November 8th

1:30pm—Detroit Police Department

Vera

"Have you finished that report yet?" Captain Fowler crossed his arms, staring at Hank impatiently.

Hank sighed roughly, likely holding back what he wanted to say.

"I'm just finishing the last touches," he said finally, "and then, I'll be done. There was a lot of waiting around yesterday to speak to the first victim and get her statement."

"I don't care what you had to do, Hank. I just need this report on my desk so it can get filed with the others."

Vera strained a smile. "I'll bring it up to you myself in less than five minutes."

Fowler gritted his teeth but finally nodded, stalking back to his office.

"He really likes to bust my balls…" Hank grumbled.

"Are you actually nearly done? I think I might need to take a nap…"

Hank snorted, typing furiously. Then printed it and dropped it on the desk in front of Vera.

"Go on then. Take it to him, and let's go." He looked around, over the desks. "Where's Connor?"

Vera shrugged. "I wasn't keeping an eye on him. Go find him while I give this to Fowler."

Hank gave her the middle finger but went off to look for Connor while she laughed at his back.

She piled up the report, making sure it was in order before making her way to Fowler's office. There, she knocked on the glass door, watching him grimace before telling her to enter.

"Here's Hank's report, Captain…" She placed it in the tray on the corner of the desk. He said nothing, just grunted and waved her away.

She resisted a scowl, hurrying out of the room.

Connor and Hank waited at the desk. The air was tense. Hank leant against the desk, arms crossed and scowling. Connor sat in the chair, leaning on his legs and looking guilty.

"Uh, let's go shall we?" She raised her eyebrows questioningly, but Hank shook his head.

"Yeah, finally. We're outta here…"

Hank's house

Vera flopped into the armchair, fatigue wrapping her into the comfort of it. Sumo wandered to each of them in turn, tail wagging hopefully. Vera gave him a small pet before he moved on to Connor.

Hank switched on the tv and told Connor to sit down, who did, his eyes flickering with confusion. Basketball commentators began yelling the scores from the tv, and Vera closed her eyes.

There was silence for a while and Vera lost count of the time. But a sudden movement and a curse made her open her eyes.

"Holy shit…" Hank said leaning forward. His eyes were fixed on the tv.

"We interrupt our scheduled programming to bring you these images…"

"Is… is that Stratford Tower?" Vera stammered, watching the android broadcast itself.

"Yep, that's the one…" Hank replied quietly. Connor sat still, staring unresponsive.

"Connor? You okay?" Vera asked. But he didn't answer. Didn't even take his eyes away. He looked frightened almost.

"This was broadcast everywhere," Hank whispered. "They've asked for freedom… equality… To live in peace with humans."

"And do you think humans are likely to give that? You'd think it would be something that would be a given. Not having to be asked for or demanded."

"Yeah, well, humans are dicks…"

Hank's phone began to ring then. He huffed as he brought it out of his pocket.

"Hello? Yeah… yeah, I just watched it. I know right, fuckin' crazy! Yeah, we'll be there. Alright…" He put the phone down and back into his pocket. He rubbed his hands over his face before speaking. "Come on, we're going to Stratford Tower."

Tower Elevator

4:10pm

Connor balanced the coin on his little finger, then over his knuckles and between hands. Hank snatched it out of the air and put it in his jacket pocket.

"You're starting to piss me off with that coin, Connor!"

"Sorry, Lieutenant…"

Thankfully, before any other words could be shared, they were on floor 79. Vera sighed with relief.

The doors opened to reveal a bustle of activity. Hank got out first and looked around.

"Hey, Hank," Chris greeted, writing something on his clipboard.

"Shit, what's going on here? There was a party, and nobody told me about it?"

"Yeah, it's all over the news so everyone's butting their nose in. Even the FBI wants a piece of the action…"

"And Homeland Security? Damn!" Vera glanced at the four standing by the desk.

"Ah Christ, now we got the Feds on our back? I knew this was gonna be a shitty day…" Hank sighed. "So what we got?"

They started following Chris down the corridor, towards the broadcast room as he briefed them on what happened.

