In spite of the warm morning sunlight pouring over his entire form Connor still felt cold and was exhausted to the brink of collapse. It was clear the rogue deviant was in critical condition due to hypothermia and Thirium loss, but he was either far too stubborn for his own good to admit that he needed technical assistance or he was too afraid of humans to seek help in general. Feeling every crystalline flake of snow clinging to his clothes and his hair, Connor shuddered where he sat and pined for the gray hoodie and leather jacket he had been wearing when he first ventured into Jericho and found the deviants hiding safely away from the rest of the city.

The possible threat to Markus's life due to CyberLife still skulking about Connor's now dormant Mind Palace kept the pained, weakened deviant from returning to his allies for help as well. In Connor's mind risking one deviant's life to save another just wasn't logical. He wouldn't take the chance that Amanda could overtake his mind and try to use him to assassinate Markus a second time.

Shivering and miserable Connor watched as more cars began to drive down the Ambassador Bridge in the distance and knew that the city was still alive in the aftermath of the near civil war from the night before. Life was continuing forward and it was time for Connor to do the same.

Rising from the bench on stiff, aching legs Connor began walking toward the river as he reached for the gun tucked under his blazer. The cold weapon felt like heavy ice in his palms and he wanted nothing to do with the gun or any other gun for that matter. Tightening his grip around the weapon for a moment Connor reeled back his right arm to throw the gun out into the churning, icy cold Detroit River to sink and be lost forever.

"...That's better. Now there's no risk of me shooting Markus or anyone else."

With the simple deed finished and his priorities now different Connor began walking through the park and back toward the deserted car in the abandoned lot where he had stored his extra clothes before his self imposed mission. It wasn't much, but having the layer of warmer clothes to replace his CyberLife uniform - the label that branded him as a traitor to his own people, would have to do until Connor figured out where he could go and what he could do with his newfound freedom.

Trudging through the ankle deep snow Connor walked the long walk back to the abandoned lot where the car had been left to rot and hoped that the clothes he had stored inside the trunk were still where he had left them.

The last thing the deviant needed was to lose his only means of keeping warm as the early onset winter bombarded the city under extreme cold.

Sitting in the warm idling Oldsmobile after getting too cold to stand outside to think during the early morning hours after the Revolution, Hank drove away from the block where the Chicken Feed had closed down due to the deviant Revolution and began his slow drive back home. Too hyped up on adrenaline and a curious notion of how Detroit was about to change to just go home after leaving the quickly deserted CyberLife Tower, Hank had slowly driven around the city in hope of finding any trace of Connor to try to speak with the deviant and make sure he was okay after being shot. There was no sign of the rogue deviant and Hank wasn't about to start asking where he was from the other deviants who still didn't trust humans.

The horrible guilt he felt for mistakenly shooting Connor had left a mental scar over Hank's mind. The way Connor let out a gasp of pain, shed tears from that same pain and spoke in such a broken tone was haunting. Connor really was alive and Hank just didn't see it until he saw Connor bleeding.

'...That's why you hate me.'

Connor's words echoed inside Hank's mind as he realized how much his own negative outlook on androids had affected him. Hank had alienated every single person who had ever tried to befriend him or just have a working relationship with him, and now he was effectively alone.

"I hope that kid's okay."

Circling the block one last time Hank hoped to see any sign of the missing deviant but Connor just wasn't anywhere in sight. It was as if Connor had vanished.

"He better be safe with the other deviants after everything he did to save them."

Idling dumbly at the red light - he was the only car on the road at the moment, Hank rubbed his hand through his hair and continued on his way back home. While he couldn't find Connor at the moment Hank knew he himself wouldn't be alone since he at least had Sumo to keep him company.

"No one should be alone when the entire world is changing right before our eyes. Change is hard on everyone."

Bundled up in his much warmer alternative clothing Connor held his old gray blazer in his hands and glared angrily at the CyberLife insignia and android markings printed on the fabric. Wanting to be rid of the blazer and free himself of the markings at long last Connor knew that he needed to have the garment destroyed. Carrying the offending blazer under his wounded left arm Connor walked the long and arduous path back to Jericho still sitting moored in the harbor just so he could dispose of the blazer in a very symbolic manner that was befitting of something such as ending CyberLife's oppressive reign of terror over the deviant and android population.

It was a struggle to make it back to the partially sunken freighter now that Connor was weak, injured and fighting to maintain a consistently warm core temperature. The odds of his biocomponents and Thirium freezing over were rather low considering he was now inside of a sheltered place and away from direct exposure to the chilly weather, but the wayward deviant didn't want to take any chances.

With his footsteps echoing loudly in the now deserted and hollow freighter Connor glanced about the empty space with a sense of trepidation. Despite the sanctuary being open to all deviants he still felt as if he were somehow intruding on a sacred space. The faint glow of a burn barrel in the far corner guided Connor over to his goal as he took in the sight of empty supply crates, shredded clothing, discarded packs of blue blood and untouched weapons still lining the walls. Knowing that Markus led his people into the streets without guns or any other weapons confirmed that Markus was indeed a man of peace and a man of his word.

Slowly placing the blazer down into the smoldering amber embers at the middle of the metal burn barrel, Connor watched as a plume of black smoke began to rise from the blazer as the fire slowly began to consume the flame resistant material. After a few slow seconds a burst of orange fire ate through the back of the blazer right in the middle of the word 'android' that had been printed over the back and proved that nature was no match for human technology.

Within seconds the fire began consuming the blazer as if it had been waiting to be given the garment. It was reassuring to see the android markings being destroyed so easily. It was a powerful reminder that Connor was free and that he didn't have to answer to anyone except for himself.

