank. At home, Sumo would bark, cars would be driving by, and Hank would be shouting obscentities at the television. At Jericho, there had been times it was early quiet as well, androids did not always have much to talk about. So, Connor had a preference for noisy reality that he lived in.
"Sorry, Connor, they're busy at the moment." Chloe replied coldly, opening a door at the end of the hall.
Connor knew what she meant by "busy." Kamski was purposely keeping them away from him. He never got why, but he had a hunch.
"Please make yourself comfortable," Chloe said, leaving the door the small bright white room open; she did not stay.
Connor looked around the pentagon shaped room he was familiar with; there were no windows, only triangle shaped whole in the ceiling. A large plant sat in one of the corners of the room. Connor could hear Kamski's footsteps before he actually saw him sauntering towards him. He kept his face emotionless as an egregious smile crept across Kamski's angular face.
"It's nice to see you again," Kamski said, peering around Connor, obviously looking for Hank. "Your partner?"
"Predisposed," he replied calmly.
"How unfortunate." Kamski replied with a tiny grin. "Stand still."
Kamski trailed his index finger down Connor's face, then back to his LED. Gliding his free hand over Connor's shoulder, his touch lingering on his back as time froze. Kamski leaned down and deactivated Connor's skin.
"Remove your clothes," he whispered.
"Is that necessary?" Connor asked, wanting nothing more than to get repaired and to leave.
"Indeed, my friend, it is." Kamski stepped away and watched as Connor undressed. "Beautiful."
"Enough," Connor's voice was cold. "I have somewhere to be."
"Sorry, Connor, it's just you're one of a kind." He sighed, pacing around Connor as he stood exposed in the middle of the room. "I've only made three android models with my own hands. Did you know that?"
"No, I did not." Connorreplied, trying to read Kamski. He wanted to know where he was going with this.
"Chloe, the apple of my eye and the first. Markus, an incredibly special gift that went to a dear friend, and of course you," he pranced. "Amazing what can change in ten years."
"What are you implying?" Connor asked, giving Kamski the side eye.
"It's simple, really," Kamski said, placing both hands on either side of Connor and leaning forward. "I'll fix you if you share your intel on the CyberLife android that got loose."
Connor's head snapped up. "How do you know about the RK900?"
Kamski began cackling, "You mean Amanda's backup plan? Her newer and improved version of you? How does that make you feel, Connor?"
Connor remained tight-lipped as his creator gloated passively.
"What if I refuse?" He asked, returning his skin to normal.
"You know, I am quite fond of Amanda's accomplishments." Kamski stepped around Connor to peel the bandage off the back of his neck. "But that is neither here nor there. I can give you what Amanda did not." He whispered. "More human-like experiences." He teased nibbling at Connor's ear.
"I'm not interested," Connor replied, pulling away from his touch.
"Oh, come on, Connor. I can give you more. Touch, taste, smell…even a fully functioning..."
Connor stood up and covered Kamski's mouth with his hand. "I'm NOT interested."
Kamski gripped Connor's wrist and licked the palm of his hand before aggressively grabbing Connor by the crouch. Their gaze was intense and unbreakable as Connor reminded himself that this would all be over soon.
"Oh, you will be." He mouthed under Connor's touch.