11:04pm

Vera

Vera waited in the shadows of the alley, shrinking back every time a car or truck went by. Her eyes darted around. Waiting. Watching.

He should be here by now…

A sound hard on the concrete behind her made her whirl around. But the figure raised their hands. The light glinted off the gauntlet.

"It's me, Finn…"

"About time," Vera replied, sharply.

Finn's eyes darkened under his hood. "There is a demonstration happening a few blocks from here and there is a curfew in place, so it wasn't easy to get here without being spotted."

Vera's eyes narrowed slightly. She passed him the hand wrapped in her jacket.

"Here's the piece. Try not to drop it on the way back."

Finn scowled. "You can't still be hostile towards me. After everything—"

"I can be as hostile as I like. I still trust you with the piece, even if I would prefer to take it back myself. I have someone to take care of first."

"Where are your companions, Ruby and Caleb?"

"Ruby is helping a couple of androids cross the border, and Caleb…" Her breath caught but she swallowed. "Caleb is dead. He died in the attack on Jericho—the freighter."

"Requiescat in pace," Finn muttered, closing his eyes briefly. Vera muttered the same, inhaling shakily.

"It's been a long week, but we finally have the piece. It was a hardship getting it to you… The Templars must've been alerted to my movements."

"Shit! Are you okay?" He looked around nervously. "We'd better get out of here. I'll alert any Assassins nearby and get it to the Council."

Vera nodded. "Thank you. Be careful, there are more enemies around tonight than just Templars. The army are shooting suspicious people on sight. They are afraid… But deviants are not our enemy."

Finn looked her in the eye. "No. It always seems to be humans. Be careful too, Melian, I want to be able to see you scowl again." He winked at her and fled into the night.

Vera took a deep breath. "Bastard…" she whispered. Then she scaled the wall on to the roof. Shrinking herself into the shadows, she was careful to use the chimneys as cover from the cold and calculated streets below.

11:15pm

Vera stopped at a broken shop window after making sure no one was around. The tv was still playing. The news was broadcasting the demonstration in Hart Plaza.

"Yes, Michael. The army has just launched an attack on the barricade, despite the fact that the deviants were protesting peacefully," Joss Douglas spoke from the helicopter above the Plaza.

The camera pointed out, over the barricade and as the smoke cleared, Vera could see the soldiers jumping over the makeshift walls. The androids were scattered over the ground, although Vera could see some of them standing. Markus pushed two androids out of the way as a bomb exploded close to them.

"No!" She muttered through gritted teeth.

The soldiers forced their way towards them, and the androids retreated. More bombs exploded and the soldiers fired on them like predators on prey.

Vera turned away, unable to keep watching. She had to keep moving if she was going to make it back to meet Ruby. She pulled out her phone to call her friend.

"Ruby?"

"Vera? Are you okay? Have you seen what's happening?"

"Yes. I- I'm just speechless. I'm making my way back into the city now. Have you seen them off on the bus?"

"Yeah, they're on the bus thankfully. There were a few close calls but they're okay. I'm also going back into the city but the other end. Be careful, there are soldiers everywhere."

"Finn has the piece. Meet me near the Plaza when it's died down. Stay low until then."

"Will do!"

Vera hung up and carried on down the street. More windows were broken, and cars' hazards blinked continuously against the walls of the buildings. Rats ran across the road, slowly at first, until they saw Vera and they scarpered back into hiding.

She was about to reach the end of the street when another tv, its volume turned up, boomed the news reader's words across the whole block.

"Thanks Michael, back to you in the studio. W-w-wait a minute! Something's happening!"

Vera hurried over to the screen where the camera arced over to the deviants who were surrounded. Markus was at the forefront, but he moved forward alone.

Then he began to sing.

The fear, pain and fatigue in his voice was clear as he sang. He sang loud and it gave Vera goosebumps. Then the rest of the deviants joined him, singing, emphasising their voices against the Plaza buildings.

"Incredible," Joss exclaimed. "The deviants… the deviants are singing…"

Vera smiled. It was beautiful, and she let it fill her up. Her goosebumps were rising, and she felt their pain, their fear. Then Markus sang the last line alone, and there was silence.

She held her breath. Not all the soldiers had lowered their guns as the androids sang. Vera was afraid they'd still shoot.

But suddenly, they were putting their guns down and retreating. Vera's mouth opened in shock and relief.

"Yes, the military is withdrawing…" Joss announced. Vera grinned widely. She bared her teeth.

She had to hurry to the camp and find Perkins…

Finally, she reached the camp where the androids were filing out, bare and afraid. There were so many of them that Vera couldn't see around them.

She made her way into the camp, against the wave of free androids, making their way to find Markus.