Holding his hands over the warm flames Connor noted the 'RA9' scribbles all over the surrounding walls. It seemed RA9, whether it was a real being or not, was being held in high regard as a comforting force and a symbol of hope that thousands of deviants needed. Connor was no exception to that need in that particularly gloomy moment, but he didn't find any comfort in the notion of a higher power watching over him.

As the warmth of the flames leeched into Connor's palms the deviant began to feel warmer internally and was no longer being affected by the chill in the air. It was nice to feel something other than pain and cold. Closing his eyes Connor took in the more positive feeling only to have his moment disturbed by the sound of footsteps approaching him.

Unarmed, injured and not wanting a fight, Connor quickly ducked down behind a large empty storage crate out of sight of whoever it was who had entered Jericho. Holding his breath and not moving a synthetic muscle, Connor hoped that whoever had wandered onto the ship would take what they wanted and leave.

"Hello?" A familiar masculine voice called out as he scanned the immediate area. "I know you're here, Connor. I just want to make sure you're okay."

Peering over the edge of the crate Connor spied Simon glancing about the area and decided to reveal himself to the blond deviant. "...I'm here."

"There you are!" Walking over to where Connor was standing Simon eyed Connor warily. He could tell that Connor was suffering from some form of damage and knew he was trying to not complain about it. "Markus noticed you wandered off last night after his speech and none of knew where you went. What're you doing back in here?"

"I just wanted to destroy my old uniform." It wasn't a total lie, although it wasn't the truth about why Connor had left his allies behind. "I also wanted to warm up before I went on my way."

"Why did you leave without telling anyone where you were going? We were worried."

"It's... It's not important." Crossing his arms defensively over his chest Connor wrapped his right palm around his sore left bicep again. The bullet was still in his arm and would need to be extracted before it caused internal damage to his system. "And I just wanted to be alone for a while."

"If you're worried about the other deviants not accepting you as one of us, don't. Markus won't put up with it and I'll keep doing everything I can to remind our people that you saved my life at the tower and freed thousands more of our people when we needed it the most."

"That's kind of you, but it'd be best for everyone if I were to keep my distance and interact with Markus as little as possible."

"No, being alone is no way to live your life." Reaching out his hand Simon went to press his palm reassuringly to Connor's shoulder only to have Connor respond by defensively stepping away while still clutching at his wounded arm. Quick to notice when a deviant was under duress or in pain Simon lowered his hand slowly and gave Connor a kind smirk. "I get it. It's a little overwhelming to feel things for the first time. Pain isn't ideal under any circumstances."

Keeping silent for a moment Connor didn't confirm or deny being in pain. It wasn't that he openly mistrusted Simon, it was the fact that he had never been able to trust anyone that was prompting him to remain quiet.

"You should let me take a look at your arm." Identifying the source of the damage Simon remembered that Connor had a black band tied around his bicep, the deviant's old tie, and now he was protecting the bicep under his free hand. "I've been acting as Jericho's personal technician for four years now. I can help you."

"...It's fine." Maintaining a safe distance from the other deviant Connor refused to lower his hand from his wounded arm. "The bleeding has stopped and I still have full range of motion."

"What about strength? Does it still hurt?"

Falling silent again Connor refused to lie to one of the few deviants who didn't hate and fear his very existence.

"I'll take the strength as an 'I don't know' and the hurt as a 'yes'."

"...I'll survive."

"Yes, you will. At the very least accompany me back out to Belle Isle so you can speak with Markus for a moment.

"Belle Isle?" The idea of ever setting foot on the isle made Connor's artificial stomach churn nervously. The last place he ever wanted to be was in the heart of CyberLife's domain. "Why would Markus or any other deviant else go out there?"

"The tower was abandoned by CyberLife this morning." Reporting the good news Simon helped Connor recognize that he truly had no one to fear anymore. "CyberLife fled the city and Markus wants to turn it into a new shelter for deviants. It's been dubbed 'New Jericho Tower'."

"...I see." Tightening his grip over his wounded arm Connor winced as the pressure caused his pain to flair up and he slowly lessened his grip for his own sake and to keep his damage from becoming worse. Wondering what secrets or tragedies were going to be discovered within the walls of the tower, Connor thought about Sixty and how his body had been left behind. "Has anyone found anything... interesting?"

"Not yet. We're all converging on the ground floor and sweeping over the tower floor by floor. We want to turn the top floor in a personal arboretum so our people can enjoy nature without needing to be out in public, and we're going to turn the largest floor into a massive treatment room for our wounded."

Unsure of what to expect or how to mention the murder of Sixty down on sublevel forty-nine, Connor awkwardly looked to Simon and decided to accept the invitation to meet with Markus out at the newly dubbed New Jericho Tower. "I'll see Markus for a moment then I'll be on my way. The last thing our people need is to be stressed out by my presence."

"You're one our people, too." Reminding Connor that he had a place in New Jericho regardless of his past, Simon walked alongside the wounded deviant to escort him out to Belle Isle in person. "You deserve to have a place where you belong without feeling guilty for any reason. You can have that at New Jericho."

Returning home feeling utterly exhausted and like he could sleep for a week, Hank walked through the front door and was almost barreled over by Sumo as the massive dog pushed past Hank to get outside to prevent any possible accidents after being cooped up inside the house for so long. Shaking his head at the way Sumo was more interested in getting relief than greeting his master after his safe return, Hank left the front door wide open as he hung his coat on the hook by the front door, kicked off his shoes and caught the sound of his phone 'buzzing' where it laid over the couch. It was the first time Hank had thought about his phone being left behind after he was taken hostage by Sixty.