"A group of four androids. They knew the building and they were very well organised. I'm still trying to figure out how they got this far without being noticed." He shook his head, stopping next to the desk. "They attacked two guards in the hallway. They probably thought the androids were coming to do maintenance. They got taken down before they could react…"

Vera blinked. They were only knocked unconscious? She remained silent while Chris continued, moving into the broadcast room. Connor stopped, looking at the camera above the door.

"One of the station employees managed to get away. He's in shock, not sure when we'll be able to talk to him…"

"How many people were working here?" Hank asked, glaring around the room filled with police.

"Just two employees and three androids. The deviants took the humans hostage and broadcast their message. They made their getaway from the roof."

"The roof?" Hank interrupted and Vera closed her mouth, having the very same outburst.

"Yeah, they jumped with parachutes. We're still trying to figure out where they landed but the weather's not helping." He paused, turning towards them. "If you want to take a look at the video broadcast by the deviants, it's on that screen over there." He pointed to the three screens with the panels below them.

"Thanks, Chris…" Vera gave him a small smile.

He nodded back, then his attention fixed on the man in the middle of the room who stood with his arms behind his back.

"Oh, this is Special Agent Perkins from the FBI. This is Lieutenant Anderson and Vera Melian. Lieutenant Anderson is in charge of investigating for Detroit police."

Perkins' lip curled into a sneer as his eyes landed on Connor.

"What's that?"

Vera opened her mouth to retort when Connor answered calmly:

"My name is Connor. I'm the android sent by Cyberlife."

Perkins smirked. "Androids investigating androids, huh? You sure you want an android hanging around?" His eyes fixed on Hank pointedly. "After everything that happened? Whatever, the FBI will take over the investigation, you'll soon be off the case."

"No need. We have this in hand." Vera's eyes narrowed carefully.

"Pleasure meeting you. Have a nice day," Hank interjected. They began to move away.

Perkins looked him up and down. "And you watch your step. Don't fuck up my crime scene," he said, through gritted teeth, and then he walked off, watching everyone else like a hawk.

"What a fuckin' prick…" Hank growled, turning to Chris who raised his eyebrows.

"I'll be nearby. If you need anything, just ask."

Hank sighed, turning to Vera and Connor finally.

"Let's have a look around. Let me know if either of you find anything."

"Ok, Lieutenant," Connor said. Vera nodded firmly.

Vera followed Connor to the CCTV footage panel under the screen. They watched as the androids took a gun each from the female android at the fore. Then one of them buzzed the intercom and were let in through the door. Vera frowned.

"They didn't break in?" Connor asked Chris.

He shook his head. "No. No signs of forced entry."

"There are cameras in the hallway. The staff would've seen what was happening… Why did they let them in?"

Hank shrugged. "Maybe they didn't check the cameras…"

"Really? They just clicked buttons without looking who they were letting in?" Vera rubbed her neck thoughtfully. "It just doesn't add up."

Connor turned the chair round to see the word 'Android' printed on the back. Chris saw him looking.

"We stored the androids in the kitchen. There's no evidence that they were involved but we didn't know what else to do with them."

Vera touched the panel to begin the screen recording. The android on the screen popped up and began to speak:

"We ask that you recognise our dignity, our hopes and our rights. Together, we can build a better future for humans and androids. This message is the hope of a people. You gave us life. And now the time has come for you to give us freedom."

"He must've inspired so many…" Vera breathed quietly.

Connor scanned the picture of the android, eyes narrowing, lips moving gently. Hank watched him closely.

"Think that's RA9?" He asked after a few minutes.

"Deviants say RA9 will set them free. This android seems to have that objective…" Connor replied, not taking his eyes from the screen.

"So, you think RA9 is a someone, not an object?" Vera wondered thoughtfully.

Connor didn't respond. His eyes were still fixed on the screen. Hank leant forward.

"Do you see something?"

"I identified its model and security number…" Connor muttered.

Hank's eyes narrowed. "Anything else I should know?"

"No." Connor ripped his eyes away, finally looking them in the eye. "Nothing."

Hank shared a look with Vera for a long moment. Until Hank shook his head. Vera ran her fingers over the bullet holes in the wall.