Two soldiers stood outside a tent, helmets off and complaining.

"I can't believe this shit! She's off her rocker…"

"Aren't all our presidents off their rocker at some point?! She won by a landslide, what do you expect!"

"Still," the other snorted, "she doesn't have the right to call it off. If we'd shot them, their leaders would be dead!"

Vera cleared her throat. They snapped to attention, lifting their guns. She held up her hand.

"I'm looking for Special Agent Perkins…"

"Who's asking?" The first soldier snapped.

Vera stepped closer. Inch by inch. They tightened their grip.

"Stop right there!"

"What's going on out there?" Perkins' voice yelled from inside the tent.

Vera grinned maliciously. The second soldier rolled his eyes.

"An intruder, Sir!"

"It's a liberated camp, boys," Vera said calmly. "I have my orders to see Perkins."

"Who the hell is it?" Perkins shouted again.

"Tell them to stand down and you'll find out. I just wanna talk!"

There was silence for a moment and then:

"Let her in!"

The men stood by for her to pass. She nodded at both as she passed into the tent.

Perkins was leaning on his fists on a wooden table at the side of the room. He barely moved his head as she entered.

Then he suddenly looked again.

"Wait, I know you! You were at Stratford Tower with that android and Lieutenant… That psycho… And at the police department when he attacked me!"

"Yeah, that's me. I have a few things that I wanted to add to that…" Before he could respond, Vera punched him in the face.

He grunted, head flying backwards. A shift sounded outside.

"Everything all right in there, Sir?" One of the soldiers called.

Vera pressed her blade to Perkins' neck and gave him a warning look.

"Fine! Everything's fine!"

"Good," Vera muttered. Then scowled. "How dare you manipulate the DPD and Connor and destroy all those androids! I hope you know what the next step is for you!"

Perkins laughed gutturally, holding his bloody nose.

"What, that android that was with you at the tower? None of those androids matter. I'm protecting Detroit, even from idiots like the DPD!"

Vera felt her rage suddenly explode within her, and she found herself grabbing Perkins by his collar.

"Listen to me, you killed all those people, including my friend. Innocents. Trapped. Men, women and even children. And you feel proud of yourself? You disgust me!"

"I gave Markus a deal; surrender and they'd be in cells, but alive. But he chose to fight on. He chose to die with his people. I had my orders, and I'd be damned if I was going to let Markus live one way or the other."

"You'd have killed him in cold blood? He'd betray his people to keep them alive and you were going to kill him all along? You bastard…"

"What else do you expect me to do? I—"

Vera sliced her blade across his throat swiftly. Her lips trembled in anger and hatred. She swept her handkerchief across his bloody throat and closed his eyes.

The deed was done. Finally…

She left the tent, smiling at the soldiers who stared at her in disbelief and marched out of the camp to join the androids.

November 11th

12:01am

Vera found Markus, North and Josh followed by the remaining androids from the demonstration. Someone was striding towards them down the road, trailed by hundreds and hundreds of androids.

Connor…

She beamed as he came closer. He was alive and he liberated all these androids from Cyberlife tower.

Markus met Connor in the middle. Both smiled tiredly at one another.

"You did it, Markus…" Connor said quietly.

"We did it," Markus countered with a sigh of relief. He looked around Connor, at all the androids going back miles. "This is a great day for our people. Humans will have no choice now, they'll have to listen to us."

Connor's eyes flickered to Vera who stood further back. She nodded and he nodded back. He turned around to give Markus room, standing just behind him.

North sidled up beside Markus, a proud smile on her face. She peered at him.

"We're free," she began, tilting her head. She took his hand in hers. "They want you to speak to them, Markus…"

Then Markus stepped forward again. His eyes flickered over his people in front of him.

"Follow me," he bellowed, then turned on one heel and marched to the platform behind them.

Vera moved into the ground so she could see and hear them. A hand was placed on her shoulder. She turned her head and Ruby was smiling at her.

"Miss me?" She giggled.

Vera gave her a hug. "Always." Then she smiled. "A lot has happened. To us. To them. What matters now is that we helped them in whatever way we could. Maybe not entirely in the way they needed but—"

"The destruction of androids has been stopped. The possibility that they are a new form of intelligent life is being considered by them. If we just help keep that on the right track…"

"We can try. Assassins never have much sway in politics to put things right. Not laws anyway."

Ruby opened her mouth to speak, but Markus began to talk to everyone.

"Our people have finally emerged from a long night. From the very first day of our existence, we have kept our pain to ourselves. We suffered in silence… But now the time has come to raise our heads up and tell humans who we really are. To tell them that we are people too!"

Vera frowned as her eyes landed on Connor. He was blinking rapidly. Shaking. His LED flashed alarmingly. There was no movement from him from a few moments...