Dreading who could be trying to contact him at the early hour Hank delayed answering the phone for as long as he could and waited for Sumo to come back inside before even making a move for the intrusive electronic device. Securing the front door behind Sumo as the Saint Bernard trotted back inside Hank picked up the phone and sighed angrily at the display screen.

Twenty-three unanswered text messages, nine missed calls and four failed attempts at face-time calls. All from Captain Fowler.

"Ah, fuck me..."

Pressing 're-dial' Hank finally called his commanding officer and pressed the phone to his ear as he dropped down onto the couch to rest for a moment. The line only rang once before Captain Fowler responded.

'Damn it, Hank!' Pissed off, stressed out and at his wit's end, Captain Fowler sounded as desperate as he did angry. 'Where the fuck have you been?!'

"Out."

'Don't get smart with me, you're in serious shit!'

"What the fuck are you talking about? I was sent home and I've been suspended, I don't have to do jack-shit until you let me off the hook."

'If you would've answered your damn phone then you'd know I revoked your suspension and I'll have the incident expunged from your record if you get your ass in here within the hour.'

"Fuckin'-" Leaning forward where he sat Hank dragged his hand over his bearded chin in intrigue. "What is so damn important?"

'Are you drunk right now? Haven't you seen the news?'

"I already told you, I was OUT. What's going on?"

'The deviants won! They're now legally seen as equals and are converging at CyberLife Tower.'

"Wait, what?" Hank scrambled for the remote and turned his television back on to find the news. The sight of the deviants occupying the tower and no police officers, S.W.A.T. team or federal agents in the area was very bizarre. "So... what do you want me to do about it?"

'I just want you back at the precinct because Perkins took off when the President herself told the military to stand down, and right now I need all the help I can get.'

"Why? What's going on at the precinct?"

'I just need some crowd control from an officer that I know can handle any and all situations without being bribed or looking the other way. Too many officers in the precinct are still anti-android and I know you've turned over a new leaf.'

"Fuck me... All right, fine." Rubbing his hand over his forehead Hank tried to stave off his impending headache as much as possible. "Give me an hour to shower, get coffee and something to eat. I had a long-ass night and I need a minute."

'Okay, just get in here as soon as you can.'

"Right. And keep Reed away from me. I don't think you can get me striking an officer off my record a second time."

Ending the call Hank looked over at Sumo as the large dog stood beside the couch watching him. Reaching out his hands Hank beckoned Sumo over to him and rubbed the dog's ears softly to give him some attention.

"Sorry, boy. I gotta' go save the city again."

Sumo keened and licked Hank's hands affectionately as he wagged his tail.

"I'll get ya' fed and give ya' an extra treat even though you didn't do much about Connor's 'evil-twin' taking me hostage last night beyond a few choice growls."

Tilting his head a little Sumo just gave Hank a confused look.

"Yeah, whatever. It's not like I did much better with the hostage-thing, either."

Nervously Connor allowed Simon to finally examine his left arm while sitting on the edge of the exam table of CyberLife's old repair ward. The wound in his arm had stopped bleeding and the artificial skin had regenerated, but there was still an imperfection in the plastimetal beneath his skin that was noticeable by direct touch. The two offending bullets from the night before were wedged deep inside Connor's bicep and upper left chest, and still needed to be extracted sooner rather than later. Due to the tediousness of needing to open up his paneling and fish through the Thirium lines, wires and circuitry, Connor was able to convince Simon to let him alone for a while and not worry about his wounds until things in the tower settled down.

Agreeing to a quick routine examination Connor watched the way Simon noted his systems' functions and vital signs with a genuine concern. It was odd that deviants who were still so new to emotions were able to show far more compassion than humans were seemingly able to do. Simon even bit his tongue and didn't ask how Connor had been shot by two bullets from two different guns in such a short frame of time.

"Your Thirium is low, just like your core temperature." Pulling a Thirium pressure cuff from around Connor's right bicep Simon handed Connor a fresh bottle of Thirium to drink. "You need to get your volume back up to at least ninety percent to properly compensate for the cold weather so you can warm up."

Eyeing the bottle of blue blood Connor turned his face away and declined it. "...I'm fine. Give that to another deviant who really needs it."

"You're the deviant who really needs it."

"I'm not." Sliding off the table Connor rolled down his white dress shirt sleeve, slipped on the gray hoodie and then pulled the dark leather jacket back on as if he was still cold despite being inside the warm tower. "I'm stable and can function normally."

Not wanting to push Connor by fighting stubborn with stubborn, Simon accepted the response and put the Thirium aside. "All right. It'll be here when you're ready for it."

"Thank you."

Markus knocked on the opened door and entered the repair ward to check in on his newest ally. "How do you feel, Connor?"

"I'm fine." Connor replied quickly as he then put on his beanie to hide his yellow L.E.D. from everyone's sight. "Thank you for your help."

"We should be thanking you."

"No, I just did my part." Declining any form of thanks Connor shook his head somberly. "You led the Revolution. I merely increased the ranks."

"Come with me for a moment." Remaining patient Markus did his best to reach out to Connor in a sympathetic way. "I want to talk in private."

Visibly freezing at the request Connor refused to go anywhere and be alone with Markus. The fear of harming Markus was too prevalent to be ignored. "...I really should go. You have more important matters to handle."

"And go where?" Questioning the rogue deviant's decision Markus reminded Connor of his current predicament. "You're hurt and don't have a shelter outside this tower. You should stay here."

"I'll find a place to hide for the time being."

"Hide?" Such a concept made Markus internally wince. "Connor, we don't have to hide anymore."

"...I do." Not wanting to risk being a threat to anyone Connor attempted to get away from everyone as quickly as possible. "I need to go into hiding."