"They're all here around the door. On each wall." She pointed to the entrance and the broadcast desk. "There too, but those were from a handgun. The androids tried to shoot back to escape."

"How do you know that just by looking at it?" Hank grunted, crossing his arms.

Vera smiled knowingly, tapping the side of her nose.

"We should have a look at the roof."

They climbed the metal stairs, feeling the wind pushing under the door get stronger and stronger as they ascended. They pushed open the exit, slowly making their way onto the snow-covered roof.

"They made their way up through the whole building, past all the guards and jumped off the roof with parachutes… Pretty fuckin' impressive, I'd say," Hank remarked.

"Impressive how they managed to blend in and not one person noticed. Why would it be so different if they lived among us?" Vera pursed her lips, kneeling next to a dead android sitting against the vents. One single bullet hole sat in the middle of the android's head, blue blood staining its blond hair and the ground beneath it. Its leg had two small bullet holes too.

"It was injured trying to escape," Connor explained. "Then they shot him. He was probably unable to make the jump."

Vera shook her head, lost for words for a moment.

"They didn't want us getting any information, perhaps?"

The lone parachute sat in the bag a few feet away. Hank knelt down beside it.

"How'd they manage to smuggle in a big bag like that?"

"They didn't," Connor answered. "Someone brought it in for them…"

Vera followed the footprints to the railing where the androids made their final escape. She leant over. But there was nothing to see. The snowstorm blinded them, and the clouds were so low that a blanket of white and grey surrounded the tower, obscuring the view of the ground.

She joined Hank and Connor, who reminded them about the androids in the kitchen. As soon as they were back in the broadcasting room, he left them to it.

Hank and Vera made their way to the corridor to liaise with Chris about what they'd found. The FBI were beginning to pour back into the corridor now, reviewing the evidence and waiting on tests.

"So, Lieutenant, what do you think of the evidence you've looked at?" Chris asked, tapping the clipboard with his pen.

Hank sighed heavily, scratching his head.

"Uh, I don't know, Chris. Seems like these androids really want peace. This message… it's really thought out. Just like this whole operation…" He shrugged.

Something whizzed past them in dark clothing.

One of the broadcast operators!

"Stop!" A cop yelled.

Connor flew round the corner, blue blood staining his shirt and hand.

"It's a deviant! Stop it!"

Then the deviant punched the nearest cop, taking his gun and pointing it ahead of him. Hank turned to push Chris out of the way, but Connor got there first, shielding Hank just as the deviant shot wide.

The bullets sprayed in a wide circle, but Vera ducked through them. They whizzed past her as she side stepped, pulling out her own gun and shooting the deviant five times.

It stopped. He went down. The blinding light from the bullets disappeared. But there weren't many sighs of relief. Besides the deviant, the bodies of the FBI, CSI and other policemen lay around, dead.

Vera stood staring at the deviant, dead on his knees. Blue blood dripped down his face. Hank and Chris stood, breathing raggedly.

"Nice shot, Vera," Hank murmured. "Thanks Connor, good thing you were here otherwise I—" He paused, turning around. Vera turned too, concerned at his pause. Her hand flew to her mouth. "Connor… Connor, no…"

Connor lay face down, bullet holes in his back, blood soaking his jacket. Hank turned him over. His eyes were closed. He looked peaceful. Hank bent his head over Connor, closing his eyes tightly.

Vera's throat constricted. She looked to Chris who was staring at Connor too.

"Are you okay, Chris?" She swallowed, taking a deep breath. He nodded distantly. "Hank?" He didn't answer. She repeated his name again. Tears began to form in her eyes now. "It's okay, Hank. It's okay…"

Hank pulled out Connor's coin from his jacket pocket, clutching it firmly in his palm for a few moments.

Then he dropped it onto Connor's bloodied jacket and headed straight for the elevator. He didn't wait for Vera and was gone before she could even say 'wait!'

She picked up Connor's coin with shaking hands, placing it inside her own jacket. She stood slowly, placing her hand gently on Chris' shoulder.

"I'm going after him."