Then his arm reached behind his back. He pulled out his gun slowly. She elbowed Ruby who gasped and glared at Vera. But she didn't care. She gestured up at Connor behind Markus. Ruby's eyes narrowed and then widened as she realised. She moved quickly but Vera stopped her.

"What are you doing?" She hissed.

"Don't. Not yet," Vera replied. "He won't shoot."

"How do you know?"

"He can't. And if he looks like he will, I'll shoot him myself."

But Connor held the gun in front of him, carefully watching Markus as he spoke.

"In fact we're a nation! And today… Today begins the most challenging moment in our fight!"

Connor was raising the gun slowly, up to Markus head. No one else seemed to notice. Not yet.

Vera could see Ruby shifting her gaze between her and Connor frantically. But Vera waited. She held her own gun by her side, finger on the trigger. She didn't want to do it, but what other choice was there? This wasn't Connor. She knew that. Maybe something in his programming was forcing him to do this. Vera couldn't take the chance. She couldn't let this get out of control.

"Vera!" Ruby hissed again close to her ear, so she didn't alarm the others. Vera didn't take her eyes off Connor. She didn't dare to.

"The moment where we forget our bitterness and bandage our wounds. When we forgive our enemies…" Markus continued on. Something changed behind him; Connor's eyes darted around. He stared at the gun in his hand and put it back casually, blinking normally as he listened. Vera sighed with relief and sheathed her own gun.

"Humans are both our creators and oppressors, and tomorrow we must make them our partners. Maybe one day even our friends. But the time for anger is over. Now we must build a common future based on tolerance and respect. We are alive! And now, we are free!"

The cheers were deafening, and Vera and Ruby found themselves cheering alongside the androids. She grinned widely.

It was over. For now.

6:56am

Vera

Ruby and Vera stood aside as the androids met Markus one by one. Their pride and joy was felt over the Plaza. They were all finally liberated. There would still be hardships ahead, more so now than ever, but at least they could be their true selves.

Connor wandered over to them, frowning to himself. His eyes were distracted. Troubled. Afraid.

"Hello, Connor…" Vera smiled briefly.

"Hello," he said tiredly.

Ruby tilted her head in the small silence.

"What was going on up there? You okay?" She asked, arms crossed.

Connor scrunched up his nose, looking around.

"Everything is under control. I'm free now." He chuckled to himself. "Cyberlife no longer has me in their grasp."

"Cyberlife was trying to control you? To kill Markus?" Vera lowered her voice despite her surprise.

Connor lowered his head. Then snapped it back up.

"Yes. But I stopped it. I exited my program, and now it's over."

Vera smiled, putting her hand on Connor's shoulder.

"You saved all those androids in Cyberlife Tower. You should be proud of that."

"Hank…Hank was there. I had to fight another Connor android to save him. And then Hank had to tell us apart…" He shook his head. "I thought I was going to die. The other model uploaded my memory. I couldn't bluff or guarantee Hank's safety… And then I had to answer Hank's questions about his dog and his son. I knew their names though. And when Hank shot the other Connor, I flinched. It could've been me. Hank didn't hesitate…"

Ruby sighed. "You're okay, Connor. Hank knew which of you was the real one. You trusted him. Even if you feel overwhelmed now." She laughed shortly. "Welcome to human emotions."

Vera laughed a little at that. Then both the assassins were laughing, the sound echoing into the night sky. And finally, Connor joined in. The three of them laughed manically outside of the empty camp until they were out of breath.

"Let's find Hank. I'm sure he'd love to see you now you're all deviant." Vera nudged him gently.

Connor smiled. "I would be interested to see Hank again. I would like to speak to him."

Ruby grinned, patting his shoulder. "Come on. Time for a reunion."

Together, they joined the androids as they followed Markus out of the Plaza.

7:02am- Chicken Feed

Ruby

The rising sun poked through the trees, illuminating the deep snow. The truck was closed, making it seem earlier and quieter. The orange barriers sat in the middle of the road, leaving the machines lying unattended at the side of the road. Hank's car was parked around the corner, and he stood in front of the truck, minding the puddles at the edge of the kerb.

Ruby pulled Vera over to the side, letting Connor walk over alone. Vera grinned at Hank. He gave her a nod back before his gaze fell on Connor.

Hank smiled at the android, relief flooding his features. Fatherly-joy. Connor smiled back, imitating the Lieutenant's smile. Hank stepped forward slowly and put his hand on Connor's shoulder and pulled him into a hug. He held the android head, cradling it in his hand and holding him close.

Vera put her arm around Ruby as they watched the scene before them. Ruby's heart ached, but she smiled. This was a new beginning.

There were some good things coming…