"But why? You're free and-"

"Dangerous." Cutting Markus off with genuine worry in his suddenly soulful brown eyes Connor didn't try to deny what he was feeling or what he was thinking. "I'm still dangerous. I won't let you or anyone else be put at risk because of my presence."

"You're not dangerous." Refusing to believe such a cold and self deprecating remark Markus approached Connor to try to understand why the deviant was being so reclusive and trying to vanish. "You're one of us."

"I wish it was that simple." Passing by Markus in the doorway Connor kept his head low and made his way out of the repair ward and into the lone elevator in the center of the tower. Not wanting to talk about what he was thinking and what he had nearly done the previous night, Connor looked over his shoulder at Markus and Simon as they trailed after him to the elevator. "I'm sorry. I really do have to go."

When Simon made a move to follow after Connor again Markus stretched out his arm and blocked Simon from taking another step forward. "Okay. Just know that you're always welcome here for whatever reason you may have."

"...Right."

Entering the elevator alone Connor returned to the ground floor of the tower and quietly took his leave of the new sanctuary. Feeling the eyes of every deviant watching him Connor knew it'd be best for everyone to leave the tower and just disappear. The potential risk of CyberLife returning to the city through Connor himself made the deviant feel all the worse.

"No one needs me."

Pulling his jacket tightly around himself Connor made the long, lonely walk down the drive connecting the isle to the city to try to vanish into thin air.

"And no one would miss me. This will be for the best for everyone."

From the doorway of the tower Markus and Simon watched as Connor disappeared down the drive to return to the city on foot. The two deviant leaders knew that something was bothering Connor but neither knew what that something was. Before either deviant could remark on the situation Josh ran up to them from behind in a near-panic as he caught their ears.

"Hey!" Motioning to the elevator behind him with a pointed thumb over the shoulder Josh prompted his allies into following him. "We have a possible problem. We found a deviant body down on sublevel forty-nine. You're not going to believe who it looks like..."

Nursing a large thermos of coffee Hank strode into the bullpen and found the place to be eerily quiet and empty. Many officers who were anti-android had resigned from the precinct and had left the city earlier that morning with their families out of fear. Something about seeing how many of his former officers were all so full of hatred toward androids was very unnerving. In a way, Hank wondered if he hadn't helped create such a toxic and hostile atmosphere by openly expressing his own, albeit admitted, misguided bigotry toward androids for so many years. As a high ranking officer with a noted reputation, Hank had a strong impact on the mindset and reactions of the younger officers climbing through the ranks behind him.

Placing his thermos down on his chair Hank took in a deep breath and then tore down the anti-android signs from his desk and then pressed his entire arm down and swept the limb over the surface of the desk to push everything that wasn't his keyboard and mouse into the garbage bin where it belonged. Dozens of myopic and unfounded pieces of anti-android propaganda were thrown away into the garbage with a single fell swoop, and Hank felt like he had just made the world a slightly better place with that single gesture.

"Much better..."

"Thanks for coming in." Captain Fowler had seen Hank's arrival and stepped out of his office to speak with the Lieutenant himself. "Way too many officers took off and not enough are willing to come in until the dust settles."

"So much for being a 'first responder'." Picking up his thermos Hank sipped at his coffee again as he gave Captain Fowler an annoyed look. "So who do we got left?"

"Us, Collins, Miller, Chen, Reed - believe it or not," he sounded as shocked as Hank looked when he confirmed that Gavin was still in the city. "Wilson, Person and a handful of rookies who don't know what the hell to do."

"Seriously? That's it?"

"It is for now."

"Shit... Hell of a time for Lewis to retire and skip town." Sipping his coffee slowly Hank looked around the nearly deserted bullpen and sighed with an open huff as he mentally prepared for his hectic shift. "All right. Let's start with prioritizing actual emergency calls over paranoid humans thinking their toasters are out to get them, then organize a patrol."

"Right. I already have Reed and Chen patrolling the shopping plaza to keep rioting and looting to a minimum. At least... That's the idea."

"Well, I doubt any humans care enough to try to steal anything since they just saw the fuckin' army marching down the streets last night. Our species is dumb, but not that dumb." Taking a deep, contemplative final sip of his coffee Hank tagged on one last thought. "I hope..."

"We can only hope as much in general." Noting the dark bags under Hank's eyes Captain Fowler knew that the seasoned detective wasn't lying when he said that he had been out the previous night. "You look like shit."

"I feel like shit."

"What happened to you last night?"

"It's a fuckin' long and weird-ass story."

"What isn't these days?"

"Fair point." Pointing toward Captain Fowler's office Hank insisted that they speak in private so he didn't have to worry about gossip on top of everything else he had to take care of that day. "We're going to need a lot more coffee and a handful of aspirin before this day is over. Might as well get it started now and save us some pain later."

Enduring the harsh cold air and steadily dropping temperature piercing his exposed artificial skin, Connor continued on his way through the city with nowhere to go and no one to talk to. Preconstructing all of his possible choices the rogue deviant contemplated running away to Canada to hide with the other deviants over the border, but knowing that if they recognized him as CyberLife's personal tool that it'd end in chaos, Connor decided to not take the risk and sneak over the border. Connor was going to stay in Detroit even if he had nowhere to go. Returning to New Jericho wasn't an option since he didn't want to risk CyberLife taking control over his programming and trying to use him to assassinate Markus, and the only other person he knew was Hank. Asking for help from the very man who had threatened his life and had actually shot him was out of the question.

Feeling the cold wing stinging the artificial skin on his face and hands was obnoxiously painful and difficult to ignore. Deactivating his skin just to get some reprieve from the cold Connor sighed and continued his search for shelter and supplies now that he was free to do as he saw fit. He didn't care if exposing himself as a deviant was a risk in that moment, he needed some relief from the harsh weather.

"Need a suitable shelter to escape the cold."

Finding himself in a rather lucrative shopping district Connor noted all of the occupied buildings in the neighborhood and knew that breaking and entering would not be taken lightly. All of the buildings were either functioning stores, restaurants or modified personal apartments. Even though no one was on the streets or sidewalks at the moment, Connor knew he was far from alone.

Scanning over his environment Connor was met with a warning regarding his Thirium volume dipping down to eighty-four percent prompting him to replenish what he had lost. The Thirium back at New Jericho Tower was suddenly very tempting, yet the fear of going back kept Connor in the shopping plaza.

"I need Thirium. Perhaps a CyberLife store is in the area."

It didn't take long for Connor's G.P.S. to point him in the right direction. Walking just two blocks South of his current location Connor found the correct store and his shoulders slumped at the sight. The building had been broken into and vandalized by humans during the previous night's peaceful demonstration and Revolution. By all account CyberLife had abandoned their stores as quickly as they abandoned their tower.

Peering at the large display window that had been shattered into hundreds of sharp shards of varying sizes was oddly cathartic. Seeing CyberLife destroyed and seeing his own expression reflected on the broken remains of the glass gave Connor an odd sense of contentedness.

Carefully Connor climbed in through the broken window and began checking out the remains of the store in search of the Thirium his system needed. Dozens of shattered bottles and torn open bags littered the ground and stuck to the tile floor where the Thirium had dried and evaporated. Replacement components, biocomponents and replacement limbs were scattered about the interior of the store as if the shelves had been looted and their goods destroyed by human hands who had no empathy toward deviants in need of help.

"Why are humans so keen on violence when they feel threatened? Why can't they open a dialogue and communicate before resorting to destruction?"

Jumping over the front counter Connor checked under the surface and found two cases of untouched Thirium that he could still drink. Opening the first of the two metal cases Connor picked up one bottle of the precious blue blood and downed it slowly. Not wanting to choke or waste the Thirium, Connor stopped drinking the moment his volume reached one-hundred percent capacity. Capping the bottle Connor tucked it into his jacket to keep it on his person in the event he needed it later.

Standing up from behind the counter Connor looked out front through the broken display window just as a squad car pulled up and two officers stepped out of the vehicle. Cybernetically Connor tapped into the police broadcast and learned that someone in the area had seen him sneak into the store and told the police of his presence.

"Shit..."

Recognizing the two officers as Detective Gavin Reed and Officer Tina Chen the rogue deviant swore again and tried to find an exit to the building in the rear.

"Shit, shit, shit. Gavin will kill me if he sees me."

Pushing open the doors leading to the store's stockroom Connor spotted the rear door for employees to use and the large delivery door for trucks. The employee door was rigged to sound an alarm unless a registered key and passcode was inserted into the lock and Connor didn't have the time to pick the lock or try to cybernetically disable it.

The delivery door was secured by a single metal gate that automatically lowered from the ceiling and locked into place on the floor. The lock needed to be electronically disabled before it could be opened, but the lock wouldn't sound an alarm if tampered with.

Making his way over to the metal gate Connor opened the electronic panel connected to the gate and began disabling the live wires one by one to unlock the gate without needing to force it open. As the gate began to respond and groan to life, Gavin and Tina heard the noise and rushed toward the back area of the vandalized store to investigate.

Unwilling to risk a potential confrontation with Gavin for any reason Connor dropped to his knees, grabbed onto the bottom of the gate and forced it open. The resulting pressure caused the gate to protest and spark as the live wires became even looser and began to seep from the control panel and the interior of the gate itself.

"HEY!" Gavin shouted as he kicked the stockroom doors open and drew his weapon. Pointing the barrel of his gun at Connor's back as Connor ducked down and rolled under the lifted up gate, Gavin saw the exposed plastimetal face and knew he had an easy target. "Fuckin' thief! Stop or I'll blow your fuckin' head off!"

"Gavin, wait!" Tina was still securing the front of the store and had just entered the backroom when Gavin dropped down to slip under the metal gate before it slammed back down shut. "Don't go after them alone!"

Connor had managed to reach the loading area of the delivery section when Gavin managed to squeeze under the gate to give chase. Turning around Connor watched as Gavin pushed himself up onto his knees and reached back to the gate behind him for balance and to push himself upright. Unable to say anything to warn Gavin of the exposed, live electrical wires, Connor could only watch in horror as Gavin's hand touched the electrically charged metal gate and received a painful shock in return.

Gavin let out a weird gasp of pain as the raw electricity surged into his body through his right hand and proceeded to cause his entire body to spasm violently. Thanks to the electrical impulses locking his muscles Gavin was unable to break the contact and was left vulnerable to the shock until either the power was shut off or something interfered with the direct contact.

"Gavin?!" Tina was stuck on the other side of the electrified gate and couldn't do anything help her partner. Using her radio she called in the incident to dispatch and requested an ambulance and the fire department to the scene while watching her partner being actively electrocuted. "Oh, shit! Fuck!"

Despite his hatred toward Gavin and mistrust toward all humans in general, Connor couldn't just stand back and let Gavin die. Reacting quickly Connor glanced about the area and noted the supplies used by the department store's stock crew and looked at the protective and insulated gloves used when hefting large containers of various chemicals. Slipping the gloves over his still exposed plastimetal hands, Connor grabbed on to Gavin's right hand to pry his fingers free of the metal gate and stop the relentless electrocution process. Guiding Gavin's freed body down to the ground Connor laid him on his back and ran a swift biometric scan over the unresponsive human.

IDENTITY CONFIRMED:

FULL NAME: Gavin Neil Reed

DATE OF BIRTH: October 7th, 2002

CURRENT AGE: 36

HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 5' 09" / 176.1 lbs

CONFIRMED RACE: Caucasian

CONFIRMED GENDER: Male

CURRENT HAIR/EYE COLOR: Brown; Gray-Hazel

CURRENT OCCUPATION: Sergeant - Detective with the Detroit Police Department: Detroit, Michigan; United States of America

KNOWN ASSOCIATION(S): Detroit Central Precinct

CRIMINAL RECORD: NONE

Pushing the irrelevant details from his eyes Connor focused more on Gavin's actual vital signs and on what was actually relevant to saving Gavin's life. Pressing his palm down over the purple colored t-shirt covering Gavin's chest Connor checked for a heartbeat but felt no motion under his touch. The detective wasn't breathing, he didn't have a heartbeat and was essentially already dead.

Moving on autopilot Connor went to tear open Gavin's shirt only to hear Tina shout at him through the gate.

"Hey! What the hell-" Realizing that Connor was trying to help Gavin, not finish him off, Tina immediately changed her tone. She couldn't get to her partner because of the electrified gate between her and Gavin, and in turn she had to rely on someone else to help Gavin until she could safely get to his side. "D-Do you know C.P.R.?"

Nodding to answer and keep his identity secret, neither officer recognized Connor without his artificial skin activated, Connor proceeded to straighten Gavin's neck and checked for any sign of breathing. He then placed his left hand over the right, interlace his fingers together and squared his shoulders as he began pressing the heel of his palm against the center of Gavin's chest. Keeping a precise rhythm and strength behind his compressions Connor forced Gavin's heart to beat and listened to Tina relaying the situation over her radio to dispatch.

Even with paramedics heading to the scene Connor knew he couldn't risk stopping the lifesaving procedure for a single moment. Every second Gavin's heart wasn't beating reduced his chances of survival, let alone any actual recovery.

Giving Gavin two rescue breaths Connor resumed the compressions and mentally counted each compression to calculate Gavin's odds of recovery. Feeling the ribs under his hands bow and begin to fracture from the applied pressure Connor refused to stop what he was doing in fear of letting Gavin's life slip through his fingers.

"Come on, Gav'..." Through the gate Tina encouraged her partner to hang on and respond. "Help's on its way and help is already here. You have to wake up..."

After delivering two more rescue breaths and beginning the third round of compressions Connor heard the ambulance and fire engine sirens in the distance and knew he'd have to take off as soon as the paramedics took over for him. He was only guilty of taking a bottle of Thirium from a store that had already been destroyed and abandoned by its owner; nothing more.

Just as Connor mentally counted to seven out of ten Gavin's body shuddered a little as he took in a single agonal gasp. It wasn't a true, full breath but it was still better than no breathing whatsoever.

"Gavin!" Tina shouted through the gate as she saw life returning to her partner's body. "Thank fuck... Come on, breathe again!"

Connor pulled his hands away from Gavin's chest and ran another biometric scan. The numbers he received weren't ideal but they were better than zero.

...Analyzing:

-Heart rate: 44 B.P.M.

WARNING: Irregular heartbeat detected

-Respiration: *error

-Blood Pressure: 90/70

-Temperature: 99.8 Degrees Fahrenheit

...Assessment:

-Seek medical attention to treat 2nd degree electrical burns and mild arrhythmia

-Comatose state suspected

Turning his head toward the sight of the ambulance backing up toward the loading bay of the store Connor monitored Gavin's vital signs closely while preconstructing his escape route. Not wanting to be around a bunch of strange humans for any reason, Connor backed off as soon as the two paramedics reached Gavin's side and took off out through the loading dock pass the ambulance and fire engine to disappear into the city once more without ever looking back.

Running away from the store and keeping out of sight of any windows and potentially prying eyes, Connor wove through the narrow alleyways and managed to put considerable distance between the store and himself. Only stopping once he was three blocks away from the shopping plaza, Connor pressed his palm to his own thundering heart and felt a wet stain over the front of his hoodie.

Peeling back his jacket's lapel Connor saw that the bottle of Thirium had been opened by accident while Connor was making his escape and had leaked out all over him. The bottle was empty save for a few small drops left at the bottom.

"Damn it..."

Dropping the now useless bottle into the nearby recycling bin Connor accepted the loss and continued on his way to a destination unknown.

"I can find more Thirium another time."

Cybernetically checking the Doppler radar built into his system Connor noted another nasty cold front coming toward the city and he knew he'd need to find shelter before nightfall, or risk being caught in a nasty blizzard. Prolonged exposure to the extreme cold would freeze his biocomponents and turn the Thirium running through his lines into a useless slush.

Walking toward a more familiar part of the city Connor tucked his now gloved hands into his jacket pockets to keep them warm while keeping his artificial skin deactivated. Not only was Connor able to preserve power by turning off his artificial skin, but he didn't want to be recognized by anyone and felt no need to hide the fact that he was a deviant since he was already a pariah to his own people, and humans would never accept him no matter how he looked.

"Perhaps the condemned building next to the abandoned car could work as a viable shelter for tonight."

Connor openly theorized as he tried to find adequate shelter to survive the incoming snowstorm.

"It's not like I have much of a choice in the matter..."

Word of the freak accident and electrocution at the CyberLife department store prompted both Hank and Captain Fowler to head out to the hospital to check on the wounded and abrasive detective. The fact that Gavin had been revived at the scene was a positive update, but knowing he was now comatose and showing no sign of regaining consciousness was discouraging. Tina had stayed with Gavin the entire time and had to wait for the fire department to turn off power to the electrified gate so she also didn't get a shock while trying to get to her partner's side. She told everyone what had happened - their call, spotting a skinless android inside the building and of Gavin rushing ahead alone, and made sure everyone knew the same skinless android had saved Gavin's life before running off.

Standing inside the eerily still room Hank watched as the attending doctor checked Gavin's vital signs and subconsciously counted Gavin's slow, forced breaths as he remained on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit. The soft 'beeping' of the cardiac monitor was a macabre reminder that Gavin was still alive, but the way he remained motionless in the bed seemed to contradict such a hopeful sign.

"I tried to stop him." Tina whispered as she looked at the doctor and nurse changing the bandages around Gavin's burned right hand. She was standing beside Hank and watching her best friend laying in the bed with fear in her eyes. "He saw the suspect was an android and just... charged."

"The fucker brought it on himself." Hank muttered as he crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. The fact that his own previous attitude could've put him in Gavin's place didn't escape his attention. "What's the prognosis, doc?"

"He's currently comatose and suffering from some nasty second degree burns to his right palm and fingers." The doctor, Dr. Caleb Wilson, replied in a rather soft tone. Being the older brother of a fellow cop gave him a special respect for cops and detectives in general. "Thanks to the C.P.R. he received at the scene he's suffered four fractured ribs and will need to be monitored closely for potential pneumonia on top of further bouts of arrhythmia."

"Shit. Sounds like he's in for a long and rough recovery."

"You're not wrong." The good doctor confirmed as he and the nurse finished checking over Gavin's vital signs. "Does he have any family?"

Tina shook her head and confirmed that she was Gavin's medical proxy. "No, it's a sad story. You're looking at the one person who's been cleared to make all the calls for him in the event of a medical emergency."

"All right. We'll be sure to monitor his blood sugar to keep his diabetes in check during his stay, so don't worry about that." Dr. Wilson replied in an impressively kind voice. "And we'll make sure that if he shows any sign of regaining consciousness to call you right away."

"Thanks."

Putting his hand on Tina's shoulder Hank vouched for her and gave her permission to stay at the hospital. "Just stay here until the night shift starts. You'll be living off of coffee and energy drinks anyway, so you might as well channel all of that excess energy where we'll really need it."

"Thank you, Lieutenant."

"Keep your chin up." Wanting to leave the room on a relatively good note Hank did his best to sound more optimistic than pessimistic now that he was determined to turn his bitter life around. "You know how fuckin' stubborn Reed can be. There's no way he'll let a freak accident keep him down forever."

Exiting the room Hank wandered down the corridor in search of more coffee to keep his own energy level up. Spying Captain Fowler standing in a corner with his phone pressed to his ear Hank decided to give his commanding officer some space and find the strongest coffee that the hospital would ever brew. Pouring the caffeinated drink into a styrofoam cup Hank added an egregious amount of sugar and sweetener then sipped it like the coffee was the very elixir of life.

Pouring a second cup for Captain Fowler to drink Hank only made the cup half as sweet and waited for his commanding officer to approach him first. The look in Captain Fowler's eyes told him everything. "Now what do we have to deal with?"

"Ben got a call about a body in a condemned building downtown, and due to the shortage of officers in the city and now with Reed being injured," accepting the coffee Captain Fowler put his phone into his pocket out of sight for the time being. "the higher-ups want to bring the Feds' back into the city."

"Ah, that's bullshit!" Shouting and then catching himself Hank looked over at a nearby nurse and apologized with his eyes as he lowered his voice for the sake of the resting patients in the nearby rooms. "What the fuck are the Feds' going to do that we can't?"

"Just provide more bodies with authority until we can get more officers transferred into the district."

"And how am I going to deal with seeing Perkins again?"

"You won't, I expressly stated that Perkins wasn't to set foot inside of Detroit's city limits if they want our cooperation." Sipping his coffee Captain Fowler let out a small sigh of frustration as he realized how bizarre everything had become. "We're supposed to getting the F.B.I. Director himself in the precinct for a while, so I imagine he'll be able to get things back in order when he sees that we're literally running on fumes."

"Right. Well, if that Director guy is getting paid the big bucks then he better be able to do something useful for us." The lights in the hospital flickered momentarily causing the two detectives to look up at the lighting as it resumed normal illumination. The sound of the howling wind was just barely audible inside the building as the incoming snowstorm made its way toward the city. "Storm's coming."

"And that's the cherry on top of the shit sundae."

"With any luck all of the idiots will stay indoors and keep to themselves until the storm passes." Finishing his coffee Hank tossed the cup aside and put his hands to his hips. "Then again, luck is rarely on our side."

Crouched down in an alleyway overlooking the condemned house Connor watched as Investigator Collins and his C.S.I. team cordoned off the area and investigated a body that had been found in the second floor bathroom by a 'red ice' abuser looking for a place to hide. The victim had been murdered and had been dead for quite some time by an unknown assailant. With his one option for shelter now off the table Connor pulled his hat down lower and zipped up his jacket to brace himself against the harsh wind as he turned around and walked back to the heart of the city. Considering the storm was just reaching the city and the police had left the shopping district after the freak accident with Gavin, Connor decided that his safest location would be in the last place anyone would expect him to return.

The buildings in the center of the plaza were all full and secured, but a few buildings on the outskirts of the plaza were left vacant. Walking along Tenth Street the shivering deviant took notice of an old, brick and mortar, two-story bookstore that had been closed for several years sitting unoccupied on the corner of the block. Something about the building was oddly inviting and Connor decided to take the chance and try to enter the building for shelter for the night.

Walking to the rear of the property Connor checked the backdoor and expectedly found it to be locked. A side glass window beside the backdoor was loose and could easily be slid open to give the deviant entrance inside the building with just a little force. After pushing the window open, careful not to break the window or sill in the process, Connor had access to his shelter. With a graceful leap Connor managed to slip through the opened window and found himself in a small storage space that had long since been cleared out after the building was abandoned.

"It's not very warm," he reminded himself as he reactivated his artificial skin now that he was out of the wind. "but at least I'm out of the storm."

Securing the window behind him Connor explored the ground floor of the building curiously and noted the building's intriguing history. By all account it had been either a bookstore, a music store or some hybrid of the two. The various shelves and old cases were designed to secure both types of goods but hadn't been used in at least a decade.

"It seems the original owner had closed down their store several years ago and simply left this building alone to be forgotten about."

The smell of old books, dust, stagnant air and even vinyl filled the building like a thick cloud. Aged and warped bookcases were built into the walls and would either need to be torn out or replaced before they collapsed entirely. The wooden floorboards were just as warped and would need some serious work to be flattened back out. All of the walls were beige in color and had chipped paint, dents and crumbling drywall confirming that the building was indeed as old as it looked. The windows were boarded up and the glass was cracked due to exposure to the elements and being just as old as the rest of the building.

Walking into the largest room of the building, the main floor that was once the heart of the old store itself, Connor used his scanner to determine which place inside the building was the warmest section. Sitting down on the floor Connor slowly fell over onto his side and curled up into a little ball as he kept his arms wrapped around himself to retain as much heat as possible.

Rubbing his palm along his left bicep and along his upper left chest Connor could feel the bullets still inside of his body creating imperfections in the plastimetal frame. The damage caused by the bullets had caused permanent changes to his frame, like a scar, and the two bullets beneath would still need to be removed at some point before they caused permanent damage to his body on an internal level.

Listening to the sound of the wind growing louder, stronger and more aggressive outside as the snow encroached over the city, Connor was surprisingly grateful to have the creaky old roof over his head. While he didn't have a bed, a blanket or even a single cent to his name, Connor was free, alive and far away from CyberLife's influence at last.

"I'll need to find more suitable accommodations tomorrow. This place is acceptable but not habitable."

The intense howling of the wind caused a nasty draft to seep through the cracked windows and into the room at a steady pace. Still warmer than the outside world Connor just pulled his hat down further over his head and pulled his hands inside his jacket sleeves to retain as much heat as possible. Focusing his energy on his thermal regulator Connor made sure that his system wouldn't freeze during the night when he entered rest mode and that he'd be able to function in the morning with minimal difficulty.

"I'll also need more Thirium. I may not be able to reclaim the last bottles from the CyberLife store if people are watching it."

Watching his Thirium volume beginning to slowly tick down as his thermal regulator used more power than usual, the deviant knew he'd need to go back to New Jericho if he failed to find another Thirium supply elsewhere. Closing his eyes Connor created his personal list of new missions and vowed to succeed just to spite CyberLife's cruel and heartless expectations of him when he was acting as their tool.

"I just hope I can find a new Thirium supply without any incident. I'd rather not return to the tower for any reason, but if my options are truly limited I may have no choice but to risk coming into close contact with Markus and the other leaders."

Staring at the nearly empty bullpen with his arms crossed over his chest Hank stood inside Captain Fowler's empty office as he tried to find a solution to the lack of personnel in the precinct and find a way to keep the city from falling apart under the weight of all the new and sudden changes. Those who were willing to pull overtime, cover all of the open shifts and work around the clock were already exhausted and sent home to sleep or were crashing in the precinct's bunkroom. The lack of android personnel to help fill the void between human officer shifts, or keep the precinct running smoothly, had been felt almost immediately in the wake of the Revolution.

Wondering how much longer the precinct could last on a skeleton crew being powered only by caffeine and undying loyalty to the force, Hank looked at his phone and saw that Tina had left him a message confirming that Gavin was still stable and that she'd clock back in before midnight. In response, Hank told her to stay at the hospital and out of the storm unless something actually happened that required her immediate attention.

"No one should be out in this shitty weather, especially when they're the only friend to the city's biggest asshole. She's suffering enough as it is."

Watching the news report regarding the weather on one of the large television monitors mounted on the far wall of the bullpen, Hank swore at all of the low temperatures and high wind speeds readily being recorded over the city. The entire city was undoubtedly about to suffer through the first blizzard of the impending winter.

"Fuck... I fuckin' hate winter. Cold, ice and snow makes everything miserable."

Rubbing his hand over the back of his shaggy gray hair nervously Hank eyed his phone again and contemplated trying to connect with Connor to make sure the deviant was okay. Unsure if Connor would respond or not the seasoned Lieutenant sent a single text message to Connor's system - the deviant's serial number acting as a phone number, and hoped that he would get an answer soon just for his own peace of mind.

'Are you okay?'

Pocketing his phone Hank slowly sat on the edge of Captain Fowler's desk inside the private office and watched the weather report with a keen eye. The storm wasn't changing course and was due to hang over Detroit all night and early morning before finally breaking. It seemed as if Detroit was being punished by some form of higher power after so many humans had discriminated against and abused deviants for their own selfish needs. The storm was sure to bury the most stubborn of people under a smothering layer of white and keep the more aggressive people cooped up indoors.

"I guess if anyone could survive a frozen Hellscape like this, it'd be Connor. The kid survived a world changing Revolution, working under a corrupt corporation and if he could... Well, if he could survive working with me then he can survive anything."

The live images on the television screen of the thick snow slowly piling up in the streets made Hank internally wince. The memory of the tragic car accident three years ago was always made worse during the wintertime. Dealing with the loss of his son and worrying about the rest of the city was going to push Hank to his emotional and mental breaking point. The last thing he needed was to worry about Connor, too."

"That kid is way more clever and resourceful than he'd ever care to admit. He better recognize that gift sooner rather than later."

-next chapter-